Archive for July, 2010

Check out the latest posting on Richard Brubaker’s ’01 blog “All Roads Lead to China,” which highlights the top ten reasons companies fail in China.

Brubaker is Founder and Managing Director of China Strategic Development Partners and has nearly 15 years of Asia experience. Currently, he assists his clients in understanding the China market, determining their own China platform and implementing effective strategies.

A number of our alumni have made headlines recently for their work. Here’s a wrap up of a few notable stories:

Luis Alberto Moreno, ’77, made headlines when the Inter-American Development Bank announced that Moreno would be re-elected as President. He begins his five-year term Oct. 1. Moreno is a former minister and Colombian ambassador to the United States. In addition to holding several other government posts, he was the President of the Instituto de Fomento Industrial, the main financial corporation of Columbia. Moreno is a 2000 TAA Global Alumni Awards recipient for public service and a frequent Thunderbird speaker. The TAA Global Alumni Awards are presented by the Thunderbird Alumni Association to extraordinary graduates. They represent various continents, disciplines, T-bird contributions and civic activities and are nominated by faculty, staff, alumni and students. Moreno holds an honorary Doctor of International Laws from Thunderbird. He was featured in the Washington Post “On Leadership” section in June 2010 for his efforts to apply business solutions to fight poverty.

Robert Dudley,’79, made top headlines around the globe when British Petroleum announced that he would take over as CEO from Tony Hayward. He is the first American to lead the London-based company. Dudley is a 2009 recipient of Thunderbird’s Career Achievement Award. He was recognized at Homecoming in March 2009. He is also a member of the Thunderbird Board of Fellows. Thunderbird President Dr. Ángel Cabrera shared his support for Dudley and addressed the challenges the alumnus could face in his blog “Global Leaders Can be Made.”

Alan Zemek,’81, was profiled in the Park Rapids Enterprise. The article highlighted Zemek’s childhood years in the area as well as his many accomplishments with General Mills Restaurant Group. Most recently, Zemek is planning to turn a Park Rapids armory into a convention center. He currently resides in California.

Danica Coral,’00, was featured in The Arizona Republic for her company Pink House Boutique, which offers stylish and affordable clothing and furniture in downtown Glendale. In 2009, the store was recognized by Phoenix New Times as “Best Retail Co-op.”

About 10 T-bird alumni pulled on their plastic gloves and prepared food for hundreds at the Phoenix Chapter’s semiannual volunteer event.

The event, held July 25, 2010 at St. Vincent de Paul Charity of Phoenix, is one of two volunteer events that the Chapter organizes each year.

“It’s a soup kitchen so we were basically prepping food and serving,” said T-bird alumnus Andy Chen ‘05. “We all had different responsibilities.”

The event was the third one the Phoenix Chapter has organized at St. Vincent de Paul, Chen said. Check out the photos.

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is an international non-profit organization that serves the poor. The programs provided by the organization include services for the homeless, medical and dental care for the working poor, charity dining rooms, thrift stores, a transitional housing shelter and general assistance for people in need.

Do you have a chapter that’s making a difference? Let us know at Katie.mcdevitt@thunderbird.edu.

By Claire Ford

Nobody had a job for Cuban entrepreneur Diego Veitia ’66 when he finished his bachelor’s degree in the 1960s, but he is now chairman of a Fortune 50 company.

Veitia is the founder and chairman of International Assets Holding, which climbed 91 spots on the Fortune 500 list from No. 140 in 2009 to No. 49 in 2010 — one spot ahead of PepsiCo. Revenue growth of 138 percent during a global economic downturn fueled the leap.

Veitia lived in his native Cuba until his mother, a professor on exchange with a U.S. university, moved the family to southeast Iowa. Not long afterward, Fidel Castro took control of Cuba in 1959.

Veitia finished high school in Iowa and then received his bachelor’s degree in international studies. However, finding a job in the early 1960s was difficult for the young college graduate.

“I had a strong degree, but I couldn’t get a job,” Veitia said. “I sent out a hundred resumes, and I think I got back one saying: good luck.”

Desperate as many students are today, Veitia reached out to his network and was introduced to a recruiter from Thunderbird.

“He told me I was just the type of student they were looking for because I wanted to do business abroad,” Veitia said.

When he graduated from Thunderbird in 1966, his fortunes began to change.

“I sent out the same resumes as I did before, only now with my time at Thunderbird on it,” he said. “This time I was too busy to handle all the inquiries from companies looking for someone like me.”

Veitia spent the next decade gaining experience in large international companies.

By the time he was 23 he was the sales manager for a corn and soybean processing company overseeing six countries in Latin America. He opened countries in Latin America for Tupperware and worked for Wurlitzer before he decided he had enough experience to take on some entrepreneurial ventures abroad.

“I wanted to start my own company,” Veitia said. “So I went to Costa Rica and started one with a friend who knew Costa Rica.”

Together they formed a company that shipped flowers and ornamental plants abroad. By happenstance, Veitia was contacted by an associate there to help develop the Costa Rican stock exchange.

“In 1974 I helped process the first transaction and became a member of the board,” he said.

Several ventures and companies later, he founded International Assets Advisory in 1981. About 10 years after that, he founded what is now International Assets Holding, a financial services company that deals with international investments and foreign markets and commodities.

“We are what an old British merchant banking company would have been like,” Veitia said. “We deal in a lot of different things. We work with institutions to facilitate trade abroad and in the United States.”

With a strong mission to participate in foreign exchange for emerging markets in South America, southern Africa and Southeast Asia, International Assets deals with a variety of commodities and trading all over the world.

Overall, the company trades international equities in more than 60 countries and facilitates trade in foreign markets. The company also advises clients in agricultural risk management in countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Australia and the United States.

“We went from a company of three people to around 800 people in 27 to 30 offices around the world,” said Veitia, who is the author of two books on investing, “Global Trends” and “The Best 50 Investments for the 21st Century.”

“My modus operandi has always been, if you are looking to start a venture in a foreign country, look for a foreign partner who knows that country, has roots there, and believes in the country,” he said. “That is what I have done and it has worked for me perfectly.”

His advice to graduates navigating the current economic downturn is to be patient and tenacious.

“You are an asset to international corporations,” he said. “Every year since I graduated, global organizations have had incredible growth – international work grows exponentially. Opportunities exist exactly where a Thunderbird graduate is looking.”

BP announced today that T-bird alumnus Robert Dudley would take over as CEO from Tony Hayward. He is the first American to lead the London-based company.

Dudley graduated from Thunderbird with a Master’s in International Management (MIM) degree in 1979. He met his wife Mary (also a ‘79 grad) while  studying here.

Bob has worked broadly across the international oil industry. After graduation, Dudley joined Amoco and worked in a variety of roles in the US, Europe and Asia. When BP merged with Amoco in 1998, Dudley moved to London to help with the integration.

At BP, he handled the alternative energy division and served as Group Vice President responsible for BP’s upstream businesses in Angola, Egypt, Russia, the Caspian Region and Algeria. In 2003 he was appointed President and CEO of TNK-BP, a role he held for more than 5 years.

Dudley currently serves as the President and CEO of BP’s Gulf Coast Restoration organization in the United States. He was appointed to the BP board of directors in April 2009 as an executive director and member of the senior management team. Prior to the Gulf of Mexico incident he oversaw the BP Group’s activities in Asia and the Americas.

Dudley is a 2009 recipient of Thunderbird’s Career Achievement Award. He was recognized at Homecoming in March 2009. He is also a member of the Thunderbird Board of Fellows.

Thunderbird President Dr. Ángel Cabrera shared his support for Dudley and addressed the challenges the alumnus could face in his blog “Global Leaders Can be Made.”

“While the press has highlighted his citizenship and personal connections with the Gulf, those are probably the least important of the assets he will need,” Cabrera said. “The oil-spill crisis has highlighted the evolving and growing expectations society deposits on CEOs. Running an efficient operation and delivering financial results are but a small part of the job description.”

More about Dudley here:

Los Angeles Times: BP appears destined to get its first American CEO
The Arizona Republic: BP’s prospective CEO is Thunderbird grad

(Top photo: Bob Dudley’s 1979 yearbook photo, middle and lower: Dudley at Thunderbird Homecoming, March 2009.)

Brazilian entrepreneur Gustavo Grisa ’01 left a traditional corporate job in Rio de Janeiro to launch the first Brazilian consulting company exclusively focused in city strategy and development projects, Agencia Futuro.

“We found out that there would be many opportunities for further strategic actions in Brazilian cities with World Cup 2014 and the Summer Olympics in 2016,” Grisa said. “Even more, the strategic turnarounds that cities and regions began to perform worldwide have not been fully understood in the context of Brazilian cities, so far. City managers need information and ready-to-act, realistic projects.”

Grisa and others from Agencia Futuro traveled recently to London to see the 2012 Olympics site. They also toured Pécs, Hungary, to see the European Capital of Culture for 2010.

“We´ll have to learn with the experiences both from World Cup and the Olympics, especially how to build a legacy for our cities, avoiding ‘white elephant’ structures that are expensive and not integrated to the city life and development needs,” Grisa said.

Presently, Agencia Futuro is working in the regeneration of downtown areas in Porto Alegre, Brazil´s fourth-largest metropolitan area with 1.3 million residents.

Another project encompasses the improvement of the business environment for small and medium enterprises in small cities in the hinterland of Brazil. A third project overlooks the development of Sao Leopoldo, which is becoming an important high-tech hub in Latin America.

“I was looking for an activity that would combine both the business and sustainable local development sides,” said Grisa, an economist who was strategic intelligence and public affairs manager for Brasil Telecom and Vale before starting with Agencia Futuro a year ago. “I believe Thunderbird provides you that perspective.”

Thunderbird welcomed 31 graduates from LG Electronics to its alumni network on July 23, 2010, following 13 months of coursework in Seoul, South Korea and Glendale, Arizona. Thunderbird launched the custom Executive MBA program with LG Electronics in 2005. The program, designed to run for five years, produced 150 graduates in five cohorts.

William Kim, an LG general manager in Seoul, was the final program participant to receive his diploma. “LG Electronics is a global company,” Kim said. “Our competition is not domestic. Thunderbird has helped us increase our global mindset to compete in the global economy.”

Thunderbird Senior Vice President Beth Stoops, who has developed Corporate Learning relationships in South Korea for more than 20 years, said Thunderbird will continue to explore new opportunities with LG Electronics. “This is a partnership and a friendship forever,” she said during a celebration dinner following the commencement.

Peru businesswoman Rosnel Rodríguez ’10 discovered her leadership potential as a teenager when she joined AIESEC, the world’s largest youth-run organization. She also discovered the world beyond Peru.

Now, the recent Thunderbird graduate is helping the next generation of young global leaders as chairwoman of the Board of Advisors for AIESEC Peru. The nonprofit organization offers young people the opportunity to participate in international internships and experience leadership roles.

“Like Thunderbird, this organization creates a positive impact in society,” Rodríguez said. “Thunderbird gave me the tools and knowledge to help AIESEC grow and also to develop my own global mindset.”
Read more »

Michael Muth ’86 took a tasty trip to Chicago recently to attend the German Sweets and Snacks Business Delegation Reception – and he highlighted it on his blog Global American Technology Alliance.

The reception introduced and showcased the best of Germany’s sweets and snacks companies.

Some of the companies in attendance were as follows:

Peter Kölln KGaA – Germany’s No. 1 cereal producer with a history of more than 180 years. The company’s products can be found in every second household in Germany.

Katjes Fassin GmbH & Co. KG - a fast growing, family-owned sugar confectionery company, which is the third largest in the German market and a market leader in Europe.

Päx Food AG - an ingredient producer of dried fruit and vegetables that preserve valuable nutrients resulting in tasty and healthy snacks or ingredients for snacks, cereals, baked goods and much more.

Maintal Konfitüre GmbH – an innovative company that produces high quality healthy preserves and fruit spreads. Maintal’s best-selling product is not only enjoyed in Germany, but in Cyprus, USA, Japan, Korea, and Australia. Maintals products are prepared by German organic food standards.

Handwerksbäckerei Mack – founded in 1925, is a modern family-owned business that has grown over the past 85 years from a small business to a company with over 500 employees. With its handcrafted products it represents the finest in frozen baked goods.

Baur Chocolat – known for its tradition of high quality premium chocolate and pastry products. All products are made exclusively from selected raw materials and ingredients in compliance with certified quality standards.

Ricardo Campoy, ’79, has been appointed to the board of directors of Endeavour Silver Corp., a small-cap silver mining company focused on the growth of its silver production reserves and resources in Mexico. Campoy’s international career spans 34 years as a mining engineer, investment banker and financial advisor for resource industries, financial institutions and investment funds. He recently co-founded and currently manages Minerals Capital & Advisory LLC, a member firm of Denver-based merchant bank, HeadwatersMB.

Todd A. Myers, ’88, has joined Cloud Peak Energy as Senior Vice President, Business Development. The company is the third-largest U.S. coal producer and the only pure-play Powder River Basin coal company. Myers has 14 years of experience with Westmoreland Coal Company and was most recently president of Westmoreland Coal Sales Company. Myers also spent five years with RDI Consulting, a leading consulting firm in the energy industry.

 Jeff Strawn, ’89, has joined the board of directors of Hospice of the Valley. Strawn currently oversees global credit services at Silicon Valley Bank in Santa Clara, Calif. Strawn’s experience covers a wide range of financial services, including international trade finance and technology lending. He has previous board experience with the Silicon Valley Bank Foundation and the Arts Council Silicon Valley.

Mark Olexy, ’95, has joined Atlantic-Pacific Capital as Principal in its Direct Private Placements Group. In this role, he will focus on sourcing, structuring and executing direct private placement transactions. Olexy brings about 15 years of private placement experience to Atlantic-Pacific Capital and has extensive experience in equity, equity-linked and debt private placements. Prior to joining Atlantic-Pacific , Olexy was a Director in Lazard’s Alternative Capital Finance Group in New York. He has also held positions in direct private placements at Citigroup Global Markets, Larkspur Capital and BMO Capital Markets.

Peter Wyles, ’95, has been named President and CEO of Ventus Medical, a privately held medical device company based in Belmont, Calif. that focuses on the treatment of sleep disordered breathing. Wyles joins Ventus Medical from Bayer HealthCare, where he spent 15 years and led consumer, pharmaceutical and medical device businesses in Germany, Japan, Canada and the U.S. More recently, he led the expansion and integration of Metrika, a former diabetes start-up that was acquired by Bayer HealthCare in 2006.

Lisa Totino, ’97, has been appointed Senior Account Supervisor, Social Strategy for AbelsonTaylor, the largest independent advertising agency in the healthcare field. Totino joins AbelsonTaylor from WhittmanHart Interactive, where she was a strategist. Prior to this, Totino was also an account supervisor at Edelman Interactive and new business development director for Custom Plastics. She began her career as senior account executive at Wunderman Interactive.