Mehul C Choksi holds the position of Chairman and CEO of Gitanjali Gems and owns a Rs-683-crore share in the company.
Choksi was born in a family of diamond traders hailing from Palanpur, a quaint little town on the Gujarat-Rajasthan border. Palanpur has a long association with diamonds. 
Choksi’s father had a global vision and a flourishing international diamond business, so his son spent his childhood observing the business round the clock. Choksi entered the business in the 1970s, at a very young age having quit studies at college.
His father assigned him a small desk and encouraged him to be independent. Choksi found the business very interesting as it gave him an opportunity to travel extensively. This, as we shall see later, became a passion that he still nurtures. “That was when I discovered many new markets, as my father emphasized on the international business and networking with foreign clients,” he says. Later, as the business grew, the family set up diamond processing factories in the late 1980s. 
According to Choksi, earlier, diamonds were available in 1,000 out of 10,000 jewellery shops in India. He saw this as an opportunity. After his promotional campaigns, they are available in approximately 25,000 shops today, with many more wanting to convert themselves into diamond and branded jewellery sellers.