Garo H. Armen ( arm, Կարո Արմեն) is an

American-Armenian Armenian Americans ( hy, ամերիկահայեր, ''amerikahayer'') are citizens or residents of the United States who have total or partial Armenian ancestry. They form the second largest community of the Armenian diaspora after Armenians in ...

scientist and philanthropist. He is the founder and chairman of the Children of Armenia Fund (COAF), as well as co-founder and CEO of Agenus, Inc.

Early life

An ethnic Armenian, Armen was born in Istanbul, Turkey, in 1953, and immigrated to the United States as a teenager to attend university, eventually earning his PhD in physical chemistry from the

City University of New York The City University of New York ( CUNY; , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven Upper divis ...

Career

After earning his PhD, Armen worked as a research associate at the Brookhaven National Laboratory and taught as an associate professor at the Merchant Marine Academy. He then served as an analyst and investment banker, focusing on chemical and pharmaceutical industries, first at

E.F. Hutton EF Hutton was an American stock brokerage firm founded in 1904 by Edward Francis Hutton and his brother, Franklyn Laws Hutton. Later, it was led by well known Wall Street trader Gerald M. Loeb. Under their leadership, EF Hutton became one of ...

, then at Dean Witter Reynolds (now Morgan Stanley). In 1993, Armen had a leading role in the creation of

Immunex Amgen Inc. (formerly Applied Molecular Genetics Inc.) is an American multinational biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California. One of the world's largest independent biotechnology companies, Amgen was established in ...

. From 1994 to 2006, Armen served on the Board of Directors at Elan, an Irish pharmaceutical firm; as chairman, he is widely credited with rescuing the company from financial ruin. Currently, he serves as Executive Chairman at Protagenic Therapeutics. In 1994, Armen co-founded Agenus, Inc (formerly Antigenics), a biotechnology company focused on personalized medicine in immune-oncology. He currently serves as the CEO, and as the Chairman for MiNK Therapeutics, a subsidiary company.

Humanitarian work

Armen is also the founder and chairman of the Children of Armenia Fund, established in 2004. The NGO empowers rural Armenians through initiatives focused on education, healthcare, social advancement, and economic development. As of 2022, COAF has brought resources to 107,239+ Armenians across 63 rural communities.

Honors

In 2016, the Immigrant Learning Center in Malden, MA named Armen an Immigrant Entrepreneur of the Year. In 2004, Armen received the prestigious Ellis Island Medal of Honor for his humanitarian efforts in Armenia. In 2002, Ernst & Young recognized Armen as the NYC Biotechnology Entrepreneur of the Year.

References

External links

Garo Armen - Armeniapedia.org

Children of Armenia Fund Video Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Armen, Garo. H 1953 births Living people American people of Armenian descent American technology chief executives Armenian businesspeople Washington University in St. Louis alumni Cornell University alumni Turkish businesspeople Turkish people of Armenian descent EF Hutton people American physical chemists