Ruben Vardanyan

Ruben Vardanyan is an accomplished philanthropist and businessman, who is the co-founder of 100 LIVES.

Mr. Vardanyan has had a long and successful career in business. Previously, he served as CEO and Chairman of the Board at Troika Dialog, one of the oldest and largest investment banks in Russia and the CIS, before the merger with Sberbank in January 2012. Highly regarded as having made a strong impact on the development of Russia’s stock market and related institutions, he now is a regular guest to economic forums and a frequently-quoted expert in Russian and global media.

Mr. Vardanyan is also a Board Member at numerous entities in Russia and abroad, including: KAMAZ, SIBUR Holding, Joule Unlimited, Inc (U.S.), Rosgosstrakh, Ameriabank (Armenia), and United Grain Company. He is also a member of the Economic Advisory Board at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group and the Investment Committee of Avica Property Investors International.

Previously he was Chairman of the Board at Sukhoi Civil Aircraft and a Board Member at AvtoVAZ and also NOVATEK, the largest independent gas producer in Russia.

Mr. Vardanyan is a Founding Partner and Vice-Chairman of the International Advisory Board of Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO, as well as Chairman of the SKOLKOVO Institute for Emerging Market Studies and the founder and Chairman of the Expert Council of the school’s Wealth Transformation Center.

An active philanthropist in both Russia and Armenia, Mr. Vardanyan is engaged in several development projects. This includes Initiatives for Development of Armenian (IDeA) designed to advance Armenia. Most recently, together with his wife Veronika Zonabend, he led the collaboration to open UWC Dilijan College, a world-class education institution in Dilijan, Armenia. He is also a member of the Supreme Religious Council of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Mr. Vardanyan serves on the International Advisory Boards of business schools in Japan and Brazil. He is also a member of the Boards of Trustees of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration and the Faculty of Economics at Lomonosov Moscow State University.

A graduate of Lomonosov, Mr. Vardanyan has completed post-graduate courses and programs at INSEAD, Harvard Business School, Yale University and Stanford University.