Daniel Epstein, Zohreh Khademi, and Epstein Department Chair Maged Dessouky. Image/Samantha Sy
Alumni, faculty and staff from the Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering gathered in Downtown Los Angeles on March 6 for the department’s annual alumni mixer.
The event was held at the USC Tower’s rooftop Skydeck, where attendees convened to network and celebrate the career of 2025 ISE Distinguished Alumni Zohreh Khademi, Corporate Vice President at Microsoft. Khademi, who holds master’s and bachelor’s degrees in industrial and systems engineering from USC, has also recently been invited by USC Viterbi Dean Yannis C. Yortsos to join the Viterbi Board of Councilors.
Khademi said she felt incredibly honored to receive the Epstein Department Distinguished Alumni Award for 2025, dedicating the award to her parents Nasser Behshid and Fatemeh Rezai, whose support enabled her to embark on her successful career.
“My time at USC was transformative. The education I received, the friendships I forged, and the experiences I gained shaped me into the person I am today.” Khademi said. “I am profoundly grateful to the professors who challenged me to think critically, the mentors who guided me, and the friends and peers who inspired me. USC provided me with a solid foundation, and for that, I am forever grateful.”
Reflecting on her 38-year career, Khademi stressed the importance of perseverance, hard work, curiosity, love of learning, desire for improvement and building lasting relationships.
“Engineering is not just about solving problems; it is about pushing boundaries, making a positive impact on society and being a change maker,” Khademi said. “I have been fortunate to work with brilliant minds and to be part of projects that have made a difference. This award is a celebration of those collective efforts.”
Khademi leads Microsoft’s Cloud Infrastructure Solutions & Services (CISS) function within the Cloud Operations & Innovation (CO+I) organization. CO+I harbors all Microsoft data centers that operate Microsoft Cloud.
During her 27 years at Microsoft, Khademi has held various technical and leadership roles within product development, manufacturing, supply chain, and devices business groups. Previously, Khademi headed Microsoft Flexible Design & Manufacturing + New Product Introduction (XDM+NPI.)
Khademi honed her product introduction expertise by rolling out first-generation devices at Microsoft and bringing them to launch and high-volume manufacturing. Additionally, she developed and implemented numerous new engineering capabilities, process technologies and new development operations models that optimize product innovation, including gross margins and efficiencies, design for quality manufacturing, and scalability while reducing costs.
Before joining Microsoft, Khademi spent over ten years in various technical and engineering roles in the manufacturing and consumer products industries that specialized in automation and robotics. She also holds a Certificate in Microcomputer and Systems Networking from the University of Washington, Seattle. Zohreh is the Microsoft Executive Sponsor for The University of Southern California and serves on the Industry Advisory Board for the Epstein Department.
View the Viterbi School’s photo album of highlights from the ISE Alumni Mixer.
Published on April 2nd, 2025
Last updated on April 2nd, 2025
