Archive for the ‘Global Business Dialogue’ Category

CNN anchor Jim Clancy promised a day of big ideas at the Global Business Dialogue in Berlin, and participants responded May 25, 2012, with energetic discussions focused on the future of American and European commerce. “Big ideas, that’s what we want to have today,” Clancy told the audience of 400 business and government leaders from Canada to Vietnam. “We want fresh ideas, and we want to share them with one another.” Thunderbird School of Global Management, which offers Executive MBA and corporate certificate programs from its European headquarters in Geneva, organized the event with the U.S. Commercial Service and the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany. | Video: Global Business Dialogue highlights (2:03) | Video: European Union: Still a dream for some (1:03)
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Knowledge flowed from Glendale, Arizona, when more than 1,000 participants gathered to converse with 95 speakers from 79 organizations and 48 countries at the inaugural Thunderbird Global Business Dialogue. “The world needs global leaders,” Thunderbird School of Global Management President Ángel Cabrera, Ph.D., said during his welcoming remarks at the Renaissance Glendale Hotel & Spa near campus. “We need people who can seize opportunities created by globalization, who can create value and who can contribute to a more sustainable and more inclusive global economy—one that does not put at risk those who come behind us and does not leave people out.” Panelists and keynote speakers from government, business and social sector organizations shared ideas on everything from global finance to social media strategy during the two-day event Nov. 10-11, 2011. The following quotes represent a sampling from the event.
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Thunderbird School of Global Management launched an ongoing discussion about leadership in the 21st century with a signature business conference Nov. 10-11, 2011, at the Glendale Renaissance Hotel and Spa in Arizona. The inaugural Thunderbird Global Business Dialogue drew more than 1,000 business, government and social sector leaders from more than 50 countries to explore the theme, “Redefining Global Leadership.” | Video: Former Costa Rican President Jose Figueres (2:05) | Slideshow: Download Thunderbird Global Business Dialogue photos on Flickr
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(GLENDALE, Ariz.) November 11, 2011 —Thunderbird School of Global Management closed its first Global Business Dialogue, a keynote business conference which brought together a diverse lineup of speakers and attendees from all over the world. The theme of the event was “Redefining Global Leadership,” and was held at the Glendale Renaissance Hotel and Spa. The second day of the conference featured panels on energy, family business, global brands and private equity, as well as sessions on social networking and financial solutions. | Video: Mark Penn on Global Leadership (2:25) | Slideshow: Download Thunderbird Global Business Dialogue Day 2 photos on Flickr
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(GLENDALE, Ariz.) November 10, 2011 — More than 1,000 business executives, global leaders, government officials, NGO representatives and thought leaders convened today at the inaugural Thunderbird Global Business Dialogue, a signature business conference hosted by the world’s No. 1 school in international business. The first day’s agenda featured discussions on leadership in times of crisis, emerging economies and panels on financial solutions and jobs. The theme of the conference is “Redefining Global Leadership,” and continues tomorrow. Day 1 included leadership insights from BP Group CEO Robert Dudley, U.S. Navy retired Rear Admiral Marsha “Marty” Evans, retired Intel CEO Craig R. Barrett, and the former president of Costa Rica, José María Figueres. | Video: BP CEO Bob Dudley on Global Leadership (2:08) | Slideshow: Download Thunderbird Global Business Dialogue Day 1 photos on Flickr
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By John Hope Bryant, Thunderbird Global Business Dialogue Speaker

One thing that my 19 years as founder, chairman and CEO of Operation HOPE has taught me is that helping folks is not so easy, and that often, “no good deed shall go unpunished.” That said, we should all “do good anyway.” For confirmation of this, just look at many of my heroes, from Jesus Christ, to the more earthly saints such as Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. All of my heroes and sheroes, long since past in the human body and form we relate to, live on today, arguably larger, more brilliantly and more impactful than ever. In my work, I never doubt that it is all worth it. But boy this work can get so very frustrating at times! And this is why my favorite chapter of my bestselling business book, “Love Leadership: The New Way to Lead in a Fear-Based World” (Jossey-Bass) is “Loss Creates Leaders.”
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By Carlos Danel, Thunderbird Global Business Dialogue Speaker

All of us witnessed in 2008 the unfolding of the worst economic crises in our lifetime. Mexico in particular faced a devastating ripple effect with its U.S. export dependent economy. However, a different story unfolded in the case of Compartamos. While most Mexican banks suffering double-digit default rates for their credit card and mortgage lending portfolios, Compartamos had a default rate of less than 2 percent. While consumer lending by the banking sector declined by 34 percent, Compartamos’ loan portfolio grew by more than 30 percent. How could one company evade the economic crisis practically unscathed? One reason is because microfinance a different kind of finance. | Video: Profiting from the poor (2:42) | Video: Reality check for microfinance (1:52) | Video: Creating sustainable value (2:11)
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Story and photos by Daryl James

New BP CEO Bob Dudley stepped into an “intercultural laboratory” when he temporarily resigned from the group in 2003 to lead TNK-BP, an independent oil company formed from a BP alliance with two Russian companies. “The partnerships we had at TNK-BP created something like an intercultural laboratory,” said Dudley, a 1979 graduate of Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Arizona. “It was a Thunderbird’s dream for managing something complex.” Looking back on the episode three years later, Dudley sees a microcosm of the complex challenges many global leaders face in the 21st century. As the world grows increasingly inter-connected through trade, leaders of global organizations must navigate cross-cultural relationships that often span business, government and social sector boundaries.
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Story and photos by Daryl James

Life changed in an instant for Bob Dudley when he flipped on the television in his hotel room April 20, 2010. As director of BP operations in Asia, he had come to India on business and wanted to catch up on world news. But instead of the routine headlines he expected to find, he saw a breaking story about his own company with people he recognized. An explosion in the Gulf of Mexico had killed workers on the Deepwater Horizon platform, and oil was gushing from the seafloor. Dudley rushed to Houston, Texas, and spent the next several weeks immersed in the Gulf Coast recovery effort. While media outlets still followed the story around the clock, BP announced a change in leadership starting Oct. 1, 2010, with Dudley as its first American CEO. In his new role Dudley continues to monitor the Gulf Coast recovery closely. But he also worries about other global trends shaping the industry.
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