GirlGeek of the Week
June 2000

Roya Zamanzadeh

Roya Zamanzadeh, Pear's chief executive officer spent more than nine years managing international business projects before she was mesmerized by the networking possibilities of the World Wide Web and the Internet. In 1994, Zamanzadeh made a career change and began to manage multimedia projects, working with such firms as Organic Online, and W3-design, and has managing the development of many Web sites, including the Sony ITA site.

Zamanzadeh has been the chief editor of Zan, a directory/anthology on Iranian women, since march of 1995. She has degrees in international relations and French literature, as well as a masters degree in women's studies from San Francisco State University. 1999 proved to be an amazing year for Zamanzadeh. In January, she was listed as one of the Top 25 Women of the Web by San Francisco Women on the Web (SF WoW). In April, she was featured in Wired magazine and in May she gave birth to her first child, Kian.

How do you earn a living?

I am the CEO and president of Pear Transmedia. My day is spent staying on top of tons of email, meeting with clients and potential clients, sending out proposals and taking charge of our fast-growing company.

When did you first discover your love and/or obsession with computers and technology?

Five years ago I discovered networking and the Web. This newfound way of reaching people across the globe without censorship mesmerized me. I take advantage of this every day.

Do you consider yourself a Geek?

I do not.

What is your favorite Website?

Yahoo.com; I love searching for sites that are unknown and Yahoo! is broad enough to facilitate that hunt. I also visit CNN.com frequently for news.

What do you do when you are not working?

Think about work and how to strategize better.