In a beautifully worded letter, outgoing chairman Ratan Tata
in his final letter to the employees called upon them to face the challenges
ahead with grit and determination. The humble industrialist expressed his
gratitude and asked for his employees' support for his heir Cyrus Mistry.
Dear Colleague,
As 2012 comes to an end, let me wish you and your family all
the best for the New Year. I hope that 2013 and the future years bring you good
health, peace of mind and great happiness.
This is also the last time that I write to you prior to my
retirement as the Chairman of the Tata Group and I want to convey to you how
privileged I have been to have had the opportunity of leading this great Group
over the last two decades through good times and bad
Whatever has been achieved has only been possible because of
the amazing spirit, the dedication of each one of you and the enormous support
and faith reposed in me, for which I am deeply grateful and appreciative.
I feel immensely proud of the manner in which the employees
and the companies have come together in facing crises from time to time. These
have included adverse market conditions, natural calamities like earthquakes
and tsunamis and gruesome acts of terrorism.
The memories of personal sacrifices, loyalty and individual
acts of heroism will always remain in my memory, to reinforce the great sense
of pride I have in having been a member of this team. We today are a $100
billion Group in revenues.
Over the past 20 years our revenues have grown about 20 times
and today 58% come from overseas operations. Our brand has emerged as the 45th
global and the number one Indian brand. Our products and services are present
in 85 countries.
We therefore have every reason to feel proud and feel confident
in facing the challenges ahead. The difficult economic environment that we face
in the current year will most likely continue through most of the next year.
We will probably see continued constraints in consumer
demand, over-capacity and increased competition from imports. There will
therefore be great pressure on our companies to reinvent themselves in terms of
business processes and to dramatically reduce costs, to be more aggressive in
the market place and to widen our product range to better address consumer
needs. We will also need to contain our borrowings and work hard to retain our
margins.
This environment would once again call on you for your
support, your commitment and your dedication to achieve success in these
somewhat difficult times. This seemingly gloomy picture however will be a
passing phase.
I feel confident that the robust growth that India has shown
over the past several years will be re-established and the strong fundamentals
in the country will result in India once again taking its place as one of the
economic success stories of the region.
The Tata Group will undoubtedly play an important role in the
continued development of our country, providing leadership in various
industrial segments in which they operate and living by the value systems and
ethical standards on which our Group was founded. The future growth of the
Group will be led in the coming years by Cyrus Mistry.
I am sure that he will receive from you the same support, the
same commitment and the same understanding that I have enjoyed over the years.
Tatas are a Group where I feel proud to have belonged and proud to have been
associated through the years. I wish the Group, Cyrus Mistry and each of you
great success in the years ahead. I hope the Group grows and shines in the
coming years.
Yours sincerely,
Ratan N Tata, chairman, Tata Sons
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