For the vast majority, cybersecurity exists as an abstract and elusive concept. Yet, Paris-based Marc Hudavert has spent the past 25 years delving into the dark underbelly of this complex technological web, carefully navigating the digital minefield to protect clients against cyber threats.
A self-confessed “business guy,” Hudavert has traveled the world, leading teams in the United States, Asia-Pacific region, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. His career background is indeed impressive, with C- and V-level positions—including chief revenue officer and senior vice president for global sales and marketing—at companies varying in scale, from small- and medium-sized enterprises to very large corporations, all in the cybersecurity space.
“I never really worked in technology. I very quickly switched to business, because I didn’t want to spend time in an office and think about pure technical stuff. I really wanted to discover business to go abroad, to negotiate deals with partners, customers and so forth. It’s what I love: listening to people and trying to understand their requirements and needs, making sure that they realize the value that we can bring to them as an enterprise, as an organization,” says Hudavert.
Given his immense experience across continents and cultures and his innate talent for negotiation, Hudavert sought to share his profound knowledge and deep passion for business with others. “Mentorship was something I found interesting—specifically mentoring for women’s empowerment in the business landscape. It was just about finding the right moment and setting,” he adds.
In 2020, that opportunity arose. With the Covid-19 pandemic sweeping across the world and sending shockwaves through the global economy, businesses everywhere began to shift focus. At the time, Hudavert was facing a dilemma at the German company where he was working. “A new CEO had been appointed, and, although we were scaling up on a very successful path, after a couple of years, he and I mutually decided that I step back,” he recounts.
Mentorship was something I found interesting—specifically mentoring for women’s empowerment in the business landscape. It was just about finding the right moment and setting.
Eager to take full advantage of his unexpected career break, Hudavert began exploring possible avenues to becoming a mentor. “I sought to seize this rare chance, and serendipitously an article caught my eye in the French-language Nouvelles d’Arménie,” he explains.
Astine Badeyan, the AGBU Business Mentors Program manager, was the article’s author. In it, Badeyan described how the program creates linkages between established professionals from the Diaspora with AGBU program beneficiaries in Armenia, fostering a support network for women entrepreneurs in the homeland. “The article included Astine’s details, so I took the opportunity to email her. We had a follow-up discussion and so forth, and she definitely convinced me,” he says.
The profile of the women beneficiaries varied, although most were founders of small and midsize enterprises (SMEs) in the fields of agriculture, tourism and fashion. Hudavert was enthusiastic about the possibility of helping women in Armenia achieve their business goals and taste success and set about curating a couple of insightful and impactful online sessions. “Given the fact that we were in the throes of coronavirus, the only option was to host the workshops online. Of course, that was challenging for me: not knowing the 25 or so attendees and trying to encourage interaction from behind a screen, for example. But nevertheless, the outcome was positive,” he points out.
The next step was to meet the women in person and share his know-how live. Following the success of the online sessions, Badeyan invited Hudavert to Armenia in May 2023. He accepted and spent two days coaching the program participants on the intricacies of successful negotiation with a customer or a partner, even a private equity fund or an investor, how to deliver a compelling presentation and the key components to establishing a presence in the corporate world, topics that many of the women entrepreneurs—particularly those in male-dominated industries—had struggled with. “Everything was very well organized. Each session lasted around two-and-a-half hours, and we were privileged to have around 25 women in the room. There was so much interaction; it was a fantastic experience. I was truly amazed because the ladies were so willing to ask questions, to learn, listen and share their stories,” he recalls.
While Hudavert encouraged the ladies to reach out to him for any advice they required or work updates they had, he never imagined the speed at which he would experience the payoff of being a mentor. “Just days after the course, I bumped into one of the attendees in Yerevan. I remember her telling me during our session that she had to present to investors and was apprehensive about it. Yet, when I saw her in the street, she said: ‘Marc, I succeeded! I got the money!’ And that was obviously partly due to what we had discussed just days earlier. She’d applied the tips I had given, which made me smile. It was tangible proof of the positive power of mentorship,” he states, proudly.
Perhaps Hudavert’s skill in mentorship has something to do with the strength of his own mentor, his grandfather Haroutioun. Orphaned during the Armenian Genocide, he moved to France in the 1920s and served as a soldier in the French army in World War II. “My grandfather instilled strong values in us. What I learned from him are today my guiding principles: to be positive, respect people and work smartly,” he says.
