Student Life | Thunderbird

02/10/26

Thunderbird alum's capstone experience helps land first role in agricultural tech

As part of the Global Challenge Lab capstone course, Brianna Iannone went to Vietnam for a monthlong consulting project — but after seven prior weeks of language classes, reading stacks of books on Vietnamese history and culture, and getting in touch with several locals, she came prepared. The experience ended up being her greatest asset in securing a job after graduation.

Iannone was originally attracted to Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University because of its integration of global culture and international business throughout the curriculum and GCL. Additionally, her father’s work in wind energy with India and Mexico gave her early exposure to the international business landscape.

“Learning how to adapt to different cultures, attitudes or mentalities is very important if you have any interest in working across borders. There are definitely different ideas on how work should be done, and different ways people balance their schedules, their lives, their priorities. I’m working with the Netherlands right now, and their way of thinking is different from mine.”

In the summer before her final year, she worked on a consulting project for Techcoop, a Vietnamese agricultural technology startup, and explored how to implement different technological and operational techniques to optimize their farming processes and improve employee well-being.

To make the most of this experience, she enlisted the help of a local tutor.

“I picked up the base of Vietnamese, so if someone was behind me and they said, ‘Oh, where is that girl from?’ I would turn around and respond, and it'd be a totally different conversation. Professionally, it let me see how the farmers were running the business and thank them and open the opportunity to learn more.

“As soon as you step into other countries or other environments, it's on you to be the learner. You can't just take things sitting down. You have to get up and go explore yourself.”

For example, she booked a tour with XO Tours, a female-owned bike tour company in Vietnam, which showed her another side of Ho Chi Minh City that she otherwise wouldn’t have been exposed to.

Her efforts to immerse herself culturally and professionally during her GCL trip proved to be the greatest asset in her job search. It connected her with the founder of TSO Green, an agricultural tech startup based in Scottsdale, Arizona. She credits one professor in particular whom she feels was critical in preparing her to talk with the company.

"Mary Sully de Luque advised me on where I can find more policy about agriculture and the USDA and agricultural technology. If you take the time to learn about the professors, it totally changes the game on the resources you can access."

After speaking with the team, they created a role for her as a market and policy analyst while she completed the final semester of her degree.

The company explores farming applications for automated shade structures called agrivoltaics that control how much light can pass to crops underneath, along with other climate control tools that simultaneously help to improve field workers’ working conditions.

“I had hands-on experience through Techcoop, and much of TSO Green’s supply chain is located in Vietnam. Now, I’m working a lot with the Netherlands and the USDA and with investors globally; staying up-to-date with regulations and the culture in Vietnam, the Netherlands, the U.S. and recently Belgium is so important.”

Much of her interest in the industry has been driven by a desire to benefit others, she says.

“I’ve always wanted to positively impact others. I want to leave something beautiful in the world. You need to be educated on politics, regulations and how people think for you to actually make an impact on the world.”

That mentality has been clearly evidenced in her passion for volunteering, which helped get her in touch with the company in the first place.

“I've taught outdoor survival skills since I was 15 years old. I teach archery. I still run camps. I volunteer a lot for Girl Scouts. I started a service fraternity while in my bachelor's with Alpha Phi Omega. There are a lot of different things I've tried and done.

“Volunteering really helps you develop a network. It’s not as aggressive as grabbing a cup of coffee or giving a business card in a formal setting, and it’s very effective.”

She recommends that everyone get involved in some kind of volunteering: “You could do a simple volunteer lookup. It’s okay to go do something alone. It's okay to try something and not like it. I would rather try something and say I did it than live with the regret that I never tried it at all.”

And much like encouraging others to find ways to volunteer, she also encourages others to advertise their achievements.

“People don't like to talk about themselves, especially young women. They always think they're bragging. You need to tell people about what you've done.”

Iannone believes she got to where she is now, like many others, by overcoming a fear of failure.

“It's okay to put yourself out there and fail. Failure brings redirection. I always like to keep the mindset that even if I'm not successful in something, there's always another better thing out there for me. I was excited to work at a startup since I can help a company get its footing and really have an impact.

“It's okay to fail. It's okay not to always be successful, but it matters more that you tried.”

According to TSO Green CEO Mark Riggs, that attitude is vital for anyone seeking to join a startup.

“Candidates need to demonstrate strong listening skills, self-confidence and an exceptional work ethic. Startups value individuals who are independent, proactive and not reliant on constant guidance.”

Initiative and assurance serve as supportive elements to complex problem-solving and exploring opportunities. He says that with the rapid expansion of business and trade to a global scale, decision-makers, especially within startups, can’t rely on binary thinking.

“In today’s complex and fast-changing world, solutions must be multifaceted and address multiple aspects of a problem. Singular or overly simplistic solutions are no longer effective. It is essential to understand the root problem deeply and develop creative, high-level responses to make a real impact.”

As Iannone and the rest of the company contribute to expanding further into the global market, he says the agricultural industry poses unique challenges — many of which they seek to resolve.

“Agriculture has historically lagged behind in tech adoption, and we’re here to change that.

“TSO Green aims to make agriculture more successful, sustainable and economically viable for farmers. Our mission is to bridge the long-standing gap between modern technology and traditional farming practices.

“Our technology is designed not just to innovate but to empower people, enabling farmers to adopt responsible practices that also make economic sense.”

Iannone graduated with an Master of Global Management in spring 2025 with a concentration in innovation and development.

Read more about Thunderbird alum's capstone experience helps land first role in agricultural tech

01/16/26

T-bird helps raise over $150,000 for hearing safety startup Paxauris

Even before joining the Master of Global Management program at the Thunderbird School of Global Management, Aayushi Patel learned the importance of strong listening skills.

Originally from Gujarat, India, Patel started her career journey in sales and marketing. She had already completed a first master’s degree in management in India and worked with international clients.

“I was working in sales and marketing for customers in my region, and then I started getting exposure to international clients,” she said. “That’s when I understood that I need cultural context if I’m going to be effective. I need to know the tone, messaging style, and what the tagline should sound like in different markets.”

In that work, she realized a gap.

“People have so many different perspectives,” Patel said, “and you need to understand them first. You need to get in their shoes, understand what they’re saying, and then you can respond and build on ideas together.

“I was working in sales and marketing for customers in my region, and then I started getting exposure to international clients,” she said. “That’s when I understood that I need cultural context if I’m going to be effective. I need to know the tone, the messaging style, what the tagline should sound like in different markets.”

Learning to market across cultures

Marketing language, she said, is not universal.

“In a lot of Asian markets, you often lead with the benefit and promise gain. In Western markets, messaging is more direct. You don’t bundle the message. You just say what it is.”

That insight led her to look for a graduate program that combined analytics, digital marketing and global exposure.

She chose Thunderbird for its expertise in global digital transformation, its network, and its hands-on requirement to work with real companies across the world through the Global Challenge Lab, Thunderbird’s capstone course for applied consulting experiences.

“I don’t think any other school gives this level of global exposure,” she said. “You work with people from all over the world from day one, and you also get to work with companies in the U.S. so you learn the work culture here.”

From classroom to startup reality

That approach shaped her academic experience — and when she joined a small startup as a marketing intern, it was put to the test.

Patel got in touch with the company through Blackstone LaunchPad at Arizona State University, which connects students with venture and startup opportunities. She said she applied to multiple internships through that channel, but she went a little further for this specific opportunity.

“I reached out to the founder on LinkedIn,” she said. “He comes to Venture Café regularly, so I went to meet him in person and introduced myself. I told him my background, and he called me for an interview.”

That first impression mattered.

She said that in early-stage companies, technical skills can get you in the door, but soft skills keep you in the room.

“He told me right away that what impressed him were my soft skills, the way I approach people and frame things, and knowing what to say, when to say it, how much to say. Your resume and cover letter show the technical side,” she said. “Networking shows the soft side. You need both.”

When Patel joined the company, she walked into a team of five people. There was no dedicated marketing lead.

Although her title was marketing intern, her work relied on her setting the company’s marketing strategy from scratch alongside one other intern. From May through August, she worked directly with the founding team as the company prepared to launch a new piece of protective hearing technology. Anthony Dietz, the founder and president of Paxauris, was adamant about her contributing to the company beyond the traditional expectations of an internship.

“In my previous job, there were rules and approval structures. You knew who to ask for what,” she said. “In the startup, there were five of us, and everyone was doing everything.”

“In startups, everyone has strong opinions. In our team, all five of us were from different cultures. We were told to put our opinions forward — but defend it, bring a reason. Don’t just say something because you want to participate.”

Empirical reasoning is important, she said. While marketing often gets reduced to creative ideation and aesthetics, rigorous research, analysis and logical reasoning was what made her strategies so effective and served as the foundation when advocating for her plans to get approved by John Dietz, the CEO of Paxauris.

That expectation to defend ideas, she said, matched what she was learning in Global Negotiation and Global Communication from professors Susan Harmeling and Denis Leclerc. Those cultural lessons proved useful in other aspects as well.

Despite operating out of a home office space in Paradise Valley, Arizona, the team culture at the company was formal and established

“Everything was documented. Every meeting was scheduled with time stamps and follow-ups,” Patel said. “Even if I needed approval from Anthony or John, I had to book time. Nothing was casual.”

That formality, she said, reinforced a habit she plans to keep in other aspects of her communication.

“Even if you’re sending an email 10 times in one day, you still introduce yourself and explain the context. You never just start typing because you’re comfortable. You’re representing a brand,” she said.

Building trust — not just a brand

Representing that brand internally was important for what she would accomplish later in representing the brand externally. At first, the company’s Instagram account had around 200 followers, and the content was mostly hand-drawn, magazine-style illustrations.

“Anthony is very experienced, and his style was shaped by print, sketch work, and doodle-style ads,” she said. “We respected that, but we also had to make the brand look consistent and modern across platforms.”

Her first task, during week one, was to help build a formal brand kit. That included color, tone, fonts, packaging language, visuals and how to talk about the product. From that process, the team rebuilt the website and relaunched social media with a consistent look.

Then came the first breakthrough moment.

The team produced short-form video built around a single visual hook, showing the company’s earplug being inflated. The inflation creates a visible “bulb,” a visual that the audience thought was “cool” according to Patel: “It made people stop scrolling.”

That first video hit 100,000 views and produced nearly 200 new followers on Instagram within a day. A second video focused on the product’s earlier prototypes, including a version that used magnetic material. That transparency into the development process, she said, built trust.

“For a startup, behind-the-scenes content is essential. When people see your failures and what you learned from them, they start to trust you.”

Paxauris' patented Fluid Earplugs were developed over a decade of trial and error. Courtesy photo.

The product itself is a fluid-filled, inflatable earplug designed for hearing protection. The company positions it as a daily-use item for swimming, loud workplaces, concerts and everyday noise exposure. The product is also intended to help prevent ear infections and long-term hearing loss.

The design, she said, is the result of over 10 years of engineering work by the founders Dietz and his brother, John, who supports the business functions at the company.

“They tested every pain point themselves,” she said. “Comfort, seal, fit while swimming, infection risk from water; they wore foam plugs for a year just to map the problems.”

The company cycled through multiple iterations, including what she described as a “music-style” version and an early fluid version that raised concerns about safety if it leaked, which led the company to fill the piece with glycerin instead, an option much safer than the alternatives.

By the time of the Kickstarter launch, Patel said, “we were already on something like the fifth series of the fluid earplug, and we had around 250 beta users across different industries giving feedback.”

Marketing the product meant walking a line. The team wanted to present a lifestyle product, something you might carry the way you carry sunscreen, but they also did not want to hide the medical purpose, which includes hearing protection and infection prevention.

“We couldn’t just sell it as a cool item. If you sell the cool part and hide the medical part, people buy it with the wrong expectations,” she said. “But if you only say ‘medical,’ people get scared off. So we built a mixed message: 20–30% of what we were putting forward was medical, and the rest was lifestyle.”

She said the company tested two ad versions, one strictly clinical and one that combined protection messaging with lifestyle positioning, with the latter performing better.

“That result set the tone for everything after,” she said.

The campaign reached its initial funding target of $10,000 in the first 26 minutes after it went live on Aug. 5. By the end of the campaign’s first stretch, she said, the team had passed $80,000 in pledges and continued to climb to its current amount, opening the month of December at over $150,000.

“It was overwhelming, and it also became a responsibility,” Patel said. “The moment we hit the goal, all eyes were on us. We had to speed up production, packaging, communication, everything. We thought we could post twice a week on social media, and suddenly it became two posts a day.”

As the campaign took off, Patel said her role shifted again. In addition to daily content across TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and the company website, she began direct outreach to reporters.

She said she contacted 78 journalists over two weeks, sending initial background information before launch, then updates at milestones at the first funding goal, $50,000, and then upon reaching $80,000.

“At first, nobody replied,” she said. “Then, on my last day, I finally got five responses and interview interest. That felt like a gift.”

The early success, however, created two challenges.

“When we crossed our goal in minutes, production and supply chain had to scale immediately,” she said. “Everything tripled.”

Second, counterfeits.

“By the time we raised about $100,000, we started getting scammers,” Patel said. She said companies, including some based overseas, began scraping Paxauris’ ads and posting similar products for sale on large marketplaces, including listings under the company name.

“If you search Paxauris on Amazon right now, you’ll see a lot of products,” she said. “None of those are us. The real product is only on Kickstarter at this stage.”

That experience also changed how the company thought about its target audience.

“At first, we focused on people over 30, because that’s when most people start to care about hearing loss,” she said. “But scammers were marketing to younger people. We realized we should be talking to younger swimmers and to parents since ear infections from swimming are so common in children in the U.S.”

Patel said much of her success in and outside the role came by treating every interaction as meaningful, advice she gives other T-birds as well.

“From the first day, give importance to small conversations,” she said. “Talk to the café staff, talk to your classmates, talk to someone you meet on the Tempe light-rail; you never know what you’ll learn from that person.”

She also urged new students to pay very close attention to developing their soft skills.

“Your technical skills are going to be tested in technical rounds,” she said. “In the first interaction, what matters is how you listen, how you talk to people, and how you work in a team.”

That mindset, she said, helped her step into an early-stage company and contribute to its culture.

“You celebrate your teammate’s win like it’s your own win,” she said. “That’s something I learned here.”

As she prepares to graduate in May with a master’s degree in global management and a concentration in global digital transformation, Patel sees her time at Thunderbird and at Paxauris as part of the same lesson. The technical skills, global exposure and cultural frameworks mattered — but it was learning how to listen, adapt and communicate with intention that allowed her to make an impact.

Read more about T-bird helps raise over $150,000 for hearing safety startup Paxauris

12/10/25

Thunderbird grad prepares to strengthen diplomacy across African continent

Brookfields, a spirited neighborhood in the heart of Freetown, Sierra Leone, shaped Thunderbird School of Global Management student Isaac Sheku Bayoh long before he ever stepped onto campus.

Raised in a community where hope and hardship sat side-by-side, he absorbed early the resilience, tenderness and quiet brilliance of his nation’s soul.

His time at Thunderbird unfolded alongside a demanding diplomatic career at the United Nations, often moving between multilateral negotiations in New York and academic rigor in Arizona. He recalls writing papers between Security Council briefings, studying theory at dawn, and advocating for the Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) agenda by afternoon.

“Thunderbird taught me that global impact requires more than vision, it requires stamina. More than intellect, it requires humility,” he said.

There was a moment, he recalled, sitting in a quiet corner of the U.N. headquarters after a tense negotiation session. He opened a Thunderbird reading on leadership and realized the two worlds, diplomacy and academia, were shaping one another.

His commitment to YPS, rooted in memories of friends in Freetown navigating unemployment, political uncertainty and untapped potential, became a guiding thread through his studies. The agenda became personal.

After he graduates this December with a Bachelor of Global Management, Bayoh will continue into Thunderbird’s Master of Leadership and Management program while advancing the YPS agenda across Africa’s governance ecosystem; particularly ECOWAS, the African Union, and the community structures of Sierra Leone that first formed him.

“I walk forward with gratitude, but also with a mandate; one shaped by Freetown, sharpened at Thunderbird and tested at the United Nations. Wherever I go next, I carry Sierra Leone with me. And I carry the belief that young people, when empowered, don’t just change their own lives, they change the world,” he said.

Question: Which professor taught you the most important lesson while at Thunderbird?

Answer: Professor Roy Nelson taught me that leadership is, at its core, a moral act long before it becomes a strategic one. He challenged me to lead with clarity, humility and discipline, to understand that intellect without integrity is merely performance, and that true leadership reveals itself most honestly in the moments when one’s convictions are tested.

Associate Professor Olufemi Babarinde, with his quiet brilliance, expanded my understanding of Africa’s evolving place in global governance. He invited me to see Africa not as a continent seeking relevance, but as one reclaiming agency, voice and historical memory.

Together, they shaped my academic journey and, ultimately, the very architecture of my worldview.

Q: What advice would you give to a student just starting a program at Thunderbird?

A: Come to Thunderbird with your whole self. This school will stretch you. It will demand the version of you that you have not yet met. And that is the gift. You will doubt yourself. You will be tired. You will have nights when your faith wavers, when the workload blurs into fatigue, when your dreams feel too heavy.

You will find pieces of yourself in classrooms, in conversations, in the quiet between assignments, pieces you didn’t know were missing. Come ready to grow. And when strength fails, return to the reason you came. Because purpose is what will carry you through.

Q: What motivates or inspires you?

A: I am inspired by the audacity of young Africans who insist on dreaming in difficult places, who build, create, organize and imagine even when the world tells them their dreams are too large for their circumstances. What moves me most is the quiet, stubborn miracle that a young person, from Brookfields, from Freetown, from any corner of the world overlooked or underestimated, can rise, lead and transform the very systems that once excluded them. I am motivated by legacy, not the kind etched in marble or inscribed on buildings, but the legacy written gently and indelibly in people, the belief that one life, lived with intention, can shift communities and, sometimes, even nations.

Q: For what in your life do you feel most grateful?

A: I am grateful first to God, whose grace has carried me farther than talent ever could. His hand lifted me from places I never imagined escaping and opened doors I never imagined entering.

I am grateful for my mother, whose life and passing carved a canyon in my world and yet planted a purpose that has never stopped growing. Her memory steadies me. Her love still shapes the man I am becoming.

I am grateful for family, for mentors, and for the community that believed in me long before titles or credentials tried to validate me. They held my dreams when all I had were fragments.

I am grateful for the journey itself, the bruises and the blessings, the detours and
disappointments, the victories, losses, broken places and restored ones, because all of it wove together the tapestry of who I am today.

Read more about Thunderbird grad prepares to strengthen diplomacy across African continent

12/09/25

Thunderbird at ASU grad uses global perspective to find a lifelong community

When Tate Mulligan arrived at Thunderbird School of Global Management, she was searching for a place where a global mindset was truly engrained in the atmosphere. She found that in Thunderbird’s unique community, where classmates debate cultural systems as easily as they switch languages mid-conversation, and where global experiences are valued as highly as business strategy.

“For me, Thunderbird offered the best of both worlds, providing the intimacy of a small, tight-knit academic community and the reach of a top-tier university,” she said. “It mirrors the world we’re preparing to lead in.”

As she moved through the Master of Global Management program, Mulligan experienced a period of deep reflection, shaped by conversations with classmates from Lima, Peru; Mumbai, India; Berlin and beyond.

“Hearing how classmates from completely different lives approached the same problem pushed me far more than any single assignment could,” she said.

Her academic experience became even more grounded through hands-on work, including a yearlong engagement with the Chinese Chamber of Commerce. The project taught her the power of consistency, hospitality and vulnerability in building trust across cultures, creating lessons that reshaped how she thinks about leadership.

Outside the classroom, she said the Thunderbird community offered something just as meaningful. Mulligan built friendships, found mentors and even met her partner. She describes T-birds as people who are “sharp, globally minded and relentlessly curious,” but who also know how to laugh, dance at the Pub at Thunderbird and make the intense pace of graduate study feel joyful.

She said Thunderbird gave her moments she’ll never forget, like hosting what she thought would be a small Thanksgiving potluck, only to watch it transform into a gathering of more than 100 people, each bringing food from their home country.

Now, as she prepares for life after graduation, Mulligan is exploring roles at the intersection of global strategy, economic development and international business. She hopes to channel everything she learned into work that helps organizations navigate complex global landscapes with clarity and purpose.

Question: What’s something you learned while at Thunderbird — in the classroom or otherwise — that surprised you or changed your perspective?

Answer: One of the biggest shifts for me at Thunderbird was letting go of the question, “Which political or economic system is the best?” and instead asking, “What are the advantages of each system, and what can we learn from one another?” Being surrounded by classmates who come from completely different political traditions, cultural norms and spiritual belief systems pushed me to see how deeply those forces shape society.

Q: Which professor taught you the most important lesson while at Thunderbird?

A: The most important lessons I learned at Thunderbird came through working with Professor Doug Guthrie and Associate Professor Sophal Ear, who served together as faculty advisors to the Thunderbird Foreign Policy Initiative, the student organization I helped found and lead. They shaped how I think about power, context and responsibility in global business. I came to Thunderbird with a strong foundation in international affairs and history from Rhodes College, so I already knew that politics, culture and economics are intertwined. Doug and Sophal reinforced that truth in a way that made my questions come to life.

Through our events, they encouraged us to bring in diplomats, business leaders and scholars and to have serious, honest conversations about how foreign policy decisions ripple through trade, investment and everyday lives.

Q: What advice would you give a student just starting a program at Thunderbird?

A: I would borrow from what Maya Angelou describes in her “rainbows in my clouds” speech. She talks about bringing everyone who has ever been kind to her with her when she steps onto a stage or into a classroom. That idea has stayed with me.

My advice is to do the same at Thunderbird. Bring the people who have poured into you, your family, teachers, mentors and friends with you in spirit. Then be intentional about the new people you allow into that circle.

Q: What motivates or inspires you?

A: My family motivates me. They are the grounding force that shapes my choices and remind me to take life one day at a time.

What inspires me are the things that bring the world to life: color, art, music, good food and brilliant company. Those moments keep me curious, grateful and awake to the world.

Q: For what in your life do you feel most grateful?

A: Every day when I write my gratitude list, the same things rise to the top: the people I love most, my health, a safe place to call home and the fact that I get to live a life oriented toward service. I am grateful that my work and relationships allow me to show up for others and that I get to move through the world with purpose, clarity and people who keep me honest and whole.

Read more about Thunderbird at ASU grad uses global perspective to find a lifelong community

10/29/25

Global Challenge Labs transform learning into impact

09/12/25

AI is transforming negotiation training for the next global leaders

When Denis Leclerc, professor of cross cultural communication and global negotiations at the Thunderbird School of Global management at Arizona State University, first taught negotiation skills to graduate students, he would spend hours listening in on role plays, watching for every shift in tone, stray word or missed opportunity. After each session, he’d deliver pointed, personal feedback. For a small class, this was powerful.

But at Thunderbird, where classes today reach hundreds of students from every continent, Leclerc knew that approach wouldn’t scale forever.

“There are just too many students now to sit in on every pair’s negotiation,” Leclerc said. “And the stakes for mastering this skill are only getting higher.”

Negotiation is no longer reserved for high-level boardrooms. It’s embedded in supply chains, vendor agreements, everyday conversations between people and, increasingly, machines.

Why negotiation needs a new model

Thunderbird, long known for producing global leaders fluent in cross-cultural management, saw an opportunity to reinvent how this essential soft skill is taught.

Instead of sticking with lectures, prep exercises and broad debriefs, Leclerc envisioned something more practical and immediate: an AI-powered training tool that places students inside live, realistic negotiation simulations.

That vision evolved into the Digital Negotiation Assistant (DNA), an interactive platform that mimics real negotiation scenarios, holds up under the pressure of real conversation, and then grades students on how well they handle themselves.

“It fixes a huge gap,” Leclerc explained. “Every great program teaches you how to prepare. They tell you what questions to ask and how to find win-win solutions. But what about the negotiation itself? The messy middle is where people struggle most, and that’s where this tool lives.”

Learning at the pace of business

The Digital Negotiation Assistant lets students practice live, spoken negotiation with an AI partner that can respond in real time, shifting tactics and tone just as a real human would. It captures each exchange, analyzes language choices and strategy, and delivers a tailored scorecard moments after the final handshake.

For Thunderbird students, that means instant, personalized feedback, and unlimited chances to try again.

“They don’t have to wait for me to read a transcript or for me to generalize in a lecture,” Leclerc noted. “They see exactly where they hesitated, what questions they missed, or where they failed to hold firm on pricing. Then they can fix it, and try again.”

The assistant breaks negotiation into measurable skills: clear communication, problem-solving, framing questions and identifying common ground. Students see how they scored on each, pinpoint where they need work, and refine their approach session by session.

Powered by people and AI technology

Bringing the DNA to life took a campus-wide push.

Thunderbird’s Innovation and Learning Experience team, led by Mike Grasso, senior director of digital initiatives, guided the development to ensure the tool didn’t just look modern but fit Thunderbird’s teaching mission.

“Our job was to connect Professor Leclerc’s deep academic research with the best technology,” Grasso said. “It had to be engaging, scalable and robust enough to handle dozens, maybe hundreds, of students negotiating at the same time.”

The school partnered with TARIY Inc., whose AI expertise helped refine the tool’s conversation engine. The result is more than a standard chatbot. The Digital Negotiation Assistant listens to spoken input, replies in a clear, human-like voice and adapts as students test different negotiation strategies. Its real-time dashboard tracks each student’s concessions, tone shifts and tactics, transforming every conversation into a live coaching session.

A real-world skill for a real-world shift

Beyond the classroom, the skills students build with the assistant reflect the reality of business today. Major corporations have already begun shifting human-to-human deals into AI-powered platforms.

Leclerc points to companies like Walmart, which uses AI negotiation systems to handle massive volumes of supplier contracts faster and more consistently than human buyers alone.

“Your first negotiation with Walmart might not be with a person at all,” Leclerc noted. “You might be negotiating terms with a digital procurement agent. If students don’t learn to communicate precisely, they risk getting outmaneuvered by a machine that has no emotions, only algorithms.”

This means Thunderbird’s next generation of leaders won’t just learn how to negotiate face-to-face across cultures, but how to adapt when the other party is an AI with no bias, no small talk and no tolerance for vague language.

Removing barriers and biases

Leclerc also sees the Digital Negotiation Assistant as a way to level the playing field for students from diverse backgrounds.

“When people negotiate with each other, subtle biases slip in. Maybe it’s how someone pronounces words, maybe it’s an accent, maybe it’s cultural misunderstanding,” he said. “The bot removes that noise. It measures your words and strategy, not how you look or sound.”

And because the tool can handle multiple languages, it empowers Thunderbird’s international student body to practice in the language they’re strongest in. That builds confidence and skills before moving to English or another target market’s language.

From classroom to global opportunity

The DNA is a flagship example of Thunderbird’s commitment to innovate at the intersection of global business, digital transformation and intercultural fluency.

Although the assistant was stress-tested in Thunderbird classrooms throughout 2024 and formally launched in 2025, conversations are underway to take it beyond the school. Leclerc and Thunderbird leaders are exploring partnerships through ASU SkySong, Arizona State University’s innovation hub, to scale the tool for other academic programs and even private companies.

“It’s bigger than a class project,” Leclerc shared. “It could become a business license for companies to train their sales teams. It’s a way to build mastery, not just run through slides.”

Thunderbird’s DNA for the future

DNA is a nod to the core of Thunderbird’s mission: giving students the practical skills and technological fluency to lead globally, lead digitally, and lead interculturally.

“It shows what Thunderbird does best,” Leclerc said. “We combine rigorous business education, deep cultural awareness, and now smart technology to help students master what they’ll need out there in the real world.”

Read more about AI is transforming negotiation training for the next global leaders

09/12/25

Thunderbird school welcomes first-of-its-kind cohort to ASU’s Downtown Phoenix campus

On Aug. 13, the Haas Digital Global Forum at the Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University welcomed its latest cohort of professionals and recent graduates.

Director General and Dean Charla Griffy-Brown greeted 246 students at the F. Francis and Dionne Najafi Thunderbird Global Headquarters on ASU’s Downtown Phoenix campus, where tables stocked with coffee, pastries and other essentials helped kick off Foundations, Thunderbird’s new student orientation.

“The start of a new academic year is undoubtedly an inspiring time at Thunderbird. Our building comes alive with the energy of students, faculty and staff from every corner of the globe,” said Griffy-Brown. “As we come together for this new beginning, we are reminded of the strength of our community and the incredible impact this generation of T-birds will make in shaping the future.”

This year’s incoming class saw a 22% increase of enrolled students across all Thunderbird programs when compared with fall 2024 — a class made of students from over 35 countries, including Malawi, Germany, Serbia and Ukraine, among others. While this semester also boasts a marked increase in domestic enrollment, 72% of all students join the school from abroad, reinforcing the multicultural environment.

Thunderbird hosted Foundations from Aug. 13–15, with events including the historical Flag Ceremony, in which students shared their cultures and backgrounds with their new classmates while presenting flags of their home country.

Numerous other sessions were held across the three-day program. Students connected with new and old T-birds in the Pub at Thunderbird, freshly reopened for the academic year, and faced off in a number of athletic contests for the ThunderOlympics. This year, the Scorpions placed first in the competition, winning this semester’s trophy.

Among the Scorpions is Alexandra Paddy, an incoming Accelerated Master of Global Management student from Mesa, Arizona.

“The campus is filled with people from diverse backgrounds, and everywhere you go there are opportunities to meet someone new. The community is incredibly welcoming; both returning and incoming students are eager to connect. It’s also uniquely international, which makes it easy to learn about and engage with a range of cultures.”

Matthew Scarlett, an incoming Master of Global Management student from California, shares similar views on the school’s community.

“I’m most looking forward to meeting people from all over the world with a global mindset and contributing and working together toward the mission of Thunderbird.”

In previous years, the people he referenced would be mostly other MGM students, but this fall marks the first time that the school’s undergraduate programs were integrated on-site at Thunderbird Global Headquarters with Thunderbird's existing graduate programs, creating an enriched academic environment.

This reunification might have been partly responsible for a recent uptick in undergraduate enrollment. Enrollment in undergraduate online programs, including the Bachelor of Global Management and the Bachelor of Science in International Trade, increased by 48% compared with fall 2024. Likewise, undergraduate immersion programs in these same degrees grew by 26% over the same period.

“While many institutions are experiencing enrollment declines, Thunderbird remains steadfast in our commitment to expanding access for learners around the world," said Griffy-Brown. "Our strong growth across both online and immersion programs reflects this dedication. By bringing all of our students together under one roof, we are creating powerful synergies and cultivating a vibrant, highly collaborative and globally connected learning environment that elevates the student experience at every level.”

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08/06/25

Welcoming the world: ASU supports international students from start to finish

Catalina Amurrio Zamora flew more than 4,500 miles from her home in Bolivia to attend Arizona State University, but she never felt alone.

“It feels like they accompany you throughout the whole way,” said Amurrio Zamora, who’s pursuing a master’s degree in biological data science after earning a bachelor’s degree in biomedical sciences at ASU.

“I started getting emails with advice — what I needed to get done, how to get it done, when to get it done. There were a lot of Zoom sessions and hearing from other international students.”

ASU embraces international students during their entire journey — from application to graduation and beyond. That includes airport greetings, specialized orientation, cultural programs, English immersion, career coaching and even a graduation celebration just for them.

Alumni can stay connected through global networks after they return home.

With nearly 18,000 international students — about 10% of its student population — ASU hosts more than any other U.S. public university.

"Arizona State University is proud to be the No. 1 public university for hosting international students," ASU President Michael Crow said in a statement. "Our international student community not only enhances the academic experience at ASU, but also supports the broader economy."

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08/01/25

ASU’s international students have annual impact of nearly $700M in the state

There are many ways international students contribute to Arizona State University, from boosting research in the lab to bringing new perspectives to the classroom. But there’s another crucial impact they have on the university and the state: the bottom line.

According to a recent analysis conducted by an ASU economist for President Michael M. Crow, the financial contributions of these individuals are crucial to the university’s operations. Their higher tuition helps to control educational expenses for domestic students and play a vital role in funding research and teaching initiatives.

“Our international students pay a lot of tuition, which in turn helps ASU pay its faculty and staff and pay for all kinds of other operating expenses, from classroom and laboratory equipment to landscaping services and electric power,” said Kent Hill, principal research economist for the L. William Seidman Research Institute in the W. P. Carey School of Business, who prepared the analysis for Crow last month.

In the 2023–24 school year, 12,403 international students made tuition payments to the university totaling $360 million. This was enough revenue to cover 12% of the university’s operating expenses. Hill estimates that the economic impact of university spending that is financed by tuition revenues from international students is $467 million in Arizona GDP and 4,557 Arizona jobs.

There are also economic impacts from the non-tuition spending of international students. On-campus students spend money in the local economy — housing, food, entertainment and other consumer items.

“I feel like the coping mechanism for almost every international student is to go out on weekends to take a break from our studies,” said Gwen Dalisay, an ASU student from the Philippines. “There are movies, dinners and traveling around the state to see what’s out there. So that means gas money to go places or staying in a hotel.”

Hill estimates that the non-tuition spending of international students in the 2023–24 academic year amounted to $239 million. This spending supported $212 million in Arizona GDP and 1,397 jobs.

Adding everything up, Hill finds that the total annual impact of the tuition and non-tuition spending of international students is $679 million in Arizona GDP and 5,954 Arizona jobs.

Hill said these numbers are on par with what the state receives from hosting a Super Bowl.

At ASU, numerous individuals recognize that international students play a significant role in enriching the university environment beyond the ledger sheet.

ASU supports international students from start to finish

“ASU represents international students from about 140 countries from around the world,” said Maxwell Goshert, executive director of the Enterprise Policy Analysis Group in ASU’s Office of University Affairs. “That sort of interaction opens everyone up to other cultures, new ways of thinking and experiences that enrich higher education.”

Goshert, who is currently pursuing his doctorate in public administration and policy at ASU’s School of Public Affairs, said during his undergraduate studies, he mentored many international students while taking a business writing class.

“As they were learning how to communicate in English, it helped me to understand how I could better communicate in terms of a business mindset and reflect on my own skills,” Goshert said.

Gideon Prempeh Owusu, an international student from Ghana and a member of the of the Enterprise Policy Analysis Group student support team, brings a wealth of experience to his PhD studies at ASU, enriching both his peers and professors through his unique perspective.

“As a trained medical doctor with a Master of Public Health, I occupy a unique position within my cohort,” said Owusu, who is pursuing a PhD in health care with a focus on maternal mental health. “Many of my classmates do not have a background in public health, so I often contribute insights during class discussions, drawing from my training and real-world experience.”

Conversely, Owusu said he is embracing the opportunities that come with studying at ASU.

“One of the biggest differences I’ve noticed at ASU is the integration of technology into every aspect of learning,” he noted. “Back home, we relied heavily on pen and paper, even for exams. Both approaches have their strengths, and I appreciate being exposed to new methods of learning.”

Dalisay, who is seeking a master’s degree from the Thunderbird School of Global Management at ASU, said she is learning how to interact with others and learning from what they have to say.

“What I love about Thunderbird and ASU as a whole is that it’s all about perspective, which is a crucial part of learning,” said Dalisay, who also serves on the Enterprise Policy Analysis Group student support group. “When I come into a classroom, I learn about other cultures and places. I learn how to interact with other international students and perhaps how we can contribute to each other’s lives.

Crow said international students are a critical part of the infrastructure that drives innovation, sustains economic competitiveness and advances American influence worldwide.

“Many international students educated in the United States go on to become permanent residents and business leaders,” Crow said. “Nearly one in two U.S. startup unicorns has at least one immigrant founder, many of whom arrived first as students on F-1 visas.”

Crow added that ASU is a top producer of engineering and tech graduates in the country and is helping to meet the workforce demand in semiconductors, data science and other advanced sectors.

“International students are economic contributors, scientific collaborators and cultural ambassadors,” Crow said. “They are essential to the very goals the nation is trying to achieve — a growing economy, technological leadership and strengthened democratic alliances around the world.”

Read more about ASU’s international students have annual impact of nearly $700M in the state

06/25/25

City of Chandler partners with ASU for long-term economic vitality study

The city of Chandler will partner with Arizona State University for a long-term study examining the city’s economic future, officials announced on Tuesday.

The 20-year economic outlook was recently approved by Chandler’s City Council in an agreement with ASU’s Seidman Research Institute, the W.P. Carey School of Business’ consultancy branch.

The report will help the city make informed policy decisions and stemmed from a presentation at a Chandler City Council meeting last August that focused on the city’s economic future and shifting demographics.

As the city works to update its 2026 General Plan, the report will also serve as an aid.

“ASU will tackle big questions about what’s next for the city and how we attract and retain talent, plan land use, support resilient industries and bring in new investment, including the attraction of foreign direct investment,” Stephanie Romero, city of Chandler public information officer, said in a press release.

The Chandler Industrial Development Authority (CIDA) will provide funding for the report via a grant, which also allows participation from students enrolled in ASU’s Thunderbird School of Global Management. No city money will be used to fund the study.

“We’re proactively looking ahead to what Chandler will need not just in the immediate future, but over the next two decades to ensure we have a smart plan in place to remain competitive and vibrant,” Chandler Economic Development Director Micah Miranda said in a press release.

“We’re excited to work with ASU and tap into their expertise and local insight. This report will help shape real decisions about our economic future.”

ASU will begin working on the project this summer and the final report is expected to be completed by early 2026.

Image credit: Visit Chandler

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