# Badr Jafar

Badr Jafar (Arabic: بدر حميد جعفر‎; born 1979) is an Emirati businessperson and special envoy for business and philanthropy. He is the chief executive officer of Crescent Enterprises, a conglomerate headquartered in the United Arab Emirates.

## Early life and education

Badr Jafar was born and raised in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. 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. Jafar subsequently attended the Cambridge Judge Business School.
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 also a foundation fellow of Eton College.
In July 2024, he received an Honorary Fellowship by London Business School

## Career

Badr Jafar is the president of Crescent Enterprises' sister company Crescent Petroleum, chairman of Pearl Petroleum which develops natural gas assets in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, and chairman of the executive board of the port operator Gulftainer.
In September 2024, Jafar was sworn in by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan as Special Envoy for Business and Philanthropy.

## Other Work

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.
He founded the Pearl Initiative in 2010.
In 2011, he partnered with music producer Quincy Jones 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: بكرا) to raise funds for educational arts projects for displaced youth in the Middle East. They announced the relaunch of Tomorrow/Bokra with new artists for its 10th anniversary.
In 2011, Jafar was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum 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.
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".
He launched the Arab World Social Entrepreneurship program in 2016.
Jafar has been a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Advisory Council since 2017.
In 2018, Jafar and his wife joined The Giving Pledge, a philanthropic initiative launched by Bill Gates, Melinda Gates, and Warren Buffett.
In 2019, he was appointed to UNESCO’s Futures of Education International Commission.
He was named one of the 100 most powerful Arabs by Arabian Business and Gulf Business in 2019 and 2021.
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 (IRC) and the US-based Milken Institute for strategic philanthropy. He is also on the board of advisors of the Middle East Institute, and the board of directors of the International Peace Institute.
In September 2023, he was appointed COP28 Special Representative for Business and Philanthropy. He chaired the inaugural COP28 Business & Philanthropy Forum.
In May 2024, he was awarded the First Class Order of Zayed II by UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

## 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.
His brother Majid is the CEO of Crescent Petroleum.