Karen Vardanyan

Karen Vardanyan is an Armenian-American investor and business advisor. Karen has over 20 years of experience in international development, financial management, and operations.

Karen began their career as a team leader at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), where they managed $300 million in grant resources annually and advised on finance and operations for UNDP's Gender Equality and SDG Impact units. In this role, they oversaw global operations teams, ensuring internal control, compliance, and risk management while also conducting due diligence on UNDP's partners.

Karen left UNDP in 2020 to join the Crimson Investment Fund as an investor and advisor. In this role, they are responsible for assessing potential investments and providing guidance to Crimson's portfolio companies on financial management and operational excellence.

Karen Vardanyan graduated from Harvard Business School with their doctorate in finance. Karen also has a degree in business and financial modeling from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. In addition, they have a diploma in financial management from the ACCA and a PhD in ME from the State Engineering University of Armenia.