About
Nazim Farhan Chowdhury is a Bangladeshi serial entrepreneur, advertising trail‑blazer, and investor best known today for his role as a “shark” on the television series Shark Tank Bangladesh. He runs Adcomm Limited—one of the country’s oldest full‑service agencies—and has spent three decades shaping household brands and encouraging new founders. Friendly, plain‑spoken, and famously optimistic, he describes himself online as an “eternal optimist, feminist, patriot and kachchi biriyani lover,” a snapshot that reveals the mix of business acuity and down‑to‑earth charm that has made him a popular public figure.
Before Fame
Farhan grew up in a Sylheti family that breathed enterprise: his mother, Geeteara Safiya Choudhury, founded Adcomm in the 1970s and later served as an adviser to Bangladesh’s caretaker government, while his father, Nazim Kamran Choudhury, runs Nazimgarh Resorts in Sylhet.
After finishing school in Dhaka, he studied economics at St Stephen’s College, Delhi—an education he credits with sharpening his curiosity about markets and people.
Returning home in 1994, the twenty‑two‑year‑old stepped into Adcomm as a management trainee earning a modest salary but soaking up every lesson the shop could offer. Within a few years he was launching spinoffs such as AktiVision (activation), Art of Noise (audio production) and GraphicPeople (a joint venture with WPP’s Y&R) and guiding campaigns for giants like Nokia, Coca‑Cola and Unilever.
Trivia
- Foodie credentials – Friends claim Farhan will cross town for a plate of fragrant kachchi biriyani, and he regularly posts food snapshots on X (formerly Twitter).
- Podcast host – His personal show, Conversations About Everything, started as short social‑media videos and has become a free‑wheeling audio series where he riffs on business, culture and social justice.
- Startup evangelist – On the 2 Cents podcast he boiled investment advice down to three words: “solve real problems.” Listeners praise the episode as a Bangladeshi masterclass on pitching.
- Youth mentor – A former columnist for The Daily Star, he helped write the British Council’s Next Generation Bangladesh report, arguing that young people—not institutions—will drive national progress.
- Equality champion – Recently inducted into Zonta International, he credits his mother’s example for his outspoken stance on gender equity in the workplace.
Family Life
The Choudhury family is saturated with creativity and service. Mother Geeteara shattered glass ceilings in advertising and government; father Nazim Kamran transitioned from politics to the hospitality industry, transforming a verdant hill estate into Nazimgarh Resorts. Fahima Choudhury, sister of Farhan, had her own business ventures, and among the extended family are linguist Dr Mohammad Shahidullah, thus making scholarship a family tradition.
arhan himself maintains information regarding his children and wife private, instead allowing his public image to revolve around work, youth empowerment, and philanthropy. He quite frequently states that privacy allows him the equilibrium he requires in order to balance boardrooms, broadcasts, and family dinners.
Associated With
- Shark Tank Bangladesh – Farhan sits alongside Sami Ahmed, Golam Murshed, Kazi Mahboob Hassan, Samanzar Khan, Fahim Mashroor and Ahmed Ali on the show’s investor panel, critiquing pitches and backing ideas that can scale beyond Dhaka.
- Bangladesh’s brand scene – Through Adcomm he has influenced at least eight of the top 20 local brands and worked on regional launches for telecom operators, beverages and airlines.
- GraphicPeople & SoftwarePeople – These digital studios, co‑founded under Adcomm’s umbrella, export creative services worldwide and train hundreds of young designers each year.
- Nazimgarh Resorts – While his father handles day-to-day management, Farhan offers regular counsel on branding and guest experience, attributing work in hospitality to having improved his customer insight eye.
- Civic platforms – From the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry to youth NGO JAAGO Foundation, he provides strategy assistance, stressing that profit and purpose need not be mutually exclusive.
