Bethlehem, Pa., November 19, 2015— Moravian College will welcome alumnus Michael Karapetian ’97, founder, president, and CIO of Lazari Asset Management, Inc. to campus for a forum that explores the path to becoming a successful entrepreneur. The event will be attended by students, alumni, and community members on Saturday, November 21, 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Priscilla Payne Hurd Academic Complex. To register for the event visit www.eventbrite.com
The forum will have public sessions about the "do’s and don'ts" when starting a business. It will feature a student-centered business case competition highlighting proposed business plans created by Moravian College students. The students who present the top three proposals will win cash prizes to use as seed money for their business ventures.
The event will begin at 9 a.m. with registration and a continental breakfast. Karapetian will give the keynote address at 10 a.m. Karapetian has over 18 years of investment management experience as a value contrarian money manager, with a large emphasis on conservative dividend and interest income.
Karapetian and his team of associates currently manage $418 million in assets, which comprises of domestic, international, individual, and corporate clients. Prior to founding his firms in 2003, Karapetian was a high-end money manager for Bank of America. His duties included establishing model portfolios for high net worth clients with a minimum investment of $1 million. In 1998, Mr. Karapetian was a money manager and co-advisor for Summit Bank and its proprietary owned mutual fund, the Pillar Value Fund.
Additionally, Karapetian is the Founder and Managing Director of Calibos Sports Management, LLC. As a registered sports agent,he primarily represents NBA and NFL talent.. Karapetian holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Management/Finance from Moravian College.
Following the address , Dan Petrozzo ’91, co-founder of Verilume and AJ Leahy, along with the president and CEO of POM-CO, will present “How to Start Your Start-Up: Lessons Learned.” Steve Boerner, the founder and president of Hatch House Ventures, LLC, will lead the discussion, “Learn to Think Differently: How Our Attitude Influences Our Success, at 11:15 a.m.” Then at 12:00 p.m. Robert Kafafian ’77, president and CEO of the Kafafian Group, Inc., will discuss, “Life’s Decisions at the Crossroads.”
For all those that attend the symposium lunch will be held at 12:45 p.m. while Cynthia Kosso, provost and dean of the faculty at Moravian College will present, “An Inside Look at the Best Local College: Moravian College.”
The final round of student presentations will take place at 2:00 p.m. the. The closing presentation will begin, hosted by Jane Wells Schooley, who is the internationally certified business coach of Northstar Team Development. She will lead the presentation, “Want to be a Super Hero? Be an Entrepreneur!” 3:00 p.m. Following the closing ,Karapetian and Professor Gary Kaskowitz, the chair of Moravian College department of economics and business, will give the awards in entrepreneurship and the closing remarks.
Moravian College encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. Anyone who anticipates needing any type of accommodation or who has questions about the physical access provided should Michael Wilson at 610-861-1365 or wilsonm@moravian.edu prior to visiting Moravian.
Moravian College is a private coeducational liberal arts college, offering undergraduate and graduate degrees, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. For over 270 years, the Moravian College degree has been based on a liberal arts curriculum where literature, history, cultural values and global issues, ethics, and aesthetic expression and the social sciences are infused with multidisciplinary perspectives. Visit www.moravian.edu to learn more about how the Moravian College liberal arts curriculum prepares its students for life-long success.