“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
I believe harmony improves lives.
Classical piano performance was my life's first passion.
Growing up in Armenia, I spent countless hours practicing masterpieces by Bach, Mozart, Chopin… Pursuing a music career was a privilege I committed to with vigor and love. Even when Armenia's economy collapsed in the 1990s and my family, like all Armenians, struggled to find the basic necessities of life, I always found warmth and hope in playing the piano. Many circumstances ended my pursuit of a professional music career, but none of those could limit my passion for music.
My love for music is built on one beautiful concept: harmony. Many non-musicians perceive harmony as peace, but it is so much more. Harmony is combining notes simultaneously to create something beautiful, inspiring, powerful, rich, unique, emotional… It is impossible to achieve harmony with only one note.
Never could I have imagined I would find another passion in my life as fulfilling as music. Yet leading teams and bringing people together to achieve excellence energizes and moves me now in the same way playing the piano always has.
I commit to pursuing harmony as a leader. Harmony will not always mean agreement or order. It will however mean working together with candor and respect to create long-lasting, powerful impacts in the business world and in our communities.
— Astghik Poladyan