'Ratan Tata's successor to be at helm for 30-40 years'

The Tata group today exuded hope that whosoever succeeds chairperson Ratan Tata would settle into his/her job smoothly and would be at the helm of affairs for a long-term.

Expressing concern over Tata's retirement plans (Tata had announced plans to hang up his boots in 2012 when he turns 75), Tata Sons' Director R Gopalakrishnan said, "we want to see the new Chairman settling down (smoothly)."

"We think the next leadership is not for 5-years, but he will be there for 30-40 years, may be," Gopalakrishnan told reporters here.

The mandate to select the leader has been vested in a selection committee.

The Tata Group has seen the transition process earlier as well. In 140-years of the group's history, Ratan Tata is only the fifth Chairman, which is a sort of a record, he said.

Tata Sons, the group's holding company, had set up a high-profile selection committee in August 2010, which was expected to name the successor by March this year.

Over the past 10 years, the Tata Group's revenue has shot up from Rs38,607-crore in FY 2000 to Rs3,19,534-crore in FY 10.

Since 2008, the overall trend of the brand Tata has been one of consolidation. The lead the Tata brand enjoys in terms of image shows its healthiness quotient and consistent improvement, he said.

The exit of Ratan Tata is unlikely to hit the Tata brand, he said. "I don't see it as an issue," the senior Tata group official said.