K.S. Narayanan, Chairman Emeritus of the Sanmar Group, passed away here on Friday. He was 93 and is survived by his sons, N. Sankar and N. Kumar.
Mr. Narayanan, as one of his long-time associates remarked, “walked with kings and commoners.” He treated all alike, and earned the respect of one and all in and outside his organisation.
A co-promoter of the India Cements Ltd., he went to Denmark in the late 1940s and returned with a thorough knowledge of cement and PVC. A technology-savvy industrialist, it used to be said that he could run the plant on his own. With a well-diversified knowledge base, he dealt with a range of industries — cement, plastics, sugar, drugs and pharmaceuticals, shipping, ceramic insulators, rubber and calcium carbide. He was involved in the promotion of diverse enterprises such as Chemplast Sanmar Limited, Sanmar Shipping Limited, WS Industries Ltd. and Tamil Nadu Dadha Pharmaceuticals.
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Mr. Narayanan was the founder president of the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce-Southern Region and former president of the Hindustan Chamber of Commerce. He also served as the Sheriff of Madras (1974) and as the Honorary Consul of Denmark for South India.
He was involved in the management of several educational and charitable organisations such as the Indian Education Trust, Mrs. Madhuram Narayanan Charitable Foundation, the Sanmar Welfare Trust and the Uttara Swamimalai Trust, among others.
Mr. Narayanan lent a helping hand to good causes — from fighting cancer and eye ailments to promoting schools. He had a long association with the Music Academy, Chennai, and was once its Managing Trustee.
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Much before the Indian Premier League took the Indian cricket by storm, Mr. Narayanan was an owner of a cricket team, Jolly Rovers.