Farooq Kathwari

Kathwari was born in Srinagar, Kashmir, to a father from a long-time merchant family and a mother from one of Kashmir’s royal families, about whom his brother Rafiq Khatwari wrote the book My Mother’s Scribe.^[3][4] 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]

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.

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.^[5][6] They live in New Rochelle, New York. He also owns a fruit farm in Columbia County, New York.^[7]