Artak Kalantaryan: the Armenian from Microsoft
Artak Kalantaryan is a well-known Armenian programmer and among the first Armenians, who worked at Microsoft and Amazon IT leading companies. Moving from Armenia to the USA in 1990s, he never lost touch with Armenia. However, before that, he’d passed through years critical for Armenia, under those conditions writing his first programs for American market and participated in foundation of the first IT company in Armenia. Although scientist and programmer A.Kalantaryan has lived in the USA since the 1990s and perfectly knows English, he brilliantly speaks and writes in wonderful and pure Armenian. This probably comes from his family; Artak Kalantaryan is the son of writer, publicist Artashes Kalantaryan (he may be memorized from “My house is your house” TV program). Having worked at Microsoft and Amazon companies for many years, today, Artak Kalantaryan is leading his private IT Company with his wife. Their children have chosen the same path.
In the interview with 168.am Artak Kalantaryan introduced his viewpoints on current state of affairs in Armenia and his activity.
– Artak, you are among the first participants of Karabakh student movement. It would be interesting to know-how do you assess that movement? What did Armenia gain from it?
I asses it the way I was assessing that time. In my opinion, it was a brilliant national-liberation movement and it gave Armenia the possibility to get rid of Communist despot clutches, and Artsakh’s Armenians—become possessors of their country and culture. Was everything ideal?-No.
Obviously, from dictatorship we passed on to semi-final feudalism and now we go to the arms of another dictatorship. But this doesn’t mean at all, that the movement was useless. Despite the fact, whether leaders of the movement were angels or demons (probably none of them), it’s impossible to deny, that the movement was democratic. Simply it was necessary and now it needs to continue.
Unfortunately, despite any leadership, if it’s out of people’s control even for a second, it becomes a pest. It’ll be naïve hoping, if we have good government, everything will be ok. A system is necessary to build, that the government, scared like “a dog” from its nation and public opinion.
As American revolutionary Thomas Paine said, “The Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.” It’ll be an exaggeration, if I say in Armenia we deal with the worst case. We constantly complain how bad our government is, we are often upset why the government doesn’t do this or that.
God forbid, if those dulls do more. The government should only create favorable conditions for people to work and enjoy outcomes of their work. I consider, even in ideal case, the government will mainly care for security provision, establishment of normal laws and counterbalances. And with nothing else.
I don’t even understand the logic that our authorities aren’t a good one, but if we change, it may be even worse. Such tolerance is the reason, that the authorities root and become a disaster for the nation. I remember Seneca’s thought on fight against slavery, “they don’t intend to abolish slavery, but they want to become slaveowners and have slaves under their possession.” The regime should be changed, if it fails, again it should be changed.
Positive developments have been recorded as well. Like the smell of liberty gave birth to numerous individuals, which were ready to fight in the 80s for the country’s liberty and independence, the same way due to 80-90s, currently we have considerable number of youth, for whom this status quo is inadmissible, who are ready to fight for their and others’ freedoms. My hope is that very youth.
-What do these youth need to act?
They have the main part. The most important “I’m against!” movement changed into “I’m for” free, legal and fair regime, competitive economy, rule of human law. Today this is the most crucial. If there is justice, then the nation may overcome even the hardest conditions and bloom the country with his/her own efforts. Maybe it’s easy to advice from a distance…
What is difficult, what we do today in Armenia, unfortunately, small in number, but stubborn heroes, endangering their well-being, freedom and even live. And there is no need to play with the rules initiated by a group of people. It’s worth struggling at every step, by all means. Not a single feudal should be ignored. There are no small and big issues, there is no way to yield. If we step back a little, after some years generations would say, “What a chance Armenian nation has lost!”
-Artak, in your paternal family all chose the way of literature and culture, interesting, how did you give preference to exact science?
You’re right, I spent my childhood in a cultural environment. I memorize with admiration, how we gathered around my father’s table with the whole family, reading and discussing pages he’d written. Our guests always were writers, literary critics, actors, and in the company of my mother’s kitchen art samples, amazing, tasty talks were held at the table , which we, children then, were absorbing like a sponge. Among our permanent guests Paruyr Sevak and Hamo Sahyan, actors Mher Mkrtchyan, Khoren Abrahamyan, Armen Jigarkhanyan, painter Sargis Muradyan and other well-known individuals of that time could be found.
I was particularly delighted, when scientist, academician Grigor Gurzadyan was our guest, although maybe he also was as brilliant artist, as a scientist. At the age of 9-12 I also participated in numerous TV shows, I was lucky to play with lots of great actors. I loved reading since I was a child. I was also a correspondent to “Pioner Kanch” newspaper, however, I don’t think I was a talented young man or a journalist.
My brother and sister chose humanitarian sciences, and everybody was waiting for me to do the same. But I had other preferences. I loved mathematics. I loved techniques. When I was on the third grade, I took the physics manual of my friend for the 6th grade and was absorbed in reading till the end of the book. I was about to leave school, but I hadn’t decided my profession yet. I had excellent marks, so I had to make a choice.
I made my final decision by the following logic: maybe it’ll be easier for an engineer to work as a writer or an actor, than vice versa. Parents totally agreed, and were only bothering that engineering is a hard profession, and they don’t earn a good living. I chose the profession of a radio engineer. However, after my third year, in summer, when I received my pension for 3 months, by chance I entered a department store, where they had a new calculator.
I had had a calculator since I was 12, which my father, only God knows, how hard it had been for him to bring that from one of his journeys. But this one not only had buttons of square root, sinus and logarithm, but many other catching buttons as well. I handed my pension for 3 months and rushed home with the box. I didn’t go out for 2 weeks, all day long I was busy with my new calculator. By that I studied to program computing programs and even simple games. From that day on computers and programming are my inseparable companions.
-You couldn’t even imagine you’d appear in one of the world’s famous programming companies. How did it happen?
It was quite accidental. In 1996 we were living in Boston, I was working for a small company, on a small program called web browser. The Internet was just spreading, and suddenly Microsoft realized, it’s receding in the field of Internet. On a Friday evening, the president visited us with a box of beer. He took out two tickets from his pocket saying—leave for Seattle,Microsoft, for an interview. I opened the map, searching for Seattle…
So, we appeared in Seattle, and I started working on Internet Explorer program development. Interestingly, when I was moved to a new group, in 2002 a few months later, my wife started working in Internet Explorer team. Our friends were joking, that we made it a home business and were passing to one another.
-Were there Armenians in Microsoft and Amazon companies before you?
Maybe there were, but they were hiding their nationality, however, I didn’t recognize them. I started working for Microsoft in 1996. Yet in 1998 there were a few Armenians, we periodically met at breaks. Now they also meet every Thursday, I live far and try to participate in the meeting a few times a year. And I moved to Amazon from Microsoft in 2005. There was an Armenia specialist there, but he also moved to Microsoft. Currently there are a few Armenians there.
-What is it like working in such a company? Are there many written and unwritten laws?
Every company has its inner culture. Surprisingly, it may be stronger, than the will of employees and even employers. Just from the very start Microsoft had rather interesting technical and organizational culture. Of course, on the basis of that culture lie negative points as well. And like approximately in all companies, there is bureaucracy, hierarchy and inertia—clinging to the old and clichéd. Many things depend exactly on the team and its partners.
-How do you see development of science in Armenia, especially—in your professional field?
Armenia’s programmers have already recorded considerable success, and this branch will further on developing. We’re lucky, in our field expensive facilities and equipments are not needed to create something. A computer is enough, even not the newest version, connection to the Internet, imagination and stubborn work. In fact, nothing is that hard, it seems difficult from the side. I notice a bothering tendency recently: many want to become programmers only for money. There is nothing bad in itself, but best specialists I know, first of all, are good engineers. For instance, I’d prefer to recruit clever people, who know good mathematics, physics and, in general, science, rather than someone who learnt by heart one programming language.
-After working abroad some people return to Armenia and introduce some program. Do you have likewise intention?
Sure, all Armenians living abroad at least have this intention. But I don’t plan to have it in form of business. First, I like to work for myself, and not conducting other’s work. Second, I’m of the opinion, that business and philanthropy shouldn’t be mixed. It’s worth doing business in Armenia only when it’s the proper place for that work. Unfortunately, neither by tax regime, nor by rule of law Armenia isn’t an ideal place for business.
We, together with my wife and daughter, other members of the family and volunteers, allocate lots of time on digitalization of Armenian literature. It started from literary heritage of my father-Artashes Kalantaryan. During years we introduced, edited, shaped approximately all his books, articles and plays, and allocated all that to the readers for free. We also helped to create online pages and websites of other writers. My long-term purpose is to see all Armenian literature online.
-I’m aware, that your children also work at American leading IT companies.
-Firstly, let me start from my wife’s working success. We got acquainted when we were 7, on the first grade of school N114. She’s a biophysicist, later on she’s busy with graphic design. When children grew up, she studied computer testing and, started working at Microsoft. She’s the first Armenian woman to work in Microsoft. In our student years, most of the dates were happening at the Public Library, where I was reading the famous three volume “Art of programming”, and Suzan-“Fundamentals of theoretical biophysics.”
Up to now I wonder how she agreed to marry me. My daughter also worked in Microsoft, currently she writes programs for Android devices for the “Disney.” My son is an electric engineer. Yet in student years he worked in Intel, IBM, Apple and Qualcomm. After graduation he constantly had offers for work from those companies, but he preferred to continue his studies in MA, and choose science. Since last September he’s working on his PhD at UCLA. He also has patent and scientific publications.
One company is going to introduce a device into market, planned by him. After 1997 I’m working for myself. In 2011 I succeeded to convince my wife to leave Microsoft and join my company as a programmer. We are mainly dealing with programs for phones and tablets, I work from home, we live in a forest, 15km far from the nearest market…
By Anush Trvants
