'Acquisition man' Rosling quits Tata Sons
17 Feb 2009
Alan Rosling, executive director of Tata Sons and one of the key players who spearheaded the group's global acquisitions, is leaving the company on 31March, when his contract ends.
A Tata Sons spokesperson said, "It was decided by mutual agreement that Alan's contract would not extend beyond 31st March 2009". Rosling confirmed this development to a news agency, saying he wished to pursue other career opportunities.
Apart from looking after foreign acquisitions, Rosling is also a director of Tata AutoComp Systems and Tata International.
Rosling was behind some of the group's early global forays, including the 'Bangladesh plan' which envisaged setting up four major projects in that country, including steel, power and fertiliser plants. The plan was later aborted as the Bangladesh government could not undertake to provide the natural gas needed for these ventures.
He publicly voiced his disappointment at not making much headway in Bangladesh, and strongly believed that China held great potential for the Tata Group as a low-cost sourcing and manufacturing hub. Rosling identified it as one of the key countries in which group companies such as Indian Hotels and Tata Motors could make progress.
His exit comes at a time when the $62.5-billion Tata group is gearing to face the challenges thrown up by the recession to its spate of international acquisitions, from Anglo-Dutch steel maker Corus to iconic British car makers Jaguar and Land Rover.
Rosling first visited India at the age of 20 on a backpacking trip, and moved for good in the late '90s. He joined the Tatas in 2004, and was a member of the elite executive office that defines and reviews business activities of group companies, as well as the corporate centre - a decision-making body that guides the business endeavours of the conglomerate.
Between 1991 and 1993, Rosling was special advisor to British Prime Minister John Major, and a member of the policy unit at No 10 Downing Street. Earlier he was chief executive of Piersons, a division of Courtaulds Textiles plc. Rosling started his career in 1983 as an investment banker with SG Warburg & Co.