Interview of “Management Mix” Consulting and Training Company CEO Raffy Semerdjian to Mediamax and Banks.am portal

- Management Mix provides consulting and training services in management in a number of countries. So, it would be interesting to know your opinion in comparison: what are the advantages and the weak sides of the generalized character of an Armenian manager? How appropriate is it to speak here about peculiarities of the mentality?

- We can divide the values and the culture of managers in Armenia into 4 categories:

The first one is a category with a post-soviet thinking. The managers have the syndrome of losing something, that’s why they do everything to keep the power I their hands. Discipline, power games, threat, fear are some of the tools used by them. They rather prefer to stay away from modern techniques due to the “fear of the unknown”. Some of them recruit some specialists in HR or Quality or even Marketing. However the presence of such talents is short term, as they use such companies as launch pads and leave them whenever a good opportunity occurs.

The second category is the traditional one. They are more interested in short term gain and profit, and they try to avoid expenses in strategy, marketing, talents. Their main aim is to make fast wins.

The third category involves modern managers, who implement some modern techniques in management such as giving importance to Customer Satisfaction.

And finally, the forth category includes postmodern or visionary managers. They have a strategic thinking, they are visionary, they are interested of satisfying all stakeholders of the company, including but not limited to customers, shareholders, employees, partners and the society. There are such managers in Armenia, but their number is very few.

- In Armenia, your company mainly works with the big business, including the banks and other financial units. What products are mostly required by companies working in the financial sphere?

- We work with major banks and organizations, but we also work with middle type organizations that are being interested in our expertise that we developed in North-America, Europe, Middle East and since the year 1999 in Armenia.

The main expertise required in Armenia is the best practices of marketing with its wide meaning, and not only with its promotional advertising meaning as it’s applied in Armenia. The banks require methodologies for new products and services, new placing policies, new pricing schemes and indeed new and not conventional promotional methodologies.

- As it’s known, Management Mix has enlarged the package of its services. Would you introduce some of them?

- We traditionally deliver trainings and consultancy. Lately we have developed a Guide, copyrighted in France, where we cover all the aspects of management such as strategy. We have developed a strategy for some banks and companies, and for some others we have developed their Process Management, their HR Management System, their Marketing, their selling, etc.

Lately we have also developed a new expertise and we called it “Turn-Key systems” where we attract new investors that are coming with their technologies and resources to Armenia. In this regard, we have already attracted some institutional investors and succeeded to assure some investments in Armenia.

Today we design and develop macro-programs, which will be realized soon and we will introduce them to the public once they are put into practice.

- What do you think, what are the main constraints in attracting potential investors to Armenia?

- The main constraints in attracting investments are the lack of markets and the cost of transport in importing material, the cost of customs for industries.

For banks, the major constraint is the cost of capital, as the deposits in the Armenian banking system are limited to less than 2.5 billion dollars. The profit of all banks doesn’t exceed 100 million dollars all banks included.

Nevertheless, Armenia also has different advantages such as the land price, the existing industrial culture, the lack of intensity of the competition in several industries.

I should say that we succeeded in attracting some investors in the banking, real estate and industries, especially renewable energies and agro-industry.

- Pan-Armenian Bank was founded in Armenia last year. Would you please tell us what hopes you have with this structure? Do you know what our compatriots living abroad expect from this bank?

- The idea of the Pan-Armenian Bank is great, as it will attract capital from abroad and invest it in Armenia. It is very important that the deposits are guaranteed by the government, as the government is a shareholder.

- Mr. Semerdjian, do you often visit Armenia and do you come here mainly for business?

- I lived in France, Canada and USA. Now my family lives in Lebanon. I have been coming to Armenia since 1990. I have my family home in Echmiadzin and in Yerevan, and I have a lot of friends here and enjoy my presence. Our family procedure is that we are in Armenia every year in family also, especially in summer.

Raffy Semerdjian was interviewed by Khoren Ormanyan