Badr Jafar

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Badr Jafar
بدر جعفر
Badr Jafar United Nations.jpg
Badr Jafar at the United Nations in 2010
Born (1979-08-09) August 9, 1979 (age 42)
Sharjah, UAE
NationalityUnited Arab Emirates
Alma materEton College
Cambridge University
Spouse(s)Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak
Websitebadrjafar.com

Badr Jafar (Arabic: بدر حميد جعفر‎) is an Emirati businessperson and philanthropist. He is the Chief Executive Officer of Crescent Enterprises, a business conglomerate headquartered in the United Arab Emirates with operations in ports and logistics, power and engineering, and venture capital. Jafar is also the President of Crescent Enterprises' sister company Crescent Petroleum. He is the Chairman of Pearl Petroleum, a five-member international consortium for the development of natural gas assets in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, and the Chairman of the Executive Board of Gulftainer, a port and logistics operator.[1][2][3]

Jafar is the Founder of the Pearl Initiative, an organisation that promotes corporate governance, accountability and transparency within the Gulf region of the Middle East, launched in 2010 at the United Nations.[4][5]

In 2011, Jafar was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and is a member of its Stewardship Board.[6][7]

He was named one of the 100 most powerful Arabs by Arabian Business and Gulf Business in 2019 and 2021.[8][9][10][11]

Early life and education[]

Badr Jafar was born and raised in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.[12] In 1994, he continued his education at Eton College and graduated in 1999 from the University of Cambridge with a master's degree in engineering and additional studies in astrophysics.[13][12] Jafar subsequently attended the Cambridge Judge Business School.[3] Jafar is currently a member of the advisory boards of the Cambridge Judge Business School, the American University of Beirut and the American University of Sharjah. He is also a Foundation Fellow of Eton College.[14][15]

Entrepreneurship[]

Jafar is Chairman of Endeavor UAE.[3] He is also on the Board of Advisors for Sharjah Entrepreneurship Centre (Sheraa)[16] and Gaza Sky Geeks, a startup accelerator and technology education hub in Gaza.[17]

In 2011, he partnered with music producer Quincy Jones to create Global Gumbo Group.[18] The group is known for it's entertainment expo, Dubai Music Week.[19]

In 2014, he launched the Arab World Social Entrepreneurship Program in partnership with Ashoka, a social entrepreneurship organization, to help identify and scale the region's social businesses.[20]

Non-profit activities[]

In 2011, Jafar launched the Middle East Theatre Academy (META), a non-profit theatre academy.[21][22] In the same year, Jafar and music producer Quincy Jones produced a charity single titled Tomorrow/Bokra, featuring 26 Arab artists, to raise funds for educational arts projects for displaced youth in the Middle East.[23] They announced the relaunch of Tomorrow/Bokra with new artists for the 10th anniversary. [24]

In 2014, the Kennedy Centre honoured Jafar with a Gold Medal in the Arts "in recognition of his efforts with cultural diplomacy to build closer ties between nations and regions".[25]

In 2015, he was appointed by the United Nations Secretary General onto the High Level Panel on Humanitarian Financing, formed "to address the increasing gap between resources and financing for the world's humanitarian needs".[26][27]

In 2018, Jafar and his wife joined The Giving Pledge, a philanthropic initiative launched by Bill Gates, Melinda Gates, and Warren Buffett.[28]

In 2019, he was appointed to UNESCO’s Futures of Education International Commission.[29]

Launched in 2020, Jafar is the Founding Patron of the Centre for Strategic Philanthropy based at the University of Cambridge.[30][31][32]

In September 2021, Jafar announced the launch of the Strategic Philanthropy Initiative at New York University Abu Dhabi to promote philanthropy within the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.[33]

Jafar is on the board of advisors of the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and the US-based Milken Institute for Strategic Philanthropy.[34][35]

Personal life[]

He is married to Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, the Managing Director of the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi and the current President of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). They have a daughter.[36][37]

References[]

  1. ^ Hope, Bradley (3 December 2009). "Crescent's Badr Jafar has world at his feet". The National. Retrieved 5 Nov 2021.
  2. ^ "LEADERS Interview with Badr Jafar, Chief Executive Officer, Crescent Enterprises". www.leadersmag.com. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  3. ^ a b c "Bloomberg - Badr Jafar, CEO, Crescent Enterprises". Bloomberg.
  4. ^ "The private sector is key in the fight against corruption. Here's why". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  5. ^ "Gulf business leaders and ministers gather at Expo2020 Dubai". www.zawya.com. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  6. ^ "Crescent Enterprises joins World Economic Forum's EDISON Alliance". Khaleej Times. Archived from the original on 2021-08-30. Retrieved 2021-08-30.
  7. ^ "INTERVIEW: Dubai-based CEO Badr Jafar moves the needle at Davos". Arab News. 2020-02-02. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  8. ^ "Revealed: World's Most Powerful Arabs". Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  9. ^ "Expo Leaders - Energy". Expo 2020 List. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  10. ^ "Top 100 most powerful Arabs 2021". Gulf Business. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  11. ^ "Arabian Business - Arab Power List 2021".
  12. ^ a b "Supporting diversity and innovation". gulfnews.com. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  13. ^ "UNITED ARAB EMIRATES : Badr Jafar - the businessman 2.0 taking hold in the UAE". Intelligence Online. 2021-08-30. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  14. ^ "International Advisory Council (IAC)". American University of Beirut. Archived from the original on 2014-08-12. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  15. ^ "Advisory Board". Cambridge Judge Business School. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  16. ^ "Sharjah Entrepreneurship Festival gets underway". Gulfnews. Archived from the original on 15 September 2018. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  17. ^ "Gaza: Coding in a conflict zone". BBC News. 2018-10-01. Archived from the original on 2021-09-29. Retrieved 2021-09-29.
  18. ^ "Quincy Jones and UAE entrepreneur form joint venture | The Los Angeles Independent - Community Newspaper Serving Hollywood and West Hollywood | Music". web.archive.org. 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  19. ^ "Badr Jafar: Changing the face of performing arts in the UAE". The National. 2014-08-05. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
  20. ^ "Ashoka launches Gulf platform for social entrepreneurship". Arabian Business. 9 Apr 2014.
  21. ^ "Badr Jafar: Changing the face of performing arts in the UAE". The National. Archived from the original on 2021-10-29. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
  22. ^ Rachel Lee (6 February 2011). "Kevin Spacey Plans Middle East Academy". New York Times. Archived from the original on 5 December 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
  23. ^ CNN, By Schams Elwazer. "Quincy Jones Arab charity song goes viral". CNN. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  24. ^ "'Tomorrow/Bokra' to be relaunched with new collaborations". gulfnews.com. Retrieved 2021-12-02.
  25. ^ "Kennedy Centre honours Quincy Jones, Badr Jafar for "bridging cultures"". eSeoulpost. 2014-04-04. Archived from the original on 2020-12-05. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  26. ^ "Badr Jafar on UN committee". The National. Archived from the original on 21 October 2017. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  27. ^ "UN appoints panel to address humanitarian funding gap". Arabian Business. Arabian Business. Archived from the original on 21 October 2017. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  28. ^ "UAE businessmen donate half their wealth to Bill Gates' Giving Pledge". ArabianBusiness.com. Archived from the original on 2020-08-23. Retrieved 2018-06-04.
  29. ^ "UAE based Badr Jafar appointed to the UNESCO's Futures of Education International Commission". gulfnews.com. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  30. ^ "Centre for Strategic Philanthropy". Archived from the original on 13 June 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  31. ^ "Cambridge University philanthropy school to focus on Middle East, Asia and Africa". The National. 2020-06-24. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  32. ^ "Centre for Strategic Philanthropy established at University of Cambridge". Alliance magazine. 2020-06-24. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  33. ^ "NYUAD initiative to boost 'impactful philanthropy' across Middle East". The National. 2021-09-27. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  34. ^ "IRC Board of Directors and Board of Advisors". International Rescue Committee (IRC). 2016-06-14. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  35. ^ "Speaker | Milken Institute". milkeninstitute.org. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  36. ^ "Badr Jafar and Razan Al Mubarak". Giving Pledge. Archived from the original on 2021-03-08. Retrieved 2021-10-07.
  37. ^ "IUCN's Al Mubarak: the conservation leader who says we can work with oil majors". New Statesman. 2021-10-27. Retrieved 2021-12-24.

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