Mohsen Moazami
Mohsen Moazami is one of the most successful and influential Iranian Americans. He is the Founder and General Partner of Seif Capital, an early stage, global venture capital firm focused on mobile, social, cloud computing, health and bio-sciences. Moazami was an early investor in Webs.com, acquired by Vistaprint, Powerset, acquired by Microsoft, ParAllyle, acquired by Affymetrix, Social Gaming Network, acquired by Mindjolt and more. Moazami currently serves on the Boards of Global Capacity, Graphdive and Genapsys. Previous to Seif, Moazami was a member of the Cisco exec. staff from 2000 to 2011.
Mohsen Moazami was born in Iran on May 10, 1960. He attended Iranzamin School in Tehran. He immigrated to the U.S. alone, moving to California, where he earned a Master’s Degree from Stanford University.
In 1995, Moazami’s IT software and consulting firm, Stanford Business Systems, was acquired by Kurt Salmon Associates (KSA), at which point he became the vice president in charge of the global e-business practice. He was corporate vice president of the Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG), responsible for its efforts in emerging global markets, as well as a member of the board of Cisco India, overseeing the company’s $1.1 billion investment in that country. He has served on Cisco’s Enterprise Business and Marketing Councils, and was a member of the board of directors of Zensys, a venture-backed company focused on the home automation marketplace. He is also has served on the Advisory Board for the Coca-Cola Corporation and Procter & Gamble. In all these positions, he has been able to demonstrate his great leadership skills and extensive experience through working with senior management of Global 500 companies to help accelerate their strategic uses of technology in order to increase their business success. These various business ventures and positions have defined Moazami as one of the most successful Iranian American businessmen. He has risen to the top of his field and has become a prime example of what immigrants can achieve in America. His success has been an inspiration to other Iranian Americans and his achievements have been lauded by many.
Mohsen Moazami appreciates all the opportunities that were afforded him as an immigrant. Yet he has made great efforts to take full advantage of every opportunity he was given. He is grateful for the benefits of living in a free democratic society like America but he is also very aware of his heritage. Living in America has given him the freedom to develop a new identity as an American, while at the same time holding on to his Iranian identity. Instead of trading in one for the other, he has combined the two to become an Iranian American, proud of aspects of both cultures. Living in California, with such a huge Iranian American population, has been particularly conducive to feeling a part of his Iranian community and cherishing his heritage: “I am proud of my heritage and very proud of being an Iranian American. I try to instill the same values in my three children.”
Mohsen Moazami is a founding member of the Board of Directors for the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans (PAAIA). He and his wife also contribute to the PARSA Foundation and the Iranian Scholarship Fund (ISF). They have also been greatly involved in the establishment of an Iranian related studies program at Stanford University’s Hoover Institute.
