The late TTK Group chairman, T.T. Jagannathan, who made Prestige Pressure Cookers a household name, has been posthumously honoured with the Padma Shri by the central government. The award recognizes his exceptional contributions to commerce and industry, marking him as one of India’s most influential business leaders.
Jagannathan, who passed away in October last year at the age of 77, held key responsibilities at TTK Prestige for nearly five decades. Fondly referred to as the “Kitchen Moghul” of India, he transformed the company from a pressure-cooker manufacturer into a leading full-fledged kitchen solutions brand, expanding into electrical appliances and other home products.
Apart from his business acumen, Jagannathan was also an innovator. He invented the ‘GRS (Gravy Release Safety) mechanism’ for pressure cookers, which revolutionized kitchen safety by reducing cooking accidents. Under his leadership, he turned TTK Group from a financially indebted company into a debt-free, profitable enterprise, setting new benchmarks in Indian entrepreneurship.
A gold medallist from IIT Madras with a PhD in Operations from Cornell University, Jagannathan had a deep passion for cooking, often stating that every new innovation began in the kitchen. Under his guidance, Prestige expanded into international markets including the U.S. and U.K., and he also authored the acclaimed book Disrupt and Conquer – How TTK Prestige Became a Billion-Dollar Company, chronicling his journey from a domestic brand to a global household name.