Captain CP Krishnan Nair, founder chairman of The Leela Group of hotels, passed away here on Saturday following a brief illness. He was 92.
Captain Nair, as he was fondly called, is survived by his wife Leela and two sons.
A perfectionist to the core and an ace hotelier with finest taste, Captain Nair was born in Kannur district of Kerala in 1922. He received his early education at a small elementary school in his native village and soon joined the Freedom Movement at the young age of 14. Educated in Chennai, Captain Nair after independence volunteered for the Indian Army and rose to the rank of Captain in the Maratha Light Infantry before quitting in 1951 to join his father-in-law’s handloom textile business. He was instrumental in the formation of the All India Handloom Board for modernisation and promotion of handloom textiles. He was instrumental in inventing the “Bleeding Madras” fabric which helped place Indian fabrics on the global map.
In 1957, he set up Leela Scottish Lace Ltd., a lace-making company that was exporting to western countries.
Captain Nair, at a prime age of 65 when people normally retire, ventured into the hospitality sector, and in 1986, set up The Leela Hotel at Andheri, Mumbai’s first five-star hotel in the suburbs. For branding and marketing, he had tied up with Kempinski Hotels of Germany. The contract was annulled recently.
From a single property, he expanded and currently The Leela has eight luxury properties and five more projects are underway. He had also ventured into business parks.
DebtCaptain Nair passed away at a time when his hotel group is reeling under a debt burden of more than Rs.4,600 crore.
He was the recipient of Padma Bhushan, and was conferred the Global 500 Laureate Roll of Honour by the United Nations Environment Program for his passion for environment conservation.
