TV Narendran's 'calm' composure readies Tata Steel for good and bad times

A sharper focus on branded products, operational efficiency has fortified the firm against downturns

“If you are in steel business, you are better off not to get too excited when the going is good and not be too depressed when times are difficult,” says TV Narendran, managing director of Tata Steel, philosophically. Narendran has seen it all with hot-rolled coil prices swinging between a low of $380 and $700 a tonne and India becoming a net importer of steel in 2014-15 and remaining so in the following year, causing havoc to the domestic industry. 

However, he calmly deals with fluctuations in business fortunes. The composure that Narendran is credited with when confronted with a market