HBS: Doing Business in Iran

HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL MENA CONFERENCE 2010 PRESENTS:

Business Success in Iran: Today's Challenges, Tomorrow's Opportunities

Sunday, November 21, 11:30 - 12:40

[ press release ] Due to international pressure, the global business community has often times shied away from understanding and exploring opportunities in today's Iran. This panel brings a unique perspective to conducting business in the country. Its aims are twofold:

1. Discuss the current economic and business environment in Iran, including hot sectors and the effect of the latest sanctions; and

2. Highlight success stories and draw lessons learned from entrepreneurs who have overcome the country's unique obstacles.

Moderator

Nazila Fathi, Nieman Fellow, Harvard University

Ms. Fathi began her work with western media, including the Time magazine and the New York Times, in 1992. She was based in Tehran as a correspondent for the New York Times from 2001 until July 2009. She did her undergraduate studies in English translation in Iran and her masters program in Political Science and Women's Studies at University of Toronto. She covered Afghanistan in 2001 after the fall of the Taliban, and Iraq in 2003. She continued to cover Iran from Toronto until the summer of 2010 and is currently a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University.

During her years in Iran, Ms. Fathi covered events that led to the election of the former reformist president, Mohammad Khatami in 1997, numerous pro-democracy protests, and later the election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. She covered the uprising after the 2009 election. She has written on social, political and cultural issues and covered several devastating earthquakes in Iran.

She has been a guest speaker at numerous panels and a commentator for television and radio news shows on CNN, BBC, PBS and National Public Radio. Her pieces have been published in Foreign Policy and the New York Review of Books. She also translated a book by the Noble peace prize laureate, Shirin Ebadi, called "The History and Documentation of Human Rights in Iran," published in 2001.

Speakers

Siamak Namazi, General Manager, Access Consulting Group; Young Global Leader, World Economic Forum

Mr. Namazi is a Middle East specialist whose career spans the investment, think tank and non-profit worlds. He is currently the General Manager of Access Consulting Group (ACG), a private regional energy consultancy based out of Dubai, and a founding executive board member of the not-for-profit International Association of Iranian Managers (I-Aim). The World Economic Forum has recognized him as a Young Global Leader and he is also a member of the WEF's Global Agenda Council on the Middle East.

His former positions include developing trade and investment opportunities within the Persian Gulf for the Noble Group and serving as a partner and CEO of Atieh Bahar Consulting, Iran's premier private strategic consulting firm. In addition, he has served stints as a fellow in the Wilson Center for International Scholars, CSIS and the National Endowment for Democracy. A frequent contributor to international publications and conferences on Middle Eastern political and economic issues, he has contributed chapters to six books. He has appeared regularly as a commentator in the international media, including CNN International, BBC World, The Financial Times, Fortune Magazine, Forbes Magazine, Reuters, The New York Times, Time, The Washington Post, and Business Week. He holds an MS in Urban and Regional Planning from Rutgers University, where he studied under a Russell Fellowship and a BA in International Relations from Tufts University. He is currently studying toward an executive MBA at the London Business School.

Rouzbeh Pirouz, Executive Chairmen, Turqoise Partners

Mr. Pirouz has developed considerable experience in private equity and property investing through his work with a number of investment firms as well as having been a successful entrepreneur. He co-founded and was Chief Executive of a leading European technology firm, Mondus Ltd. He led Mondus through early and mid stage funding from major investors such as 3i and Moore Capital to its share sale to a subsidiary of Telecom Italia. In 2001, he founded Pelican Partners, a private equity firm based in London. Pelican Partners has been an active investor in the property sector as well as early and mid-stage companies. Pelican Partners has also participated in a number of well-known private equity funds.

Mr. Pirouz received his Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Stanford and Harvard universities respectively, and was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University. He sits on the boards of leading foundations and charities in the UK and abroad.

Mr. Pirouz is Executive Chairman of Turquoise Partners which has been a pioneer in Iran's investment banking and asset management sector and currently has approximately $150 million of assets under management. He is also Chairman of the recently established Iranian Business School.

Karim Sadjadpour, Associate, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; Young Global Leader, World Economic Forum

Mr. Sadjadpour is an associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He was previously an analyst with the International Crisis Group based between Tehran and Washington. He is the author of Reading Khamenei: The World View of Iran's Most Powerful Leader. He is a regular contributor to BBC TV and radio, CNN, National Public Radio, PBS NewsHour, and Al-Jazeera, and has appeared on the Today Show, Charlie Rose, Fox News Sunday, and the Colbert Report, among others. He contributes regularly to publications such as the Economist, Washington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Foreign Policy. In 2007 the World Economic Forum in Davos named him a Young Global Leader. He has lived in Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East and speaks Persian, Italian, and Spanish.

Organizer

Farnaz Chavoushi, Harvard Business School

Tickets $20 at the door.