Majid Jafar Explained

Majid Jafar
Native Name:مجيد جعفر
Nationality:Emirati and Iraqi
Education:Eton College
Alma Mater:Cambridge University
London University (SOAS)
Harvard Business School
Occupation:Energy sector
CEO Crescent Petroleum
Spouse:Lynn Barghout Jafar
Children:3
Relations:Dhia Jafar (grandfather)
Badr Jafar (brother)

Majid Hamd Jafar (Arabic: مجيد حميد جعفر; born 1976) is an Emirati businessman[1] and the CEO of Crescent Petroleum. He is vice-chairman of the Crescent Group and managing director of Dana Gas (PJSC).[2]

Early life and education

Majid Jafar is the eldest son of Hamid Jafar, founder of Crescent Petroleum and chairman of the Crescent Group. 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.[3] The Jafar family is a notable Iraqi family that claims agnatic descent from Musa al-Kadhim.

Majid 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).[4]

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),[5] and an MBA from Harvard Business School.[6]

Oil and gas career

In his early career Jafar worked for Shell International's Exploration & Production and Gas & Power Divisions in London until 2004.[7]

In 2004, he joined Crescent Petroleum[8] at their headquarters in Sharjah, UAE. He became CEO of Crescent Petroleum in 2011.[9] [10]

Crescent Petroleum's business and exploration focus lies in the MENA region[11] with a special focus on Egypt and Iraq, from where the Jafar family originates.[12] 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.[13] [14]

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. He is also a frequent commentator on the oil and gas sector[13] and energy policy[14] and has written on the economic challenges in the Arab World,[15] [16] [17] [18] and the geopolitics of oil and gas in the Caspian Region.[19]

In 2013 Jafar was elected vice-chairman of the now defunct Global Energy Initiative[20] and was also listed among the top 100 business leaders from the Middle East and awarded as "Visionary of the Year" at the CEO Middle East Awards in 2013.[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,[3] 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 will play in tackling carbon emissions particularly in the developing world.[27]

In 2017, Jafar co-chaired the WEF MENA Summit together with EU Commission President Usula von der Leyen and McKinsey managing partner Dominic Barton).[28] He was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum (WEF).[29]

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.[30]

In 2021 Jafar was named as one of 100 inspiring leaders in the Middle East,[31] and was listed in the Dubai's 100: Most influential people in the Emirate, by Arabian Business.[32]

Other work

Jafar has written columns for the Financial Times,[33] and HuffPost[34] and is regularly interviewed on news channels like CNBC.[35]

Jafar previously served on the Middle East Advisory board of Carnegie Endowment and Harvard Business School,[36] and the board of the Queen Rania Foundation.[37] Jafar authored the opening chapter of Performance and Progress: Essays on Capitalism, Business and Society published in 2015 by Oxford University Press.[38]

In October 2020 Jafar was a signatory to the World Economic Forum's Principles of Stakeholder Capitalism for the Middle East and North Africa.[39] 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.[40]

Philanthropy

Jafar is the Co-founder[41] of the Loulou Foundation,[42] which he established together with his wife 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.[43] 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.[44]

In 2020 the Jafars also established an endowed scholarship at Harvard Medical School to support medical students from the Middle East region.[45] Jafar is a member of the Board of Fellows and the Discovery Council of Harvard Medical School.[46]

Jafar's father, Hamid Jafar, supported the Jafar Research Professorship of Petroleum Engineering at Cambridge University.[47] 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 .[48]

Jafar also sits on the board of trustees at the Kalimat Foundation for Children's books.[49]

Personal life

Jafar is married to Lynn Barghout Jafar, daughter of businessman and philanthropist Bassam Barghout.[50] 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.[51]

Majid and Lynn Jafar have three children (two girls and 1 boy).[52]

Notes and References

  1. News: IT . Super . June 2020 . Majid Jafar . Arabian Business.
  2. Web site: Dana Gas Board . Dana Gas.
  3. Book: Elliot, Matthew . Independent Iraq: British Influence from 1941 to 1958 . 1996-12-31 . Bloomsbury Academic . 978-1-85043-729-1 . en.
  4. Web site: Oil . Gas . 10 January 2013 . Majid Jaafar . Oil& Gaz.
  5. Web site: Majid Jafar - CEO . 2022-06-22 . Crescent Petroleum . en-US.
  6. http://investing.businessweek.com/businessweek/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=33350777&privcapId=13728268&previousCapId=882789&previousTitle=Fortum%20Espoo%20Oyj "Business Profile"
  7. Web site: Abdul Majid Abdul Hamid Dhia Jafar, Crescent Petroleum Co Intl U K Limited: Profile and Biography . 2022-06-22 . Bloomberg L.P. . en.
  8. Web site: Pradeep . Angitha . 2 January 2023 . Crescent Petroleum CEO on powering a lower-carbon future . Oil and Gas Middleeast.
  9. Web site: Exclusive: Majid Jafar, CEO, Crescent Petroleum. Gulf Business. 26 November 2012 . 30 November 2022.
  10. News: Reed . Stanley . 2013-10-14 . Cracking the Energy Puzzles of the 21st Century . en-US . The New York Times . 2022-06-22 . 0362-4331.
  11. Web site: 2015-03-12 . Iraq oil needs regulatory revamp: CEO . 2022-06-22 . CNBC . en.
  12. Web site: 2018-06-20 . New investment models needed to boost Mena oil and gas competitiveness . 2022-06-22 . The National . en.
  13. Web site: 2013-09-04 . Global Energy Initiative: Key role for Crescent Petroleum CEO . 2022-06-22 . Arab News . en.
  14. Web site: World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa 2017 . 2022-06-22 . World Economic Forum . en.
  15. Web site: 2017-05-21 . WEF concludes by highlighting Jordan's 'big role' in initiatives . 2022-06-22 . The Jordan Times . en.
  16. https://www.oilandgasmiddleeast.com/news/article-10878-21-30-of-the-most-powerful-people-in-me-oil-gas
  17. News: 2013-04-03 . Arab-led investment plan for crucial jobs . Financial Times . London . 2022-09-15.
  18. Book: Performance and Progress: Essays on Capitalism, Business, and Society . 2015 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-19-874428-3 . Rangan . Subramanian . Oxford . 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198744283.001.0001.
  19. Web site: Abilov . Shamkhal . June 2012 . The "New Great Game" Over the Caspian Region: Russia, the USA, and China in the Same Melting Pot . researchgate.net.
  20. News: 4 September 2013 . Global Energy Initiative: Key role for Crescent Petroleum CEO . Arab News .
  21. News: CEO Middle East Awards 2013 . Arabian Business .
  22. Web site: International Advisory Board . 2022-06-22 . Atlantic Council . en-US.
  23. Web site: Arab Forum for Environment and Development . 2024-04-15 . afedonline.org.
  24. Web site: Staff . Centre for Economic Growth launched in Abu Dhabi - Business - Economy and Finance - Emirates247 . 2022-06-22 . emirates247.com . 24 March 2014 . en.
  25. Web site: Our Governance . Chatham House.
  26. Web site: 2014-03-03 . Time to Break the Cycle of Unemployment . 2022-06-22 . HuffPost . en.
  27. Web site: Alrawi . Mustafa . 2022-12-20 . Majid Jafar: 'Lack of investment fuelling first global energy crisis' . 2023-02-16 . The National . en.
  28. Web site: Iraq violence demonstrates urgency for a Middle East 'Marshall Plan' . 2022-06-22 . The Daily Telegraph . 15 June 2014 . London.
  29. Web site: Community .
  30. Web site: Crescent Petroleum reinforces key efforts to achieve carbon neutrality. Gulf Today. 16 December 2022.
  31. News: 15 September 2021 . Majid Jafar . Arabian Business.
  32. News: 15 September 2021 . Dubai 100: The Most Influential People in the Emirate . Arabian Business.
  33. Web site: Jafar . Majid . 3 April 2013 . Arab-led investment plan for crucial jobs . 2022-09-15 . Financial Times. London.
  34. Web site: 2014-03-03 . Time to Break the Cycle of Unemployment . 2022-09-15 . HuffPost . en.
  35. Web site: Crescent Petroleum CEO claims gas is likely to play a key role in backing up shift to renewables . 2023-02-16 . CNBC . 23 September 2022 . en.
  36. Web site: Majid H. Jafar . 2023-09-11 . hms.harvard.edu . en.
  37. Web site: Abdul Majid Abdul Hamid Dhia Jafar - Biography . 2023-09-11 . www.marketscreener.com . en.
  38. Book: 2015-08-01 . Rangan . Subramanian . Performance and Progress . en . 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198744283.001.0001. 978-0-19-874428-3 .
  39. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Principles_Stakeholder_Capitalism_MENA_Endorsements_2020.pdf A Shared Vision for Stakeholder Capitalism in the Middle East and North Africa
  40. Web site: Release . Press . Crescent Petroleum and Edraak launch work skills online courses that aim to reach 500,000 youth in the region . 2023-04-26 . zawya.com . en.
  41. Web site: Majid Jafar Team . 2023-02-16 . louloufoundation.org.
  42. Web site: CDKL5 Deficiency Disorder Research - LouLou Foundation. louloufoundation.org. 2018-12-13.
  43. Harvard Medical School Pulse .
  44. Center . NYU Langone Medical . NYU Langone Medical Center's 2017 FACES Gala Raises $4.7 Million To Support Epilepsy Research, Education & Care . 2023-02-16 . PR Newswire . en.
  45. Web site: Fall 2020. Pulse. 2021-01-18. Harvard Medical School.
  46. Web site: Board of Fellows Harvard Medical School. hms.harvard.edu. 2018-12-13.
  47. Web site: Enginuity . 2022-06-22 . www-g.eng.cam.ac.uk.
  48. Web site: Hurst . Greg . July 2022 . Eton's £18m hall is open to debate . The Times. London.
  49. Web site: Board Members . 2022-09-15 . KALIMAT FOUNDATION . en-US.
  50. Web site: Bassam Barghout . 2023-09-11 . Makassed Philanthropic Islamic Association of Beirut . en-US.
  51. Web site: Day . Emma . 2017-11-13 . Princess Haya pays tribute to young patients' 'determination' . 2023-02-16 . Emirates Woman . en.
  52. Web site: Lynn Barghout Jafar - High Hopes - Pediatric Therapy Center Dubai . 2023-09-11 . High Hopes . en-GB.