Rayaroth Kuttambally Krishna Kumar (18 July 1938 – 1 January 2023) was an Indian business executive who was the director of Tata Sons.
[3] The Government of India awarded him the fourth-highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri in 2009 for his contributions to Indian trade and industry.
Under Kumar's leadership, Tata Tea formed a joint venture with Tetley, 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.
[8] Kumar's efforts were reported during the Assam Crisis of 1997, when ULFA activists held Tata Tea employees as hostages, and during the 2008 Mumbai attacks, when the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel was under siege.
[16] The government of India included him in the 2009 Republic Day honours list for the civilian award of the Padma Shri.