It’s a long way from the Caspian Sea to Wellesley, Massachusetts. For Nina Saberi ‘82, who is now one of the leading figures in New England’s high technology venture capital community, it’s been a highly satisfying, successful journey, marked by a series of impressive professional achievements.
Nina, who came to the United States at the age of 19, was always interested in science and mathematics. At the University of Rhode Island, she studied electrical engineering, learning how to apply the concepts that had always fascinated her to real-world problems.
After earning her degree in 1982, Nina landed a job as a design engineer at Avanti Communications in Newport, Rhode Island, which was then a small startup. As the company grew, so did Nina’s responsibilities. Within two years, she was project manager, helping to oversee the company’s communications technology for a videoconferencing partnership.
From Avanti, Nina moved to BBN, which was in the midst of launching its commercial operation, BBN Communications. At BBN Communications, Nina held several senior management positions, and became involved in marketing as well as engineering. “I learned a lot at BBN about how to bring my technical skills to bear on managing projects and people,” she said. Nina also began taking classes at Harvard, ultimately earning a degree in management and administration.
From BBN, she went on to oversee an international joint venture between Data General and Singapore Telecom, a global project that required her to manage and coordinate the activities of 180 people in cities around the world. She found the two-year project intense and exhilarating. “The Data General experience confirmed my desire to run my own business,” noted Nina. “I knew that I had the ability and the track record. All I needed was some additional credibility.”
Her credibility was bolstered immensely by her next move, which was to take over as general manager of Amnet, a company that had good technology, but no strategic vision to bring it to market. Under Nina’s leadership, the company leveraged an OEM program to fund new development. The company’s turnaround was so successful that Netlink acquired it, and, impressed by Nina’s performance, made her CEO. Within two years, Nina had built Netlink into a leading network infrastructure provider. This led to another acquisition, this time by Cabletron, which purchased the company in 1996 for $200 million. It was one of the major deals of that year.
After guiding Netlink through the transition to Cabletron, Nina wanted to change direction and explore opportunities in the venture capital field. She joined OneLiberty Ventures, a Boston-based VC firm, in 1997. “I was excited by the move,” remembered Nina. “I was looking forward to learning a lot, and being able to utilize a new set of skills.”
In 1998, Nina was finally ready to go out on her own. She founded Castile Ventures, a venture capital firm with an investment focus on communications, software and IT infrastructure. The firm successfully weathered the high tech and telecommunications downturn of the late ‘90s, and is now flourishing, with an enviable portfolio of promising early-stage companies.
At 45, Nina has already accomplished more professionally than many 70-year-olds. And she’s not done yet – with her job at Castile Ventures, as well as her work on numerous business and civic boards, Nina will undoubtedly be making an impact for many years to come.
Nina will join the College of Engineering Advisory Council later this year.