Ruben Vardanian, former Troika Dialog ceo: a grumbling optimist

Ruben Vardanian, former Troika Dialog CEO: a grumbling optimist

By Jack Farchy

ft.com - ©Anton Belitskiy


For a man once called the poster boy of Russian capitalism, Ruben Vardanian is remarkably relaxed about the crisis erupting around him. Sitting in his office in one of Moscow's premier office complexes, which he also owns, surrounded by deal trophies and other symbols of his success, Mr Vardanian's response to the rouble's collapse and the slide towards recession is typically Russian: it has been worse.
`It's all relative,' he says, before counting off a list of Russian economic crises of the past quarter century since the collapse of the Soviet Union. `Looking back for 25 years being in this country I can tell you, there are always challenges.'
The 46-year-old Mr Vardanian knows that better than most. The former chief executive of Troika Dialog, one of Russia's leading investment banks for the past two decades, has had a front-row seat for each of the country's economic crises.
To some extent, Mr Vardanian can afford to be laid back. Troika was sold in 2011 to state-owned Sberbank, Russia's largest lender; he later stepped down from day-to-day work at the company, although he remains an adviser to Sberbank's chief executive.
Some of his former colleagues and competitors may envy his timing: anal - ysts expect a sharp decline in investment banks' revenues in Russia in 2014 as equity and bond issuance has all but ground to a halt amid western sanctions and a tumble in valuations. Many western banks are relocating staff out of Moscow.
But Mr Vardanian rejects the idea that Russia has become a wasteland for investment bankers.
As in 1991, when the break-up of the Soviet Union triggered an enormous political and economic upheaval in Russia, the country is now at another such inflection point, he says.
He remembers 1991 well, as a young man just in his twenties: `Sitting in Moscow, I said [to myself], I have two options. One, the Soviet Union will stay, we will go back and I will emigrate. The second choice is that Russia would build capitalism. This is a huge opportunity.
`Now 24 years later I am sitting with you and we're talking about the same thing.'
Just as he did in 1991, Mr Vardanian is backing Russia to choose the market-friendly path.
`Yes there will be ups and downs, yes there will be situations where people will be upset and nervous, like happened many times in the past, but in the end it is unstoppable [?.?.?.?] in 20 years' time there will continue to be a market economy in Russia.'
That may seem like optimism to some in Moscow at the moment. Vladimir Putin's return in 2012 to a third term as president has coincided with

a sharp rise in the influence of the state in Russian business.

The trend that has only been exacerbated by the latest economic crisis, with Vladimir Yevtushenkov, one of the country's wealthiest men, being arrested late last year and his oil company seized and renationalised. Even though Mr Yevtushenkov was recently released, the case has sent a chill through Moscow's business circles.
Many Russians of Mr Vardanian's generation, who came of age in the 1990s and surfed the wave of Russia's great opening up to the west, are moving to Europe or North America. `Some of my friends want to leave the country, some of them send their kids outside,' he concedes.
Slipping into Russian for the first and only time in our interview, he describes himself as a vorchashcy optimist ' a grumbling optimist.
There would be no comfort in saying that the country had no future and then being proved right, he says, as the whole world would be affected in such a scenario. The idea that one could emigrate to Italy or Spain and `drink good wine' free from the stresses of home would only be a `big illusion'.
For all that, the path he has chosen suggests a recognition that the boom times for Russian capitalism of the late 1990s and early 2000s are unlikely to return.
Having run Troika for more than a decade before selling it, emerging with a fortune estimated at $850m by Forbes, Mr Vardanian is throwing his considerable energies and charm into the world of charity.
Just as he was in Russian investment banking in the 1990s, he is also a pioneer in Russian philanthropy.
`Today in Russia is the first generation which has wealth, which needs to leave something for the next generation?.?.?.?It's the first time for 100 years. In 1917 it stopped, and basically you didn't have anything to leave for your kids.'
Official statistics, he points out, say there are 230,000 Russians earning more than $1m a year. `It's not ultra-oligarchs but if you have a million dollars it's already big money. Do you want to spend this money now, or do some charity? It's a challenging question.'
As with investment banking, Mr Vardanian has jumped into the world of charity with both feet. He is providing education and services for wealthy Russians who are wondering what to do with their millions, setting up a business to provide services to charities as well as engaging enthusiastically in philanthropy. He bridles at the word, though. `Philanthropy usually means you're giving money and forgetting about it. I am quite actively involved in the management decisions. It's like capitalism .?.?.?Keeping all this pressure, being a tough investment banker, but delivering results for charities.'
He has only so much time for the pledge made popular among billionaires by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett to give at least half their wealth to charity. It recently received its first Russian adherent in Vladimir Potanin, CEO and part owner of Norilsk Nickel.
Mr Vardanian believes that, in a country like Russia, it is not enough to wait until after you die to hand over the money, as the pledge allows.
`In our case I believe some of the people need to spend this wealth now, to make a dramatic transformation. Because in our countries we need these changes much more dramatically compared to more developed countries.'
His four children will inherit only property. He and his wife will spend the rest of their wealth on charitable projects during their lifetimes, he says.
Many of his projects focus on Armenia, the country of his childhood and parents ' although he is quick to say that he does not hold an Armenian passport and has no political ambitions.
He is spending an estimated $80m to build what he says is the world's longest cable car to the ninth-century Tatev monastery in southern Armenia, as well as to restore the monastery. He has built a school in Dilijan in the north that he hopes, as a member of the United World Colleges network, will help open up the world to young Armenians.
He is planning a project to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1915 Armenian genocide by paying tribute to the people and organisations that helped to save Armenian lives.
Mr Vardanian tells a story of how his grandfather as a child was saved from the genocide by American missionaries who ran an orphanage.
`I became successful and today I can have a discussion with you about my wealth because 100 years ago four missionaries went to a crazy place where there was a war and saved 150 kids,' he says. `Now I'm the rich person, I want to give back.'
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Ruben Vardanyan Inspires At AUA - Photos

newsroom.aua.am - 7/12/2014

YEREVAN, Armenia - On December 6, 2014, the American University of Armenia (AUA) welcomed Ruben Vardanyan for an inspiring presentation on "Armenia and the Armenian World." He discussed the present state of Armenia, possibilities for the future of the country, and the role that both local and diasporan Armenians can play in its development and success.
Vardanyan's presentation began with his optimistic vision for the future, which emphasized philanthropy and development as the key factors for a prosperous Armenia. "Philanthropy is important only if it serves its ultimate purpose: to initiate positive changes and improvements at the systemic level," he said.
To achieve this, Armenians around the world should be active participants and knowledgeable citizens in their quest for an even greater independent republic. He stated, "It is our responsibility to do something for our nation." Vardanyan also discussed the need for Armenians to have a respectable and recognizable modern-day figure that can aid in the development of the Armenian "brand" and the marketing of Armenia as a desirable place to live and visit.
One important theme throughout Vardanyan's presentation was how Armenians can become global citizens without losing their national identity. He emphasized the importance of traveling the world, interacting with different people and cultures, and learning several languages. He cited education, research, and the development of higher education institutions like AUA as key factors to achieving an Armenia in which its citizens think globally and act locally.
Vardanyan is involved in many projects for the sustainable development of Armenia, one of which being the "Armenia 2020" project, which he discussed during the presentation. The project brings together key individuals of the Armenian diaspora to address and find solutions to the major problems that Armenia faces. It encourages dialogue among the diaspora as well as investment in a vision for the future of the country. He encouraged audience members to make their own small investments in the country, not just financially, but practically and sustainably.
Ruben Vardanyan, an entrepreneur and philanthropist, is Co-Founder of the IDeA Foundation, an organization which implements strategic charitable initiatives for Armenia, Artsakh and the Armenian diaspora, and a Founding Partner of the UWC Dilijan College. He serves as Advisor to the Chairman of the Board and CEO of Sberbank of Russia. He is a Founding Partner and Vice-Chairman of the International Advisory Board of the Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO, as well as Chairman of the SKOLKOVO Institute for Emerging Market Studies. Vardanyan graduated from Lomonosov Moscow State University and has completed post-graduate courses and programs at INSEAD, Harvard Business School, Yale University, and Stanford University.
Following his presentation, Vardanyan answered questions from the audience on topics such as his involvement with educational institutions, his experiences as an entrepreneur, his personal and professional plans for the future, and more.
Founded in 1991, the American University of Armenia (AUA) is a private, independent university located in Yerevan, Armenia and affiliated with the University of California. AUA provides a global education in Armenia and the region, offering high-quality, graduate and undergraduate studies, encouraging civic engagement, and promoting public service and democratic values.
http://newsroom.aua.am/2014/12/07/ruben-vardanyan-speaks-at-aua/