Bruce Karatz and Ratan N. Tata Join Rand Board of Trustees

KB Home Chairman and CEO Bruce Karatz and Tata Sons Ltd. Chairman Ratan N. Tata have been appointed to the Board of Trustees of the RAND Corporation, a nonprofit research organization, RAND President and CEO James A. Thomson announced today.

KB Home is one of the America's largest homebuilding firms – operating in 16 states and headquartered in Los Angeles – and is the majority owner of Kaufman & Broad S.A., one of the largest homebuilders in France.

Tata Sons Ltd. is the promoter company of the Tata Group – India's largest private sector conglomerate with operations in seven business sectors through 96 operating companies including Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Power, Tata Tea, Tata Chemicals, Indian Hotels and Tata Teleservices.

RAND is based in Santa Monica, Calif. and has offices in the Washington, D.C. area, Pittsburgh, and Jackson, Miss., along with Europe and Qatar.

“RAND is fortunate to have Bruce Karatz and Ratan Tata on our Board of Trustees,” Thomson said. “They will provide leadership that will help RAND continue to serve our clients by providing the highest quality objective research and analysis that addresses challenges facing the public and private sectors around the world.”

Karatz rejoins the RAND Board of Trustees after previously serving from 1995 to 2005. Last year he was named Ernst & Young's Master Entrepreneur of the Year for the Greater Los Angeles area and was named Best Chairman by the American Business Awards. Karatz serves on the University of Southern California Board of Trustees and the Board of Directors for the California Commission for Jobs and Economic Growth, and is chairman of the Board of Councilors for the USC Gould School of Law.

Tata currently chairs the RAND Center for Asia Pacific Policy Advisory Board. He joined the Tata Group in 1962 and was named chairman of Tata Sons in 1991. Tata serves as chairman of India's Investment Commission, and is a member of the Prime Minister of India's Council on Trade and Industry, and the International Advisory Board of J.P. Morgan Chase. The government of India honored him with one of its highest civilian awards, the Padma Bhushan.

Karatz earned a bachelor of arts from Boston University and a law degree from the University of Southern California. Tata received a bachelor's degree in architecture from Cornell University and completed the Advanced Management Program conducted by the Harvard Business School.