Samira Panah Bakhtiar

Samira Panah Bakhtiar is attuned to the powerful relationship that can be forged between digital media and technology. As managing Director for the Media Operation at Cisco Systems, Samira leads a team of highly passionate engineers and sales team members who evangelize this every day. Over the course of the last decade, her work at Cisco has led to strategic alignment and business transformation, with some of the world’s largest media conglomerates—focusing on introducing innovation and enhancing operational efficiency in the areas of production, contribution, post production, and primary & secondary distribution.

Samira’s humanitarian work focuses on the abolishment of human trafficking and she has worked as an advocate with the Half the Sky Movement, the New Somaly Fund, and Global Poverty Project, and currently sits on the Board of Directors for Together1Heart. Her philanthropic work has always been a strong personal driver, and as a result, Samira launched Bridge2Act in 2015, a venture which is focused on transforming the giving landscape through the use of technology.

Samira graduated Summa Cum Laude in Finance from the University of Arizona with her B.S., and Magna Cum Laude with her MBA from Fordham University. In her spare time Samira loves traveling, practicing Muay Thai Kick Boxing, Hot Yoga, and hitting up the culinary scene with her husband, Koorosh, in Manhattan.