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Future Forward
Hagop and Iroula Manuelian plant their stake in tomorrow
We are all committed to giving back, especially to AGBU. You could say that my father’s legacy lives on.
Lisa Jerejian, Jay Watson
Over the years, Hagop Manuelian and his wife Iroula have actively supported a variety of projects to improve the lives of Armenians. The California-based couple’s generous contributions have also extended to many AGBU-led initiatives through the AGBU Opportunity Fund, a general-purpose, annual-giving vehicle that supports or supplements existing programs and new initiatives, as well as the global operations of the organization.
The Manuelians are also AGBU Global Relief Fund donors, supporting humanitarian disasters whenever and wherever they may impact Armenians.
“We wanted to help the displaced and those affected by the 2023 crisis in Artsakh,” Manuelian explains.
Born in Lebanon in 1938, Hagop Manuelian was raised in an AGBU family. “I attended events at the club and was interested in the benevolent aspect of the organization,” he says.
Following in the footsteps of his father Atam, a highly respected doctor who provided free medical services to the underprivileged, Manuelian attended the American University of Beirut, where he studied civil engineering. It is there that he met the love of his life Iroula, a business administration undergraduate of Greek-Cypriot descent.
Although Manuelian excelled in his studies, the pressure of tuition fees weighed heavily on him. “Burdening my parents financially was a real concern, so I applied for a five-year scholarship from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation,” he says. Fortunately, the scholarship was granted.
Years after his graduation, Manuelian had the opportunity to meet with Mikhael Essayan—grand-son of Calouste Gulbenkian—in London. “When I asked Gulbenkian’s grandson how I could repay the foundation’s generosity to me, he replied: ‘You don’t owe us anything; we just hope that you do the same for others in the future.’ That stayed with me.”
Manuelian’s successful career in construction was followed by real estate development in the States. Iroula spent more than a decade with Bank of America as a foreign exchange trader—the only woman in a 300-strong team—before going back to school to study interior design and start her own business. Sandra and George, the couple’s children, were raised to be proud of their rich Armenian culture and heritage. As active citizens and AGBU members, they participated in the organization’s summer internship program and subsequently joined the AGBU Young Professionals network in San Francisco.
Indeed, compassion and service run deep in the Manuelian household. Sandra continues the family mantra of paying it forward by advising Armenian startups seeking venture capital, while George supports investment in Armenian companies and provides internship opportunities to high-school and college students.
Their father, Hagop Manuelian, concludes: “We are all committed to giving back, especially to AGBU. You could say that my father’s legacy lives on.”
November 20, 2024
