| Badr Jafar | |
|---|---|
Badr Jafar at the United Nations in 2010 |
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| Born | Sharjah, UAE |
| Nationality | United Arab Emirates |
| Alma mater | Eton College Cambridge University |
Badr Jafar (Arabic: بدر جعفر) is an Emirati business executive and entrepreneur based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Educated in the UAE and United Kingdom, he is the President of Crescent Petroleum and founder-Chief Executive Officer of Crescent Investments, the Crescent Group conglomerate's non-petroleum division. He is also the founder and the Chairperson of Gas Cities – a joint venture between Crescent Petroleum and Dana Gas; Chairperson of Pearl Petroleum – a joint venture between Crescent Petroleum, Dana Gas, OMV, and MOL Group; and Vice-Chairperson of Gulftainer Logistics.[1][2] Jafar serves as a board member to Gama Aviation (UK), Enshaa (a UAE real estate company), Abraaj Capital (UAE), and GrowthGate Capital (Bahrain).[2][2][3][4]
Badr is a recipient of the Young CEO award in 2009[1] and the Middle East's Energy CEO of the year award in 2010.[5] In September 2010, Jafar launched the Pearl Initiative at the United Nations headquarters in New York, an initiative in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Partnerships to jointly promote corporate governance, accountability, transparency, and good corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices within the Middle East.[6][7] In March 2011, Badr was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.[8]
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Badr was born in the northern Emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, and lived there until the age of 15, when he entered Eton College in the United Kingdom, before going on to graduate from Cambridge University in engineering in 1999, followed by a Masters degree in fluid mechanics with additional qualifications in astrophysics. In 1996, Harvard University awarded Jafar the Harvard Book Award. The Harvard Book Award is presented to students who "display excellence in scholarship and high character, combined with achievements in other fields." Besides degrees in engineering, Badr has a business degree from Cambridge Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge and currently chairs its Alumni Advisory Council.[3]
After graduation, Jafar forayed into the fashion industry spending time in London, New York and Italy to learn the business. He was assisted by Tomio Taki, a Japanese textile magnate and one-time owner of Donna Karan, Anne Klein, and Issey Miyake.[9] Badr established Collo Fashion that designed, manufactured and distributed neckwear. Collo Fashion grew quickly, and within a year, it sold clothing in 42 stores in 11 countries. Three years after its launch, Collo Fashion was sold to Asian distributors. Besides fashion, Badr established other business ventures, including high-end property development, aviation, and private equity. In 2002, Badr returned to Sharjah to join the family-owned Crescent Business Development team. In 2005, he became Crescent's Business Development Director, and in 2007, he was named the Executive Director of Crescent Petroleum.[3] In addition, Jafar is the founder of Full Moon Productions – a movie production company, and one of the owners of EMJAG Digital Productions. The company, based in Los Angeles, in a deal with Paramount Pictures, created an internet mini-series called Circle of 8 where viewers could help decide the plot of the show. Full Moon Productions has also collaborated with a number of production companies in London and Los Angeles to develop content for films set in or themed on the Middle East and North Africa.[3] In February 2011, Hollywood actor Kevin Spacey announced plans to start a theatre academy in the Middle East together with Badr Jafar.[10] The Middle East Theatre Academy would be joint project with the Kevin Spacey Foundation to provide a platform to nurture young actors, directors, and producers from the Middle East, and showcase their talent internationally.[10]
Jafar currently serves as a Board member of the Emirates Chapter of the Young Presidents' Organization, a global network of young chief executives. He is also on the Alumni Advisory Council of Cambridge Judge Business School and sits on its International Advisory Board.[3] In January 2011, Cambridge Judge Business School, a community of over 5,000 members internationally, voted in Badr Jafar as Chair of its Alumni Council.[10]
In 2009, Badr won the 'Young CEO of the Year' award for CEOs under 30. The CEO Middle East Awards recognize and reward industry leaders, high achievers and innovators from across the Middle East.[1] The following year, in September 2010, he was named the 'Energy CEO of the Year' at CEO Middle East Awards.[5]
In June 2010, New York's CITYarts, Inc. honoured Badr with the Making a Difference through the Arts award for "his outstanding philanthropic leadership within the private sector, and in particular his commitment and support towards children’s rights.[11]
In September 2010, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin invited Jafar to join his council at the Sochi Economic Conference in Russia to represent Middle East businesses.[12] Later that month, Jafar launched the Pearl Initiative at the United Nations headquarters in New York — an initiative in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Partnerships to jointly promote corporate governance, accountability, transparency, and good corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices within the Middle East.[6][11]
In March 2011, Badr was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.[8] Around that time, Badr launched the Global Gumbo Group with music producer Quincy Jones, to develop multimedia opportunities across all entertainment platforms, including music, film, television, publishing and digital applications, in the Middle East and North Africa.[13]. On May 26, 2011, Badr Jafar and Quincy Jones jointly executive produced an Arabic charity single titled Tomorrow/Bokra to help raise money to finance educational arts, culture scholarships, and projects for children in the Middle East and North Africa.[14]