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PRESS RELEASE
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
AGBU Re-elects Central Board Members and Welcomes New Board Member
Dr. Noubar Afeyan during the 87th General Assembly in Yerevan
On Saturday, October 13, 2012, the Armenian General Benevolent Union
(AGBU) kicked off its 87th General Assembly in Yerevan, bringing
together hundreds of international delegates to discuss the strong
role that the organization will continue to play in Armenia and around
the world. The week full of activities marked the beginning of a
vibrant new chapter in AGBU’s 100-plus year history. It is a chapter
that will be led in large part by the esteemed AGBU Central Board,
which has reelected many of its members and welcomed a new colleague,
Dr. Noubar Afeyan.
During the AGBU General Assembly Session on Saturday, October 20,
2012, which was led by President Berge Setrakian and attended by the
Prime Minister of Armenia Mr. Tigran Sargsyan, ten of AGBU’s Central
Board members were formally re-elected to their positions. The
members, Mr. Aris Atamian, Joseph Basralian, Esq., Mr. Nazareth
Festekjian, Mr. Vahe Gabrache, Ms. Arda Nazerian Haratunian, Sarkis
Jebejian, Esq., Dr. Levon Nazarian, Berge Setrakian, Esq., Mr. Sam
Simonian and Dr. Yervant Zorian, have, together, dedicated decades of
service to the AGBU community. Each will now serve an additional
four-year term.
The AGBU Central Board, already comprised of the Armenian diaspora
community’s prominent individuals, will find even greater strength in
numbers with the addition of Dr. Afeyan, who was unanimously
elected. Dr. Afeyan brings with him decades of experience in both the
public and private sectors, with a particular focus on promoting
development in Armenia. He is the founder, Managing Partner and CEO of
Flagship Ventures, as well as a Senior Lecturer at MIT’s Sloan School
of Management, where he has taught courses on technology
entrepreneurship, innovation, and leadership since 2000. During his
25-year career as inventor, entrepreneur, CEO and venture capitalist,
Dr. Afeyan has co-founded and helped build 25 life science and
technology startups. In 2008, he was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of
Honor, which is granted to outstanding Americans who have
distinguished themselves as United States citizens and who have
enabled their ancestry groups to maintain their identities while
becoming integral parts of American life. Dr. Afeyan is also the
co-founder and board member of the National Competitiveness Foundation
of Armenia, a private-public partnership that encourages Armenia’s
economic growth.
AGBU is proud to welcome Dr. Noubar Afeyan to its Central Board, and
looks forward to the many new, exciting initiatives that are sure to
unfold in his first term.
Established in 1906, AGBU () is the world’s largest
non-profit Armenian organization. Headquartered in New York City, AGBU
preserves and promotes the Armenian identity and heritage through
educational, cultural and humanitarian programs, annually touching the
lives of some 400,000 Armenians around the world.
For more information about AGBU and its worldwide programs, please
visit