Shantanu Naidu, Ratan Tata's 'close friend', gets new position at Tata Motors
Shantanu Naidu joins Tata Motors as general manager, head of strategic initiatives, reflecting his long-standing ties with the Tata Group and Ratan Tata.
Shantanu Naidu, close friend of Late Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus of Tata Sons, has joined a new position at Tata Motors, becoming the general manager and head of strategic initiatives.

Taking to his LinkedIn account, Shantanu Naidu wrote, "I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as General Manager, Head - Strategic Initiatives at Tata Motors! I remember when my father used to walk home from the Tata motors plant, in his white shirt and navy pants, and I would wait for him in the window. It comes full circle now."
The 32-year-old, who is also an entrepreneur and author, shared a picture of himself standing next to his white Nano car, dressed in a light blue shirt and navy pants, carrying his office bag.
Shantanu Naidu and Tata Group
Shantanu Naidu first set foot in the Tata Group of companies in May 2009, when he joined Tata Technologies as an engineering intern. According to his LinkedIn profile, he led a design team to prepare guidelines that eliminate design defects which are now used by all designers in the company thus saving 27 per cent design time.
Later in September 2014, he joined Tata Elxsi as a design engineer and worked there till July 2016.
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The following year, he joined Tata Trusts as a business strategy intern for a brief period, before taking his steps into the office of Ratan Tata as his deputy general manager in July 2018.
Naidu was promoted as General Manager to the office of Ratan Tata in May 2020, where he worked till January this year, before moving to his new position at Tata Motors.
Shantanu Naidu's Education
Shantanu Naidu has done Bachelor of Engineering, Mechanical Engineering from the Savitribai Phule Pune University between 2010 and 2014.
In 2016, Naidu went to Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management in New York, USA, for his Master of Business Administration (MBA).
After returning from New York, he joined the office of Ratan Tata.
Entrepreneur Shantanu Naidu
Other than working at Tata group of companies, Naidu also founded 'Motopaws' in January 2009. The company which is an animal welfare NGO, operational since 2015 for the safety and rights of abandoned and stray animals, was funded by Ratan Tata.
In May 2020, Naidu founded a counselling platform called 'On your sparks' to inspire and introduce potential entrepreneurs to the "right values and foundations before entering the realm of startups".
In July 2021, Shantanu Naidu founded 'Goodfellows', aimed at providing company, service and meaningful experiences to senior citizens.
Goodfellows is a startup which connects the elderly with young companions. "Our mission is simple - to create a space where our Grandpals feel comfortable, listened to, and cared for as if they were a part of our own family," the organisation's website reads.
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Shantanu Naidu also authored a book, 'I Came Upon a Lighthouse' in 2021, which is a short life memoir of his life with Ratan Tata.
Shantanu and his 'Lighthouse'
Shantanu Naidu and Ratan Tata Tata met over 10 years ago in 2014, when the former began working with the Tata Group. A fifth generation Tata employee, Naidu developed such a deep friendship with Tata over the years that he described him as his 'lighthouse'. The two bonded shared a relationship of boss-employee, mentor-mentee, and close friends.
It was Naidu's promise to Tata that he would return to India and work for him once he graduated from Cornell. A promise that he kept by accepting an offer to be Ratan Tata's assistant and he was also appointed as the manager of the Tata Trust, the youngest person to hold the position.
A viral video of Naidu celebrating Ratan Tata's 84th birthday with him also went viral, taking the internet and netizens with a wave of love and adoration.
