Archive for March, 2011

T-bird Anetta Hunek ’09 has recently created and launched Cultural Confusions, a Web site that allows global travelers to share their “funny, enlightening and embarrassing” tales. The site also allows participants to give a star rating to each comment.
Check out a few recent posts on the topic of language confusion, drive-thru dining and smoking.

Doug Tessitor ’70 was recently named in a Whittier Daily News article that profiles the Glendora City Council candidates. Tessitor is retired and was formerly a financial representative with Northwestern Mutual. He was recently re-elected as a City Councilman.

Steven Landuyt ’89 was recently interviewed in a Q&A with 4Hoteliers. In the article, Landuyt discusses what makes loyalty programs important for the hotel industry, what types of rewards and redemption options are important for hotels to offer, and suggestions for how hotels can increase redemption and participation rates on their loyalty programs.

Yan Yanovskiy ’02 was recently featured in various publications as one of the World Economic Forum’s 2011 class of Young Global Leaders. The honor, bestowed each year by the forum, recognizes and acknowledges 100 to 200 outstanding young leaders from around the world for their professional accomplishments, commitment to society and potential to contribute to shaping the future of the world.

Aram Chavez ’08 was recently interviewed in a Q&A in the Phoenix Business Journal on the topic of venture capital in Arizona. In the article, Chavez answers questions about why Arizona struggles to lure investments, how companies can obtain money, advantages of investing in an Arizona business and the criticism venture capitalists have historically faced.

Laura Clise ’08 was recently interviewed in a Q&A in Women’s Weekly. In the article, Clise discusses her education and how her background has helped her succeed in her role as Director of Sustainable Development and Continuous Improvement for AREVA Inc. Clise is also a member of the Thunderbird Alumni Network Board.

Saloni Patil ’09 was recently featured in various publications from the British Council as a nominee for the Young Publisher Entrepreneur award. While Patil did not win the award, she enjoyed a great learning experience and was honored since she is so new to the scene. Patil has been in India for the past year working as co-founder of her family business in publishing.

T-bird Maryna Hrushetska ’93 tells the energetic and creative account of why she attended Thunderbird and shares her career path journey on her company’s Web site.

Read an excerpt: “The moment she passed through the stucco gates of that institution of higher learning in the middle of the Sonoran Desert, she knew she had found her oasis.  Thunderbird seemed a sort of utopia, where bright stars from the north, south, east and west joined together to imagine a better, more sustainable world.”

Hrushetksa’s company Cosmopolite Consulting is a cultural consulting firm designed for the 21st century while rooted in tenets of ancient Greek philosophy. Utilizing the wisdom of the ancients to cultivate modern prosperous societies, their vision is guided by the principles of Cosmopolitism, which champions universal hospitality towards all humans.

Thunderbird alumnus Andy Ogawa and his family, together with the Red Cross, is challenging donors to donate for Japan disaster relief. Every tax deductible dollar you donate, the Ogawa family will match equally in contributions to the Red Cross up to $500,000. Together we can donate One Million Dollars to the Red Cross.

In their words: “Hiro and Betty, Andy, Mako and Tina, Marcus, Lisa and Athena, thank you all for your contributions. We are a Japanese and American family in the San Francisco Bay Area with deep ties to both nations. We are genuinely moved by people’s willingness to lend a helping hand for good; It’s when we feel the human race rises to shine beautifully. Arigato!”

To donate: http://www.crowdrise.com/handsforjapan

Andrew Ogawa ‘98 is a managing partner at Quest Venture Partners in San Francisco. You can follow him on Twitter @andrewogawa.

Mike Wittenstein ’85 speaks about why well-designed experiences connect with customers, how they keep employees engaged, and how they help brands work seamlessly with the businesses they support.

Watch the video here

The Thunderbird alumni chapter in New York is hosting a special evening this upcoming Monday to support the launch of the new book “The Dressmaker of Khair Khana,” a non-fiction work about Project Artemis fellow Kamila Sidiq.  Project Artemis Afghanistan is a unique business-skills training program run by Thunderbird that aims to build the entrepreneurial skills of promising Afghan businesswomen.  Sidiq went through the program in 2005.

The evening, March 21, 2011 at the Princeton Club on 43rd Street in New York City, will feature a talk from the book’s author, Council on Foreign Relations fellow Gayle Tzemach Lemmon. Ms. Lemmon is a world renowned author and journalist as well as the Deputy Director of the Council on Foreign Relations’ Women and Foreign Policy.

Her pieces on entrepreneurship and women have appeared in leading publications such as the New York Times, Financial Times and the International Herald Tribune. For more about the book and Kamila Sidiq, the woman who inspired it, check out this great interview by NPR.

Also in attendance will be Lynda Hammes, a ‘11 T-bird who is Deputy Publisher and Director of Digital Strategy for Foreign Affairs magazine. This event, hosted by the Thunderbird School of Global Management Alumni Association of New York City, is the only New York engagement open to the general public. Don’t miss this exclusive opportunity to meet these extraordinary women and learn more about entrepreneurship in Afghanistan.

Update: Toni Maloney, the CEO and co-founder of Bpeace will also be speaking.  Since helping found Bpeace in 2002, Maloney has been committed to the idea that business people have a significant role to play in peace building. Before downshifting her strategic marketing consulting business — The Maloney Group — to lead Bpeace full-time, she held executive positions at American Express, Ogilvy, and McCann-Erickson.

Bpeace– the business council for peace– is a non-profit network of business professionals. They volunteer skills to entrepreneurs in conflict-affected countries to help them create significant employment for all, and expand the economic power of women.

When: Monday, March 21, 2011 from 6:30 PM – 9:30 PM (ET)

Where: The Princeton Club of New York City

15 West 43rd Street

Between 5th and 6th Avenue

New York, NY 10036

Ticket price: $45 includes a food and drink subsidy and a special surprise.

To Purchase Tickets and Preregister : http://gaylelemmoncfrtbird.eventbrite.com

Questions, please contact Victoria M. Cox ‘03 at victoriamcox@gmail.com

Guido Hilekes ’93 has been appointed to the Board of Directors of TAMM Oil and Gas Corp. effective March 3, 2011. Hilekes currently sits on the boards of directors of various Swiss equity financed companies.

Kirk Johnson ’96 has been promoted to Partner at Lenati LLC, the Seattle-based consulting firm. Johnson will lead the firm’s efforts in the telecommunications and mobile industries, in addition to serving as a thought leader around advertising platforms and services. Johnson joined the firm in early 2009 as Principal and quickly became a respected leader in the organization. Previously with Hitachi Consulting serving clients in the high tech and telecomm industries, Johnson brings over 18 years of industry and consulting experience to his new position.

Greg Williams ’00 has been added to the Board of Torchlight Energy Resources effective March 3, 2011. Williams has extensive experience in the oil and gas industry. He is presently Chief Financial Officer for Oxane Materials in Houston, Texas. In 2009, he retired from Ineos/Innovene/bp/Amoco after 32 years of financial management experience. Williams has more than 10 years of Petrochemicals experience as the former CFO for Ineos Olefins & Polymers North America, including financial stewardship and corporate governance for all Ineos North American businesses and as the bp Chemicals Segment North American Controller. He has 22 years of exploration and production experience both in the U.S. and internationally including expatriate assignments in Africa and South America.

Jose Dominguez ’04 was recently appointed Senior Relationship Manager at PayPal Spain. Prior to this, Dominguez was Financial Advisor at Citibank España, International Financial Advisor at Merrill Lynch and Expansión Exterior S.A. Managing Director for Colombia and the Andean Pact. He also worked in various capacities for Gas Natural S.A., E.S.P. and at the Chamber of Commerce in Madrid.

Jeff Gehring ’07 was recently appointed to the position of company President of Aerospace Products S.E (APSE), an AGC Aerospace & Defense company. Gehring joined APSE in 2009 as the Vice President of Business Development. Prior to joining APSE, he was employed by a major parts distributor where he served as the Director of Marketing and Business Development.

Dave Crump ‘10 recently joined The Summit Group as Advertising Account Manager. Prior to this, Crump was co-founder of TidalWave Promotions and project manager for 3Form.

Read the story of how Thunderbird Emerging Markets Laboratory (TEM Lab) is partnering with ExxonMobil to provide consulting support to help increase Ugandan women’s access to alternative energy technologies.
 

By Ashish Namjoshi ‘10

A few years back, if anyone would have made a statement that cricket would be ruling the roost on a campus in Glendale, Arizona, it would have probably just been dismissed as a canard, but in an environment that constantly encourages inclusiveness and unity, nothing is impossible to integrate into the global community.

With all the cultural integration happening in a close-knit community, sport could not be left too far behind for too long. Thanks to the passion of a few committed individuals and the backing of the Thunderbird community, I got the opportunity to be a part of the first cricket team from Thunderbird to participate in the American College Cricket Tournament in Fort Lauderdale Florida in Spring 2010.

A sport that is truly global in nature had to slowly make its way up the popularity ladder in the Thunderbird community. Much of it could just be attributed to the lack of awareness, given the diverse group of people on campus. Once the awareness was created, that spark was enough to light up the fire of cricket on the Thunderbird campus. Rugby fields turned into cricket pitches and an aspiring and enthusiastic bunch led by a motivated captain suddenly was on the brink of something big on a national level. Suddenly the talk of the town shifted from goals or points to runs and wickets. Knowledge is power. The more information we shared about the game, the more support we got.

Its been a year since we (Spring 2010 team) experienced cricket’s 1.0 at Thunderbird. It’s now time for cricket 2.0. With a strong base established last year, the preparation and promotion this year has been nothing short of spectacular. Social media has had a catalyzing and galvanizing effect to the cricket movement on the Thunderbird campus and the cricket-o-mania that has spread in no time. While a few of us from the Spring 2010 cricket team might be on a hiatus from actually playing the sport with the same regularity, it would be a real travesty of justice to believe by any stretch of imagination that the interest and passion has dwindled by any means.

As a member of the spring 2010 team, I would like to sign off by wishing the current team the best for this year’s tournament. We all sincerely wish and hope that Cricket 2.0 builds on the foundation Cricket 1.0 laid for them and more importantly, keeps the sport alive and well on campus!

Connect with the Thunderbird Cricket Team on Facebook.

(photo: members of the 2010 cricket team at the American Southwest Cricket Championship.)

The Thunderbird Alumni Rugby Association team lost to the student club, 31-8, during the annual Rugby Alumni Weekend March 5, 2011, in Glendale, Arizona.

Tim Riesen ’98 scored all the alumni points with a penalty kick to draw first blood, and an unconverted try to end the match. Morgan Siegal ’11 led the student team with his aggressive play. “He is just a beast,” said Thunderbird Alumni Rugby Association leader Chuck Hamilton ’91.

Hamilton called the RAW 2011 weekend an “unqalified success from start to finish,” and credited the dedication of more than 60 alumni who attended.

“Our camaraderie is the bond that keeps us coming back year after year. The Alumni played exceptionally across the board and across the decades, as we fielded a side with players from the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s and ’00s,” Hamilton said. ”The students witnessed this bond and quickly became a part of it, sharing in the tales and lore. I’m looking forward to an even bigger turnout at RAW 2012, the first weekend in March. Always.”

David Wiesley ‘77 said he had not played rugby in 20 years. Wiesley called the event “life-affirming” and thanked his fellow T-birds for helping  ”this 20- year-old trapped in a 58-year-old body feel great.”

Participants gathered at the Pub afterward to remember Lynn Abernathy ’77, a former rugby association member who died in a climbing accident Sept. 15, 2010. Alumni presented game jerseys to Abernathy’s widow and sons. “There was hardly a dry eye in the place as three cheers went up for Lynn,” Hamilton said.

“I led the tribute to our fallen teammate, Lynn Abernathy and I felt a strong, living power among the over 60 people in the room,” said Jim Emslie ‘77, founding club member.  “We are all attached through 35 years of competing on the same pitch and celebrating (win or lose) in the Pub.  We are all brothers.”

Next up Thunderbird alumni will compete July 1-8, 2011, in the Mjöður Old Boys Rugby Tour in Iceland. To learn more about the Iceland trip, contact Hamilton at chuck.notlimah@gmail.com.

Enjoy these photos from the RAW event. Or visit Thunderbird’s Flickr channel to download high-resolution versions.