C. Aku Patel

C. Aku Patel

President and CEO Karat 22 Aku-patel

Chitranjan ”Aku” Patel – An immigrant from Africa, Aku Patel completed his Undergrad Degree in Electrical Engineering in the U.K. and his MBA from Cornell University.

Aku Patel’s business, Karat 22 Jewelers was started in 1983 by his wife Meena Patel. The Patels , with support from their children, have expanded the business with branches in Dallas and New York and they are well recognized in the jewelry industry in the United States. Besides specializing in gold ornaments, they are also authorized distributors of well-known brands like Rolex, Rado, Omega, Lladro & Swarvoski, to name a few. The company was awarded the South Asian Chamber of Commerce’s award for the fastest growing company in 1989 and awarded minority retail firm of the year at Minority Enterprise Development Week 2009.

A long time resident of Houston, Akubhai has been actively involved in community affairs, and has supported various Indo- American charities like ICC, Pratham and IACF. A past board member of B.A.P.S. Charities, he currently heads their community outreach department. As an active Board member of IACCGH, he has been responsible for participating in the public safety meetings at the Houston Police Department, on behalf of the Hillcroft /Harwin merchants.