Who is Shantanu Naidu: Ratan Tata’s Young Assistant

Shantanu Naidu is a well-known figure in Indian business circles, known for his close relationship with former Tata Sons chairman Ratan Tata. Naidu was born in Pune, Maharashtra in 1993. He graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering from Savitribai Phule Pune University in 2014 and received an MBA from Cornell University in 2016.

He started his career as a design engineer at Tata Elxsi, where he developed a passion for animal welfare, which led him to create reflective collars for stray dogs to prevent accidents at night.

This is the inspiring journey of Shantanu Naidu.

Shantanu Naidu graduated from Pune University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering in 2014 and joined the Tata Group as a design engineer.

One day, as he was returning home from his office, he saw the body of a dog lying in the middle of the road. “I have always loved dogs and have rescued quite a few dogs. So, seeing a stray dog ​​like this killed me. I stood there thinking about taking the body to the side of the road, but it was picked up by another car. Run over – I was heartbroken,” Naidu said.

As a dog lover, Naidu wanted to do something. So he designed a collar for the dog with the help of his friends. The collar has a reflector that helps the driver see the dog from a distance. The next day, he and his friends walked around putting collars on stray dogs.

Motopaws Team | Photo Credit: Humans of Mumbai

In an interview with Humans Mumbai, he said: “I don’t know if it worked, but the next day I woke up and got a message that a dog had been saved because of the collar. It felt great.” “

His initiative was widely praised and even featured in a Tata Group company newsletter. Soon, demand for the collars dropped significantly, but funding stymied the initiative. His father asked him to write a letter to Ratan Tata as he was also a dog lover. He said: “I was hesitant at first, but then I said to myself, ‘Why not?’ So I wrote him a handwritten letter and then forgot about it!”

Refractive Collar | Image Source: Bombay Human

Two months later, Naidu received a signed letter from Ratan Tata, which changed his life forever. Tata not only praised the move but also expressed a desire to meet the young employee.

Naidu said in an interview, “A few days later, I met him in his office in Mumbai. He told me, ‘I am deeply moved by the work you have done!'” When I think about this, I still get goosebumps and then he took me to his place to see his dogs and that’s how our friendship started! “

Ratan Tata and Shantanu Naidu’s first meeting | Photo Credit: Humanity Mumbai

Later, Naidu left India to study for an MBA at Cornell University, but he promised Tata that he would devote his life to the Tata Trusts upon his return, a request that the iconic industrialist happily accepted.

Shantanu Naidu tells Humans of Bombay how upon his return to India he got a call from Ratan Tata and an offer he couldn’t refuse. “As soon as I got back to India, he called me and said, ‘I have a lot of work to do in my office. Will you be my assistant?’ — I didn’t know how to react, so I took a deep breath and a few Say yes in seconds!”

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At a time when it is difficult for people of his age to find the right friends, the right mentors and the right boss, Naidu found all these in a superman, Ratan Tata. “People affectionately call him Big Boss, but I like to call him ‘Millennium Dumbledore’ – I think that name suits him best,” Naidoo said.