He is also a former Governor of the state of Mizoram and a former chief secretary of the government of Tamil Nadu.
Padmanabha worked 31 years in Indian Administrative Service (IAS) between 01-05-1956 and 30-06-1987.
[1] He served as: Padmanabha was instrumental in setting up healthcare and industries in the state of Tamil Nadu.
He along with Dr. MGR was instrumental in setting up private educational institutes in Tamil Nadu.
A. Padmanabhan was posted as Governor of Mizoram State between 2 May 1998 and 30 November 2000 after Dr. Arun Prasad Mukherjee.