Shantanu Naidu is an Indian engineer, entrepreneur, social activist and business executive who is the founder of The Goodfellows, On Your Sparks, and Motopaws. He is known for sharing a close bond with Ratan Tata, the former chairman of the Tata Group.
Wiki/Biography
Shantanu Vyankatesh Naidu was born in 1993 (age 30 years; in 2023) in Pune, Maharashtra, India. He grew up in Pune, where he completed his schooling. From May 2009 to May 2010, he worked at Tata Technologies as an engineering intern. In 2010, he enrolled at Savitribai Phule Pune University, formerly Pune University, to pursue a bachelor’s degree in engineering in mechanical engineering; he graduated with honors in 2014. After completing his studies, Shantanu began preparing for the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT); he appeared in the exam in January 2016 and scored 760 marks. From 2016 to 2018, he pursued a master’s degree in business administration in business administration and general management at Cornell University’s Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management in New York, USA. There, he won the Hemmeter Entrepreneurship Award and also won the Johnson Leadership Case Competition.
Photo of Shantanu Naidu taken after he won the Johnson Leadership Case Competition
He was later appointed as Johnson’s Social Media Ambassador. At the university, he founded the Cornell Motorcycle Society and became its president. He also wrote numerous articles for The Cornell Business Journal. After that, he was appointed as the president of the Johnson Pet Association. He, at the university, served as vice president of Finance, South Asian Business Association. His graduation ceremony at Cornell University was attended by Ratan Tata in 2018.
Ratan Tata with Shantanu Naidu during his graduation ceremony at Cornell University
Physical appearance
Height (approx): 5′ 10″
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Dark Brown
Family
Shantanu Naidu was born in a Telugu speaking family in Maharashtra.
Parents & Siblings
His father, Vyankatesh Naidu, worked with the Tata Group as an engineer.
Wife
Shantanu Naidu is unmarried.
Relationships/Affairs
Shantanu Naidu dated a girl named Mihira with whom he worked in Motopaws in 2015.
Career
Shantanu Naidu joined Tata Elxsi as a design engineer in September 2014 in Pune, Maharashtra, India; he worked there until July 2016. In 2015, he founded Motopaws, a company that manufactures neon collars for dogs, in Pune. In an interview, Shantanu revealed that he founded the company out of empathy for street dogs, which often die after being hit by cars at night. So to save dogs at night, Shantanu designed glow-in-the-dark collars for street dogs. Speaking about it, he said,
Working the night shift at Tata Elxsi, I was horrified to see street dogs killed by speeding vehicles at night. So, I came up with the idea of creating a special collar that would glow in the dark so that people from far away could see if a dog was crossing the street or on its way.”
Apart from making collars for dogs, the NGO also aims to raise awareness about animal rights and their safety. Until 2023, Motopaws works in more than twenty cities in four countries.
Photo of Shantanu Naidu (third from right) taken with Motopaws volunteers
After founding Motopaws, Shantanu found it difficult to sustain his operations as he had no money; So he wrote a letter to Ratan Tata on his father’s advice in 2015. Ratan returned to his letter two months later, stating that he was impressed by Shantanu’s approach and asked him to meet Ratan. In his book, while talking about his first meeting with Ratan, he says,
I stared at Mr. Tata’s cabin door. There was a time when someone came in to serve him coffee. As the door slowly closed, I saw her eating a cookie in slow motion. I found myself wondering what kind of cake Ratan Tata must be eating. Are they very different from what Amma bought for me? Just a few seconds later, he came out to get us. We showed him the Motopaws ride. He kept repeating how innovative he believed the idea was. Unable to handle the compliments, we kept smiling sheepishly, with the occasional ‘Oh, stop it, you’ laugh escaping.”
In June 2017, Shantanu started working as a business strategy intern at Tata Trusts. In July 2018, he moved to Mumbai, where he started working as deputy general manager at Tata Trusts, where he also worked in an advisory capacity to Ratan Tata on business matters. According to Shantanu, Ratan Tata personally offered him a job at Tata Trusts after he returned to India from the US. In May 2020, he founded On Your Sparks, aiming to provide young people with tips and tricks to help them set up their businesses. In December 2020, he joined HarperCollins Publishers India in Mumbai, where he started working as a freelance author. In May 2022, Shantanu joined the RNT Office in the Tata Group as general manager. In September 2022, he founded The Goodfellows, an organization that aims to provide companionship to the elderly to help them fight loneliness. This organization has volunteers from various walks of life.
Shantanu Naidu stands next to The Goodfellows volunteer, assigned to an elderly couple
On January 18, 2023, he founded the Advanced Veterinary Care Foundation and assumed the position of director in it.
Car Collection
Shantanu Naidu owns Tata Nano.
Shantanu Naidu stands next to his Tata Nano
Tattoo
Shantanu Naidu has a special tattoo of his alleged dog Winter on his left arm.
Shantanu Naidu tattoo picture on his left arm
Facts/Trivia
- Shantanu Naidu also works as a social media advisor to Ratan Tata. He teaches Ratan about following social media trends, using emoticons, hashtags and more.
- Shantanu fondly refers to Ratan as “Millenial Dumbledore,” while Ratan calls Shantanu “Millenial Friend.”
Photo of Shantanu Naidu with Ratan Tata
- In January 2021, Shantanu wrote a book titled I Came Upon a Lighthouse: A Short Memoir of Life with Ratan Tata.
Photo of Shantanu Naidu holding his book
- Shantanu is a fifth generation employee of the Tata Group. His great grandfather worked for Tata Power. His grandfather worked for Tata Electrical. His father worked for Tata Motors. His paternal cousin works at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).
- Shantanu Naidu is a polyglot and is fluent in Hindi, English, Telugu and Marathi.
- Shantanu Naidu has been invited to various talk shows, including TEDx, to give motivational speeches.
Photo of Shantanu Naidu taken while he was giving a speech at TEDx
- In December 2021, a video went viral on social media where Shantanu was seen celebrating Ratan Tata’s 84th birthday.
A video clip where Shantanu Naidu is seen celebrating his birthday with Ratan Tata
Categories: Biography
Source: SCHOOL TRANG DAI
