# Payam Zamani

> Payam Zamani is an Iranian-American entrepreneur, investor and author who founded One Planet Group in 2015. After fleeing religious persecution in Iran, he arrived in the United States in 1988 and cofounded AutoWeb with his brother Frank in 1994. He later founded Reply.com, now Buyerlink, and advocates bringing spiritual values, service and charitable giving into business. His memoir Crossing the Desert was published in 2024.

- **Role:** Founder, Chairman and CEO at One Planet Group
- **Organizations:** One Planet Group, Buyerlink, AutoWeb, BahaiTeachings.org, One Planet One People, Inspirato (former chairman and CEO)
- **From:** Tehran, Iran
- **Nationality:** Iranian-American
- **Education:** B.S. in Environmental Toxicology, University of California, Davis
- **Known for:** Cofounded AutoWeb and took it public in 1999., Founded One Planet Group and Reply.com, later Buyerlink., Author of Crossing the Desert, a 2024 memoir listed in the publisher’s catalog as a USA TODAY and Publishers Weekly bestseller.

## Career timeline

- **1987** — Fled Iran for Pakistan to escape persecution as a Baha’i.
- **1988** — Arrived in San Francisco with his brother as refugees.
- **1994** — Graduated from UC Davis and cofounded AutoWeb with Frank Zamani.
- **1999** — AutoWeb went public and reached a reported $1.2 billion valuation.
- **2001** — Founded Reply.com, later relaunched as Buyerlink.
- **2006** — With Gouya Zamani, established an endowed UC Davis scholarship for students of Iranian heritage.
- **2015** — Founded One Planet Group.
- **2016** — Received the Tahirih Justice Center Hope Award.
- **2018** — Received a UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Award of Distinction.
- **2020** — Recognized by Comparably as a Best CEO for Diversity.
- **2024** — Published Crossing the Desert; appointed chairman and CEO of Inspirato in August.
- **2026** — Inspirato tenure ended following the February 3 acquisition by Exclusive Investments.

## Achievements

- Cofounded AutoWeb and took it public in 1999.
- Founded One Planet Group and Reply.com, later Buyerlink.
- Author of Crossing the Desert, a 2024 memoir listed in the publisher’s catalog as a USA TODAY and Publishers Weekly bestseller.
- Recipient of the 2016 Tahirih Justice Center Hope Award and 2018 UC Davis Award of Distinction.
- Recognized as a Best CEO for Diversity by Comparably in 2020.

## Latest updates

- **2026-08** — Appeared on the Matthews Mentality podcast to discuss his refugee experience, entrepreneurship and spiritual capitalism.
- **2026-07** — Published a first-person Fast Company essay about lessons from building AutoWeb with his brother.
- **2026-02** — Concluded his Inspirato chairman and CEO tenure when Exclusive Investments completed its acquisition on February 3.

## Links

- Website: https://www.oneplanetgroup.com/meetpayam
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/payamzamani/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/PayamZamani
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/payamzamani/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/payamzamaniSV/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/payam-zamani
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-16