ANOUSHEH ANSARI
Chief Executive Officer
XPRIZE
Anousheh Ansari, CEO of Los Angeles headquartered XPRIZE, became the first Iranian and first self-funded woman to fly to the International Space Station nearly 17 years ago, and has dedicated her time since that journey to doing everything in her power to protect the blue planet she admired from space.
Ansari was co-founder and CEO of Telecom Technologies Inc. (TTI), which grew into a $1.2 billion company, the success of which launched her family’s role as philanthropists and allowed her to turn her attention towards the stars. Ansari and her family sponsored XPRIZE’s first competition, the Ansari XPRIZE, a $10 million competition that ignited a new era for commercial spaceflight. Since then, she has served on XPRIZE’s Board of Directors, and in 2018, became the organization’s CEO. Over her tenure at the helm, Ansari has shifted XPRIZE’s strategic vision and broadened its global impact.
