UKwww.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 27th July 2013 9

London based banker,Arup Ganguly, is the latestindividual to join thegrowing cast of senior Cityworkers who havebranched off into commu-nity service initiatives.Arup is the foundingchairman of Sewa Day, avolunteering initiative thatUK Prime Minister, DavidCameron, has described asone of the most significantsocial initiatives to emergefrom the UK Hindu com-munity in recent years - aninitiative which had over50,000 participants inover 20 countries last year.Mr Ganguly and his col-leagues aim to attract1,000,000 participantswithin five years.

Arup was born in theUK, the son of a HinduBengali restaurateur. Anearly pioneer of the Britishcurry industry, MahendraGanguly arrived in thecountry in the mid-1950s,and built a chain of restau-rants in west London."The selflessness of myparent’s generation, theirpositivity and determina-

tion is mind blowing", saysArup, who has inheritedan attitude of always"looking to the future,focussing on the now andnot dwelling on the past".

Arup completed his

secondary education inNew Delhi, India. Histime in India was influen-tial. "I went to India whenI was 14 pretty much aBritish kid and I cameback four years later as a

Leading LightsRani Singh, Special Assignments Editor

Arup Ganguly

KNG Founder Arup Ganguly - Curry, the City and Caring

British Indian." The expe-rience and network hegained in India also camein handy later on in busi-ness. Arup returned toEngland at the age of 18 toresume his education,graduating with an hon-ours degree in Economics.While at university, Arupheld down two jobs to payhis way. He worked parttime with Citibank as wellas working at his father’srestaurant in the evenings."My father wanted me tounderstand very early onthat nothing worth havingin life comes for free. Ithink he was also torn ashe wanted to pass on hislegacy to me but alsowanted me to become adoctor, an accountant orsome other form of profes-sional" . Arup choseoption two and ended upworking for investmentbanking firm, GoldmanSachs (after a stint atGeneral Electric).However, as he looks backon the times he spent inthe restaurant workingalongside his “extendedfamily” of Muslim andHindu co-workers, herecalls them as some ofthe happiest memories ofhis working life. Arupspent 12 years withGoldman, working inLondon, New York andthe Cayman Islands andreached the level of VicePresident in the firm’sequities trading division.While at the bank, Arup

co-founded the firm’sAsian ProfessionalNetwork, sat on the firm'sdiversity committee andcaptained the division’srecruitment efforts inIndia. "When I joined thefirm in 1990, I was theonly Asian in my divisionin London. By the time Ileft, many young, talentedAsians had managed toenter the firm and findsuccess." Arup left theinvestment bank in 2002and one year later co-founded his own city firm,KNG Securities LLP.KNG is a specialist bondtrading and corporatefinance firm. Amongst itsmany activities, KNG hasbeen active in raising

funds for a large numberof Indian corporations.Arup commented, "start-ing our own business wasa leap of faith but I haveno regrets. Today KNG isone of the fastest growinginvestment houses in theCity of London.”

Away from commerce,Arup has had an interestin community issues froman early age but theGujarat earthquake of

2001 catapulted his socialconscience into action.This led to Arup's initialcontact with SewaInternational, the Indiancharity. Arup raised fundsfor the relief effort in 2001and became a regular fundraiser for the charity. In2007, Sewa Internationalinvited Arup to take thelead at its London chapter.Three years later, Arupand a group of friends setup Sewa Day. The SewaDay mission is to get asmany people to come outon to the streets and theparks, the homeless shel-ters and the hospices andgive their time. At the coreof Sewa Day is a desire tochange people’s attitudestoward volunteering. It’sabout forming the habit togive one’s time purely forthe benefit of another. Tothat end, Arup says thatschool children havebecome a major focus.Sewa Day launched itsUNESCO endorsedschools programme lastyear with over 80 schoolsparticipating.

Arup resides inLondon with his wife(whom he met at universi-ty) and three sons. Whenasked about what thefuture holds, Arup says,“between family life, workcommitments and SewaDay my life is pretty full”but he doesn’t rule outexploring a career in pub-lic service some placedown the road.

“Starting our

own business

was a leap of

faith but I have

no regrets.”

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