Naeem Zafar | About Me

The CEO’s Confidant

The view from the corner office can be isolating. You’re responsible for everything—strategy, culture, fundraising, exits—yet you often lack a trusted advisor who truly understands the weight of leadership because they’ve carried it themselves.

I’ve spent over 30 years in that chair. As a serial entrepreneur who founded six companies, raised over $50 million in venture capital, and led organizations through successful exits, I know firsthand what it means to make decisions when failure isn’t an option.

My Unique Value:

Battle-Tested Experience: Six successful companies from startup to exit
Board Leadership: Current and former board positions across multiple industries
Academic Rigor: 20+ years teaching entrepreneurship at UC Berkeley and Northeastern University
Strategic Clarity: Ability to cut through complexity and focus on what matters most
Confidential Counsel: A safe space to think out loud without judgment

Today, I serve as the strategic sparring partner for CEOs and boards who need more than advice—they need someone who’s faced the same impossible choices and can help them navigate with wisdom earned through experience.

As a Director in the Alliance of Chief Executives, I facilitate confidential forums where business leaders address their most pressing challenges. This work has reinforced my belief that every CEO needs a trusted advisor who can challenge their thinking, validate their instincts, and help them make better decisions faster.

My Career and Activities

I advise start-ups and executives in all aspects of starting or running their companies, after selling my seventh startup, TeleSense, an industrial IoT (Internet of Things) company, in 2022.
Previously, I was the president and CEO of Bitzer Mobile, a company in the enterprise mobile security space that was purchased by Oracle.
I’m a member of the faculty of the School of Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. I enjoy teaching multiple courses in entrepreneurship and innovation to undergraduates and graduate students. I’m also the faculty director and Professor of Practice for Northeastern University’s Semester in Silicon Valley program.
I was the president and CEO of Pyxis Technology Inc., a company specializing in advanced chip design software for nanometer technology. I also served as the president and CEO of two other high-tech startups (Silicon Design Systems and Veridicom, a Bell Labs spin-off that invented the silicon fingerprint sensors today found on most laptops and on iPhones). I was the vice president of marketing and engineering at several companies before becoming the CEO of Veridicom.
Quickturn Design Systems, where I served as the VP of Marketing, had an IPO in 1993, and grew to $150M in revenues. I joined the company as one of the very early employees and designed the world’s first ASIC emulation system.
I hold a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Brown University (magna cum laude) in Rhode Island and a Master of Science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Minnesota.
I’m a charter member of TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs www.TiE.org ), where I chair the TiE Institute.
I’m also a charter member of OPEN ( www.OPENSiliconValley.org ), where I served as the Board Chair (2011 -2016) and the president (2009-2011).