After almost four decades with the Tata Group, Harish Bhat retired from his role as Brand Custodian at Tata Sons. This follows his superannuation from the Company. He has served as COO of Titan and MD and CEO of Tata Consumer Products.
Bhat, who is also an author, was leading initiatives of one of India’s most valuable brands, TATA, for the past seven years. Bhat stated that during his career of 36 years with the Tata group, he has learnt from many iconic leaders and dedicated his stint as Brand Custodian to N. Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons, whose team he was part of.
Bhat shared that in one of his first meetings with Chandrasekaran, the chairman made it clear that “brand Tata deserved world-class in everything we did, and no less. He has repeatedly challenged me to do better than the best. He has inspired me with his own work ethic, which is incredible. From him I have learnt to think big, work hard and deliver results, no matter what the lay of the land.”
Under Chandrasekaran’s leadership, the valuation of the Tata brand doubled during this period – from US$13.1 billion in 2017 to US$26.4 billion in 2023 (as per Brand Finance Global 500 reports). The brand strengthened its No. 1 rank in India, and has been the only Indian brand to be ranked amongst the top 100 in the world.
Bhat was also named by Forbes as one of the top 10 most influential Chief Marketing Officers in the world.
About his next move, Bhat said, “I have three abiding professional passions – the Tata group, marketing and writing. I hope to use my experience to contribute actively to all three in the years ahead. More on this in due course.”
Bhat shared a quote from JRD Tata, highlighting the one principle that has guided him at all times: “One must forever strive for excellence, or even perfection, in any task however small, and never be satisfied with the second best.”