Shahzada Dawood facts for kids

Shahzada Dawood (Urdu: شہزادہ داؤد‎; 12 February 1975 – 18 June 2023) was a Pakistani 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. His sisters were Azmeh Dawood and Sabrina Dawood, the latter known for her philanthropic endeavours. His brother was Abdul Samad Dawood.

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

Career

Dawood was the vice-chairman of the Engro Corporation, and a director of the Dawood Hercules Corporation.

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. He had invested in finding growth opportunities through mergers and acquisitions in textiles, fertilizers, foods, and energy in public-listed companies.

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

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.

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

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 since 2014. They had two children together.

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

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

Titan expedition and death

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," 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. His wife later gave her ticket to the couple's nineteen-year-old son, Suleman. The dive, which was expected to bring the travellers to a depth of 3,800 metres (12,500 ft), began on the morning of 18 June 2023 and was expected to last eight hours. Approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes after beginning the descent, Titan lost contact with the surface ship, the MV Polar Prince. Search and rescue missions involved water and air support from the United States, Canada and France.

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.