Cyrus Mistry Urge Tata Group to Innovate

 Tata values refreshed in line with Vision 2025 to include pioneering as a core value, reflecting the centrality of innovation.

MUMBAI, 30th JULY 2016: The Chairman of Tata Sons, Cyrus P Mistry, addressed the Tata group’s leadership and senior management at the Annual Group Leadership Conference (AGLC) held today. The AGLC is held every year on July 29, to commemorate the birthday of former Tata Sons Chairman, JRD Tata. The theme of AGLC 2016 was Leaders 2025, which emphasises the contribution and development of every Tata employee. In his address, Mr Mistry emphasised that “our people are at the heart of the group’s Vision 2025.”

Vision 2025

The Tata group’s vision for 2025 was first announced by Mr Mistry at the AGLC in 2014. The vision is that by 2025, “25 percent of the world’s population will experience the Tata commitment to improving the quality of life of customers and communities. As a result, Tata will be amongst the 25 most admired corporate and employer brands globally, with a market capitalisation comparable to the 25 most valuable companies in the world.”

As part of the Leaders 2025 agenda, Mr Mistry outlined critical enablers which would help the group achieve its Vision 2025:

• A new leadership competency model, ‘Tata Leaders - what defines us’, outlining key competencies to identify and develop leaders.
• A proprietary Tata Quality of Life (TQoL) framework, developed in-house, built on the foundation of happiness at work, reflecting the group’s long standing commitment to employee well-being and fulfilment.
• Refreshed Tata values, which importantly now incorporates the value of pioneering. This value has always been core to the Tata group’s approach to business and is reflected in many inspiring endeavours, from Jamsetji Tata’s plan to build Asia’s first integrated steel plant, to JRD Tata’s establishment of India’s first airline, to Ratan Tata’s vision to create India’s first indigenously developed passenger car, the Tata Indica. This value is rooted in the proposition that Tata will “be bold and agile, courageously taking on challenges, using deep customer insight to develop innovative solutions.”

Mr Mistry emphasised that the Tata values of pioneering, integrity, excellence, unity and responsibility should be the driving force for Tata leaders as they work towards delivering sustainable profitable growth in every Tata business. Highlighting the importance of pioneering innovation as a lever for sustainable profitable growth, Mr Mistry announced that the Tata group has doubled its published patents in two years, from about 3500 at the end of calendar year 2013 to about 7000 at the end of 2015. In the calendar year 2015, Tata companies have filed over 2000 published patents in India and international jurisdictions. The patents have been filed across diverse areas, including computation and data processing; communications; materials, coatings and castings; and engines, hybrid fuels and controls.

Sharing the group’s financial performance in 2015-16, Mr Mistry disclosed the group’s total revenue at Rs672,408 crore (~$103 billion) as compared to the previous year’s Rs658,432 crore (~$108 billion). The dollar value drop in revenue is largely due to global political uncertainty, a steep reduction in commodity prices, and volatility in currencies. Sixteen companies in the group registered a turnover of over $500 million, with 10 of these registering a turnover of over $1 billion. International revenues at around $70 billion constituted 69 percent of the group’s revenues.

The group also invested around $9 billion worldwide during the year, contributing to a $28 billion capital spend over the last three years. This substantial capital investment programme has delivered a number of growth oriented projects, including the Tata group’s largest greenfield infrastructure project, the new steel plant at Kalinganagar in the Indian state of Odisha, which commenced commercial production on May 25, 2016.

The group closed FY2015-16 with a market capitalisation of its 29 listed companies of Rs771,191 crore (~$116 billion). This reflected a decline in market capitalisation compared to the previous year of 7.4 percent as compared to a decline in the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex of 9.4 percent. In line with the group’s ethos of giving back to society, Mr Mistry disclosed that over 1 million hours were volunteered in fiscal 2015-16 by Tata group employees globally. This places the Tata volunteering programme amongst the largest in the world.

Mr Mistry and the Tata group employees paid their respects at the AGLC to late Mr Xerxes Desai, the first managing director of the Titan Company, and remembered him for his invaluable contribution to the company and the group.