We’re excited to welcome CEO Keram Nazari!
With over three decades of experience, Keram brings expertise in digital engineering, strategic sales, and federal market capture. His career includes securing major software and services contracts across the DoD, federal civilian, and A&D sectors. He has scaled businesses at pace, including leading one organization to more than $200M TCV within three years.
Keram’s expertise spans PLM, MBSE, low-code automation, and AI-powered simulation. Additionally, he has a proven track record of building high-trust partnerships with leading systems integrators.
As you step into this role, what goals are you prioritizing for Applied CAx?
My goal is to secure our position as the market leader by establishing a powerful foundation.
This goal is supported by my current main areas of focus:
- Market leadership through customer focus: We will prioritize anticipating customer challenges, delivering exceptional value, and earning trust. We recognize that our success is tied directly to your success.
- Cultural excellence: We are committed to making Applied CAx the best place to work. A place of growth, respect, and transparency to ensure every employee feels valued and invested in.
What’s one lesson from your previous roles that you plan to bring into your work here?
The single most critical lesson I’ve learned, and the one I’m bringing here, is that speed and psychological safety are two sides of the same coin.
In my previous roles, I saw that the fastest-growing teams weren’t the ones that avoided failure, but the ones that admitted mistakes quickly and learned from them collectively. When employees know they can speak up about a risk or a failure without fear of retribution, they are empowered to take calculated risks, challenge the status quo, and solve problems the moment they arise.
My plan is to institutionalize this at Applied CAx: we will focus on radical transparency and making sure that “What did we learn?” is always the first question asked, not “Who is to blame?” This dramatically accelerates innovation and directly supports the culture of respect and transparency that I plan to foster.
As you look ahead to 2026, what are you most excited to help shape within the company?
My priority is listening and learning in the immediate term. Looking ahead to 2026, I am most excited to witness the tangible results of our cultural shift and how it translates into market impact.
Specifically, I’m thrilled about two things:
- Seeing empowerment in action: We are laying the groundwork this year for true responsibility and accountability built on respect and transparency. In 2026, I anticipate seeing that cultural foundation truly mature. I’m excited to see self-directed teams making bold decisions, owning their failures quickly, and moving with unprecedented speed, all because they trust the organization supports them.
- The breakthrough launch: I believe that empowered, trusting, and transparent teams deliver breakthrough products. My ultimate excitement for 2026 is seeing a major new initiative or product launch that is universally recognized as resulting from our revitalized, unwavering customer focus. A product that truly moves the needle and secures our market leadership, proving that our investment in culture was the best business decision we could make.