Bulgarian Association of Banks has an ethnic Armenian director who turns out to be a descendent of Genocide survivors.
Levon Hambardzumyan was born in 1953 to Armenian parents who had settled Bulgaria after escaping the massacres.
Hambardzumyan saw a peak in his career after the USSR’s collapse, becoming a champion in the counselling and auditing services. In 1997, he was elected as the Canada’s honorary consul in Sofia. In 2000, Hambardzumyan served as a deputy minister of economy; later the same year, he was appointed the executive director of an agency responsible for privatization affairs.
Hambardzumyan has been holding his current post since 2001. Also the same year, he became the chief executive of the UniCredit Bulbank.
In 2005, Finance Central Europe named him the Best Banker of the Year. Two years later, in 2007, he was named the Best Manager by the publication Manager of the Year. In 2008, Hambardzumyan was honored with the title Commendatore by then President of Italy Giorgio Napolitano.