'A leader of vision': Bill Ford says Ratan Tata will inspire generations of business leaders

Ford Motor Company chairman Bill Ford on October 12 expressed grief over the death of industry titan Ratan Tata. “Ratan was a leader of vision and integrity and proved to be an excellent steward of Jaguar and Land Rover,” the Ford chairman said in a statement. 

Tata’s legacy will continue to inspire future generations of business leaders and entrepreneurs, Ford, the great-grandson of Henry Ford, said. 

Tata, who is credited with taking the salt-to-software conglomerate to newer heights during the over two decades of leading it, died at a city hospital on October 9 after a brief illness. He was 86. 

Ford recalled that he had met Tata only once in person and described the meeting as “warm and cordial”. 

We spoke about the challenges and joys of running family businesses and our mutual love of cars during the meeting, the 67-year-old Ford added. 

Denying claims of Tata feeling “humiliated” at the meeting as described by one of the Tata group veterans who attended the meeting, Ford said some accounts of their meeting “could not be any further from the truth”. 

In 2008, Tata Motors bought JLR from Ford for $2.3 billion in an all-cash deal.