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Draft:Ajay Chowdhury

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  • Comment: This needs encyclopaediac reformatting. Some of the sources may be reliable but are our shadowed by unreliable sources. Pls remove them. Safari ScribeEdits! Talk! 01:35, 4 June 2024 (UTC)

Ajay Chowdhury (born 1962[1]) is a British Indian author known for the Kamil Rahman series of crime novels set in London's East End.

Literary career

[edit]

Chowdhury's debut children's novel Ayesha & The Firefish[2] (Puffin Books, 2016) was adapted into a musical in 2020.[3] Chowdhury's first adult novel The Waiter[4] (Harvill Secker, 2021) introduced the Kamil Rahman series and won the inaugural Harvill Secker/Bloody Scotland award for debut BAME crime writers.[5] It is being adapted for television.[6] Subsequent Kamil Rahman novels include The Cook[7] (Harvill Secker, 2022, Guardian[8] and Times[9] Crime Book of the Year), The Detective[10] (Harvill Secker, 2023, Sunday Times Crime Book of the year[11]), and The Spy[12] (Harvill Secker, 2024, longlisted for Wilbur Smith Adventure Prize.[13]). His short story The Confession was longlisted for a CWA award[14]

Prior to becoming a novelist, Chowdhury was Artistic Director of Rented Space Theatre London[15][16] and directed several plays in London, including Asian adaptations of Shakespeare's Cymbeline[17] and The Merchant of Venice.[18]

Early life and education

[edit]

Chowdhury holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Mumbai,[19] an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania,[20] and a diploma in theatre directing from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London.[21]

Business career

[edit]

Chowdhury began his professional career at Bain & Company management consultants.[22] He subsequently served as CEO of LineOne[23] and Managing General Partner at IDG Ventures Europe venture capital firm.[24] Chowdhury was Chairman of Shazam[25] before its acquisition by Apple Inc. in 2018.[26] After Shazam, he held CEO positions at tech companies Comqi and Seatwave,[27] the latter acquired by Ticketmaster.[28] He retired as a senior partner at the Boston Consulting Group in 2024.[29]

Board roles and honours

[edit]

Chowdhury has served as a non-executive director on the boards of the UK Government's Department of Culture, Media and Sport,[30] Historic Royal Palaces,[31] and Arts Council London.[32] He currently chairs Cambridge Enterprise, the commercialization arm of the University of Cambridge. In 2019, he was included in a list of 30 pioneers in Asian tech by a Diversity UK.[33] He won the Dealmaker of the Year 2015 award from M&A Magazine[34] and was honored as one of the Top 100 Asian tech stars in the UK.[35]

Personal life

[edit]

Chowdhury is married with three daughters.[citation needed]

References

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  1. ^ "Ajay CHOWDHURY personal appointments - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  2. ^ "Ayesha and the Firefish". Penguin Random House India. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  3. ^ "The Case of the Vanishing Firefish". Enacte Arts. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  4. ^ Chowdhury, Ajay (2022-02-17). The Waiter.
  5. ^ bloodyscotland (2019-01-22). "Ajay Chowdhury wins Harvill Secker/Bloody Scotland BAME competition". Bloody Scotland. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  6. ^ "Ajay Chowdhury". Watson Little. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  7. ^ Chowdhury, Ajay (2023-01-19). The Cook.
  8. ^ Wilson, Laura (2022-12-03). "The best crime and thriller books of 2022". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  9. ^ Smith, Mark Sanderson | Joan (2024-06-03). "16 best crime books of 2022". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  10. ^ "Ajay Chowdhury". www.penguin.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  11. ^ Sanderson, Joan Smith | Mark (2024-06-03). "The 14 best crime books of 2023". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  12. ^ "Ajay Chowdhury". www.penguin.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  13. ^ Digital, Make (2024-06-03). "Longlist Revealed - 2024 Best…". Wilbur & Niso Smith Foundation. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  14. ^ "Chowdhury, Ajay". The Crime Writers’ Association. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  15. ^ TiE Silicon Valley (2022-03-30). TiE Artrepreneurship Summit 2022 - Conversation With Ajay Chowdhury. Retrieved 2024-06-03 – via YouTube.
  16. ^ "Rented Space Theatre Company | BBA Shakespeare". bbashakespeare.warwick.ac.uk. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  17. ^ Wayne, Valerie. C Y M B E L I N E, ed. Valerie Wayne. The Arden Shakespeare, 3rd series.
  18. ^ "Asian theme for Shakespeare". Times Series. 2015-10-13. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  19. ^ "Pitchbook".
  20. ^ "Ajay Chowdhury". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  21. ^ "Ajay Chowdhury - DV Managing Director & Senior Partner, Chief Client Officer at BCG X". THE ORG. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  22. ^ "Crunchbase".
  23. ^ "Cambridge Enterprise".
  24. ^ "Former LineOne director joins IDG". www.campaignlive.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  25. ^ Editor, L. L. B. (2014-06-18). "How Seatwave CEO and former Shazam chair Ajay Chowdhury is shaking up the tech scene". London Business News | Londonlovesbusiness.com. Retrieved 2024-06-03. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  26. ^ "Apple acquires Shazam, offering more ways to discover and enjoy music". Apple Newsroom (United Kingdom). Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  27. ^ Ally, Music (2013-09-13). "New CEO for ticketing firm Seatwave". Music Ally. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  28. ^ Henrich, Kaitlyn (2014-11-06). "Ticketmaster Expands Resale Operations Across Europe". Live Nation Entertainment. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  29. ^ "Ajay Chowdhury". BCG Global. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  30. ^ "New non-executive directors appointed to the DCMS board". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  31. ^ "Historic Royal Palaces" (PDF).
  32. ^ "Mayor attacked for trying to give 'Tory patsy' top arts job". Evening Standard. 2012-04-12. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  33. ^ "Asian Tech Pioneers 2019". Asian in Tech. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  34. ^ Nair, Praseeda (2015-06-19). "Ajay Chowdhury named dealmaker of the year at the M&A Awards". Growth Business. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  35. ^ "Ajay Chowdhury". Asian in Tech. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
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