Mistry

Tackling $38billion of debt, Mistry charts Tata’s growth

At the helm of the Tata Group for more than two decades, Ratan Tata took a biggest-is-best approach. Putting India’s largest conglomerate on steroids, he propelled Tata onto the world stage by adding marquee brands such as Land Rover, Jaguar, Tetley tea and New York’s Pierre hotel to the group producing much of the nation’s salt, steel, trucks, electricity, fertilizer and other basic goods. He also increased debt 11-fold in his final 10 years.