Hosain RaHman
Co-founder and CEO
Aliph
Hosain Rahman, co-founder and CEO of Aliph, is responsible for leading all aspects of the global business operation.
Mr. Rahman and Aliph co-founder Alex Asseily spearheaded the development of Aliph’s groundbreaking audio quality
platform and in 2004 launched the first evolution of Jawbone to critical acclaim. They launched the first wireless
Jawbone in 2006; it quickly became the fastest-selling premium Bluetooth headset in history. Jawbone has earned
numerous accolades, including CNET’s highest-ever rating for a headset product. Mr. Rahman was selected to the jury
for the 2006 IDSA Annual Design awards in recognition of Aliph’s leadership position at the intersection of design
and technology. Before co-founding Aliph, he served Applied Materials and the SoundView Financial Group. He
completed a BS degree in mechanical engineering at Stanford University.
THoR GeiR Ramle TH
Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer
Bechtel Group Inc.
Thor Geir Ramleth is senior vice president and chief information officer of Bechtel Group, Inc., where he leads
the global information systems and technology organization. Before rejoining Bechtel in 2002, Mr. Ramleth held
leadership positions for a variety of companies in the technology and communications industries. Among his
responsibilities in those roles, he defined strategy and market position and secured multiple forms of financial
resources. Previously, Mr. Ramleth served as chairman and CEO of DigiPlex SA, based in Zurich, which owned and
operated large communications and networking facilities throughout Europe. Still earlier he served as president and
CEO of Genuity, a Bechtel Enterprises company formed to deliver Internet and data services. Mr. Ramleth also held
management positions with Oracle, PageMart, and Pac Tel Personal Communications.
eRic D. Rasmussen
President and CEO
Innovative Support to Emergencies, Diseases and Disasters (InSTEDD)
Eric Rasmussen, MD, assumed in 2007 his current roles at InSTEDD, an international nonprofit organization
founded by Google.org and dedicated to delivering innovative technological support to those who help the world stay
safe. Before joining InSTEDD, Dr. Rasmussen was chairman of the department of medicine within Naval Hospital
Bremerton near Seattle, and an advisor in humanitarian informatics for the U.S. Office of the Secretary of Defense.
He holds academic positions at several institutions and has been a principal investigator for the Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency and the National Science Foundation. His professional honors include a Presidential
Legion of Merit. Dr. Rasmussen served seven years enlisted in nuclear submarines before leaving the Navy to receive
his undergraduate and medical degrees from Stanford University. He served in humanitarian support planning in
Afghanistan in 2002, and later as a physician in the Iraq War in 2002-03. In 2005, he was deployed to New Orleans to
coordinate relief response after Hurricane Katrina.
FaRsHaD Ras TeGaR
Founder, President, and CEO
Relief International—Schools Online
Farshad Rastegar, Ph.D., heads Relief International—Schools Online, a leading humanitarian aid agency based in
Los Angeles. The organization has some 250 staff members worldwide, has worked in more than 40 countries, and
remains active in conflict-ridden environments such as Afghanistan, Darfur, and Iraq. Dr. Rastegar founded Relief
International to assist refugees and disaster victims through innovative empowerment strategies that use integrated,
community development, multisectoral approaches. At Relief International he has helped develop an organization
specialized in helping societies make the transition from relief to development and from centralized to market
economies. Dr. Rastegar has worked in active conflict areas such as Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bosnia, Chechnya,
Kosovo, and Tajikistan, as well as in post-natural disaster contexts such as New Orleans, Nicaragua, and Iran. He
holds a Ph.D. in comparative and international education from UCLA and has served on the faculty. His dissertation
focused on the Afghan radical Islamic movement.
