{{Short description|American financier (1965–2019)}} {{Infobox person | name = Alex Navab | image = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date|1965|11|24}} | birth_place = Isfahan, Iran | death_date = {{death date and age|2019|07|07|1965|11|24}} | death_place = Greece | alma_mater = Columbia University (BA)<br>Harvard Business School (MBA) | occupation = private equity executive | employer = Kohlberg Kravis Roberts | spouse = | children = | relatives = }} '''Alex Navab''' (November 24, 1965 – July 7, 2019) was an American financier who was the head of the Americas Private Equity Business of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and possible successor to the firm.
== Early life == Navab was born on November 24, 1965, in Isfahan, to an Iranian father and Greek mother, Dr. Ali and Katina (Armenakis) Navab. His father was a physician.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last=de la Merced|first=Michael J.|date=2019-07-12|title=Alex Navab, Prominent Wall Street Dealmaker, Is Dead at 53|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/12/business/alex-navab-dead.html|access-date=2020-05-21|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The family fled for Greece after the Iranian revolution in 1979 and then moved to the United States.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|last=Gottfried|first=Miriam|date=2019-04-18|title=Former KKR Executive Alexander Navab Aims to Raise $3 Billion for New Buyout Firm|language=en-US|work=The Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/former-kkr-executive-alexander-navab-aims-to-raise-3-billion-for-new-buyout-firm-11555578000|access-date=2020-05-21|issn=0099-9660}}</ref> He graduated from Columbia College as Phi Beta Kappa in 1987 and Harvard Business School in 1991.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=Board of Visitors Chair Alex Navab CC'87 receives 2016 Ellis Island Medal of Honor|url=https://www.college.columbia.edu/news/board-visitors-chair-alex-navab-cc-87-receives-2016-ellis-island-medal-honor|date=May 19, 2016|access-date=May 20, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Columbia College mourns the loss of Alex Navab CC'87|url=https://www.college.columbia.edu/news/columbia-college-mourns-loss-alex-navab-cc-87|date=July 11, 2019|website=Columbia College|access-date=May 20, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=WHAT DOES THE AMERICAN DREAM MEAN IN TODAY'S AMERICA?|url=https://www.alumni.hbs.edu/stories/Pages/story-bulletin.aspx?num=5609|date=18 May 2016|website=www.alumni.hbs.edu|access-date=2020-05-21}}</ref>
== Career == He worked at Goldman Sachs and James D. Wolfensohn, Inc. before joining KKR in 1993. During his time at KKR, he oversaw its takeover of the Nielsen Company, Yellow Pages and Borden. Navab became co-president of KKR's American private equity business in 2008. He became the sole president in 2014.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news|date=2018-10-09|title=Ex-KKR executive Navab to launch buyout firm with Goldman backing: sources|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-privateequity-m-a-navab-idUSKCN1MJ2RQ|access-date=2020-05-21}}</ref> He helped the firm raise $13.9 billion, one of the biggest of its kind.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=KKR Closes $13.9 Billion Americas Private Equity Fund|url=https://media.kkr.com/news-releases/news-release-details/kkr-closes-139-billion-americas-private-equity-fund|website=KKR & Co. Inc.|language=en|access-date=2020-05-21}}</ref> He was the youngest partner at KKR.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|title=NYC Elite Remember Financier Alexander Navab|url=http://gothammag.com/nyc-elite-remember-alexander-navab|website=gothammag.com|language=en|access-date=2020-05-21}}</ref>
Navab sat on the management committee of KKR and was considered by many in the industry to be a candidate to succeed Henry Kravis and George R. Roberts.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Remembering Alex Navab, former KKR executive and founder of Navab Capital Partners|url=https://www.themiddlemarket.com/news/remembering-alex-navab-former-kkr-executive-and-founder-of-navab-capital-partners|date=2019-07-18|website=Mergers & Acquisitions|language=en|access-date=2020-05-21}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite news|last=de la Merced|first=Michael J.|date=2017-07-17|title=K.K.R. Lays Out a Line of Succession, a Rare Move in Private Equity|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/17/business/dealbook/kkr-henry-kravis-george-roberts-succession.html|access-date=2020-05-21|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> However, he was reported to have health issues which raised concerns about his prospects of succession.<ref>{{Cite web|title=KKR draws healthy skeptics after co-head collapses during investor meeting|url=https://nypost.com/2013/07/26/kkr-draws-healthy-skeptics-after-co-head-collapses-during-investor-meeting/|last=Kosman|first=Josh|date=2013-07-26|website=New York Post|language=en|access-date=2020-05-21}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=2014-07-16|title=At KKR, Nuttall and Bae are favorites to fill founders' shoes|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-kkr-succession-insight-idUSKBN0FL0XF20140716|access-date=2020-05-21}}</ref> After two other executives, Scott C. Nuttall and Joseph Bae, were promoted to co-presidents, he departed KKR in 2017 and launched his own buyout firm, Navab Capital Partners.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":5" /><ref>{{Cite news|title=Former KKR Dealmaker Alex Navab Starts a Private Equity Firm|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-18/former-kkr-dealmaker-alex-navab-starts-a-private-equity-firm|last=Perlberg|first=Heather|date=18 April 2019|website=Bloomberg|access-date=May 20, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Alex Navab Unveils New Firm, Navab Capital Partners|url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190418005310/en/Alex-Navab-Unveils-New-Firm-Navab-Capital|date=2019-04-18|website=www.businesswire.com|language=en|access-date=2020-05-21}}</ref>
== Philanthropy == His philanthropic activities included serving as a trustee of Columbia University as well as on the boards of the Robin Hood Foundation and NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Alexander Navab and Li Lu Elected to Columbia Board of Trustees|url=https://news.columbia.edu/news/alexander-navab-and-li-lu-elected-columbia-board-trustees|date=September 7, 2017|access-date=May 5, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=David Einhorn Elected as Chair of Robin Hood Board of Directors|url=https://www.robinhood.org/david-einhorn-elected-as-chair-of-robin-hood-board-of-directors/index.html|last=Hood|first=Robin|date=2015-01-30|website=Robin Hood|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-21}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center Opens the Mary Kathryn and Alex Navab Cardiothoracic Robotic Surgery Center - NewYork-Presbyterian|url=https://www.nyp.org/news/Navab-Cardiothoracic-Robotic-Surgery-Center-Opens|website=www.nyp.org|language=en|access-date=2020-05-21}}</ref> He was also involved in the Greek American community and was named "Executive of the Year" in 2017 by the Hellenic American Association for Professionals in Finance.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Alexander Navab, Businessman and Philanthropist, Passed Away, 53|url=https://www.thenationalherald.com/archive_whats_new/arthro/alexander_navab_businessman_and_philanthropist_passed_away_53-20814/|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->| website=The National Herald|language=en|access-date=2020-05-21}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Hellenic American Association for Professionals in Finance to Honor Alexander Navab as Executive of the Year | work = USA.GreekReporter.com|url=https://usa.greekreporter.com/2017/05/02/hellenic-american-association-for-professionals-in-finance-to-honor-alexander-navab-as-executive-of-the-year/|last=Kolasa-Sikiaridi|first=Kerry|date=2017-05-02|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-21}}</ref>
In 2016, he received an Ellis Island Medal of Honor for his professional achievements and public service.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Medalists Database|url=http://104.131.85.100/medal-of-honor/medalists-database?medalist=29883|website=104.131.85.100|access-date=2020-05-21}}</ref> He received a John Jay Award from Columbia College in 2011, along with Ghanaian economist and future Minister for Finance and Economic Planning Ken Ofori-Atta, Israeli ambassador Michael Oren, and Livingston Award-winning journalist Elizabeth Rubin.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Five Alumni Honored at John Jay Awards Dinner|url=https://www.college.columbia.edu/cct/archive/may_jun11/features0|last=Sachare|first=Alex|website=Columbia College Today|access-date=May 21, 2020}}</ref>
== Political activities == Navab served on the advisory council of the Hamilton Project, an economic policy initiative at the Brookings Institution, where business leaders put forward proposals for America's economic policy.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Alexander Navab {{!}} The Hamilton Project|url=https://www.hamiltonproject.org/people/alexander_navab|website=www.hamiltonproject.org|access-date=2020-05-22}}</ref> He was the former co-chair of the national council of the American Enterprise Institute and supported former governor Jeb Bush for the Republican nomination for president in 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|title=National Council|work=American Enterprise Institute - AEI |url=https://www.aei.org/about/national-council/|date=2017-02-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170222190108/https://www.aei.org/about/national-council/|access-date=2020-05-22|archive-date=2017-02-22}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Alex Navab, Ex-KKR Dealmaker Who Opened Own Firm, Dies at 53|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-07-08/alex-navab-ex-kkr-dealmaker-who-started-own-firm-dies-at-53|date=8 July 2019|newspaper=Bloomberg|access-date=2020-05-22}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Building the Jeb Bush machine — Clinton Foundation taking foreign cash — Greece seeks extension|url=https://www.politico.com/tipsheets/morning-money/2015/02/building-the-jeb-bush-machine-clinton-foundation-taking-foreign-cash-greece-seeks-extension-212543|last=White|first=Ben|website=Politico|date=18 February 2015 |language=en|access-date=2020-05-22}}</ref>
== Personal life == He died {{clarify|date=November 2022}} on July 7, 2019, while vacationing with his family in Greece.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Alex Navab, KKR Breakout Star, Dies Unexpectedly|url=https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/b1g605k8mwy8qg/Alex-Navab-KKR-Breakout-Star-Dies-Unexpectedly|website=Institutional Investor|date=8 July 2019 |language=en-gb|access-date=2020-05-21}}</ref> His memorial service was held in Central Park and was attended by 1,800 people, including Mitt Romney, Henry Kissinger, Ali Wentworth, George Stephanopoulos, Wilbur Ross, Mariska Hargitay, Peter Hermann, and Aerin Lauder.<ref name=":4" />
== References == <!-- Inline citations added to your article will automatically display here. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:REFB for instructions on how to add citations. --> {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Navab, Alex}} Category:1965 births Category:2019 deaths Category:Columbia College, Columbia University alumni Category:Harvard Business School alumni Category:KKR & Co. people Category:Private equity and venture capital investors Category:American financiers Category:American investors Category:Goldman Sachs people