Farooq Kathwari is the Chairman, President and Chief Executive officer of Ethan Allen Interiors Inc.

Ethan Allen (furniture company)

Ethan Allen Global, Inc. is a North American furniture chain with almost 300 stores across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1932 by two brothers-in-law, Nathan S...

  He has been president of the Company since 1985 and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer since 1988. In 1989 he formed a group to purchase Ethan Allen and took the Company public in 1993. Under Mr. Kathwari’s leadership Ethan Allen has been transformed into a leading manufacturer and retailer of home furnishings in the United States.

Biography

He received his B.A. degree from Kashmir University

University of Kashmir

-Faculties/Departments:* Arts** Department of Arabic** Department of Urdu** Department of English** Department of Kashmiri** Department of Foreign Languages** Department of Library and Information Science** Department of Linguistics...

 in English Literature

English literature

English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....

 and Political Science

Political science

Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...

 and an M.B.A. in International Marketing

Marketing

Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...

 from New York University

New York University

New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...

.

In 1992 his eldest son Irfan then 19, died while fighting with Mujahideen

Mujahideen

Mujahideen are Muslims who struggle in the path of God. The word is from the same Arabic triliteral as jihad .Mujahideen is also transliterated from Arabic as mujahedin, mujahedeen, mudžahedin, mudžahidin, mujahidīn, mujaheddīn and more.-Origin of the concept:The beginnings of Jihad are traced...

 in Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

.

Mr. Kathwari serves on several not-for-profit organizations, including: Chairman of the National Retail Federation

National Retail Federation

The National Retail Federation is the world's largest retail trade association. Its members include department store, specialty, discount, catalog, Internet, and independent retailers, and chain restaurants and grocery stores. Members also include businesses that provide goods and services to...

, Chairman of Refugees International

Refugees International

Refugees International is a humanitarian organization supporting refugees and stateless people. It publishes annual reports, as well as approximately twenty-five field reports throughout the year on refugee issues, as well as comments on international aid issues around the world...

, Chairman of the Kashmir Study Group, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations

Council on Foreign Relations

The Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit nonpartisan membership organization, publisher, and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs...

, a Trustee of the World Conference of Religions for Peace, a Trustee of Freedom House

Freedom House

Freedom House is an international non-governmental organization based in Washington, D.C. that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom and human rights...

, a Director of Henry L. Stimson Center, a Director of the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University

Georgetown University

Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...

, a Director of Dialogues: Islamic World-U.S.-The West at New York University, a member of the Mahatma Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...

 Center for Global Nonviolence Advisory Board, a member of the American Committees on Foreign Relations’ Board of Distinguished Advisors, and a Director of the American Home Furnishings Alliance.

He has received several recognitions, including the “Outstanding American by Choice Award” by the United States Government; “Spirit of Asian American Award” from the Asian American Federation of New York; EPIIC Global Citizenship Award from Tufts University

Tufts University

Tufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...

; Eleanor Roosevelt

Eleanor Roosevelt

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...

 Val-Kill Medal; Honoree from the International Center in New York; “National Human Relations Award” by the American Jewish Committee

American Jewish Committee

The American Jewish Committee was "founded in 1906 with the aim of rallying all sections of American Jewry to defend the rights of Jews all over the world...

; “American Muslim Recognition Awards” by several organizations; Worth Magazine Recognition of one of 50 Best CEO’s in USA; the National Retail Federation

National Retail Federation

The National Retail Federation is the world's largest retail trade association. Its members include department store, specialty, discount, catalog, Internet, and independent retailers, and chain restaurants and grocery stores. Members also include businesses that provide goods and services to...

 Gold Medal; recipient of the International First Freedom Award from the Council for America’s First Freedom, Ernst & Young

Ernst & Young

Ernst & Young is one of the largest professional services networks in the world and one of the "Big Four" accountancy firms, along with Deloitte, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers ....

’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award and the Anti-Defamation League

Anti-Defamation League

The Anti-Defamation League is an international non-governmental organization based in the United States. Describing itself as "the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency", the ADL states that it "fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects...

’s Humanitarian Award.