Badr Jafar

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Badr Jafar

Badr Jafar at the United Nations in 2010
Born Sharjah, UAE
Nationality United Arab Emirates
Alma mater Eton College
Cambridge University

Badr Jafar (Arabic: بدر حميد جعفر‎) is an Emirati business executive and social entrepreneur based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Educated in the UAE and United Kingdom, he is the Managing Director of the Crescent Group, President of Crescent Petroleum, the Crescent Group’s petroleum division; and Chief Executive Officer of Crescent Enterprises, the Crescent Group conglomerate's non-energy division. He is also the Chairperson of Gas Cities – a joint venture between Crescent Petroleum and Dana Gas; a member of the International Advisory Board of Dana Gas PJSC, the Gulf region's first and largest listed private sector natural gas company; Chairperson of Pearl Petroleum – a joint venture between Crescent Petroleum, Dana Gas, OMV, and MOL Group; and Vice-Chairperson of Gulftainer Group.[1][2] Jafar serves as a board member to Gama Aviation (UK), Enshaa (a UAE real estate company), The Abraaj Group (UAE), and GrowthGate Capital (Bahrain).[2][2][3][4]

Jafar 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, Jafar was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.[8]

Early life

Badr Jafar 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 in 1999 from Cambridge University in engineering in 1999, with additional qualifications in astrophysics, followed by a Masters degree from the same university. 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." Jafar subsequently attended the Cambridge Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge and currently chairs its Alumni Advisory Council.[3]

Work

After graduation, Badr 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] He 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, Jafar was involved in the establishment of other business ventures such as in high-end property development, aviation, and private equity.

In 2002, Jafar returned to Sharjah to join the family-owned Crescent Group Business Development Team. In 2005, he became Crescent's Business Development Director, and in 2007, he was named an Executive Director of Crescent Petroleum.[3] Jafar is currently Managing Director of the Crescent Group, President of Crescent Petroleum, and Chief Executive Officer of Crescent Enterprises.

Badr Jafar is the founder of Full Moon Investments, one of the owners of Milchan/Van Eyssen. The company, based in Los Angeles, in a deal with Paramount Pictures, created a number of internet mini-series, including 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 2009, Badr Jafar 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 September 2010, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin invited Jafar to join his Advisory Council at the Sochi Economic Conference in Russia to represent Middle East businesses.[10]

In March 2011, Badr Jafar was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum,[8] and in September later that year, he was appointed to the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Energy Security.[11]

In late 2011, Jafar 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.[12]

Social activism

Badr Jafar currently serves as a Chairperson of the Emirates Chapter of the Young Presidents' Organization, a global non-profit network of chief executives. Jafar also serves as a member of the Synergos Arab World Social Innovators Board of Governors.

Jafar is a member of International Advisory Board of the Cambridge Judge Business School.[3] In January 2011, Cambridge Judge Business School, a community of over 7,000 members internationally, voted in Badr Jafar as Chair of its Alumni Council.[13] Jafar also serves on the Advisory Board of the School of Business and Management at the American University of Sharjah, and is a member of the Research and Innovation Advisory Council for The Centre of Excellency for Applied Research and Training (CERT) at the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) in Abu Dhabi.

In June 2010, New York's CITYarts, Inc. honoured Jafar 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."[14]

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][14]

In February 2011, Hollywood actor Kevin Spacey launched a non-profit theatre academy in the Middle East together with Badr Jafar.[13] The Middle East Theatre Academy is a 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.[13]

On May 26, 2011, Badr Jafar and Quincy Jones jointly executive produced an Arabic charity single titled Tomorrow/Bokra, presented by international dancer Shakira, and featuring Akon, Kadim Al Sahir, and Tamer Hosny to help raise money to finance educational arts, culture scholarships, and projects for children in the Middle East and North Africa.[15] The Tomorrow/Bokra song and music video was released by Sony Music at a launch event in Dubai on 11 November 2011, and topped Arab and international Virgin charts in the Middle East for four weeks, and prompted over 7,000,000 views on YouTube within the first few months of its release.[16]

Honours

  • 85th most influential Arab in the World in the Arabian Business Power 500 (2013)[17]
  • Ambassador for the Small World Organisation (2012)
  • Young Global leader (2011)[8]
  • Making a Difference through the Arts (2010) [14]
  • Middle East's Energy CEO of the year award (2010).[5]
  • Young CEO of the Year at the 2009 Middle East CEO Awards (2009)[1]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Badr Jafar named Young CEO of the Year 2009". MENAFN (MENAFN Press). 29 September 2009. Retrieved 15 July 2010. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Biography of Mr. Badr Jafar". Growth Gate Capital Corporation. 2007. Retrieved 15 July 2010. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Hope, Bradley (3 December 2009). "Crescent's Badr Jafar has world at his feet". The National. Retrieved 15 July 2010. 
  4. ↑ "BADR JAFAR - Executive Director". Crescent Petroleum. 2010. Retrieved 15 July 2010. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Badr Jafar named 'Energy CEO of the Year' at CEO Middle East Awards". Al Bawaba News (Al Bawaba News). 21 September 2009. Retrieved 7 October 2010. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Middle East Gulf Region Governance Initiative Launched at UN". MarketWatch (MarketWatch). 20 September 2010. Retrieved 7 October 2010. 
  7. ↑ "Badr Jafar". Pearl Initiative. 20 September 2010. Retrieved 7 October 2010. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Zopf, Yann (9 March 2011). "World Economic Forum Announces Young Global Leaders 2011 (Middle East/North Africa)". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 11 March 2011. 
  9. ↑ Choo, David K. (1 October 2002). "The hat makes the man: Tomio Taki, an apparel executive with a storied career, gives the Honolulu Country Club a makeover.". All Business (MarketWatch). Retrieved 7 October 2010. 
  10. ↑ "Badr Jafar joins Prime Minister Putins Panel to discuss Russian-Middle Eastern Investment at Sochi 2010". Eye of Dubai (Eye of Dubai). 19 September 2010. Retrieved 11 October 2010. 
  11. ↑ "Badr Jafar appointed to World Economic Forum Energy Security Council". AME Info. 29 September 2011. Retrieved 28 April 2012. 
  12. ↑ "Quincy Jones and UAE entrepreneur form joint venture". LA Independent. 7 March 2011. Retrieved 11 March 2011. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 "Global Business Schools Look To The Gulf For The Next Generation Of Leaders". UAE Today. February 2011. Retrieved 25 February 2011. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 "Badr Jafar joins illustrious previous awardees with Cityarts award in New York". Zawya. 14 June 2010. Retrieved 7 October 2010. 
  15. ↑ "Quincy Jones produces Arabic charity record". PR Newswire. 1 June 2011. Retrieved 1 June 2011. 
  16. ↑ "Bokra Charity Single Tops Arab and International Charts for 4 Weeks Charity Album Available for purchase in all Virgin Megastores and Authorized sellers". Dubib. 25 December 2011. Retrieved 29 April 2012. 
  17. ↑ "The 500 most powerful Arabs in the World". Arabian Business. 23 March 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2013. 

External links

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