Hovhannes Harutyunyan began his career at HSBC Bank Armenia, where he led bank-wide transformation programmes together with the process and risk controls that underpinned them. That early grounding in governance and internal control has shaped his approach to every operating role since. He is now a certified Project Management Professional (PMP®).

Over more than a decade, he has carried this discipline from banking into multi-unit hospitality, holding senior leadership positions across some of Armenia's best-known food and beverage brands. He served as Chief Operating Officer of Coffee House Armenia, the country's largest coffee chain, and as Chief Executive Officer of both Cofix Armenia and Santafe Café & Restaurant, roles in which he built the operational systems, controls and standards required to run hospitality businesses at scale.

Today, Hovhannes is Director of Network Operations for a five-brand restaurant group in Yerevan - Wine Republic, ThaiWine Republic, Kebab Lab, Asador and Mao, where he governs operations across the network and leads its digitalisation and expansion. He also advises the leadership of Liberanda Digital on regulatory, operational and market-entry matters, bringing a governance-led perspective to strategy in a fast-moving sector.