Founder Profile
John Bissell
Last reviewed: October 2026 · By Swet Parvadiya
Who is John Bissell?
John Bissell is a founder of Fabindia, which was founded in 1960 with William Nanda Bissell.
- Company founded
- Fabindia
- Founded
- 1960
- Co-founders
- William Nanda Bissell
Background
Before India, Bissell worked in retail buying in New York. His Ford Foundation work on cottage industries gave him the contacts and quality standards he used to link rural weavers with overseas buyers.
Founding Story
John Bissell (1932-1998) was an American who arrived in India in 1958 on a Ford Foundation assignment to advise on handloom exports. In 1960 he founded Fabindia in New Delhi, initially selling handwoven furnishings to buyers abroad. In 1976 he opened the first Fabindia shop in Greater Kailash, New Delhi, which made handloom kurtas and home linen popular with urban Indians. He suffered a stroke in 1993 and died in 1998. John Bissell was born in 1931.
Sources
This profile does not yet cite a source specific to John Bissell. The sources below document the company company rather than the person, so check them against the claims above.