About
Samanzar Khan is a Bangladeshi business leader, investor, and one of the fresh‑faced “sharks” on the first season of Shark Tank Bangladesh. Away from the TV lights she runs a diversified portfolio of companies, holding the post of Managing Director at AKS Khan Holdings, AKS Khan Pharmaceutical Ltd., AKS Khan Diagnostics Ltd., and Khan Agricultural Products Ltd. Her day‑to‑day work revolves around health care, agriculture, and diagnostics—sectors she believes are essential for inclusive growth.
Khan’s calm yet assertive style in the Tank is powered by solid legal grounding: she earned her Bachelor of Laws from the London School of Economics and completed the Bar Vocational Course at the Inns of Court School of Law before being called to the Bar in 2005. That legal training shows up whenever a startup’s term sheet comes across the table—she has a knack for translating complex clauses into plain Bangla and English that founders can grasp quickly.
Before Fame
Business was a family affair long before television entered the picture. Samanzar is the eldest daughter of A K Shamsuddin Khan, chairman of the century‑old A K Khan & Co. conglomerate. Watching factories, trading floors, and charity projects from a young age gave her an early tutorial in both profit and purpose.
Following her graduation from secondary school in the UK, she remained to attend university and receive legal training. Early work included a stint as Legal Counselor at A K Khan & Co. in Dhaka and subsequently Managing Director of Bonex UK Ltd. These roles honed her skill at toggling between Bangladeshi and global business mores—an asset which she is now able to apply when negotiating cross-border supply agreements for her pharmaceuticals and diagnostics businesses.
Trivia
- Serial multitasker: Besides leading several subsidiaries, Khan also chairs Allied Diagnostics Ltd., a company that arranges medical check‑ups for Bangladeshi expatriate workers.
- Legal eagle in the Tank: She is the only Barrister on the Bangladeshi panel of sharks, which often makes her the go‑to person for questions about equity splits and intellectual‑property issues.
- Health‑care first mindset: Even on Shark Tank, she gravitates toward pitches that improve public health or women’s economic inclusion, reflecting the mission of her pharmaceutical and diagnostics businesses.
- Camera confidence: Her poised on‑screen presence partly stems from past speaking engagements at industry conferences, including a recent family‑business governance forum hosted by CAL Bangladesh and IFC.
Family Life
Samanzar is a member of one of Bangladesh’s better-known industrial dynasties. Her father, A K Shamsuddin Khan, guided A K Khan & Co. through expansions in telecoms, textiles, and shipping; her sister Sherfehnaz is Deputy Managing Director at AKS Khan Holdings. Family dinner‑table discussion regularly veers from supply‑chain crises to philanthropic ambitions, and those conversations inform Samanzar’s own management style. She is viewed by co‑workers as “firm but nurturing,” a balance for which she thanks the tough female role models in her family.
When she is able to pilfer time from boardrooms and studios, she likes to spend quiet family time at rural project sites, where she visits agricultural pilots and discusses crop yields with farmers—a habit that keeps strategic choices close to the ground.
Associated With
On Shark Tank Bangladesh, Khan shares the panel with fellow investors Sami Ahmed, Nazim Farhan Chowdhury, Golam Murshed, Fahim Mashroor, and others. Producers say her analytical yet encouraging feedback has already become a hallmark of the show’s first season.
