Chief Development Officer at Cisco Mario Mazzola to be granted Armenian President’s IT Award

The Armenian President’s 2014 Award for Global Contribution in the Area of Information Technologies (IT) will be granted to the Chief Development Officer at Cisco Systems Mario Mazzola.

The winner was announced by the Chairman of Executive Board of the Award, Synopsis Armenia Executive Director Hovik Musayelyan today.

“Cisco is one of the outstanding companies in the IT and telecommunication sectors. It’s one of the leaders of next generation data centers and engineering solutions and the fact that the company’s Chief Development Officer Mario Mazzola agreed to arrive in Armenia despite his busy schedule is very important for us”, he said.

Mario Mazzola will arrive in Armenia on November 9. The official awards ceremony will be held in the Armenian presidential residence on November 11.

Hovik Musayelyan noted that each laureate of the award is somehow linked to Armenia every year becoming our country’s “Ambassador”.

Former Chief Executive Officer, Chairman of Board of Intel Corporation Craig Barrett was the first holder of the Armenian President’s Award for the outstanding contribution to the IT sector (2010). In 2011, co-founder of Apple Computer Corporation Steve Wozniak came to Armenia to get the award and he gave an exclusive interview to Mediamax. The third prize holder was the Honorary President of Synaptics, President of Federico and Elvia Faggin Foundation Federico Faggin and the Award went to Chairman of Semiconductor Industry Association, former Hitachi CEO Tsugio Makimoto in 2013.

“These prominent people are paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to deliver a lecture in any other country. However, visiting Armenia and being granted the Award here, we have the opportunity to meet them without spending large amounts. Owing to these people, Armenia becomes more recognizable on the map of global IT field. They bring their experience, new business culture, mindset, meeting with our students and bringing them even closer to the global technological processes”, said Hovik Musayelyan.

In his turn, President of the Committee of the Award, Head of Armenian President’s Staff Vigen Sargsyan said that it’s already the fifth year that the Award has served its goal and ideology making Armenia more visible on the global IT map.

“The prerequisite for the Award is that the holder should arrive in Armenia by all means. During the visit, he shares his experience, inspires our young people, conducts master classes meeting with IT representatives. After the visits, the prize holders maintain contacts with Armenia. For instance, laureate in 2012 Federico Faggin expressed the will to arrive in Armenia this year and attend the awards ceremony. Last year’s winner, former Hitachi CEO Tsugio Makimoto started writing a book about Armenia and IT sector in Armenia. It comes to prove once more that the Award serves its goal”, said Vigen Sargsyan.

Member of the international committee of the Award, General Manager of VivaCell-MTS, the sponsor of the Award, Ralph Yirikian said that VivaCell-MTS encourages all the initiatives which help make Armenia’s image more complete and comprehensible.

“It’s already the fifth year that our company has been sponsoring the Award for Global Contribution in the IT Area, a program, which strengthens Armenia’s positive image as a major competitor in the global IT sector”, said Ralph Yirikian.