Childhood
I was born in Berlin Moabit, was raised in Tehran and had a childhood between the two cities, getting to know both cultures.
I have an Iranian mother and an Iranian-German father. My German grandfather moved to Iran in 1929 with the company “Philipp Holzmann” for the Iranian national railroad project. He stayed in Iran for the rest of his life. My father, also a construction engineer, worked also for German “Heitkamp” company on national Iranian projects like the “Lar” water-tunnel and power plant project near Tehran.
I was raised in Tehran during the Iran-Iraq war of the 80’s spending the Iranian three month summer school vacations in Berlin. Our family in Berlin was split between the west and the east side, so we visited “both” cities!
Thank God the city is now One! and what a great one;)
Career: From IT to Home Automation
Starting with Microsoft DOS and “Quick Basic” courses in the 1990’s, I was sure to become an IT-man. Although I started as a developer and even studied “Software Engineering”, I soon totally focused on networking, TCP/IP and the Internet. For some time, I was a part-time network admin as well as tutor for Microsoft Certification Program in “Cybertech” one of Tehran’s leading IT centers.
Then I became familiar with the concept of Home Automation: love at first sight!
Home Automation is actually an application of IT, especially networking, in buildings and homes with lots of benefits. My IT background provided me a solid base for becoming an expert and entrepreneur in the field of home automation and smart building technologies in Iran. I founded “Smart House Iran” as the first Iranian home automation company in 2004.
The CEO Years
Smart House was the first Iranian home automation company and the first Iranian EIB/KNX Partner; we introduced the European standard to the Iranian market that has nowadays become the dominant standard in use in modern Iranian construction.
We represented German “Merten” company which later became part of electro giant Schneider Electric.
Our company introduced several German brands to the Iranian market in the field of home automation, wiring devices and building technologies. I personally prefer to work with mid-size companies the “Mittelstand”.
In my years as CEO of Smart House, I was responsible for all needs and matters of our clients and the employees. I enjoy solving never-seen-before problems even more than going through well practiced routines. Reaching ambitious sales targets and scoring high on customer satisfaction were my primary goals. I had constant visits to partners and clients all over Iran and also hosted a few events for professionals from many states of Iran.
I have to admit: I’m more of a start-up guy than the admin type. So this was yet another reason to let others run the company!
Smart House Iran managed to become part of a well known group of over 10 successful companies called the “Rayan Huber Business Group” base in Tehran.
A New Start: Markteintritt.ir
This was the first time after more than a decade, where I was able to distance myself from the everyday business of the company and use the chance of changing my personal career path for good. I also used this opportunity to travel to different parts of Iran and also to distant places I had less time to pay a visit before.
After the International deal with Iran, I Co-Founded a market entry service provider team for German companies in Iran called “Markteintritt.ir”. My full attention and main focus of work in the post-sanction years was on marketing; specially digital marketing, market entry strategy development, CRM, product launch planning, market exit strategies, etc.
