T-birds team up to propel sustainability and innovation at Messer Americas

Across industries and continents, T-birds like Elena Skvortsova (’94), Sam Agle (MBA ’08), and Rabie Zahrie (’10) are proving that a Thunderbird education builds teams that thrive through collaboration, cultural awareness, and shared vision.

When Sam Agle graduated from Thunderbird School of Global Management’s MBA program in 2008, he had just short of a decade of management experience in the chemicals industry under his belt and was solidifying his career as a national manager. He has since been in his role at Messer Americas for over six years as the vice president of production, recognizing a heightened opportunity to propel sustainable growth and implement clean technology at the world’s largest privately held industrial gases manufacturer.

Elena Skvortsova graduated from Thunderbird in 1994 before she had even finished her bachelor’s degree in language arts. Fast forward to today, and she has been appointed president and chief executive officer of Messer Americas, a role that represents her global perspective and relentless drive.

After working together for some time, Agle and Skvortsova discovered that they both share the Thunderbird experience and global mindset. Agle conversationally mentioned his time at Thunderbird during a site tour, and in that moment, their shared perspectives and goals made a little more sense. “It's kind of funny how you gravitate to other T-birds,” Skvortsova says. “Not only is it the personality, but it's also that sort of shared understanding that you want to be in this environment of making people feel comfortable in whatever situation or culture that they're in. That's something that came from Thunderbird, because it gave us such an awareness of different cultures.”

Her position now isn’t the only time she’s found herself working with other T-birds. She recalls her time at health care manufacturer Baxter, where she was hired as a global marketing manager by another Thunderbird alum. “We connected right away because of our openness to different people and cultures, and being able to navigate through this helped quite a bit. I worked at Baxter with somebody whom I hired as well, who happened to be a T-bird too, and we still keep in touch and work very well together. Like myself, he relocated to Germany and needed to learn the language and culture very quickly, but I think it's more of the Thunderbird mentality that binds us.”

After 22 years working in pharmaceuticals, Skvortsova transitioned into the energy and industrial gases industry. She credits her devotion to lifelong learning for her success in adapting to the shift.

With a background in chemical engineering, Agle shares this mentality—though expressed in a slightly different way. “As an engineer, I think that there’s a desire for order and laws that govern things. Those systems behave consistently: math, physics, chemistry—the universal laws don't change. But when the system becomes people, that’s a different thing. Different laws govern how to get people to work in a certain way. At first it was hard because processes always behave rationally and people don't necessarily; but there's a joy in unlocking that.”

His engineering foundation gave him the analytical skills to evaluate decision-making as a manager, but his ability to communicate effectively and build trust has proven invaluable—especially when working across diverse teams and cultures. “If you can advocate for a good idea and prove that it’ll have an impact, there are no dogmas. Messer’s culture, like many others, is held by rational actors looking for the best way to move forward.”

Agle believes that strong ideas come from including and lifting others’ voices. “At Messer, we listen to people within the business and understand their perspectives, advocate for them, and analyze how they can be implemented most effectively.”

Skvortsova echoes this sentiment in her approach to leadership: “I always want to make sure that people feel heard, listened to, and seen—not just a number on a page or somebody’s spreadsheet. Nobody wants to be a number. Everybody wants to be a meaningful contributor.”

That Thunderbird connection—and the mindset it fosters—extends far beyond Messer.

Rabie Zahrie, a 2010 graduate with a Master’s in Global Management, founded Positron AI after recognizing the growing need for automation and AI-powered tools that enhance decision-making in high-stakes business environments. Drawing from his background in software engineering, corporate finance, and M&A—where he managed deals exceeding $2 billion—Zahrie saw an opportunity to bridge technology and business through intelligent solutions that empower investment, corporate development, and private equity professionals.

He credits Thunderbird with giving him the global perspective and strategic insight needed to launch and scale an international startup. 

“The global mindset, diverse perspectives, and strong management skills I gained at Thunderbird equipped me to navigate global markets and drive our company’s expansion,” he says.

Positron AI’s leadership team includes several Thunderbird alumni whose shared cultural awareness and strategic thinking have shaped a collaborative, innovative company culture. That synergy has helped the team move quickly in new markets—most notably during their successful expansion into South America, where understanding local dynamics led to faster results and new opportunities across regions.

Zahrie continues to look to the Thunderbird network for talent, including consultant Catalina Cisneros (’97), and notes that T-birds’ adaptability, teamwork, and global mindset make them invaluable contributors to forward-thinking organizations. Looking ahead, he envisions Positron AI becoming a leading global provider of AI-driven solutions that transform how industries make decisions and create value.