Kumar
Muthalagappan
OBE
Kumar Muthalagappan OBE is an entrepreneur and philanthropist and the founder of the KM Foundation, which helps underprivileged communities with healthcare, education initiatives and community related initiatives to progress their lives to a better place.Kumar is a Strategic Advisor to London based Private Equity firm Vitruvian Partners on Healthcare and Lifesciences and is also the Senior Independent Director of Objective Health in the US. He was previously Chairman and CEO of Medinova Research and Oncacare Research, both of which were acquired by ICON Plc in 2019 and 2023 respectively.
Early Years and Education
Born into a Chettiar community, in Virachilai, 250 miles from Madras in southern India, Kumar was raised in Malaysia where his father Muthu ran an independent accountancy firm.
After completing his basic education in Malaysia, Kumar attended Chippenham Technical College in Wiltshire, England, in 1978 and went on to get a degree in Accounting and Financial Analysis at the University of Warwick.
Career
Kumar graduated from the University of Warwick in 1983 and went on to with Birmingham-based KPMG for some 17 years in the areas of Audit, Taxation, Corporate Finance and Bid Defence.
Kumar then built a family business of a chain of hotels and restaurants in towns and cities throughout the UK, including Kenilworth, Stratford Upon Avon, Birmingham, London, Leeds, and Nottingham.
Kumar then worked at board level for many prestigious organisations including Visit Britain, The Olympic Delivery Authority, Alexandra Palace, The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Advantage West Midlands, The University of Warwick, The Belgrade Theatre and the Heart of England Tourist Board.
Kumar was awarded and OBE (Officer of the British Empire) in the 2009 New Year awards for his contribution to Tourism and Hospitality.
Healthcare
In 2000 Kumar and some colleagues acquired MeDiNova, a small clinical research unit in North London that undertook clinical trials for conditions such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and osteoporosis, to develop it into a large clinical trial business. Although healthcare was a completely new industry to Kumar, the opening eventually led to him taking over as CEO and Chairman of the company, increasing turnover from £500,000 to £40million, and growing it to 106 clinical research sites in eight countries globally.
Kumar subsequently led Oncacare, a clinical research company that specialises in oncology research.
Both Medinova Research and Oncacare were acquired by ICON Plc, the largest CRO in the pharmaceutical industry.
Philanthropic work
As mentioned above, Kumar has sat on several local, regional and national boards, (including the Olympic Delivery Authority, Visit Britain, Advantage West Midlands, the Heart of England Tourist Board, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the University of Warwick, Coventry’s Belgrade Theatre, and London’s Alexandra Palace), in order to contribute to their success.
He established his family charity, the KM Foundation, in 2021.
In 2024 the KM Foundation commenced two major projects:
The first was to establish tracheostomy treatment for the state of Punjab in India, a state of 31 million people without access to this service. Professor Guri Sandhu from The London Clinic and Imperial College and Professor Justin Roe from Charing Cross Hospital and Imperial College are leading the project for the charity. They are working with a charitable hospital group in Punjab and training local doctors to undertake this vital work. The KM foundation is responsible for this initiative including the provision of much needed equipment.
The second project is to support music education through the London Music Fund. The KM Foundation will assist up to 30 students a year (ages 16-19 with a keen interest in music) to develop their music interest. This will be done by bursaries to cover musical instruments, tuition and transport, and most importantly to connect them with senior conductors and orchestras globally.
Personal life
Kumar has three children; Seetha, a doctor who will become an endocrinologist very shortly, Deva, a doctor working towards becoming a haematologist, and Dharma, a Natural Sciences 3rd year undergraduate at St John’s College, Cambridge University.