Get to Know Your MileOne Leaders: Houshyar Karimabadi

Off the clock with MileOne leadership – hear from our Leadership Team on their likes, interests and everything in between.

Welcome to our new series, Get to Know Your MileOne Leaders. Each quarter, we will highlight a new member of our leadership team to hear about their likes, interests and everything in between.

Next Up: Houshyar "Hoosh" Karimabadi , Chief Information Officer 

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

Traveling, playing pickleball, reading, and driving aimlessly to find new places.

What is your favorite food?

Iranian Beef Stroganoff. It’s made with homemade shoestring fries instead of noodles.

Do you have any pets? If so, please share type of animal, name, etc.

Yes, I have a goldfish! His name is Fsh because he’s missing an eye. True story.

What is your favorite season and why?

Spring. It’s not too cold or too hot and everything is in bloom. Plus, the Iranian new year is the spring solstice. When I was growing up in Iran, we would get two weeks off from school, visit homes of family and friends (and vice-versa) for the entire two weeks, eat till we passed out, and we (well, the kids) would get crisp, new money from the adults.

What is your best travel story?

Probably the around-the-world trip I took as a 15-year-old to get a student visa to come to the US. I started in Iran, went to Turkey, back to Iran, then to Switzerland going from Zurich to Geneva and back to Zurich, then to Germany going from Frankfort to Dusseldorf to Cologne, then to Bolivia, to Antigua, and finally to Baltimore. Living along the way in hotels, motels, cars, and refugee housing was an experience I will always cherish.

If you could have dinner with any historical figure, who would it be?

It will probably be my favorite author, Alexandre Dumas (Pére). My favorite aunt introduced me to my first grown-up book: the Count of Monte Cristo when I was 8 because I was asking too many questions and she wanted to shut me up. I became obsessed with his writing style and read everything of his and then started reading about him. That’s how I found out that the reason he was writing those long novels was because he was first publishing them in the newspaper and he was getting paid by the line! His actual life story is just as interesting as the books he wrote.

What is one thing you're proud of outside of work?

Well, it’s not my doing but the answer has to be my family. I have no idea how I got so lucky, but I wouldn’t trade my parents, wife, and kids for the world. I’m constantly blown away by seeing the positive impact my parents have had on so many people. I’m equally proud when older adults tell me how impressed they are with our two adult children who despite my best efforts, have turned out to be amazing individuals and examples to many younger kids. I also watch in amazement as my wife who’s always reading, carries a conversation on just about any topic with just about anybody (like the time she made our Mongolian Uber driver’s day by talking to him about the latest album from the Mongolian heavy metal band “the Hu”.)

What is a secret talent or hobby that most people don't know about?

It turns out I have a knack for rock-climbing. I found out when we were on a cruise and they had a rock-climbing wall where every day we would see people only make it to the half-way point before falling—including my nephews in their 20s. My wife egged me on to try it. I don’t remember how, but I climbed up that thing like a mountain goat. I’m not gonna lie, it felt good to see the look on the youngins’ faces.