Raveen Arora of Irving has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize

Arora went from being a refugee to supporting entrepreneurs and leading food and water drives in the U.S. and around the world.

Raveen Arora was born and raised in the slums of Calcutta, India.

As a refugee, he would walk three miles to a ration shop for staples like flour and milk, which his mother would dilute with water.

His childhood in India would shape his eventual work as a philanthropist, entrepreneur, accountant, and international humanitarian worker.

Arora — who is now 72 and moved from Arizona to Irving this year to be near his daughter and grandchildren — has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his global humanitarian work.

“I am simply grateful that I could go from being a refugee to being a refuge for others,” he said. “I’m touched and humbled by this nomination.”

Raveen is the Chairman of the Board for United Food Bank. He has also been the Recipient of Mother Teresa International Service Award.

Raveen is an entrepreneur, author, public speaker, community cornerstone, humanitarian, professional chartered accountant and international management consultant.

A refugee child who made education his priority and traveled to almost 90 countries, Raveen is the embodiment of ethics, humility, integrity, transparency and sincerity. Raveen built his multi-award-winning, highly coveted destination around Food and communication. His wide travels, speaking engagements and encounters with the likes of Mother Teresa and the Pope have expanded his horizons and have made him eminently respected as a citizen of the world.

Raveen’s business may be local but his business model is such that its impact is felt not just locally but state and industry-wide. He epitomizes what every hospitality professional desires to be−a servant leader who leads and inspires by example of placing people and purpose before profits culture and stakeholders before strategy and shareholders.

A tireless, unassuming and humble business person and advocate of the restaurant industry is the recipient of many honors, awards and recognition both within the industry and outside. He has raised the profile of independents and put the restaurant industry in the forefront of business excellence including adopting Diversity and inclusion in the daily operations, cutting edge standards, emerging concepts and the role of restaurants in community building including respect and acceptance of LGBT. He is constantly mentoring his employees and staff to eliminate implicit bias.

Raveen commits to serve where he can, including the Arizona Restaurant Association, Local chambers of commerce, National Diversity Council, Tempe Community Council, Sister Cities International, Tempe outreach agencies, Kiwanis Club and a number of Arizona State University organizations. Beyond that, he is privileged to serve on a number of global boards, including Sister Cities International, Alliance International, Think Human-Global Initiative and Project Humanities. You can learn more about him here.