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SPRING 2013
magazine
POISED
TO GROW
THUNDERBIRD EXPANDS
GLOBAL PRESENCE WITH
LAUREATE EDUCATION, INC.
Beacons of
the Thunderbird
10Mystique
Up Close with
Thunderbird’s
11th President
One-year MBA:
A Degree for the
21st Century

Joanne Chan ’09 in Hong Kong PRC
TOGETHER, WE CAN CHANGE
THE WORLD OF BUSINESS —
ONE GLOBAL LEADER AT A TIME.
Help source the next generation of global leaders.
By referring potential students or executive education participants to
Thunderbird, you are making an investment in the world and our school
that has unlimited potential — which is exactly how Thunderbird will grow.
Refer a T-bird today.
+1 602 978-7114
refer@thunderbird.edu
www.thunderbird.edu/refer

magazine : spring : 2013
ROBERT FARTHING / RIESTER
On the cover: Morning light illuminates the entrance
of the Roy and Pam Herberger Administration Building
on campus. Likewise, a new era has dawned at
Thunderbird School of Global Management.
tips & trends
42
A new magazine section features helpful
hints and management insights from
Thunderbird faculty, alumni and guest
speakers. Read the articles, then visit the
Faculty section at www.thunderbird.edu
and click on Thought Leadership to find
more topics.
features
Thunderbird is poised to expand its global presence
with a new partnership plan, new leadership
and a new MBA curriculum. At the same time,
Thunderbird will preserve its core values and the
cherished traditions that set the school apart.
4
8
20
26
36
Poised to grow
Thunderbird expands global presence
with Laureate Education, Inc.
An MBA for our times
What do corporate recruiters want?
Thunderbird asked, then delivered
Close-up view
Longtime Thunderbird admirer, Larry Edward
Penley, takes the reins as president
10 reasons to cheer
One-of-a-kind traditions and points
of pride that set Thunderbird apart
Beyond the Kindertransport
Fred Koppl ’52 fi nds a new home
at Thunderbird after World War II
KRISTEN JARCHOW
departments
10 News & 54 Chapter 56 Class 66 Online 68 Then
Notes
Campus
projects,
partnerships &
recognitions
Connections
Fundraisers,
forums &
socials around
the world
Notes
Your promotions,
career
moves & major
life events
Extra
A decade of
Thunderbird
weddings, by
Gbemi Disu ’06
& Now
Das Tor,
the student
newspaper,
after 46 years

comments
Thunderbird community members connect and comment daily
using social media sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
Facebook
facebook.com/thunderbirdschool
Thunderbird’s Facebook
page draws about 15,000
visitors weekly. Here is a
sampling of comments:
Tonight on ABC’s “Shark
Tank,” Thunderbird graduate
Brooks Dame ’06 and
younger brother Taylor
(starting at Thunderbird
in the fall), will pitch their
family company, Proof
Eyewear, to the sharks.
Tune in and see if their
wooden eyeglasses whet
the sharks’ appetite!
— Thunderbird, Feb. 22, 2013
My husband and I (both
T-birds) love that show.
We will be cheering you on
tonight, Brooks and Taylor!
Good luck!
— Heidi Marshall Azaloff ’04
Dayton, Ohio
KRISTEN JARCHOW
Icicles hang from a campus fountain that memorializes three Thai
students killed in a 1997 car crash. The image, taken Jan. 15, 2013,
generated 20 comments on Facebook. Here is a sampling:
Oddly, it was warmer here
in Ottawa than in Phoenix
for a couple of days.
— Ari Schwartz ’97
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
It brings back memories of
our Thai friends when I see
the fountain.
— Yoshiaki “Aki” Ito ’98
Bangkok, Thailand
I remember it snowed
there for 15 minutes one
day. I was in the IBIC. It
was the year of El Niño,
so the blame was on him.
Of course, for Canadian
standards that was a flurry,
almost hail, not a snowfall;
but still remarkable.
— Carlos Augusto Padrón ’99
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Thunderbird
Magazine
VOLUME 65, NO. 2, SPRING 2013
Executive Editor &
V.P. of Marketing and
Communications
Kim Steinmetz
Editor
Daryl James
Creative Director
Paula Murray
Art Director
Tim Clarke
TRULY GLOBAL
Contributors
Gbemi Disu ’06
Kristen Jarchow
Virginia Mungovan
Editorial Proofreaders
Amber Giuliano
Suzy Howell
Rhonda Mihalic
LinkedIn
linkedin.com/groups?gid=1005
More than 12,500 members
follow the Thunderbird
Alumni group on LinkedIn.
Participants start about 15
discussions and post 50
comments per week. Here
are the hottest topics in
recent months:
1. Tax policy. Discussion
started Sept. 15 by
Dan Nicollet ’95 asks,
“Do tax cuts lead to
economic growth?”
(243 comments).
2. Gun control. Discussion
started Jan. 9 by
Barry Bainton ’84
(131 comments).
3. U.S. presidential
election. Discussion
started Nov. 10 by
Charles Townsend ’96
(130 comments).
4. Business languages.
Poll started Dec. 15
by David Stevens ’10
asks: “Which language
will be most relevant
to global business in
the next 30 years?
(excluding English).”
Mandarin has received
33 of 54 votes.
5. MBA rankings. Three
separate discussions
have generated 16
comments.
Thunderbird manages a
separate LinkedIn page at
www.linkedin.com/company/thunderbird,
which is
open to the public.
Twitter @Thunderbird
twitter.com/thunderbird
More than 6,000 people follow
Thunderbird on Twitter.
Some recent tweets:
Afghan women are at
Thunderbird for Project Artemis.
Proud to be a T-bird!
— Nada Al Harthi ’12
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Thunderbird alumna Jocelyn
Wyatt ’06 of IDEO.org
was a *first* First Mover at
the Aspen Institute!
— Laura Clise ’08
Washington, DC
TEM Lab heading to Cambodia,
India & Indonesia.
— Adam Helsinger ’09
Phoenix, Arizona
Senior Director
Alumni Central
Terri Nissen
Assistant V.P.
Institutional Advancement
Whitney Fulton
All editorial, sales and
production correspondence
should be addressed to:
Thunderbird Magazine,
1 Global Place, Glendale, AZ,
85306-6000. Advertising
inquiries should be addressed
to: alumni@thunderbird.edu.
Changes of address and other
subscription inquiries can be
emailed to:
alumni@thunderbird.edu.
Thunderbird Magazine is a
publication of Thunderbird
School of Global Management.
©2013
Editorial submissions and
letters to the editor can be
e-mailed to: magazineeditor@
thunderbird.edu.
2 spring 2013

from the president
Enduring values
Even in times of change, T-bird mystique survives
Thunderbird was a
familiar place to me
when I arrived in
April 2012 as interim
provost. I first experienced
the energy on campus more
than 25 years ago as a guest,
and I quickly developed an
admiration for the school
and its global mission.
Over the years I have
known four Thunderbird
presidents — including
my immediate predecessor
Barbara Barrett. So I thought
I understood what people
meant when they talked
about the Thunderbird
mystique.
I was wrong. Although I
had a surface knowledge, I
lacked a close-up view.
Serving as interim provost
and now as the school’s
president and Chief Academic
Officer has deepened my
appreciation of Thunderbird
through daily interaction
with the people who carry
the brand.
Thunderbird faculty, staff,
students, alumni and other
friends of the school are
global explorers with passion
for diversity and quest
for adventure.
They speak English in a
range of accents, and many
have lived in multiple countries.
This is Thunderbird.
The community is also
philanthropic. I saw this
firsthand during the recent
Thunderbird Global Council
meeting, when dozens of
senior leaders from multiple
industries visited campus
ready to share their expertise.
The volunteer group
included alumni and other
friends of the school who
regularly take time out of
their schedules to give back.
Worldwide, Thunderbird
alumni in more than 140
countries donate an average
of 84 hours per year in volunteerism.
This is Thunderbird.
Perhaps more than anything
else, the community is
close-knit. T-birds build lifelong
friendships that span
continents and cultures.
They learn from each other
and help each other succeed.
The camaraderie was on
full display March 2, 2013,
when the “Old Boys” returned
to the campus rugby
pitch to challenge the rising
generation in a friendly
match that has become an
annual tradition.
The same week, hundreds
of T-birds from alumni chapters
around the world met
during Super First Tuesday
to reconnect and build new
friendships.
This is Thunderbird.
As the school moves forward
in a new era with Laureate
Education, Inc., (page
4) these core values will
endure. Thunderbird will not
forget its roots as the school
expands its global reach.
Thunderbird will remain
independent and committed
to the highest academic
standards. The people who
made Thunderbird special
in the past will continue to
create sustainable prosperity
worldwide. New generations
of students passionate about
global business will continue
to come to Thunderbird for
a world-class education delivered
by top-tier professors.
Thunderbird’s partnership
plan will bring new
opportunities, but it will not
change the school at its core.
Thanks to people like you,
the mystique I felt more than
25 years ago as a guest will
endure in the 21st century.
Larry Edward Penley, Ph.D.
Thunderbird President
and Chief Academic Officer
thunderbird magazine 3

special report:
Planned
Partnership
Morning light illuminates the atrium in the Pam and Roy Herberger Administration Building at Thunderbird. (ROBERT FARTHING / RIESTER)
Poised to grow
Thunderbird expands global presence
with Laureate Education, Inc.
“Working
together, we
will expand
our global
operations
and impact.”
— ANN IVERSON
Chairwoman,
Thunderbird Board of
Trustees
Thunderbird School of Global Management
announced a plan on March
18, 2013, to partner with Laureate
Education, Inc., to expand its presence
around the world, reaffirming its position
as the world’s top institution for international
business education.
Thunderbird and Laureate plan to create a
jointly owned entity through which Thunderbird
will open multiple international instructional
sites, expand its online and executive
education programs and offer undergraduate
degree programs.
The partnership, which is expected to be finalized
by June, preserves Thunderbird’s independence
and continued operation as a private
not‐for‐profit (501(c)3) educational institution,
provides capital support to Thunderbird
and increases student enrollment at Thunderbird’s
Glendale, Arizona, campus.
All new programs will be reviewed and are
subject to approval by Thunderbird and its accreditors
and other relevant authorities. Thunderbird’s
Board of Trustees will maintain its autonomy
and control of its curriculum, faculty,
admission standards and all other aspects of
academic affairs.
Thunderbird, ranked the No. 1 school of international
business by U.S. News & World Report
and Bloomberg Businessweek, will enhance
its programs internationally through Laureate
Education’s extensive network of campuses,
spanning 29 countries.
Cities under consideration for Thunderbird
instructional sites include Madrid, Spain; Paris,
France; Santiago, Chile; and São Paulo, Brazil.
4 spring 2013

planned partnership
This will enable Thunderbird to amplify significantly
its delivery of world-renowned graduate
and international management degrees,
and executive education.
Laureate’s network includes more than 65
accredited campus-based and online universities
throughout North America, Latin America,
Europe, Asia, North Africa and the Middle East.
“We conducted a thorough review of strategic
options that would strengthen Thunderbird
for the future,” said Ann Iverson, Thunderbird’s
Board of Trustees Chairwoman. “We determined
this planned partnership delivers the
most value for our students and the best outcome
for our alumni, faculty and staff. Laureate
is a proven and trusted leader in higher education.
Working together, we will expand our
global operations and impact.”
Thunderbird President Larry Edward Penley,
Ph.D., said Thunderbird will become even
more global with plans for the increased international
access and resources of the new
partner.
“This partnership opens important new
doors for global companies employing our
graduates,” Penley said. “We will be working
in close consultation with our accreditors to
ensure that all of the elements of this exciting
partnership are executed to meet accreditation
standards,”
Douglas L. Becker, Chairman and CEO of
Laureate Chairman and CEO Douglas L. Becker speaks
March 18, 2013, during a campus reception at the Pavilion.
Laureate Education, Inc., said the result of the
partnership will be increased global impact.
“Thunderbird’s mission to educate global
leaders who create sustainable prosperity
worldwide is perfectly aligned with our position
as the leading international network of
universities encouraging learning without borders,”
Becker said. “We are honored that Thunderbird’s
Board of Trustees selected Laureate
and look forward to lending our support and
proven expertise to enhance the offerings and
reach of this outstanding institution.”
TIM CLARKE
“This
partnership
opens
important
new doors
for global
companies
employing
our
graduates.”
— LARRY E. PENLEY
President and Chief
Academic Offi cer
Planned partnership Q&A
Thunderbird President Larry Edward Penley, Ph.D., and David Graves, Senior Vice President for Strategic
Initiatives at Laureate Education, Inc., addressed al umni chapter leaders on March 21, 2013. Following
are highlights of the hourlong webinar, which took the form of a question-and-answer session.
Q
A
What conditions did Thunderbird set for
potential partners?
The Board of Trustees outlined fi ve conditions:
1. The partnership must support the school’s
global mission.
2. The partnership must allow Thunderbird to
maintain control of its brand.
3. The partnership must preserve the school’s
relationship with alumni and donors.
4. The partnership must protect the board’s role
in school governance.
5. The partnership must allow Thunderbird to
remain independent as a not-for-profi t (501(c)3)
organization.
Q When did the partnership search begin?
thunderbird magazine 5
A
Many potential partners have approached Thunderbird
over the years. The Board of Trustees voted to
look more closely at the best opportunities in October 2012.
Q Why now?
A
Business education has undergone considerable
changes in recent years. Enrollment in two-year
MBA programs has declined, while competition from
international players has increased. Thunderbird needed
a partner to scale its brand for long-term success.
(CONTINUED)

special report
Planned partnership Q&A
Q
A
Q
A
Did Thunderbird consider other partners
besides Laureate?
Yes. Thunderbird looked closely at four potential
partners.
Will Thunderbird be swallowed in a merger
or acquisition?
No. The planned partnership is not a merger or
acquisition. Thunderbird will retain its independence
and distinctive identity.
Q What is the nature of the planned partnership?
A
The partnership includes two components. The fi rst
will preserve Thunderbird’s status as an independent
not-for-profi t 501(c)3 organization. Thunderbird will
retain academic control of its operations, and the Board
of Trustees will continue to provide governance. Laureate
will provide a cash infusion that will allow the 501(c)3 to
become debt free. The second component will involve a
commercial joint venture equally owned by Thunderbird
and Laureate. Academic control of programs, admissions,
etc. via the joint venture will remain with Thunderbird, the
not-for-profi t (501(c)3). The joint venture is planned to
include access to multiple international campuses, the
development of additional online programs, the expansion
of Executive Education programs, and the return to
undergraduate degree programs.
(FROM PAGE 5)
Q What will happen to Thunderbird’s accreditation?
A
Accreditation will not be affected because Thunderbird
will retain academic control. As appropriate,
Thunderbird will follow its normal processes of
bringing specifi c initiatives to accreditors for approval.
Q What’s in it for Thunderbird?
A
The planned partnership will enable Thunderbird to
grow its brand and increase enrollment, creating
economies of scale. The size of the faculty will likewise
grow, allowing Thunderbird to add new specialty areas
of study. Students also will benefi t from new study abroad
and job placement opportunities. Ultimately, Thunderbird
rankings will improve.
Q
A
How will Thunderbird prevent the dilution of
its brand?
As an elite specialized institution, Thunderbird will
maintain rigorous admissions standards. Successful
applicants will continue to be students with a global mindset
who are keenly interested in international business and
global opportunities. Rather than being diluted, the brand
will be enhanced by the capacity that Thunderbird gains.
Laureate’s presence in 29 countries will help Thunderbird
maintain international diversity among its study body.
Thunderbird Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees Ann Iverson, Laureate Chairman and CEO Douglas L. Becker, and Thunderbird President Larry
Edward Penley announce plans for a new partnership on March 18, 2013, at Thunderbird.
TIM CLARKE
6 spring 2013

planned partnership
Q What’s in it for Laureate?
A
Thunderbird will be the gold standard for business
education within the Laureate network, and it will
be a center of excellence for international business
education. As Thunderbird grows and improves,
Laureate will benefi t through its affi liation with Thunderbird
and through its ownership interest in the joint venture.
Q
A
Will Laureate try to influence Thunderbird’s
academic standards?
No. Laureate understands the importance of Thunderbird’s
mission and supports its independence.
Thunderbird’s academic standards have allowed it to
achieve a level of prominence and rankings which should
be preserved.
Q What will Thunderbird look like in five years?
A
Thunderbird will have an expanded best-in-class
faculty and improved rankings. Enrollment will climb
from about 1,000 degree-seeking students to more than
3,000. Thunderbird will maintain its base in Arizona.
Meanwhile, students will be able to transfer for internships
and global experiences at potential campuses in France,
Spain, Chile, Brazil and at a yet-to-be named location
in Asia.
Q Why these locations?
A
Laureate has proposed locations on four continents
that align with the highest-caliber schools within the
Laureate network of 67 institutions. By offering instruction
on four continents, Thunderbird will enrich the student experience
and create more contact with potential employers.
Q
How will the planned partnership affect the
quality for full-time students who study abroad
at one of the new campuses?
A
Study abroad modules will work much like they
do now in China, Peru and the Czech Republic —
except that Thunderbird will no longer need to lease
temporary classrooms.
Q
A
Is the planned partnership connected to Thunderbird’s
new MBA curriculum (details on page 8)?
No. The process to modernize the MBA curriculum
started more than two years ago, long before
Thunderbird and Laureate started exploring their planned
partnership. It began as a means to address changes in
students’ educational desires and changes in employers’
needs from graduates.
Q
A
How will the planned partnership benefit
Thunderbird alumni?
The planned partnership will build a strong future
for Thunderbird, which will increase the clout of
a Thunderbird degree. Alumni also will benefi t as the
Thunderbird network expands. Finally, the infusion of
cash will allow Thunderbird to improve its alumni outreach,
providing greater support to its chapters around the
world. Other benefi ts will include lifetime career management
services. Laureate executives have made it clear
that they support the expansion of alumni staff, including
a senior person, and the recent change that made
alumni relations distinct from advancement.
Q
A
Will graduates of other institutions in the Laureate
network be able to call themselves T-birds?
No. Only Thunderbird graduates will have that
distinction.
FILE PHOTO
thunderbird magazine 7

special report
KRISTEN JARCHOW
An MBA for our times
New curriculum combines
innovative format, cutting-edge
delivery, affordable pricing
“The new
curriculum
keeps
Thunderbird
on the
forefront of
market
trends.”
Thunderbird is taking its No. 1-ranked
MBA program to new heights in fall
2013 with the launch of a curriculum
that infuses a shorter format, cuttingedge
delivery and more affordable pricing into
its long-standing global offering.
“Building on our nearly 70 years of success
in global management education, the new
curriculum keeps Thunderbird on the forefront
of market trends in a changing global
economy and in an ever-growing competitive
business education landscape,” says Thunderbird
President Larry Edward Penley, Ph.D.
He said students today have less time and
are competing in a fierce labor market. “They
are choosing affordable programs that can get
them back into the workforce quickly with the
critical skills and knowledge demanded in today’s
global marketplace,” he says.
The new program was crafted not only to
meet the changing needs of its students, but
also those of employers — the school’s ultimate
customer, who more than ever say they
want global leaders with strong analytical skills.
“Thunderbird has designed the new curriculum
with an even greater focus on developing
graduates who can quickly apply their learning
and who can easily combine analytical
and quantitative skills with their global business
knowledge,” Penley says.
The new full-time MBA program starts with
a core curriculum that can be completed in
12 months for about $20,000 less than the
former 20-month program. The new pro-
8 spring 2013

one-year mba
gram comes with a price tag in the mid-$60s,
whereas the former program cost in the mid-
$80s. Because students can choose to customize
their MBA with various business concentration
areas, internships or additional global
learning experiences, actual cost will vary.
The new curriculum is delivered in condensed,
intensive, theme-based modules
designed to enhance interaction between
student and professor and improve learning
outcomes. The module-based courses mean
students take fewer classes at one time, allowing
them to dive deeper into the coursework
and for faculty to assign fewer, more demanding
assignments.
The new curriculum also incorporates innovative,
cross-enterprise courses that approach
the same case studies from two different global
management disciplines so that one case
can be studied and analyzed from two perspectives.
This is designed to improve course
integration and absorption of material, which
gives the student knowledge of individual
disciplines — such as finance and marketing
— in a context that allows them to see how
they work together in an effective business environment.
While Thunderbird always has incorporated
global learning opportunities abroad, the new
curriculum has expanded the length of those
global experiences and is now adding multidisciplinary,
on-location coursework to provide
students with an integrated look at the
context, industries, firms and functions within
a specific region of the world.
The global experiences give students opportunities
to learn on multiple continents
in both developed and underdeveloped economic
regions.
During the multi-week course abroad, students
will meet with multiple corporations
and agencies and have the opportunity to
develop a globally focused project for one organization.
Students can complete more than
12 weeks of study abroad in the one-year track
and up to four more weeks of out-of-country
study with an extended track.
Inside and outside the classroom, Thunderbird
always has delivered on a truly global
experience, Penley said, explaining that global
study opportunities, global faculty and global
learning with other students from around the
world always have given Thunderbird a competitive
edge over other MBA programs.
The new curriculum builds on that with a
holistic approach that is a strategically choreographed
progression through every facet of international
management. This is done through
a fusion of intricate management coursework,
cross-cultural insight, regional studies and foreign
language components. It includes handson,
experiential learning that puts academic
theory into actionable practice.
“Thunderbird has been recognized time
and again for being the best in international
business,” Penley said. “We aren’t looking to
change that. This new curriculum ensures that
the school, its graduates and the businesses
they work for will be prepared for global business
today and in the future.”
The new Thunderbird MBA was reshaped by
a team of faculty with input from employers,
alumni and students. It was approved Feb. 1,
2013, by the Thunderbird Board of Trustees.
Program highlights
• One-year MBA: Rigorous program covers all courses
needed to succeed in global business. Students can
choose to enhance and extend their learning experience
with various concentration areas or internships. The oneyear
MBA allows students a faster, more affordable option
for earning this world-class degree.
• Module-based format: Integrated, aligned curriculum is
delivered via six themed modules over three trimesters.
• Cross-enterprise courses: Students study the same
case from two different global management disciplines
so that one case can be studied and analyzed from two
perspectives.
• Focus on employer needs: Greater emphasis on quantitative
and analytical skills. Core disciplines are taught early
in the program to assist job searches.
• Extended global learning: The “Thunderbird Global Experience”
is a new multi-week, applied learning experience
abroad. Faculty members travel with students to provide
an integrated look at the context, industries, firms and
functions within a specific region of the world.
• Flexibility: Students can expand their program by selecting
areas of concentration. They also can opt for internships
and additional experiences abroad.
• Pre-program preparation: Before students arrive on
campus, online boot camps allow them to gain a baseline
understanding of management disciplines. Once they
get to Thunderbird, students take a two-week orientation
designed to launch them into their MBA studies.
thunderbird magazine 9

news &
Join alumni
in Croatia
Save the date for 2014 reunion
in Mediterranean paradise
DANIEL ORTMANN
The walls of Dubrovnik overlook the Dalmatian Coast of the Adriatic Sea.
Following the success of recent European reunions
in Austria and Germany, Thunderbird alumni will
gather June 12-15, 2014, in the Mediterranean
jewel of Dubrovnik, Croatia.
Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw endorsed the site
during a 1929 visit to the coastal city. “Those who seek
paradise on earth should come to Dubrovnik,” he is quoted
as saying. The city became a UNESCO World Cultural
Heritage Site in 1979.
Croatian alumna Andrijana Culjak ’99, who is helping
to plan the event, said June is ideal for visiting the historic
location. “It is not yet overcrowded,” she said. “And temperatures
are warm enough for swimming.”
Space will be limited, so plan ahead to attend. The
reunion will kick off with a welcome reception overlooking
the sea, followed by guided tours the next day of the Old
City, and an afternoon business event.
The third day will include browsing, shopping, beach
time and tours through the gorgeous Dalmatian Coast and
nearby islands.
For more information, contact Culjak at andrijana@
okomito.com, John Cook ’79 at john.cook@rock-lake.
com, or Thunderbird Alumni Relations Senior Director
Terri Nissen at terri.nissen@thunderbird.edu.
Website redesign earns top award in college category
Thunderbird’s redesigned
website at www.
thunderbird.edu won Best
in Class in the college category,
the highest honor at
the 2012 Interactive Media
Awards. Judges awarded
the site 485 points out of a
possible 500.
Thunderbird developed
the site with KWALL, a
leading Web design agency.
“It’s always nice to be
recognized by your peers,”
said Matthew Turek, Vice
President of Marketing and
Sales at KWALL.
Thunderbird’s new look,
unveiled Nov. 1, 2012, features
streamlined content,
simplified navigational
tools and a comprehensive
events calendar.
Behind the scenes, a new
content management tool
also allows Thunderbird
staff to more easily update
and adjust content.
10 spring 2013

notes
SEAN MURPHY ’13
Mohammed Abu Zeinab ’13, right, dances Jan. 9, 2013, with locals
in Langa, a suburb of Cape Town, South Africa, during a Thunderbird
Winterim.
Winterims span the globe
T
hunderbird professors
led nine
Winterim courses
with 211 students
on five continents in January
2013. Participants made
site visits, met alumni and
made other connections
in Brazil, China, Peru,
Singapore, South Africa,
Thunderbird hosts Algerians
Thunderbird welcomed
seven Algerian faculty
members from Kasdi Merbah
University of Ouargla
to campus for a weeklong
development program in
September 2012.
“Algeria is reforming its
higher education,” said program
director and Thunderbird
Professor Melissa Beran
Samuelson. “It’s a great
South Korea, Switzerland,
Vietnam and the United
Arab Emirates.
Groups in the United
States also studied entrepreneurship
in California’s
Silicon Valley, finance on
Wall Street and marketing
on Madison Avenue in
New York.
time to work with them to
find additional courses and
teaching strategies that will
enhance the quality of business
education in Algeria.”
The program was part
of the U.S. State Department’s
University Linkages
Program, supported by the
U.S. Embassy in Algeria
and co-sponsored by World
Learning.
Calendar of Events
Global Issues
Forum speaker,
April 2, 2013
Joaquin Duato
’85, Chairman
of Worldwide
Pharmaceuticals at
Johnson & Johnson,
will speak at 1:10
p.m. in the Yount
Distance Learning
Center. Contact:
barbara.stevenson@
thunderbird.edu or
602-978-7327.
Regional Night,
April 6, 2013
Students celebrate
Asian cultures,
starting 6:30 p.m.
in the Thunderbird
Event Center.
Contact: torrey.
mann@thunderbird.
edu or 602-978-7117.
Spring
commencement,
May 3, 2013
Graduation begins
10 a.m. in the
Thunderbird Event
Center. Contact:
erin.schneiderman@
thunderbird.edu,
602-978-7330.
Summerims,
May 5-17, 2013
Courses will be
offered in Argentina,
Chile, Germany,
Hungary, Kenya,
Panama, Slovenia, the
United Kingdom and
Arizona in the United
States. Contact your
chapter leader or
alumni@thunderbird.
edu to learn about
networking events.
Global MBA for
Latin American
Managers
commencement,
June 1, 2013
Graduation begins 9
a.m. near the Arizona
campus for students
from 15 satellite
campuses in seven
countries. Contact:
erin.schneiderman@
thunderbird.edu,
602-978-7330.
Professional
Development Week
and Career Fair,
Oct. 21-25, 2013
Corporate
recruiters can meet
Thunderbird students
on campus near
Phoenix, Arizona.
See Thunderbird
GlobalConnect for
more information.
Contact: gloria.
tolliver@thunderbird.
edu or
602-978-7292.
thunderbird magazine 11

news & notes
Project
Artemis
fellows step
forward in
Afghanistan
Thunderbird saw
something new
when women entrepreneurs
from
five Afghan provinces arrived
on campus in January 2013
for the fifth iteration of Project
Artemis. For the first time
since Thunderbird launched
the business education program
in 2005, nearly every
participant gave permission
to be photographed and
quoted in the media.
In past years the majority
of Artemis fellows worried
about retaliation in Afghanistan
for their participation
in a women’s empowerment
program.
“It is a change,” said 2013
Artemis fellow Asila Sadiqi,
who runs an agriculture
Nada Al Harthi ’12, left, escorts Project Artemis fellow Sania Wafeq to a welcome reception Jan. 28, 2013, in
the Thunderbird Events Center.
business in Harat Province.
“We are the new generation.
We were born with these
challenges, and we are not
afraid.”
Geeti Aryanpur, a 2013
Artemis fellow who runs
an Afghan jewelry business,
said speaking out
remains risky, but she wants
to inspire others. “Maybe
some other women will find
courage when they see us
speaking freely,” she said.
The 2013 program
produced 11 graduates,
bringing the total to 74 in
eight years.
SUZY HOWELL
Thunderbird
delivers
fast results
in Haiti
Haitian entrepreneur
Wesmia Bruno moved
quickly to apply the skills
she learned at Thunderbird
during a women’s empowerment
program sponsored
by the U.S. State Department
and Goldman Sachs.
Bruno used her Thunderbird
knowledge to launch a
digital marketing firm that
attracted three major clients
within three months, including
Jamaican Grammy-winning
reggae artist
Sean Paul. The company
complements a graphic
design and marketing firm
that Bruno previously
started in 2011.
“The people at Thunderbird
are awesome,” Bruno
TIM CLARKE
Haitian women entrepreneurs
attend their Global Cohort
graduation ceremony Oct.
26, 2012, on the Thunderbird
Tower lawn.
said. “The two weeks that I
spent here were amazing.”
Bruno and 26 other Haitian
businesswomen were
selected from a pool of
more than 400 applicants
to attend the third installment
of the Entrepreneurship
Partnership Global
Cohort in October 2012.
Overall, the Thunderbird
for Good program served
80 nontraditional students
from 21 developing countries
in 2012.
12 spring 2013

news & notes
All-terrain
consulting
Students complete
projects from
Angola to Peru
S
tudent consulting teams
hit the ground this winter
to assist real-world clients
in Angola, Brazil, Peru and
Tanzania, while three more teams
left in February 2013 to complete
assignments in Cambodia, India and
Indonesia.
The projects represent the latest
work of the Thunderbird Emerging
Markets Laboratory (TEM Lab) and
the new Executive Lab (E Lab), a pilot
program for Executive MBA students.
“During the weeks our team spent
in rural Angola, we saw firsthand the
challenges that small-scale farmers
are facing,” said Abigail Hedlund
’13, a traditional MBA student who
spent five weeks with three classmates
in Angola.
Hedlund’s group developed a master
plan to improve farming and rural
Executive MBA students, from left, Brett Plains ’13, Chelsea Oyen ’13, Luis Rodriguez ’13,
Brent Nelson ’13, Greg Lehmann ’13 and Ralf Renken ’13 provide consulting services Feb. 1,
2013, at a manufacturing site in Puente Piedra outside Lima, Peru.
development for the ExxonMobil
Foundation and Esso Angola. Other
recent TEM Lab clients include New
Ventures energy enterprise accelerators
in Indonesia and India, and the
Documentation Center of Cambodia.
Working professionals in the
Executive MBA program followed a
condensed weeklong schedule for
their three projects.
Overall, TEM Lab and E Lab
consultants have completed more
than 30 projects in 17 countries since
2010.
MARIA LINARES
TEM Lab students observe Angolan farming practices in November 2012.
EUGENIA MOITA
thunderbird magazine 13

news & notes
Roe Goddard, Ph.D., reads a message from Thunderbird President Larry Edward Penley, Ph.D., congratulating Southwest University of Finance
and Economics on the 10th anniversary of its Executive MBA program on Dec. 2, 2012, near Chengdu, China.
SOUTHWEST UNIVERSITY OF FINANCE AND ECONOMICS
Chinese university honors Thunderbird professor
Thunderbird Professor
Roe Goddard,
Ph.D., found himself
as the surprise
guest of honor in December
2012 when he traveled to
Southwest University of
Finance and Economics in
Chengdu, China.
Goddard thought the
university had brought him
to Sichuan Province to participate
in a strategic planning
session for its Executive
MBA program. “Much to
my total surprise, I was also
presented the Most Valuable
Faculty award for the entire
10 years of the program,”
Goddard said.
As a consultant at the
business school, Goddard
assisted in the strategic
planning for the rollout of
the degree and has provided
case teaching method training
for the faculty. He also
has taught a course in the
school’s Executive MBA program
every year for 10 years.
About 1,500 guests attended
the 10-year celebration
at a luxury hotel in the
foothills of the Himalayan
Mountains near Tibet.
Overall, Goddard has
traveled to China more than
50 times, often to teach a
Regional Business Environment
course with Thunderbird
Online MBA students.
He also teaches Global Political
Economy on campus.
Thunderbird MBA makes bucket list
The editors of Phoenix
Magazine have recommended
a Thunderbird
MBA for ambitious Arizona
residents searching
for epic, fun, unique and
rewarding experiences.
The “bucket list” of 101
items appears in the March
2013 issue. “Want to be the
next Steve Jobs?” the article
says. “Look no further than
one of the best business
schools on the planet, right
here in town.” Other items
on the list include taking a
seaplane to a desert island
brunch, seeking the Lost
Dutchman’s Goldmine, and
riding the Zamboni at a
Phoenix Coyotes game.
The magazine has a paid
circulation of more than
77,000 readers.
14 spring 2013

news & notes
Thunderbird
thanks Barrett
Students, faculty, staff salute
interim president for service
Guests sign a portrait of
Ambassador Barrett that was
later framed and given to her as
a memento.
African students Caroline Kenduywa ’13, left, and Jennifer Juma ’12
greet Ambassador Barbara Barrett during her thank you reception
Nov. 28, 2012.
Thunderbird
faculty, staff and
students rolled out
the red carpet for
Ambassador Barbara Barrett
during a thank you reception
Nov. 28, 2012, following
her six-month term as
interim president.
Barrett, who served as
Thunderbird’s 10th leader
from April 27 to Nov. 1,
2012, bridged the administrations
of Ángel Cabrera,
Ph.D., and Larry Edward
Penley, Ph.D. She was the
first woman and the first
honorary alumnus to serve
as Thunderbird president.
The celebration included
musical performances,
tributes, toasts and even a
dramatic reading of a Maya
Angelou poem. Japanese
student Yohei Matsumura
’13 shared his thoughts
in a thank you video that
opened the celebration.
“I was especially impressed
with how Ambassador
Barrett clarified three
priorities — students,
jobs and donors — which
helped us to follow her
easily and clearly,” he said.
“When I become a leader, I
want to do the same thing.”
Chinese student Shan
Ouyang ’13 said she appreciated
the way Barrett
provided special access for
students to professional, political
and cultural events in
Arizona. “She created many
opportunities for students
to be around her and learn
outside the classroom,”
Ouyang said.
Former Thunderbird
Trustee John Berndt, who
served as Chief Operating
Officer during Barrett’s
interim administration, also
attended the event.
The Thunderbird community
thanked Berndt for his
most recent service during
a Pub reception on Dec.
12, 2012. Guests dined on
Mexican food and toasted
Berndt with margaritas.
Special Assistant to the
President Gbemi Disu ’06
organized both events.
PHOTOS BY SUZY HOWELL
Thunderbird Arizona license plate sales raise funds
Thunderbird license plates
have become a common
sight on campus. Through
January 2013 the Arizona
Department of Transportation
has sold 438 of the
specialty plates. Thunderbird’s
portion of the revenue
is nearly $8,000. “The great
news here is that all who
purchase a plate will renew
the plate every year or two,
adding yet again to the sales,”
said Aram Chavez ’08, who
has spearheaded the project.
To order a plate, visit www.
servicearizona.com and click
“Vehicle.” Alumni outside
Arizona can order a license
plate holder — the next best
thing — for $18 at www.
thundershop.com.
thunderbird magazine 15

news & notes
TIM CLARKE
Thunderbird Pub makes list of top b-school bars
Thunderbird alumni
already know the best place
to toast friends in a business
school environment. The
campus Pub, which moved
to the southwest wing of
the renovated Thunderbird
Tower in 2011, has been a
favorite gathering spot for
students since 1971.
Now even more people
know about the popular
watering hole, thanks to a list
of top business school bars
published by BusinessBecause.com
on Dec. 31, 2012.
Of the five schools featured
on the website, only
Thunderbird offers drinks at
the heart of campus. Students
have to leave their schools to
find the other winning bars
in Denmark, Italy, the United
Kingdom and Texas in the
United States.
“Housed in the iconic
Thunderbird Tower, the bar
has libations from around
the world on tap and on
hand,” the website says
about the Pub. “The 1941
Tower was refurbished as
part of a student-led initiative
to bring the building
back to its original glory
using all green building materials
and techniques.”
ABOVE: BusinessBecause.com
blogger Sian Morley-Smith says:
“Nice Marlin!” The Pub icon, seen
on the wall in the background,
was moved from the previous
Pub spot near the former
Thunderbird Activity Center.
Photo contest winner
Traditional MBA student
Sean Murphy ’13 stands
on a ledge overlooking
Blyde River Canyon on Jan.
21, 2013, in Mpumalanga,
South Africa, during a threeweek
Winterim course led
by Thunderbird Professor
Olufemi Babarinde, Ph.D.
The image was selected
from among 128 entries as
the winner of Thunderbird’s
2013 Student Photo Contest.
As the contest winner,
Murphy received exposure
in Thunderbird Magazine and
lunch with Thunderbird
President Larry Edward
Penley, Ph.D.
Murphy’s classmate, Ayank
Verma ’13, captured the
photo after Murphy framed
the shot and adjusted the
camera settings. Two runners
up in the contest received
Thunderbird goody bags.
16 spring 2013

Thunderbird honors past
Colombian president
news & notes
Thunderbird recognized
former Colombian
President
Álvaro Uribe Vélez
with an honorary Doctor
of International Law during
winter commencement on
Dec. 14, 2012.
Uribe, who served as
Colombian president from
2002 to 2010, spoke briefly
to graduates about successful
leadership.
“In moments of difficulty,
the leader should be the
only one accountable,” he
said. “In moments of happiness,
the leader should
share the honor with
honors.”
Several other civic leaders
have visited Thunderbird in
recent months.
Recently retired U.S. Sen.
Jon Kyl toured campus Oct.
23, 2012, near the end of his
third and final Senate term.
Japan’s ambassador to the
United States, Ichiro Fujisaki,
visited campus Oct. 31,
2012, and U.S. Ambassadorat-Large
for Global Women’s
Issues Melanne Verveer,
came on Oct. 26, 2012.
U.S. Ambassador Betty
E. King also hosted Thunderbird
Executive MBA
students on Jan. 29, 2013,
during their field seminar in
Geneva, Switzerland.
Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe Vélez speaks during
commencement on Dec. 14, 2012.
TIM CLARKE
American Express invests in social sector leaders
High-potential emerging
leaders from 10 international
social sector organizations
and NGOs will develop new
skills May 6-10, 2013, during
the American Express Leadership
Academy at Thunderbird.
The annual program
launched in 2009 through a
partnership with American
Express, has served more
than 100 managers from 39
organizations during its first
four years.
“My deputy director and I
came back from the intensive
weeklong program brimming
with new ideas,” said
2009 participant Michael
McDonald, executive director
of Habitat for Humanity in
Tucson, Arizona.
“One of the philanthropic
goals of American Express is
to focus on the development
of social sector leaders,”
DARYL JAMES
said Thunderbird Professor
Mary Teagarden, Ph.D., the
program’s academic director.
“These participants are
on their way to positions of
senior leadership.”
The curriculum of the
American Express Leadership
Academy at Thunderbird
focuses on building
the personal, business and
leadership skills needed to
manage and lead a successful
nonprofit organization. The
Academy is tailored to fit cultural
nuances and different
nonprofit niche needs with
the following core elements
being consistent: A focus
on high-potential emerging
leaders, a curriculum blending
personal leadership skills
with business skills, and an
assessment-based approach,
American Express CEO Ken Chenault, pictured on screen, speaks
via satellite to 2011 participants of the American Express Leadership
Academy at Thunderbird.
including one-on-one coaching,
and formal follow-up
activities.
The Global Mindset
Inventory assessment is used
as a pre- and post-program
assessment to measure the
global mindset profile of
the participants. Post-program
evaluations show the
American Express Leadership
Academy gets top scores from
the emerging leaders who
attend.
Participants report that
the impact of this experience
increases leadership skills
and global mindset, and better
strategic thinking about
the future of their organization
and their leadership.
Participants also say they
have increased their strategic
thinking responsiveness and
problem-solving skills.
For more information, visit
www.thunderbird.edu/amex.
thunderbird magazine 17

special report
Thunderbird
debuts at No. 1 in
Businessweek
T
hunderbird debuted at No. 1
in international business in a
Bloomberg Businessweek survey
released Dec. 24, 2012. The
publication added the specialized
category as part of its 2012 Best
B-Schools rankings.
Bloomberg Businessweek surveyed
MBA students from the class of 2012
about specific aspects of their school’s
business program and used the results
to create nine specialty area rankings.
In the international business category,
Thunderbird was followed by INSEAD,
IMD, London Business School and
Georgetown (McDonough).
In a separate announcement,
Bloomberg Businessweek ranked
Thunderbird in the top five for business
schools with the most international
student body.
Thunderbird also holds the top
spot for international business in the
U.S. News & World Report business
school rankings.
Rankings 101: Understanding the rankings and the role of
As alumni, your participation in
surveys holds considerable weight in
the calculations used by top ranking
organizations such as Bloomberg Businessweek,
The Wall Street Journal, Financial
Times, The Economist and U.S. News
& World Report. Participation in surveys
is important on two fronts. First, a
predetermined percentage of survey
responses is required for Thunderbird
to qualify for the ranking. Second, the
answers to the surveys are factored into
Thunderbird’s scores. Keep in mind
that many of these surveys go only to
graduates from a particular year or set
of years, so it is important to respond
if you receive a survey. Many of the
rankings are based on a combination
of school-provided data as well as
survey results from students, alumni,
corporate recruiters and/or business
school deans and program directors.
The specific methodology varies by
organization. The snapshots below
will serve as a quick guide.
RANKINGS THAT INVOLVE
ALUMNI SURVEYS
Bloomberg Businessweek - MBA
Methodology: Held every two years and
based on academic reputation of the
school (10 percent) combined with survey
responses from MBA graduates (45 percent)
and corporate recruiters (45 percent). The
“International Business” specialty ranking
is based on student and alumni survey
responses from the top 100 ranked schools.
Bloomberg Businessweek -
Executive MBA
Methodology: Held every two years and
based on survey responses from Executive
MBA graduating students (65 percent) and
program directors (35 percent).
Economist Intelligence Unit - MBA
Methodology: Based on quantitative
data supplied by the school (38 percent)
combined with survey responses from MBA
students and graduates (54 percent), and
diversity of recruiters by industry (8 percent).
Economist Intelligence Unit -
Distance Learning
Methodology: Based on quantitative
data supplied by the school (80 percent)
combined with survey responses from Global
Online MBA students and graduates (20
percent).
Financial Times - MBA
Methodology: Based on annual survey
responses from MBA school alumni (12
percent) combined with recent graduate
salary (43 percent), diversity of students,
18 spring 2013

news & notes
Rankings highlights
Thunderbird graduates attend winter
commencement on Dec. 14, 2012.
alumni surveys
faculty, board (25 percent) and faculty/
research (20 percent). The “International
Business” specialty ranking is based on
alumni survey responses from the top 100
ranked schools.
Financial Times - Executive MBA
Methodology: Based on quantitative data
supplied by the school (45 percent) and
survey responses from Executive MBA
graduates (55 percent).
U.S. News & World Report - MBA
Methodology: Based on quantitative
data supplied by the school (60 percent)
combined with survey responses from
corporate recruiters (15 percent), business
school deans and program directors (25
percent). The “International Business”
specialty ranking is based on survey
responses from business school deans and
program directors (100 percent).
DEGREE PROGRAMS
#1 International
Full-time MBA
U.S. News & World Report 2014
(18 consecutive years)
#1 Top MBA Program by
Specialty: International
Business
Bloomberg Businessweek 2012
#1 Internationalism
of Alumni
The Economist 2011
#1 Executive MBA
alumni score
The Wall Street Journal 2010
#1 Executive MBA Management
Skills Taught
The Wall Street Journal 2010
#2 Potential to Network
The Economist 2011
#3 Best Executive
MBA Programs
The Wall Street Journal 2010
#4 Top MBA
Online Programs
QS Distance Online MBA Rankings
2012
TOP 5 Distance Learning MBA
Programs in the World
The Economist 2010
#5 Most International
B-Schools in the
United States
Bloomberg Businessweek 2012
#5 Top MBA Programs by
Specialty: Diversity
Bloomberg Businessweek 2013
EXECUTIVE EDUCATION
#1 International Location
Open Enrollment Programs,
Financial Times 2012
#1 Faculty
Open Enrollment Programs,
Financial Times 2012
#1 Course Design
Open Enrollment Programs,
Financial Times 2012
#1 Teaching Methods
& Materials
Open Enrollment Programs,
Financial Times 2012
#3 Top Open Enrollment
Programs in the World
Financial Times 2012
#3 International Clients
Custom Programs, Financial
Times 2012
#9 Overall Executive
Education,
Financial Times 2012
thunderbird magazine 19

20 spring 2013

close
up
VIEW
Longtime Thunderbird admirer,
Larry Edward Penley, takes
the reins as president
By Daryl James
Thunderbird President
and Chief Academic
Offi cer Larry Edward
Penley, Ph.D., talks in his
offi ce on Feb. 6, 2013.
(KRISTEN JARCHOW)
As an avid hiker, Larry E. Penley has a habit that sometimes
gets him into trouble. He takes one path to reach his destination
and then looks for a different way back so he
doesn’t have to see the same trail twice.
“There is always something exciting across the next
hill,” says Penley, who became President and Chief Academic Officer
of Thunderbird School of Global Management on Nov. 1, 2012. The
assignment builds upon a career in higher education that has included
roles as president of Colorado State University, dean of the W.P. Carey
School of Business at Arizona State University, and chairman of the Association
to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), a world
leader in accreditation services.
On one memorable hike, Penley’s quest for wilderness adventure
led him and his son to a remote mesa near Pine Mountain in Arizona’s
Tonto National Forest. The hikers’ canteens were nearly empty when
Penley realized they had ventured off course.
He took out his map and compass, estimated their location, and
charted a new path that he hoped would intersect with the closest
thunderbird magazine 21

close-upview
source of water — if any remained in the
drought-stricken area. Then the father explained
the tense situation to his son, who
was 12 at the time and growing tired.
“Fortunately, we found a small pool that
clearly had been the special private reservoir
for snakes and deer and other animals,” Penley
says.
The thirsty hikers filled their canteens with
the green liquid, added purifying tablets, and
sipped cautiously. “Despite how thick the water
was, my son declared it the best water he
had ever tasted,” Penley says.
Soon the explorers were back at their car,
satisfied with their day’s work.
“My curiosity at times can get me in trouble,”
Penley says. “But it’s just been a part of
my life to see a different road or a different
track.”
The same tendencies have shaped Penley’s
career.
When he caught a glimpse of the Hispanic
culture as an assistant professor in San Antonio,
Texas, he charted a new course toward
Spanish immersion. He enrolled in language
classes near home and then traveled to the
heart of Mexico for an extended program in
Cuernavaca.
Within one year he was teaching organizational
behavior in Spanish — first in Mexico
and later in Venezuela.
Penley leaves his orienteering tools behind
when he travels abroad with his wife,
but he still enjoys exploring new paths. “We
don’t plan out the travel in great detail,” he
says. “We enjoy finding a fun restaurant, eating
food that we never anticipated eating, or
meeting someone new.”
This comfort with ambiguity served Penley
well during his first trip to China in 1997,
when ASU was exploring partnerships for a
customized MBA program in Beijing. Communist
Party leader Deng Xiaoping died during
the visit, and itineraries changed as the
country shut down for mourning.
“It was a dramatic event,” Penley says. “No
one knew quite what was going to happen.”
Although Penley earned his bachelor’s and
master’s degrees from Wake Forest University,
and his Ph.D. in management from the
University of Georgia, his insatiable curiosity
marks him as a classic T-bird.
“Our students enjoy the novel,” Penley says.
“They enjoy doing something different. They
enjoy interacting with people from different
cultures. This is why they come to Thunderbird.”
EARLY LESSONS
Penley was born in Virginia and grew up in
east Tennessee, where his earliest leadership
lessons came as a Boy Scout. Besides learning
to tie knots and braid lanyards, he mentored
younger Scouts and managed a summer camp
store and crafts lodge.
“You learn the importance of perseverance,
hard work and honor,” says Penley, who
earned the highest rank of Eagle.
Penley also observed his father, who ran an
Larry Edward Penley, center, meets students
during a luncheon Dec. 6, 2012, at the campus
pavilion. (KRISTEN JARCHOW)
22 spring 2013

auto repair shop in a region marked by racial
segregation. “We were in the South,” Penley
says. “And my dad’s business was the only one
in town that had African American customers
as well as White customers.”
Penley says his father treated everyone with
dignity, including his employees. “When I
think about business and management,” Penley
says, “it really was my dad that I learned
from.”
Penley traces his global mindset to his
mother, who had limited opportunities to
travel but read voraciously.
“I owe her a debt for having inspired that
curiosity,” Penley says. “She instilled an interest
in what is novel — the unwillingness to
live the same way from day to day.”
A SENSE OF HOPE
Progress came quickly when Penley brought
his global mindset to ASU in 1985, serving
first as a professor and then as dean of the
business college. Rankings improved and fundraising
increased, including a $50 million
naming gift from W.P. Carey.
Penley also helped the school launch international
MBA programs in China and Mexico,
and an Online MBA for distance learners. “We
joined the international scene,” Penley says.
By the time he moved to his next challenge
in 2003, the business school was producing
40 percent of ASU honors graduates. Faculty,
staff and students started seeing their MBA
program as a top-tier competitor.
“We changed the way people thought about
themselves and their opportunities,” Penley
says. “It is that sense of hope, that sense of a
dream, that sense of possibilities that to me is
the greatest achievement of that period.”
As president of CSU from 2003 to 2008,
Penley continued the fast pace. Research expenditures
increased by 50 percent and fundraising
doubled under his leadership.
Penley also helped the university focus on
its responsibilities to the community, which
led to specializations in sustainable energy,
infectious disease and cancer research.
“We focused the institution on what it could
do best,” he says. “But we did so in terms of
what the community needs were.”
Thunderbird Chairman
of the Board of Trustees
Ann Iverson, left, leads
a presidential transition
ceremony during winter
commencement on
Dec. 14, 2012. Barbara
Barrett, center, served
as Thunderbird interim
president from April 27 to
Nov. 1, 2012, when the
board announced Larry
Edward Penley, right, as
her replacement.
(TIM CLARKE)
thunderbird magazine 23

Gallup recruiter Susan
Shald, second from
right, meets Thunderbird
students Oct. 25, 2012,
during the Career Fair.
Thunderbird President
Larry Edward Penley has
identifi ed employers as
the school’s top customer.
(KRISTEN JARCHOW)
THUNDERBIRD MYSTIQUE
Thunderbird first caught Penley’s attention
during these years in Arizona and Colorado.
“I’ve known and admired this campus for
more than 25 years,” Penley says. “Thunderbird
was the model of global business, and
Thunderbird remains the model of global
business — even as other schools have focused
more and more on international business.”
He says he heard reports of the Thunderbird
mystique as an outsider, and he thought he
understood the concept. But his understanding
deepened when Interim Thunderbird
President Barbara Barrett invited him to join
her transition team as interim provost in April
2012.
“I always thought I knew what the Thunderbird
mystique was,” Penley says. “But not until
I interacted with the students and alumni
did I realize what it was all about.”
APPETITE FOR RISK
Penley says Thunderbird will stay true to its
core values in the 21st century, but the school
must develop a bias for action to keep pace
with global business.
“A bias for action means we have to be willing
to change,” he says. “We need to be aggressive
about change. We need to be constantly
monitoring where business is headed, what
employers need, and what recruiters are asking
for in terms of knowledge and skills.”
He says Thunderbird’s Board of Trustees
understands this mindset which guided the
process as the school explored a partnership
with Laureate Education Inc. He says the announcement
that followed on March 18,
2013, shows the school’s willingness to adapt
and thrive in a competitive environment (details
on page 4).
“Change is always a risk,” Penley says. “But
a leader cannot get complacent or rest when
others are chasing to catch up.”
Penley has trained himself to moderate risk
by focusing on market research. He uses survey
data and focus groups like he uses his map
and compass in the wilderness.
“Rarely do I approach a problem that I don’t
start with the market and where it is headed,”
24 spring 2013

close-upview
he says. “What I’m really asking myself is,
‘What does the customer need, and what is
the customer going to need?’”
EMPLOYERS AS CUSTOMERS
Penley says Thunderbird’s chief customer
is the employer who hires MBA graduates —
even though students are the ones paying tuition
and carrying the school’s brand to the
world.
“Students are what we are all about,” he
says. “But these students want good jobs. They
want jobs that are intriguing and creative and
interesting, and jobs that give them a chance
to live outside their home countries.”
If Thunderbird does a good job delivering
the knowledge and skills that employers want,
then students and employers both win. Penley
says this belief led to Thunderbird’s new
one-year MBA, which the school will launch
in fall 2013 (details on page 8).
“From the very first day the faculty team met
to consider a new curriculum, we started by
looking at surveys and focus groups of what
employers had said they need from an MBA,”
Penley says. “We called the employer our chief
customer on that day.”
STEP BY STEP
The one-year MBA will lower opportunity
costs for students, create a more inclusive
campus, and better serve the market. But Penley
cannot say for certain how the new curriculum
will evolve, or where the market will
go next.
In times of uncertainty Penley leans on a
conversation he had with former Greyhound
and Dial CEO John Teets, a friend who died
in 2011 at age 77. Penley asked Teets about vision,
and the veteran leader avoided the topic
for several minutes.
“We had a long conversation about everything
except vision,” Penley says. “After we sat
in his office for a while, he invited me downstairs
to see his sculpture garden.”
Surrounded by the pieces of art — forged
step by step from vision to reality — Teets returned
to the original question.
“People need to know where you are headed
as a leader,” Teets explained. “But visions
do not arrive fully exploded and understandable
to people. Visions are revealed step by
step, act by act, execution by execution.”
Penley looks in the future and sees Thunderbird
as a leader in global management
education. He sees a school that listens to
customers, embraces technology and drives
innovation. As a hiker, he is ready to explore.
“Thunderbird is a global school of business,”
he says. “That’s what we are, that’s what
we have been, and that’s the opportunity we
have in the future.”
Video conversation
Watch excerpts from a recent conversation with
Thunderbird President Larry Edward Penley at
magazine.thunderbird.edu/penley.
Thunderbird President and Chief Academic Offi cer Larry
Edward Penley, Ph.D., poses for his offi cial portrait on
Feb. 15, 2013, at a studio in Phoenix, Arizona.
(KRISTEN JARCHOW)
thunderbird magazine 25

Members of the Japan Club perform Dec. 8, 2012, during Asia
Regional Night.
DARYL JAMES
DARYL JAMES
Thunderbird students perform a Saudi folkdance during the Europe, Africa
and Middle East Regional Night on Nov. 17, 2012.
10 reasons
26 spring 2013

Students perform during Asia Regional Night on Nov. 12, 2011.
KRISTEN JARCHOW
DARYL JAMES
Risa Ogata ’13 performs with the Thunderbird Africa Business Club on
Feb. 9, 2013.
to CHEER
One-of-a-kind traditions,
innovations and points of pride
that set Thunderbird apart
By Daryl James
1REGIONAL NIGHT: Guests line up Dec. 8, 2012, for green curry,
chicken basil and kheer for dessert. The lights dim and emcees
from China and Vietnam introduce a live show that will celebrate
the customs of more than one dozen Asian countries. The program
will include Bollywood dances, Chinese karaoke, Muay Thai and kung
fu demonstrations. This is the latest installment of Regional Night, a
cultural exchange hosted and produced by Thunderbird students three
times each trimester. “When we say we’re No. 1 in international business,
we really mean it,” says Thunderbird Student Government Vice
President Anirrban Mukherjii ’13 of India. “Regional Nights are one
of the many ways in which Thunderbird helps you understand what the
world is all about.” The following pages showcase nine other features
that set Thunderbird apart.
TIM CLARKE
Bo Lin ’11, left, performs tai chi during a special Regional
Night production for Thunderbird trustees on Feb. 3,
2011, during the Chinese New Year.
thunderbird magazine 27

Incoming students gather Aug. 31, 2012, before the ThunderOlympics.
FOUNDATIONS: Lifelong friendships start during Foundations, a weeklong mix of culture shock, midnight study sessions
and teambuilding for new students. The orientation culminates with the ThunderOlympics. Tarantulas, Wolves,
2Roadrunners and other desert critters chant team cheers as they move between events.
Incoming students from all over the world participate Aug. 28, 2012, in a
Foundations session.
KRISTEN JARCHOW
TIM CLARKE
Mohammed Abu Zeinab ’13 of Qatar participates Aug.
23, 2012, in Foundations.
Foundations teams compete Aug. 31, 2012.
Students participate in a teambuilding activity Jan.
21, 2013, during Foundations.
TIM CLARKE KRISTEN JARCHOW KRISTEN JARCHOW
28 spring 2013

10reasonstocheer
© PAULA LERNER
Rangina Hamidi, a 2005 Project Artemis fellow, works at Kandahar Treasure, an Afghan company she founded in 2003.
PROJECT ARTEMIS: Women entrepreneurs from Afghanistan study at Thunderbird through an intensive two-week
course followed by two years of mentoring. The program, called Project Artemis, has brought nearly 80 participants to
3Arizona since 2005. Similar programs inspired by Project Artemis have reached more than 70,000 women.
Project Artemis fellows in the fourth cohort celebrate during graduation on
Oct. 28, 2010.
SUBMITTED
Mariam Jami ul Ahmadi, a Project Artemis fellow in
the fi fth cohort, studies Jan. 29, 2013.
KRISTEN JARCHOW
thunderbird magazine 29

10reasonstocheer
TIM CLARKE
THE TOWER: History runs deep at Thunderbird, with origins as a World War II training base for Chinese, British and
U.S. pilots. The former airfield tower, restored in 2011, survives at the heart of campus as a reminder of the past and a
4symbol of Thunderbird’s mission to promote peace through cross-border trade.
An AT-6 Texan rests outside the Thunderbird Airfi eld tower in Arizona during
World War II.
JOHN SWOPE
Stairs lead from the observation deck atop the Tower.
TIM CLARKE
30 spring 2013

10reasonstocheer
About 30 participants attend the November 2012 First Tuesday gathering in Taiwan. Taipei chapter leader Shao-Ping Paul Pan ’05 says guests
included alumni from 1985 to 2012. Smaller or more dispersed chapters such as the one in Taipei sometimes meet less often or on weekends,
but the atmosphere remains uniquely Thunderbird in all 171 alumni chapters.
CHRIS KUO ’06
5
FIRST TUESDAYS: T-birds all over the
world keep their calendars open for
First Tuesdays. The tradition, which
spread from Florida in 1980, brings
alumni together each month for networking
and fun.
Thunderbird Professor Mansour Javidan, Ph.D., leads the Najafi Global Mindset
Institute.
KRISTEN JARCHOW
6
GLOBAL MINDSET INVENTORY: To
help global managers succeed in unfamiliar
environments, Thunderbird offers
a range of solutions at the Najafi
Global Mindset Institute led by Professor
Mansour Javidan, Ph.D. A scientific
self-assessment called the Global Mindset
Inventory provides a starting point.
The tool, developed at Thunderbird,
has helped more than 15,000 managers
since 2008 measure their strengths
and weaknesses in nine global business
categories.
thunderbird magazine 31

10reasonstocheer
Aaron Ohms ’11 visits a market in Ghana.
SEAN KELLY ’12
Carolina Samudio ’12 works in Mexico.
JOSH NIEDERMAN ’12
TEM LAB: Students step out of the classroom for an elective capstone course called the Thunderbird Emerging Markets
Laboratory. Since 2010, teams have led consulting projects for real-world clients from Angola to Uganda. Thunderbird
7Professor Michael Finney, Ph.D., runs the courses with program director Charles Reeves ’09.
Mount Bromo greets TEM Lab students in Indonesia. Working with a grant from ExxonMobil, the team of fi ve students assessed the social impact
of cooking stoves and water purifi ers distributed by Kopernik in Indonesia.
NICHOLAS DAVIS ’11
32 spring 2013

10reasonstocheer
TIM CLARKE
Flag bearers from 22 countries lead the International Parade of Flags on Dec. 14, 2012.
PARADE OF FLAGS: Ceremonies come alive with color when students from all over the world carry their flags and
share greetings from their home countries. For more than 35 years, the tradition has captured the spirit of Thunderbird
8during Foundations and graduations.
Steven Abou Haidar ’12 represents Lebanon in
April 2012.
TIM CLARKE
Giang Pham ’13 carries the fl ag of Vietnam during the 2011 Foundations welcome
ceremony. She is scheduled to graduate in April 2013.
DARYL JAMES
thunderbird magazine 33

Students appreciated Thunderbird Professor Kishore Dash, Ph.D., so much that they printed T-shirts with his likeness and threw a party for him
on Dec. 12, 2012. The back of the shirt, designed by Huijuan Guo ’13 with help from Patrick Mah ’13, features memorable quotes from Dash, an
Indian native who injects humor into his global political economy classroom.
DARYL JAMES
GLOBAL FACULTY: Thunderbird professors have passion for diversity, quest for adventure and self-assurance in unfamiliar
environments. Like their students, they are global explorers who rarely stay home for long. On average, each
9full-time professor speaks 2.7 languages and has lived 16.8 years outside his or her native country or territory.
Thunderbird Professor John Zerio, Ph.D., right, leads a Winterim course in his native Brazil on Jan. 11, 2011.
DARYL JAMES
34 spring 2013

10reasonstocheer
10 You
T-birds have an advantage when they travel because wherever they go, they have allies on
the ground. “These people are ready to help you — to drop everything they are doing to
make sure you are OK,” says Titi Owoade ’11, a Diageo manager working in her native
Nigeria. Recent Chinese graduate Ji Chen ’12 already has experienced the power of the network.
“Wherever you go, you are likely to meet one or two Thunderbirds,” he says. “We are like a big family.” The network
includes nearly 40,000 alumni in 171 chapters and 147 countries. You are the reason The Economist ranks Thunderbird No.
1 in the world for “Internationalism of Alumni” and No. 2 for “Potential to Network.”
“It’s not just that our students come from so many countries,” says Thunderbird Professor David Bowen, Ph.D. “Many of
them have been all over the world. They have traveled and worked around the world. We are a community of global citizens.”
thunderbird magazine 35

KINDE
36 spring 2013

Sent away as a child to live with strangers,
a refugee returns to fi ght the Nazis,
then fi nds a new home at Thunderbird
Viennese children arrive in London on the Kindertransport. ©AUSTRIAN NATIONAL
LIBRARY (Repressed Years: The Austrian Railways and National Socialism Between
1938-1945, Exhibition)
beyond the
RTRANSPORT
By Frederick Koppl ’52
Left, Fred Koppl ’52
attends the Thunderbird
alumni reunion May 24,
2012, in Berlin, Germany.
(DARYL JAMES)
Most people come to Thunderbird to study global business.
Not me. I came in 1950 because campus photographs
showed two swimming pools in a desert oasis.
As a young Polish immigrant and World War II veteran
selling electrical testing equipment in frigid Illinois
and neighboring states, the promise of year-round sunshine appealed
to me.
I first read about Thunderbird in a lobby magazine while waiting
for a client on a sales call. The article showed images of pristine swimming
pools surrounded by palm trees and grass, which looked more
like a country club to me than an institute for international trade.
thunderbird magazine 37

eyondthekindertransport
CENTER FOR HOLOCAUST AND HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION
A Kindertransport
memorial pays tribute
to Britons who aided in
the rescue effort. The
sculpture is part of a
group erected in 2006
by Frank Meisler in Hope
Square, Liverpool Street
Station, London, United
Kingdom.
“Perfect,” I thought. “I could use a vacation.”
Thanks to the G.I. Bill of Rights, everything
would be free. While my classmates attended
lectures and wrote papers, I would relax poolside
and soak up the sun. I knew admissions
officials probably would expel me after one semester
for academic failure — but that would
be plenty of time to recuperate from the harsh
Chicago winters and rethink my life.
World War II had taken a deep personal
toll, and I needed time to reflect. I was a child
when Hitler came to power, but old enough to
grasp what it meant to be Jewish in my birthplace
of Danzig, an independent city-state
that rejoined Poland after the war.
In August 1938, during the height of the
anti-Semitic pogroms in Danzig, my parents
sent me to attend school in Bodenbach/Podmokly
on the border of Germany and the former
Czechoslovakia.
The journey of 700 kilometers was not far
enough to escape Hitler’s reach.
One month after my arrival, Nazi agents
negotiated the infamous Munich Agreement,
which permitted the German annexation of
the Sudetenland region of the former Czechoslovakia.
When Hitler’s army marched into
the area, I left for Prague to stay with my
grandparents.
What happened next remains difficult to
describe. My grandparents put me on a train
in March 1939 when I was 16 and sent me to
England to live with strangers. Many other
children came with me. We left Prague by special
transport and headed north through Poland
to the port of Gdynia. Then we boarded
a freighter to Harwich across the Baltic and
North Seas.
The rescue mission, called the Kindertransport,
eventually saved about 10,000 Jewish
children from the Holocaust. My foster parents,
Arthur and Dorothy Williams, were
Quakers who helped me start life anew in a
foreign land.
One month after my journey from Prague,
Hitler took over the rest of the former Czechoslovakia.
My grandparents were taken to the
Theresienstadt concentration camp in the
garrison city of Terezín, where they died. My
father died of natural causes during the war,
leaving only my mother. We were eventually
reunited after the war, but our relationship
38 spring 2013

eyondthekindertransport
was forever changed.
When people read the Biblical story of Moses,
they often gloss over the pain his mother
surely felt when she placed her baby in a basket
and sent him away to live with strangers.
This is just one detail in the narrative: “And
when she could no longer hide him, she took
for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it
with slime and with pitch; and she put the
child therein, and laid it in the flags by the
river’s brink.”
My mother and thousands of other desperate
parents and grandparents experienced
similar pain firsthand during World War II.
The children of the Kindertransport also perienced the pain of separation. We struggleto
reconcile feelings of anger, betrayal,
ex-
guilt, sadness, confusion, gratitude, relief and
even joy.
The Quaker practices of tolerance, social
engagement, ement, pragmatism, community spirit
and love helped in my healing process. The
only thing I could not identify with was my
foster parents’ absolute pacifism.
All Quakers were conscientious objectors
to the war and, as such, freed from military
service. With my childhood experiences from
the pogroms in Danzig, not being prepared to
fight evil seemed like a sacrilege. My feelings
have softened since then, but those were my
emotions at the time.
Shortly after reaching adulthood, while in
the United Kingdom, I enlisted in the U.S.
Army. My unit landed in Le Havre, France,
in November 1944. When the war in Europe
ended in May 1945, I was serving with the
3rd U.S. Army in southern Germany. I
stayed for another year in the army
of occupation before receiving an
honorable discharge at the rank
of sergeant.
The great wartime leader
Winston Churchill helped
shape my sentiments after
the war. On Sept.
19, 1946, he spoke
EUROPE, CIRCA 1939
Fred Koppl ’52 traveled from Prague through Poland
to the port of Gdynia. Then he traveled by freighter
across the Baltic and North Seas to Harwich in the
United Kingdom.
GDYNIA
DANZIG
HARWICH
BODENBACH/PODMOKLY
PRAGUE
thunderbird magazine 39

Birte Lesoine, left, and
Fred Koppl ’52 join other
alumni on a tour boat
during the Thunderbird
alumni reunion May 26,
2013, in Berlin, Germany.
Koppl celebrated his 90th
birthday during the event.
(DARYL JAMES)
in the Great Hall at the University of Zurich
about the tragedy in Europe. He made a plea
to all Europeans to start working toward a
unified Europe, and I became a pacifist and
bridge builder in the spirit of my foster parents.
This history is part of the baggage I brought
with me to the Thunderbird “country club.”
I did more than swim and sunbathe in
Arizona, of course. My therapy also included
playing bridge. But I never went to class.
Then one Tuesday early in the semester
something unexpected happened. I laid out
my towel in the usual spot and waited for
some poolside company to appear. But nobody
came. The whole campus seemed deserted.
Did I miss a U.S. holiday? Did somebody
die? An hour later a few classmates
reappeared, and I called to the first person I
could find. “Hey! What’s going on?” I asked.
“Where is everybody?”
“We were at Bill Schurz’s lecture,” my friend
FRANTIC NINE MONTHS
The Refugee Children Movement and other organizations cooperated before World War II to bring about 10,000
unaccompanied children to England by train, plane and freighter.
Nov. 15, 1938
Nov. 22, 1938
Dec. 2, 1938
Dec. 10, 1938
Jewish leaders petition
British Prime Minister
Neville Chamberlain
to ease immigration
requirements for
unaccompanied refugee
children.
The British Cabinet
passes a bill to
accommodate the
refugees. Efforts begin
to identify at-risk
children and to locate
foster families.
The fi rst rescue mission
arrives at Harwich,
England, bringing 196
children from a Berlin
orphanage burned by
the Nazis.
A transport from Vienna
carries 600 children.
40 spring 2013

eyondthekindertransport
replied. “Sorry you missed it.”
I knew William Lytle Schurz was president
of the school. He was a founding professor
who filled the president’s office when Lt. Gen.
Barton Kyle Yount died on July 11, 1949. But
what was so special about his lectures that he
could turn the campus into a ghost town? I
decided to investigate.
The first class I attended startled me. I discovered
that Professor Schurz, who spent
years in South America during the war, could
captivate audiences on just about any extemporaneous
topic. He would step to the podium,
think for a moment and then say something
like: “Today I am going to tell you about
the Araucan tribe in Chile.” Then he would
talk for an hour and make it fascinating.
Students filled every seat in the largest hall
on campus — and then sat in the aisles on
the floor — to hear every word. No other professor
could hold class during these lectures
because everybody wanted to listen while the
diplomat, scholar and businessman imparted
his wisdom.
Professor Schurz also cared deeply about
the Thunderbird family.
He knew every student on campus and got
involved in their lives. For many of us, he became
a father figure. This is reflected in his
graduation message the first year I attended.
“I persist in getting emotionally involved
about all of you and having a personal stake
in your futures,” he said. “It isn’t just because
you have been living so close to me all this
year and because I have had something to do
with training you to live abroad. Maybe it is
partly because so many of you will be going to
places where I have lived and for which I have a
deep nostalgia. So I live vicariously in the cities
where you will live. … You will be a part of my
far-flung family, and I hope to hear from you as
if you were really sons and daughters of mine.”
This was more than I bargained for when I
came to Thunderbird! I started going to class,
writing papers and studying with my classmates.
When I graduated in 1952, I started
my own global career in the footsteps of
Professor Schurz. My first job after leaving
Thunderbird involved sales for the A.O.
Smith Company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin,
covering the west coast of South America
from Cali, Colombia, to Santiago, Chile,
selling oil country goods and irrigation
equipment.
I discovered a new world full of possibilities
the day nobody came to the pool.
Frederick Koppl ’52 has worked as a sales professional
and manager in Latin America, Europe,
Southeast Asia and Australia. He is retired and
lives in Munich, Germany. This story is based on
details shared in spring 2011 with Daryl James,
Thunderbird Director of Editorial Content. Koppl
also shared a version of this story at the 2010
alumni reunion in Bad Ischl, Austria.
William Lytle Schurz was Thunderbird’s president from
1949 to 1951.
9.95
Thunderbird Stories Project: Volume 1
ARCHIVES
Thunderbird Stories Project: Volume 1
Tales of Global Adventure
SHARE
YOUR STORY
Frederick Koppl ’52
shares his story in the
Thunderbird Stories
Project: Volume 1
under the title, “The
Day Nobody Came
to the Pool” (on sale
through Amazon.
com for $9.95). A
team of alumni editors
is now collecting
stories for Volume
2. Send inquiries
and submissions to
stories@thunderbird.
edu.
March 1939
Sept. 1, 1939
Transports from Prague
are hastily organized
after Nazi forces invade
Czechoslovakia. Fred
Koppl ’52 boards one of
these trains.
The last Kindertransport leaves Germany on the same day Nazi forces invade
Poland. (Another transport attempts to leave Prague on Sept. 3, 1939, but is
turned back. The mission survives underground until May 14, 1940, when a
freighter from the Netherlands carries the last known group of child refugees to
England.)
thunderbird magazine 41

tips & t
Less is more
Lessons from Facebook’s failed IPO
QBY LENA BOOTH, PH.D.
uestions remain
nearly one year
after the frenzy
of Facebook’s
initial public offering on
May 18, 2012.
Who pushed for the inflated
$38 price? Who had
the ear of Chairman and
CEO Mark Zuckerberg in
the days before his NAS-
DAQ debut?
When exactly did
Morgan Stanley, the lead
underwriter, revise Facebook’s
earnings forecast
downward? Who did
Morgan Stanley warn right
before the mandatory
quiet period surrounding
the IPO?
Perhaps the biggest question
is whether Facebook
shares will ever climb
back to $38. (Prices closed
below $28 on March 1,
2013, after hitting a low of
$17.55 six months earlier.)
Some answers might
emerge in the various
lawsuits against Facebook
and its underwriters. In the
meantime, entrepreneurs
and angel investors watching
from the sidelines can
learn from the debacle.
For starters, the Facebook
Lena Booth, Ph.D.
case shows what can go
wrong when the original
owners get too greedy on
the first day of trading.
Although company
founders, venture capitalists
and other financial
backers want a big payday,
these shareholders are
often prevented from cashing
out during a lockup
period that typically lasts
six months to one year.
A good price at the end
of the lockup is what matters,
and experience shows
the best way to build momentum
toward this target
is through strategic IPO
underpricing.
Underpricing by as much
as 15 percent to 20 percent
creates excitement, generates
free publicity for the
company and increases
trading volume. Underpricing
also wards off lawsuits
from angry investors who
bought at the IPO.
When McDonald’s spun
off Chipotle Mexican Grill
in 2006, shares doubled
from $22 to $44 on the
first day. The resulting hype
elevated Chipotle’s public
image. LinkedIn experienced
the same price hike
in 2011, with share price
rising 109 percent on the
first day of trading.
In contrast, Facebook
shares dropped to $31
within the first week, and
the resulting fallout likely
dampened Zuckerberg’s
honeymoon with his new
bride in Rome.
Lena Booth, Ph.D., is an
associate professor of finance
at Thunderbird. She served
as the first executive director
of the Thunderbird Private
Equity Center, and specializes
in corporate finance, capital
raising, investment banking
and financial markets.
42 spring 2013

ends
Five Facebook secrets
for entrepreneurs
BY EKATERINA WALTER ’08
One billion people
have Facebook
accounts, making
it the largest social
network in the world. When
the company went public
in 2012, Mark Zuckerberg
became the 29th richest
person on the planet.
How has this young man
achieved such incredible
success? Here are five secrets
covered in my new book.
Passion: If you think of
successful CEOs such as
Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg,
TOMS’ Blake Mycoskie
or Zappos’ Tony
Hsieh, one thing about all
of them is their passion.
James Dyson created 5,172
prototypes before he perfected
the bagless vacuum
cleaner. Passion gives you
Ekaterina Walter ’08
the perseverance to keep
going, no matter what the
obstacles.
Purpose: Everything that
Facebook does, from the
people it hires to its working
environment to the way
it rolls out new products,
is driven by a sense of
purpose that infuses the
company at every level.
Zuckerberg’s purpose is
to make the world more
transparent and to create
connections among people.
So build what you believe
in, and align your business
interests with your personal
philosophy.
People: Hiring the right
employees is vital for building
a company’s culture.
It’s not just about having
the right skills, it’s also
having the right outlook
that fits with a company’s
values and its purpose. The
4,000 Facebook employees
all believe in the “hacker
way,” a method of working
that prioritizes speed
over perfection and results
over arguments. And they
believe in Zuck’s vision.
Product: Facebook’s
philosophy is to “move fast
and break things.” Creating
an environment of agility
and a sense of urgency
is critical to the ongoing
success of an enterprise
that is looking for ways to
innovate.
Partnerships: Having
the right partner — Sheryl
Sandberg — next to him
means Zuckerberg is free
to play to his strengths: His
imagination, insight and
vision, leaving the task of
business prosperity to Sandberg.
So partner smartly.
“Think Like Zuck”
Author: Ekaterina Walter ’08
Description: 256 pages
Publisher: McGraw-Hill
(Dec. 18, 2012)
Ekaterina Walter ’08
graduated from Thunderbird’s
Online MBA program. She is a
social media innovator at Intel
and a contributor to Mashable,
Fast Company, Huffington
Post and other print and online
publications.
thunderbird magazine 43

tips & trends
Rethinking the four P’s
Tools for B2B marketers
BY RICHARD ETTENSON, PH.D.,
EDUARDO CONRADO ’92 AND JONATHAN KNOWLES
It’s time to retool the
four P’s of marketing
for today’s business-tobusiness
reality. As a
framework for fine-tuning
the marketing mix, the P’s
— product, place, price, and
promotion — have served
consumer marketers well for
half a century. But in the B2B
world, they yield narrow,
product-focused strategies
that are increasingly at odds
with the imperative to deliver
solutions.
In a five-year study involving
more than 500 managers
and customers in multiple
countries and across a wide
range of B2B industries, we
found that the four P’s model
undercuts B2B marketers
in three important ways: It
leads their marketing and
sales teams to stress product
technology and quality even
though these are no longer
differentiators but are simply
the cost of entry. It underemphasizes
the need to build a
robust case for the superior
value of their solutions. And
it distracts them from leveraging
their advantage as a
trusted source of diagnostics,
advice, and problem solving.
It’s not that the four P’s are
irrelevant, just that they need
to be reinterpreted to serve
B2B marketers. Our model
Richard Ettenson, Ph.D.
shifts the emphasis from
products to solutions, place
to access, price to value, and
promotion to education. Just
remember the acronym SAVE.
To learn more, read our
full article in the January-
February 2013 issue of
Harvard Business Review at
hbr.org.
Richard Ettenson, Ph.D.,
is a professor and Thelma H.
Kieckhefer Fellow in Global
Marketing and Brand Strategy
at Thunderbird. Eduardo
Conrado ’92 is Senior Vice
President, Marketing & IT at
Motorola Solutions. Jonathan
Knowles is the CEO of Type 2
Consulting.
Do you pass the Global Mindset airport test?
BY MANSOUR JAVIDAN, PH.D.
As a frequent flier to all
parts of the world, I spend
more time than most people
at international airports.
Whenever possible, I arrive
early at security checkpoints
because I sometimes draw
attention as an Iranian
native carrying a Canadian
passport.
The extra time gives me
an opportunity to observe
my fellow travelers as they
attempt to navigate the
signs and procedures in a
new country. This activity
is a form of research for
me as director of the Najafi
Global Mindset Institute at
Thunderbird.
The institute uses a
scientific self-assessment
called the Global Mindset
Inventory, which has helped
more than 15,000 managers
since 2008 identify areas
of strength and weakness
in nine global business
categories. Although less
precise, the airport test is still
revealing.
People with high levels of
global mindset adapt quickly
to unfamiliar environments
such as busy airports. They
remain calm as they walk
around and figure things out.
Others with provincial mindsets
become stressed or even
angry because things are
different than home.
So how do you fare on the
global mindset airport test?
Even managers with a record
rd
of success at home might fall
flat on the global stage if they
can’t handle the pressure.
Mansour Javidan, Ph.D.,
is the Garvin Distinguished
Professor at Thunderbird.
Is global
mindset in
your DNA?
Thunderbird has created a
psychometric tool that is
changing how global
businesses compete. Learn
more about the Najafi afi
Global Mindset Institute
at www.globalmindset.com.
44 spring 2013

tips & trends
Three keys to market entry in Japan
BY CHRISTOPHER “KIT” NAGEL ’79
Market entry in
Japan requires
careful planning.
Here are
three keys to success in
the world’s third-largest
economy.
1. Have a story to tell:
You may think your product
is excellent in terms of
efficiency, performance and
lead times, but many Western
products simply are
not relevant in Japan. The
Japanese consumer requires
innovative products perceived
to fit within household
and cultural boundaries.
What works is to tell the
story of the people behind
your product and how they
worked hard to bring their
dreams to life. Also, tell the
quality story. This isn’t just
about having your credentials
lined up, but knowing
where all your ingredients
and components come
from in painful detail.
Anticipate every unexpected
question. Make sure you
truly understand your value
chain.
2. Select your distributors
carefully: More than
in any other country, distributors
are key to success
in Japan. Their business relationships
go back generations
and only they know
how to get your product to
market. Never over-promise
on margins and implement
an incentive program based
upon volume milestones.
Make sure your distributors
perform to the agreed
milestones and ensure clarity
on all sides about your
marketing program. When
you entrust your brand to
a distributor, take special
care to have clear rules on
brand management. Global
brands have been mismanaged
by the big trading
houses (the shosha) that
have outsourced the work
to others. Keep control of
your brand.
3. Take your time: Don’t
rush into any distributor
engagement unless you’re
totally comfortable. Japan’s
business history is littered
with managers who, shortly
after landing in Narita, got
impatient and closed deals
so they could fly home as
heroes. Such deals usually
die and, in so doing,
devalue a brand’s cachet
for years. Patience (the fifth
marketing P) is a primary
virtue in Japan.
Kit Nagel ’79, former Asian
marketing manager for International
Paper Co., is on the
business faculty at Concordia
University-Irvine.
“Global Market Entry”
Author: Kit Nagel ’79
Description: Softcover,
87 pages
Publisher: Xlibris
(Aug. 28, 2012)
“
If everyone else is doing it,
it’s almost certainly wrong.”
Karen Elliott House,
Retired Publisher, The Wall Street Journal
Dec. 14, 2012
THUNDERBIRDEXCERPT
Pulitzer Prize winner Karen Elliott House had few connections to the outside world while
growing up in Matador, Texas — a town smaller than Thunderbird with a population of
600. Rather than staying put, House decided to chart her own path as an international
journalist. “Trade the comfort you know for the challenge of the unknown,” she told
graduates during her keynote address at the winter commencement.
thunderbird magazine 45

tips & trends
Changing
your serve
Clues that it’s time to switch
your communication style
BY DENIS LECLERC, PH.D.
U.S. tennis player
Michael Chang
thought about
quitting during
the 1989 French Open.
Facing a relentless attack
from three-time champion
and top-ranked Ivan Lendl,
Chang fell behind early
and then suffered cramps
that hampered his comeback
bid on the red clay at
Roland Garros.
Rather than forfeit, Chang
decided to switch styles. He
started countering Lendl’s
power with slow, looping
returns that gave him time
to hobble back into position
between shots. During the
deciding set, Chang even
caught his Czech opponent
off guard with an underhand
serve. The unusual style
rattled Lendl, and Chang
went on to win the match
and later the tournament.
Athletes have the advantage
of a courtside scoreboard
that alerts them when
they need to switch their
game plan. Business leaders
must develop internal
gauges that guide them
through cross-cultural communications.
The most effective communicators
master a range
of delivery styles and then
respond to clues that tell
them when to switch things
up. Here are three classic
warnings that you might
need to try something new.
TALKING IN CIRCLES
If you catch yourself
repeating the same points
without getting the expected
responses, you need to
break the loop. The problem
might be something as basic
as a language barrier, which
often occurs when communicating
in English with
nonnative speakers. If so, try
rephrasing your message or
switching vocabulary.
Cultural differences also
create barriers. The key is
to find overlapping frames
of reference that everybody
understands. One of my students
reported an exchange
in Papua New Guinea, where
he went to solidify a partnership
with a remote tribe.
The young manager drew
a pizza pie on the ground
with slices representing the
tribe’s portion of potential
profits. When the sketch produced
blank stares instead of
the expected nods of affirmation,
the negotiator turned to
his cultural guide and asked
what the problem was.
The guide explained that
pizza was a foreign concept
to the tribal leaders, who
were more accustomed to
sharing roasted pig. The
negotiator asked his guide
which parts of the pig were
most prized, then he erased
his pizza drawing and
replaced it with a pig. He
marked the most favorable
portions for the tribe, and a
ILLUSTRATION BY DARYL JAMES
Denis Leclerc, Ph.D.
deal was soon closed.
VAGUE ANSWERS
A related warning sign is
vague answers when you
want a concrete “yes” or
“no.” Accompanying signals
include negotiation counterparts
who are quiet, disengaged
or using closed body
language. They might also
switch to their own language
to talk among themselves.
When this occurs, one
cause might be failure to
build personal connections
before getting down
to business. In many parts
of the world, people need
to feel that you are not only
interested in the deal, but
also in who they are. Going
to lunch or dinner in these
situations is about everything
except business.
So if you’re trying to
close a deal and not having
success, you might need
to switch your focus from
data to people. Look for
conversation starters in their
offices, such as photos on
the walls or knickknacks on
the shelves. Ask questions.
Be curious. Above all else, be
genuine.
TAKING WITHOUT
GIVING
The relationship building
process sometimes hinges
on the exchange of favors.
This can be unnerving for
46 spring 2013

When yes
means no
tips & trends
Speaking high and low
context languages
BY ROBERT MORAN, PH.D.
rigid negotiators who rely
on the precise language of
contracts. Unfortunately,
deals can be lost when
negotiators refuse to show
flexibility, especially in cultures
that welcome ambiguity
or view written policies
as mere guidelines. So stop
and think before you say:
“This is just how we do
things.”
Skilled negotiators create
options. They recognize
favors when they are given
and reciprocate. They learn
to bend rules in ways that
build trust without breaking
laws or crossing ethical lines.
While athletic competition
requires victory at the
expense of an opponent,
business allows for multiple
winners. The best
communicators reach
across the table and create
mutual value.
They see issues from
multiple perspectives. They
don’t take things personally.
They know that languages
are structured differently,
and people process information
differently.
They don’t change the
what of their message, but
they change the how. They
understand there is more
than one way to communicate
— just like there is
more than one way to win
the French Open.
Denis Leclerc, Ph.D., is
a clinical professor of crosscultural
communication and
negotiation at Thunderbird in
Phoenix, Arizona. A native of
Normandy, France, Dr. Leclerc
has taught at the Institute of
Tourism and Transport Studies
in the Netherlands and
the IMC Fachhochschule in
Austria. He also has taught
in Mexico and the Czech
Republic.
Robert Moran, Ph.D.
If negotiators want to
know what their German,
Norwegian or U.S. counterparts
really mean when they
talk, the best way is to listen
to their words.
Native speakers from these
countries and others with
low-context languages learn
from childhood to say what
they mean. They are good
at direct communication
and comfortable expressing
contrary views. Yes means
yes, and no means no.
The same approach might
not work as well with counterparts
from Brazil, China,
Japan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia
or other countries with highcontext
languages.
Native speakers from these
countries use many words
and phrases to convey subtle
or indirect messages. “Yes”
might indicate something
different than a firm commitment
to meet a deadline
or deliver on a promise. A
manager working in these
countries must consider the
full context of each message.
The distinction between
low and high context
languages is an important
lesson first described by U.S.
anthropologist Edward T.
Hall in 1959.
Every student or executive
education client who comes
to Thunderbird should leave
with a basic understanding
of this concept. Learning a
foreign language is important,
but managing cultural
differences requires more
than a grasp of vocabulary
and grammar.
Global managers must be
bilingual in a different way.
They must learn to recognize
and adjust to low and high
context languages and situations.
A direct, low-context
approach might work best
when finalizing an agreement,
dealing with conflict
or establishing protocols.
But an indirect, high-context
approach might work better
when building a team or
learning about people.
Low context is more about
speaking, and high context
is more about listening
and interpreting. Global
managers need both skills
to avoid communication
breakdowns.
Robert Moran, Ph.D., is an
emeritus professor of international
management and
former interim chair of the
International Studies Department
at Thunderbird.
thunderbird magazine 47

tips & trends
Lean into something stupid
BY RICHIE NORTON ’13
What if the smartest
people in the
world understand
something
that the rest of us don’t?
(They do.) What if they
know that in order to achieve
success, they will sometimes
have to do things that others
may initially perceive as
stupid? The fact of the matter
is that the smartest people
in the world don’t run from
stupid, they lean into it (in a
smart way).
Take, for example, the
wisdom of Steve Forbes and
one of his favorite quotes,
“Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”
Or the humor of Albert
Einstein, “The difference
between genius and stupidity
is: Genius has its limits.” Or
the experience of Biz Stone,
co-founder of Twitter, “A lot
of people thought it sounded
stupid. … Even some of our
engineers weren’t interested.”
The list of examples can
go on forever, demonstrating
that life-changing ideas
are often tragically mislabeled
as stupid.
What if the key to success,
creativity and fulfillment in
your life lies in the potential
of those stupid ideas? To
start your so-called “stupid”
ideas and live without regret,
start with the following
three steps:
1. Crush fear, end pride,
overcome procrastination
and be authentic in the way
you approach life.
2. Don’t use lack of time,
education, experience or
money as an excuse for putting
off dreams.
3. Leverage existing
resources to overcome the
gaps between where you are
and where you want to be.
No more excuses. Start
something “stupid,” the
smartest thing you can do.
Stupid is the new smart —
the common denominator
for success, creativity and
innovation in business and
life.
Richie Norton ’13 is a
social entrepreneur, real estate
consultant and CEO of Global
Consulting Circle.
“The Power of
Starting Something
Stupid”
Author: Richie Norton ’13
Description: Paperback,
186 pages
Publisher: Shadow
Mountain (March 5, 2013)
Get the word out about your business
in the
THUNDERBIRD MAGAZINE
Oƒ
Look to Thunderbird magazine to spread the word about your new product or service.
To learn more go to magazine.thunderbird.edu or call +1 602 978-7358
48 spring 2013

tips & trends
Illusions of privacy
Facing four paradoxes of the digital life
BY SIOBHAN
MACDERMOTT ’05
AND J.R. SMITH
People worried about
online privacy sometimes
resort to extreme
measures such
as social media boycotts.
But staying off Facebook,
Google+, LinkedIn, Twitter
and similar sites does not
guarantee that a person’s
likeness and name will not
be misused by others.
In fact, people arguably
sacrifice more control when
they opt out of the social
web because they do not
know how others are using
or abusing their information
until someone happens to
tell them about it.
The truth is the Internet is
not the real source of danger.
Most privacy breaches result
from the careless attitudes
and distorted perceptions
that people bring to the
Internet. Our book, “Wide
Open Privacy: Strategies for
the Digital Life” (IT-Harvest
Press, 2012) explores four
common paradoxes of the
digital world.
Invisibility Paradox: We
know the Internet exposes us
to the world, which should
put us on our guard. Yet sitting
alone with a computer
prompts many of us to lose
our inhibitions and to express
ourselves more openly,
even carelessly.
Impulse Paradox: Many
of us view the digital world
as an intense fantasy space
from which instant escape is
just a matter of logging off.
We feel we are merely playing
a role without real-life
consequences, and therefore
we are liable to act on
impulse. Yet one thoughtless
act in this environment may
create a digital footprint as
permanent as the one Neil
Armstrong left on the moon.
Crowd Paradox: Online
we might see ourselves as
just one person in the crowd.
This might give us the feeling
of safety in numbers. Yet
computers love big data.
Even among billions, we can
be picked out and tracked.
Island Paradox: Accessing
the world via the Internet
makes many of us feel
invisible, anonymous and
autonomous — like islands.
Yet wireless networks connect
us to people and entities
we’ve never even met.
Think about these paradoxes
before you post your
next status update, photo or
video.
Siobhan MacDermott ’05
has a Thunderbird Executive
MBA. She is Chief Policy
Officer of AVG Technologies,
a consumer security software
company. J.R. Smith is CEO of
AVG Technologies.
thunderbird magazine 49

tips & trends
When bosses do harm
Breaking the hindrance trap
that catches leaders unaware
BY KANNAN RAMASWAMY, PH.D.,
AND BILL YOUNGDAHL, PH.D.
Bad bosses don’t
wake up in the
morning and ask
themselves: “How
can I derail the corporate
strategy today?” Our
research, based on surveys
and interviews with more
than 250 managers in 37
countries, shows that most
ineffective leaders remain
blissfully unaware of the
harm they do.
They chuckle with everyone
else when they read
“Dilbert” cartoons about
the Pointy-Haired Boss.
We credit the disconnect
to a “hindrance trap” that
lulls emerging leaders into
a false sense of accomplishment
over a period of years
or even decades. At least
three forces contribute to
this trap.
The first is the socialization
process of becoming a
leader. As corporate climbers
move up the ranks, they
are encouraged to think
big and leave the details to
others. The result is often a
disconnect between strategy
conception and implementation.
Yet some ideas that
seem feasible in the C-suite
simply don’t work on the
ground.
Lack of a “speak up” culture
compounds the problem
in many organizations.
Leaders who discourage
honest, complete feedback
usually find out too late —
or not at all — when they
are hindering rather than
helping their teams.
The third contributor
to the hindrance trap is
success, which might seem
counterintuitive. People
expect to find low-performing
bosses at the helm of
low-performing organizations.
But our research also
detected poor leadership
within high-performing organizations.
In many cases
these organizations succeed
despite — not because of —
their leaders.
Often success comes
because self-motivated
individuals compensate for
their boss’ shortcomings.
Other times middle managers
build protective bubbles
around their teams to protect
them from leadership
voids higher up the ladder.
Luck is another possibility.
During one webinar with
a Thunderbird Executive
Education client, we opened
a poll to gauge perceptions
of leadership within the
high-performing division of
a Fortune 100 company. To
our surprise, 60 percent of
participants said their division
was successful despite
the hindrance of its leaders.
Only 15 percent perceived
their leaders as helpful.
The broader study found
similar results. Overall, only
Kannan Ramaswamy, Ph.D.
35 percent of respondents
at high-performing companies
said their leaders were
doing a good job inspiring
their teams to participate in
strategic initiatives.
Only 60 percent said their
leaders were doing a good
job of clarifying strategic
intent. That’s more than
half — and certainly better
than the results we found
within low-performing organizations.
But it still raises
“
Bill Youngdahl, Ph.D.
the questions: What are the
other 40 percent of leaders
doing? How much potential
is being lost? How much
better could these organizations
be?
Unfortunately, lowperforming
leaders of
high-performing organizations
might never find
the answers because their
apparent accomplishments
mask their shortcomings.
Why would they change
My boss keeps rolling out
initiatives that compete
with one another for scarce
resources.”
— Marketing manager
50 spring 2013

tips & trends
their leadership styles when
they are receiving bonuses,
accolades and promotions
for doing a good job?
Leaders locked in the
hindrance trap might never
detect their predicament
and break free without honest
reflection, feedback and
reform. A good place to start
is to consider three behaviors
associated with helpful
leadership.
1. CLARIFY
Even highly motivated
professionals struggle to hit
moving or vague targets.
“My boss keeps rolling out
initiatives that compete
with one another for scarce
resources,” one marketing
manager reports. “When I
press her for prioritization,
she makes it crystal clear
that the initiatives are all
high priority.”
Helpful leaders clarify
strategic intent so that it
resonates throughout the
organization. They show
how various initiatives align
with the strategy. They give
team members a sense of
purpose. At the same time,
they leave room for individual
initiative as circumstances
change.
2. INSPIRE
Ineffective leaders overload
their teams with tasks
and initiatives without
stopping to consider if their
people are past capacity.
Many of these leaders underestimate
the amount of
work required to meet their
demands because they are
too far removed from daily
operations. Their response
to missed deadlines or
targets is to turn up the fear
factor. Yet even the most
passionate pep talk will not
rally the troops when the
underlying problem is lack
of capacity rather than lack
of effort.
Helpful leaders
take a different
approach
to inspiring
performance.
They start with a clear
understanding of “strategic
pathways,” meaning the
processes and tasks involved
with implementing strategy
as it cascades through the
organization.
These leaders remain
mindful of capacity. Then
they rally their teams by
conveying a sense of purpose
and belonging. Along
the way, they emphasize the
potential joy that will come
through accomplishment as
the team works together to
create value.
3. ENABLE
Ineffective leaders often
view themselves above the
people they supervise. Helpful
leaders, sometimes called
“servant leaders,” invert the
pyramid and place themselves
at the bottom. Their
role then becomes to enable
the people above them to
accomplish strategic goals.
Servant leaders make sure
their teams have sufficient
time, training and other
resources to succeed.
Few people look in the
mirror and see a bad boss.
It is always easier to critique
others than ourselves. Yet
if we are willing to look
inward and don’t like what
we find, the good news is we
already have taken the first
step to improve.
Kannan Ramaswamy,
Ph.D., is the William D.
Hacker Chair Professor of
Management at Thunderbird.
Bill Youngdahl, Ph.D., is
an associate professor of project
and operations management at
Thunderbird.
thunderbird magazine 51

news tips & trends & notes
On the road to compliance in Brazil
BY JEREMY PIXTON ’13
Brazil is the place
where more and
more companies
want to do business.
I have been in Brazil this
week meeting managers and
listening to what they are
doing and the concerns they
are having with compliance
and ethics.
I don’t think these issues
will ever be completely
resolved in any country, but
I am seeing many people out
front leading the way. I am a
Thunderbird Executive MBA
student, and we are here
working with Ethisphere on
a project in São Paulo, Brazil.
Trench, Rossie and
Watanabe, a law firm associated
with Baker & Mckenzie
International, hosted a
roundtable with Ethisphere
where leaders from major
multinational and local
companies were represented.
These are companies that
understand the importance
of compliance.
Brazil has the world’s
eyes focused on them as the
Olympics and World Cup
make their way to this great
country.
SUBMITTED
Jeremy Pixton ’13 prepares for a roundtable discussion in
São Paulo, Brazil.
Executives, attorneys and
compliance officers from
more than 30 companies
attended the meeting,
including GE, Siemens 3M,
Morgan Stanley, Amcon
and Volkswagen. Discussion
focused on the struggles
many leaders face as they try
to help their companies with
compliance.
These companies face
challenges on many different
fronts, and solutions could
take years to achieve. Yet one
of the partners at Trench,
Rossi and Watanabe said she
has seen immense changes
in the past five years.
She shared a great story
about a party she attended
10 years ago where a government
worker introduced
himself as a tax official and
basically made it known
at the party that if anyone
wanted tax help, he was the
guy with whom to talk. All
attendees understood his insinuation
that if there was a
bribe to be made, he would
be willing to help.
The Trench, Rossi and
Watanabe partner said this
would never happen today
in Brazil.
The biggest challenge I
took away from this roundtable
is the difficulty of
navigating Brazil’s maze of
overlapping laws, rules and
regulations.
Many of these legal
requirements have been
imported from the United
States and Europe. They
Editor’s note: The author
wrote this post in January
2013 during a Thunderbird
Emerging Markets Executive
Laboratory (E Lab) in São
Paulo, Brazil. Read more
about the program on page 13.
make it confusing and somewhat
difficult to remain
compliant.
The goal that many
roundtable participants
talked about was a more
centralized authority and
controlling body.
As I sat there and listened,
I realized there is a long way
to go everywhere — including
in my native United
States. Still, there are great
people doing great things.
Today I will attend
another roundtable hosted
by PWC Brazil where more
leaders will discuss compliance
and ethics. It will
be interesting to see the
changes that take place as
these people lead the way in
Brazil.
Jeremy Pixton ’13 is a business
development consultant,
sales and marketing trainer
and entrepreneur.
“
THUNDERBIRDEXCERPT
Be watchful for your opportunities.”
Ed Beauvais,
Founder, America West Airlines (now US Airways)
Nov. 29, 2012
Ed Beauvais joined the airline industry in 1960 and saw mistakes at all levels of leadership.
His response was to start his own airline in 1981. Once he was Chairman and CEO, things
came full circle. Suddenly, Beauvais was the one making decisions that other people
second guessed. “It’s inevitable,” he said. “It’s what gets new entrepreneurs to step
forward because they think they can do things better.”
52 spring 2013

news tips & trends notes
Micromanagers and dreamers
Three steps to visionary,
hands-on leadership
BY CAREN SIEHL, PH.D.
Micromanagers
drop down and
do the work
of their direct
reports. Dreamers float in
the clouds and never get
anything done. Both styles
can wreak havoc on an
organization. Yet visionary,
hands on leadership is possible.
Thunderbird Executive
Education participants follow
three basic steps to find
the right balance.
1. Learn your level.
Organizations need leaders,
but they don’t need
everyone at the same level.
Authors Ram Charan, Steve
Drotter and Jim Noel
describe a progression of
distinct leadership levels in
their book, “The Leadership
Pipeline” (Jossey-Bass, 2nd
edition 2011). All organizations,
no matter the size,
need high performers at all
levels. Would-be leaders
do harm when they fail to
recognize their level and fit
their performance to the
role. Whether a person floats
up or drops down, the identity
crisis creates organizational
gaps.
2. Calibrate the delivery.
Floating up or dropping
down is easy, but catching
yourself in the act is difficult.
In the same way that
people need mirrors to see
their own faces, leaders need
authentic feedback to see
the hard truths about their
workplace performance.
Leaders serious about their
craft recruit mentors inside
and outside their organizations.
They also seek
360-degree feedback from
supervisors, peers and direct
reports.
3. Zoom in and out.
Most cameras come
equipped with lenses that
can zoom in to capture the
details and then zoom out
to record the big picture. Effective
leaders must develop
a similar ability — regardless
of their level within an
organization.
Thunderbird Professor Caren Siehl, Ph.D., works with corporate clients
and degree students in full-time programs.
The key is learning when
to zoom in and how long
to stay before zooming
back out. The right balance
changes with the level. Team
leaders might need to spend
80 percent of their time focused
on short-term results
and only 20 percent of their
time being visionary, while
effective CEOs might need
to adopt the opposite ratio.
Most aspiring leaders have
a micromanager or dreamer
inside them eager to come
out. So stay vigilant and
keep your default behaviors
in check.
Caren Siehl, Ph.D., is a
clinical professor of management
at Thunderbird, where
she is academic director of the
Global Leadership Certificate
Program within Thunderbird
Executive Education.
KRISTEN JARCHOW
“
Disagree agreeably.”
Sandra Day O’Connor,
Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice
Sept. 27, 2012
THUNDERBIRDEXCERPT
As the swing vote on the U.S. Supreme Court for many years, Justice O’Connor often
bridged the divide between the conservative and liberal blocs. She cast the deciding vote
more than 100 times in 5-4 decisions. Yet she maintained close working relationships with
all of her colleagues on the bench. She told Thunderbird students the same emphasis on
civility is important in business when managing diverse teams.
thunderbird magazine 53

chapter connect
KRISTEN JARCHOW
Students help alumni team prepare
for rugby trip to Croatia, Montenegro
T
Mike Waterman ’01, left, dives for the ball during Rugby Alumni
Weekend on March 2, 2013.
hunderbird alumni rugby players will travel to
Croatia and Montenegro for two matches in summer
2013.
“This is a destination rarely visited for rugby
tours, and my contacts are eager for us to arrive,” Thunderbird
Alumni Rugby Association President Chuck Hamilton
’91 said. “Plus it’s beautiful.”
The team prepared for the European tour with a match
March 2, 2013, against the student club during Rugby
Alumni Weekend.
“We had an amazing turnout of 66 alumni, and 40 of
those played,” Hamilton said. Spectators included former
Thunderbird Vice President for Student Affairs Brian Bates,
who served on campus from 1988 to 2000.
Although the students won the match, 67-5, Hamilton
said the “Old Boys” will be ready to compete Aug. 30 to
Sept. 7, 2013, in Croatia and Montenegro.
“That’s the thing about Old Boys rugby,” Hamilton said.
“We keep getting older, and the students stay the same age.”
The Man of the Match was Liam O’Hagan ’14 for the students
and Doug Raff ’83 for the Old Boys.
Price per person for the Southeastern European trip is about
$4,000, including airfare. Hamilton said “groupies” are welcome
to tag along. “Everyone who joined the 2011 rugby tour
to Iceland had a blast,” he said. “This year will be just as good.”
To learn more, contact Hamilton at chuck.notlimah@
gmail.com.
COLOMBIA
Bogota alumni chapter
leader David Castro
’11 organized a TBIRD
TALKS event modeled after
the TED TALKS format
on Nov. 29, 2012. Fiveminute
speakers included
Kelly Martinez ’11, Samir
Estefan ’08 and Jaime
Robledo ’11.
RYAN BIRD ’03
Ho Chi Minh City alumni chapter
members gather Dec. 7, 2012, at
Amigo Steakhouse.
54 spring 2013

ions
Soccer alumni
seek to launch
official chapter
Soccer enthusiasts led by Thunderbird Alumni Network Board
Vice President Stewart Sarkozy-Banoczy ’91 have launched
a campaign to organize an official chapter for former soccer
club members. Dozens of alumni from all over the world have
expressed interest in the chapter, which would be modeled after the successful
Thunderbird Alumni Rugby Association.
“This is a great idea, and I hope you start it,” Chris Kanstrup ’06 said
in a LinkedIn discussion that has generated more than 40 responses.
Other alumni have expressed similar interest. “Count me in,” said Jeff
Long ’94. “I’m still playing, and my ‘old men’ team from Seattle has
won a couple of over-40 national championships.”
The proposed chapter might even include an over-70 supporter. “I
think I would qualify for the oldest former player, having recently turned
70,” said Wallace White ’67, who played on possibly the first Thunderbird
soccer team. “While I don’t play soccer
anymore, I attend most of the games of Fort
Lewis College in Durango (Colorado).”
To learn more, send inquiries to alumni@
thunderbird.edu or visit the Thunderbird
Soccer Alumni Chapter group on Facebook.
The soccer club has a long
history at Thunderbird, as
evidenced by these Das Tor
headlines following a 1999
tournament victory
in Austin, Texas.
UNITED KINGDOM
Thunderbird musicians
David Vinokur ’94
and Jonathan Lutz ’96,
members of The Proposition,
entertained London
alumni with a live concert
on Dec. 8, 2012, during the
chapter’s first holiday bash.
UNITED STATES
Las Vegas, Nevada:
Jonathan Warren, the Honorary
Consul of Monaco,
spoke at the First Tuesday
gathering on Dec. 4, 2012.
Seattle, Washington:
The Washington State
Thunderbird Alumni Association
organized several
2012 events in addition
to First Tuesdays. Each
January the chapter holds a
themed black-tie dinner.
Over the summer the
chapter rented a skybox at
a Seattle Sounders soccer
game and held a pregame
tailgating session. Other
highlights included a
winery tour and Octoberfest
bar crawl that brought
out the chapter’s wild side.
To learn more, visit the
chapter’s Facebook page or
http://washingtonthunderbirds.webstarts.com.
Washington, D.C.:
Alumni from two institutions
welcomed Thunderbird
President Emeritus
Ángel Cabrera, Ph.D., to
the nation’s capital with a
special First Tuesday event
on Dec. 4, 2012. Thunderbird
alumni organized the
event with their peers from
George Mason University,
where Cabrera now serves
as president.
VIETNAM
Alumni in Ho Chi Minh
City kept tradition alive
Dec. 7, 2012, with their
ninth annual holiday dinner
at Amigo Steakhouse,
the site of the group’s original
holiday party in 2003.
Curtis “King” Kovach ’91
played harmonica and Alex
Loh ‘86 sang Christmas
tunes during the event.
thunderbird magazine 55

class
Comings & goings
We’ll catch the big news about you: Nobel Prize nominations,
when you take your company public or if you’re the first T-bird
in space. But we can only know about your less publicized news
if you tell us. We’re not too particular; we want to hear it all.
Send your information to alumni@thunderbird.edu.
Where are you?
Stay connected to
Thunderbird by providing
valid mailing and e-mail
addresses. To ensure we
have your current contact
information, e-mail alumni@
thunderbird.edu or call
602-978-7358. Also, let us
know if you’d like to receive
future issues of Thunderbird
Magazine via e-mail rather
than print.
1940s
Ted Belknap ’47 is now
92 years young and living in
Centerville, Utah. He recently
ran the 40-meter dash in the
Huntsman World Games in St.
George, Utah. … John Turner
’48 will be 92 on Dec. 19,
2013. He still exercises in the
pool and attends First Presbyterian
Church every Sunday. …
Fred Thatcher ’48 has been
in Litchfi eld Park and Prescott,
Arizona, after his military
retirement. He is still trying
to shoot his age at golf and
singing baritone in local choral
groups. … Addison Skaggs
’49 is now 91. About three
years ago he and his wife went
to Mexico City to help a friend
celebrate his company’s 100th
birthday. On the way home, his
wife caught pneumonia and
remained ill until her death in
November 2012.
1950s
Corinne Holm Milton ’50
has stopped teaching at the
California University in Palm
Springs, California, but she is
still giving talks for the Tucson
Museum of Art. … Dan Risley
’50 lives in Springfi eld, Virginia,
and serves as a Republican
Party volunteer. ... Andrew Vais
’52 and Margaret Bergstrom
Vais ’52 live in Sammamish,
Washington, and will celebrate
their 61st wedding anniversary
in 2013. ... Ed Campeau ’53
is retired from IBM and living
in Granville, Ohio. … Roland
Garcia ’53, John Gearhart
’53 and John Calley ’53 have
continued their Thunderbird
camaraderie for more than 60
years. They still play golf whenever
they get together. … Fred
Delkin ’54 is co-owner and
publisher of an online publication,
Oregon Magazine. … Jack
Nedell ’54 is retired and living
in Coronado, California, with his
wife, Gloria. They keep busy enjoying
the beach, playing tennis,
dancing and traveling. … Phil
Sidel ’54 and his wife, Irene,
live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
where Phil has received life
membership in The Explorers
Club of Pittsburgh. He is the
13th member to receive the
award since the club’s founding
in 1947. … Dick Pooler
’55 returned to Thunderbird’s
campus for a tour in 2011. …
Barbara Yunder Bettison ’55
lives in Claremont, California. In
September 2012 her children
organized a special luncheon
for her 80th birthday. … Narce
Caliva ’56 has been a Red
Cross retiree for 24 years. He
currently serves as fi rst vice
commander of the Shenandoah
Valley Chapter of the Korean
War Veterans Association,
which is building its regional
War Memorial in Winchester,
Virginia. … Spencer Berg
’56 and his wife, Phyllis, live
in Chevy Chase, Maryland.
They welcomed their newest
grandson, R. Phillip Trainor,
on Jan. 3, 2013. … Tullio
Vigano ’57 spends winters in
Orange County, California, and
summers near Lago Maggiore
in Italy. … Jim Landolt ’57
lives in rural Lavaca County,
Texas. He works part-time as a
registered nurse after earning
his nursing license at the age
of 64. … Ted Weisenburger
’57 lives in Phoenix, Arizona,
and would enjoying hearing
from classmates. … Doug
56 spring 2013

notes
Conklin ’58 will turn 82 in
2013. He has a spice business
at www.jotproducts.net. … Bill
Morgan ’58 fi nally returned to
live in the United States after
about 45 years abroad. He now
lives in Collinsville, Oklahoma,
with his wife, Loan. … Arnold
Andersen ’58 is retired from
San Diego County government
and continues to audit courses
at the University of California-
San Diego. … Robert Hinkle
’58 has done a fair amount
of traveling, especially to visit
his elder son in Brazil. … Ron
Faust ’58 lives in Billings, Montana.
He retired in 1997 after 30
years as an investment broker.
… Fred Andresen ’58 is
Latin Grammys recognize T-bird artist based in Vietnam
A
n upbeat song cowritten
by Curtis
“King” Kovach ’91
made the 2012 ballot
for Latin Grammy Award
nominations. Kovach plays
Latin-style harmonica on the
song, “Mi Corazon Insiste,”
performed with Indian-
American artist Anand Bhatt.
Kovach grew up in Cleveland,
Ohio, home of the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,
before coming to Thunderbird
and launching a music
career in Asia. The Curtis
King Band has performed in
China, Singapore, Vietnam
and many other Asian
countries.
Besides harmonica, Kovach
plays guitar, bamboo
flute and keyboards. His
website, www.curtiskinglive.
com, shares credit with
Thunderbird: “King owes
any success he’s had in business
and entertainment in
Asia to Thunderbird School
of Global Management.”
Kovach has given back to
the school by playing for
Winterim students when
they visit Vietnam.
Curtis “King” Kovach ’91 has played guitar since he was 4 years old.
THE CURTIS KING BAND
thunderbird magazine 57

class notes
president of the Los Angeles/St.
Petersburg Sister City Committee.
He also is a board member
of Chamber Orchestra Kremlin,
Moscow. … Kent Porter ’59
has operated by the rule of
ones. One God, one wife for 50
years, and one house that he’s
owned for 46 years. He is on his
eighth career as a serial entrepreneur
and executive coach.
… Pat Mattison ’59 stays
active in publishing and printing
in northern Illinois. … David
Youmans ’59 is a professor
emeritus of Washington State
University. He lives with his
wife, Julia Correa-Youmans, in a
quiet college town in the green
Tennessee hills. … George
Reeves ’59 is a director of the
Armed Forces Service Center
in Miami, Florida. He is also a
director of the Navy League
Broward County Council, and
director of the Rotary Club
of Coral Gables with T-birds
Chris Morrison ’73 and Rob
Hatfield ’68.
1960s
Gene Wick ’60 recently met
Thunderbird classmates Jack
Donnelly ’60 and Mike
Santellanes ’60 for lunch in
Scottsdale, Arizona. ... Mack
Hopkins ’60 lives in Seattle,
Washington, in a fl oating home
on Portage Bay. … Mike
Santellanes ’60 is president of
Las Brisas, which produces
pineapples for Chiquita. He
visits the project every other
month in northern Costa Rica.
… Tony Martinez ’60
volunteers as a guest speaker
in Georgia schools to discuss
Civil War and World War history.
… Burt Risser ’60 has joined
Dow Chemical and now
manages the company’s
distribution and transportation
offi ce in San Pedro, California.
… Bert Lerner ’61 retired in
2000 but still provides tax
preparation and bookkeeping
services in Middleboro,
Massachusetts. ... Avery
McCarthy ’61 retired in 1989
and moved to Florida. … Tim
Wilbur ’61 is retired from
Wilburgraphics and lives in
Oceanside, California. One of
his neighbors is Allan
Paloutzian ’69. … John
Wilbur ’61 has returned to
Oregon with his wife after living
and working in Peru for many
years. … John C. Cooper ’61
retired in 2000 from Merrill
Lynch, London, and returned
home to the Florida Keys. …
Bill Hartley ’62 and Shirley
Wood Hartley ’62 have been
retired for 20 years. They spent
two years in São Paulo, Brazil,
and currently live in Hernando,
Florida. … Jose Maria
Roggiano ’62 worked for the
Brazilian branch of Behr until
2009. Since then he has built a
consulting company that helps
clients from Germany, the
United States and Australia
enter Latin American markets.
… Richard Loth ’62 founded
the Fund Investor’s Schoolhouse
in 2012 and serves as its
co-publisher. The Schoolhouse
is a learning center that uses
monthly instructional lessons,
reference works, and educational
booklets for mutual fund
investing guidance. … Jim
Benson ’62 retired in 1997 and
relocated to Wild Rivers Coast
near Brooking, Oregon, with
Jane, his wife of 53 years. …
Ron Burkard ’63 retired in
1996 after a 30-year career
with CARE that included 17
moves around the world. He
then worked for seven years
as executive director of World
Neighbors in Oklahoma City,
Oklahoma. … Jim Kelly ’64
has directed the global
expansion of a variety of U.S.
fi rms in more than 15 countries.
He has lived in Europe, the
Middle East, North Africa and
Asia and speaks French, Italian
and English. … Michael
O’Keeffe ’65 retired in 2008 for
about one month. Then he got a
wonderful job teaching in the
MBA program at Edgewood
College in Madison, Wisconsin.
… Joe Burke ’65 is chief of
party for a U.S. Agency for
International Development
competitiveness project in
Zimbabwe. … Chuck Hardy
’65 is involved in commercial
real estate. He works for Lee &
Associates in Orange, California.
… Jim Whittlesey ’65 runs a
company that he started about
22 years ago in Tampa, Florida.
He has a 45-foot sailboat, and
enjoys trips to the Dry Tortugas
and other parts of the Caribbean.
… Harold McArthur ’65
retired from the University of
Hawaii in 2010 as Assistant
Vice Chancellor for Research
Relations. He and his wife of 39
years, Rochelle Almansor
McArthur, now split their time
between Honolulu, Hawaii, and
Manila, Philippines. … Ward
Clarke ’65 is retired in
Redmond, Washington, but
works part time at Microsoft. …
Larry Prager ’65 has lived in
San Diego County, California,
since 1987. He is a senior
adviser for SCAFCO Grain
Systems Company. Over the
years he has traveled to about
60 countries. … Andy
Chryssolor ’66 has lived in the
United Kingdom for 38 years,
where he serves on the boards
of two international companies.
He plans to slow down in 2013
and move to Hawaii. …
Jonathan Verity ’66 fi nished
his banking career in 2005 as
president and CEO of Bank One
Trust Company in Chicago.
Since then he has moved to
Beaufort, South Carolina, where
he works in the investment
management business with his
brother. Jonathan also plays
senior golf at a national level.
… Lee Havis ‘66 serves as
director of the International
Montessori Society. He also has
conducted education workshops
in Brunei, Malaysia,
Indonesia, and the Philippines.
… Diego Veitia ’66 lives in
Costa Rica with his wife,
Marsha, whom he married in
July 2012. … William Jeter
’66 takes volunteer missionary
service trips with an international
Protestant organization
called Campus Crusade for
Christ/Jesus Film Project. …
Joe Thompson ’66 retired at
age 49 to go sailing. After fi ve
years, he joined the Citizen
Democracy Corps in Poland and
Russia. Then he moved to
Illinois, where he did fund
development for Planned
Parenthood. He fi nally re-retired
in 2008. … Mack Shaw ’66
retired at 55 from his restaurant
business in the British Virgin
Isles. He now lives in West Palm
Beach, Florida, with his wife,
Betty Sue. … Taylor Hoskins
’66 quit his job as an international
insurance broker and
started his own company in
2005. He also is writing a book
about former United Nations
Secretary-General Dag
Hammarskjold. Taylor’s son,
Harwood Hoskins ’13, is a
current T-bird. … John Smith
’66 is president of Lake City
Arts, a community arts
organization in rural Colorado.
He is a husband, grandfather,
fl y fi sherman, traveler, and
Kansas Jayhawks basketball
fan. … William Messett ’67
runs an international search
fi rm in Port St. Lucie, Florida.
… David Carpita ’67 and his
partner have operated Seasons
of Provence Cooking School in
Saint-Remy-de-Provence,
France, for 20 years. They
spend their winters in the Red
Sea town of Hurghada, Egypt.
… Vic Fontaine ’67 works
with various international
outreach organizations,
including the Life and Career
Changers Ministry. … Bob
Eichfeld ’67 serves on the
board of EFG Hermes, a Middle
58 spring 2013

class notes
Entrepreneur brings growing company home to the Americas
Most U.S. entrepreneurs with
global ambitions start at
home and then expand
abroad. New York native
Chris Fussner ’82 did the opposite.
“He’s like a fish swimming upstream,”
said Brian O’Leary ’96,
another T-bird who has worked
closely with Fussner since February
2012. “He found himself out there
at the right time and seized the opportunity.”
When Fussner got laid off from his
overseas job in 1989, he decided to
stay overseas and launch Trans-Tec, a
high technology equipment supplier.
“I got pushed off the plank into entrepreneurship,”
Fussner said. “It was
either succeed or swim home.”
Trans-Tec spread from its base in
Singapore to China, Hong Kong,
Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Thailand and Vietnam. Business
slowed in 2008 amidst a global economic
downturn, but Fussner made a
strategic decision not to reduce staff.
A Thunderbird logo adorns the ceiling near
a skylight at the Trans-Tec offi ce in Chandler,
Arizona.
“We’ll keep everybody on the
payroll,” he said in 2009. “So once
the wave comes back and people buy
again, we’ll be in full force and ready
to go.”
The gamble has paid off in recent
months, allowing Trans-Tec to
expand into Japan, Mexico and the
United States through a partnership
with Yamaha. Fussner hired O’Leary
to manage the North American business
from a new office in Chandler,
Arizona.
The proximity to Thunderbird is no
accident. A large Thunderbird logo
painted on the ceiling of the Chandler
office shows Fussner’s loyalty to
his MBA alma mater.
“Chris likes to come back here,”
O’Leary said. “He likes the area.”
Republican abroad
Chris Fussner stays active politically
as global chairman of Republicans
Abroad. He spoke on behalf of the group
during the 2012 Republican National
Convention in Tampa, Florida. Watch the
video: http://youtu.be/gpcf5hGhwes
TIM CLARKE
thunderbird magazine 59

class notes
East regional investment bank.
He also serves on fi ve nonprofi t
boards and is chairman of the
Thunderbird Global Council. He
lives in eastern Pennsylvania. …
Jim Grossmann ’67 has
recently accepted an invitation
to serve on the Advisory Board
of a multimillion-Euro military
base conversion project in
Serbia. The eight-year project’s
approved General Urban Use
plan allows a mixed use of
residential, retail, hotel and
educational buildings to be built
while enhancing the existing
green spaces of the location. …
David Fichter ’67 has managed
several crisis projects in the oil
and gas industry. He also has
served as director of environmental
affairs at Chicago Bridge
& Iron Company. … Horst
Busse ’67 celebrated the 30th
anniversary of founding Martin
Windsor & Associates, an
international marketing
communications fi rm serving
German-speaking, business-tobusiness
clients from Austria,
Germany and Switzerland. …
Malcolm T. Sanford ’67 is
Professor Emeritus of Entomology
and Nematology at the
University of Florida. He also
performs in various amateur
theater productions in Gainesville,
Florida. … Blas Casares
’67 has become for the second
time a political exile in Miami,
Florida. The fi rst time was in
1960, when the Communist
takeover forced him from his
native Cuba. More recently he
was forced to leave Venezuela,
where he lived and worked for
more than 35 years. As a U.S.
citizen, he remains active
trading petroleum products as
president of Petroleum Energy
Corporation. … Peter Fowler
’67 retired in 2008 from a
41-year career in international
banking and returned to Naples,
Florida. … Ralph Hetzel ’68
and his wife, Sally, own The
Wheelhouse Inn in Nelson on the
South Island of New Zealand. …
Bill Simpson ’68 purchased a
CruiseOne franchise in 2008
and now sell cruises from his
house in Scottsdale, Arizona. …
David McIntyre ’68 has
become a selling artist in
Englewood, Florida. He paints in
the style of Paul Gauguin. …
John Farrington ’68 owns an
insurance brokerage in Boulder,
Colorado. … Wayne Battenfield
’68 is president & CEO of
BWB Enterprises. He lives in
Anthem, Arizona. ... Bill Nurre
’68 is president of the Claims
Processing Facility in Naperville,
Illinois. … Bill Demmin ’68
retired from banking about three
years ago. He and his wife, Dot,
live on a ranch in the hills above
the Temecula Valley in California.
… Scott Arena ’69 is a rancher
NFL agent
finds niche
in crowded
industry
When people
ask NFL
agent Eric
Kaufman ’03
about sports careers, the
first thing he does is try to
discourage them.
“If you can be discouraged,
you won’t make it
in the industry,” he told
Thunderbird students
Sept. 20, 2012, during a
campus visit.
Kaufman’s own journey
as an agent included minimum
wage jobs and long
periods without pay while
serving clients such as
former NBA star Shaquille
O’Neal and Seattle Seahawks
coach Pete Carroll. Today
Kaufman manages daily
operations as president
of Premier Sports &
Eric Kaufman ’03 speaks Sept. 20, 2012, at Thunderbird’s campus near Phoenix, Arizona.
Entertainment in Santa
Monica, California.
“Everybody wants to
work in sports,” he said.
“I get resumes every week
from former collegiate
athletes who played at the
highest levels, and even
pro athletes who want to
get in.”
Besides Carroll, Premier
Sports clients include Arizona
Cardinals safety James
Sanders, Dallas Cowboys
kicker David Buehler,
Chicago Bears tackle Gabe
Carimi and other NFL and
NBA players.
VIRGINIA MUNGOVAN
60 spring 2013

class notes
at A Bar J Ranch in Portal,
Arizona. ... Ronald Rowland
’69 is semiretired and works for
Promotion Services, Inc., an
international company that
manages trade shows and
other special programs for
Chrysler’s Ram Truck Division
and Business Link dealer group.
... Michael Murphy ’69 lives in
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and does
consulting for the movie
business with Microspace
Digital Cinema Corp and with
DOREMI cinema equipment
company. … Manfred Lo
Locher ’69 has retired after a
long career with many ups and
downs, including war and
hostage-taking in the Middle
East. He was widowed in 2007,
sold his vintage car collection in
2011, and sold his company
(CavitatorSystems GmbH) in
2012. Recently he found Ursula,
his new life partner. … Patrick
Sharpe ’69 has been married
to Sharon for 50 years. He
works for her business, www.
fencefi sh.com, which made the
“must have” list in the March
2012 issue of Coastal Living. …
Jan Jarne ’69 has worked for
many years in Brazil. He is a
partner of CDI Global, an
international company search
fi rm that specializes in
acquisitions, divestitures, joint
ventures, and other business
combinations. He is married to
Silvia, and they have one son.
1970s
Charles Shields ’71
has retired after 41 years of
international business on six
continents and more than 60
countries. He remains on the
boards of several domestic and
foreign companies. He sold his
companies in the 1990s and
has been an angel investor and
consultant to numerous global
startups. Recently he tried his
hand at screenwriting, winning
awards for “Sweetwater Blues”
and “The Goldberg Files.” …
Edward Auble ’72 represents
the Lafayette College alumni
association on the planning
committee for the new Center
for Global Education. … Susan
Stevens ’73 has been appointed
to the Board of Directors of
Umpqua Holdings Corporation.
… Lawrence Bradley ’75
continues to work for Tronox
Pigments in Singapore as Managing
Director Asia-Pacifi c. He
is married to Fileo Ng Bradley
with two children, William and
Julia. … Donald Loyd ’75
accepted a position at Hager’s
Journeys in Scottsdale, Arizona,
as a custom travel adviser
focusing on the luxury market.
He is also a certifi ed travel
specialist in Italy and Egypt and
is anxious to assist Thunderbird
alumni with their travel plans.
JAMES AARON MARTIN
Elyse Leeds Acanda ’03 leads a YogaThon to raise money for the
Global Seva Challenge on Dec. 9, 2012, in Washington, D.C.
Yoga activist raises $20,000
in fight against sex slavery
S
ales professional Elyse
Leeds Acanda ’03
used the power of
yoga to raise $20,000
in one year to help fight sex
trafficking in emerging markets.
But her campaign did not
end there.
Acanda also visited India in
February 2013 with other activists,
who each raised at least
$20,000 in 2012 on the Bare
Witness Humanitarian Tour.
“You don’t just raise money
and throw it at a problem,” she
said. “You actually go there and
work on the ground.”
Acanda, vice president of
business development with
Technomedia in Washington,
D.C., is part of a group called
Off the Mat, Into the World,
which uses yoga to promote
grassroots social change.
Each year the group sponsors
an international service
project called the Global Seva
Challenge.
Acanda decided to get
involved in 2012 to show
gratitude for the blessing of
her young daughter.
“Millions of girls are taken
from their families each year,
either through deception or
outright theft,” said Acanda,
a Spanish speaker who has
lived in Mexico, Spain and
Cuba. “I feel their mothers’
pain and anguish, the not
knowing, never to see or hear
from their daughters again.”
In addition to offering donation-only
yoga clinics, Acanda
sold T-shirts and wristbands to
reach her $20,000 goal.
She also raised $6,000
for the 2008 Global Seva
Challenge, which supported
the Cambodian Children’s
Fund. The organization
provides education, shelter,
food and services to more
than 450 children who live
and work in the Steung
Meanchey garbage dump.
thunderbird magazine 61

class notes
… Tim Sullivan ’76 has been
appointed to the Board of
Directors for Waukesha-based
Generac Holdings.
1980s
Christopher Mennone ’80
joins Surefi re Medical Team, a
Colorado-based medical device
company as International Business
Director. … Babs Potvin
Ryan ’81 is a director in PwC
(PriceWaterhouse Coopers)
Customer Impact Consulting
practice across fi nancial
services, retail, mobile, and
automotive industries. She also
is a Masters alpine ski racer,
awarded second place in her
class in December 2012 at the
Killington GS race and platinum
level in Nastar. … Conrad M.
Terry ’81 retired August 2012
after nine years with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission
and 23 years of total
Federal service. … Jacques
Tapiero ’82, President Emerging
Markets for Eli Lilly and
Co., has been appointed to the
Board of Directors of Mc-
Cormick. … Tjerk de Ruiter
’83 has been appointed to the
Board of Directors and elected
Chairman of the Board for LS9.
… Mark Hall ’86 is an Austin,
Texas-based fi lmmaker/lawyer/
Internet pioneer who has an
award-winning documentary,
“Sushi: The Global Catch.” …
Frank Sandler ’86 celebrated
26 years with Scotiabank.
After 10 years working on
Wall Street, Frank accepted a
position at Scotiabank’s headquarters
in Toronto, Canada, as
Managing Director, Power and
Utilities, Global Banking and
Markets. … Lori King ’88 has
been elected to the board of
directors for Cascade School of
Music. She is also on the board
of TEDxBend and has more than
10 years of marketing experience
with high-tech companies.
She currently works as digital
content manager for Flying Like
the Pros.
1990s
Marius Haas ’91 has been
named President of Enterprise
Solutions at Dell. He will be
responsible for worldwide engineering,
design, development
and marketing of Dell enterprise
products, including servers, networking
and storage systems.
… Michael A. Krafft ’92 has
been appointed to the Board of
Directors of the Foundation for
Sustainable Development (FSD).
… Magnus Bjarnason ’92
has been appointed CEO of Icelandic
Group. He was formerly
with National Power, where he
served as Director of Marketing.
… John Thompson ’94 has
been appointed Vice President
of shared services by Choice
Hotels International. … Amir
Golan ’95 has been promoted
to Executive Director at Ernst
& Young LLP’s San Francisco
offi ce. … Glen King ’95 has
been appointed Vice President
of Marketing for Weir Oil and
Gas. … Joseph Fernandez
’95 founded Trade Without Borders.
TWB focuses on extending
inclusive market-based supply
chains for daily livelihood product
needs in the Clean Energy
sector to developing regions of
the world. … Amer Bourghol
’97 married Dania Siblini in
Beirut, Lebanon. Other T-birds
in attendance were James
Scott ’96, Tracy Starr ’96,
Tina Huesing ’96 and George
Scheibner ’97. … Louis E.
Lupo ’98 has been named
President & CEO of Contour
Energy Systems. … Milson
Mundim ’98 has been named
chief fi nancial offi cer of Verde
Potash. He is based in Belo
Horizonte, Brazil. … Jamie
Shortill ’98 has been appointed
Director of Sports Media &
Technology at Park Lane in Los
Angeles. Park Lane is a sportsfocused
investment bank that
offers services such as M&A
advisory, corporate fi nance,
valuations and restructuring to
clients including professional
sports teams and sports-based
businesses around the world.
He was previously President
and CEO of Mercury Communications
Group, which was
acquired last year by Social
Sector Ventures.
2000s
Wilson Timothy ’01 is the
new director of international
sales for Leupold & Stevent.
… Christopher Ybarra ’02
accepted a position as line
Trade shows in seven locations connect buyers, suppliers
Merle Hinrichs
’65 is a director
and Executive
Chairman of
Global Sources, a businessto-business
media company
that connects buyers
and suppliers all over
the world — increasingly
through regional trade
shows.
The Hong Kong-based
enterprise, which Hinrichs
co-founded in 1970 as Asian
Sources, manages about
65 trade shows annually
in seven locations: Hong
Kong, Dubai, Miami, São
Paulo, Mumbai, Shenzhen
and Johannesburg. The
largest show in Hong Kong
features approximately
9,000 exhibitors and draws
65,000 attendees. Global
Sources also produces online
and print catalogues.
Hinrichs says the company
is much in line with
Thunderbird’s mission of
connecting people globally
through cross-border trade.
“The fundamental glue is
trust between the supplier
and buyer,” he says.
Merle Hinrichs ’65
62 spring 2013

class notes
TIM CLARKE
Fikre Gurja ’12 leads his classmates in reciting the Thunderbird Oath of Honor during commencement on Dec. 14, 2012.
T-bird overcomes exile to become first Eritrean graduate
Even as a child,
Fikre Gurja ’12
knew that knowledge
was power. He
grew up in a small village
in the African country of
Eritrea, where his parents
were one of the few literate
families.
Villagers would come to
Gurja’s home and ask his
parents to read letters from
their relatives and to help
write responses.
“People trusted and
respected my family and
respected the fact that they
could read and write,”
Gurja said. “That helped
me understand the power
of education.”
Gurja would walk several
miles to school each day
and sit on rocks or logs
during lessons. He moved
away from home at 14 to
continue his education
— but the challenges he
faced never stifled his desire
to learn. Now as the first
Thunderbird graduate from
Eritrea, he hopes to one day
return to his home country
and use his business knowledge
to better his country.
“A country needs more
than politicians,” Gurja
said. “It needs business.”
Politics are what brought
Gurja to the United States.
He was granted political
asylum by the United
States in 2008 after Eritrea’s
president began imprisoning
many of the country’s
intellectuals.
Gurja was studying in
South Africa at the time,
but immigration officers
from Eritrea traveled to his
school and tried to have
him deported. So he left
the country immediately.
“I had to start from
scratch,” he said. “I had
nobody. I had an uncle in
California, but in terms of
professional connections, I
did not have anybody.”
Gurja heard about Thunderbird
at a recruiting event
and started reading more
about the school.
“I could have gone to
Stanford or Berkeley to
visit,” Gurja said. “But I
did not visit those schools,
even though they were a
couple of miles away from
me. I came to Thunderbird
to visit.”
After he enrolled he
quickly made connections
as vice chairman of the
Thunderbird Honor
Council, president of the
African Business Club,
treasurer of the Private
Equity and Venture Capital
Club, treasurer of the
Thunder Dance Club and
a campus ambassador.
“Eventually I will go back
to Eritrea and use the networks
I have created here at
Thunderbird to help bring
change to Eritrea,” he said.
“I might be exiled now.
I might be in the United
States — and I love it here
— but eventually I will
go back.”
thunderbird magazine 63

class notes
Thunderbird connection spans three continents
Chinese expatriate
Zheng “John”
Xue ’90 found a
quick ally from
Norway in 2012 — but not
while working in Asia or
Europe. The connection
came in Nigeria, where Xue
works as a project manager
with the Ogun Free Trade
Zone.
During a visit to the
Royal Norwegian Embassy
in Abuja, Xue met Tor
Tanum ’83, the Embassy
counselor for Petroleum
and Commercial Affairs.
Thunderbird created common
ground for the two
men, which opened other
doors.
“This is how Thunderbird
works all over the world,”
Xue said.
Tor Tanum ’83, left, and Zheng “John” Xue ’90 meet Nov. 30, 2012, at the Norwegian Embassy in Nigeria.
SUBMITTED
manager with Rescue Rooter
of San Leandro, California.
... Akhil Puri ’01 has been
appointed Indian director at
KKR Capstone in Mumbai. …
Anil Rathi ’02 was featured in
Forbes magazine as the founder
of Skild, a software company
that helps organizations design
and manage competitions. The
idea came at Thunderbird when
Rathi was a member of THINC,
the Thunderbird Innovators’
Circle. … Eric Kaufman ’03
is quoted in the new book,
“It’s YOUR Business,” written
by MSNBC host JJ Ramberg.
… Rachel Clapp Smith
’04, an assistant professor
of management, received the
Outstanding Faculty Service
Award at Purdue University
Calumet. … Charles Vaughan
’04 has joined Modular Wind
Energy as Senior Vice President
of Sales and Marketing. …
Geoffrey Gougion ’05 and
his wife, Kathleen, are excited
to announce the birth of their
son, Thomas Geoffrey Gougion.
He was born June 8, 2012, in
San Francisco, California. ...
Siobhan MacDermott ’05 was
appointed Executive Chairman
to the Frootfal Holdings Limited
Board. She returned to campus
Feb. 21, 2013, to discuss privacy
in the digital age. … Stuart
Schuman ’06 has joined the
Tandus Flooring marketing team
as a manager. He is based in
Shanghai, China. … Atif Rahim
Kahan ’06 is an adviser to the
Commonwealth Foundation, UK
as part of the organization’s Civil
Society Advisory Committee. He
is one of three representative
leaders from Asia. The Commonwealth
has 53 member
countries. … Jaime Schilling
’06 has joined Lutheran Community
Services Northwest as
a major gifts offi cer in Seattle,
Washington. … Lenn Phegley
’08 has been named Vice
President of Manufacturing for
Crosman Corporation. … Antonio
Lazo ’08 has been recruited
by Wal-Mart Latin America for
a regional position in Mexico
City as Senior Finance Manager,
Analytics. The move comes after
four-and-a-half years at Pfi zer in
various fi nance roles of increasing
responsibility. … Louie Lee
’08 and Alice Coyukiat ’09
got married recently in Manila,
Philippines. Thunderbird classmates
from China, Taiwan, Hong
Kong and the United States (New
Jersey, Texas, Georgia, North
Carolina, California) traveled to
the ceremony.
2010s
Renato Sa ’10 has been
appointed Group Director at
the Miami regional headquarters
for the Jeffrey Group. …
Edgardo Paredes ’10 is a
managing consultant at Kaiser
Associates in São Paulo, Brazil,
where he manages corporate
strategy projects in oil and gas,
mining, consumer goods, health
care and other industries. …
Juan Pombo ’11 is head of
operations at ContiLatin del
Peru, a subsidiary of Continental
Grain Company. … Michael
Milbank ’11 has joined
Volkswagen of America as a
sales and marketing analyst.
… Shinu Thomas ’11 joined
EnerNOC in January 2013 as an
account manager. She is based
in Boston, Massachusetts.
… Reem Nassar ’11 has
joined Cisco Systems, where
she works as Virtual Business
Manager. … Matt Hanson
’12 is a market management
analyst and Infusion Leadership
Development Program member
64 spring 2013

in memoriam
class notes
John Milne ’48 died Oct. 8,
2011, in Sarasota, Florida. He
was 87. … James Thomas
’48 of Austin, Texas, died Sept.
14, 2012. He was 88. … John
B. McSweeney ’55 died Aug.
2, 2012. He was 82. … Joseph
Gatti ’57 died Sept. 18, 2012.
He was 92. … Richard LeRoy
Cummings ’59 died Sept. 25,
2012, in Shorewood, Wisconsin.
… Howard Shaw ’61 died July
29, 2011, in El Paso, Texas. He
was 82. … David M. Sullivan
’63 died June 17, 2012, in Port
Charlotte, Florida. … Arthur
B. Edwards ’65 died Nov. 11,
2012. … George A. Bolton ’65
died Oct. 24, 2012. He was 71.
… Robert Leroy Kisner ’67
died Oct. 7, 2012. … John Pope
’68 died March 31, 2012, in
Chesterton, Indiana. He was 70.
… Douglas Bernard ’68 died
Oct. 24, 2012, in Coconut Grove,
Florida. … Dierk Hagemann
’71 died Oct. 20, 2011. …
James W. Skiff ’79 of Mattoon,
Illinois, died Dec. 5, 2012. …
Maureen C. McPhillips ’83
died Sept. 17, 2012, in Cincinnati,
Ohio. She was 69. … Wolfgang
Doettinger ’86 died recently in
Germany. … Chetan Shah ’87
died Nov. 12, 2012, in a scuba
diving accident in Maldives.
He was among the pioneers of
bringing an international fashion
brand into India. … Larry Lokka
’93 died Oct. 20, 2012. He was 47.
Thunderbird Trustee Gary Brukardt dies at 66
Gary Brukardt ’72
Thunderbird alumnus
and longtime
supporter Gary
Brukardt ’72
died Aug. 21, 2012, in
Nashville, Tennessee. He
was 66.
Brukardt served as a
Thunderbird trustee from
2008 until his death. Previously
he was a member
of the Thunderbird Global
Council for three years.
As an entrepreneur, he
founded Tennessee-based
SpecialtyCare in 2006
and led the company to
become the largest U.S.
provider of outsourced
clinical services. Prior to
launching SpecialtyCare,
he served as chief operating
officer and then CEO
of Renal Care Group until
the company’s acquisition
by Fresenius Medical Care.
Brukardt started his
career in 1972 at St. Luke’s
Medical Center in Phoenix,
Arizona.
at Humana Phoenix in Arizona.
… Mike Lundgren ’12 is a
senior analyst and Nissan Rotational
Development program
member for Nissan in Franklin,
Tennessee. … Eric Boone
’12 has joined Holman Capital
Corporation, a California-based
public sector fi nancial solutions
provider, as Vice President,
Southwestern Region. …
Kinjal Gandhi ’12 is a project
manager in Mumbai, India, for
Kompress India. … Pragya
Uprety ’12 has joined the
Henkel cosmetics division as a
business analyst. She is based
in Sydney, Australia. … Anirrban
Mukherjii ’13 converted
a 2012 summer internship with
L’Oreal into a full-time job offer
after graduation. He will work
in New York for one year as an
assistant brand manager and
then transfer to Mumbai, India,
as a senior project manager. …
Kyle Wu ’14 is documenting
his business school experience
in an MBA blog for Financial
Times. To read the blog, visit
http://blogs.ft.com/mba-blog/
author/kylewu.
Talk to us
You can let us know about
changes in your life
by e-mailing us at alumni@
thunderbird.edu. We’ll publish
your news in the next issue of
the magazine. Don’t forget to
update your personal profi le on
My Thunderbird (MTB). Log on
at my.t-bird.edu, click on the
“personalize” button, then click
on the “edit” buttons for each
category you want to change.
Get Thunderbird Magazine
daily, monthly, semiannually
Thunderbird Magazine has
expanded online, giving
alumni more content and
more options to stay
connected to the school.
A printed magazine will
continue to arrive twice
annually in mailboxes for
all alumni except those
who request the e-version.
Starting in April 2013,
alumni also will receive a
monthly digest version of
the magazine via e-mail
with timely updates and
exclusive content unavailable
in print.
Alumni who want even
more contact with the
school can visit Thunderbird
SPRING 2013
Beacons of
the Thunderbird
10 Mystique
Up Close with
Thunderbird’s
11th President
magazine
POISED
TO GROW
THUNDERBIRD EXPANDS
GLOBAL PRESENCE WITH
LAUREATE EDUCATION, INC.
One-year MBA:
A Degree for the
21st Century
Magazine online.
Go to magazine.thunderbird.edu
to explore the
site, register for the
monthly digest, or request
the e-version.
thunderbird magazine 65

online extra
Hanan Wajih ’04 of Jordan marries Gregory White ’04 of the United States in Montego Bay, Jamaica.
A decade of Thunderbird weddings
Celebrating the biggest, the best and the most of alumni nuptials
BY GBEMI DISU ’06
Wedding invitations
come
from all
parts of the
world when a person joins
the Thunderbird family.
During the past decade I
have crisscrossed the globe
to witness alumni nuptials
from Morocco to Minnesota.
As a Nigerian, I am
no stranger to elaborate
weddings, but T-birds take
it to the next level in terms
of uniqueness.
I have dined on duck
feet in Hong Kong, peered
through confetti in India,
and watched sparks fly
(literally) in Brazil. One
Irish-Mexican wedding
even brought together
bagpipers and masked
luchadores at the same
party.
Each T-bird ceremony
stands out in its own way.
At the risk of leaving out
some deserving bride or
groom, I have decided
to recognize the biggest,
the best and the most
memorable Thunderbird
weddings in 20 categories.
To see the results, visit:
magazine.thunderbird.edu/weddings
Online wedding album
View more than 50 photos from 20 Thunderbird weddings that Gbemi
Disu ’06 has attended in the past decade. (Above, Genevieve H.
Gutierrez ’05 marries David Gil.)
SUBMITTED SUBMITTED
66 spring 2013

thunderbird
class notes
bookshelf
A
sampling of recent titles by Thunderbird
authors. See the full catalogue at knowledgenetwork.thunderbird.edu/bookshelf.
9 Powerful
Secrets to Find
Your Dream Job!
By Robert
Edmonson ’96;
Paradigm21 Group
(2012)
Around the World
in 80 Years
By Jack Nedell ’54;
Xlibris
(Aug. 30, 2012)
A Special Gift:
Journey to
Excellence
By Rob McBride
’85; Rob McBride
(Sept. 27, 2012)
Balancing Power
By Francis Graves
’59; Tate Publishing
(April 17, 2012)
Branding Tree for
Restaurants
By David Dodson
’93; CreateSpace
(May 3, 2012)
Developing Your
Global Mindset
By Thunderbird
Professor Mansour
Javidan and Jennie
L. Walker; Beaver’s
Pond Press (2013)
Entrepreneurship,
9th Edition
Co-authored
by Thunderbird
Professor Robert
Hisrich;
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
(Sept. 27, 2012)
From Script to
Screen
By Rob Aft ’88;
World Intellectual
Property
Organization
(August 2011)
International
Entrepreneurship,
2nd Edition
By Thunderbird
Professor Robert
Hisrich; Sage
Publications
(Jan. 24, 2012)
The Korean Mind
By Boyé Lafayette
De Mente ’53;
Tuttle Publishing
(June 10, 2012)
Management
Frameworks
Co-authored
by Thunderbird
Professor
Andreas Schotter;
Routledge
(Dec. 15, 2012)
Multinational
Business Finance,
13th Edition
Co-authored
by Thunderbird
Professor Michael
Moffett; Pearson
(Aug. 19, 2012)
Murder on
Kilimanjaro
By Charles G. Irion
’75; Irion Books
LLC (July 20, 2012)
Regionalism in
South Asia
By Thunderbird
Professor Kishore
Dash; Routledge
(March 23, 2012)
Thin Slice of Life
By Brent Douglass
’82 (pseudonym
Miles Arceneaux);
Stephen F. Austin
University Press
(Sept. 25, 2012)
Third World
Citizens and
the Information
Technology
Revolution
By Thunderbird
Professor Nivien
Saleh; Palgrave
Macmillan
(Nov. 23, 2010)
Winning Poker
Tournaments One
Hand at a Time
By Matthew
Hilger ’96;
Dimat Enterprises,
3rd edition
(Oct. 1, 2012)
Vacation Man
By Frank Scully
’77; MuseItUp
Publishing
(July 8, 2012)
thunderbird magazine 67

then
& now
Das Tor student newspaper
Then: Fall 1973
Students took sides when Thunderbird displayed the Soviet
Union sickle and hammer as the “Flag of the Week,” shortly
after removing Israel’s flag at the start of the October War. Das
Tor, the student newspaper founded in 1969, captured some
of the debate. “The Israeli flag was removed because it was
the flag of a country involved in an open armed conflict, and
since this is an international community of scholars, it would
have been inappropriate for such a community to even hint
at siding with a participant,” Bruno Caciagli ’74 wrote in
a letter to the editor. “As far as I know the USSR is not at
present engaged in an open armed conflict.” In a previous
editorial, Das Tor editors had labeled the Soviet Union “an
enemy of Western capitalism.” The publication, launched as
an “open forum for debate” by founding editor Bob Marabito
’70, has covered much more than politics over the years.
Das Tor has entertained and informed students on everything
from club activities to pop culture trends.
Now:
Spring 2013
After surviving more than 40 years as
a print product, Das Tor reemerged in
fall 2011 as a digital publication. “Das
Tor has enjoyed a long run of success,
but times have changed,” former
editor-in-chief Sophia Gao ’11 wrote
in the first online edition. “It became
necessary to update this important
publication to match current media
practices and to better serve Thunderbird’s
global community — which
includes distance-learning students.”
Michael Reardon ’13, the current
editor-in-chief, manages a staff of
six reporters. Articles are posted
every Sunday during the spring and
fall, along with videos and photos.
Alumni and anyone else with Internet
access can visit the site at www.thunderbird.edu/dastor.
68 spring 2013

Thunderbird is your source for global
business knowledge. Even after graduation.
The global marketplace is in constant flux. Refresh, retool and broaden
your global mindset by enrolling in an on-site or online executive
education certificate program. Reap the benefits with Thunderbird’s
relevant and timely curriculum applicable to today’s global challenges.
T-bird alumni
receive a
50% discount!
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members enroll from the
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Also Available!
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online.thunderbird.edu
thunderbirdonline@thunderbird.edu
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shortprograms@thunderbird.edu
+1 602 978-7545 or 800 457-6954

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Alumni Relations
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65 . 2 . 2013
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