Indian Hotels Company Limited managing director R. K. Krishna Kumar has been appointed to the board of Tata Sons Limited. His appointment as a Tata Sons director is effective from January 22, 2002.

Mr Krishna Kumar has served in several Tata companies for the last 38 years. He was appointed managing director of Tata Tea in 1991, and subsequently moved to Indian Hotels as managing director in 1997. The crowning achievement of his leadership at Tata Tea was the successful bid for Tetley, which catapulted the company into the position of the world’s second-largest tea company. Indian Hotels, under Mr Krishna Kumar’s able leadership, has witnessed a significant restructuring of its operations, in the process of which the premium Taj brand was substantially strengthened.

Mr Krishna Kumar took a BA degree in History and Political Science from Loyola College, Chennai, and a Masters degree in Politics and Public Administration from Presidency College, Madras University. He received several prestigious awards for academic excellence, including the Rajah Sir Ramaswamy Medal and the Candeth Medal for standing first in the university at the MA level. After his Masters degree, Mr Krishna Kumar joined the Tata Administrative Service in 1963.

He is currently the vice-chairman of Tata Tea, chairman of the Tetley Group UK, and a director on the boards of several other companies, including Tata Industries, Tata International, and Tata Coffee.