Leadership

Berge Setrakian, an attorney, is a partner at DLA Piper LLP (US), a global law firm with 4,200 lawyers located in 31 countries. He serves as President of the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU), the largest Armenian non-profit organization in the world, having been elected to this position on February 22, 2002. He was born in Beirut, Lebanon in 1949, is married to Vera (née Nazarian) and has two daughters, Ani and Lara. Berge is a graduate of the Université Saint-Joseph of Beirut and the Université de Lyon. He is a member of the New York Bar, Beirut Bar and the American Bar Association. He serves on the Board of Directors of Imperial Tobacco Group PLC, a UK- based publicly traded company, and Interaudi Bank of New York. He also served on the Board of Investcom, a telecommunications company, until its sale to MTN Investcom. Berge also serves on the board of directors of various not-for-profit organizations, including the American University of Armenia.

Elected to the AGBU Central Board of Directors in 1977.

Joseph Oughourlian is the founder of Amber Capital and the sole portfolio manager of both the Amber Global Opportunities Fund and the Amber Active Investors Fund. He founded Amber Capital in New York in November 2005. Now, Amber has a strong presence in Europe, with investment offices in both London and Milan. Joseph began his career at Société Générale in Paris in 1994 and soon moved to New York. In 1997, he started managing proprietary money for Société Générale, which led to the first Amber Fund being established in October 2001, with seed capital from the bank. Joseph graduated from the HEC Business School and from IEP (Sciences-Po), both in Paris, and earned his MSc in Economics from Sorbonne in Paris. In addition to his role on the board of AGBU, he sits on the boards of PRISA (Spain’s leading media group), Cofide SpA (the De Benedetti group holding company in Italy), and Sorgente SpA (a hydropower company in Italy). Born in Paris, France, Joseph currently resides in London, England with his wife Jenny and three children Jean, Alice and Julien.

Elected to the AGBU Central Board of Directors in 2010.

Nazareth A. Festekjian is a Managing Director in Citi’s Fixed Income Capital Markets Origination Group. He is Head of Global Liability Management and Co-Head of Global Structured Finance. Nazareth joined Salomon Brothers in 1992 and over the course of his career at Citi, he has led large sovereign liability management restructurings globally, including the debt restructurings of Ecuador, Uruguay, and Iraq. In this capacity, he has had extensive experience working with global banking regulators and multilateral organizations, including the IMF and the US Treasury. In addition, Nazareth has been very active in the creation of innovative financial instruments for financial institutions, US Trust Preferred Securities and bank hybrid capital securities. He is a graduate of the AGBU Hovagimian Manoogian School in Lebanon and holds an MBA from J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management, MS in Electrical Engineering from Northwestern University and BSEE from the American University of Beirut.

Elected to the AGBU Central Board of Directors in 2006.

Yervant Demirjian is a private real estate investor. He primarily focuses on the development of high-income housing in Los Angeles. Prior to becoming a real estate investor, Yervant served as Vice Chairman and managing director of Interaudi Bank in New York. In addition, he served as Director and Vice Chairman of Cedars Bank in Los Angeles, California and Chief Financial Officer of Demco Steel Industries.

Yervant holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics and a Master’s of Business Administration from Pepperdine University. He is also fluent in English, French, Armenian and Arabic.

Yervant currently serves on the board of the Partners Bank of California, is a Foundation Trustee of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, a Trustee of the American University of Armenia (AUA), and a Board Member of the Lebanese American Foundation.

Elected to the AGBU Central Board of Directors in 2006.

Sarkis Jebejian is a partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, an international law firm with approximately 1,600 attorneys. He practices corporate law, specializing in mergers and acquisitions, and corporate governance matters. Prior to joining Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Sarkis was a partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP. He is currently based in New York and has spent substantial time working in London and Hong Kong. He has completed numerous billion dollar-plus transactions involving several Fortune 100 companies and the world’s largest private equity firms. He has been repeatedly cited as one of the country’s leading mergers and acquisitions lawyers by numerous publications, including Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, The International Who’s Who of Merger & Acquisition Lawyers and The Legal 500.

Sarkis graduated from Columbia University with degrees in Economics and Law. He resides in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, with his wife Maral and their two children.

Elected to the AGBU Central Board of Directors in 2006.

Arda Haratunian is a strategic communications advisor to public and private companies, leveraging a 25 year career in communications, public affairs and public policy. She also teaches at Queens College in its honors Business and Liberal Arts program, and Columbia University, where she helped found the Masters Program in Strategic Communications. Arda previously served as Senior Policy Advisor to former Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, which marked her return to the public sector following a decade of work in the financial services industry, where she most recently acted as the Managing Director of Global Corporate Communications at Citigroup. Prior to that, she was director of former New York Governor Mario Cuomo’s New York press office. Arda is a Board member of The Energeia Partnership, an academy for regional stewardship, and actively volunteers for ERASE Racism and the Women’s Fund of Long Island. She earned her BA in Communications and Political Science from Queens College and her MA in Public Administration from New York University. She and her husband, Stephen, live on Long Island, NY and have two children, Kenar and Armen.

Elected to the AGBU Central Board of Directors in 2007.

Haig Ariyan is the CEO of Arax Investment Partners, a RedBird Capital portfolio company. Prior to this, Haig was the President and CEO of Alex. Brown, America’s first investment banking firm. While at Alex. Brown, Haig oversaw 220 Financial Advisors in 18 offices, and $70B in client assets. Additionally, he was the Head of Global Wealth Solutions, the product and solutions platform supporting all of Raymond James' more than 8000 affiliated advisors. Prior to leading the sale and integration of Alex. Brown to Raymond James Financial, Haig was the head of Deutsche Bank Wealth Management in the Americas.

Following a career start at Dean Witter Reynolds, Haig joined Alex. Brown & Sons in 1996 as a client advisor in Greenwich, Connecticut. After several years of building a successful practice working with high-net-worth families, and Deutsche Bank’s acquisition of BT Alex. Brown, Haig was named regional executive of the Greenwich office. In 2005, he was promoted to manage the midtown New York City office, while continuing to oversee the Greenwich business. He was also responsible for opening Deutsche Bank’s Wall Street branch. In 2009, Haig served as head of the eastern region of Private Client Services and one year later was appointed the head of the American wealth management franchise.

A graduate of Rutgers University, Haig is active on the board of trustees of the Diocese of the Armenian Church and has served as chairman of the Armenian Church Endowment Fund’s investment committee. He is also a member of the board of the Dadourian Foundation, a private family foundation based in New York. 

Haig Ariyan resides in West Nyack, New York, with his wife and four daughters.

Elected to the AGBU Central Board of Directors in 2019.

Arnaud Attamian is the Chief Financial Officer of Thought Machine, the cloud native banking technology company, overseeing finance and risk and compliance functions. Arnaud has 25 years of experience across strategic and commercial finance, treasury, investor relations and investment banking. He has a passion for technology and the digital transformation across industries and in particular the banking sector.

Previously, Arnaud worked at Finastra, a global pure-play financial software player providing mission critical software solutions and professional services in the world of financial services. Prior to Finastra, Arnaud was a managing director at the investment banking boutique, TAP Advisors, where he co-led the communications and infrastructure coverage in the EMEA region, based in London. He previously worked at Bank of America and Merrill Lynch for 15 years. Over the course of his investment banking career, he has led financial advisory and financing transactions including over $150 billion in M&A, $25 billion raised in equity offerings and billions in high yield and investment grade issuance offerings.

Arnaud is an active member of AGBU, having served on the Strategic Advisory Council for the European region and on the board of AGBU France. He is sitting on the board of AGBU London Trust. Arnaud holds a Master’s in Financial Engineering and Corporate Finance from Paris Dauphine University. He lives in London with his wife Ani and two sons.

Elected to the AGBU Central Board of Directors in 2015.

Camilio Azzouz is a Managing Partner at Amber Capital. Founded in 2005, the alternative asset management firm invests in publicly traded companies throughout Europe and Latin America. Camilio is the Co-Founder of Amber Capital Armenia, a manager of Armenia’s first private equity fund launched with the European Union and the EBRD. Sitting on the Board of both AGBU Europe and the AGBU London Trust, he is also a member of the global leadership community of YPO.

Born in Montreal, Camilio is fluent in English, French, Armenian, Arabic, and proficient in Spanish. He graduated with an MSc in Finance from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and with an MSc in Management and Economics from the University Paris-Dauphine. Currently, Camilio resides in London with his wife Dalia (née Boghossian).

Elected to the AGBU Central Board of Directors in 2021.

Eric Esrailian is the Chief of the Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and is the Lincy Foundation Chair in Clinical Gastroenterology. He is involved in strategic planning and engagement between UCLA and partners to promote health, education, social impact, and human rights. Eric is also on the board of several nonprofit organizations including the Hammer Museum, Fulfillment Fund, XPRIZE, and the Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF) Foundation Board of Governors. He is also the co-manager and producer for Survival Pictures’ The Promise. Eric attended the University of California, Berkeley and graduated with a major in integrative biology and a minor in English. He subsequently graduated from the Loma Linda University School of Medicine. He ultimately completed his gastroenterology fellowship at UCLA where he earned a master’s degree in Public Health.

Elected to the AGBU Central Board of Directors in 2016.

Vahé Gabrache is the CEO of Cofinor SA, as well as the owner of the Société Gabrache SA, a hotel and real estate company, along with his family. He is also a controller for the Genevese Liberal Party of Pregny-Chambésy. Vahé initiated the establishment of the AGBU Swiss Chapter in 1986. For over 20 years, he was the President of the Armenian Union of Switzerland. He presides over various Swiss Armenian foundations, including the Diran and Charles Philippossian Foundation, the Armenia Foundation and the Alliance Armenian Foundation, and serves on the boards of the St. Gregory the Illuminator Foundation, and the Hagop Topalian Foundation. Vahé holds an MBA degree from the Hôtel School in Lausanne, Switzerland. He currently resides with his wife in Geneva, Switzerland.

Nadia Gortzounian enjoyed a 28-year career in the pharmaceutical industry at Merck & Co. in France, spending the last 15 years of her tenure as Business Unit Director for primary care products. Since 2014, she has been collaborating on an M&A and startup development boutique firm in Paris with her son Armen Verdian.

Appointed president of AGBU France in October 2015 and president of AGBU Europe in 2016, Nadia has spearheaded the development of strategic objectives for France and all of Europe, successfully implementing key initiatives. Among them: developing leadership programs such as Goriz; establishing new AGBU chapters, including Germany in 2018; and creating a successful Performing Arts Department on the continent in collaboration with AGBU Armenia. In 2016, she shepherded the AGBU France Foundation. 

A native of Marseille, Nadia graduated in Medicine from Paris VII University; she also holds an ExecMBA from HEC Paris. Long involved in the Armenian community in France, she is Treasurer and General Secretary of CCAF (Coordination Council of Armenian Organizations in France), and a member of the board of the Bullukian Foundation in Lyon. Nadia lives in Paris where she enjoys spending time her three grandchildren.

Elected to the AGBU Central Board of Directors in 2019.

Vartkess Knadjian is the Chief Executive of Backes & Strauss, the world’s oldest diamond company established in 1789. Under his leadership over the past 35 years, Backes & Strauss has been transformed from a small diamond procurement office into one of the world’s finest jeweled timepiece creators.

Born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 1955, Vartkess was fully immersed into the art of watchmaking at a young age through his father, Antranig Knadjian, who was appointed as the official watchmaker to the Ethiopian Emperor, Haile Selassie. In his early childhood, Vartkess relocated to the UK and pursued studies at the London School of Economics (LSE), where he graduated with a BSc. (Econ) honors degree in International Relations in 1976.

That same year, Vartkess joined Backes & Strauss, then based in Antwerp, Belgium; a mere six years later, he was appointed head of that office. Since 1982, Vartkess has grown the company, establishing Backes & Strauss as an unrivalled reference within the international diamond world. In 2006, Backes & Strauss joined forces with the Franck Muller Group.

Other than running, playing golf and cooking, Vartkess has dedicated a large portion of his free time to the Armenian community and AGBU in particular, serving as president of AGBU Belgium from 1992 to 2005. He has also been closely involved with Armenia since 1993, when he first started working with the Shoghakan diamond factory. To bring together Armenian jewelers from around the globe, he and Pierre Akkelian founded the Armenian Jewelers’ Association and set up the Armenian Jewelers’ Foundation to raise funds for research on the history of Armenian jewelers, traders and stone merchants. Today, Vartkess is a partner in Lori Diamond Factory in Nor Keghi, Armenia, and is further tapping into the IT capabilities of the country as business moves more online.

Vartkess and his wife Sylvia Serabian have two adult children, Taline and Levon.

Elected to the AGBU Central Board of Directors in 2019.

Ari Libarikian is a Senior Partner with McKinsey & Company in New York, NY. Ari leads Leap by McKinsey globally, McKinsey’s global business building practice. In this role, he helps organizations develop holistic and well-structured approaches to business-building, combining the experimental nature of start-ups with the operational excellence of corporates to create strong, digital businesses and drive outsized sustainable, inclusive growth.

Some examples of his recent client work include the following:

• Helping a leading hospitality player launch and scale a new digital business
• Supporting a life insurer develop an analytics-as-a-service business
• Helping an industrials company build and scale a SaaS business

Previously, Ari led McKinsey’s digital practice in insurance, helping clients capture significant value through technology and data, as well as the Firm’s digital practice in the Northeast.  Ari is also currently on the global committee that makes recommendations on Senior Partner elections.

Prior to joining McKinsey, Ari held various positions at Nortel Networks, and Bell Labs, focused on developing and testing next-generation telecommunications technologies. Ari holds a bachelor’s degree in Honors Electrical Engineering from McGill University, and a Masters of Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Ari grew up on four different continents, moving from Athens to Dubai, to Cairo and then to Montreal, before relocating to the US for graduate school. Ari and his wife Luba live in New York City with their four children.

Elected to the AGBU Central Board of Directors in 2019.

Ani Manoukian is a corporate attorney in New York with a professional focus on franchise mergers and acquisitions in the telecommunications and cable industry. She also provides non-profit advisory services to organizations in the New York metropolitan area. Ani has a long history of service and leadership positions within AGBU, working with both longstanding programs and new initiatives. She has made significant impact on the global Young Professionals movement by leading the inception of AGBU FOCUS and serves on its advisory board to this day. She continues to dedicate her expertise to the development of AGBU’s global operations including corporate governance, office structure and human resources, marketing and fundraising management.

Ani earned her bachelor’s degree from Tufts University in French and child development with a certificate of public health and her law degree from Fordham University School of Law.

Elected to the AGBU Central Board of Directors in 2015.

Yeghiche comes from a proud tradition of charitable giving to Armenian causes and of fostering support for many other worthy charities. In August 2009, he joined HSBC Bank group in the UK. Following a promotion in 2010, he was transferred to the Special Credits team of HSBC New York, focusing on restructuring non-performing corporate debt, where he remained until 2013.

He then joined his family office, working from London until he moved to Pennsylvania to take on a more direct role in the evolution of their local businesses. He is currently Executive Vice President at Parx Casino and as the youngest executive, he has sought to make the business more attractive to a younger demographic, as well as thinking of new ways of enhancing the work experience for their employees. In 2021, he launched a corporate matching gift program, to encourage employees to donate to a charity of their choice, as well as providing cash donations for any volunteering work carried out by employees.

Elected to the AGBU Central Board of Directors in 2021.

Lori Muncherian is the Executive Vice President of New Spark Holdings, Inc. and serves on the board of directors of the TF Educational Foundation. She has an extensive background in human resources and management. From 1986 to 2006, Lori served as the Executive Vice President and partner of Pacific Sales Kitchen and Bath Centers, Inc., a retail chain of premium home appliance, kitchen and bath fixture showrooms in Southern California. She is also a member of the Leadership Council for the University of Southern California’s Institute of Armenian Studies and serves in various capacities for several other non-profit organizations. Lori is a graduate of the University of Southern California where she earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration.

Elected to the AGBU Central Board of Directors in 2015.

Levon Nazarian, MD is Professor and Vice Chairman of the Department of Radiology and the Residency Program Director at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is a fellow of the American College of Radiology, American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine, and the Society of Radiologists in Ultrasound. Levon is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine and serves on the editorial boards of several other medical journals, including Radiology, American Journal of Roentgenology and Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology. He is co-founder of the Ultrasound Training Centre of Armenia at the Yerevan State Medical University. He is a graduate of Harvard College and Cornell University Medical College. Levon resides in Cherry Hill, New Jersey with his wife Claudia and three children.

Elected to the AGBU Central Board of Directors in 2006.

Lena Sarkissian is a member of the asset management team at the real estate development company Byron Hill Corporation and the director of program development at the Zoryan Institute’s International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights. She is also a member of the advancement committee at the Toronto French School, the co-chair of the board of directors at the contemporary dance company Dancemakers and a member of the board of directors of AGBU Armen-Ontario. Lena holds a bachelor’s degree in linguistics and French from the University of California, Los Angeles and a master’s degree in speech and language pathology. She also earned a certificate in strategic leadership at the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies.

Elected to the AGBU Central Board of Directors in 2015.

Vasken Yacoubian is Managing Director and owner of Leon A. Yacoubian Contracting, as well as the Chief Technical Officer and partner of Puzant & Leon Yacoubian Trading and Contracting based in Syria. Vasken has a long history of involvement within the Armenian community of Syria, particularly AGBU. Serving in various capacities, he is currently the president of AGBU Armenia, chairs the Executive Body of the Armenian Orthodox Church Diocese of Damascus, and was previously the Chairman of the AGBU AYA Damascus Executive Committee. Vasken holds a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois.

Elected to the AGBU Central Board of Directors in 2006.

Yervant Zorian is the Chief Technologist and Fellow of Synopsys Corporation, and President of Synopsys Armenia. A fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, he serves as the President of its Council on Test Technology and as the Editor-in-Chief Emeritus of the Journal on Design and Test of Computers. He authored more than 400 scientific papers, five books and holds 42 US patents. In 2005, Dr. Zorian was honored with the prestigious Industrial Pioneer Award. He is also the recipient of the National Science Medal of the Republic of Armenia. A lifetime member of AGBU, he currently serves as the chair of AGBU Silicon Valley Chapter and the Founding President of AGBU Armenian Virtual College (AVC). He is also the Program Chair of ArmTech Congress and a Trustee of the American University of Armenia. Dr. Zorian holds a Masters in Computer Engineering from the University of Southern California, a PhD in Electrical Engineering from McGill University, and an MBA from Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania. Born in Aleppo, he currently resides in Santa Clara, California.

Elected to the AGBU Central Board of Directors in 2008.

Eric Esrailian is the Chief of the Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and is the Lincy Foundation Chair in Clinical Gastroenterology. He is involved in strategic planning and engagement between UCLA and partners to promote health, education, social impact, and human rights. Eric is also on the board of several nonprofit organizations including the Hammer Museum, Fulfillment Fund, XPRIZE, and the Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF) Foundation Board of Governors. He is also the co-manager and producer for Survival Pictures’ The Promise. Eric attended the University of California, Berkeley and graduated with a major in integrative biology and a minor in English. He subsequently graduated from the Loma Linda University School of Medicine. He ultimately completed his gastroenterology fellowship at UCLA where he earned a master’s degree in Public Health.

Elected to the AGBU Central Board of Directors in 2016.

Armen Sarkissian served as the President of the Republic of Armenia since 2018-2022. He is also the founding President of Eurasia House International in London, which fosters critical dialogue and cooperation among political and business leaders, and was the former Prime Minister of Armenia from 1996-1997. He established the first Armenian Embassy in the West, in London in 1991, and served as the Armenian Ambassador to the United Kingdom for multiple terms. Armen is also Vice Chairman of the East West Institute and holds honorary and executive positions in numerous international organizations, including the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University; the Harris School of Public Policy Studies, University of Chicago; International Economic Alliance; and the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, among others. Additionally, he is the founder of several significant investment companies, which invest in major business projects, especially in the energy, high technology, telecom and real estate sectors.

Elected to the AGBU Central Board of Directors in 2016.

Sam Simonian became a co-founder of Inet Technologies, Inc. a telecommunications company specializing in Network Management and Business Operational Solutions, in 1989. He was selected Entrepreneur of the Year in 1994 by Inc. magazine, Ernst & Young, and Merrill Lynch. In May 2000, Sam received the distinguished Ellis Island Medal of Honor. Currently, he serves as President of Epygi Technologies, a privately held US company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and is a board member of the American University of Armenia. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas. Born in Beirut Lebanon, he currently resides in Dallas, Texas. Sam is the founder and developer of the TUMO Center for Creative Technologies in Yerevan, Armenia.

Elected to the AGBU Central Board of Directors in 2000.

Sinan Sinanian is the President of Sinanian Developments, Inc., which is engaged in real estate development, property management and construction. Active within AGBU since his youth, he has served as Chairman of the Board of AGBU Manoogian-Demirdjian School in Los Angeles since 1991. Sinan was one of the founders of AGBU Vatche & Tamar Manoukian High School in Pasadena, and has been its chairman since its inception in 2006. He has also been a member of the Board of Directors of Ararat Home of Los Angeles since 1990, as well as a board member of the American University of Armenia, chairman of United Armenian Fund, and chairman of House of Armenia in Glendale, California. Sinan is a recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the American University of Beirut. Born in Zahle, Lebanon, he and his wife Angele Sarkissian have been residing in Los Angeles, California since 1983.

Elected to the AGBU Central Board of Directors in 1992.