Celebrating 35 Years of Business Life Magazine: May 1990 – May 2025

Burbank, California – Business Life Magazine is celebrating its 35th anniversary on May 21, 2025, marking more than three decades of honoring the people, businesses, and communities that have driven economic and civic progress across Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, and the greater San Gabriel and San Fernando Valleys.

Publisher Greg Krikorian co-founded the publication with his late father, John Krikorian—a first-generation Armenian American whose parents fled the 1915 Armenian Genocide by the Ottoman Turks and settled in Hartford, Connecticut in 1920’s. A U.S. Army Master Sergeant who served during the Korean War at Fort Bliss, John Krikorian went on to become Vice President of the Hartford Courant, the oldest continuously published newspaper in the country. John and Elsie Krikorian raised eight children in East Hartford, CT.

“As I reflect on 35 years of meaningful relationships and memories, I’m deeply grateful I chose to follow in my father’s footsteps in publishing,” said Greg Krikorian, Publisher of Business Life Magazine. “At the time, I was newly married in 1989 to Christine Shahrigian and working for Detroit News Gannett Publishing in Detroit, Michigan, while my father was still at the Hartford Courant. He called with a bold idea—move to California and launch our own publishing company. That idea became Cal-Conn Enterprises, and in 1990, Business Life Magazine was born.”

Since its founding, Business Life has published more than 300 issues, profiling thousands of CEOs, business owners, executive directors, civic leaders, and changemakers. The magazine’s mission has remained unwavering: to spotlight the character, promise, and progress of the communities it serves.

Beyond its editorial impact, Business Life Magazine has contributed over $15 million to local, county, and state economies through investments in printing, postage, operations, and employment. The publication has supported a team of more than 50 professionals, including editors, designers, marketing staff, and vendors—each playing a vital role in amplifying the stories that shape the region.

The premiere issue in 1990 featured the mayors of three cornerstone cities: Larry Zarian (Glendale), Jess Hughston (Pasadena), and Thomas Flavin (Burbank). That same year, the magazine launched the now-celebrated Women Achievers Awards, one of the first regional programs to recognize the leadership and influence of women across industries. Since its inception, the program has honored more than 1,000 women who have made lasting impacts in business, government, education, and nonprofit work.