Textile industry veteran Karumuttu T Kannan passes away in Madurai

Kannan was a board member of TVS Motor and other companies, and an educationalist associated with several institutions

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Veteran industrialist Karumuttu T Kannan (70) passed away in Madurai on Tuesday morning. Kannan was the chairman of Tamil Nadu-based Thiagarajar Mills and a board member of TVS Motor.

Kannan was also a leading educationalist and the president of Thiagarajar College, Madurai, and chairman and correspondent of Thiagarajar College of Engineering, Madurai. According to media reports, his last rites will be performed on Wednesday at 2 pm in Kochadai in Madurai district.

Kannan was a graduate in business administration from Madurai University and had a wide range of experience in the textile industry. He held the position of chairman of the Textiles Committee, Mumbai, the Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council, Mumbai, and Chairman of the South India Mills’ Association during 1990-92. He was also the chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry, Southern Region, Chennai, and a member of the Southern regional board of the Industrial Development Bank of India.

“I’m deeply saddened by this loss. To me he was more than a trusted colleague. He was a dear and loyal friend, who was a deep thinker and always there with his wise counsel,” said Venu Srinivasan, Chairman Emeritus, TVS Motor Company. 

He further said that Kannan had a rare prescience and sharp business acumen, but above all "he was a man with tremendous social conscience who gave so much to society. Thiagarajar college is a testament to that as is his invaluable contribution to the Meenakshi Temple. He bore his responsibilities with grace, dignity, and a sense of purpose."

He was a syndicate member of Anna University, Chennai, and was on the Boards of Governors of Indian Institute of Management Indore and National Institute of Technology, Trichy. Besides, he was a member of the Tamil Nadu State Council for Higher Education, Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission, senate of Madurai Kamaraj University and academic council of Anna University. He was also on the boards of several Indian companies. He was awarded the Perunthalaivar Kamarajar Award in 2014 by the Tamil Nadu government for the promotion of education and social service.