Nijad I. Fares

Nijad I. Fares is the chairman of Wedge Equities Incorporated and a member of the board of directors of the Wedge Group, a Houston-based international investment firm he joined in 1990. He served as the first president of the American Task Force for Lebanon and as chairman of the executive committee of the Houston Mayor’s Advisory Board for International Affairs and Development, which promotes commercial relations between businesses in Houston and abroad.

Mr. Fares earned his B.A. in business administration from Denver University. In 2003 he was the recipient of the National Order of the Cedar from the Government of Lebanon and in 2005, the International Executive of the Year Award of the Greater Houston Partnership. In 2006 Mr. Fares was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor for his commitment to community service. He was awarded the Legion of Honor by the Government of Mexico in 2010. Mr. Fares was appointed a Knight of St. Gregory by His Holiness the Pope in recognition of his philanthropic activities.

Mr. Fares has served on the Katrina Relief Fund Board and the Gulf Coast Ike Relief Fund Board. In 2006 he chaired the host committee of the U.S. - Arab Economic Forum in Houston, which brought together over 1,000 business executives, government representatives, and academics. He is a senior board member of Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, a trustee of Lebanon’s International College and a member of Tufts University’s veterinary board of overseers. Mr. Fares is also a member of the professional board of advisors of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.