Archive for January, 2010

By Nikhil Agarwal ‘10, MBA in Global Management

The Thunderbird Emerging Market lab (TEM-Lab) is a unique opportunity for Thunderbird students to work as consultants to host organizations based in different emerging economies around the world as a part of the MBA program for 6 weeks (half a trimester).

Dr. Michael Finney is the faculty heading this capstone class under which students, while adding value to the host organization, also get to experience different culture and business environment.  During the first edition of this program to be held in the Spring of 2010, student teams will be involved with organizations based in Nha Trang (Vietnam), Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam), Kigali (Rwanda + surrounding countries) and Lima (Peru).

I am a part of the student team which is going to be working with a small consulting firm, K-biK-Biz Consulting Co., Ltd, geared to serve SMEs in the areas of business, marketing and legal primarily in the fisheries and tourism business based out of the paradisaical, coastal city of Nha Trang in Vietnam.  Our team consists of four guys Ben Balde, Nithin Vinyak, Phillip Broyles and me (Nikhil Agarwal).

We just arrived this afternoon and got settled in our hotel after our hosts picked up us at the airport.  Phil and Nithin are pretty jet-lagged after their long flight from rainy Arizona (usually its “Sunny Arizona”), whereas Ben and I flew in from Amman, Jordan and Ahmedabad, India respectively.  We go the host organizations office tomorrow afternoon to meet the team and are invited out to dinner with them.

We all are pretty excited and so are our hosts.  More updates soon.

By Melanie McKinney ‘10, MBA in Global Management

Aloha and greetings. My name is Melanie McKinney and I am a second year traditional MBA focusing on Global Marketing. This is my last trimester, and my first blog post, so let me tell you a little about what I’ve been up to the last 1.5 years…

Fall 2008 I began school not knowing which industry I wanted to work in post-graduation. Through a series of fortunate events at school (class presentations, guest lecturers, Career Week events, case competitions, and campus clubs), I was exposed to things like sustainable development and renewable energy, and such businesses/practices/technology caught my attention. The learning curve is steep in business school, and in just 1.5 semesters, I knew exactly what industry I wanted to work in post-graduation. Simply put, I am “going with the wind.”

2009 was the Year of the Ox in the Chinese Zodiac. For me, the stars and such all aligned to make 2009 the Year of Wind in my life calendar. I interned Summer 2009 in Beijing with Suzlon Energy as their International Marketing Coordinator. As such, I conducted multi-lingual market research and cost benefit analyses examining the wind market in three countries. At the end of my internship, I got to visit a huge wind farm in Inner Mongolia, which was the icing on the cake to a fantastic experience. In 2009, I attended four different wind power conferences in four different countries: AWEA Windpower 2009 (Chicago), WWEC 2009 (Jeju Island, Korea), Wind Power Asia 2009 (Beijing), European Offshore Wind 2009 (Stockholm). I became the Wind Division Chair for Thunderbird’s Energy Club, and entered a case competition sponsored by Vestas. Suffice to say, I am passionate about wind energy, and it has, it seems, become my “brand” at school as I regularly get emails from people with articles and/or job postings on wind energy. I love it.

I am actually writing this blog post from Rio de Janeiro. I’ve been in Brazil for the past three weeks participating in the Brazil Winterim, which focused on sustainable business and energy. It was my first time in Latin America. We visited 10 companies representing a variety of industries (wind energy, paper and pulp, mining, banking, meat, cosmetics, etc.). Through this experience I got to learn more about Brazil’s renewable energy portfolio (90% of energy comes from hydro), and emerging wind industry. I fly back to the U.S. tonight and begin my last semester on Monday. I will post more on my adventures in renewable/wind energy soon. Ciao ciao.

By Nadia Karim ‘10, MBA in Global Management

Today is our fourth day in Dubai; all at once it feels like we have done a lot in Dubai but also as if we have barely arrived.  It seems that each day thus far brings amazing professional exposure as well as a thrilling extracurricular activity.  Today was no different.

The day began with a drive to New Dubai, to the lovely Emirates Hills, where we met a panel of Thunderbird alums and Dubai entrepreneurs.  We learned much about the organization of Dubai and its free trade zones, as well as the thrills and challenges of a venture, and the additional factors of creating a startup in Dubai.  Kelly discussed the challenges of moving from a quantitative field into a creative mindset, and insight into the governing structures that control business licensing in Dubai.  Scott of the Arab Anti-Piracy Alliance discussed the obstacles involved in fighting counterfeiting in the Middle East as well as AAA’s ability to substantially reduce what was considered a regular fact of business.  Salman, our gracious host, discussed the changes of moving through business dealings and the ability to recognize the window of opportunity in terms of entrepreneurship.  This concluded with a wonderful lunch in the wonderful Dubai weather.

Fed and enlightened, we continued on our way to another extreme desert sport: dune busting.  We pulled over to the roadside out in the sandy beyond of Dubai and separated into 4×4 SUVs.  Almost immediately we were taken off the road and into an hour of twisting, turning, heart stopping, prayer-inducing slips and slides through the sand and over the dunes.  If you have ever watched cars drift in Fast and Furious or experienced the feeling of skidding out of control, this was very much like dune busting, only with the addition of heights and sand.  Our driver slid and careened with a purpose, however, and we found ourselves arriving safely and unharmed at an oasis in the midst of the desert.  By an oasis, I mean a fenced enclosure which contained food, beverages, and live entertainment.  First off, we had short camel rides.  A few adventurous Thunderbirds opted to sandboard (this is snowboarding, only down a hill of sand)–this Thunderbird can attest to the fact that it is not easy.  Note to future sandboarders: do not lean backward.

After shaking the sand out of our clothes, we relaxed in traditional Arabic seating, organized cushions in the sand with low tables, and enjoyed a spread of traditional food.  Hummus, shawarma, salad, and various other side dishes filled our plates as we watched what can only be described an Arab interpretation of a whirling dervish and a skilled belly dancer on the main stage.  The music can be described as “Thunderbird-like;” so many different cultures and genres were represented that we might as well be at home in Glendale, but with a larger stage on which to dance.

Alas, today has been quite a long day, and I will have to expand on these experiences at a later time.  Much exists to be said about what we learned from our fellow Thunderbirds, but Friday is upon us and begins the weekend here in Dubai.  Of course, true Thunderbirds do not miss an opportunity to travel, so I will update you on Sunday about the explorations about our trip to Oman!

By Nadia Karim ‘10, MBA in Global Management

I just got back from one of the most amazing experiences; watching the grand opening of the tallest tower in the world and a fantastic display of pyrotechnics and might.  Today, the NEW tallest tower in the world, Burj Dubai, not only opened but was rechristened on the same day.  The tallest tower in the world is actually NOW known as the Burj Khalifa, as a nod to the UAE president.  The opening involve fireworks that shot out from every corner of the building, parachute jumpers, and shooting water from the world’s tallest fountain.

The tower cost 1.5 billion USD to build.  Its height record will not be beat for quite some time, as it stands at 828 metres, 2717 feet, 200 stories, 388 Yao Mings, or 905 ThunderBears tall, over 1000 feet taller than its closest rival in Taipei.  It was designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill in Chicago and erected by Emaar Properties, and over 90% of the available 6 million square feet has already been sold.  Not only does it break a height record, but  several others as well, including:

• world’s highest mosque: 158th floor
• world’s first Armani hotel
• world’s highest swimming pool: 76th pool
• world’s highest observation deck

What is interesting is the varied global response to the opening.  While many onlookers just as myself were gaping in awe and excitement, so were other countries planning their next move.  One could assume the acquisition of the tallest tower title was akin to a political move.  Taiwan already seeks to up its ante by changing its Taipei 101 (previous tallest tower) into a green structure by 2011 in order to beat Dubai for Tallest Green Tower record, a project that will cost over 1.9 million USD and take two years to complete.

Since I do not have a fully charged camera battery yet and because photo uploads are quite slow in Dubai, I thought I might as well begin sharing my information about my time here, until I can update these posts with lovely photos back in Glendale.

More details to come, as well as further adventures of ThunderBear!  Tomorrow we are off to Sharjah, the third largest Emirate!

More updates to come soon!  Thank you for being patient while I explore!