Ratan Tata's Close Associate Shantanu Naidu Gets New Role At Tata Motors

Shantanu Naidu, one of the close associates of late Ratan Tata, was named the general manager and head of strategic initiatives at Tata Motors, according to a LinkedIn post from Naidu.

"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," Naidu wrote in his post.

Naidu and Tata struck up a friendship when he approached the industrialist to help him with his project 'Motopaws', which was created to provide glow-in-the-dark collars to stray dogs to improve their safety. They also collaborated on another project known as 'Goodfellows', which was designed to provide companionship to the elderly.

He went on to become the youngest manager at Tata Trusts after completing his master in business administration at Cornell University. Ratan Tata's will had him relinquish his stake in Goodfellows and paid up all of Naidu's overseas education loans.

Naidu made a Linkedin post expressing his condolences on Ratan Tata's passing.

"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 we pay for love. Goodbye, my dear lighthouse," he wrote in his post.

He also wrote a book, 'Came Upon A Lighthouse' about his friendship with Ratan Tata. Naidu also helped Ratan Tata set up an account on Instagram to share photos of his dogs.