Rayaroth Kuttambally Krishna Kumar (18 July 19381 January 2023) was an Indian business executive who was the director of
Tata Sons
Tata Sons Private Limited is the parent company of the Tata Group and holds the bulk of shareholding in the Tata group of companies including their land holdings across India, tea estates and steel plants. It is a privately owned conglomerate of ...
.
He was a member of
Tata Administrative Services and served as a trustee of
Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and
Sir Ratan Tata Trust
Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT) came into being in 1919 with a sum of Indian currency 8 million. It is under the ownership of Ratan Tata. Established in accordance with the will of Sir Ratanji Tata, the Trust is now one of the oldest grant bestowing ...
, which hold a 66 per cent stake in Tata Sons.
He played a significant role in several acquisitions by
Tata Group
The Tata Group () is an Indian multinational conglomerate headquartered in Mumbai. Established in 1868, it is India's largest conglomerate, with products and services in over 150 countries, and operations in 100 countries across six continent ...
, including the million buy-out of
Tetley
Tetley is an English beverage manufacturer founded in 1837 in Yorkshire. It is the largest tea company in the United Kingdom and Canada, and the second largest in the United States by volume.
Since 2000, Tetley has been a wholly owned subsidiar ...
in 2000, which made
Tata Global Beverages
Tata Consumer Products is an Indian fast-moving consumer goods company and a part of the Tata Group. Its registered office is located in Kolkata while its corporate headquarters is in Mumbai. It is the world's second-largest manufacturer and di ...
the second-largest tea company in the world.
The Government of India awarded him the fourth-highest civilian honour of the
Padma Shri
Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...
in 2009 for his contributions to Indian trade and industry.
Early life
Krishna Kumar was born in
Thalassery
Thalassery (), formerly Tellicherry, is a municipality, Commercial City on the Malabar Coast in Kannur district, in the state of Kerala, India, bordered by the districts of Mahé (Pondicherry), Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kasaragod and Kodagu (Karna ...
, in the south Indian state of
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
, to Sukumaran and Sarojini,
and did his schooling at
Madras Christian College Higher Secondary School in Chennai, where his father served as the police commissioner.
His graduate studies were at
Loyola College, Chennai, after which he secured his master's degree from the
Presidency College, Chennai, of the
University of Madras with first rank.
Career
Kumar started his career by joining Tata Administrative Services in 1963
and was posted at Tata Industries where he worked for two years.
In 1965, he was transferred to
Tata Global Beverages
Tata Consumer Products is an Indian fast-moving consumer goods company and a part of the Tata Group. Its registered office is located in Kolkata while its corporate headquarters is in Mumbai. It is the world's second-largest manufacturer and di ...
, then known as Tata Finlay, and worked through the re-branding of the company as Tata Tea, to become the vice-president of South India Plantations in 1982.
He was promoted to joint managing director of the company in 1988 and, three years later, he became the sole managing director. In 1997, as the head of the division, he moved to Indian Hotels Company, the hospitality division of
Tata Group
The Tata Group () is an Indian multinational conglomerate headquartered in Mumbai. Established in 1868, it is India's largest conglomerate, with products and services in over 150 countries, and operations in 100 countries across six continent ...
which includes
Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces. Under Kumar's leadership, Tata Tea formed a joint venture with
Tetley
Tetley is an English beverage manufacturer founded in 1837 in Yorkshire. It is the largest tea company in the United Kingdom and Canada, and the second largest in the United States by volume.
Since 2000, Tetley has been a wholly owned subsidiar ...
, UK, in 1992 and, later, acquired the British company on a 271 million buy-out to become the second largest tea business in the world, reportedly the largest overseas take-over by an Indian firm at that time.
Kumar headed the Indian Hotels Company from 1997 to 2002, until his appointment to
Tata Sons
Tata Sons Private Limited is the parent company of the Tata Group and holds the bulk of shareholding in the Tata group of companies including their land holdings across India, tea estates and steel plants. It is a privately owned conglomerate of ...
, the holding company of the group, as a member of the board of directors.
A year later, he retired from the board and went back to Indian Hotels Company as its vice-chairman and managing director, and stayed on the job until 2007, when he joined
Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, one of the principal stakeholders in Tata Sons, as a trustee.
In 2009, he promoted RNT Associates, a private investment company of
Ratan Tata
Ratan Naval Tata, GBE (born 28 December 1937) is an Indian industrialist and former chairman of Tata Sons. He was also the chairman of the Tata Group from 1990 to 2012, serving also as interim chairman from October 2016 through February 2017. ...
, the then-chairman of the Tata Group and the incumbent chairman emeritus of Tata Sons, to assist startups and new companies in India.
He also joined
Sir Ratan Tata Trust
Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT) came into being in 1919 with a sum of Indian currency 8 million. It is under the ownership of Ratan Tata. Established in accordance with the will of Sir Ratanji Tata, the Trust is now one of the oldest grant bestowing ...
,
another stakeholder of Tata Sons, as a trustee, but continued to sit on the board of directors of Tata Sons, until he retired from the board on 18 July 2013 on reaching the age of 75, the prescribed age for retiring.
Kumar's efforts were reported during the
Assam Crisis of 1997, when
ULFA
The United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) (Assamese: সংযুক্ত মুক্তি বাহিনী, অসম) is an armed separatist organisation operating in the Northeast Indian state of Assam. It seeks to establish an indep ...
activists held Tata Tea employees as hostages, and during the
2008 Mumbai attacks
The 2008 Mumbai attacks (also referred to as 26/11, pronounced "twenty six eleven") were a series of Terrorism, terrorist attacks that took place in November 2008, when 10 members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, an Islamist terrorist organisation from P ...
, when the
Taj Mahal Palace Hotel was under siege.
Even after retirement, he continued his association with Tata Group through his trusteeships at the two major stakeholders of Tata Sons,
and was based at the Tata Trust office in the Elphinstone building at
Horniman Circle Gardens, Mumbai.
He also held the directorship of RNT Associates, along with his long-term associate, Ratan Tata.
The government of India included him in the 2009
Republic Day honours list for the civilian award of the
Padma Shri
Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...
.
Personal life
Kumar was married to Ratna and the couple had a son, Ajit.
Kumar died in Mumbai on 1 January 2023.
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
* "Heart of Business", CNBC – TV18 interview, 2015 with R. K. Krishna Kumar. YouTube video
Part 1Part 2
{{DEFAULTSORT:Krishna Kumar, R. K.
1930s births
Year of birth missing
2023 deaths
Recipients of the Padma Shri in trade and industry
Malayali people
Businesspeople from Kerala
Indian chief executives
Tata Group people
Presidency College, Chennai alumni
Loyola College, Chennai alumni
University of Madras alumni
People from Thalassery
20th-century Indian businesspeople
21st-century Indian businesspeople