How Ratan Tata’s ‘millennial friend’ Shantanu Naidu’s life has unfolded since tycoon’s death

Ratan Tata’s death a year ago left a big void in the Indian business landscape. The billionaire business tycoon is remembered for his kindness, humility and philanthropy. The former Tata Group chairman died at the age of 86 on October 9, 2024, at Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital after being admitted due to age-related health issues.

Hailed as a visionary business leader, he turned the Tata conglomerate into the behemoth it is today. After his demise last October, the contents of Tata’s will grabbed attention. The document mentioned the industrialist’s aide, Shantanu Naidu. It was this millennial friend’s social media that provided glimpses of some of Tata’s private moments in his final years.

What has Naidu been up to since Ratan Tata’s demise? We take a look.

Who is Shantanu Naidu?

Shantanu Naidu, 32, is a young, innovative leader. His acquaintance with Ratan Tata can be traced back to 2014, when their mutual love for dogs brought them together.

Naidu was working as an automobile design engineer at Pune’s Tata Elxsi at the time. In an interview with Brut, he said that one day he came across a dead dog in the middle of the road.

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Disturbed by the sight for months, Naidu wanted to save stray animals from road accidents and get a better life. This thought led him and his friends to design collars with reflectors for strays that would keep them safe at night from traffic accidents.

After the demand for his dog collar increased, Naidu struggled to meet the target due to a lack of funds. It is then that his father advised him to reach out to Ratan Tata. Naidu wrote a letter to the business magnate, apprising him of his project and sought funds.

Tata reportedly replied to him in two months, asking Naidu to meet him in person. Impressed by the initiative, he decided to support the young entrepreneur’s NGO, Motopaws.

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“Shantanu and I first met because of our common concern and affection for stray dogs. He has led a team of young college students to ‘adopt’ these dogs and give them affection, food, find homes for them and give them a sense of belonging,” Tata had told the BBC in an email.

Naidu, who has a mechanical engineering degree from Savitribai Phule Pune University, went on to pursue an MBA from Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management in 2016.

After he returned from the US, Naidu reportedly became Tata’s assistant in 2018. The young man also joined the Office of RNT, the private office of the industrialist, following his stint as Tata Sons Chairman.

Naidu founded ‘Good Fellows’, a startup to provide companionship to senior citizens. “My relationship with Mr. Tata gave me an insight into how rich inter generational relationship is,” Naidu once said. The startup got an undisclosed amount as seed investment from Tata.

“You do not know what it is like to be lonely until you spend time alone wishing for companionship,” the 86-year-old businessman said, as per The Times of India report.

Over the years, Naidu became a close and trusted friend of Tata. The two were often spotted together. Visuals of Tata’s birthday celebrations, posted on Naidu’s social media, gained quite a traction online.

After Tata’s demise last October, the young entrepreneur was seen riding out of the industrialist’s house on a Yezdi motorcycle, leading the truck carrying the mortal remains of the tycoon.

Naidu had also penned a heartfelt note mourning the demise of his mentor and friend.

“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,” he wrote in a post on LinkedIn, sharing a picture with the industrialist.

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What has Naidu been up to since Tata’s demise?

Naidu was appointed as the General Manager and Head of Strategic Initiatives at Tata Motors in January this year.

Sharing an emotional post on LinkedIn, he wrote about his role: “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.”

Shantanu has also launched Bookies, a community of people who gather and read books silently in public spaces.

Naidu made headlines in September this year after his pictures posted on his private Instagram account with a mystery woman, went viral.

He did not reveal her face or share her identity. “Our souls didn’t meet, they remembered,” he wrote in the caption.

Naidu also took a playful jibe at the viral Google’s Gemini AI saree trend. In this viral craze, people uploaded their picture, which the Gemini Nano Banana image editing tool turned into a striking 1990s-style portrait featuring elegant sarees and notable backdrops.

Naidu called out users, pointing out the absurdity of the viral trend.

He said that people sharing saree pictures likely owned multiple sarees and did not really need AI to imagine themselves wearing one.

He said, “Tum log India me hai. America mein nahi hai. India! Land of the saree. Tumhare kapaat mein at least 15 saree hai. Itna lazy ho gaya tum… AI ko generate karne ko bola jo kapda tumhare kapaat mein… (You people are in India. Not in America. India! The land of the saree. You have at least 15 sarees in your wardrobe. You’ve become so lazy… You asked AI to generate the fabric that’s already in your wardrobe.)”

Last generosity of friendship

Ratan Tata did not forget his protege while making his Rs 10,000 crore will. For Naidu, he relinquished his stake in the startup Goodfellows, and waived a personal loan that the young man had taken for overseas education.

With inputs from agencies