Farooq Kathwari

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Farooq Kathwari
Farooq Kathwari at Center for Strategic & International Studies.jpg
Kathwari in 2013
Personal details
Born1944 (age 8081)
Education University of Kashmir (BA)
New York University (MBA)

Farooq Kathwari (born 1944), is a Kashmiri-American businessman and philanthropist who is the Chairman, CEO, and President of Ethan Allen Interiors. [1] [2]

Contents

Early life and education

Kathwari was born in Srinagar, Kashmir, to a father from a long-time merchant family and a mother from one of the royal families of Kashmir. [3] In his teens, he was a passionate cricketer and later became the captain of the cricket team at his alma mater, Kashmir University, where he majored in literature and political science. [3] He emigrated to the United States in 1965, following his father, who had moved to New York in 1964. There, he went on to pursue a graduate degree in business at New York University, which he completed in 1968. [3]

Career

His early career began modestly. He first took a job at a factory in Queens, which he believed produced shower stalls, but his employment ended quickly when he was dismissed upon receiving his first paycheck. [3] He then responded to a bookkeeping job advertisement, despite lacking prior knowledge of the field. [3] On his first day, a secretary provided him with a brief introduction to bookkeeping during the lunch break, enabling him to start the role. [3]

After receiving his graduate degree from NYU, he began his career as a financial analyst at Bear Stearns and later became a vice president at New Court Securities. [3] Alongside his finance career, he operated a business importing handicrafts from Kashmir, which were sold wholesale to Bloomingdale’s. [3]

In the early 1970s, he established a partnership with Ethan Allen to supply Kashmiri crewelwork for the company’s upholstery fabrics, creating a firm called KEA International. [3] Ethan Allen acquired the company in 1980 and appointed Kathwari as a vice president. He advanced to executive vice president in 1983, president and chief operating officer in 1985, and was named chairman and chief executive officer in 1988. [3]

He has been leading Ethan Allen Interiors since 1985, and four years later he formed a group to purchase Ethan Allen from Interco, a conglomerate, and subsequently took the company public. Under Kathwari's leadership, Ethan Allen Interiors has been transformed into a leading manufacturer and retailer of home furnishings in the United States.

Personal life

Farooq Kathwari is married to Farida, who is also from Kashmir. They have 2 sons, one of whom was killed while visiting Jalalabad, Afghanistan, during the Afghan Civil War, and a daughter. [4] [5] They live in New Rochelle, New York. He also owns a fruit farm in Columbia County, New York. [6]

References

  1. James R. Hagerty (12 November 2015). "Ethan Allen's Chief in Fight of His Life". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 16 October 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  2. "Farooq Kathwari (MBA '68), CEO of Ethan Allen, Joins Professor Michael Posner as Part of the C-Suite Speaker Series". New York University - Stern Center for Business and Human Rights website. 14 March 2018. Archived from the original on 11 July 2024. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Kathwari, M. Farooq | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2025-09-09.
  4. "Ethan Allen CEO Farooq Kathwari Shares Remarkable Personal Journey, Discusses Business and Community Leadership | Asia Society". 28 May 2021.
  5. "Heard in the high offices". November 2010.
  6. "Farooq Kathwari: Classic American Design and a Classic American Success Story". The New York Times. 19 September 2015.