Reza Niazmand

Founder of IMI

He was a distinguished Iranian entrepreneur, craftsman and CEO, who is well-established as one of the founders of IMI and the Industrial Development & Renovation Organization of Iran (aka IDRO). He also has published a number of invaluable historic books.

Mr. Niazmand played a prominent role in the construction of important factories – including Tabriz Tractor Manufacturing, Tabriz Machinery Manufacturing, Arak Machinery Manufacturing, and Arak Aluminum Company – during his management tenure in IDRO.

Jamshid Gharajedaghi

Member of the first IMI Board of Directors and Managing Director

From 1979 to 1986, he was head of the research center and Adjunct Professor of Systems at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. From 1963 to 1969, he was a Senior Systems Engineer for the IBM World Trade Corporation. He then left IBM and assumed the Managing Director position at IMI in Iran from 1969 to 1979. Among his achievements in IMI are: managing the institute in an autonomous fashion, independent from government budgets, and in accordance with the law of commerce; establishing the institute in the Jaam-e-Jam complex (also the IRIB Headquarters); and reforming the institute’s internal  managerial structure and systems –  which was upgraded to one of the most advanced in Iran at the time.

Bijan Khorram

Faculty & Board Member at IMI

Prof. Bijan Khorram graduated in Social Sciences from University of Tehran and continued his education in top institutions such as Harvard, Oxford and Rensselaer (Polytechnic Institute) before returning to Iran. With the help of a few colleagues, he founded the IMI upon his return, and served as the Deputy CEO of the institute for three decades.

Among the executive and research records on Prof. Khorram’s resume are: consulting in large industrial organizations in the US, cooperation with Dr. Russel Ackoff,  - the pioneer of systematic thinking – working in UNIDO, cooperation woth Prof. David McClelland at Harvard, and research on industrial democracy at Oxford.

In Iran, he is known as the ‘Father of Systematic Thinking’.

Mohammad Yeganeh

Member of the first IMI Board of Directors

As a prominent Iranian chief economist officer, Yeganeh’s deep impact on Iran’s economy is undeniable. He served in four positions of significant importance in Iran - Governor of the Central Bank, Minister of Finance, Minister of Consulting, and Head of the Program and Budget Organization, and Minister of Development and Housing. Yeganeh was one the people responsible for preparing Dr. Mohammad Mosaddegh’s historic speech at the UN assembly hall.

Akbar Kiafar

Deputy CEO at IMI

He was the analyst and senior designer of management systems at IMI, and played an integral role in the formation of the consulting core of the institute as the deputy to Jamshid Gharajedaghi – the CEO at the time. Until his very last days, he was the senior consultant at IMI and served as a consultation/research mentor and supporter for his colleagues.

Akbar Etemad

Member of the First Board of Directos at IMI

Akbar Etemad was the founder and the first president of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, who is widely hailed as the ‘Father of Iran’s Nuclear Technology’.

In 1963, he received his PhD in Reactor Physics from Lausanne University in Switzerland, and returned to Iran, where he was hired as a technical consultant for the Atomic Reactor Research Project. A year later, he laid the foundation of the Atomic Energy Office within the Planning & Budget Organization, where he was appointed as the president, and remained in office until 1967. In 1968, he was installed as the very first president of the Institute of Research and Planning in Higher Education – which was the Iranian counterpart to the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). In 1974, he was given the task to establish, and was also appointed as the head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, in which he remained until 1978.

Masoud Heidari

Faculty Member at IMI

professor Masoud Heidari, aka ‘Father of Iran’s Negotiation Science’, was born in Qazvin, Iran, in 1936. After graduating high school from Dar ul-Fonun, Tehran, he was admitted to the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences, University of Tehran, where he received his bachelors, masters, and PhD degrees as top student. This earned him a scholarship and he was dispatched to the United States to attend in the Administrative Sciences and Business Management masters, as well as in the Economic Development PhD courses. His academic journey did not end at this university, since after receiving his second PhD, he entered The Hague Academy of International Law, Netherlands, to study International Contracts.

After his return to Iran, he taught in various universities for over 54 years, and was regarded nationwide as one of the most experienced management science professors. In addition to this, he also participated in more than 375 international contracts as a consultant and a negotiator. This gem of a teacher was also the author  of a popular book called Negotiation Principles, Techniques & Skills (2010), published by the IMI Publications.

Vafa Ghaffarian

Faculty Member at IMI

He received both his masters in Industrial Engineering, with ‘Development of Executive Managers’ as research interest, and his PhD in the same discipline, with ‘Strategic Management’ as research interest. Throughout his life, he played an important role in the development of the strategic management science, was among the innovators of the ‘strategic-thinking-oriented management education’, and had numerous books and articles published.

Despite the prolific academic and research achievements on his resume, the late Dr. Ghaffarian was also the chairman/CEO of large organizations, including Telecommunication Company of Iran and Iran Electronics Industries.

Gholamreza Kiani

Member of the Board of Directors and CEO of IMI (1985-1992)

He received his bachelors in Electrical Engineering, masters in Systems Management, and PhD in Strategic Management from Brunel University, UK. He also was on a scholarship from the Alberta state government, for the ‘67th Strategic Management Program for Canadian Senior Managers’ at the Banff School of Management, University of Alberta.

He played an important role in the development and restoration of the IMI’s prosperity after the post-revolution stagnation in the institute’s activities, as well as in the scientific shortcomings of the Iranian executive managers during the early years of the Imposed War.

In addition to a long history of lecturing and consulting in the field of management and strategy-related topics on his resume, Dr. Gholamerza Kiani also has executive records from his positions as consultant, CEO, and board member in large industrial companies.

Seyed MohammadJafar Mar’ashi

Faculty Member at IMI, CEO & Member of the Board of Directors at IMI (1993-2001)

With a masters degree in Systems Engineering from UCLA and a PhD in Development Management Fundamentals from the Academy of Islamic Sciences, he is among the most esteemed professors of the management-related fields, with a prolific records as a lecturer, researcher, and author in the management field – specifically in organization leadership, systematic thinking, and evolution management. Dr. Marashi’s outstanding tenure as the CEO of the IMI has left the institute with some invaluable heritage, namely, the Managers’ Lounge.

He also has multiple executive records at the senior management level in major Iranian organizations.

Fereydoun Azarhoush

Faculty Member at IMI

Dr. Azarhoush is a PhD in Public Administration, and a reputable lecturers in the management science community.  He has a very long history in research and lecturing in fields such as organization leadership, HR management, and learning organizations.

Mansour Mojaddam

Faculty Member at IMI

With a masters degree in Commerce, he was taught executive management courses from the early days of the discipline in Iran, who went on to become one of the most prominent lecturers at the IMI, in masters and professional doctorate courses of business-related fields, including: Business Management, Export Management, Marketing Management, International Management, Trade Fundamentals, and Foreign Commerce.

Furthermore, he had various executive responsibilities at CEO and board member levels in Iranian enterprises.

Parviz Bakhtiari

Management Consultant & Faculty Member at IMI

Bachelor of Accounting from Abadan University of Petroleum; Master of Accounting from University of Tehran; PhD in Business from Walsingham University.

His educational/research efforts as well as his publications throughout more than five decades have been significantly influential in the development of financial management and accounting.

In addition to his scientific and research activities, Dr. Bakhtiari’s resume includes serving as a manager in IMI and providing expert consultations for Iranian companies and organizations.