Shantanu Naidu: Meet Ratan Tata’s protein

Shantanu Naidu with Ratan Tata | Photo Credit: Emmanual Yogini

“Goodbye, my dear lamp!” Posted by Shantanu Naidu, founder of Goodfellows, a company founded by Ratan Tata. Tata, who died on October 9, 2024, was more than just an investor for Mr. Naidu.

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Mr. Naidu took to LinkedIn and wrote a heartfelt note. He wrote, “The hole this friendship left me with now, I will spend the rest of my life trying to close it. Grief is the price to pay for love. Farewell, my dear light.”

Later in the morning, Mr. Naidu was seen leaving Tata’s house on a Yezdi motorcycle, leading a truck carrying the bodies of his mentor.

Who is Shantanu Naidu?

Shantanu Naidu and Ratan Tata met in 2014 when Mr. Naidu started working with Tata Group. Mr. Naidu, like Tata, loved animals and wanted to help strays stay away from road accidents and find a better life. Mr. Naidu and his friends designed columns with reflective displays that would help them stay safe at night when they are hit by vehicles.

Also read:Ratan Tata’s Life and Times: A Timeline

Gradually, their work began to gain recognition which helped him to be featured in the Tata Group newspaper after which he wrote a letter to Tata requesting to support his work. This business was funded and later, Mr. Naidu was offered to be Tata’s assistant.

Later, in 2015, Mr. Naidu founded another company called ‘Motopaws’. As they move forward, Mr. Naidu also founded ‘Good Friends’, a startup that aims to provide companionship to senior citizens. “My relationship with Mr. Dad gave me an understanding of how good the relationship between generations is,” said Mr. Naidu is 31 years old. The startup received an undisclosed amount as a seed investment from Mr. Dad.

Mr. Naidu, who studied at Cornell University, has been helping Tata since 2018. He was placed in the Office of RNT, an independent industrialist office in his capacity as Chairman of Tata Sons.

When Tata was walking around, he was seen with her. Some of Tata’s latest publicly available photos are from Mr. Naidu, where he posted photos to celebrate Tata’s birthday.

The business magnate and philanthropist died at the age of 86 at Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital. He was hospitalized for age-related health problems this week.