R S Agarwal & R S Goenka

Founders & Jt.Chairman – Emami Group

Totally attuned and complementing each other, Mr. R S Agarwal and Mr. R S Goenka share the same thoughts in matters of innovation, ideation, activation, implementation which led them to create and build, brand Emami – a diversified leading business entity Company built to last. Today, Emami Group, under the aegis of the founding fathers enjoys leadership presence in diverse sectors like FMCG, newsprint & board manufacturing, hospitals, edible oil, bio-diesel, realty, writing instrument, retail and contemporary art, generating employment for more than 20,000 people. Apart from their sharp business acumen and leadership skills, both the friends-cum-business partners are great connoisseurs of myriad genres of performing arts, be it music, art, dance or theatre. Mr. Agarwal and Mr. Goenka's exquisite taste and love for arts led them to conceptualize & establish Emami Art, one of the largest contemporary art galleries in India and Kolkata Centre of Creativity, a one of its kind integrated art centre in India to nurture inter-disciplinary pursuits of art and culture.

An avid reader and writer, Mr. R S Agarwal is a passionate collector of art and owns an impressive and vast collection of many priceless works from all over the world. He has a penchant for giving expression to his thoughts in the contours of his poems. The two editions of Bhavdhara, are his published books on his collection of poems, featuring his ruminations on life and its tenets. Their book titled 'Business the Emami Way', a handbook on business ethics & management published in 2016, went on to become a best seller. On the other hand, possessing an eclectic taste for fine arts, Mr R S Goenka also matches up to the creative inspirations with Agarwal and shares many stimulating moments together. He has also fondly written the foreword of Agarwal's first book of poems 'Bhavdhara'. A philanthropist by heart, Goenka is associated with a number of schools, charitable trusts and philanthropic organizations.

Among innumerable awards and recognitions for their outstanding contribution to the industry and society as a whole, both the founding fathers have been conferred with the distinction of Degree of D.Litt (Honoris Causa) by KIIT University of Bhubaneswar in 2017.

Richa Agarwal

Chairperson, KCC

Motivated by her prolific father-in-law R. S. Agarwal & his business partner, R S Goenka's passion for art, Richa Agarwal is keen to preserve the artistic legacy and heritage of Bengal, whilst embracing its modern and contemporary avatar. A commerce graduate from Coimbatore, Richa's innate sense of business and her experience with the family's businesses made her initiation into the business of arts smoother. Richa's vision for Emami Art and Kolkata Center for Creativity is dominated by a concern for young Indian artists. She is deeply engaged in the advancement of art appreciation. This commitment to the cause of visual art has made her embark on a project that is playfully blurring the line between art and commerce. Emami Art and Kolkata Centre for Creativity will, she aspires, propel Kolkata as a hub of contemporary art. Wife, mother, daughter-in-law, home-maker and business woman, Richa Agarwal juggles several roles with effortless panache.