.:  OCTOBER, 2003  
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 4  :.
  

We’re spreading the news!

U.S. News and World Report’s “Best Colleges of 2004” has just ranked our undergraduate International Business major #14 in the nation.

And, we again made the lists of—
América Economía’s Top 50 Best Global MBA programs for Latin Americans (August 2003);
Hispanic Business’ Top 25 MBA programs for Hispanics (September 2003); and
Hispanic Trends’ Top 25 MBA programs for Hispanics (Summer 2003).
BUSINESS INSIGHT
.: Global strategist teaches companies the “two Rs” of international business.

   As a consultant to multinational companies such as Mastercard International, Anheuser-Busch, Ingersoll Rand, and Boeing, Sumit Kundu, associate professor of management and international business, has helped American managers become better-educated about success on the international playing field by urging them to understand the value of relationship-building as a strategy for getting results.
   In the U.S., business is notoriously results-focused, he said, whereas in much of the rest of the world, relationship-building goes hand-in-hand with getting results. “About 80% of the world’s population has a strong feeling about the value of personal relationships in business,” Kundu said. In the last three years, his consulting to some 2,000 top-level U.S. managers at Boeing has helped them take steps to reclaim their share of the aeronautics market from Airbus, who became a major competitor in the 1980s. He trained managers to be more observant of the diversity of cultural practices, to adopt relationship-building techniques, and to be more culturally-sensitive and “customer-friendly” to improve business outcomes.

IN THE WORKS

.: College partners with Winrock International in U.S. AID grant.

   The College has just secured an $868,000 grant as a subcontractor in Winrock International’s $4.5 million, five-year grant award from the U.S. Agency for International Development (U.S. AID). Specifically, the grant is to support the John Oganowski Farmer to Farmer program to promote agribusiness and international trade capacity development in Latin America.
   As a partner in this grant, the College will collaborate with farmers, local organizations, research and educational institutions, and policymakers to improve agricultural productivity, sustainability, and income in Honduras and Guatemala. Our graduate students will consult with farmers and farm organizations/cooperatives in the region, providing technical assistance and training them to manage their businesses successfully. The College will be working with representatives from the Universidad Francisco Marroquín in Guatemala, and Zamorano in Honduras, who will take over the College’s role after the grant period has lapsed, thereby ensuring the work continues to be sustained into the future.

.: Chapman School sponsors upcoming NSHMBA conference in Ft. Lauderdale.

   The Chapman Graduate School of Business is a major sponsor of the National Society of Hispanic MBA’s (NSHMBA) 14th Annual National Conference and Career Expo, to be held this year in Ft. Lauderdale on November 6-8, 2003. The three-day event will feature panels and symposia, workshops, a career fair, networking, and the annual prize-giving ceremony for the Brillante award. This award is given for outstanding leadership that reflects the NSHMBA mission, which is “to foster Hispanic leadership through graduate management education and professional development in order to improve society.”
   Pre-conference activities begin on November 5th with a marketing case competition sponsored by Dell and Microsoft. The College’s marketing case team has been chosen as one of six finalists to compete that day against teams from Vanderbilt, Purdue, Georgetown, UM, and USC. Executive Dean Joyce Elam, who was named to NSHMBA’s Corporate Advisory Board in 2002, and Chapman Dean José de la Torre have been invited to address the conference.
   For more information or to register online, please visit the conference web site.

.: Menu of Executive and Professional Education programs expands.

   For working professionals looking to polish their skills and for executives seeking ground-breaking executive education seminars, the College now offers a growing list of programs. All courses are taught by faculty of the College, faculty members at other local universities, and qualified business professionals and consultants

Among the upcoming professional education programs:

 Customer Relationship Management Professional Certificate program (October 10-11)
Sales Strategies and Techniques Professional Certificate program (October 10-11)
Accounting and Finance for Non-Financial Managers Professional Certificate program (October 29-30).
Training and Instructional Delivery Professional Certificate Program, a five-month program starting November 5.
Advanced Certificate in Project Management program, an eight-month program beginning November 3.
Certified Financial Planner™ Certification Education program and continuing education programs in CFP®, starting in January, 2004.

For details about any of these programs or to register, please visit ope.fiu.edu.

Executive education seminars due to begin next month include:

Strategic Human Resources for the Americas (November 3-7), designed to enhance human resource and line managers’ abilities to create and implement human resource strategies to advance their firms’ competitiveness in the Americas.
Strategic Market Orientation (November 10-14), focused on how to out-smart and out-strategize competitors and how to create and implement a plan for marketing success.

For more information about either of these executive education programs or to register, please visit execed.fiu.edu.





IN THE COMMUNITY

.: FIU named as a finalist for Kauffman Campuses Initiative grant.

Miguel Rabay (BA ’91), Dennis Custage, Angel Medina, Jr. (BBA ’92), and Harve Mogul participate in a roundtable session at the September 5th entrepreneurship planning conference. Rabay is a member of our Alumni Circle and President and CEO of e-Globalnavigators, Inc.; Custage is a Partner of the firm Global Boardroom Solutions; Medina is a member of our Dean’s Council and President of Union Planters Bank of Florida; and Mogul is President and CEO of Miami-Dade’s United Way.

    FIU is among fifteen finalist institutions vying for up to $7 million in grant monies from the Kauffman Campuses Initiative of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Alan Carsrud, Clinical Professor of Entrepreneurship, who has a joint appointment in the Colleges of Business Administration and Engineering, is spearheading the university’s effort to develop a proposal for this Initiative, which is designed to fund institutions committed to embracing entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education on a university-wide basis.
    On September 5th, FIU President Modesto Maidique and Carsrud hosted a planning conference at the Biltmore Hotel to solicit ideas for this proposal. Some of Miami’s finest attended. Deans, students, corporate and not-for-profit leaders, and entrepreneurs alike brought their ideas to the table. They looked at ways to achieve entrepreneurial academic integration, foster greater research opportunities, initiate not-for-profit initiatives, nurture family business development, and encourage technological innovation.
    On December 9th, Madique will present the final proposal to the Kauffman Foundation’s judges. Winning proposals will be announced on January 15th.

FOCUS ON ALUMNI

.: Alumni Chapter to host two special events.

    On Friday, October 17, alumni and friends will gather at the Miami Airport Hilton for the College Chapter’s Quarterly Business Breakfast. Attendees will be invited to introduce themselves and their businesses before hearing from featured speaker Rudy Fernandez. Fernandez will discuss “Grassroots Marketing and Communication” as it relates to his position as the Southwest Regional Political Director for Bush-Cheney '04. Hispanic Business magazine recently named him one of the “100 Most Influential Hispanics.”
    For more information and to register to attend this breakfast event, click here.

    On November 15, the College’s Alumni Chapter is kicking-off a new event—its First Annual Business Expo. The one-day program will feature seminars and a forum for alumni to promote their businesses. Seminars will include those led by Gus Vidaurreta (BS ’80), co-author of Business is a Contact Sport, who will speak on “Relationship Asset Management;” Anne Friedman, President of Speak Out, Inc., who will speak on “Marketing your Business through Presentations and Business Networking;” and Joseph Webb, who will speak on “Financial Strength: Taking Your Business to the Next Level.” The program will end with a “Speed Networking” session. Hors d’ oeuvres will be served throughout the day.
    For more information or to register for this event, click here.

.: Chapter forms Community Service Committee.

    The Alumni Chapter recently formed a Community Service Committee, headed by Nelson Vallin (BBA ’99) of New Bridge Securities and co-chaired by Gayle Gilmore (MBA ’03) of SunTrust Bank, that will begin selecting various non-profit organizations with which the Chapter can work to develop community service initiatives. Stay tuned for more details. If you would like to become a part of this or other Chapter committees, send an e-mail to cbalums@fiu.edu.


 .: College welcomes new members to its Alumni Circle.

• Carlos Garcia (MBA in progress)
Senior Manager, Goldstein Schechter Price Lucas Horwitz & Co., P.A.
• Matilde Gramling (MBA ’00)
Director, Academic Budget and Personnel, Florida International University
• Joaquin Urquiola (BBA ’88)
Senior Manager, Goldstein Schechter Price Lucas Horwitz & Co., P.A.

Alumni Circle members gather at Executive Dean Elam’s home for the group’s annual member reception. Pictured here (L-R) are: Alfredo Cepero (BACC ’88), Michael Gibaldi (BBA ’84), College Executive Dean Joyce Elam, Augusto “Gus” Vidaurreta (BS ’80), and Claudio Cury (MBA ’01).

To read more about our Alumni Circle, click here.

 
ALUMNI UPDATES

.: Interested in what your fellow alumni are up to?

Aurora Abrante (BBA ’81) has been promoted from Vice President to Senior Vice President of the Structured Finance Group in the International Banking Division of Union Planters Bank.

Karla Icaza (BBA ’94) has been honored with the “Young Hispanic Leadership Award” by the Nicaraguan American Chamber of Commerce. Icaza is the Director of marketing for R.E. Chisholm Architects, Inc., and board member of the Miami-Dade County Hispanic Affairs Advisory Board. This award is given to young Hispanic men and women, ages 40 or younger, who have distinguished themselves through their professional entrepreneurial accomplishments and community involvement.

 

Carlos Abaunza (BBA ’80), Vice President of finance and Chief Financial Officer at The Miami Herald, has been promoted to Vice President and Corporate Controller of Herald parent company Knight Ridder (KRI) in San Jose, California.

Nicholas Bustle (MIB ’88) has been named head of the Miami-Dade unit of SunTrust Bank. Bustle, a 15-year SunTrust veteran, also has been given responsibility for all commercial lending in South Florida.

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BUSINESS NETWORKS is published by the Marketing, Communications, and Publications Office and developed in conjunction with the College's Alumni and Partner Relations Office in the College of Business Administration at Florida International University.

Copyright © 2003 College of Business Administration at Florida International University.