KK, the man who embodied values of the Tata group

While many will remember him for his daring acquisition of Tetley, which made Tata Tea the second-largest tea company in the world, there are others who will tell you tales of his legendary managerial capabilities and the foresight he brought to every task he undertook.

I first met KK (as he was fondly known) in 1990 when I was a mere account executive at Ogilvy and Mather (as it was then called), and we were mandated to see if there was any merit in launching a brand of spices under the Tata brand.

Darbari Seth was both chairman of Tata Tea as also Tata Chemicals, and Tata Salt was a brand that Tata Chemicals had launched and made into a huge success.

KK was the finest client you could ever have. The spices project was dropped owing to two issues: one was packaging for certain spices (turmeric and red chillies caused seepage), and the other was there were many strong regional spices brands which would be difficult to dislodge, not to mention the fact that homemakers preferred grinding their own spices’ powder from whole spices.

A lot of time and money had been spent on this exercise, and Tata Tea could have easily afforded entry costs, but that wasn’t KK’s style. His style was to ensure market leadership. Always at a profit. A trait he brought to the Indian Hotels Co. (the Taj) when KK took over in 1997 as its managing director. From a commodity like tea to luxury associated with hotels, KK was always at ease. He brought a rare brilliance to all he did.

I sought his counsel when I decided to retire from all work in 2006. He was aghast and said how on earth could I quit when I was only 43? It was KK who suggested I start a boutique marketing consultancy (Counselage), and he started me off with the Taj.

It was then that I realized, in KK, many of us had life-long mentors, and his goodness never allowed his objectivity to fade. I’ve spent some of my most memorable professional moments with KK, and every time that we have met, I’ve come away enriched.

When the dastardly 26/11 attack took place, I could see the grief and, at times, the helplessness on KK’s face. As also Ratan Tata’s (RNT’s). The respect that KK had for RNT was unimaginable, and I have never ever heard KK refer to Mr Tata as anything but ‘the chairman’.

My last meeting with him and his wife Ratna was at their home when my wife and our then two-and-a-half-year-old daughter went to have tea with him in June 2022. I was keen for KK to bless our daughter, and his smile and the twinkle in his eye that day will forever be etched in my mind.

In his passing, India is much the poorer. He was a humanist and, more importantly, someone who epitomized goodness. While we shall mourn his loss, the heavens will surely light up.

Suhel Seth is managing partner of Counselage India.