Ajit Hutheesing

Ajit Hutheesing
Ajit Hutheesing of Greenwich, CT, died on Friday, December 8, 2017. He had been diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Ajit, 81, was born in Bombay, India, into one of India's most prominent families. His mother, Krishna Nehru Hutheesing, was the younger sister of India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. His father, Gunottam Hutheesing, a journalist and businessman, came from a well-known industrial family. While growing up, Ajit's childhood home was a bustling center of activity where family, politicians and activists worked tirelessly to achieve freedom for India.
Ajit was educated at Scindia School in Gwalior and St. Mary's High School in Bombay, where he made many lifelong friends. He later attended Cambridge University in England and earned his MBA at Columbia Business School in New York.
While Ajit considered entering politics in India, he chose to develop his own career in the United States. In 1960, he became one of the first Indians to work on Wall Street, joining investment bank, Loeb Rhoades & Co. in New York. He then worked for SG Warburg in London before returning to India in 1964 to start an investment bank. That effort was short-lived as his cousin, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, would soon nationalize the banking industry. Ajit moved his family to Washington, D.C., accepting a position as a Director of the International Finance Corporation (the private sector investment arm of the World Bank).
A decade later, at the invitation of an old friend, James D. Wolfensohn, Ajit joined investment banking firm J. Henry Schroder Corporation in New York, as the Managing Director. He later became Vice Chairman. Ajit left in 1986 and became Chairman of The Sherwood Group, a Wall Street investment banking and securities trading company. After presiding over the sale of the company, Ajit founded International Capital Partners (ICP) in 1992. As its Chairman and CEO, he led the firm as it provided expansion and acquisition capital, as well as advisory services, to smaller growth companies.
A dashing and charismatic man, Ajit met Amrita Hutheesing (née Nigam) in London and they married in 1960. They had three sons, Nikhil, Vivek and Ravi. The family lived in Arlington and McLean, VA until 1975 when they moved to Greenwich, CT. Throughout those years, Ajit challenged his children intellectually and provided much love and encouragement. For over a decade, Ajit was a virtual cofounder to Vivek in the creation and daily operation of his startup, rBlock. "Papa was the best business mentor I ever had, and ever will have, and I will be forever grateful," says Vivek.
Ajit and Amrita divorced in 1984. Twelve years later, he married Helen Armstrong, an accomplished violinist and founder of Armstrong Chamber Concerts. Together, they held benefits and salon concerts in private homes, raising funds to further music education in public and private schools. Over 100,000 students participated in their music enrichment programs. Ajit wrote about their 17 years together in his book, "The Shadow of Her Smile." To their friends, Ajit was a profoundly sensitive man of great emotional, intellectual and aesthetic strength.
During the last seven years of his life, Ajit lived with his loving partner, Sigrun K. Baldvinsdottir, former Consul General of Iceland in New South Wales, Australia. During this time, he was also an influential voice on the board of Young Concert Artists, a non-profit organization in New York that has launched the careers of some of the most exceptional musicians in the world.
Ajit is survived by his three sons, his three grandchildren, Kirin Hutheesing, Remy Hutheesing and Mirai Hutheesing, his partner-in-life, Sigrun, and Helen's children Debbie Howser and David Cohen, as well as by many relatives and friends.
Ajit's life will be honored early next year at a private reception to be held in Greenwich.
Expressions of sympathy may be sent to this address: rememberingajit2017@gmail.com