Shahid Khan – A self-made billionaire from Pakistan
Shahid Khan, a Pakistani-American billionaire and business tycoon was born in July 18, 1950 in Pakistan. Also known as Shad Khan; he is the owner of the US football club, Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL), the English Football League Championship team Fulham F.C., and automobile parts manufacturer Flex-N-Gate in Urbana, Illinois, USA
HOW THE STORY GOES
In 1967, at the age of 16, Khan moved to the United States to study mechanical engineering at the University of Illinois in Champaign- Urbana with just $500 in his pocket, spending his initial nights at a YMCA.
He got his first job of a dish washer for just $1.20 an hour. He graduated from the UIUC College of Engineering with a B.Sc. in Industrial Engineering in 1971. He later was awarded the Mechanical Science and Engineering Distinguished Alumni Award in 1999. After completion of his engineering degree he started working in an automotive manufacturing company Flex-N-Gate. There he conceived the idea of producing one piece car bumper as earlier in the market.
Khan conceived the idea of producing one piece car bumper as earlier in the market, the bumper was made up of two to three pieces
The bumper was made up of two to three pieces. As he conceived this idea, he resigned from that company. With a $50,000 loan amount and a small saving he tried his luck by introducing his product that was actually the need of the hour. His insight and belief in hard work with laser focus attribute made him successful, and thirteen years after
arriving in the United States he bought the company, Flex-N-Gate for $800,000 in which he did his first job. After initially supplying a small range of bumpers to Toyota, the 1980s saw demand increase from the Japanese car manufacturer for his onepiece bumpers to the point that by 1989 his company became the sole supplier. In the globally hyper-competitive automotive parts industry, Flex-N-Gate Corporation was ranked in 2015 by Automotive
News as the 10th-largest original equipment supplier in North America and the 38th largest supplier in the world. Flex- N-Gate employs more than 18,750 people at 55 manufacturing facilities and nine product development and engineering facilities throughout Canada, the United States, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and Spain. Flex-N-Gates major product lines include complete bumper assemblies, mechanical assemblies, exterior plastic trim, aluminum
and steel modular stamped body-in-white and chassis assemblies, and complex welded structural assemblies for the light vehicle market.
In March 2017, Flex-N-Gate Group further expanded its European presence by acquiring seven former Plastic Omnium businesses in Europe four in France, one in Spain and two
Flex-N-Gate Corporation was ranked in 2015 by Automotive News as the 10th largest original equipment supplier in North America and the 38th largest supplier in the world
in Germany thereby boosting the companys ability to serve European OEM customers with capabilities and technologies that will enhance Flex-N-Gates existing international OEM relationships. During the decade that followed, Flex-N-Gate transitioned from an aftermarket parts producer to an Original Equipment Manufacturer
(OEM). It was just the result of vision, acumen and leadership of Shahid Khan.
On January 4, 2012, Shahid Khan became the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars. He won the franchise with a unanimous 32-0 vote by NFL owners. In August 2016 khan took over the chairmans seat of the NFLs influential
Business Ventures Committee, and joined the leagues NFL Network Committee while maintaining his seat on two committees, Health and Safety as well as Finance. He is the only team owner who made a long-term commitment to
play one home game each season in the important London and UK market. His initial four-year agreement to play one home game in each season from 2013 to 2016 was recently extended through 2020 with all games scheduled
for Wembley Stadium, the national stadium of England. In 2013, Khan complemented his sports club portfolio with his purchase of the London- based Fulham Football Club. As chairman of Fulham, Khan became the only person in
the world to own 100 percent of both an NFL club and a Barclays Premier League team. In 2016-2017, Fulham was playing in the Sky Bet Championship division of The Football League.
DIVERSIFICATION
In September 2016, Khan purchased full ownership of Four Seasons Hotel Toronto, regarded universally as one of the premier destinations in the luxury hotel segment anywhere in the world. The property, located in the fashionable Yorkville neighborhood, continues to be managed by Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts and deepens Khans roots in Canada, where Flex-N-Gate operates 11 plants in Ontario.
KHAN FOUNDATION
In 2007, the Khan Foundation was formed to expand research at the University of Illinois in the Applied Health Sciences, with Ann Khan, serving as the foundations president. Since its inception, the Foundation has given out more than $5 million grants nationwide to libraries, organizations such as Crisis Nursery, the YMCA and to UCLA for pediatric non-embryonic stem cell research. Khan has served as an active member in many Universities, including of Illinois boards, the Engineering Board of Visitors, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Alumni Board, MechSE Extern Program, University of Illinois Foundation Board of Directors and the Presidents Council. Khan was inducted into Engineering at Illinois Hall of Fame in 2010.
PHILANTHROPY
Khan and his wife, Ann, are philanthropic leaders both in their newly adopted hometown of Jacksonville as well as in Illinois, where they met as students while attending the University of Illinois. Since early 2012, the couple has focused on their charitable giving in the Jacksonville community through the Jaguars Foundation. These grants support childrens and family programs, the NFL/Jaguars Play 60 youth fitness program, military and veterans,
womens health issues, neighborhood revitalization and other NFL and team-related initiatives. The Foundation also donates more than 11,000 charitable tickets each season with an in-kind value of nearly $500,000 annually. In 2016, the Khan family made a $1 million donation to the Baptist Health – MD Anderson Cancer Center being built on the
Baptist Health downtown campus in Jacksonville.
The Khans donation was matched to form a $2.25 million dollar endowment for the treatment of breast cancer.
The Khans charitable initiatives also include a $1 million commitment to the City of Jacksonvilles Veterans Resource and Reintegration Center, as a partner in the citys initiative to provide comprehensive support for military service members and their families as they transition back to civilian life. In addition, the Khans have made six-figure grants to the North Florida Boy Scouts, YMCA of Floridas First Coast, Ronald McDonald House of Jacksonville, the American Cancer Societys Hope Lodge of Jacksonville, City Year of Jacksonville, the Yeardley Love/One Love Foundation, Edward Waters College and the Jacksonville Humane Society. The Khans have also made gifts to the University of Illinois in many other areas through donations to the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, the University Library, the College of Business and the College of Applied Health Sciences, where
they have funded five endowed Khan Professorships and the Khan Annex a 24,000 square-foot facility with state-of-the-art laboratories, instructional areas and professional collaboration spaces.
LINCOLN LAUREATE
In 2011, Khan became a Lincoln Laureate, the states highest award for achievement given by the Lincoln Academy of Illinois, for his philanthropic work in the state. Khan also served as president of the Chief Executives Organization, a global community of the top 2,000 leaders in the business, government, and non-profit sectors. Khan shares his passion for the American dream with his family. Also, Khan and his wife Ann have passed on their commitment to work and service to their two grown-up children, Tony and Shanna. Tony is the Jaguars senior vice president for football technology and analytics.
