Archive for April, 2011

More than 175 investment professionals from Brazil to Vietnam will explore alternative asset opportunities in the “new normal” during the seventh annual Thunderbird Global Private Equity Investing Conference April 6-8, 2011, in Glendale, Arizona. “The new normal is the post-bust environment,” said Gary Gibbons, Ph.D., academic director of the Thunderbird Private Equity Center and a visiting professor at Thunderbird’s Walker Center for Global Entrepreneurship. “Traditional private equity has undergone some major changes in recent years that were accelerated during the global financial crisis.”
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By Sundaresan Ram, Thunderbird professor

Companies entering developing markets need salespeople with technical skills and business savvy. But they also need adventure seekers willing to embrace local customs, withhold judgment about customer behavior, and celebrate failure. Regardless of their education or experience, salespeople without these cultural skills will stumble when they hit the ground in rugged markets such as Brazil, Russia, India or China. So here is a quick guide for assembling your next global sales team and laying the groundwork for long-term success in any unfamiliar market. | Video: Building a Global Sales Team (2:08) | Podcast: Go local for global sales success (15:00)
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By Daryl James, Thunderbird Magazine editor

Decades before a massive oil discovery off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil turned its attention to the power of sugarcane. Today the developing nation consumes more ethanol than petroleum. Thunderbird School of Global Management Professor John Zerio, Ph.D., led a group of MBA students to Brazil in January 2011 to see the biofuel revolution firsthand. This five-part Brazil Winterim series follows the students on their journey to the plantations, mills and research centers driving alternative fuel innovation.

Chapter 1: Power of Sugarcane

Brazilians had a joke about their over-reliance on foreign oil during the 1970s global energy crisis. Venezuela and Argentina, their neighbors to the north and south, both had oil. Brazil just needed to find the elusive pipeline connecting the countries.
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By Daryl James, Thunderbird Magazine editor

Decades before a massive oil discovery off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil turned its attention to the power of sugarcane. Today the developing nation consumes more ethanol than petroleum. Thunderbird School of Global Management Professor John Zerio, Ph.D., led a group of MBA students to Brazil in January 2011 to see the biofuel revolution firsthand. This five-part Brazil Winterim series follows the students on their journey to the plantations, mills and research centers driving alternative fuel innovation.

Chapter 2: Sweet Versatility

One Brazilian real buys a frosty treat in the markets of Ribeirão Preto, an agribusiness center about four hours north of São Paulo. Street venders near the city center feed sugarcane stalks into the top of a stainless steel press, the motor whirs, and milky yellow juice pours from a spout into a cup at the bottom.
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By Daryl James, Thunderbird Magazine editor

Decades before a massive oil discovery off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil turned its attention to the power of sugarcane. Today the developing nation consumes more ethanol than petroleum. Thunderbird School of Global Management Professor John Zerio, Ph.D., led a group of MBA students to Brazil in January 2011 to see the biofuel revolution firsthand. This five-part Brazil Winterim series follows the students on their journey to the plantations, mills and research centers driving alternative fuel innovation.

Chapter 3: Doing More with Less

All the sugarcane fields surrounding the Cane Technology Center in Piracicaba look about the same as Thunderbird students arrive with Zerio for a site visit on Jan. 13, 2011. But chemical engineer Jaime Finguerut sees important differences.
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By Daryl James, Thunderbird Magazine editor

Decades before a massive oil discovery off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil turned its attention to the power of sugarcane. Today the developing nation consumes more ethanol than petroleum. Thunderbird School of Global Management Professor John Zerio, Ph.D., led a group of MBA students to Brazil in January 2011 to see the biofuel revolution firsthand. This five-part Brazil Winterim series follows the students on their journey to the plantations, mills and research centers driving alternative fuel innovation.

Chapter 4: Making Tradeoffs

Not everyone in Brazil agrees with the urgency to boost sugarcane production as rapidly as possible. Critics point to several tradeoffs and unintended consequences that come with the proliferation of ethanol mills.
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By Daryl James, Thunderbird Magazine editor

Decades before a massive oil discovery off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil turned its attention to the power of sugarcane. Today the developing nation consumes more ethanol than petroleum. Thunderbird School of Global Management Professor John Zerio, Ph.D., led a group of MBA students to Brazil in January 2011 to see the biofuel revolution firsthand. This five-part Brazil Winterim series follows the students on their journey to the plantations, mills and research centers driving alternative fuel innovation.

Chapter 5: Betting the Farm

One grower ahead of Brazil’s environmental and labor laws is Leotino Balbo Jr., a descendant of Italian immigrants who manages Sao Francisco Mill near Ribeirao Preto.
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