About Dikran Sarkis Izmirlian

Dikran Sarkis Izmirlian was an accomplished global investor and philanthropist with more than 65 years of experience in international financial markets and the management of diverse business enterprises. His business investments covered a variety of industry sectors, including, among others, oil seed commodities, agricultural and intralogistics equipment manufacturing, and real estate.

Izmirlian was integrally involved with the ongoing building and growth of the Izmirlian family businesses, which date back to 1902 in the Sudan. These original businesses included cotton farming, cotton and oil seed exports, the importation and distribution of agricultural machinery including for John Deere, manufacturing of air conditioning equipment under license to Carrier International, and contracting. After the 1970 nationalization by the Sudanese government of a number of these industries, Izmirlian formed a new base of business operations from Geneva, Switzerland.

Over the next five decades, Izmirlian successfully established a wide-ranging group of businesses involving, initially, commodities trading operations such as the group’s peanut commodities business, the largest processor and exporter of peanuts in the world with processing plants in the United States, Africa, and Latin America, and later expanding to manufacturing as the global leader in cotton ginning and oil seed processing equipment.

Izmirlian broadened the Izmirlian group’s business presence into substantial commercial and agricultural real estate holdings in Europe and the United States, which has included, among others, MORE LONDON, a 13-acre office complex directly fronting London’s River Thames and Tower Bridge with 3 million square feet of offices (with London’s iconic City Hall, Ernst & Young, and PWC amongst its many other prestigious tenants) and the Hilton London Tower Bridge.

In honor of his parents and his heritage, Izmirlian established the Izmirlian Foundation in Armenia with the simple aim of “helping to preserve a nation.” During its approximately 30 years of presence in Armenia, the Izmirlian Foundation has launched and implemented diverse initiatives in areas such as education, healthcare, tourism, and economic development, as well as technology and innovation initiatives. He was the recipient of the highest title of Armenia – the National Hero, and the highest award — the Medal of the Fatherland.

Izmirlian graduated from Victoria College in Alexandria, Egypt, and earned a B.S. in economics with high honors from the University of Illinois as well as an MBA from the Harvard Business School.