What do priests, IT executives and high school students all have in common? They all need decision-making skills and have all been trained in the art of negotiation by Stepan Khzrtian, a lawyer, entrepreneur and AGBU Manoogian-Demirdjian School alumnus who makes his home in Yerevan. Khzrtian is the founder of the international business law firm LegalLab Law Boutique and the co-founder of CEN Yerevan, a center aimed at improving the process of decision-making and policy-making in Armenia through workshops at all levels of society. Trained in law at Cambridge and in negotiation through courses at Harvard Law School, he strives to take international best practices and adapt them to local realities in Armenia to create a country of better leaders. He understands the mastery of negotiation skills as essential for political success, especially when interacting cross-culturally: “If Armenians are better negotiators on the foreign policy front, we will be more successful in developing our national interests on the international stage.” Launched in 2011, CEN Yerevan has trained clergymen from the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and officials from the National Assembly of Armenia along with students at the American University of Armenia and the Ayb High School. Khzrtian sees his work with CEN Yerevan as one of the many forms of entrepreneurship possible in Armenia: “In a developing country like Armenia, there is a lot of impact that we can have. The problems nagging at people create room to develop and offer solutions. If you are a young person in Armenia, it doesn’t make sense not to find yourself in the growth-oriented environment that comes with entrepreneurship.” With his dedication to crafting a bright future for Armenia, Khzrtian is helping to set the country up for success with CEN Yerevan and with all of his projects to come.
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