Harish Bhat has retired as the Brand Custodian of Tata Sons after 36 years with the company and seven years in the role. He announced the development on LinkedIn through a post. Bhat’s retirement follows his superannuation with the company.

Bhat joined Tata in 1987 as an officer in the Tata Administrative Service or TAS. He is also the Chairman of Tata Coffee Limited and is a Director on the boards of many other Tata Companies like Trent Ltd, Starbucks, Infiti Retail and Tata AIA Life Insurance Company Limited.

A gold medallist from IIM Ahmedabad of the 1987 batch, Bhat has been with the company for over 36 years, holding several senior roles. He has been the Managing Director of Tata Global Beverages Ltd., Chief Operating Officer of the Watches and Jewellery businesses of Titan Company Ltd., and the telecom business of the Group.

Bhat has been integral to many of the Group’s strategic moves like the turnaround of its jewellery business as well as the acquisition of Tetley.

Bhat was featured in the Forbes list of Top 50 Global CMOsfor the second time this year at Cannes.

In Bhat’s professional history, he has focused on strategy, consumer behaviour, business economics and business history.

He is a passionate writer who has contributed to many well-known publications. He has also authored four books, one of which is the best seller Tata Stories, centred on the inspiring accounts from the history of the Tata Group.

Bhat also wrote that he intends to use his rich experience to contribute actively towards the Tata Group, marketing and writing, his three professional passions, according to his post.