Jahm Najafi, Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Najafi has been the CEO of Najafi Companies since 2002.  He was a partner and COO of Pivotal Group from 1990 to 2002.  He worked at Salomon Brothers Investment Banking, now a division of Citigroup, from 1986 to 1990.

Mr. Najafi earned his Masters in Business and Economics from Harvard University after earning his B.A. in Economics and Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley.  He is Vice Chairman for the Phoenix Suns and a member of the Board of Governors of the National Basketball Association.   He is active with the Young Presidents’ Organization, Urban Land Institute and serves as President of the Board of Trustees of Phoenix Country Day School.  Additionally, he has served on Arizona State University’s Committee for Design Excellence, the Board of Directors for the Phoenix Symphony and Phoenix Metropolitan Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, as well as other civic organizations.  He is a founding partner of Social Venture Partners Arizona, which is a pooled, philanthropic fund that “invests” in emerging nonprofit organizations in a manner analogous to a venture capital fund investing in an emerging business.  The partners support this innovative, entrepreneurial philanthropy model by making a financial commitment and contributing management expertise to the nonprofit “investees.”

Mr. Najafi received the National Conference for Community and Justice (“NCCJ”) 2001 Humanitarian Award.  He was recognized by The Business Journal-Phoenix in 1998 as one of the “Valley’s Most Influential” individuals.