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List of Iranian Americans

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

This is a list of notable Iranian-Americans of all Iranian ethnic backgrounds, including both original immigrants who obtained American citizenship and their American descendants.

To be included in this list, the person must have a Wikipedia article showing they are Iranian-American or must have references showing they are Iranian American.

Academia and science

  • Behnaam Aazhang, J.S. Abercrombie Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rice University
  • Kamyar Abdi, archaeologist, former assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology, Dartmouth College
  • Alexander Abian, mathematician, Iowa State University
  • Mohammad Javad Abdolmohammadi, John E. Rhodes Professor of Accounting at Bentley University since 1988.
  • Mahyar Amouzegar, President of New Mexico Tech, author
  • Ervand Abrahamian, historian of Middle Eastern (particularly Iranian) history at City University of New York
  • Janet Afary, author, feminist activist, and professor of Religious Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
  • Gholam Reza Afkhami, senior scholar and director of Social Science Research and International Studies at the Foundation for Iranian Studies
  • Shahriar Afshar, physicist and inventor who is the namesake of the Afshar experiment
  • Ehsan Afshari, professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of Michigan, co-founder of LassenPeak and AirVine.
  • Newsha Ajami, hydrologist specializing in urban water policy and sustainable water management; professor and director of urban water policy program at Stanford University
  • Abass Alavi, professor of radiology, nuclear medicine and neurology at the University of Pennsylvania[1]
  • Leonardo Alishan, professor of Persian and comparative literature at the University of Utah (1978–1997)
  • Abbas Alizadeh, archeologist of ancient Iran; former Senior Research Associate and director of the Iranian Prehistoric Project at the University of Chicago
  • Abbas Amanat, William Graham Sumner Professor of History & International Studies at Yale University and director of Yale Program In Iranian Studies.
  • Amir Amini, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Endowed Chair in Bioimaging at University of Louisville.
  • Hooshang Amirahmadi, academic and political analyst. Professor of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University
  • Nahid Angha, Sufi scholar, Co-director and co-founder of the International Association of Sufism (IAS), founder of the International Sufi Women Organization, and executive editor of the journal Sufism: An Inquiry
  • Anousheh Ansari, first Iranian in space and the first female space tourist;
  • Nima Arkani-Hamed, theoretical physicist and professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey
  • Abbas Ardehali, surgical director of UCLA's Heart and Lung Transplant program
  • Saïd Amir Arjomand, professor of sociology at Stony Brook University, and director of the Stony Brook Institute of Global Studies. Founding editor of the Journal of Persianate Studies
  • Yahya Armajani, professor of history and soccer coach at Macalester College
  • Reza Aslan, scholar of religious studies, television host, and author of No God but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam and Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth. Currently a professor of creative writing at University of California, Riverside. Board member of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC)
  • Abolhassan Astaneh-Asl, structural engineer and professor at University of California, Berkeley; investigated the collapse of the World Trade Center towers due to the September 11 attacks
  • Fakhreddin Azimi, professor of history at the University of Connecticut
  • Babak Azizzadeh, facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon, Keck School of Medicine of USC
  • Sussan Babaie, art historian and curator, specialist in Persian art and Islamic art of the early modern period.especially the Safavid dynasty
  • Shaul Bakhash, historian, expert in Iranian studies, George Mason University, Clarence J. Robinson Professor of History
  • Laleh Bakhtiar, author and translator of 25 books about Islam, many of which deal with Sufism. She was best known for her 2007 translation of the Qur'an, known as The Sublime Quran,
  • Mehrsa Baradaran, law professor specializing in banking law at University of Georgia
  • Iraj Bashiri, professor of history at the University of Minnesota specialist in the fields of Central Asian studies and Iranian studies
  • Asef Bayat, professor of sociology and Middle Eastern studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
  • Manuel Berberian, earth scientist, specializing in earthquake seismology, geophysics, archaeoseismology, and environmental geoscience
  • Mina Bissell, scientist and biologist known for research on breast cancer; former head of life science at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
  • George Bournoutian, historian, professor of History at Iona College, and author of over 30 books on the history of Armenia, Iran, and the Caucasus
  • Jennifer Tour Chayes, mathematical physicist & theoretical computer scientist, and world renowned leading expert on the modeling & analysis of dynamically growing graphs. Founder, Technical Fellow, & Managing Director of Microsoft Research New England & Microsoft Research New York
  • Houchang Chehabi, historian, expert in Iranian studies at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, Boston University, where he is professor of international relations and history
  • Aaron Cohen-Gadol, internationally renowned neurosurgeon specializing in surgical treatment of brain tumors and aneurysms
  • Hamid Dabashi, professor of Iranian studies and comparative literature at Columbia University in New York City[2]
  • Jaleh Daie, scientist, former professor of biology and department chairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Rutgers University
  • Richard Danielpour, professor of composition, Manhattan School of Music
  • Touraj Daryaee, Iranologist and historian at the University of California, Irvine
  • Armen Der Kiureghian, professor of civil engineering at University of California, Berkeley, member of U.S. National Academy of Engineering, current president of the American University of Armenia
  • Sibel Edmonds, former translator who worked as a contractor for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); founder of the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition (NSWBC)
  • Azita Emami, Andrew and Peggy Cherng Professor of Electrical Engineering and Medical Engineering at Caltech; Executive Officer of the Department of Electrical Engineering at Caltech
  • Nader Engheta, H. Nedwill Ramsey Professor of Electrical and Systems Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. He has made pioneering contributions to the fields of metamaterials, transformation and plasmonic optics, nano- and graphene photonics, nano- and miniature antennas, and bio-inspired optical imaging, among many others
  • Dara Entekhabi, Bacardi and Stockholm Water Foundations Professor in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering and the Department of Earth, Atmospheric & Planetary Sciences at MIT. His main expertise is in the field of hydrology.
  • Haleh Esfandiari, Middle East scholar and former director of the Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. She is an expert on contemporary Iranian intellectual currents and politics, as well as women's issues and democratic developments in the Middle East. She was one of the four Iranian-Americans falsely convicted and detained by the Iranian government in May 2007.
  • Kamran Eshraghian, electrical engineer, notable for his work on VLSI and CMOSVLSI design
  • Fariba Fahroo, mathematician, program manager at the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. Along with I. M. Ross, she has published papers in pseudospectral optimal control theory. The Ross–Fahroo lemma and the Ross–Fahroo pseudospectral method are named after her
  • Fereydoon Family, physicist in the field of nanotechnology and solid-state physics. He is the Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Physics at Emory University
  • Allah Verdi Mirza Farman Farmaian, professor and head of Biology department at Rutgers University
  • Sattareh Farmanfarmaian, founder and director of the Tehran School of Social Work. Co-founder of the Family Planning Association of Iran, and former vice-president of the International Planned Parenthood Federation
  • Alimorad Farshchian, medical doctor, medical author, and founder and director of The Center of Regenerative Medicine in Miami, Florida
  • Nariman Farvardin, president of Stevens Institute of Technology, and former provost of University of Maryland
  • Bobak Ferdowsi, systems engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory; served on the Cassini–Huygens and Mars Science LaboratoryCuriosity mission.
  • Alexander L. George (born Alexander L. Givargis), behavioral scientist specialist in the psychological effects of nuclear crisis management, Graham H. Stuart Professor of Political Science Emeritus at Stanford University
  • Mohammadreza Ghadiri, chemist and professor of chemistry at The Scripps Research Institute. Awarded the Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology in 1998
  • Roozbeh Ghaffari, inventor, bioelectronics entrepreneur, biomedical engineering research faculty at Northwestern University[3]
  • Zoubin Ghahramani, Professor of Information Engineering at the University of Cambridge
  • Kambiz GhaneaBassiri, professor of religion at Reed College, and author of A History of Islam in America and Competing Visions of Islam in the United States.
  • M.R. Ghanoonparvar, professor emeritus of Persian and comparative literature at the faculty of Middle Eastern studies at the University of Texas, Austin
  • Morteza Gharib, Hans W. Liepmann Professor of Aeronautics and Bio-Inspired Engineering at Caltech.
  • Jamshid Gharajedaghi, organizational theorist, management consultant, & adjunct professor of Systems thinking at Villanova University.
  • John Ghazvinian, author, historian and former journalist. Associate Director of the Middle East Center at the University of Pennsylvania.
  • Doreen Granpeesheh, clinical psychologist, producer of the documentary Recovered: Journeys Through the Autism Spectrum and Back.
  • Vartan Gregorian, president of The Carnegie Corporation of New York[4] and former president of Brown University
  • Mohammad Hajiaghayi, computer scientist known for his work in algorithms, game theory, network design, and big data. Jack and Rita G. Minker professor at the University of Maryland Dept. of Computer Science.
  • Ali Hajimiri, inventor, technologist, and Thomas G. Myers Professor of Electrical Engineering at Caltech. Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI)
  • Reza Hamzaee, economist and BOG-Distinguished Professor of Economics at Missouri Western State University. Specialist in banking and managerial economics
  • Babak Hassibi, electrical engineer, the inaugural Mose and Lillian S. Bohn Professor of Electrical Engineering. Specialist in communications, signal processing and control.
  • Payam Heydari, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of California, Irvine[5]
  • Shireen Hunter, Research Professor at the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University.
  • Ali Jadbabaie, systems theorist, network scientist, and the JR East Professor of Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Ali Jafari, professor of Computer and Information Technology at Purdue University, director of the CyberLab at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
  • Hamid Jafarkhani, leading communication theorist and chancellor's professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of California, Irvine[6]
  • Ramin Jahanbegloo, philosopher at University of Toronto
  • Eiman Jahangir, cardiologist at Vanderbilt University; first Iranian male astronaut[7]
  • Farnam Jahanian, computer scientist and the 10th president of Carnegie Mellon University
  • Ali Javan, physicist, inventor of gas laser; Professor Emeritus of Physics at MIT
  • Hassan Jawahery, physicist, former spokesman of the BaBar Collaboration, and professor of physics at the University of Maryland
  • Majd Kamalmaz, psychotherapist who has been illegally detained in Syria since 2017
  • Sepandar Kamvar, computer scientist, Stanford University
  • Mehran Kardar, physicist and professor of physics at MIT,[8] and co-faculty at the New England Complex Systems Institute
  • Morvarid Karimi, neurologist and medical researcher, specialist in neuroimaging of the pathophysiology of movement disorders. She was an assistant professor of Neurology in the Movement Disorders Section at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri
  • Ahmad Karimi-Hakkak, Iranist, scholar of modern Persian literature, and professor and founding director of the Roshan Center for Persian Studies at the University of Maryland[9]
  • Elham Kazemi, mathematics educator and educational psychologist; Geda and Phil Condit Professor in Math and Science Education in the College of Education of the University of Washington
  • Firuz Kazemzadeh, historian of Russian and Iranian history, and professor emeritus of history at Yale University.
  • Homayoon Kazerooni, roboticist & professor of mechanical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley;[10] director of the Berkeley Robotics and Human Engineering Laboratory
  • Fatemeh Keshavarz, scholar of Rumi and Farsi language & poetry, and poet in Persian and English; Director & Chair of Roshan Institute for Persian Studies at the University of Maryland. Previously, was a professor of Persian Language and Comparative Literature at Washington University in St. Louis
  • Ali Khademhosseini, Levi Knight Endowed Professor at the University of California-Los Angeles. Holds a professorship in bioengineering, radiology, chemical, and biomolecular engineering.
  • Laleh Khalili, professor of Middle Eastern Politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. She also writes regularly for Iranian.com
  • Farid Khavari, economist, specialist in economics, environment, oil, healthcare, & the Middle East.
  • Samira Kiani, Health Systems Engineer at Arizona State University. Her work combines CRISPR technology with synthetic biology. A 2019 AAAS Leshner Fellow.
  • Alexander Kostellow, teacher, industrial designer, who developed the industrial design academic programs of Carnegie Institute of Technology and Pratt Institute
  • Farinaz Koushanfar, professor and Henry Booker Faculty Scholar of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of California, San Diego
  • Habib Levy, historian, specialist in the history of Jews in Iran; author of Comprehensive History of the Jews of Iran: The Outset of the Diaspora.
  • Esfandiar Maasoumi, econometrician and economist. Distinguished Professor at Emory University and a fellow of the Royal Statistical Society
  • Mohammad Jafar Mahjoub, prominent Iranian scholar of Persian literature, essayist, translator, and professor. Moved to the U.S. in 1991 and taught at the University of California, Berkeley
  • Hoooman Majd, journalist, author, and commentator
  • G. A. Mansoori, professor of chemical engineering at University of Illinois at Chicago
  • Alireza Mashaghi, biophysicist and medical scientist at Leiden University and Harvard University
  • Bahram Mashhoon, general relativity physicist and professor of physics at the University of Missouri. Through his research works, he has given important contributions to general relativity, particularly to the gravitomagnetic clock effect. He is also active in the field of non-local gravity
  • Rashid Massumi, cardiologist and clinical professor, best known for his pioneering research in the field of electrophysiology. He was also known for bringing modern cardiology to Iran, and for being the cardiologist to the last Shah of Iran and, until 1980, Ayatollah Khomeini
  • Noah McKay (born Nasser Talebzadeh Ordoubadi), physician and author of Wellness at Warp Speed
  • Robert Mehrabian, material scientist, former president of Carnegie Mellon University, and Chair, President, and CEO of Teledyne Technologies
  • Houra Merrikh, microbiologist and a full professor at Vanderbilt University
  • Abbas Milani, director of Iranian Studies Program at Stanford University; research fellow & co-director of the "Iran Democracy Project" at Stanford's Hoover Institution
  • Farzaneh Milani, professor of Persian Literature and Women's Studies at the University of Virginia, and the Chair of the Department of Middle Eastern and South Asian Languages & Cultures.
  • Mohsen Milani, foreign policy analyst, professor of politics at the University of South Florida
  • Abbas Mirakhor, economist; former executive director and dean of board of the International Monetary Fund (INF); distinguished scholar and chair in Islamic finance at Malaysia's INCEIF (International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance)
  • Maryam Mirzakhani, Stanford University Professor; first female winner of the Fields Medal
  • Afshin Molavi, author and expert on global geo-political risk and geo-economics, particularly the Middle East and Asia.
  • Jasmin Moghbeli, NASA astronaut candidate of the class of 2017
  • Mehryar Mohri, professor of computer science at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University. Specialist in machine learning, automata theory and algorithms, speech recognition and natural language processing
  • Parviz Moin, fluid dynamicist, professor of mechanical engineering at Stanford University. 2011 inductee to the United States National Academy of Sciences
  • Mohsen Mostafavi, architect and educator, Dean and Alexander and Victoria Wiley Professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Design[11]
  • Farzad Mostashari, internal medicine physician, former national coordinator for health information technology at U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
  • Hossein Khan Motamed, surgeon, founder of the Motamed Hospital in Tehran, Iran, and personal physician of Mohammad Reza Shah.
  • Negar Mottahedeh, cultural critic and film theorist
  • Roy Mottahedeh, Gurney Professor of History, Emeritus at Harvard University, specialist in pre-modern social and intellectual history of the Islamic Middle East. Former director of Harvard's Center for Middle Eastern Studies (1987–1990), and inaugural director of Harvard's Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Islamic Studies Program (2005–2011)
  • Hamid Mowlana, professor emeritus of international relations and founding director of the Division of International Communication at the School of International Service at American University.[12] In 2003, he was honored as an "Chehrehaye Mandegar" (Eternal One) by Iranian universities and academies.
  • Eden Naby, Iranian-Assyrian cultural historian of Central Asia and the Middle East, who is notable for her publications, research, and preservation work on Assyrian culture and history
  • Firouz Naderi, former NASA director of Mars project.[13] Has also served in other various technical and executive positions at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
  • Hamid Naficy, cholar of cultural studies of diaspora, exile, & postcolonial cinemas and media, and of Iranian & Middle Eastern cinemas. Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani Professor in Communication at Northwestern University .
  • Paul M. Naghdi, professor of mechanical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. Specialist in continuum mechanics
  • Majid M. Naini (مجید ناینی), Rumi scholar, computer scientist, former professor at University of Pennsylvania, writer on poetry, science, technology, and mysticism[14]
  • Kayvan Najarian, associate professor of computer science, Virginia Commonwealth University
  • Seyyed Hossein Nasr, professor of Islamic studies at George Washington University; prominent Islamic philosopher
  • Vali Reza Nasr, author and scholar on the Middle East and Islamic world; Served as Dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington D.C.
  • Angella Nazarian (née Angella Maddahi), former professor of psychology at Mount St. Mary's University, California State University, Long Beach & the Los Angeles Valley College. Co-founder of Looking Beyond
  • Sharon Nazarian, founder of the Younes and Soraya Israel Studies Center at the University of California, Los Angeles
  • Camran Nezhat, laparoscopic surgeon and director of Stanford Endoscopy Center for Training & Technology, Stanford University
  • Kathy Niakan, human developmental and stem cell biologist. In 2016, she became the first scientist in the world to gain regulatory approval to edit the genomes of human embryos for research.
  • Reza Olfati-Saber, roboticist and assistant professor of engineering at Dartmouth College
  • Kaveh Pahlavan, professor of computer and electrical engineering, professor of computer science, and director of the Center for Wireless Information Network Studies (CWINS) at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute
  • Firouz Partovi, physicist; founder and former chairman of the Faculty of Physics at the Sharif University of Technology. Has also taught at MIT and Harvard University.
  • Massoud Pedram, computer engineer known for his research in green computing, power optimization (EDA), low power electronics and design, and electronic design automation.
  • Gholam A. Peyman, ophthalmologist, retina surgeon, and inventor of LASIK eye surgery
  • Nader Pourmand, professor of biomolecular engineering at the Baskin School of Engineering
  • Ali R. Rabi, scholar at the Center for International Development and Conflict Management at University of Maryland, College Park; founding chair of the Middle Eastern Citizens Assembly; Initiated the International University of Iran in 2001.
  • Samuel Rahbar, biomedical scientist, discovered the linkage between HbA1C and diabetes
  • Hazhir Rahmandad, engineer and expert in dynamic modeling and system dynamics. Associate Professor in the System Dynamics group at the MIT Sloan School of Management.
  • Yahya Rahmat-Samii, professor and the Northrop Grumman Chair in Electromagnetics at Electrical Engineering Department at UCLA
  • Behzad Razavi, professor of electrical engineering and director of the Communications Circuit Laboratory at the University of California, Los Angeles. y
  • Manijeh Razeghi, Walter P. Murphy Professor & Director of the Center for Quantum Devices at Northwestern University, pioneer in semiconductors and optoelectronic devices.
  • Zabihollah Rezaee, accountant, Thompson-Hill Chair of Excellence and professor of accounting at the University of Memphis
  • Sakineh (Simin) M. Redjali, psychologist and author; first female professor at the National University of Iran
  • Darius Rejali, professor of political science at Reed College and scholar specialized in the study of torture; has served on the board of the Human Rights Review since 2000.
  • Nouriel Roubini, economist; economics professor at the Stern School of Business, New York University
  • Pardis Sabeti, computational geneticist, Assistant Professor, Center for Systems Biology and Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University
  • Ahmad Sadri, sociologist and professor of sociology and anthropology at Lake Forest College, and the James P. Gorter Professor of Islamic World Studies since 2007. Active in the reform movement in Iran.
  • Mahmoud Sadri, professor of sociology at the Federation of North Texas Area Universities. His major interests are in religious, cultural & theoretical sociology, reform Islam and interfaith dialogue.
  • Omid Safi, professor of Asian and Middle Eastern studies at Duke University, director of the Duke Islamic Studies Center, and columnist for On Being. Scholar of Islamic mysticism (Sufism)
  • Mehran Sahami, professor and the Associate Chair for Education in the Computer Science department at Stanford University. Robert and Ruth Halperin University Fellow in Undergraduate Education at Stanford.
  • Muhammad Sahimi, Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and current NIOC chair in petroleum engineering at USC
  • Djavad Salehi-Isfahani, professor of Economics at Virginia Tech, and visiting fellow at the Middle East Youth Initiative at the Wolfensohn Center for Development at the Brookings Institution. His expertise is on demographic & energy economics and the economics of Iran & the larger Middle East
  • David B. Samadi, vice chairman of the Department of Urology and Chief of Robotics and Minimally Invasive Surgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai[15]
  • Eliz Sanasarian, professor of political science at the University of Southern California. Specialist ethnic politics and feminism, particularly regarding the Middle East and Iran
  • Kamal Sarabandi, professor of Engineering at the University of Michigan
  • Homayoun Seraji, Senior Research Scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Caltech, former professor at Sharif University of Technology. Works in the field of robotics and space exploration.[16]
  • Cyrus Shahabi, chair of the Computer Science Department, University of Southern California
  • Mohammad Shahidehpour, Carl Bodine Distinguished Professor and chairman in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Illinois Institute of Technology
  • Ghavam Shahidi, electrical engineer and IBM Fellow, Director of Silicon Technology at IBM's Watson's Laboratory
  • Alireza Shapour Shahbazi, lecturer in Achaemenid archeology and Iranology at Harvard University, full professor of history in Eastern Oregon University
  • Manuchehr Shahrokhi, professor of Global Business-Finance at California State University;[17] Founding Editor of Global Finance Journal; Executive Director of Global Finance Association[18]
  • Fatemeh Shams, contemporary Persian poet, and assistant professor of Persian literature at the University of Pennsylvania
  • Shahrokh Shariat, urologist; professor & chairman of the Department of Urology of the Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; adjunct professor of urology & medical oncology at Weill Cornell Medical Center & at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.
  • Nasser Sharify, distinguished professor and dean emeritus of the School of Information and Library Science at Pratt Institute
  • M. Rahim Shayegan, Professor of Iranian at UCLA
  • Siamack A. Shirazi, scientist, professor and graduate coordinator of the Mechanical Engineering department at the University of Tulsa.
  • Hamid Shirvani, Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of architecture and Urban Design, Internationally renowned scholar, former president of California State University, former chancellor of North Dakota University System
  • Rahmat Shoureshi, former president of Portland State University; former president, Provost & professor at New York Institute of Technology
  • Sam Sofer, scientist who specializes in biological processes and bioreactor design
  • Saba Soomekh, professor of religious studies, women's studies, and Middle Eastern history at UCLA and Loyola Marymount University. Author of books and articles on contemporary and historical Iranian Jewish culture
  • Shahrbanou Tadjbakhsh, university lecturer at Sciences Po, researcher, and United Nations consultant in peacekeeping, conflict resolution, counter-terrorism and radicalization. Best known for her work in "Human Security"
  • Kian Tajbakhsh, social scientist, urban planner, and professor of urban planning at Columbia University. One of the four Iranian-Americans falsely convicted and detained by the Iranian government in May 2007
  • Ray Takeyh, Middle East scholar and Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations
  • Kamran Talattof, Persian literature and Iranian culture; director of Persian Program University of Arizona
  • Vahid Tarokh, professor of electrical and computer engineering, Bass Connections Professor, a professor of mathematics (secondary), and computer science (secondary) at Duke University
  • Nader Tehrani, designer, Dean of the Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture at Cooper Union, and former professor of architecture and department chair at the MIT School of Architecture and Planning.
  • Cumrun Vafa, string theorist and Donner Professor of Science at Harvard University. Recipient of the 2008 Dirac Medal and the 2016 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics.
  • Saba Valadkhan, biomedical scientist, assistant professor and RNA researcher at Case Western Reserve University, recipient of Young Scientist Award in 2005 for the mechanism of spliceosomes
  • Roxanne Varzi, associate professor of anthropology and film and media studies at the University of California, Irvine, documentary filmmaker, and writer
  • Ehsan Yarshater, founder and editor in chief of Encyclopaedia Iranica, first full-time professor at a U.S. university since World War II; Hagop Kevorkian Professor Emeritus of Iranian Studies; director of the Center for Iranian Studies, Columbia University;[19]
  • Hajar Yazdiha, assistant professor of sociology at the University of Southern California
  • Mohammad Yeganeh, economist, former Governor of the Central Bank of Iran (1973–1975), a professor of economics at Columbia University (1980–1985)
  • Houman Younessi, researcher and educator in informatics, computer science, and molecular biology. Former research professor at the University of Connecticut
  • Lotfi A. Zadeh, mathematician, computer scientist, and a professor emeritus of computer science at the University of California, Berkeley; father of fuzzy logic and fuzzy sets
  • Norm Zada, former adjunct mathematics professor, and founder of Perfect 10; son of Lotfi A. Zadeh
  • Reza Zadeh, computer scientist at Stanford University
  • Iraj Zandi, emeritus professor of systems, University of Pennsylvania
  • Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics,
  • Esmail Zanjani, department chair of Department of Animal Biotechnology at University of Nevada, Reno. President of the International Society for Experimental Hematology

Arts and entertainment

  • Colet Abedi, television producer and writer
  • Omid Abtahi, actor
  • Reza Abdoh, director and playwright known for large-scale, experimental theatrical productions
  • Hessam Abrishami, artist whose works have been exhibited internationally
  • Golnar Adili, multidisciplinary artist based in Brooklyn, New York. Much of her works are influenced by her childhood growing up in post-revolutionaryTehran and issues of displacement
  • Desiree Akhavan, film director, producer, screenwriter and actress
  • Ray Aghayan, fashion designer and costume designer for the American film industry
  • Shohreh Aghdashloo, film and television actress;[20] one of Iran's leading actresses prior to the 1979 revolution. known in the United States for her role in House of Sand and Fog (2003).
  • Dan Ahdoot, stand-up comedian and actor[21]
  • Jonathan Ahdout, actor best known for his role in House of Sand and Fog (2003)[22][23]
  • Shiva Ahmadi, multidisciplinary artist whose works borrow from Persian artistic traditions to critically examine contemporary political tensions and social issues
  • Mohammad Alavi, video-game developer, best known for his work on the Call of Duty series
  • Khalik Allah, filmmaker, photographer, and author. (Iranian father.)
  • Morehshin Allahyari, media artist, activist, and educator.[24] Her work questions current political, socio-cultural, and gender norms while exploring the relationship between technology and art activism. Best known for her work Material Speculation: ISIS (2016), which is a series of 3D-printed sculptural reconstructions of ancient artifacts destroyed by ISIS
  • Mark Amin, film producer, distributor, writer, and businessman. Founder of Trimark Pictures (formerly Vidmark Entertainment)
  • Max Amini, standup comedian and actor
  • Ana Lily Amirpour, film director, screenwriter, producer, and actor
  • Mahyar Amouzegar, author
  • Pegah Anvarian, fashion designer and creative director of Three Dots
  • Ali Ardekani, also known as Baba Ali; game developer, film developer, and Islamic comedian[25]
  • Siah Armajani, architect and sculptor known for his public art
  • Tala Ashe, actress
  • Kami Asgar, supervising sound editor for films and television
  • Aram Avakian, director, film editor
  • Rasoul Azadani, animator, lighting designer, and layout artist. Best known for his work at Walt Disney Animation Studios.
  • Shoja Azari, visual artist and filmmaker based in New York City. Best known for films such as Women Without Men (2009), Windows (2006), and K (2002)
  • Ashurbanipal Babilla, actor, theatre director, playwright and visual artist
  • Ramin Bahrani, film director and screenwriter, most notable for his film Chop Shop. Professor of film directing at Columbia University's Graduate Film Program
  • Mercedes Bass, socialite and arts philanthropist. On the executive boards of the Carnegie Hall Corporation, the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, the Aspen School of Music and Aspen Institute in Aspen, Colorado, the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, and the American Academy in Rome
  • Zal Batmanglij, film director and screenwriter. Creator and showrunner of the Netflix series The OA
  • Ali Banisadr, artist
  • Reza Badiyi, film and television director
  • Catherine Bell, actress
  • Le Roy Benjamin, sculptor, and marionettepuppeteer and voice impersonator for the vaudeville and television act Le Roy Brothers Marionettes (1939–1955), one of the most celebrated and requested vaudeville acts in America at the time. Father is Iranian.
  • Issa Benyamin, Iranian-Assyrian calligrapher and educator
  • Bahram Beyzai, filmmaker, playwright, theater director, screenwriter, and Ostād (Grandmaster) of Persian letters, arts and Iranian studies. Considered the pioneer of the Iranian New Wave of cinema.
  • Bijan, designer of menswear and fragrances. His exclusive boutique on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills has been described as "the most expensive store in the world"
  • Nadia Bjorlin, TV and soap opera actress,[26] singer, and model
  • Nazanin Boniadi, television and film actress, and human right defender
  • Buket, prominent Los Angelesgraffiti artist
  • Henri Charr, Iranian-Assyrian filmmaker
  • Shaghayegh Cyrous, artist and curator based in San Francisco. Known for social practice art, video installations and street art.
  • Dar Dash, actor, voice actor
  • David Dastmalchian, film and theater actor, best known for his role as Kurt in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Ant-Man (2015) and Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
  • Sumbat Der Kiureghian, 20th century watercolor artist
  • David Diaan, actor, screenwriter, producer, and entrepreneur
  • Lucas and Marcus Dobre-Mofid, also known as The Dobre Twins. Dancing duo and YouTube personalities who rose to prominence on the now-defunct Vine video app
  • Ala Ebtekar, contemporary visual artist
  • Melody Ehsani, fashion designer
  • Robert Ekhart, film actor, film director, and editor-in-chief of former Iran-based Setare Cinema magazine
  • Nabil Elderkin, also known by Nabil; film and music video director and photographer, who has directed music videos for Kanye West, Frank Ocean, John Legend, and Foals
  • Dayyan Eng, award-winning feature film writer, director, and producer.
  • Eman Esfandi, actor
  • Tanaz Eshaghian, documentary filmmaker
  • Ali Farahnakian, actor, writer, and improv comedian. Founder of The Peoples Improv Theater (The Pit) in New York City and co-starred the Adult Swim comedy series Delocated
  • Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, artist and collector of traditional folk art. The Monir Museum in Tehran was opened in her honor in 2017.
  • Parisa Fakhri, actress and voice actress, most notable for her role as Arisa Uotani in Fruits Basket
  • Behnaz Farahi, architect best known for her designs of interactive wearables and installations
  • Negin Farsad, comedian, actress, filmmaker, and writer
  • Hossein Fatemi, photojournalist
  • Mimi Fayazi, fashion designer
  • Reza Fazeli, actor, film director, and opposition figure against the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran
  • Tatyana Fazlalizadeh, artist, activist, and freelance illustrator. She is best known for her poster campaign "Stop Telling Women to Smile,"
  • JoJo Fletcher, contestant on the twentieth season of ABC's The Bachelor and as the lead on the twelfth season of The Bachelorette. Iranian mother.
  • Hamid Gabbay, architect. Prior to the 1979 revolution, he was a prolific architect throughout Iran. Since his immigration to the United States, has worked in Beverly Hills, California
  • Troy Gentile (born Troy Francis Farshi), actor, best known for his role as Mark in Hotel for Dogs and Barry Goldberg in the sitcom The Goldbergs
  • Siamak Ghahremani, founder of Noor Iranian Film Festival, radio host
  • Vida Ghahremani, actress, proprietor of Monde Cafe and Cuccini Dance Club in L.A. along with her husband, David Yeghiazarian.
  • Tina Gharavi, BAFTA-nominated film/TV director and screenwriter
  • Tehran Von Ghasri, best known by his stage name Tehran; standup comedian and actor
  • Gabriel Guevrekian, architect of buildings, interiors and gardens. Taught architecture at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
  • Nahid Hagigat, illustrator and painter
  • Taraneh Hemami, visual artist and arts educator. Utilizes multidisciplinary projects to address complex cultural politics of the exile of the Iranian diaspora.
  • Kambiz Hosseini, actor, political satirist, and television/radio host. Host of Poletik, a satirical news program that airs on Radio Farda. Created and hosted Parazit on Voice of America - Persian (2009–2012).
  • Sheree Hovsepian, photographer and collage artist.
  • Albert and Allen Hughes (twins), film directors and producers. Most notable for Menace II Society and The Book of Eli. Iranian mother
  • Reza Beyk Imanverdi, actor and director popular during the 1960s and 1970s in Iran
  • Pouran Jinchi, contemporary artist known for her abstract, calligraphy-based visual art
  • Maz Jobrani, standup comedian and actor
  • JonTron (Jonathan "Jon" Aryan Jafari), comedian, YouTuber, video game critic
  • Joone, photographer, director, and producer of adult films
  • Pirooz Kalayeh, film director, screenwriter, and writer
  • Tara Kamangar, classical pianist and composer
  • Y.Z. Kami, artist, known for creating large-scaled oil-based paintings
  • Martik Kanian, singer and songwriter
  • Cyrus Kar, film director[27]
  • Bavand Karim, multi-media artist and filmmaker
  • Reza Karimi, painter, whose oil-based paintings reflect the political turbulence of Iran, such as the trial of Mossadegh and the treatment of women in Iran
  • Saman Kesh, filmmaker and music video director and producer. He is best known for his music videos for Calvin Harris, Ed Sheeran, Deus, Basement Jaxx, and !!!, among many others
  • Maryam Keshavarz, filmmaker best known for her 2011 film Circumstance
  • Andre Khabbazi, television and soap opera actor, semi-professional tennis player
  • Mehran Khaghani, standup comedian, comedy director and comedy event producer based in Boston, Massachusetts
  • Marco Khanlian, film and television actor, stunt performer
  • Nahnatchka Khan, screenwriter and producer.[28] Creator and showrunner of ABC's Fresh Off the Boat
  • Kamran Khavarani, award-winning architect and painter. Pioneer of the "Abstract Romanticism" painting style;
  • Kathreen Khavari, actress, writer, and producer
  • Mohammad Khordadian, choreographer, dancer, and entertainer. Known for his dance instruction tapes of Persian and Arabic dance
  • Kamshad Kooshan, screenwriter, film director, and film producer
  • Sarah R. Lotfi, filmmaker, known for her World War II epic The Last Bogatyr (2009)
  • Rosie Malek-Yonan, actress, author, director, public figure and activist
  • Tala Madani, painter, known for her use of cartoonish and exaggerated sexual imageries
  • Terrence Malick, film director, screenwriter, and producer. Notable for Badlands (1973), Days of Heaven (1978), The Thin Red Line (1998), and The Tree of Life (2011). He is of Iranian-Assyrian descent
  • Arefeh Mansouri, inventor, designer
  • Marshall Manesh, actor
  • Mozhan Marnò, film and television actress, best known for her roles in The Blacklist and House of Cards
  • Jamie Masada, comedian and businessman. Founder of the Laugh Factory, a chain of comedy clubs in several states.
  • Mercedes Mason, actress
  • Sanaz Mazinani, multidisciplinary visual artist, curator and educator, known for her photography and installation art
  • Laleh Mehran, contemporary artist, and professor and graduate director of Emergent Digital Practices at the University of Denver
  • Peyman Moaadi, actor, screenwriter, director; best known for his role in A Separation (2011)
  • Arian Moayed, actor, Emmy-nominated writer/director, art educator, and co-founder of Waterwell
  • Emud Mokhberi, film director and animator. In 2009, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for Oktapodi
  • Amir Mokri, cinematographer, known for his works on Bad Boys II, Fast & Furious, Man of Steel, and The Joy Luck Club
  • Soudabeh Moradian, award-winning independent filmmaker
  • Neda Moridpour, feminist artist, educator, and co-founder of the artist-activist collectives LOUDER THAN WORDS and [P]Art Collective. Currently a professor of the Practice in the Media Arts department at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University
  • Amir Naderi, film director, screenwriter, photographer. One of the major figures in Iranian cinema before and after the 1979 revolution. Best known for The Runner and Vegas: Based on a True Story. Immigrated to the U.S. in the 1990s.
  • Arsi Nami actor, musician, singer-songwriter, music therapist, and philanthropist
  • Amin Nazemzadeh, actor
  • Navid Negahban, actor, appeared on Homeland and Mistresses. Also noted for his role as The Sultan in the live-action remake of Aladdin.
  • Shirin Neshat, visual artist known for her work in film, video, and photography
  • Ali Nejad, television personality and host
  • Nicky Nodjoumi, fine-arts painter, whose works address Iranian politics, history, power, and corruption
  • Zahra Noorbakhsh, comedian, writer, actor and co-host of the #GoodMuslimBadMuslim podcast
  • Sareh Nouri, fashion designer known for couture wedding gowns and bridal sashes
  • Naveed Nour, contemporary artist who uses photography as the basis of his work
  • Cyrus Nowrasteh, screenwriter and director
  • Younan Nowzaradan, surgeon specializing in vascular surgery and bariatric surgery. Known for helping morbidly obese patients lose weight on the TLC-reality TV show My 600-lb Life (2012–present)
  • Bijan Olia, film composer and songwriter
  • Bijan Pakzad, fashion and perfume designer
  • Zhubin Parang, improv comedian and writer for The Daily Show
  • Eric Parnes, multidisciplinary contemporary artist based in New York City.
  • Khosrow Parvizi, director
  • Adrian Pasdar, actor and voice actor
  • Artemis Pebdani, actress, best known for her roles on television
  • Nasim Pedrad, actress, comedian, best known for her five seasons as a cast member on Saturday Night Live
  • Vahik Pirhamzei, actor, producer, director, and writer. Best known for his film My Uncle Rafael
  • Parsa Pirouzfar, actor, theater director, acting director, playwright, translator, and painter
  • Tala Raassi, fashion designer, known for her swimsuit line, Dar Be Dar
  • Babak Rafei, video game art director, character animator and concept artist. Co-founder and CEO of Big Red Button Entertainment
  • Sara Rahbar, contemporary artist based in New York City
  • Medalion Rahimi, actress
  • Hamid Rahmanian, New York–based Iranian multi-disciplinary artist working in cinema, graphic art, and shadow theater
  • Hesam Rahmanian is a visual artist based in the U.A.E as part of a collective known as Ramin, Rokni, Hesam
  • Dominic Rains (born Amin Nazemzadeh), actor, known for his portrayal in The Taqwacores (2010), A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014), and his role as Kasius in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
  • Ethan Rains (born Iman Nazemzadeh), soap opera actor
  • Shiva Rose, actress, activist, and blogger.
  • Sabzi, artist known for his abstract impressionist paintings.
  • Mehdi Saeedi, artist and graphic designer, best known for his typography & calligraphyy
  • Farhad Safinia, screenwriter, film/television producer, and director
  • Reza Sixo Safai, director, actor, and producer
  • Ely Sakhai, art engineer and civil engineer, owner of art galleries in New York City and Great Neck, New York
  • Behnaz Sarafpour, fashion designer
  • Louisa Shafia, chef and cookbook author
  • Hadieh Shafie, visual artist, uses tightly coiled strips of brightly colored paper bearing calligraphy & arranged in patterns
  • Philip Shahbaz, actor, known for his voice acting for the role of Altaïr in the Ubisoft video game Assassin's Creed
  • Sarah Shahi, television actress;[29] Iranian father, Iranian/Spanish Mother
  • Sayeed Shahidi, child actor and model. Younger brother of Yara
  • Yara Shahidi, actress, best known for her role as Zoey Johnson in the sitcomBlack-ish (2014–present) and its spin-off series Grown-ish (2018–present).
  • Amir Shervan, film director, producer, actor and screenwriter. Best known for his career in cinema in Iran prior to his immigration to the U.S. in 1987
  • Elina Shirazi, Fox News Channel National Reporter
  • Shahram Shiva, performance poet
  • Daryush Shokof, Artist-Filmmaker, philosopher
  • Arash Sobhani, musician and television host
  • Sheida Soleimani, multimedia artist, photographer, and professor of studio art at Brandeis University. Known for her work on Iranian human-rights violation victims, and her outspoken comments on the Iranian regime.
  • Bahar Soomekh, actress[30]
  • Aramazd Stepanian, actor, producer, playwright. Owner, artistic director, and producer of the Luna Playhouse
  • Tami Stronach, actress, dancer, choreographer
  • Massy Tadjedin, screenwriter and director
  • Elie Tahari, fashion designer
  • Nader Talebzadeh, documentary filmmaker and researcher. Known for his TV series The Messiah
  • Taravat Talepasand, contemporary artist addressing cultural taboos, juxtapose cultural stereotypes and express female empowerment. Chair of the Painting Department at the San Francisco Art Institute
  • Shaun Toub, actor, best known internationally for playing Ho Yinsen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Iron Man (2008) and Iron Man 3 (2013)
  • Pej Vahdat, actor, best known for his role of Arastoo Vaziri in Bones
  • Sheila Vand, actress and performance artist
  • Behrouz Vossoughi, actor and TV host.
  • Elham Yaghoubian, writer, designer, political activist
  • Bob Yari, film producer
  • Manoucher Yektai, abstract expressionist artist who belongs to the New York School
  • Suzi Yoonessi, filmmaker, best known for her award-winning feature film Dear Lemon Lima
  • Necar Zadegan, film and television actress, best known for her recurrent role as First Lady (and then president) Dalia Hassan on 24, and Delia Banai on Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce
  • Caveh Zahedi, film director and actor
  • Firooz Zahedi, photographer, whose work has appeared in journalistic publications internationally, and as the movie posters for films such as Pulp Fiction, Edward Scissorhands, and The Addams Family
  • Maryam Zahirimehr, screenwriter and film director
  • Roxana Zal, actress
  • Sara Zandieh, filmmaker and Fulbright Scholar at Columbia University
  • Habib Zargarpour, art director, also active in visual effects in Hollywood
  • Tony Zarrindast, film producer, film director, and actor
  • Rayka Zehtabchi, filmmaker, 2018 Academy Award-winning documentary short Period. End of Sentence—first Iranian-American woman to win an Academy Award.

Business and technology

  • Sarkis Acopian, inventor, industrialist, environmentalist; founded the Acopian Technical Company in 1957, where he designed and manufactured the first solar radio.
  • Vahe Aghabegians, entrepreneur, founding member and executive director of UniPrint, Inc. (a printing house), and was the former president of The Romney Group, Inc.
  • Vahid Alaghband, founder and Chairman Balli Group PLC
  • Siavash Alamouti, president and CEO of edge cloud software company mimic, former CTO Broad Band and INTEL fellow, inventor of Alamouti Code, code-communication engineer
  • Mike Amiri, founder and Creative Director of AMIRI fashion line
  • Amir Ansari, co-founder and CTO of Prodea Systems, co-founder and former CTO of Telecom Technologies, Inc. (TTI)
  • Anousheh Ansari, the world's first female space tourist, first Iranian in space, co-founder and chairman of Prodea Systems, Inc., co-founder and former CEO of Telecom Technologies, Inc. (TTI)
  • Cyrus A. Ansary, businessman, President of Investment Services International Co., founder and current chairman of Fort Knox National Company, and chairman emeritus of American University
  • Emik Avakian, inventor, owner of numerous patents including a breath-operated computer, mechanism that facilitates putting wheelchairs on automobiles, and a self-operating robotic wheel
  • Farhad Azima, airline operator and entrepreneur; founder of Global International Airways, and owner of the Aviation Leasing Group and HeavyLift International
  • Sardar Biglari, founder, CEO and chairman of Biglari Holdings
  • Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at the consulting firm IHS Markit, and formerly the chief economist and executive vice president of Global Insight, Inc
  • Michael Benjamin (born Michael Benjamin Bonheur), private investor focusing on internet companies, Republican candidate for the United States Senate in 2004
  • Afsaneh Mashayekhi Beschloss, businesswoman, entrepreneur and economist. Founder and CEO of the hedge-fund Rock Creek Group, former treasurer and chief investment officer of the World Bank
  • J. Darius Bikoff, CEO and founder of Energy Brands, which manufactures VitaminWater
  • Shahram Dabiri, video game producer, lead producer of World of Warcraft
  • Jaleh Daie, Senior Managing Partner at Aurora Equity; former professor of biology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Rutgers University. First woman to serve on the U.S. Space Foundation board of directors.
  • Perry Daneshgari, entrepreneur, civil and mechanical engineer, and author. He is the founder of MCA and specializes in agile construction
  • Nader Darehshori, co-founder, chairman, president, and CEO of Aptius Education, director of State Street Corporation, former director of Aviva USA Corporation
  • Bita Daryabari, philanthropist, entrepreneur and computer scientist
  • Farzad Dibachi, serial entrepreneur and business executive. Co-founder and CEO of Inception.
  • Avid Larizadeh Duggan, entrepreneur and venture capitalist
  • Kamran Elahian, founder and Chairman Global Catalyst Partners
  • Henry Elghanayan, NYC real estate developer, co-founder and chairman of Rockrose Development Corporation
  • Hossein Eslambolchi, former president and CEO of AT&T Labs and AT&T Global Network Operations
  • Arash Ferdowsi, co-founder and CTO of Dropbox
  • Nasir Gebelli, video game programmer for the Apple II, then Final Fantasy I, Final Fantasy II, Secret of Mana, and Rad Racer.
  • Newsha Ghaeli, entrepreneur and architect. Co-founder and President of Biobot Analytics. [31]
  • Mark Ghermezian (of the Ghermezian family), co-founder, Executive Chairman, and former CEO of Braze, Inc.
  • Arthur T. Gregorian, oriental rug dealer based in Greater Boston, and author of books on oriental rugs.
  • Victor Haghani, financier, one of the founding partners of Long Term Capital Management. He has also founded Elm Partners, an active index investment fund, in 2011.
  • Ali Hajimiri, inventor and entrepreneur in the field of electrical and biomedical engineering; Bren Professor of Electrical Engineering and Medical Engineering at Caltech.
  • Albert Hakim, businessman and a figure in the Iran–Contra affair. Co-founder of the Stanford Technology Trading Group International (STTGI)
  • Kamran Hakim, New York City-based landlord, real estate developer and founder of the Hakim Organization.
  • Babak Hodjat, technologist and computer scientist.
  • Neil Kadisha, CEO of Omninet Capital, LLC.
  • Samy Kamkar, entrepreneur, computer hacker, and privacy & security researcher on mobile phone tracking. Creator of the SkyJack hacking drone, the , and the MySpace super-virus "Samy" worm.
  • Darius Kazemi, computer programmer, social activist, and artist. Co-founder of the worker-owned technology collective Feel Train.
  • Sam Kazemian, software programmer; co-founder and president of Everipedia.
  • Salar Kamangar, former CEO of YouTube, senior executive at Google.
  • Kayvan Khalatbari, serial entrepreneur based in Denver, Colorado . Founding partner of the Sexy Pizza restaurant chain, Birdy Magazine, Sexpot Comedy, Denver Relief Consulting, and Denver Relief, the longest continually operated cannabis company in Denver.
  • Nader Khalili, architect. Inventor of the Superadobe and Ceramic houses construction techniques. Founder of the California Institute of Earth Art and Architecture (Cal-Earth).
  • Shaygan Kheradpir, businessman and technology executive. Former CIO of Verizon, former COO of Barclays Bank, and former CEO of Juniper Networks and Coriant.
  • Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber; former CEO of Expedia; on board of directors of The New York Times Company.
  • Mike Kohan, founder & owner of the Kohan Retail Investment Group based in Great Neck, New York, which owns 27 shopping malls as of late 2018.
  • Omid Kordestani, executive chairman of Twitter, former senior vice president, chief business officer, and special advisor at Google.
  • Isaac Larian, founder and CEO of MGA Entertainment; manufacturer of Bratz dolls.
  • Hamid Moghadam, chairman and CEO of Prologis, board member of Stanford Management Company.
  • Mahbod Moghadam, internet entrepreneur; co-founder and former Chief Community Officer of Everipedia, co-founder of Rap Genius (now Genius).
  • Moj Mahdara, CEO of Beautycon Media, is an entrepreneur in the entertainment, digital, and emerging technology spaces.
  • Milton Malek-Yonan, Iranian-Assyrian entrepreneur and inventor of Malekized Rice.
  • Amir, Eskandar and Fraydun Manocherian, NYC-based real estate investors, founders of Manocherian Brothers and Pan Am Equities.
  • David A. Marcus, former president of PayPal, and current vice president of messaging products at Facebook, where he heads the Facebook Messenger unit. Sits on the Coinbase board of directors. Iranian mother.
  • Fariborz Maseeh, pioneer of micro-electro mechanical systems (MEMS), founder of IntelliSense, founder of Orlander LLC, and founder of Orbitron LP.
  • Manny Mashouf, founder and former chairman of Bebe Stores.
  • Saul Maslavi, president and CEO of Jovani Fashion.
  • Cyrus Massoumi, co-founder of the investment fund "humbition." Founder and former CEO of Zocdoc.
  • Justin Mateen, co-founder and former CMO of Tinder.
  • David Merage, co-founder of Chef America Inc., manufacturer of Hot Pockets microwavable meals. Brother of Paul.
  • Paul Merage, co-founder of Chef America Inc., manufacturer of Hot Pockets microwavable meals. Brother of David.
  • Bob Miner, co-founder of Oracle Corporation and the producer of its relational database management system.[32]
  • Mohsen Moazami