A Journey Through Time

Carlos Ghosn is rated among the best managers in the world. However, his Indian journey has been a tough learning experience

Last Updated: Dec 01, 2011, 06:37 IST1 min

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Last Wednesday, we were in the middle of our production week, nailing down our line-up of stories with painstaking detail, when the email carrying the momentous news arrived. As much as I’d like to claim that we have an inside track on what goes on within the Tata group (Forbes India had featured Cyrus Mistry in the Next Gen entrepreneurs to watch out for in our India Rich List special edition last year), none of us really had a clue that the younger son of India’s ninth richest man would be anointed successor to Ratan Tata.

This makes it the kind of feature story magazine journalists love to sink their teeth into. It has all the drama, the intrigue, played out over several decades, and an incredible cast of characters, many of them responsible for pioneering India’s own model of entrepreneurial capitalism. Over the past few days, I’ve been asked by friends and family why the 43-year-old Mistry was picked for the top job at India’s best known conglomerate. I’d urge you to read our story for the answer.

Written by my friend and journalist Jehangir S. Pocha, it is a riveting account of how the fates of the Tata and Mistry families were intertwined over at least three generations. I won’t rob you of the joy by telling you more. However, I can vouch for one thing: After you are done reading the piece, you’d start to understand the first family of Indian business a lot more deeply.

There’s plenty more. Our Associate Editor Cuckoo Paul gets into the groove with her in-depth story of how Naresh Goyal and Vijay Mallya are beginning to reboot their respective airlines. Much of their troubles have been covered across media, but their fight back plan has remained under wraps.

Finally, Carlos Ghosn is rated among the best managers in the world. His turn-around at Nissan and adept handling of the Nissan-Renault alliance is part of global business school case studies. However, his Indian journey has been a tough learning experience. On the sidelines of the Formula One circuit in Noida, Ghosn met us for an exclusive chat on the lessons so far. I strongly recommend Ashish K. Mishra’s story.

Before I sign off, don’t forget to pick up our Year End Special edition. It hits the stands on December 16.

Email: indrajit.gupta@network18online.com
Twitter id: @indrajitgupta

First Published: Dec 01, 2011, 06:37

Cyrus Mistry Ratan Tata

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