Roxanne Varza
Roxanne Varza (Persian: رکسانا ورزا; born 1985) is an Iranian-American company executive. She is currently the Director of Station F in Paris.
Personal life
Varza was born in 1985 in Palo Alto, California, in a Zoroastrian Family. Her parents emigrated from Iran in 1979 during the Islamic Revolution.[1] Varza obtained a bachelor's degree in French literature from UCLA.[2] In 2007, she joined Business France, then known as the French International Investment Agency. Later, Varza decided to move to France for further studies. From 2009 to 2011, she pursued a dual degree between Sciences Po Paris and the London School of Economics, obtaining a master's degree in International Business and a degree in International Economic Policy.[1]
Career
Varza was previously the head of French Microsoft start-up activities, including Bizspark and Microsoft Ventures and currently serves as Director of Station F, a large startup incubator facility in the 13th arrondissement of Paris. Prior to working with Microsoft, she was part of multiple European start-up companies and was the editor for TechCrunch France, which she received a job offer from after writing the blog TechBaguette.[1] Her activities also include advising Silicon Valley corporations about opening in France.[2] She co-founded Girls in Tech Paris, Girls in Tech London, and was the founder of the website Tech.eu.[3] Girls In Tech organizes training courses in computer code writing for women.[4]
In April 2013, Business Insider ranked Roxanne Varza among the 30 most influential women under 30 in the technology sector.
References
- Boutin, Clement (May 3, 2016). "Who is Roxanne Varza, the queen of French start-ups?". Les Inrocks. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
- Meil, Morgane (February 9, 2016). "Roxanne Varza, young empress of start-ups". Le Figaro. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
- Gilpin, Lyndsey (September 22, 2014). "Roxanne Varza: Entrepreneur. Microsoft France startup lead. Adoptive Parisian". TechRepublic. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
- Provost, Gregoire (June 1, 2015). "Roxanne Varza: "You must know how to dare"". Marie France. Retrieved July 5, 2017.