Sasan Goodarzi is the CEO of Intuit. The company creates and sells software solutions for financial and business management for consumers, accounting professionals, financial institutions and other small to medium-sized businesses. In addition, it offers software to help small businesses process payroll, and manage their operations and for consumers for tax preparation and filing and for personal finance. He stands at the helm of this giant in the software industry, but how did he come to be so successful? We looked into his history and career and made some very interesting discoveries that you might find interesting. Here are 20 things about Sasan Goodarzi that you probably didn’t know.
1. He has an advanced academic degree
Sasan Goodarzi spent several years preparing for his future career in business. After completing high school he continued his education and enrolled at the University of Central Florida in 1985. He was successful in earning his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the institution in 1989. He continued his education at the Northwestern University-Kellogg Graduate School of Management, enrolling in 2000, where he earned his Master of Business Administration degree in 2002.
2. He held a high position at Turbo Tax
Sasan Goodarzi joined the team at Turbo Tax as the General Manager and Executive Vice President in August of 2013 and served in this capacity for nearly 3 years, leaving this particular position in May of 2016. Sasan was responsible for the leadership of the Turbo Tax brand which is a subsidiary of Intuit. The company served clients in the United States and Canada.
3. He started with Intuit in 2004
Sasan’s first employment experience with Intuit was in 2004. He came on board as the Senior Vice President and General Manager of Intuit Financial Services and the Pro-Tax division. He was in charge of a variety of software companies that Intuit had acquired through the years as well as the operations of Intuit in the United Kingdom and Canada. He served in these roles until 2010. In 2011 he was promoted to the CIO of the company and led the team forward as Intuit transitioned to the cloud.
4. Goodarzi was previously employed at Invensys
Prior to coming to work for Intuit Sasan Goodarzi was employed at an industrial automation, controls, and transportation technology company called Invensys. At Invensys, he occupied the position of global president of the company’s products group. He worked with a range of customers in other countries throughout the world.
5. Goodarzi also worked at Honeywell
Before working at Invensys, Sasan was hired at Honeywell International Inc. This is a publicly-traded company based in Charlotte, North Carolin that is also a Fortune 500 company ranking #77. The company develops and distributes engineering services and aerospace systems products for commercial enterprises and consumers.
6. He founded his own company
Sasan co-founded a technology startup that is called Lazer Cables Inc. The serves as the CEO of the company. In addition to serving as the CEO of Intuit he also has other professional responsibilities. He is a busy leader but Goodarzi is very good at managing his time. This is in part the reason why he is so successful in his business endeavors.
7. He is also a guest writer
We also learned that Goodarzi is a guest writer for entrepreneur.com. He is a seasoned professional who understands the challenges of starting up your own business and he writes for the online publication to share his knowledge and expertise with others. Mr. Goodarzi has some brilliant insights on what entrepreneurs need to consider prior to starting their own businesses and he has some advice for how to achieve success along the way.
8. Sasan is a multi-millionaire
Sasan Goodarzi has done exceptionally well in his career. His current net wealth is estimated to be at $80.8 million as of October of 2019. He is well-compensated for his leadership at Intuit with an annual salary that is in the millions. As of the last figures, his annual salary from Intuit is $12,644,800. This has helped to contribute to his current status as a multi-millionaire and each year that he is with the company, his net worth continues to climb. He has been at the company for more than a decade.
9. He has millions in Intuit stock
As a part of his compensation package, Sasan Goodarzi has been awarded stock shares in the company that he leads. Over the past 12 years, he has sold more than $51,623,986 worth of the stock and he still retains millions of dollars worth of the stock. According to wallmine.com, he still owns 793 units of stock in Intuit and the total estimated value of these stocks is approximately $16,576, 628. Mr. Goodzarzi continues to receive annual stock awards as a part of his compensation package.
10. Sasan is a savvy investor
Goodarzi is a businessman who knows that there are certain stocks in the market that represent a good long term investment so he participates in this activity as a part of his strategic financial planning for his personal net wealth. We learned that he has made more than 33 trades using the Inuit stock that he owns since 2009. The largest trade that he has made took place on November 22, 2010. He traded 239,245 units of Intuit stock that at the time had a value of $10,749,278. Records of his trading activity show that he has established a pattern of trading every 75 days on average at a rate of 19,659 units.
11. He worked for Nexant Inc.
Mr. Goodarzi has a diverse employment background which means that he has spent time working in a variety of environments. He gained valuable and insights from each experience and learned much about the similarities and differences in management and leadership requirements from one business to another. Although the majority of skills and abilities necessary are transferrable from one business to another, there is enough difference to require adaptability and versatility. He was also employed at Nexant, Inc. as the Chief Executive Officer. This is a privately held intelligent grid software provider with a focus on clean energy solutions. He occupied this position from November of 2010 until leaving to return to Intuit in August of 2011.
12. He has a divided history at Intuit
Mr. Goodarzi worked joined Intuit in 2004 and he spent time in a variety of different positions there. One pattern that we noticed in his employment history is that he sought to diversify his skills by working in a variety of different settings and divisions. He ran the Tax portion of Intuit for some time and left in good standing to pursue other available jobs, sometimes with other companies that were not under the umbrella of Intuit while some of the companies were. He was building his career portfolio and becoming portable in his skills and abilities, broadening his skill set which gave him valuable experience in the business world and it gave him a more global perspective on leadership. He worked at Intuit and its affiliate companies from 2004 through 2010, then as SVP and CIO until July of 2013, taking a job at Nexant, Inc, then returning to Intuit a year later.
13. Goodarzi is respected for his leadership abilities and knowledge
The fact that Mr. Goodarzi was able to move from one company to another, and still be welcomed back after a year’s absence speaks to the reputation as a quality and highly valued employee. Not just anyone would be welcomed back after leaving a company for nearly a year, but he is one of the exceptions. When he rejoined intuit with the CEO experience that he gained at Nexant, it was as a Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, which positions he occupied until July of 2013, when he was named as the Chief Executive Officer at Nexant for nearly a year before returning to Intuit.
14. He is the second-highest-paid employee at Intuit
Mr. Goodarzi makes a fortune working at Intuit on an annual basis, but we learned that he is not the highest-paid member of the company’s executive team. There is one executive for the company that is getting paid more. Brad Smith has an annual compensation package of $21,071,700 compared to Goodarzi’s $12,644,800. Goodarzi does, however, come in right under him as the number 2 on the highest-paid executive list.
15. He’s 50 years old
Sasan Goodarzi is 50 years old as of 2019. He was made the CEO of Intuit as well as appointed as Director in 2019. There are only 3 executives at Intuit who are younger than he, and 10 are older with the eldest being Dennis Powell, an Independent Director who is age 70.
16. He received honors prior to age 40
Sasan Goodarzi was recognized for his management and leadership skills when he was age 39. He was named on the list of the top 40 under 40 executives in the business world. This was quite an honor and the recognition highlighted his skills in successfully running the tax and accounting divisions of Intuit. The award was given at the time that he served as the VP and GM of Intuit’s professional tax products group with responsibility for aiding in the development and definition of the next generation of software and services the firm offered for accountants.
17. He is a family man
Sasan Goodarzi is married to his wife Shirin. The couple has two children together. Their names are Aryana and Pasha. In an interview, Mr. Goodarzi shared that when he’s not busy at work, he loves spending time with his family. He also maintains outside interests such as running and snow-skiing. He tries to maintain a healthy work/life balance in his life. With a wife and two children, this is very important. When he is on the job he is a dedicated hard-working professional, but he also knows how to just kick back and enjoy life with the people who are important to him.
18. Sasan Goodarzi is married to a dynamic lady
We also learned that Shirin Goodarzi is a very talented lady. She has spent more than 2 decades of her life in the high tech industry, but most recently she has become an author and an inspirational speaker and coach. She has a heart for young Iranian women who are trying to navigate their way through life. She currently serves as an inspiration coach, mentor, and teacher, encouraging young women to pursue their education.
19. The Goodarzi’s are philanthropists
Sasan and his wife Shirin are co-founding members of the Pars Equality Center. As members of the center, teh husband and wife pay generous membership fees each year to support the philanthropic efforts of the center. They make significant contributions to help those in their local community who are in need of assistance.
20. Sasan Goodarzi is an example of a well-rounded human
We learned a great deal about Mr. Goodarzi and what we’ve come away with from our investigation into his history, education, and career is that he is an extremely well-rounded person who has become very successful in his business endeavors, but he has also taken time along the way to start a family, raise two children and enjoy time away from the job with his loved ones. He has also made significant contributions to the community through fundraising efforts as well as donations of time and money. He and his wife Shirin are a dynamic couple who strive to make the world around them a better place to live for everyone. He is just 50 years old and there is still much that he can, and probably will accomplish in his career as well as in his personal life.
