12 Facts About Shahrzad Rafati

In October 2020, Rafati led BBTV to its initial public offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Shahrzad Rafati was born 1979 in Tehran, Iran and immigrated to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada as a teenager.

Shahrzad Rafati studied French at Universite Paris Sorbonne, and is a graduate of the Young Global Leaders Oxford Module: Transformational Leadership at Said Business School, University of Oxford.

Shahrzad Rafati received her Honorary Doctorate from University Canada West in 2020.

Shahrzad Rafati founded BroadbandTV in 2005 and has led it since then, garnering a 2013 $36 million investment from RTL Group.

In October 2020, Shahrzad Rafati led BBTV through its initial public offering on the TSX.

Separate from her role at BroadbandTV, Shahrzad Rafati is a board member for Bjarke Ingels Group, an architecture firm, and was named Vice Chair of the board for Invest in Canada in 2019.

Shahrzad Rafati has been a board member of the Vancouver Economic Commission, and the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs.

In September 2018, it was announced that Shahrzad Rafati was appointed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to represent Canada on the Business Women Leaders task force, which was formed to advise global leaders on issues of women's economic empowerment as part of the G20 Summit.

Shahrzad Rafati was later appointed as Canada's representative for G20 EMPOWER, a private sector alliance with the goal of advancing women's representation at leadership levels in the private sector.

Shahrzad Rafati has been the recipient of many awards and honors, including Canada's Top 40 under 40, the Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Award, Person of the Year by BC Technology Association, CEO of the Year by Business in Vancouver, and Fast Company's 100 Most Creative People in Business.

In 2022, Shahrzad Rafati was named on Business in Vancouver's list of Most Influential Women in Business.