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AGBU Press Office
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022-1112
Phone: 212.319.6383, x118
Fax: 212.319.6507
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.agbu.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, December 22, 2006
AGBU Creates Council of Trustees and Elects Eight New Board of
Directors
oN december 9, 2006, the Armenian General Benevolent Union
(AGBU) voted to establish a Council of Trustees in addition to its
time-honored Board of Directors at the 84th General Assembly convened
at the Intercontinental Hotel in Paris, France. The new Council of
Trustees will be comprised of five senior members of its Central
Board of Directors, including former Central Board of Directors
members Louise Manoogian Simone, Nazar Nazarian, Sarkis Demirdjian,
and Karnig Yacoubian, Richard Manoogian, as well as the President of
the Union, Berge Setrakian.
AGBU is also pleased to announce the addition of eight new, dynamic
members to its Central Board of Directors. Newly elected members are
Yervant Demirjian of the United States, Nazareth Festekjian of the
United States, Vahé Gabrache of Switzerland, Sarkis Jebejian of the
United States, Ruben Kechichian of Argentina, Levon Nazarian of the
United States, Berge Papazian of Canada and Vasken Yacoubian of Syria.
Berge Setrakian of the United States will continue as President of the
Central Board of Directors and the nine sitting members will carry on
their tenures on the Central Board. They are M. Michael Ansour of the
United States, Carol Bagdasarian Aslanian of the United States, Aris
Atamian of France, Joseph Basralian of the United States, Arshavir
Gundjian of Canada, Levon Kebabjian of France, Sam Simonian of the
United States, Sinan Sinanian of the United States, and Dickran
Tevrizian of the United States.
Yervant Demirjian has recently been elected as a Director and a
Board Member of Interaudi Bank New York and was also appointed as
the Managing Director of the Bank. Prior to Interaudi Bank, Mr.
Demirjian was a Director and the Vice Chairman of Cedars Bank in
California. Before he started his banking career, Mr. Demirjian was
a Real Estate Developer in Los Angeles California dealing in both
the commercial and housing sector. Mr. Demirjian has also served as
a member of the Board of Trustees of the AGBU Manoogian Demirdjian
School in Los Angeles, California from 1991-2002. Mr. Demirjian holds
an M.B.A. from California's Pepperdine University.
Nazareth A. Festekjian is a Managing Director in Citigroup's Fixed
Income Division and is the head of the Global Capital Markets Products
Group. Mr. Festekjian joined Salomon Brothers in 1992 in the Structured
Finance group, focusing on new products. Prior to joining Salomon,
he was a Managing Director at Moody's Investors Service responsible
for rating asset-backed securities. Mr. Festekjian is a graduate of
the AGBU Hovagimian Manoogian School in Lebanon and received a BS
in Electrical Engineering from the American University of Beirut,
an MS in Electrical Engineering from Northwestern University and an
MBA from J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management.
Living in Geneva (Switzerland), Vahé Gabrache is the CEO of Cofinor
SA, as well as the owner with his family of the Société Gabrache SA, a
hotel and real estate company. He is also a controller for the Genevese
Liberal Party of Pregny-Chambésy. Mr. Gabrache has been President of
the Armenian Union of Switzerland for the past 20 years. Mr. Gabrache
presides over various Swiss Armenian foundations, including the
Diran and Charles Philippossian Foundation, the Armenia Foundation,
and the St. Gregory The Illuminator Foundation, and serves on the
board of the Topalian Foundation. Mr. Gabrache holds an MBA degree
from Lausanne, Switzerland.
Sarkis Jebejian is a partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, an
international law firm with approximately 450 attorneys. Mr. Jebejian
practices corporate law, specializing in mergers and acquisitions,
both domestic and cross-border. He is based in New York and has
spent substantial time in the firm's London and Hong Kong offices,
and has recently focused on clients in the defense, healthcare and
leisure industries. Mr. Jebejian is a Contributing Editor of the
International Financial Law Review, and graduated from Columbia
University with degrees in Economics and Law. Mr. Jebejian resides
in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
A native of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Ruben Kechichian is a businessman
and currently Chairman of the AGBU Buenos Aires Chapter. He has been
actively engaged in Armenian organizations, and particularly in AGBU,
since his youth. Beginning in 1963, for 10 consecutive years, he served
as Chairman of the AGBU Armenian Youth Association (AYA) in Buenos
Aires. Mr. Kechichian has served on the Chapter's Executive Committee
since 1973 in various capacities. Mr. Kechichian also served as
South American Chairman of AYA and member of the AYA World Committee.
Levon Nazarian is a 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. He serves on
the editorial boards of several medical journals, including Radiology,
American Journal of Roentgenology and Journal of Ultrasound in
Medicine. He helped to establish the Ultrasound Training Center
in Armenia and oversees the training program for the doctors from
Armenia studying abroad. Dr. Nazarian is a graduate of Harvard College
and Cornell University Medical College. He resides in Cherry Hill,
New Jersey.
Berge Papazian is a Barrister and Solicitor, as well as the Managing
Partner of Papazian, Heisey and Myers LLP, a law firm based in Toronto,
Canada. He was appointed Queen's Counsel for services rendered to the
Province of Ontario and in 1995 was certified as a Specialist in Civil
Litigation by the Law Society of Upper Canada. Mr. Papazian has been
a member of the Governing Council of the University of Toronto and has
acted as Chairperson of the Insurance Advisory Board for the Province
of Ontario. Mr. Papazian is also Director and Corporate Secretary
of Burger King in Canada. Since 2003, he has served as President of
AGBU Armen-Ontario.
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. Mr.
Yacoubian has a long history of involvement within the Armenian
community of Syria, particularly AGBU. Serving in various capacities
in the past, Mr. Yacoubian is presently Chairman of the AGBU AYA
Damascus Executive Committee and is chairing the Executive Body of
the Armenian Orthodox Church Diocese of Damascus. Mr. Yacoubian holds
a BS in Civil Engineering degree from the University of Illinois.
Established in 1906, AGBU (www.agbu.org) is the world's largest
non-profit Armenian organization. Headquartered in New York City
with an annual budget of $34 million, AGBU preserves and promotes
the Armenian identity and heritage through educational, cultural and
humanitarian programs, annually serving some 400,000 Armenians in
35 countries.
--Boundary_(ID_za+W/VtIm5E3/C00an/gdQ) --
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022-1112
Phone: 212.319.6383, x118
Fax: 212.319.6507
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.agbu.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, December 22, 2006
AGBU Creates Council of Trustees and Elects Eight New Board of
Directors
oN december 9, 2006, the Armenian General Benevolent Union
(AGBU) voted to establish a Council of Trustees in addition to its
time-honored Board of Directors at the 84th General Assembly convened
at the Intercontinental Hotel in Paris, France. The new Council of
Trustees will be comprised of five senior members of its Central
Board of Directors, including former Central Board of Directors
members Louise Manoogian Simone, Nazar Nazarian, Sarkis Demirdjian,
and Karnig Yacoubian, Richard Manoogian, as well as the President of
the Union, Berge Setrakian.
AGBU is also pleased to announce the addition of eight new, dynamic
members to its Central Board of Directors. Newly elected members are
Yervant Demirjian of the United States, Nazareth Festekjian of the
United States, Vahé Gabrache of Switzerland, Sarkis Jebejian of the
United States, Ruben Kechichian of Argentina, Levon Nazarian of the
United States, Berge Papazian of Canada and Vasken Yacoubian of Syria.
Berge Setrakian of the United States will continue as President of the
Central Board of Directors and the nine sitting members will carry on
their tenures on the Central Board. They are M. Michael Ansour of the
United States, Carol Bagdasarian Aslanian of the United States, Aris
Atamian of France, Joseph Basralian of the United States, Arshavir
Gundjian of Canada, Levon Kebabjian of France, Sam Simonian of the
United States, Sinan Sinanian of the United States, and Dickran
Tevrizian of the United States.
Yervant Demirjian has recently been elected as a Director and a
Board Member of Interaudi Bank New York and was also appointed as
the Managing Director of the Bank. Prior to Interaudi Bank, Mr.
Demirjian was a Director and the Vice Chairman of Cedars Bank in
California. Before he started his banking career, Mr. Demirjian was
a Real Estate Developer in Los Angeles California dealing in both
the commercial and housing sector. Mr. Demirjian has also served as
a member of the Board of Trustees of the AGBU Manoogian Demirdjian
School in Los Angeles, California from 1991-2002. Mr. Demirjian holds
an M.B.A. from California's Pepperdine University.
Nazareth A. Festekjian is a Managing Director in Citigroup's Fixed
Income Division and is the head of the Global Capital Markets Products
Group. Mr. Festekjian joined Salomon Brothers in 1992 in the Structured
Finance group, focusing on new products. Prior to joining Salomon,
he was a Managing Director at Moody's Investors Service responsible
for rating asset-backed securities. Mr. Festekjian is a graduate of
the AGBU Hovagimian Manoogian School in Lebanon and received a BS
in Electrical Engineering from the American University of Beirut,
an MS in Electrical Engineering from Northwestern University and an
MBA from J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management.
Living in Geneva (Switzerland), Vahé Gabrache is the CEO of Cofinor
SA, as well as the owner with his family of the Société Gabrache SA, a
hotel and real estate company. He is also a controller for the Genevese
Liberal Party of Pregny-Chambésy. Mr. Gabrache has been President of
the Armenian Union of Switzerland for the past 20 years. Mr. Gabrache
presides over various Swiss Armenian foundations, including the
Diran and Charles Philippossian Foundation, the Armenia Foundation,
and the St. Gregory The Illuminator Foundation, and serves on the
board of the Topalian Foundation. Mr. Gabrache holds an MBA degree
from Lausanne, Switzerland.
Sarkis Jebejian is a partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, an
international law firm with approximately 450 attorneys. Mr. Jebejian
practices corporate law, specializing in mergers and acquisitions,
both domestic and cross-border. He is based in New York and has
spent substantial time in the firm's London and Hong Kong offices,
and has recently focused on clients in the defense, healthcare and
leisure industries. Mr. Jebejian is a Contributing Editor of the
International Financial Law Review, and graduated from Columbia
University with degrees in Economics and Law. Mr. Jebejian resides
in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
A native of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Ruben Kechichian is a businessman
and currently Chairman of the AGBU Buenos Aires Chapter. He has been
actively engaged in Armenian organizations, and particularly in AGBU,
since his youth. Beginning in 1963, for 10 consecutive years, he served
as Chairman of the AGBU Armenian Youth Association (AYA) in Buenos
Aires. Mr. Kechichian has served on the Chapter's Executive Committee
since 1973 in various capacities. Mr. Kechichian also served as
South American Chairman of AYA and member of the AYA World Committee.
Levon Nazarian is a 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. He serves on
the editorial boards of several medical journals, including Radiology,
American Journal of Roentgenology and Journal of Ultrasound in
Medicine. He helped to establish the Ultrasound Training Center
in Armenia and oversees the training program for the doctors from
Armenia studying abroad. Dr. Nazarian is a graduate of Harvard College
and Cornell University Medical College. He resides in Cherry Hill,
New Jersey.
Berge Papazian is a Barrister and Solicitor, as well as the Managing
Partner of Papazian, Heisey and Myers LLP, a law firm based in Toronto,
Canada. He was appointed Queen's Counsel for services rendered to the
Province of Ontario and in 1995 was certified as a Specialist in Civil
Litigation by the Law Society of Upper Canada. Mr. Papazian has been
a member of the Governing Council of the University of Toronto and has
acted as Chairperson of the Insurance Advisory Board for the Province
of Ontario. Mr. Papazian is also Director and Corporate Secretary
of Burger King in Canada. Since 2003, he has served as President of
AGBU Armen-Ontario.
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. Mr.
Yacoubian has a long history of involvement within the Armenian
community of Syria, particularly AGBU. Serving in various capacities
in the past, Mr. Yacoubian is presently Chairman of the AGBU AYA
Damascus Executive Committee and is chairing the Executive Body of
the Armenian Orthodox Church Diocese of Damascus. Mr. Yacoubian holds
a BS in Civil Engineering degree from the University of Illinois.
Established in 1906, AGBU (www.agbu.org) is the world's largest
non-profit Armenian organization. Headquartered in New York City
with an annual budget of $34 million, AGBU preserves and promotes
the Armenian identity and heritage through educational, cultural and
humanitarian programs, annually serving some 400,000 Armenians in
35 countries.
--Boundary_(ID_za+W/VtIm5E3/C00an/gdQ) --