Ratan Tata: 'I came seriously close to getting married four times'
The reclusive chairman of Tata Sons speaks his mind on the 2G scandal, the Mumbai terror attacks, succession plans and how he almost married, on CNN's Talk Asia this week
The interview takes place at Tata's Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai, which he took pains to restore and reopen soon after it was severely damaged in the terror attacks of 2008.
The best way to describe 74-year-old Ratan N. Tata, the reclusive chairman of Tata Sons, is "Indian business mogul".
And when you have the mogul in the hot seat, as CNN correspondent Sara Sidner does this week on Talk Asia, you absolutely have to ask him:
1. About the recent 2G bandwidth scandal that engulfed the Tata Group.
"I can say with my hand to my heart we have not partaken in any clandestine activity,” he says.
2. About the Tata legacy and succession plans after he retires in December 2012.
"[I would like to leave behind] a sustainable entity of a set of companies that operate in an exemplary manner in terms of ethics, values, continue what our ancestors left behind," Tata says.
3. About his personal experiences of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks on his hotel.
"They [his employeees] lost their lives to the bullets of these terrorists but succeeded in serving their guests with pride and at great cost to themselves,” Tata says.
4. And ... about his life-long bachelor status.
"[I] came seriously close to getting married four times... [but each time I] backed off in fear or for one reason or another....[which may not have been a bad decision since the situation would] have been more complex had the marriage taken place.”
Talk Asia with Ratan N. Tata airs Wednesday April 13 at 4 p.m., Thursday April 14 at 9 a.m., Friday April 15 at 11 p.m., Saturday April 16 at 9:30 p.m., Sunday April 17 at 2 p.m. and Monday April 18 at 7:30 a.m. on CNN International. All India Standard Time.
