Kanan A. Hamzeh
President
Tri Pole Corporation
I came to the United States in 1962 to study Electronics Engineering, a new field at the time. I began my studies at Pasadena City College and finished at California Polytechnic State University at Pomona (Cal Poly), where I earned my BS degree in 1968. During that time I was active in Arab-American student organizations and ultimately became president of the Organization of Arab Students.
After a brief post-grad internship, I returned to Lebanon in 1968 to pursue my engineering career. I became manager at Lectra SAL, an electrical and mechanical products distributor for Lebanon and the Middle East. As part of my position with Lectra, I started a manufacturing facility for electrical switchboards just outside Beirut. In addition, I traveled extensively and oversaw the execution of the International Fair in Tripoli, the upgrade of the AUB campus, and other major projects throughout Saudi Arabia and the Gulf.
In 1976, due to the civil war in Lebanon, I moved my family and business to Dammam, Saudi Arabia. I established the first Saudi-certified factory for the manufacturing of electrical products according to international electrical standards. I also participated in establishing the first Saudi Electrical Standard and executed several major electrical projects for ARAMCO and SCECO, in association with General Electric.
In 1981, my wife and I felt that our three young children required better education than that was provided in Saudi Arabia. Since the civil war was still raging in Lebanon, we decided to relocate the family to Southern California because I had several friends there and pre-existing business contacts. I invested in Energy Masters, Inc., a research and manufacturing facility for energy conservation devices based in Garden Grove, and ultimately became its president. Energy Masters also produced devices for purifying and enriching farming water. Our products and procedures were implemented in several farms throughout California and at Cal Poly Pomona.
In 1983, I founded Tri Pole Corporation in Fountain Valley, a computer systems integration company. We became a "Value Added Dealer" for IBM, HP, SUN, Compaq, Oracle, Microsoft and Novell. Tri Pole provided nation-wide full outsourcing services for major Fortune 1000 companies and employed 60 engineers to perform on-sight network management. Tri Pole was ranked among the nation's Top 500 VARs in 1997, 1998, and 1999 by Business VAR Magazine.
In 1999, my wife and I founded Novetrix Corporation in Fountain Valley, a software development company. We developed a unique and patented technology that allowed major companies to seamlessly deliver content over a web browser from Windows servers to multiple independent networks. We ultimately sold Novetrix to Novell, the leading provider of Net Services, in February of 2001.
Although I have enjoyed a fulfilling professional career, the best thing that happened to me is that I married Hanan in Tripoli in 1972. We are fortunate to have had two sons and a daughter: Rabih, a pediatric cardiologist who is currently an Interventional Fellow at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston; Rida (Reed), a business lawyer, mediator, and real estate broker who established Hamzeh Law with offices in both Los Angeles and Orange County, and Zeina, a transactional entertainment lawyer that serves as Director of Legal and Business affairs at Warner/Chappell Music, Inc. in Los Angles.
Motivated by the desire to unite out Lebanese American community after the devastation of the Lebanese civil war, I participated in founding the Lebanese American Foundation (LAF) in 1999. LAF's goal is to build the House of Lebanon in Los Angeles which will serve as a community and cultural center. The House is not built yet, but LAF has made great progress in reviving the pride of heritage in our community through various activities. That pride is magnified with the establishment of the Young Professionals Group and the Artists' Group.
Serving our people living in Lebanon is also an important priority for me. The future of Lebanon depends on its young generation and providing first class higher education is the most important step in that direction. To that end, I joined the Board of International Advisors of the Lebanese American University in Beirut and Byblos and the Balamand University, just outside Tripoli.
To serve the business community in Lebanon, I served on the delegation to establish the Los Angeles - Beirut Sister City Program. The delegation (comprised of officials from both LA and Beirut among others) visited Beirut in 2006 and successfully signed the Program's declaration. I am proud to report that the LA-Beirut Sister City Program is now in full swing and supplying Lebanon with much needed equipment and services.
Being involved in such programs has been truly gratifying. It has given me the privilege to serve our Lebanese American community as well as the profound opportunity to make lasting friendships both in the United States and in Lebanon.