Saad Mohseni

Saad Mohseni (Pashto: سعد محسني, Persian: سعد محسنی ; born 23 April 1966) is an Afghan-Australian businessman and entrepreneur. He is the chairman and chief executive officer of MOBY Group, launched in Afghanistan in 2002 and now active across South and Central Asia and the Middle East. Prior to establishing Moby Group, he headed the equities and corporate finance division of an Australian investment banking firm.

Saad Mohseni
Mohseni at the 2011 Time 100 gala
Born (1966-04-23) 23 April 1966
London, United Kingdom
NationalityAfghan
OccupationEntrepreneur
Known forFounder of MOBY Group and Tolo TV
Websitewww.mobygroup.com

Early life

Mohseni was born on 23 April 1966 in London, United Kingdom, where his father, Yassin Mohseni, was serving as an Afghan diplomat. Yassin Mohseni served in Kabul, Washington, DC, London, and Tokyo during his 25-year career.

After the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Yassin Mohseni, then serving in Tokyo, resigned from the diplomatic corps and sought asylum. The family relocated to Australia in 1982.[1] Mohseni has two younger brothers, Zaid and Jahid Mohseni, and younger sister Wajma.

Mohseni began his banking career as an apprentice at an Australian funds management entity, and later became a commodities and derivatives trader in Melbourne, Sydney, and London, culminating in the management of a trading desk of an Australian investment bank.

Return to Afghanistan and launch of media company

After the removal of the Taliban government in late 2001, Mohseni and his brothers returned to Afghanistan to participate in the country's reconstruction and launch MOBY Group. They entered the media arena in 2003 by establishing Arman FM, the country's first privately owned radio station. Arman played Western and Afghan pop music, which was groundbreaking after years of Taliban rule, in which all music, television, and independent news had been banned.[1] In 2004, MOBY Group launched TOLO TV, which airs international soap operas, The Voice Afghanistan, Afghan Star, and locally produced dramas. In addition to TOLO TV, MOBY also owns TOLOnews and Lemar TV, a Pashto-language channel. MOBY channels are viewed by over 60 percent of Afghans.[2]

MOBY Group's regional expansion

In 2009, MOBY launched Farsi1, a general-entertainment satellite channel targeting Persian speakers in the Middle East and West Asia.[3] In 2014, MOBY launched LANA TV in Iraq, the first satellite channel to dub shows into the local Iraqi dialect.[4] MOBY Group now owns 17 businesses operating in seven markets across South and Central Asia and the Middle East, spanning television, radio, production, strategic communications, and digital platforms.

References
  1. "Profile: Saad Mohseni, Afghanistan's first media mogul". The New Yorker. 29 June 2010.
  2. http://www.mobygroup.com/news/97-news-2014/1165-moby-group-tv-channels-continue-to-lead-the-afghan-market-with-a-combined-audience-share-of-62
  3. http://www.mobygroup.com/buisnesses/media/broadcast/farsi1
  4. http://www.mobygroup.com/news/97-news-2014/1198-nothing-like-it-the-launch-of-lana-tv
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