Sam Simonian, president of the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) and founder of the TUMO Center for Creative Technologies, received the Order for Services to the Motherland, Class I, from President Vahagn Khachaturyan at the President’s Residence in Yerevan.
Simonian was awarded the order on the occasion of Republic Day for his significant contribution to the development of education, science, culture and the economy, for his work preserving Armenian identity, and for many years of productive activity, the president’s office said.
Khachaturyan congratulated Simonian and praised his long years of service to the homeland. He wished him good health, new achievements and continued productive work.
Simonian founded TUMO in Yerevan in 2011 with his wife Sylva, funded through their Simonian Educational Foundation. The free afterschool program in technology and design has since expanded across Armenia and into Europe, and opened a center in Los Angeles. He chairs the boards of the TUMO Foundation and Teach For Armenia.
He was elected the eighth president of AGBU at the organization’s 93rd General Assembly in New York on October 12, 2024, succeeding Berge Setrakian, who led the union for 22 years. Simonian served on the AGBU Central Board from 2000 to 2019 and has sat on its Council of Trustees since.
Born in Beirut, Simonian graduated from the AGBU Hovagimian-Manougian School there before immigrating to the United States with his family. He earned a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington and co-founded the telecommunications company Inet Technologies in 1989. He is based in Dallas.
He received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in May 2000 and previously held the Anania Shirakatsi Medal, a state decoration of Armenia.
