Iran Economy in Brief was founded in November 2015 with an idea to provide a weekly summary about the Iranian economy from the local point of view. For several years, unfair reports presented Iran, its people, their lives and the opportunities in a rather negative way. We thought by giving an insider look into what is going on in the country, what people are concerned about and what is developing, we can help those who are interested in Iran and doing business here. With an analytical background and a fair position, every week, we select the highlights of the latest economic news both from the national and international sources.
Iran Economy in Brief is a group of young Iranians who work very hard and are optimistic about the future of the country. As it has happened the team is female-oriented as well!
Mahya Karbalaii was born 33 years ago in Tehran, where she graduated in Physics from Shahid Beheshti University. Subsequently she obtained her PhD in mathematics from the Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA), Trieste, Italy. Since 2013 she has been working as an economic analyst and consultant for various Iranian and European companies and institutions. As freelance journalist, she writes regularly for leading Iranian, German and Italian newspapers and magazines, such as Donyay-e Eghtesad, Handelsblatt, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, L’Espresso, D La Repubblica and others. She is fluent in Farsi, German, English, Italian and also communicates in French and Spanish. As a hobby, she writes and translates children books. Sport is an essential and non-separable part of her life and nothing could replace road-cycling and hiking for her! She founded Iran Economy in Brief in November 2015 and since then energetically leads the team.
Mahboube Sahragard, 33, studied Industrial Engineering at Azad Universit and was graduated in 2006. Since her third semester, she started to work as a trainee at Azin Khodro Company. In 2009 she joined MAPNA Group and today with more than 13 years of work-experience, she is the Systems and Coordination Manager at Planing Department. She holds a Master Degree in Industrial Engineering from Amir Kabir University. Being an old friend of Mahya, she is a great help in managing the weekly newsletter. Her experience in project management and strategic management is the most valuable asset that she brings to the group. She is a great advisor in keeping on the right track. She is fluent in English. Twice a week swimming is on the regular plan of Mahboube and Mahya.
Maryam Rezaei is a 31 years-old journalist and translator. She got her Bachelor Degree in English Translation from Azad University and now she is at the last semester of Master program in Entrepreneurship College of Tehran University. She started working in 2009 and in 2013 joined the editorial team of Managers Page at Donyay-e Eghtesad Daily. Mahya and Maryam have been collaborating on this page since 2014 and it created a strong relationship between them. Maryam collaborates with the Farsi version of IEB since September 2017. She is a highly reliable colleague. In her spare time, she makes artworks and beside reading, she loves any activity which sends her adrenaline up!
Armita Askari, 20, is the youngest official member of the team. She is enrolled in the third year of Biotechnology at Azad University. Since September 2017 she works part-time as Mahya’s assistant. She is a very smart, responsible and precise girl. She speaks French and English and is also very sportive. She LOVES Badminton, plays three times a week and is a certified referee. Armita, Mahya and Mahboube challenge each other by the number of books they read every week; the loser should donate a book to IEB’s liberary!
Alireza Safari was born 33 years ago in Tehran. He was five-years-old when his family moved to the U.S. as his father was enrolled in PhD. of Chemistry. He spent most of his teenage years in the U.S. and Canada before they returned to Iran. He studied Physics at Shahid Beheshti University. Afterwards he got a Master Degree in Linguistics at the same university. Long-term friendship can create great collaborators too. Alireza has been working with Mahya at Farabi Brokerage and since 2016 he works as a translator at Iran Economy in Brief. He is native in English and teaches it since he was 16. Alireza is happily married and has a two-year-old son. As far as we know, he has never been athletic! But can be extremely hilarious which made it difficult to capture him seriously in the picture!
Iran Economy in Brief has other advisors and unofficial team-members who support us in developing our ideas for improvements and help us keeping the website up.