Revi Karunakaran
Revi Karunakaran was an Indian businessman and coir exporter from Kerala. He served as a chairman and managing director of the Karan Group of Companies, which became one of the world's largest exporters of coir products. Karunakaran played a role in modernizing India's coir industry and was a director of the Industrial Development Bank of India. In 2006, his wife Betty Karan built the Revi Karunakaran Memorial Museum in his memory.
Early life and education
Revi Karunakaran was born in Alleppey on 22 November 1931 into an upper class family. He was the son of K.C. Karunakaran, an industrialist who graduated from Heidelberg University, Germany, and Margret, a German National from wealthy family. His grandfather Krishnan Muthalaly was the first Indian to establish a handloom factory to export coir products, which had been a monopoly of European companies until then.Karunakaran completed his early education in Surrey, UK, and later attended high school in Lausanne, Switzerland. He later graduated with a degree in Business Administration from Babson College, MA, USA. Karunakaran was a polyglot and fluent in several languages, including German, French, English, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, and Malayalam.
Life as entrepreneur
After his father's death in 1952, Karunakaran assumed leadership of the Karan group at the age of 20. He was the chairman of the Karan Group, which includes companies such as Kerala Balers, Alleppey Company, and William Goodacre & Sons, all leading coir export houses.Karunakaran participated in trade delegations and represented India at International forums, including the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and UNCTAD. He served as a consultant for FAO for three years as a consultant on hard fibers and participated in the Tariff Negotiations with the European Economic Community countries.