Posted on Mon, Apr. 05, 2004

The Charlotte Observer, N.C., 25-Year Job Column

By Carol Smith, The Charlotte Observer, N.C. Knight Ridder/Tribune
Business News

Apr. 5 – EDWARD AZARIAN: Born Jan. 29, 1939, of Armenian immigrant
parents who escaped from Turkish Armenia during the genocide of 1915.
Has been with Clariant 31 years

THE ORGANIZATION: Clariant is a major producer of specialty chemicals
for uses ranging from clothing to cars, cosmetics to computers and
everything in between.

THE JOB: Accounting manager. My primary duties include the processing of
payments to Clariant suppliers.

OTHER COMPANIES: Principally with other Swiss companies including
Hoffmann LaRoche and Lonza.

AN ANECDOTE: A couple of years ago, I no sooner arrived in Las Vegas on
vacation than I received a message from one of my co-workers to call
ASAP because there was a problem. A product cost had been overstated by
some $20 million because an employee used a unit cost of $40 a pound
rather than 40 cents a pound. My co-worker recognized that the situation
was serious and she also knew, even though I was on vacation, that I was
available to help her deal with it.

I made a call to a programmer at 5 a.m. Las Vegas time to instruct him
to place an inventory hold on the product so that we could correct the
error before any product activity occurred. All turned out well because
we worked quickly and as a team and, to this day, she says she never
would have known how to handle this without the training and knowledge I
had shared with her.

BEST ADVICE: The best advice I received was from my Armenian parents.
They reminded me that as an Armenian, I should perform all tasks given
to me (no matter how mediocre) to the best of my ability.

MEMORABLE TIME OFF: Attending an auction to purchase some stamps for my
collection.

SURPRISING FACT: As a teenager, I raised chickens, sheep, pigs and even
had a Black Angus steer that I named “Sputnik,” having purchased him the
day of the first Russian space launch.

For submission information, contact Carol Smith:
carolsmith@charlotteobserver.com

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