SPRING 2013 - Daniels College of Business

DAN IE L S C O L L E G E O F B US I NE S S | UNI VE R S I T Y O F D E NVE R
NEWS ABOUT THE DANIELS PIONEER NETWORK: IMBA PIONEERS AROUND THE WORLD
IMBA Inside |
SPRING 2013
Announcements................................. pg 2
The Faces of the IMBA Program........... pg 3
in Tanzania
GO-IMBA
Fall 2012
Learn more
on page 4
GO-IMBA in Tanzania........................ pg 4
Global Experiences............................ pg 5
Dreaming of Working Abroad............. pg 6
IMBA Program Redesign..................... pg 6
Alumni Notes.................................... pg 7
Engage............................................. pg 8
Why the
International
MBA?
Doing business in the 21st century involves
crossing borders and cultures and requires
a different kind of leader. The Daniels
International MBA (IMBA) prepares students
for careers in a highly complex and
globalized business environment. An MBA
program at its core, the IMBA provides a
solid business foundation taught by faculty
with deep international experience, and
includes the Compass courses required in
our other MBA programs. In addition to
their Daniels course work, students take
classes at the renowned Korbel School of
International Studies that help develop
practical international management skills
and a broad global perspective. The
Daniels IMBA features a required
international travel course—past trips have
gone to places such as Tanzania, Brazil
and China—and a second-language
proficiency requirement.
Originally founded as the Master of
International Management (MIM) in 1975—
one of the first graduate business programs
in the country to focus on global business—
the Daniels IMBA gives students the global
perspective, business skills and cross-cultural
training to succeed in a global business
world. Today, almost 900 Daniels IMBA
and MIM alumni are living and working
around the world.
IMBA Board of Advisors
Ms. Myrna Ann Adkins, Dr. Douglas Allen,
Mr. Roy Becker, Mr. Paul Bergman,
Mr. Ian Bird, Mr. Matjaz Bren,
Ms. Leslie Carter, Ms. Sally Covington,
Dr. David Hopkins, Dr. Lloyd Lewan,
Mr. Trip Mackintosh, Mr. Tim McCune,
Dr. Ved Nanda, Mr. Jim Reis and
Mr. Tom Ritter
Special Thanks
Announcements
New Students
The International MBA (IMBA) program and Daniels community are excited to welcome
the incoming Spring 2013 students as they start their educational journey!
Harrison Fried
Laura Frigo
Jing Gao
Robert Guest
Halden Kaneb
Gregory Majersky
Congratulations to recent March IMBA graduates and to those graduating on June 7!
March 2013:
Joseph Alfano
Heidi Cortez
Anthony Haupt
Matthew Hayden
David Kenrick
Peter Knox
Stephany Olsen
Cary Wicker
Alexandra Gardner
David Groth
Steven Holland
MacNeil Jaehnert
Aparna Kailasam
Gwendolyn Kernan
David Kloeckner
Kenneth Macneal
Ruohan Mao
Sean McCarthy
Alison McElroy
Devin Mulhern
Alexander Podany
Christine Rosenfeld
Jared Stone
Jennifer Wilson
Xiaowen Xu
Rixin Zhang
June 2013:
Younes Ben Brahim
Joseph Alfano
Tseada Berhanu
Kiersti Bird
Catherine Ceresa
Matthew Cole
Ian Doubleday
Andrew Douglas
Austin Flynn
Letter to Alumni
Dear Friends,
Last week, after over two years of intensive reconstruction, a completely rebuilt
Penrose Library opened under the name Anderson Academic Commons, and it
is beautiful! The redesign emphasizes much more meeting space, full
utilization of relevant technology and a beautiful venue for study and
reflection. As you will see in this issue, “redesign” is in the air at the University
of Denver and the International MBA is no exception. We are in the midst of
a major redesign of the program in order to ensure that the IMBA remains
responsive to the global challenges faced by leaders and managers graduating from our program.
We have conducted in-depth research on our current program as well as similar program offerings
around the world. We have collected feedback on our current program from leaders in industry,
as well as current students and alums of the IMBA/MIM programs. If you have ideas, please send
them our way. It is not too late!
As you will also see, our most recent GO-IMBA overseas experience traveled to Tanzania where
once again, we were impressed with the dynamic growth opportunities emerging specifically in
the country, and in Africa more generally. The significance of Africa’s emergence as a key player in
the global economy was underscored just last week as China’s new President, Xi Jinping chose
Africa (including Tanzania) as the primary destination of his first overseas travel. Africa’s economy
was recently described by The Economist as the fastest growing region after China and India and
was highlighted for its increasing attractiveness as a prime business opportunity.
We hope you enjoy this issue of the Communiqué as we bring you up to date with global
developments at Daniels and introduce you to a sample of our impressive IMBA alums!
Image credits:
Doug Allen
Contributing Writers:
Chelsea Lehman
Christy Hotard Rosenfeld
The opinions expressed in Communiqué are those of the
writers and do not necessarily represent official positions of
the Daniels College of Business or the University of Denver.
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Laura Steele
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SPRING 2013
Douglas Allen
Director, International MBA Program
Daniels College of Business
The Faces of the IMBA Program
Meet Our Current IMBAs
The IMBA program at Daniels includes individuals who
have diverse areas of interest and come from a variety of
professional and personal backgrounds. While their ages
and pursuits vary, the one thing that remains constant is
their mutual understanding of the importance of learning
how to conduct business on an international level. Take a
moment to read about a few of our current students and
the things that make the Daniels community stand out.
MATTHEW BOWERS
Matthew Bowers is a first year IMBA student at
Daniels. He received a B.S. Mechanical
Engineering from the University of Colorado at
Boulder and has spent most of his career in the
energy industry. Matt is actively seeking out
experiential opportunities throughout his
program. Most recently he went with the Deutsche Bank
Microfinance class to Cambodia where he worked with a team to
evaluate a Microfinance Institution. Matt is also an active member of
Net Impact and will be a part of the leadership team next year.
BEN FOUTY
Ben is a second-year IMBA with a concentration
in international development. Prior to attending
Daniels, he was a Peace Corps Volunteer in
Benin, West Africa where he worked to develop
microfinance institutions and spent two years
immersed in the fascinating culture. Ben chose
Daniels because of its innovative IMBA program that helped him
develop and focus his international experience.
DAVID GROTH
David, a Colorado native, is a second year
IMBA student concentrating in business
intelligence. After graduating from Colorado
State University, David took a position with a
media sales company in Belgium focused on
promoting business opportunities in developing
countries. His position as an International Media Sales Consultant,
allowed him the opportunity to work all over the world and directly
with CEOs and Country Managers of large companies. After
realizing that almost every CEO had earned an MBA from a US
university, David decided to go back to school. He chose the
University of Denver because of the good reputation for ethics and
the International MBA. After graduation, David hopes to work with a
multinational corporation based in Denver.
ALI McELROY
Ali McElroy hails from the great state of
Minnesota and graduated from DU undergrad
with a BA in international studies and Spanish.
She is a 4-1 student and will finish her IMBA in
just one year. Her passion is finding ways that
business principles can be implemented as a
means to international development. She has gained valuable tools
through the experiential courses like the GO IMBA Tanzania trip and
the Deutsche Bank Microfinance class that took her to Cambodia.
Ali is eager to utilize these new skills as she searches for international
work in Latin America or Africa after graduation.
DENA NEW
Dena is a first year IMBA student focusing her
studies on finance and sustainability. After
completing her undergraduate degree in food
operations management, Dena lived in Spain
and worked for the Spanish Ministry of
Education. She has also spent time working for
a non-profit in Cusco, Peru. Dena chose the International MBA
program because of her passion for multicultural communication and
her desire to return to the food and beverage industry working for a
multinational corporation.
KAVITA RODGERS
Kavita is currently pursuing a Dual IMBA and
International & Intercultural Communications
degree. She chose the Daniel’s IMBA for its
international focus, and the opportunities for
out-of-the-classroom experiences. After
receiving a bachelor’s degree in economics
from Iowa State University, Kavita interned for Engineers Without
Borders USA, which sparked her interest in sustainable development.
She has a passion for international community development, and has
lived, studied and worked in India, Malaysia and Belize. Kavita is
currently involved in developing best practices for a financial
consulting start-up, which she hopes will allow her to analyze the role
of partnerships between the for-profit and non-profit sectors in
community development.
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3 GO-IMBA in Tanzania
Global Theor y in Practice: GO Tanzania
Last Fall, a group of students traveled to Tanzania with the GO IMBA
Global Theory in Practice class. The students participated in four
different live consulting projects for Opera Software. The DanielsOpera partnership has proven to be a continued success, and this
trip was no different. The four different projects ranged from Internet
marketing strategies appropriate for the Tanzanian market,
communicating with potential Opera users via word-of-mouth and
other marketing strategies, barriers and benefits to mobile internet
adoption, and blue ocean strategies for Opera in Tanzania. In
addition to field research for the Opera projects, the class also
visited several international businesses including the Tanzanian
Communication Regulatory Authority, A to Z Textile Mills, Upper
Zonal Trading and Airtel (formerly Zain).
Insight into the business community was informative, but the students
were also exposed to the non-profit community development side
of the country. The students had the opportunity to spend a day
with Heifer International, a worldwide organization dedicated
to working with communities to end hunger and poverty through
empowerment. Additionally, the class met with PRIDE Tanzania,
a microfinance institution dedicated to providing credit to small
and micro entrepreneurs throughout the country. PRIDE started its
operations in January 1994, opening its first office in the capital,
Arusha. The organization offers five different loan products, with
the most popular being enterprise group loans. The loan groups
meet weekly and our students were lucky enough to sit in on one
The IMBA program would like to thank
Opera Software for their valuable
partnership and continued support of the
program. Additionally, we would like to
thank PRIDE Tanzania for opening its doors
to our students and welcoming us into their
community. For those that may be
interested in partnering with the Daniels
IMBA program for future projects, please
contact Leslie Carter ([email protected])
for more information.
of these meetings. One student, Ali McElroy, really enjoyed the
experience and was surprised to learn that the organization has
a 0% default rate due to the positive peer pressure from the groups.
The students asked a variety of questions and the overall consensus
was that the clients were very satisfied with PRIDE and its services.
As the organization continues to grow, they hope to provide
additional services like savings and remittance services in the future
to further meet the needs of their clients.
After the business end of the trip, the students were able to relax and
enjoyed a 3 day safari through Tarangire National Park, Lake
Manyara National Park and Ngorongoro Crater. According to Ali,
interacting with locals at the businesses and organizations provided
a much needed insight into the Tanzanian industries and markets and
proved to be an invaluable resource for the Opera Consulting
projects. However, there is nothing that compares to driving through
a national park and seeing wild animals in their natural habitat.
Opera Software
PRIDE Tanzania
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SPRING 2013 Global Experiences
In Pursuit of Global Experience
If there is one salient quality that stands out among our IMBA
students, it is a quest for global citizenship that extends beyond
the classroom. From the start, students ‘Lead at The Edge,’ and
then as the program progresses, students are given the opportunity
to participate in live team-based consulting projects during their
required international trip. For some, this isn’t enough: Many of
our current students have sought out additional international
experiences that exceed the degree requirements.
Student’s experiences run the gamut from language immersions
(to help satisfy this IMBA requirement) to independent consulting
projects. Christy Hotard-Rosenfeld, a second year with the
program, visited Peru during the winter break to enhance her
Spanish skills by volunteering at a local pre-school outside of Lima.
According to Christy, “It’s fun to get out of the classroom and
| UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
CHELSEA LEHMAN
actually put into action what I’ve been studying for the past
two years. These experiential learning opportunities are
essential to round out any education.“
Walter Cottingham, a first year IMBA student, along with two
other Daniels MBA students, traveled to India for a month to
implement a consulting project with Jaguar Land Rover. They
worked on a project regarding the company’s current operational
structure of outsourced vendors used for engineering design
purposes and the business feasibility of bringing operations in
house. Walter believes that being able to apply lessons from the
classroom to a live and very real project is a valuable complement
to his courses at Daniels.
CHRISTY HOTARD-R
OSENFEL
D | PERU
JENNIFER W
ILSON | SO
UTH AFRICA
Chelsea Lehman, a first year in the program, traveled to the United
Arab Emirates and Qatar to meet with high ranking public and
private sector figures to deepen her understanding of the political,
economic and social dimensions of the Gulf within the Middle
Eastern context. Chelsea believes that taking the initiative to
experience other cultures in a tangible way is of the utmost
importance in integrating classroom learning into an experience
that can help inform and shape a career.
Jennifer Wilson, a current IMBA student, and her husband, also a
DU student spent three months working in South Africa this past
summer. She interned with the United Nation’s Office on Drugs
and Crime – Southern Africa (UNODC) working with the
advocacy and communications team to assist with the launch of
the 2012 UNODC World Drug Report, a leading international
publication. According to Jennifer, “The exposure I received at
Daniels around organizational dynamics and strategy
enhanced my ability to understand the complexity of the
UNODC and its position within the greater UN system as
well as the community, in a more nuanced way.”
Taking the initiative both in the classroom and outside of the
classroom sets the Daniels IMBA student apart, and the flexibility
of the program allows students the opportunity to participate in
a global exchange of ideas that knows no bounds.
WALTER COTTINGHAM & OTHERS | INDIA
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5 Working Abroad | IMBA Program Redesign
Dreaming of Working Abroad?
Make It a Reality Part II
In the Fall 2012 issue of the Communiqué as part of a two-part
feature, we highlighted two IMBA alumni who have had success in
securing work in the international arena. In the second part, two
more alumni from the Masters in International Management (MIM)
and the IMBA program share their insights into what it takes to
build a successful career as an expatriate.
Angela Mutungi believes that International assignments are some of
the most dynamic, challenging and rewarding career experiences.
Being successful on the international career circuit requires a high
level of flexibility and an ability to rapidly embrace change and the
unknown. Strong morals and high levels of ethics and integrity
should always guide you. Angela believes that foreign language
skills are important as they facilitate communication in business and
also greatly ease social integration and immersion. Currently she
works as a Principle Credit Risk Officer at The African Development
Bank in Tunisia. When asked how she feels about her international
experience, she said “I have enjoyed every moment of my
incredible career journey in the world of international banking! The
dots all connect back to the Daniels College of Business.” Angela is
a 1999 MIM graduate with a focus in Finance.
Matt Davis spent three years working as an expat in Mongolia for
an NGO and now currently works for Wagner Asia Equipment. He
has witnessed the country’s rapidly changing economy and is
constantly reminded of the importance of cultural sensitivity and
mutual respect. Many of the multicultural communication lessons he
learned as an IMBA student that seemed obvious at the time, are
regularly ignored by many of the expatriate workers in the country.
To overcome the resulting heightened apprehension among locals,
Matt also stresses language ability as a key action to take. He also
recommends taking an interest in the people and culture of the
country. “Learning about the country’s history, music, sports, art,
politics and pop-culture has been both rewarding and provided
many opportunities to connect with Mongolians.” Matt graduated
with his IMBA from Daniels in June 2011.
ON
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E
CHANG
The International MBA is in the initial steps of a program redesign
focused on taking the already strong program and updating it to
bring it to the next level. Program leaders at Daniels plan to include
additional experiential dimensions with the ultimate intent of
exposing participants to various economies around the world.
Dr. Doug Allen, Director of the IMBA Program, in discussing the
redesign stated, “Students who are emerging from MBA and IMBA
programs today will have to deal with unprecedented levels of
complexity, a strong focus on sustainability, an understanding of
emerging markets, and a pervasive need to work across cultures.”
The new IMBA program will be a more distinctive program,
attractive to a global audience, while seamlessly integrating global
opportunities and content across the curriculum.
The curriculum went through a major revision in 2000, when the
program underwent a change from a Masters in International
Management (MIM) to an International Masters of Business
Administration (IMBA). Since then, the program has gone through
continuous upgrades, including a shift to a live team based
international consulting project working with companies overseas.
A number of focus groups with current and former students and
other stakeholders including potential employers were held in the
fall and have informed the current redesign process, providing
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SPRING 2013
invaluable insight for the potential changes. The objectives of the
IMBA redesign are to continue to build student capacity for ethical
and sustainable leadership in globally focused organizations and
across cultural contexts. The new program will build special
capacities to address challenges and opportunities in emerging
markets while incorporating new technologies to help with delivery
of content. According to Dr. Doug Allen, “Our goal is to take a
great program and revamp it by creating additional opportunities
for experiential learning in international settings, utilizing state of
the art technologies for program delivery, and adding a focus on
emerging markets which are undoubtedly the growth markets
of the future.”
The new program configuration will be designed to offer a
compelling value proposition to students that will balance
preparation for near-term employment with future-oriented
career growth.
If you would like to give your input on the redesign
process please contact Leslie Carter with any questions
or comments ([email protected]).
Alumni Notes
MATTHIAS EDRICH, IMBA 2007
(JD 2007)
As a tax attorney at
Kutak Rock LLP,
Matthias was
reappointed by
Governor
Hickenlooper to serve
on the State of
Colorado Private Activity Bonds Allocation
Committee. This committee provides
advice to the Department of Local Affairs
to determine allocation of bond volume
cap to qualifying housing and
manufacturing projects.
KATHARINE BRACKEN, IMBA 2008
Katharine has been
involved with several
large information
management projects
including a combined
database roll-out
(Compustat &
CapitalIQ) at Standard & Poor’s and the
2010 U.S. Census among others. In August
of 2012, Katharine accepted a leadership
position at HCA (Hospital Corporation of
America), located in Nashville, Tenn. In this
role, she is responsible for teams that
manage the Enterprise Data Warehouse for
patient financial data and Special
Reporting. She is also directly responsible
for overseeing the implementation of
regulatory changes to the data warehouse
as a result of the Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act. In addition to her
new position at HCA, the move to
Nashville has allowed Katharine to more
actively pursue her hobby as a singer/
songwriter/artist manager, in which she is
an active member of the Nashville
Songwriters Association International.
JAMES WEINGARTEN, IMBA 2010
Since graduating,
James has been active
in Denver’s
entrepreneurial
community, working
for Mobile Ticket App
(Denver based
start-up) and FlyLow Gear (Denver based
ski clothing company). He is currently in the
process of launching a ‘charity-driven’
apparel company called For Love of All
Things – FLOAT. The company slogan is
‘Globally Conscious Consumerism Funding
the World’s Best Non-Profits’ and, with $8
from every $24 shirt sold going to charity,
James hopes FLOAT will set a new standard
in Corporate Social Responsibility.
Congratulations are in order as James is
engaged to be married in August to
Danielle Hayutin.
SHARLEEN WANG, IMBA 2011
After graduating,
Sharleen started her
exploration of the
international freight
forwarding industry.
First, she took a
summer internship at
Gallagher Transport International Inc.,
which focused on customs brokerage. After
returning to China, she started working in
Shanghai for a Denver-based freight
forwarding company, Graebel, as an
International Relocation Consultant.
Graebel’s specialty is to provide
international relocation services for Fortune
500 multinational companies, like IBM and
Procter & Gamble. According to Sharleen:
“What I have learned from the Managing
Export textbook, like freight forwarder,
customs broker and Incoterm, now become
a part of my daily life! I always believe my
IMBA is more than just a degree. What I
have gained from that two years enriched
my knowledge, helps me with the current
job, and will benefit me for life.”
BO STOROZUK, IMBA 2012
Bo first joined on with
CH2M HILL, while
completing his IMBA
at Daniels, as an
intern in Global
Recruiting Operations.
After graduation, Bo
transitioned to the Global Mobility group
as an Expatriate Services Consultant,
where he is part of a team that is
responsible for the management of
approximately 500 expatriates, working
on more than 130 different projects in 39
countries worldwide. Bo provides
consultation for projects and employees
going on expatriate assignments on issues
such as country specific cultural
information, global immigration processes,
expatriate allowances, relocation services,
international tax policies, benefits, and
other mobilization related items. Bo and
his fiancée Chelsea, a fellow Daniels
Alumni, got engaged on their IMBA trip to
South America and are getting married
this summer.
Calling for Alumni Notes
New career, new promotion, recently
married? We want to know. Please contact
Leslie Carter at [email protected] to submit an
update along with a photo.
SPRING 2013
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Stay Connected to the Daniels College of Business International MBA Program
facebook.com/DUDanielsIMBA
Daniels International MBA
IMBA alumni move around a lot
and that makes keeping track of
former students difficult for Daniels
staff. In an effort to keep our contact
and mailing lists up-to-date, we
encourage you to let the IMBA staff
know where you are and where
you’re going. Also, you may often
be the best source of information
about your fellow alums, so
encourage your friends and
classmates to stay in touch as well.
S
CHANGE E
TH
ARE ON
HORIZON
Alumni can register in three easy steps:
1
Go to alumni.du.edu and select “First Time Login” in the top left.
2
Enter your last and first name, then click “Find.”
3
Find your name, click on it, then enter your DU ID number.
Joining the Daniels alumni network will grant you access to IMBA graduates
located all over the world. Our alumni network helps graduates locate former
classmates and make new connections across industries and borders. Past
graduates have used alumni resources to research global cultures, prepare for
a career change and offer guidance to current IMBA students.
The IMBA department is constantly
evaluating ways to make the IMBA
programs and classes the best they can
be. If you would like to be part of this
process, contact Leslie Carter at
[email protected].
If you no longer have access to
your DU ID number, or you need to
update your contact information,
please contact Leslie Carter at
[email protected] or 303.871.2037.
We value your opinion!
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