Archive for the ‘Alumni Events’ Category

Mark your calendar!

Two Thunderbird Alumni will be featured speakers on Monday, November 15 at Thunderbird School of Global Management.

Richard Rhodes, ‘95, is the founder of Rhodes Capital Management, Inc and Stephen Khan, ’93, is the owner of Anchor Bay Tile. The topic of discussion will be “Russia and Eastern Europe: Experiences in Emerging Markets.”

Rhodes’ background is in international corporate finance. From 1994 to 1999, he served as the Financial Director of Thunderbird’s Moscow-based corporate consulting group Center for Business Skills Development. Therafter, he served on WorldCom’s Strategic and Capital Planning teams, after which he went on to launch The Rhodes Report newsletter and Rhodes Capital Management, Inc. in 2001 and co-founded The CoffeeTree Fund LP in 2007. He is currently an investment strategist and portfolio manager for both.

Khan’s background is in telecom and entrepreneurship. After Thunderbird, he joined a startup wireless company, Celcore, and established their office in Moscow. After the company was acquired by Alcatal, Steve joined Qualcom in San Diego to handle sales of their products into former CIS markets with a focus on Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. Steve now owns Anchor Bay Tile, which he runs as an ecommerce business, sourcing most products from China.

WHAT:       “Russia and Eastern Europe:  Experiences in Emerging Markets”
WHEN:        4:30 – 5:30 p.m. Monday, November 15
WHERE:      Yount DLC, campus
SPONSOR:  The Eastern European Culture Club and the Thunderbird Emerging Markets Business Association.

In memory of Thunderbird’s leadership role past, present and future

The boom of nail guns, grinding of table saws and other daily echoes of the Tower restoration project recently came to rest while students, faculty and staff took a sneak peek inside the Tower.


Although the World War II landmark is scheduled to open in fall 2011, T-birds on campus were given the chance to take a short tour through the construction zone. Visitors clapped with excitement as they saw reclaimed wood ceilings, an open floor plan and grand windows looking out over the school.
Read more »

The Phoenix Chapter enjoyed dinner at Monti’s in Tempe on Oct. 26 with the women Afghan entrepreneurs of Thunderbird’s Project Artemis.

Chapter leader Mike Cottrell called the evening a “enlightening” and “a huge success.”

For the highlights of yesterday’s Thunderbird Global Council meeting in Salzburg, have a look at Dr.  Ángel Cabrera’s blog: Global Leaders Can Be Made. The meeting pushed the 2020  Global Vision one step further in identifying how  to measure impact and foster a global community of learning and practice. Don’t forget to take a look at photos from the meeting.

The Phoenix Chapter is holding its 2010 Entrepreneurship Event – The Capital Process on Sept. 29, 2010  at Wells Fargo Conference Center in downtown Phoenix.

The event is part of the chapter’s annual scholarship fundraiser and will feature a panel presentation discussing the various routes to obtaining capital. The chapter will partner with the Thunderbird Global Private Equity Center for the discussion.

Thunderbird recently hosted over 75 state legislators and private investors to campus for a discussion on how to invigorate Arizona’s economy through innovation and entrepreneurship.  A central theme of the discussion was focused on how to organize and attract capital for Arizona small businesses. The upcoming event will focus on these conversations. 

Speakers will consist of venture capital groups and community bankers, who will discuss opportunities for obtaining capital and how to successfully move forward in the current economic climate.  The event will also introduce the Thunderbird Angels Network, which is an exciting new program that partners entrepreneurs with investors. Also, the event will feature a silent auction, raffle and a chance to network and reconnect with alumni. Click here to register.

For more information:

Thunderbird Alumni Association Phoenix Chapter

Phone: 480-986-4666

Email: Chapter Leader, mike.cottrell@gmail.com

The Munich chapter will be painting the Treppenhaus for the Kinder-und Jugendland in Milbertshofen, a family center house for parents with their children.

The volunteer work is part of Global ThunderCares Day, founded in part by Amaly Johnson, who is a member of the Munich chapter. The event is held annually and is in its second year.

The Munich chapter is scheduled to volunteer during the weekend of Sept. 25 and 26.

“This is a great opportunity for us to become more involved in the Munich community, spend some time together and develop our Thunderbird Alumni group,” Johnson said.

After their community service, the group will head out for drinks and food.

If you are interested in participating in the Munich chapter’s event want to launch a Global ThunderCares event at your chapter, e-mail amaly@global.thunderbird.edu

Is your chapter already planning a volunteer event? Let Alumni Relations know at alumni@thunderbird.edu.

About 80 people turned out to the Portland Chapter’s family picnic held at the Oregon Zoo on August 7.  The group had a fun-filled family day thanks to the generosity of the Oregon Zoo, which donated 20 entrance tickets and provided custom behind-the-scenes programs for the 30 children that attended. A special thanks to Kellie Jarman ’94 and her husband Dan Jarman, who chairs the Zoo foundation for helping to organize the event and make it possible.

T-birds know the ropes, and they proved it on August 14 at the Madison and Milwaukee chapters’ first annual sailing party on Lake Mendota! The group enjoyed light winds, cold refreshments and delicious brats. A special thanks to Alex Sielaff ‘89 for organizing the event and to Joe Silverberg for providing his boat and serving as a Captain for the event, which was followed by refreshments and dinner on the terrace.

Here is a roundup of just a few international upcoming T-bird gatherings:

 Sept. 7: Beijing Chapter
WHAT: First Tuesday
WHEN: 7 p.m.
WHERE: The Irish Volunteer (across from Holiday Inn Lido Hotel)
CONTACT: Connie Hong, connielhong@global.t-bird.edu

 Sept. 7: Kuala Lumpur Chapter
WHAT: First Tuesday
WHEN: 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
WHERE: Souled Out, Sri Hartamas
CONTACT: Juarez Lowe, juarez@juarezlowe.com

Sept. 7: New York City Chapter
WHAT: First Tuesday
WHEN: 6:30 p.m.
WHERE: Rare View Rooftop, Shelburne Hotel – Murray Hill
CONTACT: Adiel Avelar, adiel@global.t-bird.edu

Sept. 7: Ho Chi Minh Chapter
WHAT: First Tuesday
WHERE: KITA Coffee, 39-41 Nguyen Hue, District 1
CONTACT: James W. Echle, jimechle@global.t-bird.edu

Sept. 7: New Orleans Chapter
WHAT: First Tuesday
WHEN: 7 p.m.
WHERE: La Cote Brasserie, 700 Tchoupitoulas St., in the Warehouse District (restaurant inside of the Renaissance New Orleans Arts Hotel‎)
CONTACT: David Heap, dheap@cc-cleantech.com

Sept. 24: Jacksonville Chapter
WHAT: T-bird gathering
WHEN: 5:30 p.m.
WHERE: Cheesecake Factory in the St. John’s Town Center
CONTACT: Todd Smith, thsmith1@global.t-bird.edu

Sept. 30: Barcelona Chapter
WHAT: Admirals Business Club meeting
WHERE: www.admiralsbusinessclub.com
CONTACT: Mark Maltby, markmaltby@yahoo.com

Oct. 5: United Kingdom Chapter
WHAT: First Tuesday
WHEN: 7 p.m.
WHERE: The Marquis in Covent Garden
CONTACT: Yael Coifman, Ycoifman@global.t-bird.edu

Dec. 6: Rome Chapter
WHAT: First Tuesday
WHERE: BeefEater PUB Via Benzoni 42 (Air Terminal)
CONTACT: Luca Casalena, Luca.Casalena@global.t-bird.edu

Associate Vice President of Communications and Outreach Frank Neville  presented the Thunderbird 2020 Vision to the Phoenix Chapter’s International Dinner held August 18, 2010 and Persian Room restaurant in Scottsdale, Ariz.

As Thunderbird President Dr. Ángel Cabrera and key staff travel around the world for Thunderbird this year, they will also be presenting the Thunderbird 2020 Vision to certain alumni chapters along the way.

The presentations will begin on August 17 at the Phoenix Chapter’s International Dinner.

T-bird alumni have played an important role in the development of Thunderbird 2020 – through brainstorm sessions held in Macau, Dubai, Geneva, New York City and Panama along with feedback provided during last spring’s Homecoming activities.

Our vision for 2020 centers around the theme “global leadership for global impact.”

We are committed to remain a world leader in management education to dramatically extend the impact we have in the global economy.

These are certainly bold words, but they are backed by an equal boldness of thought and commitment to action centered on the following four strategic priorities:

1. Strengthen Our Unique Approach to Global Leadership Education

2. Innovate for Scale and Impact

3. Engage Deeply in Emerging Markets

4. Build a Global Community of Learning and Practice

By Deepak Agarwal, Thunderbird MBA ‘12

Last week, after we wrapped up our draft report to our client at about midnight, we decided to celebrate this milestone at a nearby café. This is when it occurred to us – “How about we hold a First Tuesday on August 3rd? Read more.