Jahm Najafi

Jahm Najafi is an Iranian-American investor and the founder and CEO of The Najafi Companies, a Phoenix-based private investment firm. Immigrating from Iran to the United States as a child, Najafi learned English by watching Phoenix Suns games and later earned a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of California, Berkeley. He began his career at Salomon Brothers, a Wall Street firm that later became part of Citigroup, and then served as CEO of Pivotal Private Equity and partner and COO of The Pivotal Group. That experience in finance and commercial real estate laid the groundwork for what would become one of the most distinctive private investment firms in the country.

The Najafi Companies is an international private investment firm that makes highly selective, long-term investments using internally generated capital, with significant holdings across consumer, retail, ecommerce, sports, media, and travel sectors. Najafi invests his own money, free from outside investors, and thus moves quickly and decisively without the requirement to make investors a quick return. This approach has yielded notable results: Najafi purchased Network Solutions from Verisign Inc. for $20 million and sold it to General Atlantic for $800 million. He also led the company through the acquisitions of the Pert Plus shampoo brand and Sure deodorant brand from Procter & Gamble, and purchased Direct Group—the parent company of Book of the Month Club, Columbia House, and BMG Music Service—from Bertelsmann AG. Over the course of his career, he has bought more than 30 businesses, many of which were in underserved or rapidly changing markets.

Najafi's investment activities extend beyond traditional private equity into consumer brands, entertainment, and sports. The Najafi Companies invested in Beach House Group, the parent and operating company of several consumer brands with celebrity co-founders, including Beis with Shay Mitchell in travel, Moon with Kendall Jenner in oral care, and Pattern with Tracee Ellis Ross in haircare. The Najafi Companies also completed its acquisition of STX Entertainment, a Hollywood film and television studio known for titles like "Bad Moms" and "Hustlers." In the sports arena, key holdings include a 10 percent stake in the Phoenix Suns—acquired for $43 million and now valued at approximately $400 million—where Najafi serves as vice chairman and publicly called for majority owner Robert Sarver's resignation amid allegations of workplace misconduct that prompted an NBA investigation. Najafi also became involved in Formula 1 when he joined forces with MSP Sports Capital and UBS O'Connor LLC to invest $248.5 million into the McLaren F1 team.

Najafi serves as the chairman of MSP Sports Capital. MSP Sports Capital was founded in New York and invests in sports teams, leagues, and businesses in the sports ecosystem that are pursuing ambitious, challenging tasks. His growing sports portfolio drew significant international attention when it was disclosed that Najafi was willing to make a $3.1 billion buyout offer for Tottenham Hotspur, an English Premier League soccer team. Beyond his investment activities, Najafi is active in philanthropy. He has formed Mission Advancement, a SPAC committed to acquiring a company that shares his commitment to diversity and equity, and together with his wife Cheryl, has committed $10 million to the NBA Foundation to further its mission to drive economic empowerment for Black communities through employment and career advancement. He was also a founding partner of Social Venture Partners, a philanthropic venture capital fund that invests in emerging nonprofit organizations, as well as the Arizona State University Committee for Design Excellence. Najafi's journey—from a child who arrived in America without speaking English to an investor influencing industries across multiple continents—positions him as a voice on entrepreneurship, resilience, and the impact of long-term investment strategies.