YEREVAN TECH FORUM 2K23

Ralph Yirikian

Born in Beirut, Lebanon, Ralph Yirikian holds two Bachelor’s degrees in Economics and Business Administration from the American University of Beirut. Before assuming his current role as Director General at Ucom in Armenia, Mr. Yirikian gained extensive experience through various positions spanning from secretarial, logistics, customer service, human resources and management consultancy in Lebanon, Cyprus, and Qatar, eventually embarking on his telecom career in 1999.

In February 2002, Ralph Yirikian was appointed the General Manager of Karabakh Telecom in Artsakh. Ralph Yirikian served as the General Manager of Viva-MTS (MTS Armenia CJSC) from November 2004 to June 2022. In a short period of time Viva-MTS grew into an exemplary enterprise and is one of the largest taxpayers of Armenia today. Led by Ralph Yirikian, Viva-MTS has dramatically changed the market of mobile communications in Armenia. The Company today has more than 1,200 employees. Owing to a number of innovative solutions during Ralph Yirikian’s tenure, Viva-MTS has significantly enlarged the choice of the services available to Armenian consumers. Furthermore, Mr. Yirikian has spearheaded bold pioneering steps of Viva-MTS as the leader in Corporate Social Responsibility in Armenia. Through his efforts, the company has channeled tens of millions dollars into healthcare, cultural, educational, and infrastructure projects throughout Armenia.

The honorary citizen of Yerevan and many other cities of Armenia, Mr. Yirikian has been a featured speaker at a number of academic, business and technology institutions and forums. Among his many honors and distinctions, Mr. Yirikian has received the “Order of Honor”, “Movses Khorenatsi” Medal and the II Class Order of Services to the Motherland from the President of the Republic of Armenia, “Mesrop Mashtots” Order and “Anania Shirakatsi” Medal from the President of Nagorno Karabakh, the “Grigor Lusavorich” decoration of honor from the Catholicos of all Armenians, along with numerous other orders and decorations from Armenia and abroad. He has received several Honorary Doctoral and Professorial Degrees from higher educational and research institutions worldwide.

Ralph Yirikian is married. He has a daughter and a son. Ralph Yirikian is not a member of any political party.

Artur Vartanyan

18+ years of practice in the IT industry across EMEA, including experience in leadership roles in global IT companies – Dell Technologies, EMC & IBM.
7+ years of teaching digital technologies. Developed and led 12+ educational programs on Big Data and Digital Transformation for leading universities in CIS – Moscow State University, Russian Technological University (MIREA) and Moscow Aviation Institute. Author of 15 scientific publications on digital technologies, including SCOPUS publications.
Presented at more than 200+ IT and digital conferences.

Armen Avak Avakian

Ruben Muradyan

CyberSecurity paranoid with 20+ years of track record. FOSS evangelist. Blue/Purple team player. Professional fencer with Hanlon's razor. A popular target of Danning Kruger victims. Started to hate rifles and fall in love with mortars in September 2020. Cigar aficionado. Tatev’s father.