BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : FEBRUARY 7, 2000 ISSUE
BUSINESS WEEK E.BIZ -- SPECIAL REPORT -- LEADERS Chahram Becharat: Europ@web Chahram Becharat Europ@web Position Managing director Contribution Runs Europe's largest Internet fund, with $500 million to invest in dozens of startups Ambition To create an integrated Web keiretsu with global reach In 1980, Chahram Becharat fled Iran with his parents after Islamic revolutionaries seized the family's industrial holdings. Now Becharat, 33, plans to be on the winning side of a different type of revolution. He is managing director of Paris-based Europ@web, an Internet investment firm that aims to be Europe's answer to Net investment powerhouses such as Japan's Softbank and the U.S.'s CMGI. With a $500 million bankroll from the French tycoon Bernard Arnault, Becharat has emerged as Europe's top backer of Internet ventures, with stakes in more than two dozen startups. His audacious goal: to build a worldwide network of Internet companies that collaborate closely for their common good. For example, two auction sites he has invested in, icollector in Britain and Aucland in France, are sharing listings to create a single big marketplace. Vows Becharat: ''The whole will be greater than the sum of the parts.'' Becharat has a good headstart on the competition. When Europ@web began last summer, most investors were ignoring European startups. That gave Becharat an opening to latch onto promising players such as travel site Leisureplanet.com and Libertysurf, a French Internet service provider that is now expanding across Europe. ''They've developed a very strong portfolio,'' says Derrick Brown, an analyst at Robertson Stephens in London. Becharat is committed to Internet investing for the long haul. His parents taught him something about perseverance. After settling in France, they started a trading company linking Iranian businesses with the West. Now, with a more moderate government in power, they are back in their beloved Iran and have a successful mineral-water company. Expect the same kind of tenacity from Becharat. By Carol Matlack _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP					RELATED ITEMS Europe's Top e.business Leaders Ola Ahlvarsson: Result Venture Knowledge International Tomasz Czechowicz: Poland.com Nina Brink: World Online International N.V. Hasso Plattner: SAP Renato Soru: Tiscali Mark Schneider: United Pan-European Communications Kurt Hellstrom: Ericsson Ernesto Schmitt: peoplesound.com Chahram Becharat: Europ@web Paulus Neef: Pixelpark AG INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online

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