Who is Omid Kordestani?

Omid Kordestani is a businessman who has held various senior roles at Twitter and Google since 1999. One of several Iranian-American success stories, Kordestani is a tech billionaire who was Google’s ninth employee and critical to the company’s early revenue generation.

Category	Details
Full Name	Omid R. Kordestani
Date of Birth	1963
Place of Birth	Tehran, Iran
Nationality	Iranian-American
Education	Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from San Jose State University, Master of Business Administration from Stanford Graduate School of Business
Early Career	Worked at Hewlett-Packard, Worked at Netscape as Vice President of Business Development
Major Companies	Google, Twitter
Positions	Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Field Operations at Google, Executive Chairman at Twitter
Major Projects	Key role in Google’s business and revenue growth, Development of Google’s sales and operations
Notable Achievements	Instrumental in Google’s IPO, Significant contributions to the growth and success of Google’s advertising model
Net Worth	Estimated around $1.9 billion (as of 2023)
Personal Life	Married to Bita Daryabari (divorced), Two children, Known for his philanthropic efforts
Philanthropy	Active in various charitable causes, Focus on education and global development, Donated to Persian studies programs at Stanford University and UC Berkeley
Vision for Future	Advocate for technology-driven innovation and global connectivity
Awards and Honors	Recognized for his contributions to the tech industry, Featured in various business and technology publications

Table of Contents

Early life, education, and career

Kordestani was born in Tehran, Iran, in 1963 and attended the Italian Catholic school known as Andisheh Don Bosco.

After his father died in 1976, Kordestani moved to California and later graduated with a degree in electrical engineering from San Jose State University.

Kordestani then received an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 1991. His first career role was a four-year stint at Netscape Communications.

Starting as director of OEM Sales, Kordestani established relationships with major clients such as AOL, Amazon, and Intel and increased Netscape’s revenue from $88 million to $200 million in the space of 18 months.

Over the 1990s, he also worked in various product management, business development, and marketing roles with The 3DO Company, HP, and Go Corporation.

Kordestani joins Google

Kordestani joined Google in May 1999 as its eleventh employee where he lead the development of the company’s first business model.

This, according to his LinkedIn profile, saw Kordestani grow the company from a few employees and its first dollar in revenue to a company with over 12,000 employees and $20 billion in revenue.

Kordestani’s successes did not go unnoticed, with TIME recognizing him as one of the “100 People Who Shape Our World” in 2006. He was also chosen as the Persian Person of the Year at the Persian Awards in 2007.

Twitter

After a decade in senior positions at Google, Kordestani transitioned from an operational role to one of advisor to the office of the CEO in 2009.

Kordestani returned briefly to Google as its chief business officer but was poached by Twitter where he became the platform’s Executive Chairman in October 2015.

Kordestani was replaced in June 2020 after a power struggle with Twitter founder Jack Dorsey and hedge fund Elliott Management.

He remained on the board until it was dissolved in October 2022 with new owner Elon Musk planning to take the company private.

Today, Kordestani is chairman of the Board at British multinational Pearson, an education and mass media company that was once the largest book publisher in the world.

Philanthropy

Kordestani supports various philanthropic causes related to medicine, education, and issues that affect Iranian-Americans.

He co-founded the PARSA Community Foundation in 2006 to further Iranian culture, heritage, entrepreneurship, and philanthropy in California.

These efforts enable Kordestani to draw attention to the history of relations between Iran and the United States and break down racial or cultural stereotypes.

Key takeaways

Omid Kordestani is an Iranian-American businessman who has held various senior roles at Twitter and Google since 1999.
During Kordestani’s four-year stint at Netscape Communications, he established relationships with major clients such as AOL, Amazon, and Intel as director of OEM sales. His ability to grow Netscape’s revenue soon attracted the attention of Google.
Kordestani joined Google in May 1999 as its eleventh employee where he lead the development of the company’s first business model. Since that time, he has served in operational and advisory roles for both Google and Twitter.

Key Highlights

Background & Early Life:
- Born in Tehran, Iran in 1963.
- Attended Andisheh Don Bosco, an Italian Catholic school.
- Moved to California after his father’s death in 1976.
- Graduated from San Jose State University with a degree in electrical engineering and later earned an MBA from Stanford in 1991.
Early Career:
- Began his career at Netscape Communications, increasing the company’s revenue from $88 million to $200 million within 18 months.
- Worked with notable companies like AOL, Amazon, Intel, The 3DO Company, HP, and Go Corporation in various roles throughout the 1990s.
Google:
- Joined Google as its eleventh employee in May 1999.
- Played a pivotal role in developing Google’s first business model.
- Under his leadership, Google grew from a handful of employees to over 12,000 with a revenue of $20 billion.
- Recognized by TIME as one of the “100 People Who Shape Our World” in 2006 and awarded the Persian Person of the Year in 2007.
Twitter:
- Transitioned from Google to an advisory role in 2009.
- Later returned to Google briefly as Chief Business Officer.
- Became Twitter’s Executive Chairman in October 2015.
- Left Twitter in June 2020 after a power struggle, and remained on the board until October 2022 when Elon Musk decided to take Twitter private.
Current Role:
- Chairman of the Board at Pearson, a British multinational education and mass media company.
Philanthropy:
- Actively supports causes related to medicine, education, and Iranian-American issues.
- Co-founded the PARSA Community Foundation in 2006 to promote Iranian culture, heritage, and philanthropy in California.
- Uses his philanthropic efforts to highlight the history of U.S.-Iran relations and challenge racial or cultural stereotypes.
Overall:
- Omid Kordestani is a prominent Iranian-American businessman with significant roles in major tech companies like Google and Twitter since 1999.
- His leadership and vision played a crucial role in the growth and success of these tech giants.