Shahzada Dawood

Shahzada Dawood
شہزادہ داؤد
Born(1975-02-12)12 February 1975
Rawalpindi, Pakistan
Died18 June 2023(2023-06-18) (aged 48)
North Atlantic Ocean
Cause of death Implosion of Titan submersible
Citizenship
  • Pakistan
  • United Kingdom[1]
  • Malta[2]
Education
Occupations
SpouseChristine Dawood
Children2
FatherHussain Dawood
Relatives

Shahzada Dawood (Urdu: شہزادہ داؤد‎; 12 February 1975 – 18 June 2023) was a Pakistani[a] businessman and philanthropist.

Dawood, his 19-year-old son, Suleman, and three others were killed inside the submersible Titan when it imploded on a tourist expedition to view the wreck of the Titanic.

Early life

Dawood was born on 12 February 1975, in Rawalpindi; he was the eldest son of Hussain Dawood.[3][2] His sisters were Azmeh Dawood and Sabrina Dawood, the latter known for her philanthropic endeavours. His brother was Abdul Samad Dawood.[4]

Their paternal grandfather, Ahmed Dawood, was a prominent Memon industrialist who established the family business, Dawood Group.[5] Dawood received his early education from Aitchison College, Lahore.[6] He pursued further studies, attaining an LLB from Buckingham University and an MSc in global textile marketing from Philadelphia University (now Thomas Jefferson University).[3][7]

Career

Dawood was the vice-chairman of the Engro Corporation, and a director of the Dawood Hercules Corporation.[8][9]

Dawood had been on the board of the Engro Corporation since 2003. He became the vice-chairman of Engro in October 2021. Before this, he had been the vice-chairman of the Dawood Hercules Corporation.[10] He had invested in finding growth opportunities through mergers and acquisitions in textiles, fertilizers, foods, and energy in public-listed companies.[11]

In 2012, Dawood was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.[3] Dawood had spoken at the United Nations in 2020 on the occasion of International Day of Women and Girls in Science.[12]

Philanthropy

From 1996 to 2023, Dawood had been a trustee of the family-foundation, The Dawood Foundation (TDF), which focused on education. TDF had been coordinating the Hussain Dawood Pledge, a private donation to fight COVID-19 in Pakistan. He had been focused in efforts to provide mental health support to people hit by the pandemic in Pakistan.[13][14]

Dawood was also a trustee of Engro Foundation,[15] a member of the Global Advisory Board for Prince's Trust International, a charity founded by Charles III,[16] and a board member of the SETI Institute.[17]

Personal life

Shahzada Dawood was married to Christine Dawood née Meckel (born 1975), who was born and raised in Germany, since 2002. After having lived in Pakistan and Singapore, they settled in the United Kingdom in 2014. They had two children together: a son, Suleman (born 2004), and a daughter, Alina (born 2006)[1][18][19][20][21]

Dawood became a Maltese citizen in 2016, reportedly through an Individual Investor Programme.[2]

Media reports indicate that Dawood had a keen interest in investigating natural habitats and renewable energies.[22] He was described as a "photography enthusiast",[23] particularly passionate about wildlife photography and exploring different natural habitats.[16]

Titan expedition and death

Main article: Titan submersible implosion

Dawood and his family departed from their residence in London and journeyed to Canada for the duration of one month. Dawood, a Titanic enthusiast with a "years long passion for science and discovery,"[24] booked tickets for himself and his wife over Father's Day weekend to embark on the Titan submersible to view the wreck of the Titanic.[22] His wife later gave her ticket to the couple's nineteen-year-old son, Suleman.[25] The dive, which was expected to bring the travellers to a depth of 3,800 metres (12,500 ft),[26] began on the morning of 18 June 2023 and was expected to last eight hours.[2] Approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes after beginning the descent, Titan lost contact with the surface ship, the MV Polar Prince.[1][27][28] Search and rescue missions involved water and air support from the United States, Canada and France.[29]

On 22 June 2023, the United States Coast Guard confirmed that they had found debris approximately 1,600 feet (500 metres) from the bow of the Titanic that was "consistent with a catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber", and concluded that the passengers aboard Titan – Dawood and his son, Suleman, as well as Hamish Harding, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush — had all died instantly.[30][31][32]

Notes

  1. ^ Dawood also held British and Maltese citzenship.[1][2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Hamish Harding, Shahzada Dawood and son Suleman: Who is on board Titanic sub?". BBC News. 19 June 2023. Archived from the original on 20 June 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e Borg, Bertrand (21 June 2023). "Billionaire aboard missing Titanic sub is a Maltese citizen". Times of Malta. Archived from the original on 21 June 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Goldbaum, Christina; Bubola, Emma (22 June 2023). "Shahzada Dawood, Executive, 48, and Son, 19, Die Aboard Submersible". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 23 June 2023.
  4. ^ "Video Titan victim's deaths 'brought the world together,' uncle says". ABC News. Archived from the original on 25 June 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  5. ^ Khalid, Hanif (23 June 2023). "Who are the Dawoods?". The News International. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  6. ^ "News and Events - Aitchison College". www.aitchison.edu.pk.
  7. ^ "Shahzada Dawood Vice Chairman". Engro, board of directors & committees. Engro Corporation Limited. Archived from the original on 26 June 2023. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  8. ^ "Shahzada Dawood - Director at Dawood Hercules Corporation Ltd based in Karachi". THE ORG. Archived from the original on 20 June 2023. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  9. ^ Pathak, Trisha (23 June 2023). "Who is Shahzada Dawood? One of Pakistan's wealthiest men on board the missing Titanic submersible". WION. Archived from the original on 20 June 2023. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  10. ^ "Engro Corporation 1H 2021 Results". Governance Matters. Engro Corp. 24 August 2021. Archived from the original on 20 June 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  11. ^ "Shahzada Dawood". World Economic Forum. Archived from the original on 20 June 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  12. ^ "Shahzada Dawood Speech UNHQ 11-02-2020". Youtube. March 2020. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  13. ^ "Two charities to provide mental health support to people hit by Covid-19". Dawn. 17 June 2020. Archived from the original on 21 June 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  14. ^ "Titanic tourist sub: Who is Shahzada Dawood?". Samaa. 21 June 2023. Archived from the original on 22 June 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  15. ^ "Who we are". Engro Foundation. Archived from the original on 21 June 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  16. ^ a b Bubola, Emma (20 June 2023). "Two of the Passengers Are a Prominent Businessman and His 19-Year-Old Son". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 20 June 2023. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  17. ^ "Shahzada Dawood". SETI Institute. Archived from the original on 20 June 2023. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  18. ^ Saunders, Angel (13 January 2024). "Widow of Titanic Sub Victims Remembers Son Ahead of 19th Birthday". People. Retrieved 7 December 2024. Her daughter Alina was 17 when the incident happened." [...] "Christine said she chose to do the interview because Suleman's birthday is coming up on Jan. 15 and she wants to remember him.
  19. ^ "Christine Dawood's BBC interview in full". BBC News. 26 June 2023. Archived from the original on 26 June 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  20. ^ "Next Step Now - Meet Christine". nextstepnow.com. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  21. ^ "Christine Dawood bangt um ihren Mann und Sohn an Bord der "Titan" (Stern+)". 22 June 2023.
  22. ^ a b Haroun, Azmi. "Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman are on the missing Titanic submersible. They're from one of Pakistan's richest families". Insider. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  23. ^ "Family awaits word amid massive search for missing 'Titanic sub'". Dawn. 21 June 2023. Archived from the original on 21 June 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  24. ^ Bubola, Emma (21 June 2023). "Shahzada and Suleman Dawood, Father-Son Passengers, Love Science Fiction and Travel". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 22 June 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  25. ^ "Teenager on Titan sub wanted to break Rubik's Cube record near Titanic". BBC News. 26 June 2023. Archived from the original on 26 June 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  26. ^ Noyce, Eleano (21 June 2023). "Who is Shahzada Dawood? The Pakistani businessman lost at sea in Titanic submarine with teenage son". The Independent. Archived from the original on 21 June 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  27. ^ "Titanic sub timeline: when did it go missing and key events in search". Reuters. 21 June 2023. Archived from the original on 22 June 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  28. ^ Lough, Catherine (20 June 2023). "Shahzada Dawood: One of Pakistan's richest men trapped on board with 19-year-old son". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 20 June 2023. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  29. ^ Henley, Jon (21 June 2023). "Titanic sub live updates: vessel may have less than 20 hours of oxygen left, says US Coast Guard, as search continues". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  30. ^ "Titan sub: crew have died after catastrophic loss of pressure chamber, US Coast Guard confirms – latest updates". The Guardian. 22 June 2023. Archived from the original on 22 June 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  31. ^ "OceanGate says it believes individuals on missing sub 'have sadly been lost'". CNN. 22 June 2023. Archived from the original on 22 June 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  32. ^ Patil, Anushka (22 June 2023). "The debris found today was "consistent with catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber" in the submersible, Mauger said". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 June 2023.