Shantanu Naidu, the youngest general manager at Tata Trust and Ratan Tata’s trusted assistant, mourned the loss of India’s renowned business tycoon by sharing a ‘goodbye’ post which read ‘Grief is the price to pay for love’.
Veteran industrialist and Tata Sons Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata died late Wednesday at the age of 86 after a brief illness. He was admitted to Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital on Monday due to a sudden drop in blood pressure and was in critical condition in the intensive care unit.
In his LinkedIn post, Tata’s closest aide Shantanu Naidu reflected on his close friendship with the national icon.
“The hole that this friendship has now left with me, I will spend the rest of my life trying to fill. Grief is the price to pay for love. Goodbye, my dear lighthouse,” wrote the 30-year-old, sharing alongside a throwback photo which shows the two of them together.
A towering icon of industry and philanthropy, Ratan Tata’s death is a national loss – mourned by business tycoons like Anand Mahindra and Harsh Goenka.
Who Is Shantanu Naidu?
Born and brought up in Pune, Naidu completed his engineering degree from Savitribai Phule Pune University in 2014. Subsequently, he pursued a Master’s in Business Administration from Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management in 2016.
After completing his education, Naidu began his career as an automobile design engineer at Tata Elxsi in Pune. At the age of 29, Shantanu Naidu commenced his journey with Ratan Tata in May 2022.
He came into the public eye after a video surfaced on social media showing him celebrating Ratan Tata’s birthday, garnering the admiration of Tata’s fans across the country.
Despite Tata not having married or had children of his own, he has embraced Naidu as a cherished and closest member of his circle, treating him like a son.
How Did Tata Meet Naidu?
Shantanu, during his tenure with Tata Elxsi, came up with the issue of dog fatalities due to speeding vehicles. Motivated and inspired to address this problem, he formulated the idea of ‘collars for dogs’ that would enhance their visibility at night on roads, even in the absence of streetlights.
To get support for his remarkable venture, Naidu addressed a letter to Tata underlining his business proposal. Notably, Tata not only responded to Naidu but also invited him for a meeting to discuss the innovative venture.
This instance of meeting marked the beginning of their friendship. Interestingly, Tata was also an avid dog lover. Eventually, it led to Naidu securing a position as Ratan Tata’s assistant and later as a general manager.
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