Identity area
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Description area
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History
Thomas J. Bata (1914-2008) was the son of Tomáš Baťa (1876-1932), who founded the Bata Shoe Company in Zlin, Czechsolovakia in 1894. Thomas J. Bata was the Chairman and CEO of the Bata Shoe Organisation from 1944 until 1984, becoming Chairman from 1984 to 1994, and remaining as Honorary Chairman until his death in 2008. In 1939, the company’s Czech holdings were nationalized during the Second World War. Thomas J. Bata immigrated to Canada with his wife Sonja Bata (1926-), where he established Bata Limited, the Canadian offshoot of the Bata enterprise, as well as the company town ‘Batawa’ (located outside of Trenton, Ontario). Batawa employed and housed some 1500 people before closing in 2000. In 1962, the Bata Shoe Organization moved its headquarters from London, UK to Toronto, where it was based until 2003. Since then, the company’s head operations have gradually shifted back to Europe, to Bata Brands SA (based in Lausanne, Switzerland). Thomas J. Bata was involved with almost all of Bata’s international companies (from North America and South America, to Europe, Asia, South Asia and Australia). He also served on numerous external committees, including the Business Industry Advisory Council and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.