Ratan Tata’s Young Manager & Friend Gets Top Leadership Role At Tata Motors

In a LinkedIn post, Naidu stated that he has received the role of General Manager, Head - Strategic Initiatives at Tata Motors.

Along with a picture of him standing next to the Tata Nano, Shantanu wrote, “I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as General Manager, Head - Strategic Initiatives at Tata Motors!”

Talking about how his father would also work at the Tata Motors plant, Naidu reminisced about his childhood.

He added, “I remember when my father used to walk home from the Tata motors plant, in his white shirt and navy pants, and I would wait for him in the window. It comes full circle now ❤️”

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MANAGER AND TRUSTED COMPANION

Shantanu Naidu was not just in a professional relationship with Ratan Tata. He shared a deep, personal bond based on the foundation of companionship.

A video of him singing the happy birthday song for Ratan Tata had previously gone viral on the Internet. Ratan Tata, in his will, had also named Shantanu Naidu.

Apart from this, he relinquished his share in Naidu’s startup called Goodfellows. The startup is aimed at helping elderly people get companions. According to Moneycontrol, Tata also paid off Shantanu’s education loans.

When Ratan Tata passed away on October 9 last year, Shantanu took to social media to share how his “lighthouse” had impacted him.

Posting a photograph of him along with Ratan Tata, he wrote, “The hole that this friendship has now left with me, I will spend the rest of my life trying to fill. Grief is the price to pay for love. Goodbye, my dear lighthouse.”

In his book, “I Came Upon a Lighthouse,” Naidu wrote about the experiences he had with the industrialist.

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SHANTANU NAIDU’S BACKGROUND

In 2014, Shantanu Naidu graduated from Savitribai Phule Pune University. In 2016, he completed his MBA from Cornell University. By 2018, he started working as an assistant for Ratan Tata.

In 2021, Ratan Tata became one of the first backers of Naidu’s startup called Goodfellows. Later, he gave up his share after acknowledging the latter’s goal for the future.

But how did Naidu catch Ratan Tata’s attention in the first place? 

It was way back in 2014 when he had innovated a reflective collar aimed at protecting street dogs from vehicles. Ratan Tata was an animal lover. He invested in Naidu’s project and eventually became his mentor and close friend.

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