Background and Achievements
- Zia Chishti was born in 1971 in Bar Harbor, Maine.
- His father, George Lear, was American while his mother was Pakistani.
- After his father's death in 1974, he and his mother moved to Lahore, Pakistan.
- His name was legally changed to Zia Chishti to avoid anti-Christian sentiment in Pakistan.
- He graduated from the Lahore American School and later attended Columbia University, earning a BA in computer science and economics in 1992.
- Chishti co-founded Align Technology in 1997, where he invented Invisalign.
- Invisalign allowed computers to customize plastic retainers for teeth alignment.
- Align Technology went public in 2001 with a valuation of $1 billion.
- After leaving Align Technology, Chishti founded The Resource Group (TRG) and Orthoclear.
- In 2005, Chishti founded Afiniti, a company focused on artificial intelligence for call center efficiency.
- Chishti is the CEO of Afiniti, a sales AI company valued at $1.6 billion.
- He has been recognised for his contributions to the field of orthodontics.
- Chishti has been featured in publications such as The New York Times and the Washington Post.
- He has received civil awards for his work.
- Chishti has written articles on artificial intelligence.
Views on Artificial Intelligence
- Chishti is critical of the hype surrounding artificial intelligence.
- He believes the benefits of AI are evolutionary rather than revolutionary.
- Successful AI use cases include medical image anomaly detection, hydrocarbon detection, consumer behavioral prediction, and fraud detection.
- Chishti emphasizes the importance of identifying patterns within complex data.
- He argues that AI should be seen as a tool rather than a replacement for human intelligence.
Personal Life
- Chishti was listed among the top 50 bachelors in the US by People Magazine in 2001.
- He works out of Washington, D.C. and is an avid chess player and skier.
- In 2020, Chishti married Sarah Pobereskin in Bermuda.
Sexual Assault Accusations
- In 2021, a former employee accused Chishti of sexual assault and harassment.
- Chishti left his roles at Afiniti and TRG following the accusations.
- He filed a defamation lawsuit against the accuser, claiming a consensual love affair was weaponised.
- An arbitration tribunal ruling supported the veracity of the accuser's claims.
- The lawsuit was criticised for potentially discouraging victims from speaking out against wealthy abusers.
Resignation and Impact on Afiniti
- Zia Chishti stepped down as Chairman, CEO, and Director of Afiniti following allegations of sexual assault.
- The resignation was effective immediately.
- The allegations were reported by various news outlets, including The New York Times and Dawn.
- Chishti also resigned from an investment firm in the wake of the allegations.
- A secret report about his misconduct was made public by Congress.
- The Board of Directors of Afiniti announced Chishti's resignation.
- The company faced significant consequences due to the allegations.
- Chishti's departure had an impact on the leadership and direction of Afiniti.
- The news of the allegations affected the company's reputation.
- Afiniti had to address the situation and reassess its corporate culture.
Muhammad Ziaullah Khan Chishti (born 1971) is a Pakistani-American investor and business executive. He is the founder of Afiniti and TRG Global.
Zia Chishti | |
|---|---|
| Born | Wilson Lear 1971 (age 52–53) |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Lahore American School Columbia University Stanford University |
| Occupation | Business executive |
| Known for | Orthoclear, Afiniti |
| Spouse | Sarah Pobereskin (m. 2020) |
| Partner | Tatiana Spottiswoode (c. 2017) |
| Awards | Sitara-e-Imtiaz for IT (2018) |
After starting his career as a Morgan Stanley investment banker, Chishti invented the medical device Invisalign and co-founded Align Technology to market the product in 1997. He served as CEO of Align until 2003, when he founded the investment fund The Resource Group. In 2005 he co-founded both Orthoclear and Afiniti, the latter of which develops artificial intelligence for use in customer call centers. Chishti was a named inventor on around 150 issued patents by 2018,[citation needed] and had co-founded three unicorn startup companies. In 2021, he resigned after accusations of sexual harassment and violence in his career were made public.
