Sam Heidari

Dr. Sam Heidari is a seasoned executive and board member for both public and private companies, with decades of experience innovating novel technologies as well as building successful products and businesses. Currently, he is the chairman of the board for SiTune and Aerial Technologies as well as an operating partner at Cota Capital and a board member at Greenwave Systems, Haila Technology and BigStream. Prior to that, he was the Chairman of the board and CEO of Quantenna Communications in which he drove the organization in developing the most advanced Wi-Fi hardware and software solutions to date – thereby enabling networking applications previously not thought possible. Dr. Heidari led Quantenna’s growth from zero revenue to more than $200M, its successful IPO in 2016, and its subsequent acquisition in 2019. Prior to Quantenna, he served as chief technology officer at Ikanos Communications. He joined Ikanos as one of the original team members and provided meaningful contributions to its IPO. Then, Dr. Heidari rejoined Ikanos in 2006 via the acquisition of Doradus Technologies, where he had served as president and CEO. Under his management, Doradus grew from founding to profitability within 18 months.

Dr. Heidari has served on the Global Semiconductor Alliance Board of Directors and on the advisory board for both Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Departments at the University of Southern California. He is a senior member of IEEE and holds about 50 U.S. and international patents. Dr. Heidari was named the 2014 Executive of the Year by the Golden Bridge Awards and the 2017 Executive of the Year by UBM. He earned his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from University of Southern California, and a B.S. degree from Northeastern University, all in Electrical Engineering.