Mr. R K Krishna Kumar started his career with the Tata Group in 1963 when he joined the Tata Administrative Service. Over the period of 46 years that Mr. R K Krishna Kumar has been with the House of Tatas, he has served in several Tata Companies in various capacities. He held several senior positions in the company before being appointed Joint Managing Director of Tata Tea Limited in 1988 and Managing Director in 1991. Under his leadership, Tata Tea moved from commodity to branded business and then into acquisitions like Tetley, Good Earth Tea, Eight O’Clock Coffee and Galceau, which transformed the company into a global beverage company.

He was transferred to Mumbai and appointed Managing Director of the Indian Hotels Company Limited in 1997 (The Taj Group of Hotels). In January 2002 he was also appointed Director of Tata Sons Ltd., the holding Company of the Tata Group. He is also a member of Group Corporate Centre (GCC) which is responsible for the Group’s strategic direction.

One of Mr. R. K. Krishna Kumar’s key facets is his involvement in the Tata Group’s efforts towards nation building. Mr. R K Krishna Kumar is the Chairman of Tata Institute of Social Sciences and is a Trustee on the Governing Boards of various Trusts including Sir Ratan Tata Trust, Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, Tata Medical Centre Trust, Kolkata, and the Tata Education and Development Trust. He is a member of the Governing Council of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research.

The Government of India honoured Mr. R.K. Krishna Kumar with one of the prestigious civilian award, the Padma Shri, in 2008.