Ruben Vardanyan

Biography

Armenian-Russian social entrepreneur, impact investor and venture philanthropist. A recognized expert on the global economy, entrepreneurship and education, provides strategic consulting through the membership of boards of directors, advisory boards and trusteeships of commercial companies, non-governmental organizations, educational institutions, and public and professional bodies. Among them are the IFC (World Bank Group), business schools in Russia and Brazil, Aznavour Foundation, a major Armenian bank (Ameriabank) and Russia’s auto majors (KAMAZ, SOLLERS). A prominent financier, Ruben is known both for his commercial projects (investment companies Troika Dialog and Vardanyan, Broitman and Partners) as well as his philanthropic programs, such as the first UWC college in Eastern Europe (Dilijan, Armenia) and the Tatev Revival Project, part of which includes the construction of the world’s longest reversible cableway leading to an ancient monastery. Together with their partners, Ruben and his family have invested about $600M in projects in Armenia developing a commercial approach that relies on involving blended financing to find solutions to social problems. They have also raised over $600M to finance the first private business school in Russia – SKOLKOVO. In 2015, Ruben co-founded another global project, the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative, on behalf of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide and in gratitude to their saviors. He spends a significant amount of his time on projects related to the development and professionalization of charity infrastructure in Russia (Philanthropy Infrastructure – PHILIN) and the questions of wealth and legacy curation (Phoenix Advisors).