Omar Fayed ( ar, عمر الفايد; born October 1987) is an

environmentalist An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that s ...

and publisher. He is CEO of ESTEE (Earth Space Technical Ecosystem Enterprises), based in Switzerland and

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

, that advocates

human space exploration Human spaceflight (also referred to as manned spaceflight or crewed spaceflight) is spaceflight with a crew or passengers aboard a spacecraft, often with the spacecraft being operated directly by the onboard human crew. Spacecraft can also b ...

space colonization Space colonization (also called space settlement or extraterrestrial colonization) is the use of outer space or celestial bodies other than Earth for permanent habitation or as extraterrestrial territory. The inhabitation and territor ...

, and sustainable human development within the

biosphere The biosphere (from Greek βίος ''bíos'' "life" and σφαῖρα ''sphaira'' "sphere"), also known as the ecosphere (from Greek οἶκος ''oîkos'' "environment" and σφαῖρα), is the worldwide sum of all ecosystems. It can also be ...

. He is co-founder and CEO of EarthX, a data visualization and mapping company based on

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedi ...

’s World Wind Project. He is chairman of Synergetic Press based in

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

, and a fellow of the

Institute of Ecotechnics The Institute of Ecotechnics is an educational, training and research charity with a special interest in ecotechnology, the environment, conservation, and heritage. With its U.K. headquarters in London, England and its U.S. affiliate in Santa ...

. Fayed was ranked 75, in ''

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 circul ...

'' magazine's "Power 100" list in 2009.

Career

Fayed started in business as a teenager trading commodities. In 2006, aged 19, he was appointed to the

Harrods Harrods Limited is a department store located on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It is currently owned by the state of Qatar via its sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority. The Harrods brand also applies to oth ...

board and in ten subsidiary companies including

Fulham F.C. Fulham Football Club is an English professional association football, football club based in Fulham, London, which compete in the . They have played home games at Craven Cottage since 1896, other than a two-year period spent at Loftus Road whil ...

and the Ritz Hotel in Paris. Fayed was expected to take over as chairman of Harrods, however he resigned in 2009 to pursue his studies for an MBA. He expressed a desire to focus on environmental entrepreneurship instead, commenting in an interview, "that consumerist culture wasn’t doing anything positive for the future of humanity." His father

Mohamed Al-Fayed Mohamed Al-Fayed (; arz, محمد الفايد ; born 27 January 1929) is an Egyptian-born businessman whose residence and chief business interests have been in the United Kingdom since the late 1960s. His business interests include ownership of ...

, subsequently sold Harrods in 2010, to

Qatar Holdings The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA; ar, جهاز قطر للإستثمار) is Qatar's sovereign wealth fund. The QIA was founded by the State of Qatar in 2005 to strengthen the country's economy by diversifying into new asset classes. In 2021 ...

, the sovereign wealth fund of the emirate of

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...

, for £1.5 billion ($2.3 billion). Fayed is chairman of Biotecture, a provider of modular green wall systems, that built large-scale living walls for the Walkie Talkie skyscraper in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

, and the

Veolia Veolia Environnement S.A., branded as Veolia, is a French transnational company with activities in three main service and utility areas traditionally managed by public authorities – water management, waste management and energy services. It p ...

recycling and energy recovery facility in

Leeds Leeds () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the thi ...

. In 2014, he founded Living City, an initiative to connect and consult green enterprises and government projects. Omar Fayed is a director of the Ritz Hotel Paris, and the satirical magazine ''

Punch Punch commonly refers to: * Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist * Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice Punch may also refer to: Places * Pun ...

''. ''Punch'' ceased print publishing in 2002. Fayed continues to publish ''Punch'' posts via

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin ...

, as the page editor. He was

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights ...

for the 2015 documentary film '' The Sunshine Makers'', about the manufacture of the psychedelic compound

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known colloquially as acid, is a potent psychedelic drug. Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily mental, vi ...

in the 1960s.

References

External links

Earth Space Technical Ecosystem Enterprises WebsiteLiving City WebsiteOmar Fayed on Twitter
*
Punch magazine on Twitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fayed, Omar Harrods Egyptian Muslims Egyptian businesspeople El Fayed family Living people 1984 births