Ravin Gandhi

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Ravin Gandhi
Ravin Gandhi photograph.jpg
Gandhi in 2017
Born1973 (age 51–52)
Waukegan, Illinois, United States
EducationCPA and MBA
Alma mater University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
Kellogg Graduate School of Management
OccupationCEO
Political party Democratic (-2024)
Republican (2024-present)
SpouseSonal Gandhi
Children2

Ravin Gandhi (born 1973) is an American businessman. Gandhi was an executive with Coatings and Chemicals Corporation before its sale to Akzo Nobel. He later founded Glenborn Partners, a private equity firm, and GMM Nonstick Coatings, where he remained its CEO after its 2016 sale to Showa Denko.

Contents

Early life and education

Ravin Gandhi was born in Waukegan, Illinois in 1973. [1] [2] He graduated from Glenbrook South High School in 1990, graduated from University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in 1994, and became a CPA. [3] [4] [5] Gandhi received his MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management in 2000. [6]

Career

Gandhi began his career in 1994 working as a chartered accountant at KPMG Consulting, before joining his father's company Coatings and Chemicals Corporation. Gandhi eventually engineered the company's sale to Akzo Nobel in 1998. Following the sale, he became President of Akzo Nobel Nonstick Coatings. In 2002, he founded Glenborn Partners, a private equity firm. [5] In 2007, Gandhi founded GMM Nonstick Coatings, following the end of his non-compete clause with Akzo Nobel. [5] [7] GMM became one of the world's largest suppliers of non-stick coatings, [8] [9] and was acquired by Showa Denko KK in 2016. Following the sale, Gandhi remained the CEO of GMM, [10] and in 2019 led the acquisition by SDK of ILAG nonstick coatings. [11] In 2024, Gandhi stepped down from GMM. [12]

As an investor, [13] Gandhi is also an investor in Hester Biosciences, Throne Labs, and the first investor in KeyMe. [14] [15] He is also a commentator on CNBC, [16] CNN, [17] Bloomberg, [18] Fox Business, [19] Fox News, [20] and MSNBC, [21] and a contributor to Fortune , [22] Inc. Magazine , [23] and Entrepreneur . [24]

Filmmaking

Gandhi wrote and directed the 2021 crime thriller film 100 Days to Live . Much of the film was shot over three weeks inside and outside Gandhi's apartment building and in his neighborhood while he remained CEO of GMM Nonstick Coatings. [25] 100 Days to Live had its world premiere at the 2019 San Diego International Film Festival, where it won Best World Premiere and Best First Time Director for Ravin Gandhi. [26] Cinedigm Entertainment Group released 100 Days to Live on Apple TV, Amazon, DirectTV, Xfinity, DISH, Google Play, iTunes, YouTube, and other digital platforms and DVD and Blu-ray on February 2, 2021, followed by a release on Amazon Prime on May 3, 2021. [27] [28]

Personal life

Gandhi was a critic of Donald Trump during the 2016 Presidential election, [29] and in 2017 his criticisms made national news when an oped he wrote resulted in a racist backlash, [30] including racist emails, tweets, and voicemails. [31] He wrote his piece in reaction to the Charlottesville incident. [32] Gandhi also serves on the board of City Year Chicago. [33]

Gandhi was honored as the 2021 Distinguished Alumnus at Glenbrook South High School. [3] [34] In 2022, Gandhi created and funded a program to boost parental involvement at Andrew Cooke Magnet Elementary School in Waukegan, Illinois which he attended as a child. [35] In 2025, Gandhi was honored at the City Year Ripples of Hope Gala for his dedication to education. [36]

Gandhi revealed that he had left the Democratic Party in 2024, citing the leftward shift of the party. In August 2025, he told Fox News, "I was a 20-year Democrat. I voted for every Democratic president, including Joe Biden. After 20 years, in 2024 I voted for President Trump. The reason is when I saw what Biden did on the border, with wokeism, with decriminalizing crime, and most importantly, the socialism I see coming out of the Democratic Party. There are so many centrists like me who feel we did not leave the Democratic Party - the Democratic Party left us. Democrats just nominated an actual socialist to be the Mayor of New York City. That is insane. I think the Democratic Party has a lot of soul-searching to do, because it's lost a lot of people like me who were with them for decades." [37] Gandhi has since publicly spoken favorably about Trump's economic policies. [38] [39] [40]

References

  1. ↑ "GMM Cooks up Durable Nonstick Market - Middle Market Growth". 26 May 2015. Archived from the original on 6 November 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  2. ↑ Aziz Haniffa (September 16, 2017). "Exec Sports an All-American Fighting Spirit". India Abroad. Archived from the original on December 8, 2022. Retrieved September 28, 2017.
  3. 1 2 "2021 Distinguished Alumnus Award". Glenbrook South High School. June 12, 2021. Archived from the original on June 12, 2021. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Life After an Exit: How Entrepreneurs Transition to the Next Stage" (PDF). Columbia University. October 4, 2011.
  5. 1 2 3 Eugene Lang Entrepreneurship Center: at Columbia Business School for Credit Suisse. "Entrepreneurs White Paper 03: Columbia Business School" (PDF). p. 18.{{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  6. ↑ ALLY MAROTTI (July 16, 2015). "Shh, this company wants to stay anonymous". Chicago Crain's Business.
  7. ↑ MacArthur, Kate. "How a Chicago CEO sold new nonstick surfaces to KitchenAid, Calphalon". Chicago Tribune.
  8. ↑ Behal, Ambika. "Why India Is A More Optimistic Foreign Investment Bet Than China". Forbes Magazine.
  9. ↑ "The Allstate's CEO Spotlight: Ravin Gandhi of GMM Nonstick Coatings". WGN Radio. 16 May 2016.
  10. ↑ Elahi, Amina. "Chicagoan's GMM Nonstick Coatings acquired by Japanese chemicals giant". Chicago Tribune.
  11. ↑ EMILY CAPPIELLO (May 28, 2019). "Showa Denko Acquires ILAG Coatings Group".
  12. ↑ Hudson, Wendell. "GMM Nonstick Coatings founder and CEO Ravin Gandhi to leave by year-end". Chicago Business Journal.
  13. ↑ Lise Graham (June 12, 2017). "Ravin Gandhi: From CEO to Investor". WGN.
  14. ↑ "New York startup aims to be king of keys". Chicago Business. 23 March 2016.
  15. ↑ Brittany Shoot (May 7, 2016). "How This Man Raised $31 Million in VC Funding in 4 Years". Entrenpreneur magazine.
  16. ↑ Barhat, Vikram (18 May 2017). "Apple is now making iPhones in India. India experts say: Good luck". CNBC.
  17. ↑ "CNN.com - Transcripts". www.cnn.com.
  18. ↑ Sarah Gardner (July 6, 2018). "Trump's Tariffs Are Hammering America in the Face, CEO Says". Bloomberg.
  19. ↑ "Trump trade war means economic catastrophe, US CEO warns". FoxBusiness.com. 4 June 2018.
  20. ↑ "Rise in US dollar's value delivers gains and losses from Asia to Europe to the US". FoxNews.com. 25 May 2015.
  21. ↑ "CEO critical of Trump responds to angry backlash". MSNBC.com.
  22. ↑ Gandhi, Ravin. "Why Every Great Leader Needs To Make Bad Decisions". Fortune Magazine.
  23. ↑ "The One Thing You Need to Build a $1 Million Business". Inc. Magazine. 21 September 2015.
  24. ↑ BizCast. "Start Speaking the Language of Business and Know Your Numbers". Entrepreneur Magazine.
  25. ↑ "Op-ed: I left my job as CEO for 21 days to make a movie. Here's the Hollywood ending". CNBC. 2020-11-06. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
  26. ↑ "The San Diego International Film Festival Announces Their 2019 Film Award Winners". Broadway World. 2019-11-05. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
  27. ↑ "Colin Egglesfield Rom-Com Fans Will See His Darker Side in '100 Days to Live' (Exclusive)". Showbiz Cheat Sheet. 2021-01-28. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
  28. ↑ "100 Days to Live bows on Amazon May 3 (Exclusive)". Scare Magazine. 2021-04-15. Retrieved 2021-04-15.
  29. ↑ Rapoza, Kenneth. "American Executives In China Join Forces Against Trump". Forbes .
  30. ↑ Kristine Phillips (August 23, 2017). "'Go back to where the pigs live in India,' a racist caller told a CEO who rebuked Trump". The Washington Post.
  31. ↑ Nick Blumberg (August 23, 2017). "After Publicly Criticizing Trump, Chicago CEO Faces Racist Backlash".
  32. ↑ "Indian-Origin CEO Ravin Gandhi Faces Racial Abuse From Donald Trump Supporters In US". NDTV. August 23, 2017.
  33. ↑ "City Year Chicago Board - City Year Chicago". City Year.
  34. ↑ Dave Oberhelman (August 18, 2022). "From humble beginnings". Daily Herald.
  35. ↑ "Parents to be paid to help teachers at Waukegan school". Chicago Tribune. July 29, 2022.
  36. ↑ "City Year Chicago Ripples of Hope Gala". PJH & Associates, Inc.
  37. ↑ "President Trump's rebate check". Live Now Fox .
  38. ↑ "Wall Street may have overplayed fears around capital expenditure". Investment News. Bloomberg.
  39. ↑ Schemmel, Alec. "Business experts say Biden regulations have stifled growth: 'America wants a different choice'". Fox News .
  40. ↑ Delouya, Samantha. "Trump wants to revive US manufacturing. That's not so easy". CNN .
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