Payam Zamani is the founder of One Planet Group.
Founded in 2015, One Planet Group is a closely held private equity firm that owns a suite of online technology and media businesses and also invests in early-stage companies. Infused with Zamani’s deeply held beliefs from the Baha’i Faith, One Planet’s mission is to support strong business ideas while also building an ethos that helps improve society and gives back to communities.
Owned and operated businesses of One Planet Group span a variety of industries including ad tech, publishing, and media. Key companies include Buyerlink, Autoweb, California.com, One Planet Media, and One Planet Studios. One Planet Group also runs BahaiTeachings and One Planet, One People as part of its foundation arm.
Zamani was born in Tehran, Iran but was forced to flee at the age of sixteen due to his religious beliefs. Ultimately arriving in the San Francisco Bay Area, Zamani graduated from UC Davis in 1994.
In 2020, One Planet Group was named a ‘Best Place to Work’ by the San Francisco Business Times and the Silicon Valley Business Journal, and also received the Better Business Bureau’s Torch for Ethics Award. Zamani was also honored as a ‘Best CEO for Diversity’ in 2020 by Comparably, was granted the Tahirih Justice Center’s ‘Hope Award’ (2016), and is a recipient of the University of California, Davis Award of Distinction (2018).
Today, Zamani splits his time between California, Nevada, and New York, along with his wife, Gouya. Together the couple has two daughters.