Magdalena Yesil
Board Member at SoFi, Picsart, Plume, BAZ Therapeutics
Founding Board Member, Salesforce
Magdalena Yesil is Co-Founder and Executive Chair of Informed.IQ, an AI company serving the financial services industry. She currently serves on the boards of SoFi, Smartsheet, Picsart, and Plume, and was the first investor and founding board member of Salesforce.
A serial entrepreneur, investor, and technology pioneer, Yesil began her career as a semiconductor design engineer and has spent decades shaping Silicon Valleyā€™s technology ecosystem. She founded three companies focused on internet access, e-commerce infrastructure, and electronic payments, and later served as a general partner at US Venture Partners before founding Broadway Angels, a network of women technology investors. Her entrepreneurial work earned her Entrepreneur of the Year from Red Herring Magazine, and she is also a recipient of the Fearless Leader Award from WomenOnBoards.
Yesil is the author of Power Up! How Smart Women Win in the New Economy and Creating the Virtual Store.
Born in Istanbul and of Armenian heritage, she holds both an M.S. in Electrical Engineering and a B.S. in Industrial Engineering and Management Science from Stanford University.
Hakob Janesian (BSDS ā€™24)
Business Analyst at Flagship Pioneering
Hakob Janesian is a Business Analyst at Flagship Pioneering. He received his Master's degree in Data Science from Boston University and earned his Bachelor's degree in Data Science (Business Analytics track) at the American University of Armenia.
Born into a family of Syrian-Armenian repatriates, Hakob grew up in Yerevan, where his early interest in mathematics and working with data led him to study in AUAā€™s Data Science program. During his military service, which overlapped with the 44-day Artsakh War in 2020, he served as an anti-aircraft missile system operator. After returning, he continued his studies with renewed purpose.
During the final semester of his undergraduate studies, Hakob participated in a student exchange program at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. During his graduate studies at Boston University, he worked as a Data Science Project Manager at BU Spark!, an innovation and experiential lab.
Through his work at Flagship Pioneering, Hakob sees how ambitious ideas can evolve into biotech companies focused on improving human health. He aims to carry that same forward-thinking mindset throughout his career.
At AUA, Hakob received the In Honor of Stanley M. Brown Scholarship and Armenian Educational Foundation Scholarship.
Emmy Bejanyan
Emmy Bejanyan, better known as Emmy is an award-winning Armenian singer. Born in Yerevan into an artistic family, Emmy's mother, Nadezhda Sargsyan, was an acclaimed singer and actress recognized as Honorary Culture Artist of Armenia. Her father, David Bejanyan was a renowned sculptor and a jazz pianist, whose sculptures can be found in cities of the world, including Yerevan. This creative legacy shaped Emmy's artistic path from an early age.
Her career launched in 1993 with the release of her first song and video "Hayastan." She sang and toured with folk-pop quartet Hayer from 1994 to 2000, before going solo and recording her first album in 2006. Emmy has represented Armenia at more than 40international vocal competitions, taking home top prizes across Europe, Middle East and beyond. Emmy also participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 and served as a judge on the Armenian edition of The X Factor.
Beyond performing, she founded and runs Emmy-B Production Center, a music production company dedicated to discovering and nurturing young musical talent in Armenia. Emmy is also involved with the AGBU Manoogian-Demirdjian School, where her two sons are enrolled, and serves on multiple event committees.
