Arun Nayar is a British businessman and technology entrepreneur best known publicly as the former husband of actress Elizabeth Hurley. Born in November 1964, he is 61 years old as of September 2026. His career, however, began far from celebrity headlines. He studied physics at Oxford University and Imperial College London before building a long career in software and business consulting.
His public story sits at the meeting point of business, Britain, India, and celebrity culture. In this article, you will learn about Arun Nayar’s family background, education, Direction Software career, marriage to Elizabeth Hurley, later personal life, wealth, and what he is doing today.
A British-Indian Life Shaped by Two Worlds
UK Companies House lists Arun Vijay Mark Nayar’s birth month as November 1964 and his nationality as British. Older profiles describe him as the eldest son of Indian businessman Vinod Nayar and Gunnar Nayar, his German mother.
His family story connected Britain and India from the beginning. He spent important parts of his childhood in Mumbai, where he and his younger brother grew up with their mother after their parents separated.
Nayar attended the Cathedral and John Connon School in Mumbai before continuing his education in Britain. That international upbringing later matched the way he worked, with business interests and professional relationships spread across countries.
It also helps explain why short profiles sometimes describe him in different ways. He has Indian family roots, a German mother, a British nationality, and long professional ties to Mumbai and London.
Physics Came Before Business
Nayar did not begin his career with a business degree or a celebrity connection. He studied physics.
The Direction Software leadership team says Nayar earned a B.Sc. in Physics from Oxford University and a master’s degree in Physics from Imperial College London.
His company biography also says he speaks English, German, and Italian. Those language skills fit a life that has moved between British, Indian, and European settings.
The science background is an important part of his story because it came before the technology business that later became his main professional identity. He moved from studying complex systems in physics to leading a company built around software, data, and business technology.
The Career That Made Arun Nayar a Businessman
Before Direction Software, Nayar spent several years involved with a fast-growing mail-order business in India. Direction says that work ran from 1992 to 1998.
In November 1998, Nayar and Sanjay Gupta founded Direction Software. The company grew into an IT solutions and business consulting business headquartered in Mumbai.
Direction works with companies on software development, enterprise systems, data, digital transformation, and consulting. Its current company pages say it serves national and international clients across several industries.
Nayar remains listed as the company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chairman in 2026. That makes Direction the clearest long-term thread in his working life.
His celebrity profile rose and fell with relationships and media attention. His business role lasted through all of it.
How Elizabeth Hurley Changed His Public Profile
Nayar became a much more familiar name outside business circles after he began a relationship with British actress and model Elizabeth Hurley in the early 2000s.
Hurley was already internationally famous through film, fashion, and her long relationship with actor Hugh Grant. Nayar was successful in business, but he had not lived at the same level of celebrity attention.
That changed quickly. Their relationship brought photographers, society coverage, and constant interest in Nayar’s background, career, family, and wealth.
The marriage also introduced Nayar to a much larger international audience. For many readers, his name is still connected first with Hurley even though his own career had been established years earlier.
The 2007 Wedding in England and India
Hurley and Nayar married in March 2007. Their wedding became a major celebrity story because the celebrations took place across two countries.
The couple held a civil marriage at Sudeley Castle in Gloucestershire, England. They then traveled to India for traditional celebrations in Rajasthan.
The Indian part included a Hindu ceremony at Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur. The wedding attracted international press, famous guests, and heavy public attention.
That week fixed Nayar’s place in celebrity news. He was no longer covered mainly as a technology businessman. He was now also one half of a high-profile marriage.
Why the Marriage Ended
By late 2010, Hurley publicly confirmed that she and Nayar had separated several months earlier.
Hurley filed for divorce in 2011, and the marriage legally ended in June of that year. The divorce closed a relationship that had lasted through years of intense press coverage.
The two did not disappear from each other’s wider circle after the divorce. Their later public appearances suggest a much calmer relationship than the headlines around their split might imply.
That became especially visible through Hurley’s son, Damian, who had known Nayar during his childhood.
His Bond With Damian Hurley Continued
One of the more revealing details about Nayar’s life after divorce is his continued connection with Damian Hurley.
In May 2024, People reported that Nayar attended the London premiere of Damian’s film Strictly Confidential. Elizabeth Hurley was there, as was her former partner Hugh Grant.
Nayar’s presence mattered because it showed that his connection to the family continued long after his marriage to Elizabeth ended.
Damian had also attended Nayar’s 2016 wedding in France. The relationship therefore extended beyond the formal years in which Nayar was his stepfather.
His Marriages Before and After Elizabeth Hurley
Elizabeth Hurley was not Nayar’s first wife.
He married Italian model Valentina Pedroni in the 1990s. That marriage ended before he married Hurley.
After his divorce from Hurley, Nayar built a relationship with British model Kim Johnson. The couple married on the French Riviera in July 2016.
That marriage was also short. Reporting about Johnson in 2026 describes her as Nayar’s former wife and says the pair split in 2017.
Nayar has kept his later romantic life much more private. His recent public identity is tied more strongly to business and occasional social appearances than to a new high-profile relationship.
What Is Arun Nayar’s Net Worth?
Arun Nayar has not published a current personal net worth.
His long career in technology, business interests, property connections, and family background have led to large estimates online. Those numbers are not the same as a current financial statement.
What is clear is that Nayar has spent decades in business and remains the CEO and Chairman of Direction Software. UK corporate records also show active business appointments connected with his name.
That gives a solid picture of a wealthy and established businessman without attaching a precise dollar figure to private finances.
Arun Nayar’s Work in 2026
Nayar is still active in business in 2026.
Direction Software continues to list him as CEO, Chairman, and co-founder. The company says it has more than 25 years of experience and works with clients in India and overseas.
Companies House also lists Nayar as an active director of a London property company, with that appointment beginning in 2022.
These current records are useful because they show that his working life did not stop when his marriage to Hurley ended. The technology career that began before the wedding remains active many years later.
Why Arun Nayar Still Draws Search Interest
People search Arun Nayar for two very different reasons.
One group remembers the lavish 2007 wedding and wants to know what happened to Elizabeth Hurley’s former husband. Another group wants to know who he is beyond that marriage, including his education, company, business background, age, and wealth.
Both parts belong in his story.
The marriage made him internationally recognizable. The business career explains what he spent most of his adult life doing.
That difference is important. Celebrity attention was one chapter. Direction Software has been a much longer one.
A Business Career That Outlasted the Headlines
Arun Nayar’s life is easy to reduce to one famous relationship, but the fuller story is broader.
He grew up between cultures, studied physics at two leading British universities, and co-founded a technology company in the late 1990s. He then became a global celebrity name through his marriage to Elizabeth Hurley.
The marriage ended in 2011, but Nayar remained connected with Hurley’s family and continued working in business. His appearance at Damian Hurley’s 2024 film premiere showed that some personal ties survived long after the divorce.
Today, the strongest picture of Arun Nayar is not simply that of a celebrity ex-husband. He is a 61-year-old British businessman whose technology career has now lasted for more than a quarter of a century.
For another profile of a private businessman whose marriage brought him wider public attention, read our story on Seung Yong Chung, Diane Farr’s former husband.
