Ratan Tata, the esteemed former chairman of the Tata Group, known for transforming the Indian corporation into a vast global enterprise through a series of significant acquisitions, has passed away at the age of 86.

Tata had been receiving intensive medical care at a hospital in Mumbai prior to his death.

After earning a degree in architecture from Cornell University in New York, he returned to India and began his career with the Tata Group in 1962, which was originally founded by his great-grandfather nearly a century before.

During his tenure, he contributed to various Tata companies, including Telco, now known as Tata Motors, and Tata Steel. He gained recognition for reversing losses and expanding market share at the group’s National Radio & Electronics Company. In 1991, he assumed leadership of the Tata Group.

Under his guidance, the group made notable acquisitions, including Tetley, a tea brand, in 2001 for $432 million, and Corus, an Anglo-Dutch steel manufacturer, in 2007 for $13 billion—marking it as the largest acquisition of a foreign company by an Indian firm at that time. Tata Motors also purchased Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford for $2.3 billion in 2008.

Among his notable initiatives at Tata Motors were the Indica, recognized as the first car designed and manufactured in India, and the Nano, which was marketed as the world’s most affordable car. Tata himself provided the initial designs for both vehicles.

The Indica achieved commercial success, while the Nano, priced at around 100,000 rupees (approximately $1,200), faced challenges due to early safety concerns and inadequate marketing, leading to its discontinuation roughly ten years after its debut.

A licensed pilot who occasionally piloted the company aircraft, Ratan Tata, who never married, was honored with the Padma Vibhushan in 2008, India’s prestigious second-highest civilian award, in recognition of his remarkable contributions to trade and industry.