A curious traveller & global citizen

Twenty-six countries and three continents called home happened because I've never needed the safety of the familiar. I'd rather get a little lost and find my own way through, speaking English, Spanish and Farsi fluently, which means I'm rarely stuck for long. That same appetite for the unknown is what let me build a business from scratch, back founders before anyone else would, and say yes to deals most people would call too risky. Curiosity gets you in the door; being willing to take the risk on what you find is what gets you somewhere new.

Peru is where that curiosity started. It's where I was born, though my heritage is Persian, so travel has always felt like piecing together where I come from as much as discovering somewhere new. Machu Picchu was every bit as hard as it looks. The altitude alone will humble you, let alone the climb. I'll never forget standing on those terraces at sunrise, thinking about everything it took, centuries ago, to build something that ambitious in that landscape. It's the same thrill I get from a hard problem: the tougher the climb, the better the view.

Home now is Melbourne, Australia, on an island continent that's every bit as beautiful as the places I travel to see. Some of my best thinking still happens on a beach walk five minutes from my door: proof you don't always need to get on a plane to find a bit of perspective.

Antarctica's the one continent I haven't made it to yet. It's next on the list.