William Nanda Bissell (born 10 June 1966) an Indian

businessman A businessperson, businessman, or businesswoman is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial or industrial) for th ...

and the

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

Fabindia Fabindia is an Indian chain store retailing garments, furnishings, fabrics and ethnic products Handicraft, handmade by craftspeople across rural India. Established in 1960 by John Bissell, an American working for the Ford Foundation, New Delhi, ...

. Until 2018, Bissell served as the

managing director A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of the company.

Early life and education

Bissell was born to Bimla Nanda, a Punjabi, and John Bissell, an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

from

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

, who came to India in the 1950s as part of a programme by

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death ...

to work with rural craftsmen and develop artisanal clusters in a newly independent nation. In 1960, John Bissell founded

, a company that connected rural craftsmen, weavers and artists from across India to urban markets. Bissell grew up in Delhi and later attended

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Epis ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. After graduating in 1988, Bissell set up an artisans' co-operative based on the

Gandhian The followers of Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest figure of the Indian independence movement, are called Gandhians. Gandhi's legacy includes a wide range of ideas ranging from his dream of ideal India (or ''Rama Rajya)'', economics, environmentalism, ...

model, which involved working with leather workers in Rajasthan. In 1993, Bissell returned to

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

to help John run Fabindia.

Work

Bissell acquired Organic India. He has also served as a trustee of

Centre for Science and Environment Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) is a not-for-profit public interest research and advocacy organisation based in New Delhi, India. Established in 1980, CSE works as a think tank on environment-development issues in India, poor planning, ...

in Delhi. In 2009, he authored ''Making India Work'', published by

Penguin India Penguins ( order Sphenisciformes , family Spheniscidae ) are a group of aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is found north of the Equator. Highly adapt ...

, in which he drew from the experience of working with over 40,000 rural craftspeople in India and addressed India's economical and socio-political challenges.

Investing

Bissell is an

angel investor An angel investor (also known as a business angel, informal investor, angel funder, private investor, or seed investor) is an individual who provides capital for a business or businesses start-up, usually in exchange for convertible debt or owners ...

and has made numerous investments across sectors, some of which include, the publishing platform

Juggernaut Books Juggernaut Books (informally Juggernaut) is digital book publishing house headquartered in New Delhi, India. The publisher emphasizes on short length books written by new writers. It also allows writers to self-publish their books through their ...

Wow! Momo Wow! Momo is an Indian chain of fast food restaurants headquartered in Kolkata. The chain specializes in momos, momo-filled burgers (MoBurgs) and momo-based desserts. It was established in 2008 by St. Xavier's College alumni Sagar Daryani and ...

, educational and school software startup

Foradian Foradian Technologies is a privately held software provider of ERP Solutions for education institutions. Foradian is based in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. The technical office of the firm is situated in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. The compan ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bissell, William Nanda Wesleyan University alumni Indian chief executives 20th-century Indian businesspeople 21st-century Indian businesspeople Indian venture capitalists Angel investors Indian non-fiction writers 1966 births Living people Businesspeople from Punjab, India Punjabi people Indian people of American descent People from New Delhi