Table of Biography
Zia Chishti is an American investor and business executive. Zia Chishti is co-founder and CEO of Afiniti, a company that uses artificial intelligence to optimize and improve customer interactions.
Early Life
Zia Chishti was born in 1971, in Bar Harbor, Maine, the United States. Currently, he is 53 years old and holds American nationality. Meanwhile, he was born Wilson Lear and belongs to the American-Pakistani ethnicity. His full name is Muhammad Ziaullah Khan Chishti.
His father’s name is George Lear, and his mother’s name is unknown. Meanwhile, his father was American, and his mother was Pakistani. Following the passing of his father in 1974, he and his mother relocated to Lahore, Pakistan. To address anti-Christian sentiments in Pakistan, his name was officially changed to Zia Chishti.
Zia Chishti – Education
He attended Lahore American School and completed his graduation. Later, he moved to New York City in the year 1988 and enrolled at Columbia University. He earned his BA in computer science and economics in 1992 from there. He completed his graduation from Stanford University in California with an MBA in 1997.
Professional Career
After completing his graduation, Zia Chishti started working as an investment banker at Morgan Stanley, working in New York and London on mergers and acquisitions. He also worked as a management consultant for McKinsey & Company in London.
In 1997, he co-founded Align Technology, a medical device business in Sunnyvale, California, where he served as CEO and chairman. The Food and Drug Administration granted Align Technology permission to sell and promote Invisalign in 1998. Align Technology listed on the NASDAQ in January 2001, with a $1 billion value. Moreover, he left Align Technology in 2003, selling the shares he owned in the company.
Afterward, he became the founding chairman and CEO of The Resource Group (TRG). TRG’s initial acquisition was the Pakistani operations of Align Technology in Lahore, which Align had sold off in 2001. He listed TRG on the Karachi Stock Exchange in July 2003. By 2005, the corporation had established operations in Karachi and Lahore, as well as supported and acquired American call centers.
Caption: Zia Chishti, CEO of Afiniti (Source: Business Recorder)
Chishti and other former Align Technology workers co-founded Orthoclear, a medical device startup, in 2005. In 2006, the company settled a patent infringement case filed by Align, which paid $20 million for Orthoclear’s intellectual property. He eventually spent his focus on TRG.
In 2005, he produced Afiniti in Washington, D.C., with TRG owning roughly half of the company’s equity. Chishti, the CEO and chairman of Afiniti, wrote the initial draft of the company’s software on his dining room table in 2006.
The product uses artificial intelligence to improve call centre productivity. Chishti remained Afiniti’s CEO and chairman of the board, which comprised directors John W. Snow and José Maria Aznar. By 2017, The Resource Group operated as an equity vehicle with a variety of subsidiaries, including the offshore business TRG International.
Zia Chishti – Awards
In March 2018, Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain presented him with the Sitara-e-Imtiaz Award for Information Technology. Chishti also received the MIT AI Innovator Award in April of that year. In July 2001, People Magazine ranked Chishti among the top 50 bachelors in the United States.
Net Worth 2024
Being the CEO and co-founder of Afiniti, he has earned a huge sum of money through his business. As of 2023, his net worth is estimated at around $5 million while his annual salary and income are under review.
Relationship Status
Zia Chishti married Sarah Pobereskin in Bermuda in 2020. Much detail about their marital life is unknown. Meanwhile, the couple has not shared any kids at the moment.
Sexual assault accusations
On November 16, 2021, a former employee of Afinit Tatiana Spottiswood testified at the US House Committee on the Judiciary about sexual harassment. According to her Chishti allegedly assaulted and beat her during a business trip to Brazil in 2017. She also alleged that Chishti reportedly grabbed her buttocks and called her a “bitch” after she refused to hold his hand. Due to this allegation, Chishti resigned from Afiniti and TRG on November 28, 2021.
Body Measurements
Caption: Zia Chishti meeting KP chief minister during Pakistan visit (Source: The Namal)
This businessman stands 5 feet 9 inches tall (175 cm) and weighs around 68kg (150 lbs). Moreover, he has a pair of brown eyes with black hair colour while his other body measurements are unknown.
Zia Chishti – Social Media
Presently, this businessman is not active on social media sites such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.