Titans Russi and Capt. Nair die
Two captains of industry are no more — former chairman and managing director of Tata Steel Russi Mody and Leela Group founder Captain Krishnan Nair. Russi Mody, who always considered himself a “Tatas man”, passed away late Friday night at his home in Alipore, Kolkata. He was 96. Mody had been suffering from age- related illness.
Captain Nair died in Mumbai early Saturday morning. Nair, 92, survived by wife Leela and sons Vivek Nair and Dinesh Nair, will be cremated at Pawan Hans Crematorium in Juhu, Mumbai, at 3 pm on Sunday. Born in 1922, Krishnan Nair began his career in the Indian Army in 1942 before starting Leela Lace, a garment unit, in Mumbai in 1957. Captain Nair’s tryst with the hotel industry began after travelling extensively abroad in connection with his garment business.
Russi Mody held important positions in the Tata Group and led Tata Steel till he retired in the early 1990s. He was once considered a contender to head the Tata Group before Mr Ratan Tata took charge.