Senior Tata Group execs to act as PE mentors

The Tata Group is putting in place an elite task force of senior working and retired executives, who will act as mentors and give operational guidance to the portfolio companies of Tata Capital's private equity practice, according to managing partner Akhil Awasthi.

These senior executives will be drawn from various industries within the group from levels upward of middle management in the organisational hierarchy. 

They will include people who have recently retired and also those from the different in-house training and developing centres that the group owns, Awasthi told The Economic Times in an interview. The $71-billion conglomerate has a presence in a variety of sectors ranging from salt to telecom to steel. 

''We are talking to people from various companies (within the group) and have communicated to them about our intention to use their services and to consult with them at varying points of time,'' Awasthi said. ''Since we are in the process of identifying possible portfolio companies, the actual number of people who would constitute such a managerial pool is still being worked out,'' he added. 

Typically, there will be at least one or two senior executives who will be consulted for operational guidance and in many cases some executives could also be common, said Awasthi. 

Exposure to large private equity deals in India over the past seven to eight years has commoditised the space, with promoters now opting to partner with private equity firms that provide value, in addition to financial capital.