Bijan Kian

Business — 16 May 2011

Bijan R. Kian of California was sworn-in on August 7, 2007 as a member of the board of directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, (Ex-Im Bank), the official export credit agency of the United States. He had previously completed a partial term as a member of the board. Among his accomplishments, Kian was formerly director of the State of California Office of Foreign Investment, which, with worldwide offices, was the state’s leading office for attraction, retention and expansion of foreign direct investment with an $86 billion foreign investment portfolio.

Kian was also on the board of the California Housing Finance Authority, and a senior official and board member of a number of California companies, including Shearson/American Express and Great American First Savings Bank, and president of GLOBTEL, an international telecommunications company based in San Diego. In addition he was a principal in Global Capital Markets, Inc.

As director of the Office of Foreign Investment, Kian was the first Iranian-American to be appointed or elected to direct a statewide office in California.

Kian was educated at the Tehran Industrial College, School of Engineering; and Brighton University in Sussex, England. He was previously an adjunct professor and lecturer in Finance at California State University, Fullerton, and was director of the California Center for Commercial Diplomacy at California State University, Dominguez Hills.

Kian was nominated to his current term by President George W. Bush on July 21, 2007, and was confirmed by the United States Senate on August 1,2007 for a term ending January 20, 2011. Kian is a 2009 recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.