New Delhi: The submersible that perished in the deep waters of the North Atlantic Ocean while journeying to the wreck of the sunken Titanic last week, took down with it one of Pakistan’s wealthiest men, 48-year-old Shahzada Dawood, and his 19-year-old son Suleman.
Shahzada was vice-chairman of one of Pakistan’s largest fertiliser corporations, Engro Corporation, a subsidiary of the Dawood Hercules Corporation, all part of the Dawood Group founded by Shahzada’s paternal grandfather Ahmed Dawood, who was born in Gujarat.
Shahzada was also a member of the Global Advisory Board for King Charles’ charity, the Prince’s Trust International, a board member of the non-profit SETI Institute and a trustee of the Dawood Foundation, a Pakistani non-profit that focuses on education access.
He had over two decades of experience in corporate governance and the transformation of industries, and was a leading voice in the institutionalisation of key international networks, according to the World Economic Forum.
The British-Pakistani multimillionaire resided in the UK with his wife Christine and two children, Suleman and Alina.
Shahzada and his son died when the Titan submersible suffered a “catastrophic implosion” on its descent to the Titanic wreck 12,000 feet below sea level. Three others part of the expedition, French maritime expert and submersible pilot Paul-Henri Nargeolet, chief executive of OceanGate Expeditions Stockton Rush, and British billionaire Hamish Harding, suffered the same fate.
The US Coast Guard announced Thursday that the remains of the vessel had been found on the ocean bed near the wreck of the famed liner.
Shahzada was reported to have a love of photography, compassion for animals and, according to his sister, a childhood obsession with the doomed Titanic.
An NBC News report quoted his sister Azmeh Dawood as saying that her nephew Suleman was “terrified” of the expedition to the ruins of the Titanic and had only enlisted to please his father on Father’s Day. Suleman “wasn’t too keen on it”, whereas Shahzada had been, said Azmeh.
Also Read: Mukesh Ambani and Jeff Bezos are set for a face-off over who gets Future Retail
The Dawood Group
The Dawood Group of Companies refers to the diverse enterprises and industries founded by Seth Ahmed Dawood (1905-2002) and his family in the early decades following Pakistan’s independence in 1947. It is composed of three divisions: investment, commerce, and philanthropy.
In 1933, Ahmed was one of India’s most prominent industrialists, when his company became the largest supplier of imported yarn following the setting up of a cotton yarn shop in Bombay in 1920, according to the Dawood Investments website.
In 1947, Ahmed migrated to Pakistan with his three siblings, Suleman, Siddiq and Sattar. He had five children, one of them Hussain Dawood, Shahzada’s father, who was born in Bombay.
Ahmed soon set up Dawood Cotton Mills in the nascent country, and subsequently expanded into a number of industries with the establishment of Dawood Shipping Company, Dawood Petroleum, Burewala Textile Mills, Central Insurance Company and Dawood Hercules Chemicals, to name a few.
In 1948, Dawood Corporation became the first enterprise to be established in Karachi and Manchester in the UK. The business began in a small office and shop in Karachi, but expanded over the following decades.
The Dawood Group became one of the largest business groups in Pakistan in 1970, but in 1971, following the creation of Bangladesh, almost 60 per cent of Ahmed’s businesses and all of his investments in East Pakistan were reportedly nationalised and subsequently lost.
Since 2002, Hussain Dawood, who has been a member of the Dawood Group for over 50 years, has steered the businesses, according to Dawood Investments.
Shahzada’s varied interests
Shahzada Dawood, who earned an M.Sc. degree in global textile marketing from Philadelphia University in 2000 and an LLB degree from UK’s Buckingham University in 1998, has been credited with playing a crucial role in identifying growth and innovation opportunities for the Dawood Group.
He reportedly facilitated mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures in energy, agri-nutrients, consumer foods, petrochemicals, and textiles industries for numerous publicly-traded corporations.
According to media reports, he was interested in natural habitats and renewable energy, and took a keen interest in playing volleyball.
A month before Shahzada and Suleman boarded the Titan, the BBC reported that the Dawood family had left London for Canada.
In a statement issued prior to the discovery of the Titan’s remains, the Dawood family described Shazada as “a loving father” and identified Suleman as a university student.
“Shahzada has been actively advocating a culture of learning, sustainability, and diversity in his capacity as Vice Chairman of Pakistan’s Engro Corporation. Passionate about social impact, he works extensively with the Engro Foundation, The Dawood Foundation, the SETI Institute, and Prince’s Trust International,” it stated.
“Outside of the office, he has delivered impassioned speeches at the United Nations in 2020 on International Day for Women & Girls in Science and at Oxford Union in 2022. His interests included photography, particularly wildlife photography, and the exploration of various natural habitats, whereas Suleman was an avid admirer of science fiction literature and new knowledge,” it added.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
Also Read: Pallonji Mistry and Rahul Bajaj among world’s 20 richest automotive moguls