Thunderbird Magazine, Volume 56, Number 2 2004 Winter

              2 Healthy Planet
Using education and innovation, T-birds address the world's
deadliest health risks as reported by the World Health
Organization's World Health Report, released in 2003.
On the Cover: As the cover artwork suggests, physical activity plays
a key role in improving worldwide health. But, according to T-bird
alumni, joint public and private efforts - coupled with creativity -
also play an integral role. Using innovative low- and hi-tech
solutions, T-birds are addressing health concerns such as AIDS,
obesity and diseases resulting from unsafe water supplies.
Illustration @ Laura Tedeschi/lmages.com, Inc.
8 A Delicate Balance
Three faculty members share their research insights on the
trends and mechanics of global outsourcing, while T-bird
alumni weigh in on the pros and cons of offshore operations
in China.
12 A Toast to Tradition
Nearly 400 alumni and visitors meet and mingle, attend
reunions and take a trip down "Memory Lane" during
Homecoming 2003, Nov. 6-9.
1S Ahead of the Game
Football taught Global MBA alumnus Alejandro Jaime Marti
Bolanos Cacho '00 how to be a successful banker in Mexico.
16 Rediscovering Russia
Alumni in Russia say the sky is the limit in the modem-day
metropolis of Moscow.
18 When the Network Works
When accessed properly, the Thunderbird network can lead to
business connections in almost every major city in the world,
forming a tapestry of global business expertise, advice and
friendships in nearly every comer of the world.
22 Radical Change
Thunderbird Student Government initiates a Worldwide
Welcome media campaign that draws hundreds to the
Glendale, Ariz., campus.
24 Bye-Bye Back Office
As Global HR takes front stage in corporate strategy,
Thunderbird Executive Education steps in to provide globally
focused training to HR leaders around the world.
SECTIONS
28 T-bird News
35 Network News
42 Class Updates
THUNDERBIRD MAGAZINE
Volume 56, Number 2, 2004
A publication of the Marketing and Communication
Department of Thunderbird, The American Graduate
School of International Management, 15249 N. 59th
Avenue, Glendale, AZ 85306-6000
INTERIM DIRECTOR, MARKETING AND
COMMUNICATION DEPARTMENT
Susan Coffroth
ACTING EDITOR
Melissa Crytzer Fry
CONTRIBUTORS
Beatrice Bemescut '90, Silvia Carmagnani, Daniel
Cody '93, Susan Coffroth, Nelda Crowell, Diana Perry
Doyle '78, Melissa Crytzer Fry, Amanda Hawk 'OS,
Merry Holmgren, Kristen Jarchow, Terrie loCicero,
Robin Meyerson '90, Jessica McCann,
Zachary Schroeck 'OS, Pat Smith '92,
Cheryl Sweet, Pat Watkins.
DESIGN
Pat Kenny Graphic Design
VICE PRESIDENT FOR INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT
AND DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT
Richard Tollefson, Jr. '83
ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT OF ALUMNI RELATIONS
Anne-Marie Nelson '95 (EMIM)
Submissions may be emailed to Susan Coffroth
at coffrots@thunderbird.edu, or sent by fax to
(602) 978-7626.
Thunderbird is the oldest graduate management
school in the United States focused solely on preparing
international business leaders. Ranked among the best
in the world by U.S. News and World Repon, The
Wall Street Journal and Business Week, the School
offers a unique curriculum that emphasizes cross-cul­tural
communication, language and world business
skills to compete in today's global economy.
More than 33,700 men and women in 138 different
countries have graduated from Thunderbird since
1946. Thunderbird is accredited by AACSB
International - The Association to Advance
Collegiate Schools of Business, the North Central
Association for Colleges and Schools and the
European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS).
VISIT THUNDERBIRD AT www.thunderbird.edu
PRESIDENT ' S MESSAGE
A Progress Report
A pri12003 marked the beginning of exciting change at Thunderbird with the Board's
J-\. public unveiling of the School's five-year strategic plan that will include the nam­ing
of a new president and CEO by June 2004.
I wanted to take this opportunity to update you on the progress Thunderbird has
made in the nine short months since the plan was approved.
A key initiative is to diversify Thunderbird's programs and delivery methods and to
focus on global expansion. In October, the MBA for Executives - Central and Eastern
Europe was launched in Prague, welcoming 20 top executives from the Czech Republic
and Central and Eastern Europe. This partnership between the
Czech Management Center and Thunderbird represents just one
of the innovative programs to be implemented in coming years
as the School adjusts to a changing MBA business environment.
The strategic plan also identified access to top-notch faculty
and staff as an opportunity for continued success. In this issue, we
welcome a new player to the Thunderbird team, Rory Simpson,
Above: President Roy
A. Herberger Jr.
speaks with a group
from the Womens
College of Dubai,
who attended the
Graduate Women In
Business (GWIB) con-vice
president for Executive Education, Europe, Middle East & ference in November.
Africa (EMEA). A native of Scotland, he brings a wealth of global executiv~ education
experience that will continue to give Thunderbird a competitive edge.
Accreditation also gives Thunderbird a competitive advantage. In November, a team
of B-school deans visited campus as part of The Association to Advance Collegiate
Schools of Business (MCSB) re-accreditation process. The group will recommend,
without conditions, the continued accreditation of Thunderbird, marking the School's
commitment to quality education and reaffirming the strength of its strategic plan.
And, finally, progress has been made regarding my successor. To date, several open
forums have taken place, allowing students, faculty, staff and community members to
share their ideas about the qualities required of a new president. I am con£dent that the
search team, consisting of the professional search firm of Korn/Ferry International,
Board members, faculty, students and alumni, will choose a leader who will embrace
and enhance the international nature and history of the School.
As I approach my ISth year at Thunderbird, I feel rewarded to have been in the com­pany
of outstanding faculty, students, alumni and staff. As we look to the future, let's
continue Thunderbird's legacy of unparalleled international managernent education!
- Roy A. Herberger Jr.
THUNDERBIRD MAGAZINE WINTER 2004
HEAL
A decade ago, in the small African
country of Guinea, Muslim
extremists made common prac­tice
of smashing the stands of any vendor
who dared to sell condoms. This, in a region
of the world where 28 million people are
infected with HIV and nearly half a million
have died from AIDS.
To overcome the barriers of accepted con­dom
use in this traditional Islamic culture,
Population Services International (PSI)
applied an innovative strategy called social
marketing. The multifaceted plan began with
reaching out to and educating the area's reli­gious
leaders. With a better understanding of
the disease, those leaders, in turn, began to
support the idea of condom use in their com­munities.
It's a fascinating concept - one that
proves innovative health care solutions need
not be high-tech or complicated. Such inno­vative
approaches are critical to addressing
many of the world's most critical health con­cerns,
not just AIDS.
In one of its largest research projects ever,
the World Health Organization (WHO)
announced in 2003 the 10 leading health risk
factors globally in its World Health Report. The
list indudes what the authors aptly named
"familiar enemies of health and allies of
poverty," such as unsafe sex, polluted water,
poor sanitation and hygiene, low body
weight, iron deficiency and indoor smoke
from solid fuels. It also indudes risks more
commonly associated with wealthy societies,
such as high blood pressure, tobacco con­sumption
and obesity.
The ultimate goal of the report, according to
the WHO, is to help governments around the
globe lower these risks and raise the healthy
life expectancy of their populations. Yet, many
health industry professionals are of the opin­ion
that, while government support is critical,
it also takes involvement from the private sec­tor
to make a real and lasting impact.
BY JESSICA MCCANN
THYPLANET
Many T-birds, such as Theresa Gruber­Tapsoba
'85, are making that meaningful and
lasting impact. As director of the Cameroon­ian
Association for Social Marketing, a PSI
affiliate, Tapsoba has seen the positive effects
of social marketing on one of the world's
deadliest diseases, AIDS. The once-taboo con­doms
of Guinea are now accessible and
affordable. In fact, they are sold at thousands
of pharmacies, boutiques, mobile vendors,
bars and nightclubs throughout the region.
As a resu lt of PSI's social marketing efforts
worldwide, approximately 2.4 million cases
of HIV have been prevented.
"It's an awa reness of the community that
causes people and employers to take a more
proactive stand regarding these health risks,"
said Thunderbird Pro fessor Emeritus Robert
Tancer. "And that could be as simple as hav­ing
exercise faci lities in the workplace to help
deal with obesity or, especially in South
Africa, having educational programs about
safe sex and how AIDS is transmitted. But
you need both government suppo rt and you
need private sector
support to really be
successful . "
An atto rney by
profession, Ta ncer
had worked both for
a private law firm
and for the U.S. State
Department before
WANTED:
INNOVATIVE
SOLUTIONS TO
WORLD'S DEADLIEST
HEALTH RISKS
T-birds Tackle Worldwide Health
Concerns with Innovation, Education
coming to Thunderbird as a profes­sor
of international studies in the
late 1960s. During the 10 years prior
to his retirement in 2001, the bulk of
Tancer's research and teaching activi­ties
centered on the health industry.
His case study "AIDS in South
Africa," for example, explores the
issue of balancing private rights,
pharmaceutical patents and the pub­lic
interest in controlling the AIDS
epidemic in that reg ion. Today,
Tancer continues to teach a Thunder­bird
Winterim course on mergers
and acquisitions, and a law class for
the School's EMBA program.
PSI's success certain ly supports
Tancer's assertion that jo int publ ic
and private effort is needed to
impact critical health concerns. A nonprofit
group based in Washington, D.C., PSI is the
leading social marketing organization in the
world with programs in more than 70 coun­tri
es, specializing in AIDS prevention, fa mily
pl anning, and maternal and ch ild hea lth.
"Social marketing is based on simple mar­keting
precepts: product, place, price, promo­tion,"
said Gruber-Tapsoba. "But when social
marketing for health impact, you also have to
understand th e culture and the disease, and
you have to be willing to put in the time.
Most importantly, you have to be willing to
subsidize products such as condoms, so that
In one of the largest research projects ever
undertaken by the World Health Organization
(WHO), the top 10 leading health risks globally
were identified in The World Health Report.
Together, these 10 factors account for more than
one-third of all deaths worldwide. Consider the
following statistics excerpted from the report:
Above: Pictured in front of an African Kente cloth
from Thunderbird's Global Market, Professor
Emeritus Robert Tancer devoted much of his
teaching and research time to the health industry,
including the study of AIDS in Africa. Top:
Theresa Gruber-Tapsoba '85 worked with Dr.
Yamdji, through a project that trains private-sec­tor
health care prOViders in Africa in areas such as
family planning, diagnosis and treatment of sexu­ally
transmitted diseases. Below, left: Population
Services International (PSI) sells its products at
non-traditional outlets, making life-saving health
products - such as Prudence condoms - avail­able
to low-income and other vulnerable people.
UNSAFE SEX
T e main factor in
tne spread of
HIV/ AIDS, unsafe
sex is to blame for
about 2.9 million
deaths worldwide.
LOW BODY WEIGHT
All ages are at risk, but
underweight conditions
are most prevalent
among children. In poor
countries, 170 million
children are underweight
- and more than 3 mi l­lion
of them die each
year as a resu lt.
WINTER 2004 THUNDERBIRD MAGAZINE
people who really need them can afford
them."
Gruber-Tapsoba's career history is a varied
and unique blend of global experiences -
from Peace Corps work as a fish farmer in
Central America and working as a director of
medical education in the pharmaceutical
industry in the United States, to a technical
officer addressing chronic respiratory diseases
for the WHO in Geneva and a director of
social marketing for PSI in Cameroon.
"When I came to PSI, I felt like I had come
home," she said. "I had the advantage of the
kind of bottom-line health impact, the bot­tom-
line measurement I had grown accus­tomed
to in the private sector, along with the
pleasure of actually serving populations in
need that I had grown accustomed to in the
Peace Corps."
To make a bottom-line health impact on
the AIDS epidemic, PSI began with a series of
public health workshops for Muslim religious
HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE
1y10re than three-quarters of cardiovascu­lar
disease - the world's leading cause of
death - results from tobacco use, high
blood pressure or cholesterol, or their
combination. Overall, blood pressure
causes 7 million premature deaths a year.
4 THUNDERBIRD MAGAZINE WINTER 2004
Above: Theresa Gruber-Tapsoba '85 (center, blue
shirt) attends a youth training, peer education
program ceremony at a Catholic church hal/,
where young people learned about safe sex and
its impact on AIDS. Top: In Mozambique, PSI pro­grams
use hands-on demonstrations, promoting
the correct use of insecticide-treated mosquito
nets in an effort to curb the spread of malaria.
leaders, first in Guinea, then in Cameroon,
Chad, Mali and Niger. A PSI director - a
practicing Muslim - introduced the facts
about the disease and how it is transmitted.
Throughout the presentation, he quoted pas­sages
from the Koran to justify preventive
health practices. Meanwhile, a comprehensive
mass-media campaign reached out to the
community with messages of safe sex, and PSI
employees forged relationships with private­sector
sponsors and vendors to help make
low-cost condoms available to the masses.
The strategy worked.
HIGH GHOLESTEROL
High blCDod cholesterol causes
more than 4 million premature
deaths a year. Closely related to
excessive consumption of fatty,
sugary and salty foods, it becomes
even more lethal when combined
with tobacco and excessive alco­hol
consumption.
Within a few years, PSI had made a break­through.
With a greater understanding of the
disease, the region's leaders have taken a posi­tion
that allows them to remain faithful to
their religious beliefs, while protecting the
health of their community.
TRIMMING THE FAT
Another serious health risk listed in the
World Health Report is obesity. More than one
billion adults worldwide are overweight and
at least 300 million are clinically obese.
According to the WHO, about half a million
people in North America and Western
Europe died last year from obesity-related
diseases such as diabetes, high blood pres­sure
and stroke.
In fact, the rate of obesity in the United
States has increased to the point that more
Americans are expected to die from obesity
than from smoking by the end of the decade,
according to a recent report in the American
Journal of Health Promotion.
Besides the obvious tragedy of loss of life,
the cost of obesity is immense. A Web exclu­sive
article in the journal Health Affairs, pub­lished
in May 2003, estimated that obesity­and
overweight-related conditions are con­tributing
as much as $93 billion to the year­ly
medical bill in the United States alone. For
employers, obesity-related costs add up in
the form of health care and disability insur­ance,
lowered productivity and increased
absenteeism.
To reduce that financial impact, many of
the world's largest employers are stepping up
their efforts to reduce obesity and weight­related
health complications among their
workers. According to the Washington
Business Group on Health, some have
gone so far as to offer financial incen­tives
to employees for exercising, diet­ing
and other healthy behavior.
Others have taken steps as simple as
adding healthier food alternatives to
their vending machines and employee
cafeterias, swapping out sugary sodas
for bottled water, for example.
At the same time, the U.S. Centers
for Disease Control (CDC) is working
to stem obesity in America's children
- ostensibly, tomorrow's workforce.
According to data from the CDC's
National Center for Health Statistics,
the percentage of overweight children
is on the rise. Among children and
teens ages 6 to 19 years old, 15 percent
(almost 9 million) are overweight.
That's three times the number in 1980.
The CDC's innovative VERBTM
campaign, which inspires children to
Kirsten Meyer '91 is pictured among VERB cam­paign
materials she helped develop through her
employer, Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising in New
York. The VERB campaign began in 2002, when
Congress directed the u.s. Department of Health
and Human Services' Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention to create a paid media campaign
that would encourage a healthy movement
among youth. The pictured ad (right) is one of a
series designed to get youth off the couch.
choose a verb each day and act on it - walk,
swim, skate, pogo - has raised the bar for
social marketing to children. Sporting the
catchphrase "VERB. It's what you do," the
program uses multimedia venues to get kids
engaged and helps them appreciate physical
activity for the fun of it - as well as for the
health benefits.
run kick dive sing Jump catch play leap flip try dream turn spin eo laugh. ;t's whet you do.
VERa. "'"
Typically, government public service
announcements and campaigns are focused
primarily on getting the facts out to people.
Rarely do they strive to create any sort of
branding in their execution or in their mes­saging,
said Kirsten Meyer '91, a senior vice
president with Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising
in New York who was part of the original cre­ative
team that developed VERB two years
ago. With kids as the target audience, she
explained, the VERB campaign was different
and required more than just "getting the facts
out."
"Social messaging to kids is a really diffi­cult
sell," said Meyer. "Kids are told what to
do by adults all day long." For the VERB cam­paign
to be effective, she explained, it was crit­ical
that a brand be created that kids could
respond to on their own level, rather than
one in which yet another adult voice was
telling them what to do.
"With VERB, we created a brand that would
be from the voice and from the minds of kids,
so that kids would be responsive to it in a way
that they generally aren't in social marketing,"
said Meyer, who has more than 10 years of
advertising experience with leading global
companies and brands induding Tylenol,
Nescafe, Olay and General Mills.
VERB ads are fast-paced, colorful and
splashy, with simple messages such as, "Get
ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION
Alcohol was estimated to cause,
IRON DEFICIENCY TOBACCO
CONSUMPTION
out and go play." They feature everyday kids
engaging in fun physical activities - from
swimming and bike-riding to pingpong and
hip-hop dancing.
The brand also extends beyond advertise­ments.
Parental and community involvement,
corporate partnerships, events and promo­tions
all play an important role in the effec­tiveness
of the campaign. In its first year, VERB
sponsored Nickelodeon's "Wild and Crazy
Kids" television program, as well as M1V's
"Made" program, both aimed at encouraging
kids to try something new. Organizations such
as the YMCA, National Parks and Recreation,
and Boys & Girls Clubs also have been impor­tant
partners. An interactive Web si te
(www.verbnow.com) features videos, quizzes
and lots of ideas about "stuff 2 do."
INDOOR SMOKE
FROM SOLID FUELS
orld ide, 20 to 30 percent of
esopl:1ageal cancer, liver disease,
epilepsy, motor vehicle aCCidents,
and homicide and other inten­tional
injuries.
Iron deficiency is one of the
most prevalent nutrient defi­ciencies
in the world, affecting
an estimated 2 billion people,
and causing almost a million
deaths each year.
Globally, tobacco causes almost
5 mil lion deaths each year. While
most smoking-related diseases
are found in industrialized coun­tries,
a marked increase in devel­oping
countries has been noted
in the past decade.
Halfthe world's population is exposed
to indoor air pollution, mainly the
result of burning solid fuels for cooking
and heating. Globally, it is estimated to
cause 36 percent of all lower respirato­ry
infections and 22 percent of chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease.
WINTER 2004 THUNDERBIRD MAGAZINE
ACCELERATING INNOVATION
Social marketing often can take years
before measurable success is realized - per­haps
a necessary burden to bear when striv­ing
to make a long-term community health
impact. Yet, many companies in the private
sector are applying equally creative
approaches to speed up health care innova­tion
and bring new products to market.
Take, for instance, Applied Biotech, a
health care and life-sciences corporate devel­opment
company led by T-bird Jordi
Argente '83. From main offices in Hong
Kong and Vancouver, the company identifies
Asian expansion, partnership and funding
opportunities for Canadian and U.S. health
technology companies.
"We put together projects," explained CEO
Argente, a native of Spain and a 20-year veter­an
in technology and management consult­ing
across Asia, the United States and Europe.
"We identify the science, which originates
mostly from Canada and the United States,
and the funding. which originates mostly
from Hong Kong and China. Then we get
them together. By bringing East and West
together in this way, we're combining the
strengths of both and getting more from the
project."
Applied Biotech works primarily with
groups of scientists or companies that are
mid- to late-stage start-ups. The groups often
either already have a product in the market or
are about to launch one. In such cases, the
new product or company typically would
grow slowly in its own country or region, and
only when it reached significant size would it
start to venture globally.
"Our value to a new initiative is that by
going global early, you can grow much faster
6 THUNDERBIRD MAGAZINE WINTER 2004
Using innovative financing techniques, alumnus lordi
Argente '83 is working to address unsafe water, sanitation
and hygiene problems, bringing water risk control
devices to the marketplace. Top: Kyrgyz boys drink water
from a public well in the Village of Kyzyl-Oy in Kazak­stan,
where 60 percent of the 10 million people in the
valley have no safe water supply. Bottom: Gruber­Tapsoba's
employer, PSI, also markets safe water treat­ments
in Madagascar, using informational media cam­paigns
and interpersonal educators to get the word out.
currently working to secure funding to
develop and launch the technology in
Asia. Another is a project that Argente
and his team completed last year,
involving a group of scientists and doc­tors
at Chinese University's Prince of
Wales Hospital in Hong Kong. The
company helped facilitate funding to
launch the new initiative - a specialist
dinic with a breakthrough approach in
the treatment of diabetes.
than if you just stay in your own country,"
explained Argente. "For example, when bring­ing
to market a new health treatment devel­oped
by Canadian scientists, we can conduct
trials at much lower costs and typically find
more patients for those trials in Asia than in
the West." As a result, companies that com­bine
the strengths of both countries can
potentially bring life-altering health products
to market quicker - products that address
some of the WHO's most pressing concerns.
One example is a British Columbia-based
company that has designed a
water risk control device to iden­tify
biohazards in public drink­ing
systems. Applied Biotech is
UNSAFE WATER, SANITATION
AND YGIENE
Abou 1.7 million deaths a year
orldwide are attributed to
unsafe water, sanitation and
hygiene, mainly through infec­tious
diarrhea. Nine out of 10
such deaths are in children, and
virtually all of the deaths are in
developing countries.
So, in the time it took to read this artide, a
middle-aged man in Hong Kong consulted
with a physician about a new treatment for
his diabetes; a young man in Cameroon safe­ly
purchased condoms from a street vendor;
and a child in the United States decided to
turn off the television and go for a bike ride
- tasks ultimately made possible through the
work ofT-bird alumni.
As the WHO's World Health Report dearly
shows, a relatively small number of health
risks cause an enormous number of prema­ture
deaths worldwide each year. Yet, as
T-birds around the globe also demonstrate,
small doses of creativity are going a long way
in creating a healthier planet. _
OBESITY
Obesit¥ rates ave risen three­fold
or more in some parts of
N r:t11 Ameri a, Eastem Europe,
the Middle East, the Pacific
Islands, Australia and China
since 1980.
PAGING DR. MBA
As health care becomes increasingly complex and
expensive, a shift in the industry's leadership is tak­ing
place, according to a recent study published in
Academic Medicine. The number of MBA-trained physi­cians
is increasing dramatically.
More than 30 major U.S. medical schools now offer a
dual MD/MBA degree program for a new generation of
physicians, the study reports. And an increasing number
of established doctors are choosing to hit the business
books - many for the first time - in graduate-level pro­grams
similar to those offered at Thunderbird.
Paul Caldron, D.O. '02 is president and CEO of
Arizona Arthritis and Rheumatology Associates, P.c., the
largest private practice rheumatology group in the south­west
United States. About four years ago, the group's
busiest physician left, forcing Caldron and the remaining
partners to rethink their operations.
"Physicians, too, often delude themselves that their
innate intelligence is all they need to operate in the
business of private practice," said Caldron. "Businesses
in the service sector, no matter how small, need to eval­uate
the forces of the industry in order to excel. I desper­ately
needed the knowledge of business that I never
acquired in the science and medical curricula I followed
throughout my training."
Thunderbird's Executive MBA program provided
Caldron with both the education and the flexible sched­ule
that he needed to develop his business skills and con­tinue
working in his medical practice.
General surgeon and executive medical director of
Phoenix, Ariz.-based Hospice of the Valley Gregory
Mayer, M.D. '03, also chose a Thunderbird EMBA to advance his
business knowledge. Founded in 1977, Hospice of the Valley is the
largest nonprofit hospice in the world, with approximately 900
employees who provide quality, compassionate end-of-Iife care
to 1,500 patients daily.
"The more involved I became with the business side of things, the
more I realized' wanted to get more formal training in business,"
said Mayer, who divides his time between clinical work and admin­istration.
"' looked at several programs and shot for what I knew was
the top program available, which was Thunderbird."
Thunderbird's unique tripartite curriculum - which blends glob­al
business education with language and cultural instruction - may
also prove to be more appealing to a younger generation of physi­cians
than would more traditional business schools. According to the
American Association of Medical Colleges, nearly 39 percent of u.S.
medical students studied in other countries in 2002, up significantly
As a general surgeon and execu­tive
medical director of Phoenix,
Ariz. -based Hospice of the
Valley, Gregory Mayer, M.D. '03
sees firsthand the most common
effects of obesity on the human
body: high blood pressure,
coronary artery disease
and diabetes. To assist Hospice
of the Valley employees, Mayer's
organization offers reduced
membership rates at local health
clubs, a Weight Watchers™
program that meets once a week
in-house, and, most recently, an
employee health expo that
from the 20 percent who did so in 2000 and the 6 percent in 1982. included body fat onalysis and
'The world is shrinking," said Mayer. "Today borders are only blood pressure screenings.
found on maps. Thunderbird offers a phenomenal program, and I
felt that even if I never got involved internationally in business, it wouldn't make a bit of difference.
Because the knowledge I gained from the program - things like cross-cultural communication and
business negotiation - was universal knowledge that I could use anywhere." -1M
CALLING
INNOVATIVE
T-BIRDS
Alumni innovation isn't
limited to the health care
field. Thunderbird boasts a
creative mix of alumni
entrepreneurs working
across all professional
fields and industries. In the
next issue of Thunderbird
Magazine, we plan to high­light
some of the School's
top alumni entrepreneurs.
Please let us know of your
top entrepreneurial alumni
picks bye-mailing
editor@thunderbird.edu
no later than March 15,
2004. Please include the
alumnus/a's name,
a brief description of the
I\fl!;>nene:urial activity and
name.
WINTER 2004 THUNDERBIRD MAGAZINE
BY TERRIE J. LOCICERO
Offshoring: The Death of u.s. Jobs
or the Birth of Economic Success?
Three faculty members share their research insights on the trends and
mechanics of global outsourcing. With foreign investment in China boom­ing,
Thunderbird Magazine also asked several T-birds living, working or
owning companies in China to share their views on the subject.
Outsourcing jobs from the United
States to other countries may be
one of the most emotionally
charged issues in the business community
today. And, as with most hot topics, there are
always two sides to the story.
The United States has lost several million
jobs since the 1970s - mostly in the manu­facturing
sector, as automotive, textile and
even IT jobs have migrated to areas such as
Mexico. The trend continues today as call cen­ters
and other back-office functions flourish in
India and the Philippines, where large por­tions
of the population speak English. It's not
uncommon for an Ohio-based company's
customer service calls to be taken by Filipino
nationals on the other side of the globe.
Individuals in fields such as engineering
and accounting, who once felt secure in their
careers, are now starting to fear the same fate
as their manufacturing brethren. Even their
high-skill knowledge positions are moving to
India and the Philippines. And while many
laid-off workers have eventually found new
jobs, some of those unemployed will never
again approach their original salaries.
While many Americans may feel that their
loss is China's gain - or Mexico's or India's
- the picture in these countries isn't com­pletely
rosy, either, said Tyler Schwab '96,
owner of Shanghai-based trading company,
Eckess.
'The majority of investment in China has
gone into the provinces along the coast:
Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and
Shanghai," he explained. Such coastal growth,
resulting from easy import-export access, he
said, has resulted in a pool of under- and
unemployed workers in the inland provinces
as residents move to the coastal provinces for
work. "Residents remaining in these inland
areas have virtually no opportunities to earn
money in their native provinces."
8 THUNDERBIRD MAGAZINE WINTER 2004
Known to many American consumers as a
primary source of inexpensive products,
China is now home to the production facili­ties
and product development offices of tech­nology
giants such as Microsoft, General
Electric and Intel. Smaller light-manufactur­ing
companies also have moved their interests
to China.
Even though foreign investment has helped
raise the standard of living for many in
China, Wanyu Zhang '98, marketing manag­er
with Monsanto, points out that outsourc­ing
has brought about another set of market­place
complexities in China. "U.S. companies
outsourcing to China brings competition to
other Chinese companies in the same indus­try,
creates resource competition - including
people, raw material, land and market - and
creates too much reliance on foreign technol­ogy,
which China does not own," explained
Zhang.
According to Professor of International
Finance John Mathis, Ph.D., outsourcing is
here to stay, despite the loss of jobs and the
hardship created for many Americans. The rea­son:
U.S. consumers get lower-cost goods (a
benefit they seem reluctant to give up), and
the economy as a whole benefits from
increased shareholder value and reinvestment.
Zhang added that while a company moving
production to China is obviously seeking to
maximize its profit by reducing costs, another
reason is to secure the market. "Motorola,
Nokia and GM invested money to build in
China, because they want to sell products to
Chinese customers," he said. By building in
other countries, U.S. companies are creating
new markets for their products, which
inevitably benefit the U.S. economy as well.
For some U.S. companies, though, off­shore
outsourcing is a company-saving
maneuver. "We wouldn't be alive today if we
hadn't moved our production to China," said
Professors Kannan
Ramaswamy. John
Mathis and William
Youngdahl (left to
right) have devoted
considerable research
hours to the offshore
outsourcing debate "-
from both an
economics and a
strategy perspective.
Mike Crotty '74, president of family-owned
TexStyle Inc., a 59-year-old Cincinnati, Ohio­based
home fashion and textile business.
He explained that the textile industry in the
1990s was being hurt by labor and produc­tion
costs, and squeezed by retailers demand­ing
lower prices and slotting fees (store place­ment
charges). At the time, TexStyle also had
only one main customer.
Crotty felt that outsourcing production was
the only option and chose China because of
its huge capacity and the likelihood that
it would be accepted into the World Trade
Organization.
He gave workers in TexStyle's Kentucky
plant one year's notice. Using My Thunderbird,
the School's exclusive online community,
Crotty connected with attending T-bird stu­dent
Daniel Qi, who had experience in tex­tiles
and financial operations. Shortly there­after,
the subsidiary, Golden Pacific Fashion
and Design Co. Ltd., began operations in
Shanghai.
"The results have been pretty sensational,"
he said. "We changed from being solely in­home
textiles to a sewn-products com­pany.
We have entered new product cate­gories,
including garments, expanded our
customer base and begun looking for distrib-
.,._-._-- ..-.. _.-...- ~ .. c _ _ .. __
" _ .... a.fiI_ ........ _ ... _ ... _- "-- ... - .... _QIM ,, --...'.-..-...*. ­­....
.
10 THUNDERBIRD MAGAZINE WINTER 2004
utors all over the world. We would not have
had these opportunities had we not changed
our business model."
"With inexpensive real-time communica­tion
and easy flow of money around the
world, we truly live in a global economy,"
added Fred Hsu '88, a country manager with
Sagem Communications, China. "All compa­nies
in the United States, whether they know
it or not, are competing in the global econo­my.
Global outsourcing of jobs increases the
standard of living globally."
While Mathis finds validity in that argu­ment,
he still has serious concerns about the
problems facing U.S. workers. As a financial
economist, his research focus has largely been
on how to perpetuate economic growth in the
United States. "We don't necessarily want to
prevent the jobs going to a lower-labor-cost
country, because we buy those products," he
explained. "More Americans have access to
lower-cost, imported products that improve
their standard of living with lower prices as a
result.
"What we really want is better preparation
for the new jobs. This will keep the United
States competitive. The manufacturing jobs
are gone forever. What do we do about it?"
OVERHAULING THE EDUCATION SYSTEM
TO SAVE JOBS
Mathis's tracking of U.S. labor statistics
confirmed that jobs in manufacturing,
known as low-value-added jobs, have been
hit the hardest - with nearly 3 million jobs
being lost to overseas destinations. He then
studied the general direction of the U.S. econ­omy
and the resulting areas of new job
growth.
What he discovered were inconsistencies in
the way U.S. communities are being educated
and trained - and shortages of skilled work­ers
in various fields, including the medical,
biomedical, chemical, pharmaceutical, bio­agricultural,
energy, travel, communications,
finance, and technology research and devel­opment
fields. "Why aren't we training peo­ple
in the right areas?" he asked. "The answer
is education. We are training people for the
local environment, and our education sys­tems
lack integration, which equates to poor
transferability of credits and skills."
Mathis cited communities centered around
the steel industry as an example. "Even when
it became clear that the U.S. steel industry
was dying, students were still being educated
as if those jobs would always be available," he
explained. Students in some of those areas
Reprinted by permission of Harvard Business Review.
© 2003 by the Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation; all rights reserved.
are still required to take metal and wood shop
classes today, when there are few jobs avail­able
in those industries.
Mathis favors a new concept that would
help fill some of these skilled-worker short­ages
and aid in the transferability of skills
from one job to the next. His recommenda­tion:
that high schools and colleges work
together to link students to the high-value­added
jobs now available in the United
States' knowledge-based economy - jobs
that require a high level of education.
"It's crucial to long-term job-market
growth; it's necessary for U.S. competitive­ness;
it's necessary for increasing the standard
of living, and it's necessary to keep the unem­ployment
rate down," said Mathis, who
expects to conclude his research in late 2004.
A program that works to bridge this gap is
the College and Career Transitions Initiative,
a cooperative agreement between the U.S.
Department of Education Office of Voca­tional
and Adult Education and the League
for Innovation in the Community Colleges,
coordinated by the League's Margaretta
(Brede) Mathis '94, a Thunderbird EMBA
graduate. The program aligns secondary and
postsecondary curricula with employers'
needs in an effort to equip students with the
skills required for high-growth, high-demand,
high-wage fields. Specific career areas of focus
within the program include: Health Science;
Information Technology; Education and
Training; Science Technology, Engineering
and Mathematics; and Law, Public Safety and
Security. Other programs with potential are
early-college programs, which combine high
school and the first two years of college for
motivated inner-city high school students.
Jay Boyle '93, a private consultant and an
eight-year Shanghai resident, has traveled all
over China. He agrees with Mathis's assess­ment
of the permanent loss of manufactur­ing
jobs, but feels that U.S. workers still pos­sess
strengths that make them competitive in
any market.
Despite any U.S. educational shortcom­ings,
Boyle believes the United States' empha­sis
on creativity, coupled with the American
professional's ability to work in teams and
adapt to change, creates a marketplace advan­tage.
"The U.S. will maintain an advantage for
any products or services that require high
technology, high ethics, high-value-added
and have a low labor component for a long
time to come," he said.
MANAGING THE VIRTUAL TEAM SURVEY
MANAGING THE
VIRTUAL TEAM
Once a company has
made the decision to out­source
work to another
country, another set of chal­lenges
awaits.
Do you primarily communicate via means such as e-mail,
phone or web conferencing with "virtual" team members?
If so, professors Kannan Ramaswamy and William Youngdahl
are interested in tapping into your experience. Please log on
to http://www.surveyz.com/TakeSurveylid=9195 to
How does a company
change the way it conducts
business when it outsources
indicate your willingness to participate.
call centers, production or
other business processes to another country?
What challenges does a manager face when
members of the same team are in different
countries or different companies? What does
it take to make these efforts a success?
These aspects of outsourcing piqued the
curiosity of Kannan Ramaswamy, Ph.D., pro­fessor
of Global Strategy, and William Young­dahl,
Ph.D., associate professor of Operations
Management, whose research will result in a
database of best practices for managing the
virtual team.
"We see that high-value jobs are going over­seas,"
said Ramaswamy. "Therefore, we want
to understand the strategy and management
of this migration. What are the long-term
consequences for the competitiveness, innov­ativeness
and creativity of the organization
that is pursuing an outsourcing strategy? How
do you manage offshore projects? How do
you establish trust when your team is scat­tered
across multiple companies, countries
and time zones?"
While numerous books exist on the subject
of managing the virtual team, explained
Youngdahl, much of the information in them
is based on casual observation. "Our aim is to
create a database of best practices that is
strongly grounded in empirical research," he
said. "This would be something new and
highly relevant to Thunderbird alumni and
others looking for practical guidance on glob­al
virtual teams."
The first phase of research included the
creation of a pilot survey designed to collect
information from managers of virtual teams
- pinpointing the factors that were driving
success and failure within their teams.
Students in Youngdahl's Managing Projects
class gathered initial data from 112 alumni
and other contacts in 34 different countries.
Findings from this pilot study were used to
refine the survey instrument, which will be
sent to a new group of survey participants.
"The students offered fantastic suggestions
on how to improve the survey," Youngdahl
said. "There's a real sense of ownership.
They're excited because this project is more
relevant to them as Thunderbirds. And it gave
us the ability to accelerate the preliminary
stage of the research."
The current phase of research involves
identifying virtual team leaders and mem­bers
who are interested in participating in an
in-depth survey of virtual team best practices.
Alumni, Executive Education participants,
and other Thunderbird and non-Thun­derbird
constituents who have participated
in virtual teams that include members from
offshore suppliers are being sought. "One of
our objectives is to engage the Thunderbird
community as much as possible," said
Youngdahl.
The aim is to collect information from a
variety of virtual teams - cross-company
and within companies - at small, medium
and large companies, and at domestic and
global companies. The reward for participa­tion
will be first access to the results of the
study - a comprehensive set of best prac­tices
for virtual global teams. Ramaswamy
and Youngdahl plan to complete the project
by the end of 2004.
"We aspire to conduct research that gener­ates
practical and timely best practices," said
Youngdahl. "We are counting on our alumni
to help make this possible." Ramaswamy
added, "This is a natural for Thunderbird. We
have an extremely powerful network of alum­ni
spread across the globe who live and
breathe these issues daily."
Indeed, many T-birds have found them­selves
in the thick of the offshoring debate.
Their experiences, coupled with the research
efforts of professors Mathis, Youngdahl and
Ramaswamy, may shed additional light on
this highly emotional topic that has become
a part of everyday life in the business world
and in America's steel and manufacturing
towns. •
WINTER 2004 THUNDERBIRD MAGAZINE 11
Alumni Share Homecoming Experiences
Homecoming 2003, Nov. 6-9, welcomed 375 alumni and visitors
to the Glendale, Ariz., campus. Classes from 1993, 1978 and
1953 celebrated their 10-, 25- and 50-year reunions embracing
the theme, "A Toast to Tradition." Two alumni reunion participants share
their homecoming experiences - from Pub Night and a trip down mem­ory
lane to the Gala Dinner and catching up with good friends.
A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE
BY DANIEL CODY '93
Memories are time machines. They trans­verse
time and distance, but they need main­tenance
.. . which is why I attended this
year's Homecoming for my lO-year
reunion. A lot has changed since 1993.
For instance, the economy is better ...
believe it or not. When I graduated in
1993, far too many graduates left cam­pus
without definite prospects. It was a
period of transition for T-birds and the world,
and it was a challenging climate for graduates.
The Maastricht Treaty took effect, creating the
European Union. NAFD\. was ratified by the
United States. Yeltsin overcame reactionary
forces and ratified Russia's new constitution.
The Dow was at 3,700. The Internet was
around, but most still used CompuServe or
Prodigy for e-mail if at all, and laptops were a
luxury item coveted by most.
12 THUNDERBIRD MAGAZINE WINTER 2004
And, I had more gray hair.
I missed the real opening ceremony at the
Pub Thursday night, but was rewarded with
the familiar flag ceremony at the official wel­coming
reception on Friday. It reinforced my
understanding of the uniqueness of Thun­derbird
- namely that it is a global institu­tion.
The students and alumni have their own
passport: a Thunderbird education.
I am glad I took time to participate in some
of the other activities as well. I learned, for
instance, at the Memory Lane presentation by
Thunderbird archivist Nelda Crowell, that the
campus wasn't purchased for $1, but for list
price ($407,000) with a 100-percent discount,
and that the transaction itself was the subject
of a congressional investigation. It's good to
know we have always been controversial.
(Top): Gonzalo Palza '78
presents a toast to
reunion-goers at the
Gala Dinner held at the
Arizona Biltmore Resort
& Spa. Left: Daniel Cody
'93 (right) with Kollyn
Kanz '93. Bottom (left
to right): The 7th annual
rugby invitational pitted
Thunderbird against
other MBA schools, with
the University of Texas
defeating Harvard in the
championship round.
Nelda Crowell takes
T-birds on a trip down
Memory Lane as she
shares the School's his­tory.
Alumni attended
''It was wonderful
to walk down
memory lane with
old friends and to
explore all of the
exciting new
facilities.
I was heartened
to see that the
same spirit and
traditions of
Thunderbird live
on in good hands.
I'm looking
forward to the
next reunion. "
- JOHN CALLEY '53
I also discovered that cross-cultural com­munication
has always been important.
Nelda relayed a story about one of the early
presidents of Thunderbird visiting the Middle
East where he was introduced as the president
of the Tender Chicken Graduate School of
Management. The much wordier official
name, American Graduate School of Inter­national
Management, didn't translate well.
Chalk up another one for brands not translat­ing
well. But brands also are about consisten­cy,
and Thunderbird is the name that has
opened up doors all over the world for me.
The Gala at the Biltmore was, well, a gala.
Any time you bring together multiple gener­ations
of Thunder birds, there will always be a
competition for which class partied the hard­est.
Based on the shared stories, the class of
'53 wins hands down. T-birds are also an
opinionated bunch. Our class was still debat­ing
the switch to the MBA. The majority
chose to change their degrees. I kept my
MIM. Just like in business - different peo­ple,
different strategies.
The most important reason to come back
was reconnecting with friends. I only wish
more had been able to attend. Most of my
classmates seem to have settled nicely into
their careers and started families, creating the
future classes of Thunderbird. Baby T-bird
shirts had to be the most popular item in the
bookstore that weekend. I was surprised at
the number of "ThundercoupIes," as well.
Well, maybe not too surprised, since I am
now part of one myself. Kollyn Kanz '93 and
I met at a First Tuesday in Manhattan. You
may think it a small school, but I had to move
to New York City to meet her.
In the end, I left content in the wisdom of
my decision to attend Thunderbird. It has
taken me allover the world both professional­ly
and personally. It was also one of the most
vibrant, challenging and exciting times of my
life. I hope to see more of my friends at the 25-
year reunion. I will have more gray hair.
FAMILIAR FACES
BY DIANA PERRY DOYLE '78
What a great reunion! We had a wonderful
time from Pub Night Thursday night through
the rugby games and Farewell Brunch on Sun­day.
When we first got to campus for Pub
Night, we were looking to the left of the road
and couldn't find the Pub (needless to say,
both the entrance to
the School and the
campus are com­pletely
different) .
We pulled over to
ask someone where
the Pub was, and that 'someone' turned out to
be Tom Walker '78 and his Brazilian wife,
Hilde, who had just arrived from Miami, Fla.
The class of'78 members spent the night look­ing
at Mia (Diekemper) Maddoux's '78
photo albums, which we all
Top: Class of '53 alum­ni
gathered at the
Meet and Mingle
Picnic (left to right):
john Gearhart, john
Calley, Roland Garcia,
john Eikenberry, Van
Crichfield, F.L. (Hap)
Hubbard, Richard
Enochson. Bottom (left
to right): Vickie Austin
'93 led a CareerForum
session titled, "Your
Golden Rolodex."
Roger Larsen '72 also
spoke during the
forum, focusing on
ways that alumni can
market their leader­ship
talents. Alumni
Ambassadors met to
discuss their mentoring
role with prospective
students. Liz Freedman
'00 performed her
comedy act, "Made
Redundant," highlight­ing
a yearlong job
search journey. Left:
jo Ann Seager '78,
john jones '78 and
Diana Doyle '78.
THUNDERBIRD MAGAZINE 13
enjoyed. KjelJ Solem '78 filled us in on what
all the Norwegian classmates are up to, and
Pavel Hillel '78 updated us on some of our
other friends, including Peter Horbye '78 and
Eve-Marie Hutin '78, both in London. Pavel
travels extensively for IBM, so he is able to
keep in touch with a wide array of classmates.
Kathy and Syver Norderhaug '79 and Peter
Asten '78 also updated us on the whereabouts
of others.
Rob Mason '78 was at the Pub with
Suzanne and their 22-year-old son, who just
completed undergraduate studies at Prince­ton.
Rob, who was manager of the Pub in
1978, said he recognized all his regular cus­tomers
from the old days.
It was also great to have a drink with Phil
Cabrera '78 and his beautiful Brazilian wife,
Zeila. Jo Ann Seager '78 and Jo-Ann Lynch
'78 are as energetic as ever and have volun­teered
to set up mini-reunions in different
locations every few years. Send an e-mail if
you are interested (freerad@comcast.net).
On Friday, many of us attended the lunch
and then toured the campus. The new build­ings,
fountains and sculptures are impressive,
and the landscaping was fantastic. Long gone
are the days of the dirt road on the outer
reaches of the campus. The old barracks,
where many of us stayed the fust semester, are
gone and in their place are a number of
buildings and sleeping quarters for Executive
Education. Clearly this is a much more
important element on the campus today.
After Pub Night, the Gala at the Biltmore
was a much more subdued affair. Gonzalo
Paiza '78 offered the toast for the class of'78
and gave an entertaining and sentimental
speech. Sandy (Iden) Asheim '78 and her
husband, Dave, kept our table lively, and
Teresa Easler '78, in from Toronto, enter­tained
us with some stories from long ago in
Panama. She also noted how many of us have
become successful entrepreneurs. After the
Gala, we gathered back at the Pub and joined
the Harvard, Colombia, Kellogg and Cornell
rugby teams. They had just returned from
their event, Rodeo Rugby, where they rode
live bulls (Cornell won that event) . At the
Pub, we saw Michael Kuhn '78, who has
recently returned from Uruguay and is now
living in the Los Angeles, Calif., area.
By the time Sunday came, we were all very
sad to say goodbye! _
14 THUNDERBIRD MAGAZINE WINTER 2004
ALUMNI HONORED AT HOMECOMING
Six leaders in international business and
government service were honored with
Distinguished Alumni Awards Nov. 8, 2003.
The awards are presented annually to gradu­ates
who excel in banking and finance, public
service/nonprofit, marketing, entrepreneur­ship
and other fields. Recipients are nominat­ed
by fellow alumni, faculty and staff. For
more information about the Distinguished
Awards program and how you can nominate
candidates, contact Alumni Relations at (602)
978-7358 or amtb@thunderbird.edu.
CRITERIA FOR NOMINEES
Rising Star Award: For the graduate of less
than 10 years who is making great strides in
his/her career.
Distinguished Alumni Awards: For alumni
who graduated at least 10 years ago and are
involved in civic and School activities. Awards
are given in the areas of public sector/govern­ment/
nonprofit; banking and finance; entre­preneurship;
and marketing.
Jonas Mayer Outstanding Alumnus Award:
This award is the highest honor Thunderbird
can bestow and is presented to that alum­nus/
a who has demonstrated professional
achievement, civic service and a commitment
to Thunderbird activities.
Thunderbird has added two new award cate­gories
for 2004, including The Career
Achievement Award, for the graduate who
has excelled in his/her chosen career, and The
Alumni Volunteer Award, honoring the grad­uate
who has given his/her time to support
Thunderbird.
2003 DISTINGUISHED
ALUMNI AWARD RECIPIENTS
JONAS MAYER AWARD
John Cook '79
Director and Partner
WI Hopper & Co. Limited
RISING S11\R AWARD
Mark P. Ramondt '93
Finance Director
Laundry & Household Care
Unilever North America
BANKING AND FINANCE
Frances Aldrich Sevilla­Sacasa
'78
Latin America and Europe
Region Head
The Citigroup Private Bank
PUBLIC
SERVICE/NONPROFIT
Lewis Lucke '77
USAID/Iraq Mission
Director & CPA Recon­struction
Coordinator
MARKETiNG
Anthony J. van der Hoek '89
Director, Strategy & Business
Solutions
Global Customer
Development
The Coca-Cola Company
ENTREPRENEURS HlP
Scott Walker /81
President, CEO and
Chairman
BilIMatrix Corporation
REUNION OPTIONS
In 2004, T-birds in the classes of 1994,
1979 and 1954, who are celebrating 10-,
25- and 50-year anniversaries, will have a choice of celebration venue. Alumni may
choose to celebrate with planned class activities in Glendale Ariz., during Alumni
Weekend in November, or join the general celebration in October at the Shanghai
Thunderbird Global Reunion.
BY CHERYL A. SWEET
Global MBA Alumnus Poised for Success
Aejandro Jaime Marti Bolanos Cacho
'00 is ahead of schedule - by most
standards. The 30-year-old holds
himself to an elevated set of professional val­ues,
positioning himself as one of Latin
America's best bankers.
His recent appointment as senior manager
for business development at GE Capital's
Latin America Consumer Finance Group also
took the fast-track. Within two weeks of being
contacted by a search firm that recognized his
international banking skills, Marti was hand­picked
to grow GE's consumer credit portfo­lio
in Latin America.
"I was really impressed when the interview
with the CEO only lasted 25 minutes," admit­ted
Marti, whose strategic career-planning is
paying off. He is confident that he landed the
position, thanks, in part, to his decision to
pursue a Thunderbird Global MBA without
taking time off from his previous job as a rela­tionship
manager at Banamex. "I didn't lose
working experience, which I think is very
important," he said. "Instead of me going to
Thunderbird, Thunderbird came to me."
Delivered to 15 locations throughout Latin
America and offered in partnership with
Tecnol6gico de Monterrey, the Global MBA
for Latin American Managers focuses on
international management, while highlight­ing
regional Latin American business issues.
Marti was able to remain with Banamex (for­merly
Citibank Mexico), while earning his
degree via live satellite broadcasting, local
classes and virtual interaction.
As the new president of the Latin America
Council of the Thunderbird Alumni Associa­tion,
Marti is striving to increase awareness of
the Global MBA program. "I think it's very
important that people realize there is no dif­ference
between on-campus graduates and
Global MBA graduates," he said.
Marti also is working to boost individual
and corporate giving to Thunderbird within
his council by at least 60 percent. Pride in his
country also prompted his Council presiden­cy.
"I wanted to become president because I
represent Mexico, which has the fastest-grow­ing
alumni population for Thunderbird, out­side
of the United States," said Marti.
Along with playing a leadership role, bank­ing
also is a natural fit for Marti. "I like to be
around money, and I'm service-oriented," he
said. "When I travel with friends or family, I
always assume the role of managing the
money. Banking is a business of trust. Besides
receiving and keeping funds, you have to be
trusted by your customers."
With Banamex since 1998, Marti, indeed,
earned that trust while simultaneously
climbing the corporate ladder and pursuing a
Global MBA. Midway through the program,
he was promoted and became the chief con­tact
for international corporations with sub­sidiaries
in Mexico. "I got creative, working
with customers who weren't expected to
bring in revenue, " Marti said. "If that cus­tomer
wasn't interested in one line of busi­ness,
I didn't give up."
One of Marti's strategies was offering draft
discount programs to such customers. "That
meant, instead of them taking out direct loans
"Thunderbird has contributed greatly to
my personal development. I have made
from my bank, I went to
new friends with different cultural
backgrounds and have learned to
appreciate the simpler things in life."
- ALEJANDRO MAIm '00, GLOBAL MBA
their customers and
asked them if they were
interested in getting
extended credit terms
- giving my customer
cash immediately. I
then collected from
their customers in 90 or
Alejandro Marti (third from left) visits
with a group ofT-bird alumni, staff and
students during the Americas Conference
in Coral Gables, Fla., Oct. 28-29, 2003.
more days. In this way, I helped my customers
extend their credit terms with their clients."
Results were impressive, with Marti exceed­ing
his bank's revenue-based budget expecta­tions
the past four years. "The bank expected
me to bring in $l.9 million in my first year. I
exceeded that expectation by 30 percent."
He hopes to provide this same level of
excellence to GE, aiming for a high return on
equity for every deal he closes. "I will have
similar responsibilities, but will be working
in a different market - making me a more
complete banker," said Marti, who will bring
new financial products to market. He also
will handle all business-to-business initiatives
and will support business development team
members with different products such as
mortgages, credit cards and auto loans.
When he's not working, Marti indulges his
love of sports. Formula 1 car races are his
favorite spectator sport, and football is his
preferred participatory game. A quarterback
and wide receiver when he was elected to a
national football team in high school that
won two championships, Marti credits foot­ball
with helping lay the foundation for his
career success.
"Football," he explained, "is a very strategic
game that has helped me in my career. Every
play in the offense is designed to score, and
every play in the defense is designed to stop
the other team. Playing quarterback, you have
to manage and lead the whole team." _
WINTER 2004 THUNDERBIRD MAGAZINE 15
Alumni Find Success in
a Growing Economy
RESOURCES
FOR RUSSIA
Moscow Times
(English-language
newspaper)
www.moscowtimes.ru
U.S.-Russia Business
Council
www.usrbc.org
American Chamber
of Commerce
www.amcham.ru
Visa Applications Online
www.russiagateway.com
Travel Information
www.russia.com
MOsCOW, 1998. Communism has dis­appeared
like a bad dream and
Russia is looking like the New
Frontier. Then, seemingly overnight, it all falls
apart - the economy spirals downward, the
ruble is devalued some 300 percent and for­eign
executives - as well as capital - are
leaving the country at alarming rates.
Flash forward five years and Russia remains
a mystery to most Western businessmen. On
one hand, tales of the incredible opportuni­ties
available in this newly opened market
abound. On the other - the recent arrests of
two high-profile leaders of Russian oil com­pany
Yukos have caused some business and
political leaders to wonder whether this is the
beginning of a radical change of course back
toward authoritarianism. Which is the true
Russia? Growth or disruption? Bonuses or
bureaucracy? Is the current situation really
stable or is more political turmoil just around
the corner?
Overwhelmingly, most agree - Russian or
expatriate, resident or business traveler -
that Russia's future is bright; the market is
primed for growth, and prospects are excel­lent.
According to Bob Courtney '88, the
business community in Russia is generally
bullish about the economy, despite recent
events. Courtney, who has been in Russia
since 1995 and has started a number of entre­preneurial
ventures including a series of
American-style dental clinics and a consult­ing
firm working with American and
European corporations investing in Russia, is
confident about the future. "Yes, there have
been some bumps in the road, but they're not
of long-term significance," he said. "Russia is
still one of the largest growth markets in the
world, and foreign companies have not
changed their investment plans."
Dick Weden '68 agrees. The head of Ameri­can
Express in Russia, Weden also serves as
chairman of the American Chamber of
Commerce in Moscow. "What is the tempo of
business here in Russia?" he asked. "Booming.
Let me put it this way: the AmCham has more
than 700 corporate members in Moscow
16 THUNDERBIRD MAGAZINE WINTER 2004
BY BEATRICE BERNESCUT '90
alone." Weden indi­cated
that Amex's
plans to launch its
first credi t card in
Russia by the end of
2004 is another
positive sign of the
area's growth and
prosperity.
"Thunderbird gave me a different pair
of glasses - a chance to see and
understand Russia both from an
insider's and outsider's perspective. "
- SERGEI TIMOKHOVITCH '96
Another T-bird who sees opportunities in
Russia is Sandra Desourdy '96, COO/CFO of
Dekart, a security software development com­pany.
Having a base of operations in Moscow
made sense, she said, because u • . • it's an effi­cient
use of capital. You get a high-quality
product for fewer dollars."
Courtney predicts the growth trend will last
a few years as Russia continues to develop
Above: Pictured in
Moscow, Russia, is Sf.
Basil's Cathedral and
monument to Minin
and Pozharsky, heroes
of the national struggle
for liberation against
Swedish and Polish
invaders from 7610-7672.
a middle class. He foresees a minimum 20-
percent growth in consumer-driven services
and businesses for several more years, with
steady growth continuing through President
Vladimir Putin's second term. Other indus­tries
poised for massive expansion include
the energy, banking, retail and insurance
industries.
One of the key factors underpinning eco­nomic
growth is political stability, according
to Russia native, Sergei Timokhovitch '96,
who notes that Russia's leadership is demon­strating
a real commitment to reform. Putin,
who most observers agree is virtually guaran­teed
a second term in office, has elevated the
importance of economic reform and stability
with initiatives such as the U.S.-Russia
Business Council. "That's attracting a lot of
business," said Timokhovitch, general direc­tor,
Koch Supply and Trading. "These days,
you see a lot of foreigners in Moscow, from
almost any country you care to name."
Foreigners no longer have the automatic
advantage they once did, however. "Foreigners
and Russians now compete on equal terms,"
said Dennis Hopple, director of Thunder­bird's
Center for Business Skills Development
(CBSD) based in Moscow. CBSD provides a
wide range of management development
programs across Russia and Ukraine. Accord­ing
to Hopple, who has a finger on the pulse
of the local corporate community, the man­agement
and training needs of companies
doing business in Russia have evolved.
"Before the crisis, 95 percent of our customers
were multinationals needing training in basic
skills in finance and sales," he explained.
"Today, 30 percent of our business comes
from Russian companies looking to give their
managers skills in strategy, communication
and conflict resolution."
And while these types of managerial skills
are becoming increasingly valued, it also is
important to remember that, overall, the
Russian management style is different than
that of the United States or Europe. Russians
expect - and respect - an authoritarian
management style, emphasizing strictness
and discipline. The Western 'consensus' man­agement
style, according to Courtney, is often
interpreted by Russians as a sign of weakness.
Regardless of management style, however,
the old saying that "it's not what you know,
but who you know," is particularly true in
Russia. Whether between employee and man­ager,
client and supplier, or business to busi-ness
contacts, a strong emphasis is placed on
relationships. "Relationships are key," said
Hopple. "If you don't have the right relation­ships,
you are frequently ignored."
Desourdy added, "In Russia, you never
know whom someone else knows, and that
'someone else' could end up being a big part
of the puzzle." But as John Powell '90
explained, one cannot assume that relation­ships
will evolve in the same fashion as they
do in the United States or Europe. "Russians
are more guarded than their American coun­terparts
- especially in business," said
Powell, a sugar trader in Moscow. "You have
to re-tune your perceptions of what is really
going on around you."
Aside from relationships, another common
cultural barrier is language. With the business
marketplace getting leaner and meaner as a
result of the '98 crisis, language skills in the
workplace have become increasingly impor­tant.
Although it is possible to live in Moscow
without speaking Russian, most companies
will not hire employees without Russian-lan­guage
skills. Equally important, said Desour­dy,
is a good understanding of both the busi­ness
and the social culture.
One useful tool for learning the local cul­ture
is networking. "You can't underestimate
the power of the network, especially in an
environment like this," said Powell, who
tapped into the local T-bird and Russian
communities, and also gained insight from
Westerners who have lived in Russia.
For those concerned that Russia may still
have "tendencies of the Wild West," T-birds
living and working there offer assurance.
"First impressions are very important," said
Timokhovitch. "And the new airport that has
been opened on the south side of Moscow is
extremely efficient. It makes arriving in
Russia a much more pleasant experience."
Weden added, "You can get anything you
want in Moscow - except English muffins
- if you're willing to pay for it." Powell
agreed, adding that life in Moscow improves
daily. T- birds note that the conveniences of
modem city life bring their downside as well,
though, with Moscow's jammed streets mir­roring
many an automobile-choked metrop­olis
in the West.
Still, those who set out to discover the
land once known for its czars and Commu­nism
agree that Russia is an incredible coun­try
that defies definition and provides end­less
potential. _
Above: Anna
Matveeva, a senior
trainer at the Thun­derbird-
affiliated
Center for Business
Skills Development
in Russia delivers a
"Finance for Non­Financials"
course in
one of five similar
classrooms at the
Moscow-based
CBSD facility.
Top to bottom: Bob
Courtney '88, Dick
Weden '68, Sergei
Timokhovitch '96.
Below: Sandra
DeSourdy '96 (left),
also a Thunderbird
Alumni Ambassador,
spent time with
the student she
mentored, Kellie
Kreiser '04, during
Homecoming
weekend.
WINTER 2004 THUNDERBIRD MAGAZINE 17
Knowing How to
Tap Thunderbird's
Network Can Lead
to Positive Results
What began as a passing conversa­tion
between Pedro Carvalho '94
and other Sao Paulo-based First
Tuesday participants in March 2003 has
turned into a life-changing catalyst for more
than a dozen T-birds to date.
When Carvalho found himself challenged
by the job market in Brazil, he soon realized
that many other T-birds were in the same
position. Working closely with Constanza
Novillo '02 and other local alumni, he estab­lished
a job support group through the Sao
Paulo Alumni Chapter with the sole purpose
of helping members gain employment.
Nearly 80 percent of the group's efforts
focused on the importance of networking -
with alumni, among themselves, with busi­ness
contacts and the local community.
Meeting once a week in Novillo's home for
two-hour intervals, the group experienced
great success, with six of the seven initial
members landing jobs after two months.
"After a year and a half of unemployment, I
got my job within two months," said Car­valho,
who is now the CFO for British
Telecom for Latin America. He attributes this
success to the strict accountability guidelines
the group created.
Each week, members established aggressive
individual goals depending on their stage in
the job search: research the target market for 30
company matches, make 10 phone calls to sched­ule
information interviews, have five lunch meet­ings.
Some enhanced their resumes while oth­ers
created networking contact lists, but all
sessions involved open dialogue, brainstorm­ing
and information exchange.
"Goal-setting and the accountability factor
played a huge role in our success rates," said
Novillo, who admitted that the weekly meet­ings
instilled a sense of guilt. "No one want­ed
to tell the group that they hadn't met their
goals."
Using First Tuesdays, Thunderbird Alumni
Chapter meetings and My Thunderbird (MTB),
18 THUNDERBIRD MAGAZINE WINTER 2004
Constanza Novillo '02 opened her home to alumni who were learning how to incorporate networking
into their job searches.
the Sao Paulo group spread the word about
the success of their job forum, which is still
running strong. In fact, two additional groups
were established in Orange County and Los
Angeles, Calif., and more TAA chapters have
expressed interest in establishing their own
groups. Novillo has been instrumental in
advising the new job support groups.
"The Thunderbird alumni network is typi­cally
the first choice to leverage contacts," said
Carvalho. "I, myself, got two job offers and
landed three freelance jobs thanks to the
Thunderbird alumni."
According to Anne-Marie Nelson '95,
assistant vice president of Alumni Relations,
the Sao Paulo job support group is just one
example of how alumni have creatively used
the Thunderbird network. "I strongly encour­age
alumni to keep their contact information
up-to-date on MTB so they can connect with
each other, and to use the many available
online and local chapter career management
tools," she said. "The value of the network is
enhanced when alumni use it actively and
appropriately for information, advice and to
support each other and students."
Alumni, however, are not the only star
players on the Thunderbird network team.
For more than 20 years, the Thunderbird
Global Council (TGe) , consisting of execu-tives
from corporations around the world,
has played an active role with the School,
advising on a variety of subjects, including
curriculum issues and alumni activities. "The
TGC is a high-performing team with connec­tions
throughout the world," said Mel Engle,
TGC chair of admissions and job placement
task forces and president and CEO of DEY
Inc., a pharmaceutical products developer.
"We are on the Council for a reason - to sup­port
the School."
The TGC has identified a series of aggres­sive
job placement and student retention
goals for 2004 (see reference to online story
about Admissions initiatives on page 41). Among
them are hiring more graduating students
into the more than 80 global companies rep­resented
by the TeC; providing internships to
T-bird students; supporting Thunderbird case
study research at their companies; and rout­ing
and endorsing student resumes within
TGC companies.
Students are exposed to TGC members at
various times each year, including the Execu­tive
Partner Program breakfast, held twice
yearly in Glendale, Ariz. For the past six
years, the program has matched a well-estab­lished,
knowledgeable business person with
students who are interested in pursuing
careers in a similar field.
BY MELISSA CRYTZER FRY
TGC member Tony LeDinh, pictured at a conference in Hanoi in August 2002, introduced Siemens co­worker
Tom Foley '02 to the Thunderbird EMBA program.
The fall event, Sept. 26, 2003, welcomed 17
TGC members who provided information
and advice about job requirements, possible
career paths and trends/issues in their func­tion,
industry or region of operation.
"It was a fantastic experience," said Jeff
Mathers '04, who ate breakfast with Leavitt
Ahrens Jr. '66, a retired senior vice president
for Rubbermaid Inc. "He had reviewed our
resumes ahead of time and had questions for
each of us when we sat down for breakfast. He
also invited us to continue the relationship
after the event, which I certainly am doing. We
have corresponded via e-mail quite a bit
already. It has been a tremendous opportunity
to find a mentoring relationship like that."
"TGC members offer a wealth of experience
and opportunity to the students and alumni
they meet," said John Seybolt, senior vice
president for Institutional Advancement and
Alliances. "In fact, more than 40 percent of
TGC members are alumni. Through theirTGC
membership, they become a well-connected
and powerful resource for the School.
Exposure to TGC members, who often speak
at Thunderbird events such as First Tuesdays
and Global Business Forums, is a networking
opportunity that should not be missed."
Thunderbird EMBA student Tom Foley '02
benefited from such contact with a TGC mem-ber.
His relationship with Siemens co-worker
and lO-yearTGC veteran Tony leDinh led him
to Thunderbird's Executive MBA program.
"Tony was instrumental in making me aware
of the value of Thunderbird, " said Foley.
"He arranged a personal introduction to
Roy Herberger and several successful alums
who convinced me of the unique opportunity.
He provided a strong recommendation and
support of a proposal to our CEO, which led
to the company's decision to sponsor me in
the EMBA program at Thunderbird."
leDinh's initial support, combined with
Foley's efforts, led to the welcoming of
another EMBA student, Gary Cline '02, into
the Siemens family. "Tom Foley had been in
my class for two years," said Cline, who
shared similar workplace challenges and
experiences with Foley, senior director with
Tom Foley '02 Gary Cline '02
Siemens Building Technologies. Throughout
the course of the EMBA program, the two
worked on various case projects together.
"When Tom realized I was no longer with my
previous employer, we started talking about
Siemens," explained Cline.
After an introduction to the chief operating
officer of Siemens One - arranged by Foley
- and six interviews later, Cline landed the
position of western regional manager for
Siemens One, a group chartered to develop
and implement complex projects among
multiple Siemens operating companies.
Another offshoot of Foley and Cline's rela­tionship
was their influence on classmate
Sanjeet Singh '02, who was recruited to
Siemens while simultaneously attending
Thunderbird's EMBA program and working at
Honeywell. "Although I didn't really use net­working
to land the job, having Tom and
Gary at Siemens definitely influenced me to
accept the new assignment," said Singh, sen­ior
manager with Siemens AG, Information
and Communication Networks.
"Sanjeet and I went to lunch to talk about
Siemens," said Cline, whose generosity with
other T-birds was definitely influenced by
Foley. "I will help other T-birds as Tom
helped me. You get close to the 35 people you
were in class with during the two-year pro­gram.
As a result, when you become aware of
opportunities before the general public does,
you can go out on a limb and make recom­mendations
for other T-birds."
In essence, that's what the Thunderbird
network is all about. Helping others who
have similar global interests and experiences.
Thunderbird's network boasts more than
33,700 alumni as well as hundreds of TGC
members, Board of Trustee members, faculty,
staff and corporate partners. This tight-knit
group of highly resourceful individuals work­ing
in more than 12,000 corporations, gov­ernments,
NGOs and other enterprises in 138
countries is a powerful resource. •
Sanjeet Singh '02
WINTER 2004 THUNDERBIRD MAGAZINE 19
T-birds have a way of finding one another no matter where they are
- even when they are separated by continents, as illustrated by
these T-bird American Express and ConocoPhillips employees.
A month before graduating from Thunderbird's EMBA program in
November 2002, Fabiano Pellegrino Grottoli '02 began a post as new
business development manager for Global Commercial Cards with
American Express in Brazil. A newcomer to the corporation, he was
interested in knowing how many T-birds were employed by American
Express worldwide. Afrer a search on My Thunderbird (MTB), he iden­tified
about 40 alumni to whom he sent a friendly e-mail message.
"Fabiano's welcome message included an offer to be a local sponsor
to facilitate business or recreational needs for fellow Amex T-birds
who might be in the area," said Doug Marcotte '93, director of Global
Airline Strategy with American Express in Califomia. "This led to vari­ous
responses of Am ex alumni around the world - in Singapore and
Delhi - offering the same hospitality."
According to Grottoli, the flurry of e-mails elicited from his first cor­respondence
resulted in the identification of additional Amex alumni
beyond those he found on MTB - totaling almost 100. He had hoped
to create an internal database that alumni could use to identify and
network with one another, but, because of his job responsibilities, was
unable to do so.
"Fortunately, last September, Julie Haw '93 and Antonio Fernandez
'98 took the lead and created a peer group on MTB caHed Blue Box T­birds,"
said Grottoli. "We now have 23 members and more than two
dozen messages posted - but far from the real potential."
''This form of electronic communication was the first step in getting
T-birds to talk to one another and is still in its infancy," said Haw, a
Phoenix-based project manager with American Express Technologies,
Global Reengineering and co-administrator of the site, along with
Fernandez, an American Express national account manager with
Global Corporate Services, U.S. Commercial Cards. ''This is a great way
to share our business experiences within the company - and a great
opportunity for people looking to expand their careers within
American Express without having to talk to strangers," said Haw.
The Blue Box T-birds, so-named after the company's blue box logo,
conduct virtual visits online, and many met face-to-face for the first
THE DOS AND DON'TS OF NETWORKING
Amex T-birds include (left to right,
front row): Antonio Alvarez '94,
Eva Chao '00, Julie Haw '93,
Antonio Fernandez '98, Doug
Marcotte '93. Back row: Bradford
Caldwell '03, Aaron Aylsworth '96. __ .~,~
ConocoPhillips T-birds (left to right): John Durbin '78, Nick Tillmann '79,
Thomas Cornell '99, Jennifer Ellis '98, Carole Lopez '83, Kamran Javed '00.
Not pictured are Knut Torvik '88 and Orson Mabey '8Z
time at this year's Pub Night during Homecoming. The group hopes to
organize additional personal visits when possible. Amex employees
who haven't joined are encouraged to contact Haw (Julie.haw@
aexp.com) or Fernandez (Antonio.a.femandez@aexp.com).
When Conoco and Phillips merged in August 2002, Knut Torvik '88
and Jennifer (Klingler) Ellis '98, who both relocated from Tempe,
Ariz., to company headquarters in Houston, Texas, were searching for
commonality in the midst of change. "The idea to connect with other
T-birds came about as a result of this relocation and a mix of several
corporate cultures: said Ellis, ConocoPhillips staff analyst for Mid­continent
Inventory Accounting.
Using MTB, Torvik and Ellis were able to identify eight T-birds work­ing
at the Houston office, who now meet regularly for lunch at the
employee cafeteria. "An obvious workplace advantage is networking"
said Ellis. "Another is the opportunity to learn more about other areas
of the business."
According to Eilis, the ConocoPhillips group shares similar T-bird
stories, despite the fact that they attended Thunderbird at very differ­ent
times. -MCF
Networking. as the name implies, involves work - researching a company and person before making contact and committing to the process throughout
one's career. Based on feedback from alumni, Barbara Limmer, Thunderbird's Alumni and Executive Career Management director, suggests the following:
DO:
• Personalize your first contact e-mail message. Mass e-mails are
guaranteed to create a negative impression and destroy any
chance of a response from your target T-birds.
• Be specific in describing the information or advice you are
seeking: "I'm interested in a product marketing position in the
high-tech industry and would like to know some of the daily
challenges that your product managers face.'
• Ask permission in your message: ·Would you be willing to
discuss this with me?"
• Ask each person you meet, "Who else might be willing to talk
with me?" This approach expands your network.
20 THUNDERBIRD MAGAZINE WINTER 2004
DON'T:
• Confuse networking with job hunting. Networking is building
and maintaining professional relationships. It's something you
do throughout your life, not just when you're job hunting.
Networking offers value for you and those with whom you
network. If you're not providing value to people in your network,
you're not doing your share.
• Send an impersonal mass e-mail to a distribution list.
• Think that being a T-bird allows you to make demands of fellow
T-birds or TGC members, or that just because you're a T-bird, you
deserve their time, attention or help.
• Ask for a job from someone you don't know - T-bird or not.
See related CareerForum story on page 40.
Finance Students Use Hi-Tech
Analytic Tools, Language Skills
BY MELISSA CRYTZER FRY
in the Asia-Pacific region. Li also will continue to create case­lets
for Thunderbird, drawing upon the real-world fixed
income questions clients ask. "Because the Yield Book busi­ness
is growing rapidly in this region, it is essential to provide
prompt response to clients' needs and requests, n she said.
W As Grieves continues to integrate the software into his classes, the all Street and Glendale may be separated by thousands of
miles, but thanks to two Thunderbird professors, compo­nents
of the Wall Street experience came to life ~~!""!!IlII!I'I!fIIf"",!,--iIIJiI former Salomon Brothers employee - with U's help
- will create additional caselets that Citigroup plans
to use for training purposes with other universities. To
date, Thunderbird, Columbia University and New
York University are the only schools to receive the
complimentary software.
on campus this fall. More than 30 students were immersed in
investment-related projects through two distinctly different
hands-on, classroom-related experiences offered through the
School's fixed income and investment banking courses.
THE YIELD BOOK CALCULATOR PROJECT
Robin Grieves, clinical professor of Finance, orchestrated
the School's acquisition of the Yield Book® Calculator, a
powerful bond analytic software solution created by
Salomon Analytics Inc.
With the software, students in the fixed income course completed a
series of caselets designed to teach them not only how to use the
sophisticated new technology, but also the concepts behind the fixed
income field. The caselets - investment scenarios that use Yield Book
calculations to analyze interest rates and calculate value and risk meas­ures
- could be completed outside of class, because each student
received a complimentary copy.
"Experience with the Yield Book Calculator provides students with
an additional technical skill - getting hands-on use with a product
that is actually used on Wall Street," said Kevin McKellar '03. The cal­culator
uses the same financial models as The \rield Book, which is
used by many large institutional portfolio managers and Salomon
Smith Barney's trading, sales and research professionals.
Another benefit, according to Grieves, is the ability to work with
Citigroup, the parent company of Salomon Smith Barney. In exchange
for the free software provided to Thunderbird, Citigroup has request­ed
resumes of Yield Book-savvy T-birds. "Citigroup gets calls from
potential customers who would like people who can use the software
to analyze bonds," said Grieves. "It's a real plus for T-birds to have
access to superior analytics that can lead to job placement."
In fact, the first T-bird Calculator expert to land a job with Citigroup
was Zhanying Li '03, an associate at Citigroup, who manages accounts
McKellar, who worked for HSBC Securities before
enrolling at Thunderbird, believes that Yield Book
may become more common at insurance firms, pen­sion
funds and other portfolio management shops as
companies look to cut expenses. Expenses to main­tain
commonly used Bloomberg software, he explained, are often
higher, with a need for dedicated monitors and support staff.
GOLDMAN SACHS CONSULTING PROJECT
In addition to completing his own coursework, Silab Mohanty '03
spent July through September of 2003 coordinating an international
securities research consulting project with executives at Goldman
Sachs and 14 T-bird students - some studying in overseas locations
as distant as France and Mexico.
As research assistant to John Mathis, professor of International fin­ance
and Banking who oversees the Goldman Sachs project, Mohanty
put his finance knowledge and management know-how to work.
The project, a multicountry, multilingual survey of a major world­wide
financial service provider, required interviews with 200-300 com­pany
representatives across the globe. The survey was conducted in 10
languages by students who possessed not only the necessary language
skills, but also an understanding of international finance.
The survey data, which focused on the company's market and per­formance,
culminated in a 100-page report that Goldman Sachs and
investors use to analyze and rate the specific company's stock, accord­ing
to Mathis.
"The greatest challenge was coordinating the activities of 14 stu­dents
from diverse professional, cultural and linguistic backgrounds,"
said Mohanty, who conducted a half-dozen conference calls with
Goldman Sachs throughout the project. "It was great exposure to real­world
financial industry practices."
"As a student of finance and French, this was a unique opportunity
for me to utilize my newly developed skills and put them to the test
outside the classroom," added Andrew Green '04.
Thunderbird is the only school that conducts equity research for
Goldman Sachs. This year marks the second such project with the
equity giant, which grew from Mathis's relationship with Goldman
Sachs. _
Above: Robin Grieves. Left: Mauricio Carmagnani '03, Silab Mohanty '03 and
Zona Chen '04 (left to right) assisted in the Goldman Sachs project. Other par­ticipants
included Brady Olson '04, Arun Jayaprakash '03, Andrew Green '04,
Vikram Chatur '03, Matt Jackson '04, Vishal Jadhav '04, Leonardo Lopez '04,
Hemant Bohra '03, Darron Flagg '04, Jose Suarez '03 and Jing Chen '03.
WINTER 2004 THUNDERBIRD MAGAZINE 21
TSG Leadership
Shows Initiative
When he assumed the role of Thun­derbird
Student Government (TSG)
president in summer 2003, Abe Jacob
'03, a native of Singapore, hit the ground run­ning,
making radical changes in the way TSG
operated internally and in the way it interact­ed
with the Thunderbird administration.
In an effort to increase communication
between the student body and administra­tion,
Jacob implemented a monthly cross­functional
meeting with staff, faculty and
TSG members, induding representatives from
Student Services, CMC, Marketing and Com­munication,
Academic Affairs, Alumni Rela­tions
and the Dean of Faculty.
"I never got a no response from anyone in
the administration," said Jacob. "Whether it
was the Worldwide Welcome (see sidebar) or
other initiatives, everyone was eager to help."
Jacob notes that key administrators, induding
Kay Keci<, vice president for Student Services
and Program Support, and Joe Miller, director
of Student Services, were helpful in removing
some of the bureaucracy, which ultimately
raised the bar for both students and staff.
22 THUNDERBIRD MAGAZINE WINTER 2004
TSG also reorganized internally, eliminat­ing
some positions and creating new posi­tions
in areas identified as priorities, such as
Informational and Instructional Technologies
and Marketing.
While increased communication between
TSG and administration already has proved
invaluable, Jacob acknowledged that the cus­tomer-
service mentality of the student body
still proves to be a major pitfall in maintain­ing
these relationships. "There is still a ten­dency
for students to think of themselves as
the 'customer:" he explained, "with the atti­tude,
'I'm paying all of this money, so I
demand service:" This mentality, he said, has
to change. "Students have to step up to the
plate, and not expect things to be handed
over on a silver platter."
Another necessary change involved the
auditing process, which traditionally
imposed little accountability on TSG spend­ing.
Today, one to two treasurer reports are
required each year, ensuring a thorough sys­tem
of checks and balances. According to
Jacob, a finite amount of money is set aside
for fixed costs, which can no longer be tapped
for other purposes throughout the year, as
was the case in the past.
Another radical change that Jacob and
BY AMANDA HAWK '05
other TSG members introduced was an
extreme reduction in monies allocated for the
traditional end-of-trimester Graduation Gala.
The event, targeted to graduating students,
accounted for a staggering 50 percent ofTSG's
overall budget. Jacob and the TSG team took
a hard-line position, slashing the Gala's budg­et
allocation and freeing those funds for uses
they felt were more in line with the Thunder­bird
community as a whole.
"Students do not come to Thunderbird for
one night of having a fancy dinner in some
hotel," asserted current TSG President Sharon
Jayakumar '04. "We are here for the dasses,
the cultural and business dubs, and to net­work
- and that's what student dollars
should support."
Having feared a fierce backlash from grad­uating
students when their revised budget
was presented, TSG was pleasantly surprised
to find that most students appreciated the
change. "By the end of our presentation, our
harshest critics had become our greatest
allies," said Jayakumar. "And those who had
initially been opposed to the change were
making suggestions about how to make the
Gala a uniquely Thunderbird experience."
Another initiative embraced by Jayakumar
is the importance of aligning TSG goals with
Thunderbird's strategic plan. "In the future,
the external face ofTSG needs to remain, but
we now need to reach the next level of pro­fessionalism,"
she said. "We need to focus on
the strategic plan - on how student-led activ­ities
add mileage to the brand."
Her words echo the plan outlined by
Thunderbird President Roy A. Herberger Ir.,
which cites the need for Thunderbird to dif­ferentiate
itself from among the myriad of
international programs now cropping up in
MBA programs around the country. "We need
to defend our niche," said Jayakumar. "Any­one
can throw in a few international case
studies to the curriculum. Even our Winter­ims
are being replicated now. The key is to
make the most of our competitive advantage,
to leverage our international presence in
Archamps and Asia, for example, and to
increase the School's visibility in MBA com­petitions
and throughout the academic and
business communities."
This fall 's Worldwide Welcome (see story at
right) was a positive first step in that direction,
bringing hundreds of visitors to campus.
According to layakumar, the Welcome had a
positive impad on student involvement and
enthusiasm, and it also resulted in an increase
in the number ofTSG applications. _
HUNDREDS ATTEND
WORLDWIDE WELCOME
Abuzz was in the air on the Glendale,
Ariz., campus this fall. This was the year
of the Thunderbird Worldwide Welcome, a
student-driven initiative that sought to pub­licly
highlight national events sponsored by
some of the School's highest-profile student
groups.
TSG President Abe Jacob '03 brought the
initial idea to the administration last sum­mer,
noting that the packed fall event calen­dar
could generate School and brand aware­ness
if major events were conneded into a
cohesive schedule.
The Worldwide Welcome spanned five
weekends during the fall 2003 trimester and
included the THINC Innovation Challenge,
the Thunderbird Entrepreneurship Club
business plan competition, the Graduate
Women in Business (GWlB) National Con­ference,
Net Impad's Global Citizenship
Forum and the annual Rugby Invitational.
According to TSG's leaders, the eventual
hope is that the "buzz" generated by such
events will translate to higher rankings.
Jacob's primary goal was to send a powerful
message to other MBA programs about the
Thunderbird mystique and what the campus
experience is really like. By inviting business
students, media and other constituents to
campus to witness a balance of sporting,
intellectual and global awareness events, the
Weekend successfully highlighted Thunder­bird's
international academic environment
and its diverse mix of student groups and
activities.
GWIB's National Conference boasted
nearly 300 attendees, including a delegation
from the Women's College of Dubai, who
were given a private tour of the campus by
the Middle Eastern Club. Texas ran away
with the rugby title this year, and T-bird stu­dents
won a first-place $25,000 award in the
Entrepreneurship Club's business plan com­petition
with their plan for Tours Gone Wild,
niche-focused spring break tour services in
Brazil. The THINC Innovation Challenge,
with a preliminary round that saw 154 teams
from six countries, was whittled down to five
teams from Brigham Young University, Duke
University, Harvard University, University of
Minnesota and University of Texas at Austin.
Contestants had 10 hours to devise a new
prodUd, strategy or service for event sponsor,
the UPS store. Brigham Young was crowned
"Most Innovative MBA Team" in the world,
winning the $20,000 grand prize.
Innovation leader Tim Jones, principal of
Innovaro, a judge for the Innovation Chal­lenge,
said, 'This was a first-rate initiative that
successfully raised innovation onto the core
MBA agenda, and positioned Thunderbird as
the proadive champion of an important pro­gram
that will clearly become a major annu­al
event on everyone's calendar." - AH
Members of the Thunderbird Innovators Cirele
(THINe) include (left to right, row 1) MareelSauer
Eisenberg '04, Stacy Alyse Wieser '05, Cora Coffee
'04, Dimitri Gamvrellis '04, jason Brooks '04, Koki!
Singh '03. Row 2: (white shirt with hat) Michael Wu
'04. Row .3: Risako Koto '0.3, Adam Hunter '0.3, julie
Levin '03, Ani! Rathi '02, Robert Lipton '03, jeff
Mathers '04, Tony Pimanda '04. Above: The GWIB
National Conference brought high-profile female
guest speakers to campus, including NASA's Mary
Kicza, associate administrator for biological and
physical research.
WINTER 2004 THUNDERBIRD MAGAZINE 23
Global HR Takes a Front
Seat, Drives Strategy
Below and oppostie,
top: Thunderbird
Executive Education
and the Society for
Human Resource
Management hosted a
3 V2-day program for
HR professionals in
October 2003,
"Leading Strategic
Human Resources in a
Global Economy."
Gone are the days when the scope of
human resources entailed little more
than employee training and benefits
programs. Although traditional "back office"
functions are still important, today's global HR
professionals are expected to deliver far more.
They must contribute strategically to the
success of their companies, possessing a wide
range of business skills and Imowledge. They
must understand how their companies oper­ate
and how they make money. Most impor­tantly,
they must determine how HR contri­butions
can and will impact the bottom line.
Teri McCaslin is executive vice president of
Human Resources and Information Systems
for Conti Group Cos., a leader in integrated
poultry and pork production and cattle feed­ing
with operations in 10 countries. As a
member of the company's management com­mittee,
she plays a central role - right along
with the chief executive, financial and opera­tions
officers - in setting and helping to exe­cute
the company's direction and strategy.
Consequently, McCaslin is expected to bring
relevant business solutions to the table.
"If you don't understand the mechanics of
business, you can't even get to the table any­more,"
said McCaslin, who is also a member
of the Thunderbird Global Council. "In
today's global corporate environment, a
human resource professional must under­stand
how his or her programs drive the over­all
mission and strategy of the company."
CONTRIBUTING STRATEGICALLY
A recent global HR survey supports
McCaslin's assertion. It identified five core
competencies for today's high-performing HR
executives. The New HR Agenda: 2002 Human
Resource Competency Study was sponsored by
24 THUNDERBIRD MAGAZINE WINTER 2004
the University of Michigan Business School in
conjunction with Global Consulting Alliance.
It incorporated survey data from more than
7,000 HR professionals from 240 smail, medi­um
and large companies around the globe.
"Strategic contribution turns out to be the
most important of the five com­petencies
for HR professionals to
have," said Warren Wilhelm,
president of Global Consulting
Alliance and a co-author of the
HR survey.
As little as 10 years ago, the
market value of a company was
largely determined by its finan­cial
track record. But that's no
longer the case, according to
BY JESSICA MCCANN
Above: Mary Sully de
Luque, Ph.D., is an
assistant professor of
management and a
reseorch fellow in
Thunderbird's Garvin
Center for the Cultures
and Languages of
International Manage­ment.
Her research
interests include the
influences of culture on
leadership, feedback
processes in the work
environment and humon
resource management.
LEADING
STRATEGIC
HUMAN
RESOURCES IN
A GLOBAL
ECONOMY
This dynamic 3 1/2-
day seminar, offered
by Thunderbird each
fall, is ideal for HR
professionals in
decision-making
management roles
who manage people
across national and
cultural boundaries.
For information
about the 2004
program, Oct. 24-28,
contact Paula Shipper
in the Thunderbird
Executive Education
Department at
(602) 978-7846 or
(800) 457-6959 (United
States only), or e-mail
shipperp@thunder­bird.
edu.
Wilhelm, who holds a doctorate of business
administration and also teaches international
human resource management in Thun­derbird's
Executive MBA program.
"Now, about 85 percent of the market
value of a company is determined by intangi­ble
factors," he explained. "What are the stock
analysts' impressions of a company? How
good is the company's leadership? How good
is its strategy, and can it, in fact, execute that
strategy? How quickly can it bring a new
product to market?"
The HR function deals directly with all
those intangibles, making it much more
important in today's global organization.
Thunderbird Executive Education partici­pant
Martin Mueller, executive vice president
of Human Resources and Training for Gate
Gourmet International, explained how HR
played a critical role in helping his company
rebound after 9-11. Gate Gourmet is a leading
supplier of catering services to major airlines
throughout the world. After the terrorist
attacks, most airlines reduced their fleets, can­celed
flights and downgraded or even elimi­nated
meal service.
"We had to undergo a massive restructur­ing
of our operations and administrative
offices," said Mueller, who works from the
company's Zurich office. "HR played a key
role in that process. From a global HR per­spective,
we also are sensitive to local employ­ee
benefits and local union contracts because
it affects our ability to compete. Our global
employee satisfaction survey has been an
excellent tool to constantly improve perform­ance
and ensure that we take care of our
employees, and 360-degree feedback also
ensures that managers work on their
strengths and weaknesses."
Perhaps, then, one of the greatest ways HR
can positively impact an organization is by
working to develop its managers - to devel­op
leaders able to build success in a rapidly
changing global environment similar to the
one Mueller described. But what, exactly, are
the qualities of an effective leader?
CULTIVATING GLOBAL LEADERS
"In the past, we operated under the notion
that there were certain skills and attributes
that would define good leadership and that
those were universally applicable in any
country," said Mary Sully de Luque, Ph.D., an
assistant professor of management and a
research fellow in Thunderbird's Garvin Cen-ter
for the Cultures and Languages of Inter­national
Management.
Before joining Thunderbird, Sully de Luque
spent three years as a senior fellow in the
Wharton School at the University of Pennsyl­vania,
working with the Global Leadership
and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness
(GLOBE) research program. A lO-year project
involving 170 researchers in 62 societies,
GLOBE surveyed 17,000 middle managers in
three industries, focusing on leadership, socie­tal
culture and organizational practices.
"Through the GLOBE project, we have
found that, although there are indeed some
universal attributes of leadership that tran­scend
culture - such things as integrity and
decisiveness - there also are some attributes
or skills that some countries embrace in their
leaders and other countries do not," she said.
For example, attributes such as being a partic­ipative
leader or being status-conscious got
mixed reviews among different societies.
Once HR professionals understand the
qualities and skills their company's employ­ees
will need to lead successfully in any given
market, they must see to it that those needs
are met. In doing so, they often tum to exter­nal
executive education programs to comple­ment
internal training efforts. But such pro­grams
must go beyond academics to provide
real-world, hands-on experiences, according
to Wilhelm . The approach is called action
learning, and the Thunderbird International
Consortia (TIC) specializes in this teaching
method.
TICs are Executive Education partnership
programs among noncompeting, globally
focused companies and Thunderbird. They
enable participating companies to leverage the
best practices of other leading multinational
corporations and to globalize their thinking,
behavior and strategies company-wide.
Gate Gourmet includes the TIC program as
an integral part of its overall management
development plan.
"In our global industry, it is of highest
importance that our managers keep an open
mindset," said Mueller. "The TIC program
modules provide an excellent platform for our
managers to exchange their own professional
experiences with peers from other indus­tries,
different countries and varied cultures.
We are convinced that this enriching experi­ence
- plus the additional knowledge par-
Continued on page 26
Warren Wilhelm
Martin Mueller
WINTER 2004 THUNDERBIRD MAGAZINE 25
The Thunderbird Business Information Service (BIS) provides custom,
high-quality international business information research services to
alumni. In this issue of Thunderbird Magazine, we culled through BIS's
extensive collection of databases, Internet sources, and print and
electronic journals to uncover additional resources related to the
global human resource management story on the preceding pages.
For more information about BIS services, visit www.thunderbird.edu/bis
IBIC QUICK PICKS
BOOKS
Michael J. Duane. Policies and Practices in Global Human Resource Systems.
Westport, Conn.: Quorum, 2003. Review of research on HR practices
around the world.
Marc Effron, Robert Gandossy, Marshall Goldsmith, Eds. Human
Resources in the 21st Century. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2003.
Examines human resources challenges facing corporate America in
response to new technology and demands from dients.
Randall S. Schuler, Susan E. Jackson and Yadong Luo. Managing Human
Resources in Cross-Border Alliances. New York, London: Routledge Taylor
& Francis Group, 2004. Examines HR management policies and prac­tices
in domestic and multinational companies throughout the world
through scholarly literature and case studies about HRM policies.
26 THUNDERBIRD MAGAZINE WINTER 2004
ticipants get through lecturing, business cases
and so on - adds value to our company."
While HR professionals utilize such pro­grams
to cultivate effective global leaders
within their companies, they also must
explore ways to sharpen their own leadership
skills and business knowledge. A 31/2-day
Thunderbird Executive Education program
titled "Leading Strategic Human Resources in
a Global Economy" was designed to do just
that. Like TIC, the program employs the con­cept
of action learning. Presented in partner­ship
with the Society for Human Resource
Management, it goes beyond the basics of HR
management by also addressing topics related
to global business strategy, culture and com­petitive
advantage.
") wanted an HR program that specialized in
the international aspect," said Tyler Benjamin,
human resources manager for Jose Cuervo
International, who attended the HR seminar in
October 2003. "I was looking to be immersed
in a group of professionals who have already
seen and touched the challenges that interna­tional
HR managers face, to be able to share
my experiences and take some of their chal­lenges
and solutions back to Jose Cuervo."
One solution that Benjamin took back to
the workplace centered on cross-cultural com­munication.
Jose Cuervo is a Mexican, family­owned
company with more than 200 years of
history and tradition. Its international divi­sion,
which is based in New York, oversees all
aspects of the business that take place outside
of Mexico. During a session that introduced
him to the differences between high- and low­context
cultures, Benjamin learned how to
better communicate HR best practices to his
counterparts in Mexico.
"When you're looking to influence some­one
in a high-context culture, such as Mexico,
you don't push," explained Benjamin. "You
basically just make your point. You don't look
to get buy-in or a yes/no answer," he said.
"Yet, in a low-context culture like the United
States, we tend to push for an answer. Now,
when I need to represent and protect the best
interests of the international division in
Mexico, I approach my goal in a more high­context
manner. And I've already been more
successful in doing so."
Just like Benjamin, Mueller and McCaslin,
many successful global HR professionals have
moved to the proverbial front seat, where
they drive corporate strategy and create value.
And cutting-edge executive education pro­grams
such as those offered at Thunderbird
can help them do both. •
BY ROBIN MEYERSON '90
Scholarship Named in Honor of
Francis and Louise Gifford
A t first glance, Francis and Louise Gifford's story appears a simple
one. They met at the T-bird pool, fell in love and got married.
But there is much more to their story. The Giffords, who shared a
30-year career at Thunderbird from the late '50s to late '80s, made a
lasting impression on the hundreds of students they met.
Louise, who began her Thunderbird employment as a secretary,
worked her way to director of Financial Aid, and Francis worked in
Housekeeping and Central Supply. In their respective positions, they
influenced generations ofT-birds around the world.
"The Giffords were very caring and had a special and powerful way
of relating to students," said Bernard Anderson '73, a former interna­tional
marketing executive with Holiday Inn, and now a retired real
estate investor living in Paradise Valley, Ariz. "They would identify stu­dents
to be their 'chief advisers' and anoint them as their special
friends," explained Anderson, who grew close to the Giffords while
attending Thunderbird.
The couple always put students first. Their love of garage sales in the
'70s led to the idea of a fund-raiser to assist students during financial
emergencies. Thus was born an annual rummage sale to support the
Emergency Loan Fund (E.L.F.).
Over time, the rummage sale grew as graduates destined for overseas
locations left behind personal items. Eventually, the event became
known as the Bizarre Bazaar and included items donated by students,
faculty, staff and friends. From the early '80s to the early '90s, the
Bizarre Bazaar was conducted twice yearly. In spring 2000, it became
part of the School's campus-wide fund­raising
effort, Philanthropy Week, spear­headed
by the Financial Aid Office,
Rugby Club and Facilities Services.
In 1987, when Francis died, Ander­son
donated $500 to the School to
begin the Francis and Louise Gifford
Scholarship Fund. Louise died in
November 2002. "I miss them very
much," said Anderson. "Funding schol­arships
makes us think of our own mor­tality
and will carry on the Gifford lega­cy.
I got a global education from T-bird,
yet the Giffords taught me selflessness.
TO DESIGNATE A GIFT
They had an unbridled caring
for people without the
thought of receiving anything
in return," he said.
To date, the endowed
scholarship fund has grown
to about $13,000, thanks to
the contributions of addi­tional
donors. When it
reaches the minimum
endowment level of $50,000, the annual payout
will be earmarked for scholarships. "Initially, we expect to award at
least one $2,500 scholarship per year with the desire to grow that
amount and help more students," said Catherine King-Todd,
Thunderbird director of Financial Aid. Thunderbird's need for scholar­ship
support continues to grow as student debt increases, forcing stu­dents
to rely on student loans as their primary source of funding.
The most recent T-birds had an average debt of $72,000 upon grad­uation,
excluding undergraduate student loans and other consumer
debt. During 2002-2003, Thunderbird students received more than
$16 million in federal and private loans.
Fortunately, students can seek financial relief through School-sup­ported
scholarships, but the demand for such awards far outweighs
their availability. Annually, Thunderbird and donors provide about $4
million in scholarship awards - roughly a lO-percent subsidy of total
full -time program tuition revenues, compared to peer institutions that
provide about 17 percent.
According to Laurel Kimball, associate vice president, Individual
Giving. "Scholarships allow us to bring high-caliber students to cam­pus
who wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity to attend. We hope
students will take the knowledge they
gain back to their home countries and
become future international leaders."
Karina Larsen '03 of Denmark, a
multi-scholarship recipient now working
as an associate manager for Johnson &
Johnson in Switzerland, understands the
importance of scholarship awards. "In
Denmark, education is free," she
explained. "It was a big decision to
attend Thunderbird. The fact that organ­izations
chose to award scholarships
meant a great deal to me, and I was hon-ored
to be a recipient." •
To designate a scholarship gift to
the Francis and Louise Gifford
Scholarship Fund, contact Debora
Valle, assistant director, Donor
Relations, at mygift@thunderbird.
edu or (602) 978-7309. Scholar­ship
contributions are eligible for
corporate matching gifts.
Additional scholarship funds have been
established to honor other notable members of the
Thunderbird community, including:
A complete list of
named scholarships
is available on My
Thunderbird or from
Valle at the number
listed to the left.
_ Gayle Roe.ssl '82 _ Clifton Cox
_ Brian Bates _ Lynn Freidheim '92
_ Robert Fogelsong '54 _ MavisVoris/Friends of
_ Arthur Cullen Thunderbird
_ Robert Gulick _ Michael Milburn '77
Left: Sue Gumz '84 receives an award from Louise. Above: Gifford with students.
WINTER 2004 THUNDERBIRD MAGAZINE 27
More than 425 interviews
took place at this year's
Career Fair conducted at
the Glendale, Ariz.,
Embassy Suites hotel.
The fair format begins
with a Wednesday
evening reception, fol­lowed
by company pre­sentations
and Friday
interviews.
MORE THAN 400
STUDENTS INTERVIEW
AT CAREER FAIR
Forty-two companies and 500
students took part in the Career
Management Center's 7th annual
Thunderbird Career Fair Oct. 15-
17, 2003, in Glendale, Ariz.
"The student response was ter­rific,"
said Kip Harell, associate
vice president of Professional
Development and Career Man­agement.
"We exceeded last
year's attendance and corporate
participation and are hopeful the
job outlook is on the rebound.
The faculty involvement and par­ticipation
was at an all-time high
as well ."
During the fair, students visit­ed
company booths where they
learned about corporations and
discussed employment opportu­nities.
The last day of the fair
offered interview opportunities,
where, this year, more than 425
interviews took place. Thun­derbird's
next Internship Fair will
be Feb. 18-20, 2004.
28 THUNDERBIRD MAGAZINE WINTER 2004
BUSINESS WEEK, WALL
STREET JOURNAL
NAME THUNDERBIRD
NO.1
Business Week magazine issued
its biannual rankings of the best
executive education programs in
the world on Oct. 20, 2003, and
for the first time, Thunderbird
was ranked as the world's best
Executive MBA program for glob­al
business. The honor came just
one month after the Wall Street
Journal declared Thunderbird the
world's best full-time MBA pro­gram
in international business
for the third consecutive year in
its poll of corporate recruiters.
The 2003 ranking of executive
education programs by Business
Week listed Thunderbird as No.1
in "Global Business" for
Executive MBA programs,
as well as No. 3 in the
world in "Non-Degree"
programs specializing in
international business.
Thunderbird also was
ranked No. 12 in
"Custom Executive Edu­cation"
programs and
No. 13 in "Open Enroll­ment
Executive Educa­tion"
programs.
Meanwhile, corporate recruit­ers
polled by the WSJ and Harris
Interactive once again ranked
Thunderbird as the world's best
full-time MBA program for inter­national
business in its Sept. 17,
2003, ranking. Thunderbird has
placed first all three years the poll
has been conducted. Thunder­bird
received 262 votes to gain
the top position, with INSEAD in
a distant second place with 88
votes, followed by Columbia
University with 85 and Harvard
University with 68.
"Business leaders, especially
those overseas, look at these rank­ings
as an indication of an institu­tion's
reputation," said Thunder­bird
President Roy A. Herberger Jr.
"We are honored to be considered
for such high praise."
THUNDERBIRD WEB
SITE FEATURES NEW
LOOK, FEEL
Thunderbird.edu debuted with
a new look on Nov. 14, 2003.
Designed to attract prospective
students, present Thunderbird's
features and benefits, and invite
visitors to register online, the new
external site is the result of sever­al
months of research.
Armed with research knowl­edge
that revealed the Internet as
the main source of information
for prospective B-school students,
the new site caters to the School's
main constituent groups:
prospective students, executive
education consumers, corporate
visitors and alumni. "This refur­bished
home page and about 90
other critical pages hone in on
the important marketing mes­sages
that were missing from the
old home page," said Rich
Zbylut, chief information officer,
who led the renovation effort.
The project was limited in
scope, but included improve­ments
to the messages, external
and internal search functions,
and the navigation.
ASIA EXECUTIVE MBA
PROGRAM CONFERS
FIRST GRADUATES
A total of 261 students - 236
full -time and 25 executives -
were awarded an MBA in Inter­national
Management degree at
commencement ceremonies in
the Sundome Center for the
Performing Arts in Sun City West,
Dec. 19, 2003.
Executive graduates included
the first class of the Asia Executive
MBA program, who completed a
16-month certificate program
offered in conjunction with
Acer's Aspire Academy in Taiwan.
Taught by Thunderbird faculty,
the program allows participants
to apply their certificates to
Thunderbird's MBA in Inter­national
Management by com­pleting
two additional modules
held at the Thunderbird Campus
in Glendale, Arizona.
OUTSTANDING FACULTY / STAFF
Both the winter and summer
(Aug. 22, 2003) commencement
ceremonies included the presen­tation
of outstanding faculty and
staff awards, as listed below.
Summer recipients:
Outstanding faculty members:
Bill Youngdahl, associate profes­sor
of Operations Management,
and Kannan Ramaswamy, pro­fessor
of Global Strategy.
Outstanding facu lty member -
language: Jane Kuo, professor of
Chinese
Outstanding staff honorees:
Deborah Parris, academic
adviser, and Cathleen
Prudhomme, manager of
academic advising programs in
Student Services.
Winter recipients:
Outstanding facu lty members:
Sundaresan Ram, associate
professor of marketing, and
Kannan Ramaswamy, professor
of global strategy.
Outstanding faculty member -
language: Guiomar Borras,
assistant professor of Spanish
Outstanding staff honorees:
Cathleen Prudhomme, manager
of academic advising programs,
and Sunny Christofferson, man­aging
director of student services
and program support.
Left: Nearly 100
students, faculty, staff
and friends attended
the Tower rededication
ceremony. Bottom, left:
President Roy A.
Herberger Jr. watches
as Col. Walter Wright
cuts the ribbon at
the entrance of the
refurbished Tower
Building. Bottom, right:
Herberger and Wright
listen to presentations
by TSG members.
STUDENTS REDEDICATE THUNDERBIRD TOWER BUILDING
Students, faculty, staff and special guests, including members of the Helmets and Goggles,
gathered in front of the Tower Building for a rededication ceremony Nov. 3, 2003.
"From guiding our pilots home to
Hosted by the Thunderbird Student Govern-ment
and Thunderbird Annual Fund, the ceremo-helping
tomorrow's business leaders ny took place on what once was the tarmac of
take-off, the Tower Building has Thunderbird Field No. 1, a training base for Air
played a central role in the lives
of everyone who has been a part
of the Thunderbird history. "
-PlAQUE INSCRIPTION
Corps cadets in the early-1940s. Speakers included
Col. Walter Wright, commander of the 56th Opera­tions
Group at Luke Air Force Base, and Frank
Schmuck, a former Air Force pilot who served in
the Persian Gulf War, who presented Thunderbird
President Roy A. Herberger Jf. with a flight suit, gloves and cap that were worn during the war.
Earlier in the year, students made cosmetic improvements to the Tower, painting and deco­rating
study rooms, the
THINC ideation room, Das Tor
office and lounge.
WINTER 2004 THUNDERBIRD MAGAZINE 29
SPEAKERS ON CAMPUS
Qasimi
Wagenhals
Walker
Philbin
The Global Issues Forum speaker series welcomed a host of interna­tional
business and political leaders to campus during the fall
trimester. From the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United States
and the former minister of finance of Chile to the Ohio-born entre­preneur
behind Action Performance Cos. Inc., more than a half-dozen
speakers shared their insight with the Thunderbird community.
BENJAMIN AVANCENA
Managing Director, Medical Device
and Diagnostics
ASEAN and Pakistan Region
Johnson & Johnson
Benjamin Q. Avancena '86 is
managing director of the John­son
& Johnson Medical Device
and Diagnostics companies in
the ASEAN and Pakistan region.
He is a member of the Asia
Pacific regional leadership team
and chairman of the Asia Pacific
Contributions Committee. Avan­cena
earned a bachelor's degree
from Lewis & Clark College in
Portland, Ore.
SHEIKHA LUBNA AL QASIMI
CEO, Tejari.com
Sheikha Lubna AI Qasimi is
the CEO of Tejari, the Middle
East's premier electronic busi­ness-
to-business marketplace.
HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin
Rashid AI Maktoum, crown
prince of Dubai and United Arab
Emirates defense minister,
appointed Qasimi head of Tejari
in 2000. She earned a Bachelor of
Science degree from California
State University of Chico, and an
MBA degree from the American
University of Sharjah.
HERNAN BUCHI, PH.D.
Former Minister of Finance, Chile
From 1979 to 1989, Hernan
Buchi served the government of
Chile in various posltJons,
including undersecretary of the
economy, undersecretary of
health, minister of planning,
superintendent of banks and
financial institutions, and as
minister of finance. Since 1990,
he has advised a number of gov­ernments
in Latin America,
Eastern Europe and Asia on the
design and management of eco­nomic
policy. Buchi is an inter­national
conference speaker and
a board member for several pri­vate
Chilean companies.
FRED WAGENHALS
Chairman, President and CEO,
Action Performance Cos.
Fred Wagenhals founded
Action Performance Cos. Inc. in
1992. Action is the leader in the
design, promotion, marketing
and distribution of licensed
motor sports merchandise. A
1997 Arizona Entrepreneur of
the Year Award recipient in the
retail/wholesale category, Wag­enhals
is Action's chairman,
president and CEO. He also was
the Anheuser Busch entrepre­neur-
in-residence for 1997-98 at
the University of Arizona's
College of Business and Public
Administration.
30 THUNDERBIRD MAGAZINE WINTER 2004
JUERGEN H. WALKER
President and CEO,
DaimlerChrysler Services North
America LLC
Juergen H. Walker was
appointed president and CEO of
DaimlerChrysler Services, North
America on Sept. 11, 2000.
Before this position, he was sen­ior
vice president and controller
for DaimlerChrysler Corp.
Walker also is a member of the
board of management of Daim­lerChrysler
Services AG. He
holds an MBA degree from
Mannheim University.
THOMAS PHILBIN, PH.D.
Senior Vice President and Member
of the Board of Directors,
Acumentrics Corp.
Thomas Philbin, Ph.D., is a
senior vice president and board
member for Acumentrics Corp.
He has published papers on a
wide range of power- and energy­related
subjects and is a consult­ant
to the utility industry. Philbin
earned a B.S. degree in physics
from Manhattan College and a
Ph.D./M.S. in environmental
health science, as well as an
M.P.H. in radiological health,
from the University of Michigan.
- Zachary Schroeck '05
SAUDI ARABIAN
AMBASSADOR VISITS
THUNDERBIRD
The Saudi Arabian ambassador
to the United States spoke to
about 250 students, faculty and
guests at Thunderbird's Glendale,
Ariz., campus Sept. 24. His Royal
Highness Prince Bandar Bin
Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz opened
the address by acknowledging the
large number of nationalities rep­Bondar
resented at the
School. "If we
could get people
from 80 coun­tries
to sit and
talk as grownups,
I believe there
would be peace
in no time," he
said.
Bandar encouraged students to
ask questions, then candidly
responded to such issues as how
people in his country view West­erners
and what factors con­tribute
to some of the myths and
perceptions about Middle East­erners.
"I am convinced that the
media shows the audience only
part of the reality in the Muslim
World," Bandar said. "It's easy to
show 12 people burning a flag
and say that this is what's going
on in general. It's not true. People
in my country do not hate
Americans. "
Bandar's comments focused
on the importance of patience,
effort and diligence as a means to
peace in the Middle East. An
acceptance of cultural differences
worldwide was a recurring theme
throughout his exchange with
students. He closed by saying
that, while Saudi Arabia does
want many of the things America
has, its people want them in their
own time and at their own pace.
"We want progress," he said.
"We want to modernize. But we
don't necessarily want to West­ern
ize."
AMERICAS
CONFERENCE
ATTRACTS 600
Thunderbird sponsored two
panel discussions and the closing
reception at the Oct. 28 and 29,
2003, Americas Conference, the
premier business and political
forum on Latin America and the
Caribbean.
Presented by the Miami Herald,
in association with the School,
this year's forum drew more than
600 international executives and
government leaders. The confer­ence
theme was "Rebuilding
Hemispheric Relations - New
Economic Perspectives and
Changing Foreign Policy
Realities."
Professors Rob Grosse and
Mary Teagarden