Hussain Dawood

Hussain Dawood is a Pakistani businessman and philanthropist. He currently serves as the chairman of Engro Holdings and The Dawood Foundation. Additionally, he holds the position of chairman at the Karachi School of Business & Leadership (KSBL).

Early life and education

Dawood was born on 20 September 1943 in Bombay, British India, which is known today as Mumbai. He belongs to a Memon family. His father, Ahmed Dawood, worked as a businessperson. During the partition of India in 1947, his father moved the family to Karachi.

He pursued his higher education in the United Kingdom. Dawood studied metallurgy at Sheffield Hallam University and graduated from the institution in 1966. After completing this degree, he moved to the United States to study at Northwestern University. He attended the Kellogg School of Management and received a Master of Business Administration in 1968.

Career

Following his studies, Dawood joined the family business in Pakistan where he worked as a finance director. He became the managing director of Dawood Lawrencepur in 1973. This public limited company specialized in textiles. In 1981, he stepped into the role of chief executive officer for Dawood Hercules.

The late 1990s marked a period of significant growth. He spearheaded the expansion of the company and oversaw the acquisition of Engro. After his father passed away, he assumed the role of chairman at Dawood Hercules Corporation. In 2006, he became the chairman of Engro Corporation.

Dawood manages, supervises, and controls various family businesses. He has chaired several listed companies throughout his career. His professional history includes joint ventures with international partners from the United States, Europe, Japan, and China. These partnerships involve entities such as Royal Vopak, FrieslandCampina, and China Machinery Engineering Corporation.

His philanthropic work remains extensive. He served as the chairman of the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund. As a founding donor, he established the Mariam Dawood School of Visual Arts & Design at the Beaconhouse National University Tarogil Campus in Lahore. Through The Dawood Foundation, he provided support for relief efforts following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, and the 2010 Pakistan floods.

He founded the Karachi School of Business and Leadership (KSBL) to develop effective leaders. During the COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan, he pledged Rs 1bn on behalf of Engro Corporation and Dawood Hercules Group for national relief efforts. He also donated toward the purchase of a former church in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. This building was converted into the Shaheed Suleman Dawood Mosque, which opened in 2025 to honor his grandson.

Personal life

Hussain Dawood is married to Kulsum. The couple has four children: Azmeh, Shahzada, Sabrina, and Samad. He is based in Dubai.

In June 2023, tragedy struck the family. Dawood lost his son Shahzada and his 19-year-old grandson, Suleman. Both individuals died alongside three others when the submersible Titan imploded during a tourist expedition to view the Titanic wreck.

Awards and recognition

Dawood received the Hilal-i-Imtiaz from the President of Pakistan in 2025. This is the second-highest civil honour in the country. The award recognized his contributions to social service.

He was also named an Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic on 2 June 2008.