SA Hasan, Former UK-based Managing Director of Tata Limited, has been appointed by Queen Elizabeth II as an honorary Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his services to the country’s economy. He was the MD of Tata Limited, which represents the Tata group in Europe, from 1999 until 2013.

During this period as the MD of the company, he played a major role in the growth of Tata’s investments in the UK. The company acquired Tetley Tea, Brunner Mond (now Tata Chemicals Europe), Corus Steel (now Tata Steel Europe), INCAT International plc (now Tata Technologies) and Jaguar Land Rover in his period. SA Hasan also contributed to the other development of other Tata businesses in Britain, including Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Taj Group, Tata Communications and Tata Elxsi.

Tidbits

• The TATA group was founded by Jamsetji Tata in the mid-19th century.
• The group has operations in 54 countries and its companies export products and services to 120 nations.
• The group has 28 listed enterprises and the top firms — Tata Steel, Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Motors and Tata Tea — have a combined market capitalisation that is the highest among Indian groups with a shareholder base of over 2 million.

GK Question

1. Who is the current Chairman of Tata Group? Cyrus Pallonji Mistry