Ritesh (Rick) Desai

Founder & EVP

A serial entrepreneur and a passionate community leader, Ritesh Desai is known for creating iconic brands like Vanitywala.com, Eshco Global Investments and PPE Provider. The latest of his ventures is the creation of Apnewala. Apnewala is designed to build on the rock solid fundamentals of competitive pricing, global procurement, dynamic logistics and effective quality control with world class customer service. To become a widely recognized leader in his field, Ritesh has travelled to quarries, factories and ports around the world, where he learned from experts at every point.  He has worked with a wide variety of hotels to learn how Apnewala can provide the most aesthetically appealing, practical and durable products at all levels. Ritesh’s expertise on such crucial issues as importing and entrepreneurship led the governor of Georgia to select him as a leader of the economic development subcommittee within the Asian-American Commission for a New Georgia and as the vice chair of Georgia’s Equal Opportunity Commission.  U.S. Representative John Lewis also gave Ritesh a Special Congressional Recognition. Ritesh is cited frequently by media and has repeatedly been named among the top 25 Most Influential Asian-Americans in Georgia.  He is a member of AAHOA, the world’s largest hotel owners’ association. A civic leader as well, Ritesh served as President and Chairman of the Georgia Indo-American Chamber of Commerce and a board member of the South Asian Journalists Association’s Atlanta chapter. He currently serves as the Director of Public Relations for BAPS-Atlanta and the southeast representative for the National Government Relations Committee of BAPS North America.  Ritesh graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a degree in Electrical Engineering. He is a dedicated husband to his wife Sheetal Desai, an award-winning attorney and a devoted father to their three children.