Jahm Najafi MA ’86 is a global investor, CEO of the private investment firm Najafi Companies, and co-owner of the Phoenix Suns. “I’ve had my unfair share of good fortune,” he jokes. Najafi credits much of his success to an ability to think critically, a skill he first developed as a student at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS).
“I wanted to attend Harvard ever since I was 12 years old and had just moved to the United States, but they rejected me as an undergraduate,” says Najafi. He wanted to prove he could learn with the best and have the chance to take classes from top economists like Richard Caves and Jeffrey Sachs. When he arrived to pursue a master’s degree in business economics, he felt instantly welcomed by classmates and faculty.
“Harvard exceeded my expectations,” says Najafi. “Professors provided so much guidance. They would challenge me to think beyond what I thought I was capable of. They taught me to think outside of any established framework.”
In gratitude for his Harvard experience, he and his wife Cheryl have made several gifts to GSAS.
“We are both thankful to the people who believed in us at a time when we weren’t much,” Najafi says. “I feel my personal success and ability to overcome challenges in my life had a lot to do with my education and my experiences interacting with people at Harvard.”
To support this community of scholars, the Najafis have dedicated one of these gifts to graduate financial aid. “So many people who attend GSAS love research and expanding human thought,” says Najafi. “And I want to make a small contribution to allow people to continue those quests.”
The couple has also made an unrestricted gift to help advance new initiatives led by Dean Xiao-Li Meng, such as the Harvard Horizons program and symposium, the new Parental Accommodation and Financial Support program, and other professional development offerings. “Xiao-Li is an amazing dean,” says Najafi. “He’s so passionate about students at GSAS.”
Najafi lives with his wife and their three children in Arizona, and he doesn’t get the chance to return to Cambridge as much as he’d like. Still, he takes great comfort in knowing that he and his wife are supporting ongoing activity at the graduate school.
“The only reason we are where we are is that people have gone beyond their comfort zones to expand what we know,” he says. “This is due to people who go to graduate school, with Harvard at the forefront. We need to continue to support their good work.”
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This story first appeared in Colloquy, the alumni magazine for the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.