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Majid Jafar

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Majid Jafar
مجيد جعفر
Jafar in 2014
Born1976 (age 47–48)
NationalityEmirati
Iraqi
EducationEton College
Alma materCambridge University
London University (SOAS)
Harvard Business School
OccupationEnergy sector
TitleCEO Crescent Petroleum
SpouseLynn Barghout Jafar
Children4
RelativesDhia Jafar (grandfather)
Badr Jafar (brother)

Majid Hamid Jafar (Arabic: مجيد حميد جعفر; born 1976) is an Emirati businessman of Iraqi descent.[1][2] He is the CEO of Crescent Petroleum, vice-chairman of the Crescent Group, and managing director of Dana Gas.[3] In 2021 Jafar was named among the 100 inspiring leaders in the Middle East by Arabian Business magazine. [4]

Early life and education

[edit]

Majid Jafar is the eldest son of Hamid Jafar, founder of Crescent Petroleum and chairman of the Crescent Group, and Sawsan Al-Fahoum Jafar, who serves as Chairman of the Board of the Friends of Cancer Patients charity in the UAE.

He is the grandson of Iraqi Dhia Jafar, politician and cabinet minister who served in the last decade of Iraq's monarchy, during the reign of King Faisal II until 1958.[5] The Jafar family is a notable Iraqi family that claims agnatic descent from Musa al-Kadhim.[3]

Jafar attended Eton College and graduated from the University of Cambridge (Churchill College) with bachelor's and master's degrees in engineering (fluid mechanics and thermodynamics).[6]

He holds a master's degree in international studies and diplomacy with distinction from the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS),[7] and an MBA from Harvard Business School.[8]

Oil and gas career

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In his early career Jafar worked for Shell International's Exploration & Production and Gas & Power Divisions in London until 2004.[9]

In 2004, he joined Crescent Petroleum[10] at their headquarters in Sharjah, UAE. He became CEO of Crescent Petroleum in 2011.[11][12]

Crescent Petroleum's business and exploration focus lies in the MENA region[13] with a special focus on Egypt and Iraq, from where the Jafar family originates.[14] In a 2018 licensing round Crescent Petroleum was awarded three concessions for gas fields in Diyala province and as well as the Khidhr Al Mai exploration block in southern Iraq.[15][16]

Jafar was named as one of the 25 most powerful people in the Middle East oil and gas sector according to Oil& Gas Middle East.[17] He is also a frequent commentator on the oil and gas sector[15] and energy policy[16] and has written on the economic challenges in the Arab World,[18][17][19][20] and the geopolitics of oil and gas in the Caspian Region.[21]

Jafar is also a member of the board of the International Advisory Council of the Atlantic Council.[22]

Jafar is also a trustee of the Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED)[23] and a board member at the Iraqi Energy Institute,[5] a member of the Young Presidents Organisation[24] and of the panel of senior advisors of British think tank Chatham House.[25]

He has repeatedly stressed the importance of the expansion of the private sector to fully develop the potential of natural resources in the region.[26]

Jafar has championed the importance of the oil and gas industry in the low-carbon energy transition, highlighting the important role natural gas [27] will play in tackling carbon emissions particularly in the developing world.[28]

In 2017, Jafar co-chaired the WEF MENA Summit together with EU Commission President Usula von der Leyen and McKinsey managing partner Dominic Barton).[29][26] He was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum (WEF).[30]

In 2021, Jafar announced that Crescent Petroleum became one of the first companies in the oil and gas industry to achieve carbon neutrality across its operations after completing a series of projects to reduce carbon intensity and offset remaining emissions.[31] In December 2023, Jafar also committed Crescent Petroleum as a signatory to the Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter (OGDC), a global industry Charter dedicated to achieveing net-zero operations by 2050 at the latest, and achieving near-zero upstream methane emissions and ending routine flaring by 2030.[32]

In 2021 Jafar was named as one of 100 inspiring leaders in the Middle East,[4] and was listed in the Dubai's 100: Most influential people in the Emirate, by Arabian Business.[33]

In 2023, Forbes Middle East magazine named him among the Middle East Sustainable 100 list.[34]

Other work

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Jafar has written columns for the Financial Times,[35] and HuffPost[36] and is regularly interviewed on news channels like CNN and CNBC.[37]

Jafar previously served on the Middle East Advisory board of Carnegie Endowment and Harvard Business School,[38] and the board of the Queen Rania Foundation.[39] Jafar authored the opening chapter of Performance and Progress: Essays on Capitalism, Business and Society published in 2015 by Oxford University Press.[40]

In October 2020 Jafar was a signatory to the World Economic Forum's Principles of Stakeholder Capitalism for the Middle East and North Africa.[41] And in 2021 Crescent Petroleum partnered with Edraak to launch the Edraak Career Readiness programme to boost the employability skills of half a million young people across the MENA region.

2023 the company built on the success of the initiative with Edraak by launching the Career Compass Pathway course to teach interviewing and job hunting skills, targeting  1 million registrations across the Middle East.[42]

Philanthropy

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Jafar is the Co-founder[43] of the Loulou Foundation,[44] which he established together with his wife Lynn to address their eldest daughter Alia's rare disease (CDKL5 Deficiency Disorder).

Until 2022, the foundation supported 60 projects at 45 different institutions around the world, enabling the dedicated research of over 180 scientists.[45] Jafar and his wife were honored at the 2017 Finding A Cure for Epilepsy and Seizures (FACES) Gala in New York for their contributions to research towards better treatments for children who have epileptic seizures and other chronic conditions.[46]

Separately Jafar serves as Co-Chair of the Cambridge Children’s Hospital Fundraising Campaign and is a cornerstone donor to the pioneering hospital project, which will be one of the first hospitals designed to bring together treatment of mental and physical health, with an embedded University of Cambridge research institute.[47]

In 2020 the Jafars also established an endowed scholarship at Harvard Medical School to support medical students from the Middle East region.[48] Jafar is a member of the Board of Fellows and the Discovery Council of Harvard Medical School.[49]

Jafar's father, Hamid Jafar, supported the Jafar Research Professorship of Petroleum Engineering at Cambridge University.[50] In 2015, the Jafar Hall and the Jafar Gallery at Eton College was supported by the Jafar's family and was opened by the Prince of Wales .[51]

Jafar also sits on the board of trustees at the Kalimat Foundation for Children's books.[52]

Personal life

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Jafar is married to Lynn Barghout Jafar, daughter of businessman and philanthropist Bassam Barghout, who was awarded the Order of the Cedar with rank of Knight by the President and Prime Minister of Lebanon for his services to the country. [53] Her grandfather Khalil Al-Hibri served as a member of parliament, Chairman of the Water Board of Beirut, Minister of Public Works and then Prime Minister of Lebanon in 1958, heading the transitional government in response to the Lebanon Crisis. Her great-grandfather was Sheikh Toufik El-Hibri, a founder of the Scout movement in Lebanon and across the Arab World.

Majid and Lynn Jafar have four children (two girls and two boys).[54] Lynn Barghout Jafar founded and manages High Hopes Dubai, a pediatric therapy center, which was opened in November 2017 by HRH Princess Haya bint Hussein.[55] and further expanded in March 2023.[56] Majid and Lynn Jafar are patrons of the Dubai Collection for Art.[56]

References

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  1. ^ IT, Super (June 2020). "Majid Jafar". Arabian Business.
  2. ^ Weber, Bruce (14 May 2009). "Photos: Portraits of 'Fortune's Children'". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Dana Gas Board". Dana Gas.
  4. ^ a b "Majid Jafar". Arabian Business. 15 September 2021.
  5. ^ a b Elliot, Matthew (31 December 1996). Independent Iraq: British Influence from 1941 to 1958. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 978-1-85043-729-1.
  6. ^ Oil, Gas (10 January 2013). "Majid Jaafar". Oil& Gaz.
  7. ^ "Majid Jafar - CEO". Crescent Petroleum. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  8. ^ "Business Profile"[dead link], Bloomberg Business, USA October 2011. Retrieved on October 2011.
  9. ^ "Abdul Majid Abdul Hamid Dhia Jafar, Crescent Petroleum Co Intl U K Limited: Profile and Biography". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  10. ^ Pradeep, Angitha (2 January 2023). "Crescent Petroleum CEO on powering a lower-carbon future". Oil and Gas Middleeast.
  11. ^ "Exclusive: Majid Jafar, CEO, Crescent Petroleum". Gulf Business. 26 November 2012. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  12. ^ Reed, Stanley (14 October 2013). "Cracking the Energy Puzzles of the 21st Century". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  13. ^ "Iraq oil needs regulatory revamp: CEO". CNBC. 12 March 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  14. ^ "New investment models needed to boost Mena oil and gas competitiveness". The National. 20 June 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  15. ^ a b "Global Energy Initiative: Key role for Crescent Petroleum CEO". Arab News. 4 September 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  16. ^ a b "World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa 2017". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  17. ^ a b "21-30 of the most powerful people in ME Oil & Gas - Oil & Gas Middle East". 10 January 2013.
  18. ^ "WEF concludes by highlighting Jordan's 'big role' in initiatives". The Jordan Times. 21 May 2017. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  19. ^ "Arab-led investment plan for crucial jobs". Financial Times. London. 3 April 2013. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  20. ^ Rangan, Subramanian, ed. (2015). Performance and Progress: Essays on Capitalism, Business, and Society. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198744283.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-874428-3.
  21. ^ Abilov, Shamkhal (June 2012). "The "New Great Game" Over the Caspian Region: Russia, the USA, and China in the Same Melting Pot". researchgate.net.
  22. ^ "International Advisory Board". Atlantic Council. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  23. ^ "Arab Forum for Environment and Development". afedonline.org. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  24. ^ Staff (24 March 2014). "Centre for Economic Growth launched in Abu Dhabi - Business - Economy and Finance - Emirates24|7". emirates247.com. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  25. ^ "Our Governance". Chatham House.
  26. ^ a b "Time to Break the Cycle of Unemployment". HuffPost. 3 March 2014. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  27. ^ Zyl, Gareth van (6 January 2024). "Powering a just energy transition — why natural gas is key". Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  28. ^ Alrawi, Mustafa (20 December 2022). "Majid Jafar: 'Lack of investment fuelling first global energy crisis'". The National. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  29. ^ "Iraq violence demonstrates urgency for a Middle East 'Marshall Plan'". The Daily Telegraph. London. 15 June 2014. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  30. ^ "Community".
  31. ^ "Crescent Petroleum reinforces key efforts to achieve carbon neutrality". Gulf Today. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  32. ^ "Oil & Gas Decarbonization Charter launched to accelerate climate action". www.cop28.com. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  33. ^ "Dubai 100: The Most Influential People in the Emirate". Arabian Business. 15 September 2021.
  34. ^ Mughal, Waqar. "The Middle East's Sustainable 100". Forbes Lists. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
  35. ^ Jafar, Majid (3 April 2013). "Arab-led investment plan for crucial jobs". Financial Times. London. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  36. ^ "Time to Break the Cycle of Unemployment". HuffPost. 3 March 2014. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  37. ^ "Crescent Petroleum CEO claims gas is likely to play a key role in backing up shift to renewables". CNBC. 23 September 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  38. ^ "Majid H. Jafar". hms.harvard.edu. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  39. ^ "Abdul Majid Abdul Hamid Dhia Jafar - Biography". www.marketscreener.com. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  40. ^ Rangan, Subramanian, ed. (1 August 2015). Performance and Progress. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198744283.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-874428-3.
  41. ^ A Shared Vision for Stakeholder Capitalism in the Middle East and North Africa
  42. ^ Release, Press. "Crescent Petroleum and Edraak launch work skills online courses that aim to reach 500,000 youth in the region". zawya.com. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  43. ^ "Majid Jafar | Team". louloufoundation.org. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  44. ^ "CDKL5 Deficiency Disorder Research - LouLou Foundation". louloufoundation.org. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  45. ^ "Harvard Medical School Pulse" (PDF). {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  46. ^ Center, NYU Langone Medical. "NYU Langone Medical Center's 2017 FACES Gala Raises $4.7 Million To Support Epilepsy Research, Education & Care" (Press release). PR Newswire. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  47. ^ "Fundraising Campaign passes halfway mark, raising more than half of £100m target". Cambridge Children's. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  48. ^ "Pulse" (PDF). Harvard Medical School. Fall 2020. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  49. ^ "Board of Fellows | Harvard Medical School". hms.harvard.edu. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  50. ^ "Enginuity". www-g.eng.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  51. ^ Hurst, Greg (July 2022). "Eton's £18m hall is open to debate". The Times. London.
  52. ^ "Board Members". KALIMAT FOUNDATION. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  53. ^ "Bassam Barghout". Makassed Philanthropic Islamic Association of Beirut. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  54. ^ "Lynn Barghout Jafar - High Hopes - Pediatric Therapy Center Dubai". High Hopes. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  55. ^ Day, Emma (13 November 2017). "Princess Haya pays tribute to young patients' 'determination'". Emirates Woman. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  56. ^ a b "Majid & Lynn Jafar Private Collection". sveltekit-prerender. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
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