CLRI has been bestowed with a strong and dynamic leadership from the inception. Prof.B.M.Das, the founder Director of this Institute made tremendous impact and laid very strong foundation. He was succeeded by Prof.Y.Nayudamma, a visionary who has contributed a lot for the growth of the Institute by establishing close linkages with the Indian leather industry on one hand and International agencies on the other. Prof.M.Santappa, Dr.N.Ramanathan and Mr.T.S.Krishnan have not only consolidated the gains but also made remarkable impact for the growth of this Institute. Dr.G.Thyagarajan added new strength both in terms of infrastructure and expertise and brought greater visibility to the Institute. He was succeeded by Prof.R.B.Mitra and followed by Dr.K.V.Raghavan. Both followed the footsteps of their predecessors and made significant contributions for the development of the Institute. Dr.T.Ramasami, (now Secreatry DST), took the leadership of this Institute during January 1996 and gave a new thrust and vision to the Institute’s activities. His Vision was to make CLRI a Global Leader in Leather Research. Thus his strong leadership made this Institute an international name in the leather research. In addition to the top leadership, the commitment and the good work culture of the colleagues made this Institute one of the top ranking laboratories of CSIR family.