Badr Jafar
بدر جعفر
Badr Jafar at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in 2023
Born (1979-08-09) August 9, 1979
Sharjah, UAE
Alma materEton College
Cambridge University
SpouseRazan Khalifa Al Mubarak
Websitebadrjafar.com

Badr Jafar (Arabic: بدر جعفر‎) is an Emirati businessperson.[1][2] He is chief executive officer of Crescent Enterprises, a conglomerate headquartered in the United Arab Emirates. He is President of Crescent Enterprises' sister company Crescent Petroleum, Chairman of Pearl Petroleum which develops natural gas in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, and chairman of the executive board of port operator Gulftainer.[3][4]

Early life and education

Badr Jafar was born and raised in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates.[5] In 1994, he continued his education at Eton College and graduated from the University of Cambridge with a master's degree in engineering and additional studies in astrophysics.[6][5] Jafar subsequently attended the Cambridge Judge Business School.[1]

Jafar is a member of the advisory boards of the Cambridge Judge Business School, the American University of Beirut, the American University of Sharjah, and a member of the Board of Trustees of Zayed University. He is a Foundation Fellow of Eton College.[7][8][9][10]

Other work

Jafar is the Founder of the Pearl Initiative, an non-profit organization launched in 2010 at the United Nations, that promotes corporate governance within the Gulf region.[11][12]

He is Chairman of Endeavor UAE.[13] He is also on the Board of Advisors for Sharjah Entrepreneurship Centre (Sheraa)[14][15] and Gaza Sky Geeks.[16]

In 2011, he partnered with music producer Quincy Jones to create Global Gumbo Group to develop music and arts ventures in the Middle East.[17][18] The group launched Dubai Music Week in 2013.[19] They produced a charity single together titled Tomorrow/Bokra (Arabic: بكرا) to raise funds for educational arts projects for displaced youth in the Middle East.[20]

In 2014, the Kennedy Centre honored Jafar with a gold medal in the Arts "in recognition of his efforts with cultural diplomacy to build closer ties between nations and regions".[21]

Jafar is on the board of advisors of the International Rescue Committee (IRC), the Milken Institute for Strategic Philanthropy, the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the Middle East Institute, and the Board of Directors of the International Peace Institute.[22][23][24][25][26]

In September 2023, he was appointed as COP28 Special Representative for Business and Philanthropy, and chair of the COP28 Business & Philanthropy Forum.[27][28]

Philanthropy

In 2011, Jafar launched the Middle East Theatre Academy (META), a non-profit theatre academy.[19][29]

In 2014, he launched the Arab World Social Entrepreneurship Program in partnership with Ashoka.[30]

In 2015, he was appointed by the United Nations Secretary General to the High Level Panel on Humanitarian Financing, formed "to address the increasing gap between resources and financing for the world's humanitarian needs".[31][32] He was subsequently appointed to UNESCO’s Futures of Education International Commission.[33]

In 2018, Jafar and his wife joined The Giving Pledge, a philanthropic initiative launched by Bill Gates, Melinda Gates, and Warren Buffett.[34]

Jafar is the Founding Patron of the Centre for Strategic Philanthropy based at the University of Cambridge, launched in 2020.[35][36][37] In September 2021, Jafar announced the launch of the Strategic Philanthropy Initiative at New York University Abu Dhabi to promote philanthropy within the MENA region.[38]

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 two children together.[39][40]

References

  1. 1 2 "Bloomberg - Badr Jafar, CEO, Crescent Enterprises". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 2021-12-24.
  2. ↑ "The Business of Philanthropy". www.businessofphilanthropy.org. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  3. ↑ Hope, Bradley (3 December 2009). "Crescent's Badr Jafar has world at his feet". The National. Retrieved 5 Nov 2021.
  4. ↑ "LEADERS Interview with Badr Jafar, Chief Executive Officer, Crescent Enterprises". www.leadersmag.com. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  5. 1 2 "Supporting diversity and innovation". gulfnews.com. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  6. ↑ "UNITED ARAB EMIRATES : Badr Jafar - the businessman 2.0 taking hold in the UAE". Intelligence Online. 2021-08-30. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  7. ↑ "International Advisory Council (IAC)". American University of Beirut. Archived from the original on 2014-08-12. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  8. ↑ "Advisory Board". Cambridge Judge Business School. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  9. ↑ "Sharjah Ruler attends launch of Cambridge Judge Business School Middle East Leadership Research Centre". American University of Sharjah. 2014-05-14. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
  10. ↑ "Mohammed bin Rashid approves restructuring of Zayed University's Board of Trustees". wam. 2023-07-13. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  11. ↑ "Gulf business leaders and ministers gather at Expo2020 Dubai". www.zawya.com. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  12. ↑ "The private sector is key in the fight against corruption. Here's why". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  13. ↑ "Board of Directors". Endeavor UAE. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  14. ↑ "Sharjah Entrepreneurship Festival gets underway". Gulfnews. Archived from the original on 15 September 2018. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  15. ↑ "Sheraa's Board of Advisors" (PDF). Sheraa.
  16. ↑ "Gaza: Coding in a conflict zone". BBC News. 2018-10-01. Archived from the original on 2021-09-29. Retrieved 2021-09-29.
  17. ↑ "Quincy Jones and UAE entrepreneur form joint venture | The Los Angeles Independent - Community Newspaper Serving Hollywood and West Hollywood | Music". 2011-07-13. Archived from the original on 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  18. ↑ Saeed, Saeed (2014-08-05). "We speak to Badr Jafar, the celebrated Emirati executive who mixed his passion for the arts and business skills to create the Middle East Theatre Academy and Dubai Music Week". The National. Retrieved 2023-02-23.
  19. 1 2 "Badr Jafar: Changing the face of performing arts in the UAE". The National. 2014-08-05. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
  20. ↑ Schams Elwazer. "Quincy Jones Arab charity song goes viral". CNN. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  21. ↑ Newspaper, The Peninsula (2014-04-08). "Crescent Enterprises CEO Badr Jafar honoured for bridging cultures". thepeninsulaqatar.com. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  22. ↑ "IRC Board of Directors and Board of Advisors". International Rescue Committee (IRC). 2016-06-14. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  23. ↑ "Board & Council". International Peace Institute. 1970-01-01. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  24. ↑ "The Advisory Council". IISS. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  25. ↑ "International Advisory Council". Middle East Institute. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  26. ↑ "Center for Strategic Philanthropy Advisory Board". Milken Institute. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  27. ↑ Desk, Outlook Planet (2023-09-09). "COP28 UAE To Host Business & Philanthropy Forum Around Climate And Nature". planet.outlookindia.com/. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  28. ↑ "COP28: UAE to convene 500 CEOs at Business and Philanthropy Forum". www.businessgreen.com. 2023-09-07. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  29. ↑ 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.
  30. ↑ "Ashoka launches Gulf platform for social entrepreneurship". Arabian Business. 9 Apr 2014. Archived from the original on 2021-12-24.
  31. ↑ "Badr Jafar on UN committee". The National. Archived from the original on 21 October 2017. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  32. ↑ "UN appoints panel to address humanitarian funding gap". Arabian Business. Archived from the original on 21 October 2017. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  33. ↑ "UAE based Badr Jafar appointed to the UNESCO's Futures of Education International Commission". gulfnews.com. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  34. ↑ "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.
  35. ↑ "Centre for Strategic Philanthropy". Archived from the original on 13 June 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  36. ↑ "Cambridge University philanthropy school to focus on Middle East, Asia and Africa". The National. 2020-06-24. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  37. ↑ "Centre for Strategic Philanthropy established at University of Cambridge". Alliance magazine. 2020-06-24. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  38. ↑ "NYUAD initiative to boost 'impactful philanthropy' across Middle East". The National. 2021-09-27. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  39. ↑ "Badr Jafar and Razan Al Mubarak". Giving Pledge. Archived from the original on 2021-03-08. Retrieved 2021-10-07.
  40. ↑ "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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