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{{short description|Indian businessman (1922–2014)}}
{{Use Indian English|date=September 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2016}}
{{Infobox person
| name = C. P. Krishnan Nair
| image = CP Krishnan Nair.jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1922|02|09|df=yes}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.myastrologyhoroscope.com/celebrity-horoscopes/cp-krishnan-nair-horoscope|title=C.P. Krishnan Nair Horoscope|access-date=13 February 2011|archive-date=4 September 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120904031342/http://www.myastrologyhoroscope.com/celebrity-horoscopes/cp-krishnan-nair-horoscope|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| birth_place = [[Malabar District]], [[Madras Presidency]], [[British India]] (present day [[Kannur district|Kannur]], [[Kerala]], India)
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2014|05|17|1922|02|09}}
| death_place = [[Mumbai, Maharashtra]], India
| other_names =
| occupation = Founder [[The Leela Group]]
| spouse = {{Marriage|Leela Nair|1950|2014}}
| children = 2
| known_for =
| module = {{Infobox military person
| embed = yes
| allegiance = {{Flag|British India|size=23px}} (1942–47) {{Flag|India|size=23px}} (1947–51)
| branch = {{army|India}}
| serviceyears = 1942–1951
| rank = [[File:Captain of the Indian Army.svg|25px]] [[Captain (armed forces)|Captain]]
| unit = [[Maratha Light Infantry]]
| battles = }}
}}

[[Captain (armed forces)|Captain]] '''Chittarath Poovakkatt Krishnan Nair''' (9 February 1922 – 17 May 2014) was an Indian businessman who founded [[The Leela Group]].<ref>[http://www.theleela.com/chairmans-message.html "Chairman's message"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100923233503/http://www.theleela.com/chairmans-message.html |date=23 September 2010 }} [[Leela Group of Hotels]] website</ref><ref name="le">{{cite web|url=https://www.theleela.com/introduction-history.html|title=History|publisher=The Leela website|access-date=13 February 2011|archive-date=19 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110219053734/http://www.theleela.com/introduction-history.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="bw">{{cite magazine|url=http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=28041514&ticker=SMCG:US&previousCapId=1341375&previousTitle=Unity%20Emerging%20Technology|title=Executive Profile: C. P. Krishnan Nair|magazine=[[Business Week]]}}{{dead link|date=April 2023|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> He was a 2010 recipient of the [[Padma Bhushan]], given by [[Government of India]].<ref>[http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=57307 "This Year’s Padma Awards Announced"] Ministry of Home Affairs, January 25, 2010.</ref> He was sometimes popularly known as '''Captain Nair''' due to his service in the [[Indian Army]].

==Early life and military career==
Nair was born in a village in [[Kannur district]] in northern [[Kerala]] on 9 February 1922. At the time the village was located in the [[Malabar District]] of the [[Madras Presidency]] of the [[British Raj]]. Nair was one of eight children. His father, Appu Nair, worked as a government bill collector earning a monthly income of {{INRConvert|9|year=1922}}. During a visit by the Maharaja of [[Chirakkal, Kannur|Chirakkal]] to his school, Nair wrote and recited a poem in the Maharaja's honour. The poem impressed the Maharaja and he awarded Nair a lifetime scholarship. During his teenage years Nair met [[Communist Party of India|Communist]] leaders such as [[P. Krishna Pillai]] and [[A. K. Gopalan|A.K. Gopalan]].<ref name="Mint">{{cite web|last1=Sanjai|first1=P.R.|title=C.P. Krishnan Nair, founder chairman of Hotel Leelaventure, dies at 92|url=http://www.livemint.com/Specials/zMy2C0fbC5Q2nzF8ttR6VM/CP-Krishnan-Nair-founder-chairman-Hotel-Leelaventure-die.html|website=Mint|access-date=2 September 2016|date=17 May 2014}}</ref>

Nair joined the [[Indian independence movement]] at the age of 13. He traveled to [[Bangalore]] in 1942 to join the [[Indian Army]], and was posted as [[wireless officer]] in [[Abbottabad]] (in present-day Pakistan).<ref name="Mint" />
He became an aid of Netaji Shubhash Chandra Bose and later came in close contact with leaders of Indian Freedom Movement.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Gupte|first=Pranay|url=https://www.livemint.com/Specials/TSpcCkhWm2bDsGmpJJcBOJ/An-appreciation-Capt-C-P-Krishnan-Nair.html|title=An appreciation: Capt. C. P. Krishnan Nair|date=March 17, 2014|work=Live Mint}}</ref>
He rose to the rank of [[Captain (armed forces)|Captain]] in the [[Maratha Light Infantry]].<ref name="Mint" />

==Later career==
After resigning from the Army in 1951, Nair helped establish the All India Handloom Board. At the board he played a major role in marketing hand-spun Indian yarn in the [[United States]]. Through frequent business trips to [[Europe]] and the United States, Nair gained exposure to international hotels such as [[Hotel Adlon|Adlon Kempinski]], [[The Dorchester|Dorchester]], [[Savoy Hotel|Savoy]], [[Four Seasons Hotel George V|George V]] and [[Waldorf Astoria New York|Waldorf-Astoria]], which would inspire his own eventual entry into the hospitality industry.<ref name="Mint" />

In 1958, he joined hands with [[Brooks Brothers]] to announce [[Madras (cloth)|Bleeding Madras fabric]], which later had clients like [[Tommy Hilfiger]], [[Wal-Mart]], [[Liz Claiborne]] and [[Macy's]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2016}}

Later that year, he started a lace-weaving unit in [[Sahar Village, Mumbai|Sahar]], [[Mumbai]].<ref name="Mint" />

===Leela Hotels===
In 1957, Nair was part of a delegation of the All India Handloom Board to [[West Germany]], which involved visits to Frankfurt, Cologne, Munich and Hamburg. Following his stay at the [[Kempinsky Hotel]] in Budapest, he realized the need for a luxury hotel chain in India that could measure up to international standards.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/3748678.cms|title=Tête-à-tête with Captain C P Krishnan Nair|date=24 Nov 2008|work=Economic Times}}</ref> With the [[Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport|Sahar International Airport]] opening in 1981, Nair realized that there were no good hotels in Andheri, the Mumbai suburb where the airport is located.<ref name="Mint" /> Nair established Hotel Leelaventure Ltd. in 1983, and began construction of a hotel in Sahar on 4-acre plot of land that he owned, and an additional 6.5 acres that he leased.<ref name="Mint" />

The first Leela Hotel opened in Mumbai in 1987.<ref name="Mint" /> This was followed by the Leela Palace in Bangalore, The Leela Goa, and the Leela Beach Resort in Thiruvananthapuram.<ref name="bus">{{cite news |url= http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/life/2009/03/13/stories/2009031350010100.htm |title= Mr. Versatile: Actor Nasser continues to make a mark in diverse roles, says malathi rangarajan |date=Mar 13, 2009 |work= Business Line}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.livemint.com/2010/04/16182601/CP-Krishnan-Nair--The-Communi.html |title= Lounge:The Communist who turned luxe|date=Apr 16, 2010 |work= [[Mint (newspaper)|Mint]]}}</ref>

==Awards==
The [[American Academy of Hospitality Sciences]] (AAHS) conferred him a Lifetime Achievement Award and the [[United Nations Environment Programme]] (UNEP) awarded him the [[Global 500 Roll of Honour]] award in 1999.<ref name=bus/><ref name="un">{{cite web|url=http://www.global500.org/ViewLaureate.asp?ID=42|title=Adult Award Winner in 1999: Capt. C. P. Krishnan Nair|publisher=[[Global 500 Roll of Honour]] website|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628175904/http://www.global500.org/ViewLaureate.asp?ID=42|archive-date=28 June 2011|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Eventually he was awarded the [[Padma Bhushan]], by [[Government of India]] in 2010. He was also awarded the "Hotelier of The Century" Award by [[International Hotels and Restaurant Association]], based in Geneva, Switzerland, in 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ih-ra.com/ihra-awards/hotelier-of-the-century/|title=Hotelier of The Century|publisher=[[International Hotel & Restaurant Association]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110122054959/http://www.ih-ra.com/ihra-awards/hotelier-of-the-century/|archive-date=22 January 2011|df=dmy-all}}</ref> He stepped down as the chairman of Hotel Leela on 7 February 2013 and was succeeded by his eldest son, Vivek Nair.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://profit.ndtv.com/news/corporates/article-hotel-leela-founder-steps-down-as-chairman-317583?pfrom=home-business..!|title = Hotel Leela founder steps down as chairman| date=7 February 2013 }}</ref>

==Death==
Krishnan Nair died at 3:30 AM IST on 17 May 2014 at the [[Hinduja Hospital]] in Mumbai, following a brief illness.<ref>{{cite web|title=Leela Group founder Capt. C P Krishnan Nair dies at 92|url=http://news.biharprabha.com/2014/05/leela-group-founder-capt-c-p-krishnan-nair-dies-at-92/|work=IANS|publisher=news.biharprabha.com|access-date=17 May 2014}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Nair married Leela (after whom he named his hotel group), the daughter of industrialist A. K. Nair, in 1950. They had two sons, Vivek Nair and Dinesh Nair. Vivek is the current chairman and managing director of the Leela Group, while Dinesh is the co-chairman of Leela group. Nair is a relative of [[V. P. Menon]], an Indian [[civil servant]] who was the Constitutional Adviser and Political Reforms Commissioner to the last three Viceroys during British rule in India.<ref name = "virsanghvi">{{cite web|last1=Sanghvi|first1=Vir|title=Captain Nair always thought big|url=http://virsanghvi.com/Article-Details.aspx?key=1062|website=Vir Sanghvi|access-date=19 August 2015}}</ref> Leela Krishnan Nair died on 16 May 2021, a day before her husband's seventh death anniversary.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.theleela.com/the-leela/about-the-leela/history/ C. P. Krishnan Nair, Official webpage] at ''[[Leela Group of Hotels]]'' website

{{PadmaBhushanAwardRecipients 2010–19}}
{{Padma Award winners of Kerala}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nair, C. P. Krishnan}}
[[Category:Businesspeople from Kannur]]
[[Category:1922 births]]
[[Category:2014 deaths]]
[[Category:Malayali people]]
[[Category:Indian hoteliers]]
[[Category:Indian businesspeople in the textile industry]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in trade and industry]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian businesspeople]]
[[Category:Indian Army personnel]]

C. P. Krishnan Nair - Revision history

CleanupBot at 07:20, 22 March 2026