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Ruben Vardanyan: `Our goal is not to surprise, but to change'
Thursday 23 January 2014 22:41
On January 23, Aram Abrahamyan had an interview with businessman and
philanthropist, founder of IDeA Charitable Foundation Ruben Vardanyan
on the air of Shant TV company. We present you the transcript of the
interview.
`Armenia-2020' project
Over 10 years have passed since we started discussing the possible
scenarios for Armenia's future. It was a highly important exercise and
to this end, we did our best to attract as many people of various
views and professional skills as possible. It's hard to accept the
present-day reality if you don't know what kind of future you may
have. The understanding of future is not an easy thing; it requires
great efforts. Of course, what we used to do was a bit naïve but on
the whole, I am pleased [with the results of this work], as despite
all difficulties and disappointments many ideas and projects, which
were born in the course of these discussions, were realized and they
eventually came to exist on their own.
It's quite different, that the discussion, unfortunately, was not
continued and perhaps, the current apathy and discontent observed in
the society are partially caused by people's inability to understand
how the future will be. I believe such a professional and serious
discussion should be held on a regular and public basis.
Projects, ambitions and scales
I don't like the word `ambitious' much; I prefer to use `large-scale'
as an attribute, since our goal is not to surprise, but to change.
Changes require huge efforts, and these are long-term projects.
Tatev Revival Project was launched in 2005 and will be completed in
2017. The idea of establishing an international school in Dilijan
which will open this year was also the result of discussions held
within `Armenia-2020' project. We started more specific discussions
over 2007-2008 and we hope that already in 2023, the school will be
hosting 650 students every year. We are speaking of a vision of 15-20
years. There are several other projects being discussed at the moment,
and they are also long-term and large-scale. There are many
significant and important projects that should be implemented to make
serious changes in Armenia.
We need `anchor' projects that will attract [other initiatives]. We
choose projects which evoke changes in the region or in a separate
field. Besides my family and me, a big number of people are involved
in these projects - all the projects are jointly carried out. But the
most important thing in our projects is that they are multi-effective,
that is - the revival of the monastery or the construction of the
school lead to the implementation of other important projects.
The principles [of all our projects]: Spillover effect, Long-term
vision and perspective, Global scope and collaboration [and Engaging
local population, Gradual sustainability, Best international
standards]. It's rather important to set local people in motion.
People should feel that it's their project and not just one that "came
out of the blue". It's not less important to reach a level at which
the projects will become self-sustainable. Capital investments are
made on a charity basis but we aspire to make the projects
self-reliant and independent from the sponsors. Another important
thing is to make these projects meet best international standards.
Survival and traps
It's one of the major problems in the society. Over the last 20 years,
we have been thinking of how to survive. It's hard to look 15-20 years
ahead when you live in the survival mode. But if we do not readjust us
and develop long-term thinking, it will be too hard to overcome this
pattern which is a serious trap. It will eventually cause the country
to be in the continuous mode of survival or stagnation. Prosperity is
a risk. You should take the risk and believe that your children will
live better than you do today. The Soviet period thinking had it that
if you do something today you will ensure your children's well-being
tomorrow. We seem to have lost this perception, despite our
independence and our victory in the war. The survival mode is not only
conditioned by the economic situation but also our mental approach.
Education and Dilijan School
It's a symbolic project for us, which is large-scale and required
great efforts from us. Many things still lie ahead, but we can already
see we are on the right path. The school will open its doors in
September and the first 90 students aged 16-17 will start their
studies here. The selection process in underway now and Armenian
citizens can submit their applications to not only our school, but
also 13 other [United World Colleges] (UWC) schools across the globe.
UWC provides high-quality education; one of the bests by the number of
graduates entering top universities. The [new] Director of [our]
school has already commenced his work, the academic staff is being
formed, and I am happy that the process is internationalized.
We will have students from various countries, in this respect, the
school is really unique for Armenia. I am glad that along with that,
`Ayb' [school] and [Center for Creative Technologies] TUMO projects
are being carried out in Dilijan. I strongly believe that education is
our key competitive advantage. Over the past 20 years there has been
much negativity [in our life as well as in the life of our country],
but there have been many positive events as well. TUMO itself proves
that despite all difficulties children have great passion and desire
for learning. The very good results of the students who have entered
the top education institutions of the world with the support of Luys
project have come to prove this.
We are a nation with passion for learning and it means we have a
competitive edge because [gifted and educated] people are the main
asset in the 21st century. I strongly believe in it, and that is the
reason why we spend so much time and efforts on education. We have two
main areas of charity - IDeA [foundation] (Initiatives for Development
of Armenia) and education, which have intersected in the territory of
Armenia. I am pleased that our flagship project in school education
(UWC Dilijan College) is being implemented in Armenia.
We have another project as well which was carried out in Russia with
our partners and friends from various countries - it is SKOLKOVO
Business School. These two schools are our key projects in the sphere
of education, which are highly important for me.
`Open skies'
Every country and economy has its bottle-necks. Transport is one of
our weak points. Solving this issue will help improve life in Armenia,
open more workplaces and create more opportunities for
self-actualization.
I believe Armenia has great future, and one day it will become a
comfortable country to live in with a developed infrastructure, and it
was clear to me that there are issues which should be addressed to
change [the situation] in economy [for the better]. It was necessary
to convince the Armenian elite of our need for more air companies
operating flights to Armenia, and open skies provide a ground to reach
this goal.
I think it's critical for Armenia to have a national carrier operating
in the `open skies'. It means it will compete with other air companies
based on market terms. It's not easy as this industry is
highly-competitive. We want to 2mln people to fly to Armenia instead
of 700 thousand on a yearly basis. It will be a great impetus to the
economy, which will allow creating 20 thousand jobs, opening new
hotels and restaurants; thus it will boost changes in Armenia. To this
end, we need `open skies' in which various air companies with more
resources and experience will operate. It will be quite hard for new
air companies to enter the market and we consider it important to
support this process but on market, and not monopoly terms.
I really hope that the stabilization of situation in Georgia will
allow opening the railway connecting Armenia to Russia and will serve
a serious impetus for the change of the economic situation. As a
person, looking 15-20 years ahead I do realize that our economic state
will not be changed [for the better] unless we address those issues
and Armenia appears on the world travel map.
Yes, on the whole, it has nothing to do with our [projects] directly.
I have never intended and I am not going to get involved into aviation
but I consider it fundamentally important for the development of
Armenia, and a person who realizes the importance of the issue should
have his contribution to its solution.
Self-reproach
Armenia has many positive examples but on the background of general
apathy they appear to be less significant.
In reality, we do have many things to be proud of. Unfortunately, we
love being enrolled in self-reproach and complain about everything
being bad. When I take my non-Armenian friends and partners to TUMO
Center they often admit not having seen anything like that before. We
have a wonderful museum established by late Gerard Cafesjian. It's
quite another that they are all particular elements and I would be
very pleased if we could have the full image [of these selected
positive elements].
One of my primary goals is to work out projects which will become a
`magnet' for other investors to implement new projects. I am pleased
with the opening of Hyatt Place Hotel in Armenia. Tatev Revival
Project gave an impetus for the opening of 10 new hotels in Goris. I
believe that despite all difficulties and challenges we have unique
competitive advantages which can be used in the implementation of
specific projects in the spheres of education, medicine and tourism.
Ameriabank
I am proud of this project as it's one of the projects giving
importance to my stay in Armenia. 15 years ago when I got acquainted
with Andrey Lazarian and his partners, they were only starting to
launch a consulting business from scratch; they were working and
competing with the best world companies. In this context, Ameriabank
is a very good example of success and I do not try to advertise the
bank this way.
There are 22 banks in Armenia, including respectful international
brands: HSBC, Credit Agricole, VTB, Gazprombank. Our bank was
purchased without a single customer; we virtually purchased the
license, and over five years guys managed to turn Ameriabank into a
leader in the banking system of Armenia by almost all key indicators.
I always used to act as a passive investor helping the guys but they
used to do the work on their own. The first five years were years of
development of the bank, and it was necessary for me to act as a
"guarantor". It's already high time that Andrey Lazarian took up the
post of the bank's Board of Directors; I am still member of the board.
Ameriabank's Board of Directors is one of the best ones particularly
with the involvement of Robert von Rekowsky (Vice-President of the
Emerging Markets division at Fidelity Investments), Noubar Afeyan
(Managing Partner and CEO of Flagship Ventures, Professor at
Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Gor Nahapetyan (Vice-President
of SKOLKOVO Russian Business School). I find it right to change the
Chairman of the Board of Directors every five years. It's also part of
the new culture and standards. Ameriabank pursues very correct
corporate principles and I think rotation and changes are only
beneficial for the bank.
Future
I am in a transition period. I am completing a very important phase of
my life: I used to be an investment banker for 22 years, headed Troika
Dialog company which became part of Sberbank [in 2012]. I still
continue as the Advisor to the President [Chairman of the Board] of
Sberbank German Gref but I am planning to be more actively involved in
several areas, including charity projects related to Armenia and
education. I have a large portfolio of projects which should be
carried out and completed. It is highly important to be consistent and
fulfill the promises.
I am still member of Ameriabank's Board of Directors; I joined the
Board of International Finance Corporation, which is part of the World
Bank. I am a member of Boards of Directors of a number of companies in
various countries, business-schools in Brazil, Japan and China. I am
going to keep on investing in various companies and I have a rather
large investment portfolio, particularly, in KAMAZ. Along with my
partner Gagik Adibekyan, we are implementing projects in the real
estate sector.
My further activity is related to both business and public activities.
I have many plans related to education, possibilities to work with
interesting people who work out interesting projects in order to
change our environment and make it more positive and successful so
that our children can live in a country none the worse from those
[countries] to where we love to travel.
http://www.mediamax.am/en/news/interviews/8853/
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Thursday 23 January 2014 22:41
On January 23, Aram Abrahamyan had an interview with businessman and
philanthropist, founder of IDeA Charitable Foundation Ruben Vardanyan
on the air of Shant TV company. We present you the transcript of the
interview.
`Armenia-2020' project
Over 10 years have passed since we started discussing the possible
scenarios for Armenia's future. It was a highly important exercise and
to this end, we did our best to attract as many people of various
views and professional skills as possible. It's hard to accept the
present-day reality if you don't know what kind of future you may
have. The understanding of future is not an easy thing; it requires
great efforts. Of course, what we used to do was a bit naïve but on
the whole, I am pleased [with the results of this work], as despite
all difficulties and disappointments many ideas and projects, which
were born in the course of these discussions, were realized and they
eventually came to exist on their own.
It's quite different, that the discussion, unfortunately, was not
continued and perhaps, the current apathy and discontent observed in
the society are partially caused by people's inability to understand
how the future will be. I believe such a professional and serious
discussion should be held on a regular and public basis.
Projects, ambitions and scales
I don't like the word `ambitious' much; I prefer to use `large-scale'
as an attribute, since our goal is not to surprise, but to change.
Changes require huge efforts, and these are long-term projects.
Tatev Revival Project was launched in 2005 and will be completed in
2017. The idea of establishing an international school in Dilijan
which will open this year was also the result of discussions held
within `Armenia-2020' project. We started more specific discussions
over 2007-2008 and we hope that already in 2023, the school will be
hosting 650 students every year. We are speaking of a vision of 15-20
years. There are several other projects being discussed at the moment,
and they are also long-term and large-scale. There are many
significant and important projects that should be implemented to make
serious changes in Armenia.
We need `anchor' projects that will attract [other initiatives]. We
choose projects which evoke changes in the region or in a separate
field. Besides my family and me, a big number of people are involved
in these projects - all the projects are jointly carried out. But the
most important thing in our projects is that they are multi-effective,
that is - the revival of the monastery or the construction of the
school lead to the implementation of other important projects.
The principles [of all our projects]: Spillover effect, Long-term
vision and perspective, Global scope and collaboration [and Engaging
local population, Gradual sustainability, Best international
standards]. It's rather important to set local people in motion.
People should feel that it's their project and not just one that "came
out of the blue". It's not less important to reach a level at which
the projects will become self-sustainable. Capital investments are
made on a charity basis but we aspire to make the projects
self-reliant and independent from the sponsors. Another important
thing is to make these projects meet best international standards.
Survival and traps
It's one of the major problems in the society. Over the last 20 years,
we have been thinking of how to survive. It's hard to look 15-20 years
ahead when you live in the survival mode. But if we do not readjust us
and develop long-term thinking, it will be too hard to overcome this
pattern which is a serious trap. It will eventually cause the country
to be in the continuous mode of survival or stagnation. Prosperity is
a risk. You should take the risk and believe that your children will
live better than you do today. The Soviet period thinking had it that
if you do something today you will ensure your children's well-being
tomorrow. We seem to have lost this perception, despite our
independence and our victory in the war. The survival mode is not only
conditioned by the economic situation but also our mental approach.
Education and Dilijan School
It's a symbolic project for us, which is large-scale and required
great efforts from us. Many things still lie ahead, but we can already
see we are on the right path. The school will open its doors in
September and the first 90 students aged 16-17 will start their
studies here. The selection process in underway now and Armenian
citizens can submit their applications to not only our school, but
also 13 other [United World Colleges] (UWC) schools across the globe.
UWC provides high-quality education; one of the bests by the number of
graduates entering top universities. The [new] Director of [our]
school has already commenced his work, the academic staff is being
formed, and I am happy that the process is internationalized.
We will have students from various countries, in this respect, the
school is really unique for Armenia. I am glad that along with that,
`Ayb' [school] and [Center for Creative Technologies] TUMO projects
are being carried out in Dilijan. I strongly believe that education is
our key competitive advantage. Over the past 20 years there has been
much negativity [in our life as well as in the life of our country],
but there have been many positive events as well. TUMO itself proves
that despite all difficulties children have great passion and desire
for learning. The very good results of the students who have entered
the top education institutions of the world with the support of Luys
project have come to prove this.
We are a nation with passion for learning and it means we have a
competitive edge because [gifted and educated] people are the main
asset in the 21st century. I strongly believe in it, and that is the
reason why we spend so much time and efforts on education. We have two
main areas of charity - IDeA [foundation] (Initiatives for Development
of Armenia) and education, which have intersected in the territory of
Armenia. I am pleased that our flagship project in school education
(UWC Dilijan College) is being implemented in Armenia.
We have another project as well which was carried out in Russia with
our partners and friends from various countries - it is SKOLKOVO
Business School. These two schools are our key projects in the sphere
of education, which are highly important for me.
`Open skies'
Every country and economy has its bottle-necks. Transport is one of
our weak points. Solving this issue will help improve life in Armenia,
open more workplaces and create more opportunities for
self-actualization.
I believe Armenia has great future, and one day it will become a
comfortable country to live in with a developed infrastructure, and it
was clear to me that there are issues which should be addressed to
change [the situation] in economy [for the better]. It was necessary
to convince the Armenian elite of our need for more air companies
operating flights to Armenia, and open skies provide a ground to reach
this goal.
I think it's critical for Armenia to have a national carrier operating
in the `open skies'. It means it will compete with other air companies
based on market terms. It's not easy as this industry is
highly-competitive. We want to 2mln people to fly to Armenia instead
of 700 thousand on a yearly basis. It will be a great impetus to the
economy, which will allow creating 20 thousand jobs, opening new
hotels and restaurants; thus it will boost changes in Armenia. To this
end, we need `open skies' in which various air companies with more
resources and experience will operate. It will be quite hard for new
air companies to enter the market and we consider it important to
support this process but on market, and not monopoly terms.
I really hope that the stabilization of situation in Georgia will
allow opening the railway connecting Armenia to Russia and will serve
a serious impetus for the change of the economic situation. As a
person, looking 15-20 years ahead I do realize that our economic state
will not be changed [for the better] unless we address those issues
and Armenia appears on the world travel map.
Yes, on the whole, it has nothing to do with our [projects] directly.
I have never intended and I am not going to get involved into aviation
but I consider it fundamentally important for the development of
Armenia, and a person who realizes the importance of the issue should
have his contribution to its solution.
Self-reproach
Armenia has many positive examples but on the background of general
apathy they appear to be less significant.
In reality, we do have many things to be proud of. Unfortunately, we
love being enrolled in self-reproach and complain about everything
being bad. When I take my non-Armenian friends and partners to TUMO
Center they often admit not having seen anything like that before. We
have a wonderful museum established by late Gerard Cafesjian. It's
quite another that they are all particular elements and I would be
very pleased if we could have the full image [of these selected
positive elements].
One of my primary goals is to work out projects which will become a
`magnet' for other investors to implement new projects. I am pleased
with the opening of Hyatt Place Hotel in Armenia. Tatev Revival
Project gave an impetus for the opening of 10 new hotels in Goris. I
believe that despite all difficulties and challenges we have unique
competitive advantages which can be used in the implementation of
specific projects in the spheres of education, medicine and tourism.
Ameriabank
I am proud of this project as it's one of the projects giving
importance to my stay in Armenia. 15 years ago when I got acquainted
with Andrey Lazarian and his partners, they were only starting to
launch a consulting business from scratch; they were working and
competing with the best world companies. In this context, Ameriabank
is a very good example of success and I do not try to advertise the
bank this way.
There are 22 banks in Armenia, including respectful international
brands: HSBC, Credit Agricole, VTB, Gazprombank. Our bank was
purchased without a single customer; we virtually purchased the
license, and over five years guys managed to turn Ameriabank into a
leader in the banking system of Armenia by almost all key indicators.
I always used to act as a passive investor helping the guys but they
used to do the work on their own. The first five years were years of
development of the bank, and it was necessary for me to act as a
"guarantor". It's already high time that Andrey Lazarian took up the
post of the bank's Board of Directors; I am still member of the board.
Ameriabank's Board of Directors is one of the best ones particularly
with the involvement of Robert von Rekowsky (Vice-President of the
Emerging Markets division at Fidelity Investments), Noubar Afeyan
(Managing Partner and CEO of Flagship Ventures, Professor at
Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Gor Nahapetyan (Vice-President
of SKOLKOVO Russian Business School). I find it right to change the
Chairman of the Board of Directors every five years. It's also part of
the new culture and standards. Ameriabank pursues very correct
corporate principles and I think rotation and changes are only
beneficial for the bank.
Future
I am in a transition period. I am completing a very important phase of
my life: I used to be an investment banker for 22 years, headed Troika
Dialog company which became part of Sberbank [in 2012]. I still
continue as the Advisor to the President [Chairman of the Board] of
Sberbank German Gref but I am planning to be more actively involved in
several areas, including charity projects related to Armenia and
education. I have a large portfolio of projects which should be
carried out and completed. It is highly important to be consistent and
fulfill the promises.
I am still member of Ameriabank's Board of Directors; I joined the
Board of International Finance Corporation, which is part of the World
Bank. I am a member of Boards of Directors of a number of companies in
various countries, business-schools in Brazil, Japan and China. I am
going to keep on investing in various companies and I have a rather
large investment portfolio, particularly, in KAMAZ. Along with my
partner Gagik Adibekyan, we are implementing projects in the real
estate sector.
My further activity is related to both business and public activities.
I have many plans related to education, possibilities to work with
interesting people who work out interesting projects in order to
change our environment and make it more positive and successful so
that our children can live in a country none the worse from those
[countries] to where we love to travel.
http://www.mediamax.am/en/news/interviews/8853/
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress