Global Philanthropy and High-Tech Innovation

Within the Iranian community of San Diego, it is hard to find someone who has not heard of the entrepreneurial and business achievements of Dr. Massih Tayebi.  But what makes him even more popular and admired within the community is his kind heart, humility and boundless generosity.

Born in Iran, Dr. Tayebi moved to Great Britain when he was a teenager. He earned his M.S. in Computer Integrated Manufacturing and his Ph.D. in the Integration of Design and Process Planning at the University of Strathclyde, and held a senior faculty position in the Engineering Department at the University of Paisley. Dr. Tayebi immigrated to San Diego in the mid 1990s with the dream of establishing his own business, which he successfully did many times over.

Today, Dr. Tayebi is the Co-founder, Chairman and CEO of BridgeWest, LLC, an investment firm specializing in the development of emerging technology companies, primarily in the telecommunications industry in North America.  He is also the Co-founder and former Chairman of several businesses including Business Corporation International (BCI), Quantum Think Group, Inc.; and MIR3 and Wireless Facilities Inc. (WFI) of Mexico.

Along with his wife Haleh, Massih has also become a discreet but important cornerstone of San Diego’s philanthropic and Iranian community. They fund the Massih & Haleh Tayebi Annual Scholarship of the Iranian American Scholarship fund and have generously donated to local cultural centers. Of particular note, Dr. Tayebi was instrumental in the placing of a reproduction of the Cyrus Cylinder, the ancient Persian artifact that has been called the first declaration of human rights, in front of San Diego's Iran House.

Dr. Tayebi also gives generously of his time, serving on the board of several local education, athletic, and community organizations. His charitable interests are not limited to Iran or Iranians in San Diego, but include many causes benefiting underprivileged and abused children around the world from building homes in Mexico to aiding hospitals in Africa.

Of all of Dr. Tayebi’s philanthropic ambitions, perhaps his most notable is the wish for the San Diego community to unify for the purpose of creating a center that would benefit Iranians regardless of age, ethnicity and religion. With many other members of the Iranian community in San Diego also working towards this goal, the day when such a community center exists should not be that far off.