That sustained business success in the highly competitive environment of Washington metro area requires both innovation and cultivation of relations was evident at a celebratory event marking Pakistani American entrepreneur Tehmina Khan’s spectacular success journey.
“I am delighted to see so many faces who have been with me for the past 30 years,” Khan, founder and President of McLean Furniture Gallery, said welcoming longtime friends including diplomats, business leaders and scholars from diverse communities at Washington’s Ritz Carlton Hotel.
For Tehmina Khan, whose Gallery represents 100 manufacturers of upscale furniture, the occasion was also a family reunion as her children pursuing their professions in different parts of the world flew back home to join their mother.
“I could not have done it without them,” she said while acknowledging their love and support for her in running the Gallery after her husband passed away more than a decade ago. As described by her friends speaking on the occasion, Tehmina overcame health challenges and maintained a high level of quality in designing furniture with finesse to stay ahead of her competitors in the mainstream industry.
Now, the Gallery’s furniture decorates living rooms of Washington’s diplomats, offices and several foreign businesses.
Tehmina Khan is the daughter of prominent intellectual Agha Shaukat Ali, who founded the Iqbal-Shariati Foundation in Lahore to fund research and education.
It was back in 1984 when Tehmina Khan her husband Imran Khan established the Gallery after their arrival from Pakistan. Soon their investment in terms of time and money helped the couple carve out a place for their business among major clients as the Gallery furnished homes and offices with top of the line furniture and adornments.
Last year, Tehmina was decorated with the best business leader’s award. The only other Pakistani American to have earned the award is Zahid Butt, founder and CEO of Medisol Inc, as it recognizes entrepreneurship of business owners, who sustain success for at least three decades.
“I am confident that the business would outlive me,” she said of her legacy.
Tehmina Khan at a recent event of Woman’s National Democratic Club Washington
Recently Henredon furniture manufacturers even named a sofa after her.
In the larger perspective Tehmina’s success story reflects how entrepreneurial ideas from around the world have flowered in the United States.
The diversity and pluralism were evident at the event – with a feast of live Spanish music and dance, popular Pakistani cuisine and costumes representing Eastern and Western fashions and elegance – all blending into a celebration of business and intercultural relations.
There was also some valuable food for thought as some of the known personalities shared views befitting the occasion.
Mowahid Hussain Shah, the first Pakistani Supreme Court attorney, who has known generations of Khans, recalled how Tehmina Khan excelled as a student at Lahore’s Kinnaird College and later in life she earned respect in the world of business through dedication and new ideas.
Mowahid Shah was invited to speak as longtime friend of the family
He also commented on the contemporary political environment and the challenges facing some of the rich leaders. In this context, he explained the saying of Caliph Ali Ibn Abi Talib, who exhorted people to pursue knowledge as knowledge would shield them and not just go after wealth because ultimately they will have to invest all their energies toward protection of their wealth.
Al Edmonds, CEO of Logistics Applications INC and a retired US Air Force General, remarked that Tehmina stayed the course after the passing away of her husband, and ably aided by her children including, she has built a tremendous business.
Edmonds had also something to say in a classic spirit of American tolerance.
“You are who you are, wherever you are. Where you are is home.”
Such harmonizing thoughts could help those facing identity questions.
Dr. Jawad Hasnain, a leading medical expert, also stimulated minds. Reciting some soulful couplets from the poetry of Rumi, Iqbal and Bulleh Shah he paid a warm tribute to Tehmina Khan, who along with leading her business also raised her children with careful attention as devoted mother. Her children being successful professionals in their fields of endeavor speaks of Khan’s upbringing with dedication, Hasnain said.
The gathering of professionals from metro area’s diverse communities underscored how the best and the brightest from around the world have benefited the United States, and how America’s conducive climate has allowed creativity and innovation to work wonders.
Really a good success story that may inspire other Pakistani women to follow. Great effort on the part of Views and News magazine too.