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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