Yerevan /Mediamax/. Following a tenure of 22 years as President of the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) with 47 years as Central Board member, Berge Setrakian will retire this fall from his position in accordance with the age limit requirements of the bylaws of AGBU.

On February 24, the AGBU Central Board, with the approval of the AGBU Council of Trustees, unanimously recommended the nomination of Sam Simonian as his successor and the organization’s eighth president.

Simonian will be formally elected at AGBU’s 93rd General Assembly to be held in New York City on October 12, 2024 and Setrakian shall join the Council of Trustees.

Simonian is currently a member of the AGBU Council of Trustees following his service on the Central Board from 2000 to 2019.

Sam and Sylva Simonians founded the TUMO Center for Creative Technologies in Armenia. Since launching the flagship TUMO Center, the brand has reached the far corners of Armenia and expanded to multiple cities around the world.

“Sam Simonian is highly qualified to run an organization of the size, scope and reach of AGBU. Sam respects the AGBU legacy, passionately believes in its core mission, yet recognizes that for a venerable institution like ours to thrive, change must be embraced and harnessed responsibly and strategically. I am sure that Sam, with the assistance of the Board, will lead AGBU with the same boldness of action that he has exemplified throughout his inspired career,” Berge Setrakian said.

“I am proud to stand on the shoulders of seven great leaders who, informed by the events and experience of their time, have brought AGBU to where it is today, after over a century of a proud history. I pay special tribute to Berge Setrakian, with whom I worked closely during his tenure, for his lifelong commitment and leadership in serving the organization. Through the years of our engagement with AGBU, Sylva and I developed a close personal relationship with Vera and Berge and their friendship is dear to us,” Sam Simonian said.