The 71-year-old chairman of Tata Group, which makes nearly everything from salt to steel to luxury cars, told the US daily Wall Street Journal in an interview that his successor could be an expatriate. Tata's tenure ends in 2012.

"We are in the process of formalising a successor to me. We have some outside consultants and a formal search process is on. There are no constraints," Tata, who has steered the group for nearly two decades, said in the interview.
"It would certainly be easier if that candidate were an Indian national. But now that 65 per cent of our revenues come from overseas, there could also be an expatriate sitting in that position with justification, now that we are a company that has global reach and global presence," Tata said to a question on how he was conducting the search for his successor.

All but one of the group's past chairmans have been Tatas (see table), although at the moment no family candidate has been publicly identified to take over the role.

The family way

(Tata chairmen down the ages)

Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata 1868-1904

Sir Dorab Tata 1904-1934

Nowroji Saklatwala 1934-1938

J R D Tata 1938-1991

Ratan Tata 1991 - still

(Ratan Tata's term as chairman ends in 2012)