Safi Qureshey

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Safi Qureshey (sometimes written Qureshi) is chairman emeritus, cofounder and former CEO of AST Research, Inc., a personal computer manufacturer. He is currently involved with several start-up technology companies as an advisor, board member and seed investor. From a garage-based company in 1980, AST progressed to become a member of Fortune's list of America's largest industrial and service companies, with more than $2.5 billion in annual revenue. Samsung Electronics acquired AST in 1997.

Through his involvement with executives from the high-tech community, UCI and a close relationship with venture capitalists, Mr. Qureshey is active in encouraging entrepreneurship in Southern California. Mr. Qureshey primarily works with companies in the technology space. He is involved in helping companies with strategic growth, mentoring, international expansion, and product direction. Qureshey is an active Board Member in selected companies and an investor in others.

A strong proponent of education and research, Qureshey currently serves as regent's professor at the University of California, Irvine's Graduate School of Management, and also actively supports U.C. Irvine's Bonney Center for Neurobiology of Learning and Memory. In 2000 he created the eponymous "Safi Qureshey Foundation" to provide "a conduit of support for socially and economically underserved children and adults to build better and more secure futures".^[1]

Qureshey was named by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to his transition team, to help him put together his new administration^[2]. Qureshey is also a former member of President Clinton's Export Council.