Born at Rawalpindi in 1946, Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Hamid Javaid started his career in the military in 1965. He received his basic training in The School of Armor Nowshera followed by training in the US Army Armor School Ft Knox. He is a graduate of The Command & Staff College and The National Defense College.

He served in the field Army in several command, staff and instructional appointments. He also worked as military attaché in the Pakistan Embassy Washington DC from 1986 to 1990.

During his four years stint as Chairman Heavy Industries Taxila (HIT) he successfully completed the R&D on Al Khalid tank and delivered to the Pakistan Army the first batch of its indigenously manufactured world class Main Battle Tank. Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Hamid Javaid also successfully conceived and produced Tank Al Zarar and several other armored and security vehicles. At HIT he received his second Hilal-e-Imtiaz from the Government of Pakistan as recognition for efficient management of a multibillion dollar defense industry.

He joined the Federal Government as Chief of Staff to The President of Pakistan for five years from November 2001 to November 2007.

He also headed the Pakistan Arab Refinery (PARCO) as Chairman of its Board in 2008.

A few days before his death, late Lt. Gen.(Retd.) Jahandad Khan personally recommended the name of Lt. Gen.(Retd.)  Hamid Javaid to the Board of Trustees of Al Shifa as his successor. The Board later unanimously appointed Lt. Gen.(Retd.) Hamid Javaid as the President of the Board of Trustees of Al Shifa Trust, with effect from 07 February, 2011.

Lt. Gen.(Retd.) Hamid Javaid is married, has two sons and one daughter.