Unemployed, at home, and not wanting to eat another lunch by himself one day, Hamid Saadat, Founder of CSIX, realized that even finding one more contact could double his chances of finding job leads. On a mission, he left his lunch on the table that day and took a walk down Stevens Creek Blvd. in Cupertino CA. He approached a gentleman who was also looking for a place to eat, and invited him to join him at a Chinese restaurant called “Cuisineer Six”. The two, Hamid, an unemployed manufacturing operations executive, and the stranger, an unemployed architect, enjoyed a Chinese lunch together and networked. Each agreed to bring one person to a subsequent lunch. They named their “group” CSIX CONNECT, borrowing on the restaurant name, and the “six degrees of separation” theory that there is only six degrees of separation between any two people in the world.

The original goal was to grow CSIX to 8 people to qualify for a coveted round table at the restaurant. But as more and more professionals heard about CSIX and joined the lunches, CSIX attracted the attention of the local employment agencies, local hiring companies, and the media. Today, there are over 7,000 CSIX CONNECT members in 2 Bay area chapters (Saratoga and Burlingame) with several Special Interest Groups.

Hamid Saadat    President / Founder

Under Hamid’s leadership, CSIX CONNECT has grown from 2 people at its inception in 2001 to more than 7000 members today who share job leads, job search resources and mutual support. CSIX CONNECT is one of the foremost networking organizations for job-seeking professionals in the Bay Area.

Hamid is a Manufacturing Operations Executive and holds a Masters Degree in Physics from the University of Oregon.