Nijad Fares

Nijad I. Fares is the Chairman of Link Group, L.L.C. and WEDGE Equities, L.L.C., as well as a director of the WEDGE Group Incorporated, a Houston-based international investment firm with interests in real estate, manufacturing and oilfield services. He served as the first president of the American Task Force for Lebanon. He also served on the Houston Police Officers’ Pension System, a public board with over $2 billion under management. He has served on the Houston Katrina Relief Fund Board and the Gulf Coast Ike Relief Fund Board. In June 2006, Mr. Fares chaired the Host Committee of the U.S.-Arab Economic Forum in Houston, which brought together over one thousand businessmen, government representatives, and academics. In 2011, Mr. Fares was named to the Board of Governors of the Middle East Institute. He is a member of the Professional Board of Advisors of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. In addition, he was a senior board member of Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and a member of Tufts University’s Veterinary Board of Overseers. Mr. Fares is the recipient of numerous awards and honors. Most recently, in June of 2011, Mr. Fares was appointed a Knight in the Pontifical Order of St. Gregory by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI in Rome. Mr. Fares lives in Houston with his wife and four children.