Meet Shantanu Naidu, Ratan Tata¡¯s Young Assistant & Millennial Friend, Who Also Guides Budding Entrepreneurs
The youngster's dream came true when Ratan Tata invited him for a meeting after his Facebook post where he wrote about dog collars he had made with reflectors for stray dogs so that drivers can spot them on the roads of Mumbai.
Ratan Naval Tata is a well-known personality who needs no introduction. There isn¡¯t a single person in India who hasn¡¯t heard his name. Many entrepreneurs look up to him as an example. Even though he has a wealthy family, he never took power or wealth for granted.
Recently Ratan Tata, India¡¯s one of the biggest industrialists and philanthropists celebrated his birthday without any lavish party or a big celebration. Tata Son's chairman emeritus, who rang in his 84th birthday on December 28 with a cupcake and a candle, was brought by a young business assistant of magnate Ratan Tata.
Shantanu Naidu, Ratan Tata's Assistant & Millennial Friend | yourstory
His humble birthday celebration clip was still going viral on social media and many people are still curious to know about Shantanu Naidu, who was seen sitting next to him and putting his hand on Ratan Tata's shoulder and feeding him a piece of cupcake.
Here is everything about Shantanu Naidu, Ratan Tata¡¯s millennial friend.
Who is Shantanu Naidu?
At the age of 28, a young man Shantanu Naidu has achieved a position in the business industry which has always remained a dream for many people. According to reports, Shantanu Naidu gives Business tips to Ratan Tata for investing in startups.
Shantanu Naidu was born in 1993 in Pune Maharashtra. He is a famous Indian businessman, engineer, junior assistant, DGM, social media influencer, author, and entrepreneur. Shantanu Naida is very popular across the country as a deputy general manager of Tata Trust.
Shantanu Naidu, Ratan Tata's Assistant & Millennial Friend | ET
Shantanu Naidu, an MBA from Cornell University is the fifth generation of his family to be working in the Tata Group.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Shantanu is working in the Tata Trust since June 2017. Apart from this, Naidu has also worked as a Design Engineer at Tata Elxsi.
Beginning of his Journey in Tata
The youngster's dream came true when Ratan Tata invited him for a meeting after his Facebook post where he wrote about dog collars he had made with reflectors for stray dogs so that drivers can spot them on the roads of Mumbai.
"Word spread and our work got featured in the Tata newsletter," Shantanu Naidu wrote in his post.
Being a student organisation, the funding to create these collars was not enough. So, they decided to use denim pants as a base material to make the collar. They collected denim pants from different households and made 500 reflective collars in Pune and collared 500 dogs.
The dogs wearing these collars made by him could be seen by drivers from a distance even without street lights at night and hence the lives of street dogs could be saved. His work was noticed by many people and anonymous online comments started coming in his post about how the collars helped the dogs to be visible and eventually led people to slow down.
Soon Naidu's work started getting all attention and and it was highlighted in the Tata company¡¯s newsletter which got him an invitation to Mumbai from Ratan Tata himself, the former chairman of the Tata group and an animal activist.
In 2016, Shantanu Naidu went to pursue his MBA at Cornell University, in the US. When he finished his degree and came back in 2018, he joined Tata Trusts as the Deputy General Manager in the chairman's office.
Shantanu won Ratan Tata's heart with his work
Veteran businessman Ratan Tata is also a fan of Shantanu's good ideas. According to several reports, Shantanu Naidu helps Ratan Tata in his own personal investment startups. With his work, Shantanu has won Ratan Tata's heart.
Shantanu Naidu, Ratan Tata's Assistant & Millennial Friend | Instagram
Interestingly, Ratan Tata has a strong belief in the country's startups system and this could be the reason due which the startups which get Ratan Tata's support often see a significant increase in their value.
An act of kindness
Shantanu Naidu has his Instagram handle 'On Your Sparks' through which he motivates students across the country who feared entering the field of entrepreneurship. Amidst the Covid-19 lockdown, Shantanu Naidu started an online talk - 'On Your Sparks' to help aspiring entrepreneurs. He started the talk based on his life lessons and converted them into entrepreneurial lessons. Now, he goes live with 'On Your Sparks' every Sunday on his Instagram account and charges Rs 500 for each attendee and these fund goes to Motopaws to help street dogs. Today, Motopaws has spread to over 20 cities and 4 countries.
Write a book on his life with Ratan Tata
Not only this, Shantanu Naidu also wrote a book named 'I came upon a lighthouse', which is a small mirror of his life with business tycoon Ratan Tata.
Shantanu Naidu, Ratan Tata's Assistant & Millennial Friend | BBC
Young Shantanu Naidu has made his place in the business industry at a very young age and the legendary business tycoon Ratan Tata is one of his fans. Shantanu Naidu started his inspiring journey with an initiative to help street dogs and soon his hard work and dedication paved the way to who he is today. His journey is truly a motivation for who we can become tomorrow.
For more interesting stories like this, click here.
Anuj Tiwari writes stories for SEO and is a Youtube wizard. An engineer turned social media champ, he keeps a track of all that goes around the world. His interest areas include historic events, political and social-sciences.
