It would be fair to say that the average price [of steel] of the next decade would be higher than that of the past decade: TV Narendran, GLOBAL CEO & MD, Tata Steel
Image: Neha Mithbawkar for Forbes India
In February 2020, with the pandemic still to arrive on Indian shores and media headlines focussed on then US President Donald Trump’s impending visit, TV Narendran, 55, had access to an early warning system none of his Indian counterparts had. The Indian steel maker’s European operations, which had proved to be a millstone around its neck, provided a peek into what a total shutdown would look like. What the global CEO and managing director saw wasn’t pretty, prompting him to swing into action. As infections spread across Europe, necessitating lockdowns, business activity ground to a halt.
Narendran started flagging the business risk on account of the pandemic as early as January. He’d been helming a global steel business that was highly leveraged. A period of no sales had the potential to sink the business.
“ With every rupee that we earn, the first one billion (DOLLARS) will go for debt repayment. Only critical and maintenance capex come before that.”
Koushik Chatterjee, Executive Director & CFO, Tata Steel
(This story appears in the 16 July, 2021 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)