Paul Kazarian - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Paul B. Kazarian is an American investor, financier, businessperson, and philanthropist

Philanthropist

A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...

. He is currently the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Japonica Partners, an entrepreneur

Entrepreneur

An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...

ial co-investment firm.

Business

Japonica Partners has overseen the creation of approximately $2.0 billion in shareholder

Shareholder

A shareholder or stockholder is an individual or institution that legally owns one or more shares of stock in a public or private corporation. Shareholders own the stock, but not the corporation itself ....

wealth

Wealth

Wealth is the abundance of valuable resources or material possessions. The word wealth is derived from the old English wela, which is from an Indo-European word stem...

. A long-time industry innovator, Japonica has achieved entrepreneurial returns with low risk. It is distinguished by its “perfectly aligned” not-a-fund structure, and its best co-investors are strategic economic relationships (“SERs”), which include some of the most high value add investors in the world who have individually had over $500 million with Japonica.

Japonica's major situations include: the $630 million reorganization of 12 Allegheny International businesses; creating Sunbeam-Oster, a Fortune 356 global consumer products company; a $1.6 billion white knight

White knight (business)

In business, a white knight, or "friendly investor," may be a corporation or a person that intends to help another firm. There are many types of white knights...

tender offer for Chicago Northwestern; and a proactive $2.4 billion proposal to rejuvenate Borden

Borden (company)

Borden, Inc., was an American producer of food and beverage products, consumer products, and industrial products. At one time, the company was the largest U.S. producer of dairy and pasta products. Its food division, Borden Foods, was based in Columbus, Ohio, and focused primarily on pasta and...

, the beleaguered $7 billion conglomerate.

Philanthropy

In 1993, Mr. Kazarian established two non-profit foundations whose charitable missions include economic development

Economic development

Economic development generally refers to the sustained, concerted actions of policymakers and communities that promote the standard of living and economic health of a specific area...

, education

Education

Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...

, and technology

Technology

Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...

. The first one is named in honor of his grandparents, The Charles and Agnes Kazarian Eternal Foundation. The CAKE Foundation mandated USD 52 million for 2006 alternative asset allocation. The USD 52 million mandate is 18% of the Foundation's USD 291 million projected five-year alternative asset mandate.

Among other philanthropic initiatives, Mr. Kazarian is involved with the Asia Society

Asia Society

The Asia Society is a non-profit organization that focuses on educating the world about Asia. It has several centers in the United States and around the world Hong Kong, Manila, Mumbai, Seoul, Shanghai, and Melbourne...

. In 2004, he co-chaired Asia Society’s annual dinner, “The China Connection.”

He also chaired the American India Foundation

American India Foundation

The American India Foundation is a nonprofit American organization that is devoted to accelerating social and economic change in India...

’s fifth annual spring awards gala on April 30, 2008 in NYC and was honored at AIF's Boston Gala on November 13, 2010 for his role in philanthropic leadership in India. In addition, the Kazarian Foundation announced an investment of US$1.8M in a Knowledge Partnership with AIF as part of a US$10M Knowledge Partnership initiative.

Mr. Kazarian is also Committee Chairman for a 2010 Singapore Heritage Celebration and on Jan. 10, 2011, Mr. Kazarian delivered the opening address for a Knowledge Partnership for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Singapore)

Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Singapore)

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is a ministry of the Government of Singapore responsible for conducting and managing diplomatic relations between Singapore and other countries. It is headed by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the office currently held by K...

and the Singapore Cooperation Programme

Singapore Cooperation Programme

The Singapore Cooperation Programme is a series of programmes conducted by the Government of Singapore to facilitate the sharing with other developing countries the technical and systems skills that Singapore has learned and acquired over the years. Technical assistance focuses on training and...

Career history

Since 1987, Mr. Kazarian has been Chairman & CEO of Japonica Partners and The Charles & Agnes Kazarian Eternal Foundation.

Prior to Japonica’s inception in 1987, Mr. Kazarian was an investment banker at Goldman, Sachs & Co. His clients were diverse, ranging from global Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 multi-nationals and emerging growth companies to quasi-government organizations.

From 1990 to 1993, Mr. Kazarian was Chairman and CEO of Sunbeam-Oster

Sunbeam Products

Sunbeam Products is an American brand that has produced electric home appliances since 1910. Their products have included the Mixmaster mixer, the Sunbeam CG waffle iron, Coffeemaster and the fully automatic T20 toaster. Sunbeam is owned by Jarden Consumer Solutions after Jarden's acquisition in...

during its rejuvenation from Allegheny International.

Education

Mr. Kazarian received his MBA from Columbia University

Columbia University

Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

, his MA

Master of Arts (postgraduate)

A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...

from Brown University

Brown University

Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...

, and his undergraduate degree from Bates College

Bates College

Bates College is a highly selective, private liberal arts college located in Lewiston, Maine, in the United States. and was most recently ranked 21st in the nation in the 2011 US News Best Liberal Arts Colleges rankings. The college was founded in 1855 by abolitionists...

. Mr. Kazarian has guest lectured and spoken on both business and philanthropy at Harvard Business School

Harvard Business School

Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...

, Columbia Business School

Columbia Business School

Columbia Business School is the business school of Columbia University in Manhattan, New York City. It was established in 1916 to provide business training and professional preparation for undergraduate and graduate Columbia University students...

, Dartmouth's Tuck Business School, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and the National School of Development at Peking University

Peking University

Peking University , colloquially known in Chinese as Beida , is a major research university located in Beijing, China, and a member of the C9 League. It is the first established modern national university of China. It was founded as Imperial University of Peking in 1898 as a replacement of the...

Business

Philanthropy

Career history

Education

External links

Further reading