The Central Board of the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) established AGBU Europe on January 1st 2008, for coordinating and developing the Pan-European activities of the various chapters in Europe. AGBU Europe promotes important initiatives in areas as diverse as academic research, conservation and promotion of heritage, culture, education and Armenian language teaching and European policies, training of association leaders and children and youth activities.

AGBU Europe office
11 square Alboni
75016 Paris
Tel +33 1 45 20 03 18
Fax: +33 1 40 50 88 09
Email: contact@agbueurope.org
Site: www.agbueurope.org

Goriz, the new leaders
Promotion of the Armenian heritage
Support for teaching of Armenian langage & Armenian civilization
Foundation for a strong leadership base

AGBU Europe Board of Directors

Chairman
Alexis Govciyan(France)

Special Advisors (France)
Sona Attamian
Michel Sabbagh (France)

Members
Richard Abdalian (France)
Armine Afrikian ( England)
Astrid Alexanian (Austria)
Sonia Avakian-Bedrosian (Bulgaria)
Nathalie Bouquet(France)
Roupen Chavoushian (Bulgaria)
Eric Dadian (France)
Nadia Gortzounian (France)
Krikor Istanboulli(Italy)
Annie Jafalian(France)
Garbis Keshishian (Greece)
Philippe Panossian (France)
Nicolas Tavitian(Belgium)

Biographies

Alexis GOVCIYAN
A former student of Essayan and Mekhitaryan schools of Istanbul, Alexis Govciyan was appointed president of AGBU Europe on January 1, 2008. Director of the Institut Supérieur des Metiers (France), he is currently a board member of the National Fund for Promoting and Communicating on Crafts. He has actively contributed to the vote of the law on the recognition of the Armenian genocide by France. A. Govciyan is also President of the Coordination Council of Armenian organisations in France (CCAF national) and a member of the religious association of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
Mr. Govciyan was awarded the “Legion of Honour”, the “National Order of Merit” and the “Palmes Académiques” medals. He is the author of the book entitled “April 24: testimony on the recognition by France of the 1915 Armenian genocide, published by “Editions Cherche Midi in 2003″. He was elected councillor of Ile de France in 2010 and the first President of the friendship group between the Region of Ile-de-France and Armenia.

Sona ATTAMIAN
Mrs. Attamian is a consultant in the luxury goods market in Paris, working with top French fashion designers, and for event organizing and political fundraising. She has been an active member of AGBU France Committee for a number of years and was the lead organizer of the Paris AGBU Centennial events in December 2006. She is also a member of the Armenian Apostolic Church Organizing Committee for the newly created Diocese of France, as of December 2007.

Michel SABBAGH
Born in Paris, France, Mr. Sabbagh was an Internal Auditor at the Lincoln/Electrolux group, then Financial and Administrative Director at Sodexho, Bouygues Immobilier and Lionweld Kennedy France. He is an active member of AGBU France since 1974 and AGBU Paris Chairman from 1981 to 1990. He is Treasurer of AGBU France since July 2001 and AGBU Europe Treasurer since January 2008. He is also a member of various French non-profit associations.

Richard ABDALIAN
A native of Paris, France, Mr. Abdalian is vice-president of Universal Music Group International, world’s leading music company. He manages UM Digital Operations in developing markets such as Central and Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, Middle East and Africa. Mr. Abdalian is the founder of two companies in the Telecom field: Technical Solutions and Entertainment Services. He is a telecom engineer and graduate of ESCP (Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Paris). Mr. Abdalian has been active in Armenian organizations since youth and particularly at AGBU and at the Yan’s Club since 2001.

Armine AFRIKIAN
A native of Armenia, Mrs. Afrikian has been living in the UK for over 15 years. She was the founder and President of YP London prior to joining the AGBU London board where she currently is the Honorary Treasurer. She is working as an Accountant in London.

Asdghig ALEXANIAN
Mrs. Alexanian was nominated Honorary Consul of Austria in Alexandria in 1987 and Honorary Consul General in 2004, in charge of Austrian Commercial and Cultural Affaires. She is currently President of A. Alexanian Group of Companies in the tobacco industry and is a member of the board and shareholder of the Egyptian Textile Industries SAE. She has been a member of AGBU for the past 49 years, is President of the Armenian Cultural Center Dikran Yergat since 2004 and has been involved in various Armenian Community services. Mrs. Alexanian was bestowed the “Decoration of Honour in Gold for Services to the Republic of Austria” in January 2008.

Sonia AVAKIAN-BEDROSSIAN
Mrs. Avakian-Bedrossian is vice-president of Softrade Ltd Company. She is the representative agent of Constellation Spirits Inc. – USA in Bulgaria. She is a member of the National Council of Collaboration on Ethnic and Demographic issues at the Ministerial Council of the Republic
of Bulgaria. In 2007, she joined the Executive Council of UBI-France Bulgaria (France-Bulgaria Partnership) and is a board member of the National Council of multi-cultural and ethnic issues at the Bulgarian Ministry of Culture. Mrs. Avakian-Bedrossian successfully spearheaded the new AGBU Sofia Chamber Orchestra. Born in Bulgaria, she graduated  the Hripsimiantz Armenian College in Beirut, Lebanon, Since 1990 she is living in Bulgaria and since 1995 till present is the AGBU Sofia Chairperson.

Nathalie BOUQUET
Nathalie Bouquet is a graduate in private law and international law, and holds the CAPA (certificat d’aptitude à la profession d’avocat).As a lawyer, she worked from 1987 to 2000 for the law firms Freshfields, Jeantet & Associés and Soulez Larivière on issues of merges and acquisitions and litigation.From 2000 to 2008, she carried out missions to provide advice and institutional support, particularly to the National Bar Council and international groups (New technologies, telecommunication and finance).UMP National Secretary in charge of law and justice from 2002 to 2004, she has written a white book entitled “How to improve the proximity of law and justice?”She ran for the 2004 regional elections in Ile-de-France, and the 2002 legislative elections in the 9th district of Val-de-Marne (Alfortville and Vitry).

Today, she is the vice-president of Krief Group and Bernard Krief Institutional.As such, she is in charge of the development of the Krief Group and advises key accounts of Bernard Krief Institutional in France and the United States, on development strategy on both institutional stakes and relations with policy makers.She was awarded the distinction of Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur in September 2010.

Roupen CHAVOUSHIAN
Born in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, Mr. Chavoushian created a company with the exclusive distribution rights for Schwarzkopf Professional hair products and cosmetics firms Keller, Holiday, Insetta and Sabel, which he has been operating since 1989. He is a board member of the “Surp Kevork” Church Committee and a member of the main Church Committee of Bulgaria. He holds a BA degree from the Pedagogical Institute in Bulgaria. Mr. Chavoushian is one of the main founders of the re-opened AGBU Plovdiv, where he has served two terms as Treasurer and two terms as President.

Eric DADIAN
Mr. Dadian is president of the Association Française des Centres Relation Clients (AFRC), the French Federation of call centers, and CEO of Intra Call Center. He is a specialist in the field and works for clients like Mattel, Bouygues Telecom and Coca Cola. Mr. Dadian was an adviser to Gilles de Robien, former Minister of Public Works and Education. He is a member of the executive board of the Groupement des Professions de Services (MEDEF). He leads a circle of Armenian professionals (CPA) that meets every two months around a theme and a personality. Born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, Mr. DADIAN is a graduate of MSG Dauphine.

Nadia GORTZOUNIAN
Nadia Gortzounian is an M.D. and director of the Internal Medicine division of MSD (Merck Sharp & Dohme-Chibret) in Paris, France.

Krikor ISTANBOULLI
A native of Aleppo, Syria, Mr. Istanboulli was a member of the Italian Armenian Union board from 1994 to 1998 and of the AGBU Milan board from 1990 to 1998. He received his elementary and high school education from AGBU Lazar Najarian-Calouste Gulbenkian. He holds a Baccalaureate degree from Lebanon where he lived until 1982. He created his own business in jewellery and extended it to Kuwait. Mr. Istanboulli currently resides in Milan, Italy, and continues his business in jewellery.

Annie JAFALIAN
Ms. Jafalian is a Lecturer and Research Fellow at the Jean Moulin-Lyon III University. She is a geopolitical analyst, specialist of the Caucasus, with ten years of project management, field studies and information gathering in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Turkey, an experience she acquired while working as a “Chargé d’Étude” for the “Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique, F.R.S.” (Paris) from 2001 to 2006. Ms Jafalian has a DEA graduate degree in International Security and Defense from the Jean-Moulin-Lyon III University (France), and a DESS graduate degree in European Geopolitical studies from the University of Marne-la-Vallée (Paris XII). She has directed, published or contributed to many publications and articles on important contemporary topics, such as oil in Caucasus, the Karabagh situation, the security policies for Armenia and Azerbaijan, or the strategic and military stakes facing Russia and the United States. Ms. Jafalian is currently residing in Lyon (France).

Garbis KESHISHIAN
Mr. Keshishian is manager of the Corporate Planning Department at Consolidated Contractors Company, a construction firm. Since 1963, he has been a member of most AGBU AYA (Armenian Youth Association) committees in Beirut, and has chaired the AYA Beirut Executive Committee before moving to Athens in 1976. He has served in the AGBU Greece Board during 1998-2010. Mr. Keshishian graduated from the AGBU Hovaguimian-Manouguian school in Beirut and holds a degree in Civil Engineering from the American University of Beirut. Born in Aleppo, Syria, he currently resides in Athens, Greece.

Philippe PANOSSIAN
Born in Valence, France, Mr. Panossian is a Notary in “Panossian et Associés”, a practice with 5 partners and 30 employees. He graduated in “Gestion du Patrimoine” and practices in many legal domains including public and private law, family, and real estate for groups such as Bouygues Immobilier, Nexity, Kaufman & Broad or local governments. Mr. Panossian trains future notaries on urban planning law. AGBU Valence that he presides is very active in this town of Southern France where 10% of the population is of Armenian origin. Mr. Panossian spearheaded the organization of the concert of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Armenia in Valence during the “Year of Armenia” in France. He is currently developing an internship program for young students from Armenia.

Nicolas TAVITIAN
Nicolas Tavitian is an independent consultant specialized in EU affairs and currently works for the European Commission and Parliament, the WWF and other organizations. His areas of expertise include environmental policy and EU external policies, particularly in the Caucasus and the Black Sea region. He has been involved with EU policies of interest to Armenians, and developed a number of projects aiming to strengthen links and promote mutual understanding between Armenians and EU institutions, including AGBU and “Inside Europe”, a think tank. Mr. Tavitian lives in Brussels.