Hrant Vardanyan was an Armenian businessman and the pioneer of domestic Armenian manufacturing, the founder and the president of the leading national corporation Grand Holding and philanthropist.
Biography
Hrant Vardanyan was born on January 23, 1949, in Yerevan, Armenia in a working-class family. From 1956 to 1966 he studied at the Kirov high school No. 12 in Yerevan, Armenia. From 1968 to 1974 he studied at the Yerevan Polytechnic Institute, Faculty of Machine Building and Mechanical, majoring in food-industry engineering. Since 1990 - Candidate of Economics. Non-partisan. Thanks to Hrant Vardanyan, the celebration of the International Labor Day has been resumed in the Republic of Armenia as a state holiday since May 1, 2000. 1998-2003 Vardanyan was the President of the Basketball Federation of Armenia, 1992-2001 Board Member of the National Olympic Committee of Armenia, 2003-2014 Member of the Board of Trustees of Yerevan State Engineering University. Hrant Vardanyan died on April 20, 2014. He is buried at Yerevan City Pantheon.
Entrepreneurial activity
Hrant Vardanyan started his professional career at the Yerevan Experimental Tobacco Plant as an engineer technologist, and since 1984 he has been the Deputy Director General Director of the Plant. In 1996, he started his entrepreneurial activity thus stimulating the restoration and development of domestic production. Hrant Vardanyan founded Grand Tobacco, Grand Candy, International Masis Tabak and other companies that have leading positions in the domestic Armenian market and proudly represent national production in many countries all over the world. The group of GRAND HOLDING companies established by him is a leading exporter of finished products in Armenia. In 2019 GRAND HOLDING employed over 9524 workers and . Thanks to cooperation with this enterprise, tens of thousands of jobs have been created in agriculture, particularly, in borderline villages of the Republic of Armenia. According to the results of 2018, Grand Holding is the first among the in Armenia, the leading exporter of finished products, as well as leader of the number of jobs and investments.
Business philosophy
Since 1991, during the first 6 years after independence, when unemployment was rampant, nearly nothing was manufactured in Armenia, and everything was imported, Hrant Vardanyan, as an entrepreneur, set himself the goal of reviving and developing of local manufacture. He was the first to believe that Armenia possesses the required intellectual, human and industrial potential to compete on the domestic and international markets. The philosophy was that the Armenian consumer should buy locally produced goods thus contributing to the development of the domestic production, while the local producer should produce high-quality products, so that the consumer prefers the goods labeled “Made in Armenia”. With this ideology, he became an example for other manufacturers and he proved that, in spite of mass unemployment, emigration and blockade, the Armenian nation is capable not only to work and produce high quality goods and to live with dignity but also to export its products and conquer markets all over the world.
Charity
Hrant Vardanyan's charity activities were multipurpose and comprehensive. He sponsored science, education, culture, healthcare, sports, the Yerevan Zoo, and the children's gratis TV channel “Hyerenik”, and monthly pensions were paid to the Heroes of Socialist Labor.
Hrant Vardanyan implemented large-scale long-term charity projects in Tavush Province, specially in the borderline villages, thus promoting the development of the local communities. Hrant Vardanyan built the St. Thaddeus Church in the town of Masis in Armenia.
Family
Hrant Vardanyan was born into the family of Mikael Vardanyan and Shushanik Sargsyan. He has two sisters Rima and Rosa. His grandmother and grandfather were victims of the 1915 Armenian Genocide in the village of Hinis, Western Armenia. At the age of 7 Hrant Vardanyan lost his father. He met his wife Zina Muruzyan while studying at the Polytechnic Institute. They got married in 1972. Hrant Vardanyan has two sons Mikael and Karen, and six grandchildren, Isabella, Zina, Hrant, Daniel, Mark and Aksel.
Awards
In 1999, the Medal of Anania Shirakatsi was awarded to Hrant Vardanian by the President of Armenia for his contribution to the restoration of national production.
In 2009, for the first time in the history of the independent Armenia, Hrant Vardanyan was awarded the title of Honored Worker of Economy of the RA by the President of Armenia.
On December 20, 2014, the President of Armenia posthumously awarded Hrant Vardanyan the Order for "Serving the Motherland”, 1st Class for his personal contribution to the development of national economy.
Gortsaranayin Street in Masis town, Republic of Armenia, was renamed after Hrant Vardanyan on February 5, 2019.
