Business icon Mr Ratan Tata has been conferred with the Swiss Ambassador's 'Exceptional Leadership Award' in recognition of his lifetime work as a business role model.

In his acceptance speech, Mr Tata said that whatever he had been able to do within the Tata Group could never have been done alone. “I owe it to my colleagues — CEOs of companies, their people who made whatever has happened in the Tata Group happen. It is they who have made the Group what it is. I merely travelled the same journey that my ancestors did and it was I thought was the right thing at the right moment whenever it happened.. ", he said.

Mr Tata also recognised the late Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple Inc, as an exceptional leader who despite not consciously trying to be a leader made a difference to the lives of millions of people.

"He (Steve Jobs) did what he believed was right, did it in his own way ..changed the lives of millions of people and did it not trying to be a leader, but doing what he believed was right.”

Switzerland's Ambassador to India, Mr Philippe Welti, pointed out that Mr Ratan Tata had, since stepping in as Chairman of Tata Sons in 1991, transformed the Tata Group into a global conglomerate, while retaining its strong roots in its traditions and ethics.

Under Mr Tata's leadership, the Tata Group has become a global force, acquiring international brands such as Corus, Jaguar, Tetley and Land Rover, broadening its market base at home with new products, including Tata Nano, and employing 4 lakh people in more than 80 countries, Mr Welti said.

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