Badr Jafar (Arabic: بدر حميد جعفر‎; born 1979) is an Emirati businessperson who is the chief executive officer of Crescent Enterprises, a

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

-based conglomerate.

Early life and education

Badr Jafar was born and raised in

Sharjah Sharjah (; ', Gulf Arabic: ''aš-Šārja'') is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It is the capital of the Emirate of Sharjah and forms part of the D ...

in the United Arab Emirates. In 1994, he continued his education at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and graduated from the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

with a master's degree in engineering and additional studies in astrophysics. Jafar subsequently attended the Cambridge Judge Business School.

Career

Badr Jafar is the president of Crescent Enterprises' sister company Crescent Petroleum, chairman of Pearl Petroleum which develops

natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...

assets in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, and chairman of the executive board of the port operator Gulftainer. Badr Jafar is the chairman of Endeavor UAE. He is also on the board of advisors for Sharjah Entrepreneurship Centre (Sheraa) and

Gaza Sky Geeks Gaza Sky Geeks (GSG), previously known as the Arab Developer Network Initiative, is the first and only tech hub and startup accelerator in Gaza in Palestine. It was founded in 2011 with the backing of the global humanitarian organization Mercy Co ...

. He founded the Pearl Initiative in 2010. In 2011, he partnered with music producer

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (March 14, 1933 – November 3, 2024) was an American record producer, composer, arranger, conductor, trumpeter, and bandleader. Over the course of his seven-decade career, he received List of awards and nominations re ...

to create ''Global Gumbo Group'' to develop music and arts ventures in the Middle East. The group launched Dubai Music Week in 2013. They produced a charity single titled '' Tomorrow/Bokra'' (

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

: بكرا) to raise funds for educational arts projects for displaced youth in the Middle East. In May 2024, he was awarded the First Class Order of Zayed II by UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. In September 2024, he was sworn in by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan as

Special Envoy Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seating ...

for Business and Philanthropy. He was named one of the 100 most powerful Arabs by

Arabian Business ''Arabian Business'' (''AB'') is a weekly business magazine published in Dubai and focusing on global and regional news analysis. The brand is aimed at the English and Arabic-speaking communities and is published in both languages. Its circula ...

and Gulf Business in 2019 and 2021.

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 The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

(IUCN). They have two children. In 2018, Jafar and his wife joined

The Giving Pledge The Giving Pledge is a charitable campaign, founded by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, to encourage wealthy people to contribute a majority (i.e. more than 50%) of their wealth to philanthropic causes. , the pledge has had 236 signatories from 28 ...

, a philanthropic initiative launched by

Bill Gates William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American businessman and philanthropist. A pioneer of the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, he co-founded the software company Microsoft in 1975 with his childhood friend ...

, Melinda Gates, and

Warren Buffett Warren Edward Buffett ( ; born August 30, 1930) is an American investor and philanthropist who currently serves as the chairman and CEO of the conglomerate holding company Berkshire Hathaway. As a result of his investment success, Buffett is ...

. His brother Majid is the CEO of Crescent Petroleum. In 2011, Jafar was named a Young Global Leader by the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

and is a member of its stewardship board. In 2011, Jafar launched the Middle East Theatre Academy (META), a non-profit theatre academy. In 2014, the Kennedy Centre honored Jafar with a gold medal in the Arts. Jafar is the Founding Patron of the Centre for Strategic Philanthropy based at the University of Cambridge, which was launched in 2020. In September 2021, Jafar announced the launch of the Strategic Philanthropy Initiative at New York University Abu Dhabi. Jafar is on the board of advisors of the

International Rescue Committee The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is a global humanitarian aid, relief, and development nongovernmental organization. Founded in 1933 as the International Relief Association, at the request of Albert Einstein, and changing its name in 1 ...

(IRC), the US-based

Milken Institute The Milken Institute is an independent economic think tank based in Santa Monica, California, with offices in Washington, D.C., New York, Miami, London, Abu Dhabi, and Singapore. It publishes research and hosts conferences that apply market-bas ...

for strategic philanthropy, the

Middle East Institute The Middle East Institute (MEI) is a non-profit, non-partisan think tank and cultural center in Washington, D.C., founded in 1946. It seeks to "increase knowledge of the Middle East among the United States citizens and promote a better understan ...

, and the board of directors of the International Peace Institute. He is a member of the advisory boards of the Cambridge Judge Business School, the

American University of Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB; ) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its main campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, autonomous board of trustees and offers programs le ...

, the

American University of Sharjah The American University of Sharjah (AUS; Arabic: الجامعة الأميركية في الشارقة) is a private university in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. It was founded in 1997 by Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi, Supreme Council Member a ...

, and a member of the board of trustees of Zayed University. He is a foundation fellow of Eton College and holds an Honorary Fellowship by

London Business School London Business School (LBS) is a business school and a constituent college of the federal University of London. LBS was founded in 1964 and awards post-graduate degrees (Master's degree, Master's degrees in management and finance, Master of B ...

Jafar has been a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Advisory Council since 2017.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jafar, Badr Living people 1979 births People from the Emirate of Sharjah Emirati businesspeople Emirati chief executives Emirati people of Iraqi descent Alumni of the University of Cambridge 21st-century philanthropists People educated at Eton College