Hussain Dawood

Hussain DaWood (born 20 September 1943) is a Pakistani businessman.

He is the chairman of two publicly listed companies in Pakistan: the DaWood Hercules Corporation and Engro Corporation.

DaWood is the chairman of The DaWood Foundation (TDF) which focuses on creating collective change by building interactive spaces for formal and informal learning through projects such as the DaWood Public School in Karachi.

He is also the chairman of the Karachi School of Business & Leadership (KSBL), and a director of the Islamabad Policy Research Institute.

DaWood was born in Bombay, British India (now Mumbai) into a Memon family.

His father Seth Ahmed DaWood, a businessman, moved to Karachi with family during partition of India in 1947.

The DaWood Foundation is a private charitable trust formed in 1960.

DaWood studied metallurgy at Sheffield University from where he graduated in 1966.

He went on to study at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, and received in 1968 an MBA.

After his studies DaWood joined the family business in Pakistan as Group Finance Director.

He became in 1973 Managing Director of DaWood Lawrencepur, a public limited company specialising in textiles.

In 1974, he joined the board of the family-run business, conducted significant merger and acquisition activities.

In 1981, DaWood became Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of DaWood Hercules Chemicals Limited (the predecessor of DaWood Hercules Corporation).

In the late 1990s, he spearheaded the expansion of the company, including the acquisition of Engro Corporation.

Following the death of his father he took over as Chairman of the Board of DaWood Hercules Corporation.

Hussain DaWood assumed the chairmanship of it in 2000.

It operates various schools, other informal education project, and supports the Engro Foundation.

DaWood served as the Chairman of the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund.

He is the founding donor of the Mariam DaWood School of Visual Arts & Design at the Beaconhouse National University Tarogil Campus, in Lahore.

The DaWood Foundation has assisted those affected by the tsunami of 2004, the 2005 earthquake, and the 2010 floods.

DaWood is the Founder and Chairman of the Karachi School of Business & Leadership (KSBL), a graduate management school, focusing on development of effective leaders.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan, DaWood pledged Rs 1bn on behalf of Engro Corporation and DaWood Hercules Group.

Hussain DaWood is married to Kulsum.

The couple had four children; Azmeh, Shahzada, Sabrina and Samad.

In 2006, DaWood became Chairman of the Board of Engro Corporation, which specialises in a variety of industries, including fertilisers, polymers, food and energy.

Other notable positions Hussain DaWood has held:

DaWood has expanded the business interests of his companies and is considered a business pioneer.

His experience consists of managing, supervising and controlling family businesses and chairing listed companies.

This has involved a number of joint ventures over the years with European, US, Japanese and Chinese parties, such as:

DaWood is a philanthropist and has significantly donated to formal education, healthcare, and disaster relief in Pakistan.

DaWood holds Maltese citizenship since 2016, reportedly through an individual investor programme, and is based in Dubai.

In June 2023, DaWood lost his son Shahzada and his 19-year-old grandson, Suleman.

Both died alongside three others inside the submersible Titan when it imploded on a tourist expedition to view the wreck of the Titanic.