Barry Garapedian is the President and CEO of MAG 7 Consulting, a boutique coaching, mentoring, and advisory firm that caters to high-school and college-aged students. The MAG 7 program has distilled and codified key principles of achievement and paths to success which propel young people to meet their highest potentials in all aspects of life.

 

Speak with Barry for a few minutes and you will likely find his energy, positivity, and zest for life contagious. Not surprisingly, the MAG 7 program is as equally dynamic. Key elements teach the next generation how to develop and maintain key life-hack habits, have a positive mindset consistently, and create structure and discipline in life. Performance models and methods are robust and all-encompassing. Barry’s passion for mentoring and teaching has been a constant theme in his life. For over 15 years he has volunteered as a Career Coach at Pepperdine University. Having mentored close to 1,000 students over the years, Barry is a sought-after speaker at Business Fraternities, Student Professional Clubs and the Pepperdine Ambassadors Council. Many of Barry’s students keep in touch with him for advice and guidance for years on end.

 

Barry spent 39 years as a Financial Advisor with Morgan Stanley, where he was Managing Director, a team founder, and the recipient of national recognition from The Financial Times and Barron’s. Throughout his career on Wall Street, Barry worked closely with clients and their children. He looked to foster value that extended beyond a family’s balance sheet, helping families create positive dynamics through strategic advice, practical guidance, and a forthright perspective.

 

A native Southern Californian, he graduated from the University of Southern California with a B.A. in Public Policy. While studying at USC, he worked as a private tennis instructor and also worked as a performing magician at the iconic Magic Castle in Los Angeles. Barry remains an avid tennis player and still enjoys doing magic as a hobby.

 

Barry and his wife Sharon have two adult children, Missy Lou and Scotland, who are professionals in Southern California. In his free time, Barry stays very active. His hobbies include mountain-bike riding, yoga, weightlifting, tennis, swimming—including open-water endurance swims, Ironman® triathlons, and heli-skiing. A black belt in martial arts, he is committed to fitness and nutrition, mindful of the profound mind-body connection. He approaches his intellectual life with the same vigor and is an avid reader, maintaining, “life is about the books you read and the people you meet.” A loyal Dodger fan and season-ticketholder, he loves to go to games with family and friends.

 

Barry believes strongly in the value of giving back to others—through financial support, but also through active participation as a volunteer, demonstrating his interest in others’ lives. He has served on many Boards, including the Olive View UCLA Medical Center and the Armenian Film Foundation. Barry is especially honored to be named “Father of the Year” by the American Diabetes Association and the National Father’s Day Council in June of 2009. He is currently serving on the Board of the Cancer Support Community VVSB, the Crest Board at Pepperdine University and the Pomegranate Foundation.