Shantanu Naidu, an Indian engineer, entrepreneur, and social activist, has often been in the news for his close relationship with Ratan Tata, the ex-chairman of the Tata Group.
He grew up in Pune, Maharashtra, India, and belongs to a Telugu-speaking family.
Highlights
- Shantanu Naidu is the fifth generation of his family to work for the Tata company.
- His father was an engineer at Tata Motors, and his mother worked as a domestic worker.
- Shantanu Naidu was Ratan Tata’s trusted aide, and he wrote I Came Upon a Lighthouse.
Shantanu had a strong bond with the late billionaire Ratan Tata despite their age gap of around 55 years.
He started as an engineering intern with Tata Technologies in May 2009 and became a design engineer at Tata Elxi in September 2014.
Ratan Tata funded his innovation and design, and he became the founder of Motopaws in January 2009.
Shantanu was the business strategy intern for Tata Trusts in June 2017 and became the deputy general manager of the Chairman’s office in July 2018.
Later, he founded On Your Sparks, a counseling platform to inspire potential entrepreneurs to adopt the correct values before entering the startup realm in May 2020.
He became the youngest general manager of the Tata Group in May 2022.
Shantanu Naidu Followed His Asian Ancestors’ Footsteps And Worked For Tata Group
An Indian engineer and entrepreneur, Shantanu Naidu was born in 1993 and is 31 year-old as of 2024.
His father, Vyankatesh Naidu, also worked as an engineer at Tata Motors.
A charming scene with the unassuming #RatanTata on his 84th birthday pic.twitter.com/wkmm7jhCyZ
— Harsh Goenka (@hvgoenka) December 29, 2021
Shantanu shared his experiences through various talk shows, including TEDx.
His great-grandfather worked at Tata Power, and his grandfather at Tata Electrical. Later, his father joined them.
Similarly, his paternal cousin is employed at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). He is the fifth generation of his family to work for the Tata company.
An avid dog lover, Shantanu wished to start an NGO to help poor animals. However, due to a lack of funds, his father suggested he write to Ratan Tata for assistance.
He hesitated but somehow sent him a letter, and Ratan Tata asked him to meet at his Mumbai office.
Shantanu hasn’t talked much about his mother, but when he saw Ratan Tata eating cookies, he wondered if they were the same as those his mother had brought for him.
Some sources have claimed that his mother is a domestic worker.
Furthermore, after the tragic demise of Ratan Tata, Shantanu expressed,
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.
Later, he and Ratan Tata had an inseparable bond. In 2021, he wrote I Came Upon a Lighthouse: A Short Memoir of Life with Ratan Tata.
Shantanu had inked on his left arm, which was dedicated to his pet dog, Winter.
Additional Information
- Shantanu Naidu studied Mechanical Engineering at Savitribai Phule Pune University and attended Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management for an MBA in 2016.
- He was a freelance writer for Harper Collins Publishers India in December 2020.
- He founded Goodfellows India in July 2021 to provide meaningful experiences for beloved Grandpas. As of 2024, his company has an estimated net worth of Rs. 5 crore ($594,959).
- Shantanu is unmarried but has been in a relationship with Mihira since 2015.
