Zarine Kharas | |
|---|---|
 Zarine Kharas at JustGiving Awards 2016 | |
| Born | June 1951 (age 74) Karachi, Pakistan |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | University of Cambridge |
| Occupation(s) | Co-founder, Justgiving |
Dame Zarine Kharas DBE (born June 1951) is a British businesswoman, and the co-founder, with Anne-Marie Huby and Uday Khemka, of Justgiving, an online giving platform.
Kharas was born on 14 June 1951, [1] in a Parsi family and grew up in Karachi, Pakistan, the daughter of a civil engineer father, Cursetjee and mother, Parin Kharas. [2] [3] She attended Karachi Grammar, Pakistan then went to the UK, in the late 1970's to study law at Girton College, Cambridge. [4]
She graduated with a BA (Hons) in Law [5] and began work for Lawrence Graham and Linklaters & Paines, both solicitor firms specialising in corporate and financial law. She then joined Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB). When the head of CSFB, Hans-Joerg Rudloff, left to start his own investment banking operation, MC Securities, she followed him, becoming responsible for strategy and operations in Warsaw. [5] Later she went back to her law firm roots, working with Simmons & Simmons. [6]
She lives in Maida Vale, London [4]
In 1999, she began her idea of a charity fundraising platform run by a profit-making company. [7] Kharas met Anne-Marie Huby at Médecins Sans Frontières in 2000 [8] where they discussed the concept, Huby left her post and the pair then set up JustGiving [9] and launched the website in February 2001. [8] In October 2017, Justgiving was bought by Blackbaud. [10] When Blackbaud took over the company, Kharas left the company. [11]
In 2009 she was awarded the Royal Society of Arts Albert Medal for “democratising fundraising and technology for charities.” [6] In 2015, she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. [12]