Prestige patriarch TT Jagannathan passes away at 77

BENGALURU: TT Jagannathan, president emeritus of the TTK Group and the unit down the Prestige marque that transformed India’s kitchens, passed distant successful Bengaluru connected October 9. He was 77.A mechanical technologist from IIT Madras and an MS postgraduate from Cornell University, Jagannathan joined the household concern successful the aboriginal 1970s aft a little stint turning astir Tamil Nadu Printers & Traders. At conscionable 26, helium became managing manager of TTK Prestige Ltd successful 1975, steering it from a tiny cooker institution into 1 of India’s astir trusted consumer-durables brands.His pioneering gasket-release strategy acceptable caller information standards for unit cookers and turned Prestige into a household name.

Over the decades, Jagannathan led a dependable diversification crossed cookware, room appliances and home-care products, expanding done the Prestige Smart Kitchen retail web and aboriginal into electrical appliances and cleaning solutions. He besides oversaw the motorboat of Manttra Inc successful the US marketplace successful 1996, making Prestige 1 of the fewer Indian room brands to summation support abstraction successful large American retailers.A recipient of IIT Madras’ Distinguished Alumnus Award successful 1996, Jagannathan represented an aboriginal procreation of Indian industrialists who combined engineering excellence with managerial subject to physique globally competitory businesses.

Under his leadership, TTK Group entered respective caller sectors, including healthcare and idiosyncratic care, and formed partnerships specified arsenic its associated task with SSL International for Durex condoms.He served arsenic president of the Indian Golf Union and was known for his progressive relation successful societal and acquisition causes done initiatives specified arsenic TTK Hospital, T.T. Ranganathan Clinical Research Foundation and the Rotary-TTK Blood Bank successful Chennai.

At the clip of his passing, helium held implicit 42 lakh shares, oregon astir 3.1% involvement successful TTK Prestige Ltd.Expressing condolences, Rajendra Gandhi, Managing Director of rival Stovekraft Ltd, said the manufacture had mislaid “a visionary whose enactment and innovation redefined the Indian kitchenware industry… His bequest volition proceed to usher and animate america all.”Jagannathan is survived by his woman Dr Latha Jagannathan and their 3 sons, each Cornell graduates. His passing marks the extremity of an epoch for 1 of India’s oldest family-run concern houses.