03/26/26

Thunderbird at ASU faculty named among world’s top undergraduate business faculty

Euvin Naidoo, distinguished professor of practice for global accounting, risk and agility at the Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University, has been named one of the Top 50 Best Undergraduate Business Professors by Poets & Quants.

Selected from more than 1,200 nominations worldwide, this global distinction recognizes professors who demonstrate exceptional teaching, meaningful research impact, and a deep commitment to student mentorship.

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03/11/26

Africa After Aid

By: LANDRY SIGNÉ, professor at Thunderbird School of Global Management at ASU

The global economy is under a cloud of uncertainty. Trade disruptions, wars, aid retrenchment, and geopolitical realignment have forced governments and investors to reassess risk. Africa is often portrayed as the weakest link—too dependent on external financing, too exposed to shocks, and too fragile to adapt. That assumption deserves a second look.

When the United States and other major donors slashed foreign aid last year, predictions of African economic catastrophe followed. Across much of the continent, however, economies have proved more resilient than the prevailing narratives suggest. Experts warned that Ethiopia, for instance, would be especially hard hit, but in early 2026, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed revised the country’s projected growth upward, from an 8.9 percent increase in GDP (predicted in June 2025) to a 10.2 increase. According to October 2025 projections by the International Monetary Fund, 11 of the world’s 15 fastest-growing economies in 2026 will be in Africa, making it the fastest-growing region in the world.

This resilience was predictable. Using data from the 2024 report on African economic development published by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), I compared how 54 African economies scored on two metrics: their exposure to external shocks and their structural vulnerabilities. I aggregated each country’s scores related to six types of shocks (political, economic, demographic, energy, technological, and climate) and six areas of vulnerability (economic, governance, connectivity, social, energy, and climate), to examine how countries score relative to the African median. These structural characteristics predate recent disruptions, but they serve as a real-world test of whether baseline strengths translate into adaptive capacity.

The analysis revealed that a majority of African countries have at least one relative advantage, providing nuance to depictions that often paint the continent’s overall prospects as bleak. Sixty-one percent of African countries are relatively insulated from global shocks, possess the domestic institutional capacity to absorb such shocks, or have both advantages. And those countries that perform well in one advantage can leverage their strength to build capacity in the other.

African economies still face many challenges. Volatility, state failure, humanitarian emergencies, and fragility continue to haunt countries across the continent. But a focus on crises obscures the more consequential story of African resilience. As the global economic order fragments, many African economies are well positioned to weather the storm. If policymakers recognized this variation, rather than treating Africa as a single risk category, they would concentrate their engagement with the continent’s most structurally resilient economies while tailoring their support to the others by investing in institutional capacity where governance is weak and in ways to reduce external exposure where institutions are strong.

SPLIT PICTURE

In early 2025, the Trump administration announced the shuttering of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), ending foreign aid programs that provided health care, governance training, and development assistance. Major donors such as the United Kingdom and Germany followed suit, trimming their foreign aid by 39 percent and 27 percent respectively. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development projected that sub-Saharan African countries would be hit hard, estimating that they could see their foreign assistance cut by 16 to 28 percent over the course of 2025.

Some African countries do rely heavily on aid. Eight of the top 20 countries that receive the most net aid from foreign governments as a share of their gross national income are in Africa. Countries with a history of prolonged conflict such as Burundi, the Central African Republic, Liberia, Mozambique, Niger, and Somalia received a particularly large proportion. Government-funded aid in these countries acts as direct humanitarian support.

But the cuts have had very different effects in different countries. For example, analysts warned against the severe impact that aid cuts would have on the health sector. Malawi’s health-care system, for instance, had been sustained by U.S. programs whose funding amounted to double that of its own health budget in 2022, making it the fourth most dependent on the United States globally. When cuts arrived, the government struggled to replace the funding and services closed.

In 2025, African governments raised roughly $18 billion from international capital markets.

Many countries in Africa, however, found ways to adapt. Ethiopia, Ghana, and Nigeria acted quickly to blunt the impact of U.S. aid cuts, implementing policies to funnel more domestic resources toward health budgets. In 2024, funding from USAID accounted for about one-fifth of Nigeria’s health budget. But within a month of the Trump administration’s announcement that USAID would close, Abuja mobilized almost half that amount to cover shortfalls. Ethiopia, meanwhile, introduced a new tax to cover funding previously provided by USAID, and Ghana removed caps on its national health insurance tax and allocated more funding toward health and social programs. Strong governance, leadership, and institutions allowed these countries to react quickly.

​Similarly, when Trump’s harsh tariffs repeatedly disrupted global trade last year, African countries and industries that had concentrated commercial ties to the United States felt the sharpest pain. For instance, despite Lesotho’s relatively strong structural fundamentals, its garment industry was acutely vulnerable to U.S. tariffs because the American market absorbs the vast majority of its textile exports. Factories shut down and jobs were lost.

Yet other countries proved resilient. The U.S. market accounts for more than five percent of total exports in only 13 African countries; major economies such as Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, and Morocco had already diversified by expanding trade with regional, European, or Asian partners. In 2025, African governments raised roughly $18 billion from international capital markets, up from $12.85 billion the year before, while the average cost of funding fell by 100 basis points to an average of 7.7 percent—signaling that markets considered African debt to be less risky despite global turbulence. The credit ratings agency S&P upgraded seven African countries in 2025, citing improving growth prospects and momentum toward macroeconomic and fiscal reforms.

PATHS TO PROSPERITY

​This variation in outcomes reflects fundamental structural differences between African nations. Two key factors play into a country’s economic resilience: exposure and vulnerability. Exposure is the degree to which an economy is susceptible to external shocks, including geopolitical instability, supply-chain disruptions, demographic pressures, energy-import dependence, technological change, and climate hazards. Vulnerability captures a country’s ability to deploy policy tools during uncertainty and depends on the strength of its domestic economy, the quality of its institutions, its physical and digital infrastructure, its population’s access to electricity and social services, and its resilience to climate change. Countries need to excel in only one dimension—to possess either low exposure or low vulnerability—to be able to build capacity in the other and strengthen their resilience. A well-governed country with strong institutions can work effectively to reduce its exposure over time; a country that is relatively insulated from external shocks has breathing room to invest in strengthening its institutions.

​Measuring African economies by their exposure to external shocks and their vulnerability reveals four categories, each named for the trajectory their economy can or needs to take. The Trailblazers (resilient economies with low exposure and low vulnerability) have the most near-term room to grow. The Builders (low exposure and high vulnerability) have strong potential as long as they address institutional weakness. The Adapters (high exposure and low vulnerability) have space to grow but need to remain flexible in times of international economic instability. And the Stabilizers (high exposure and high vulnerability) are the most fragile countries, ones that need to secure peace before they can develop; nevertheless, a number of them are performing well economically in the face of challenges. Mauritius, for example, scores 68 on total exposure and 111 on total vulnerability, both below the African median, placing it in the Trailblazer category. South Sudan’s score of 299 on exposure and 481 on vulnerability, both above the median, categorizes it as a Stabilizer. These classifications reflect structural baselines, not vulnerability to any specific shock such as aid retrenchment or tariffs; they capture the underlying capacity countries can draw on when disruptions arrive in any form.

 

Overall, my analysis shows that most African economies possess at least one considerable structural advantage and that 21 have both. This helps explain why Africa’s overall resilience over the past year has exceeded expectations. The 21 Trailblazers benefit from strong domestic resource bases, diversified economies, and robust institutions that provide multiple buffers against external shocks. They appear in every African region and include countries facing a variety of circumstances. Rwanda, for instance, is a postconflict nation focused on developing its public institutions to streamline investment. In Mauritius, innovative policies (such as simplified work permits and strong public-private partnerships) have transformed geographic constraints into advantages. Algeria and Botswana are examples of how effective governance can turn natural resource wealth into a boon.

South Africa is a particularly strong example of how low exposure and low vulnerability augment each other. Its complex, sophisticated economy prevents dependence on a single export or commodity and its strong financial markets and institutions allow a variety of policy tools to be deployed during disruptions. In 2024 and 2025, when global trade shocks proliferated, South Africa was able to maintain currency stability and redirect exports to other markets within and outside Africa. Between 2024 and 2025, its agricultural exports grew by ten percent, and its government has worked to strengthen ties with other partners, such as by inking a new trade deal with China that grants some South African products duty-free access to Chinese markets and secures Chinese investments.

The Builders face more institutional or structural constraints but benefit from limited external exposure, which provides breathing room. Consider Madagascar: its large domestic market and natural resource diversity create the potential for self-reliant growth, yet weak governance and limited infrastructure have constricted the country’s ability to take full advantage. When global foreign aid diminished starting in 2024, Madagascar’s economy continued to function as normal but political instability left opportunities unseized.

When global trade shocks proliferated, South Africa maintained currency stability.

The six Adapters are dealing with the opposite dynamic: their economies have significant external exposure, but relatively strong institutions or systems of governance make them more agile in responding. Despite the fact that Ghana faces high exposure to shifts in commodity prices and pressure from debt, its effective bureaucracy allowed it, in May 2025, to complete a debt restructuring under the G-20’s Common Framework—exiting selective default status after finalizing its eurobond exchange with creditors—and to receive a further credit upgrade in November on the back of rising gold and cocoa export revenues. Côte d’Ivoire, meanwhile, has used its cocoa export revenues to diversify and fund manufacturing, limiting problems posed by its high exposure. Strong leaders can use an advantage in one factor to help build on the other.

Libya—which is generally known abroad for weak governance—may seem to be a surprising inclusion among the Adapters. But Libya’s oil revenues historically funded infrastructure and social services that can still be effective today, even as political fragmentation has eroded them. Once, nearly all Libyan households had access to electricity, for example, but 73 percent can still access it. Libya illustrates how structural buffers can be built even under political stress. But without carefully calibrated investment and accountable governance, they may slip into the Stabilizer category.

Twenty-one African countries, the Stabilizers, face both severe external pressures and institutional limitations. But many of these countries are more resilient than crisis narratives suggest. Major economies such as Nigeria and Ethiopia fall into this category, but their swift actions in response to aid cuts demonstrated adaptive capacity that emerged under pressure.

CHANGE FOR THE BETTER

​Resilience is not a static characteristic of an economy. Countries can use existing strengths to address constraints and create upward trajectories—for instance, their ability to mobilize domestic resources. The most resilient African economies, which include the highest performers among the Trailblazers, exceed the World Bank’s recommended 15 percent tax-to-GDP ratio. This fiscal capacity affords flexibility when external financing or investment wavers. Countries that can maintain public investment during external financing disruptions can stave off the kinds of infrastructural decay or service-delivery pauses that compound economic vulnerability. Tunisia meets the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s average of 34 percent, and Morocco, Seychelles, and South Africa come close. Eight African countries have a higher tax-to-GDP ratio than the average among Latin American countries and nine exceed the Asia-Pacific average.

Many of Africa’s most resilient countries are also transforming their economies. Morocco, for instance, has shifted its manufacturing base toward higher-value industries such as automobile and aerospace manufacturing, and renewable energy. By making human capital and wellness drivers of economic productivity, Mauritius has achieved a notably high score—56 out of 171 countries—on the 2026 according to the 2026 Global Social Progress Index. Other countries, such as Tunisia, have worked to diversify their economies. Successful diversification patterns vary across countries, but they share some common characteristics. Some economies have leveraged existing comparative advantages while building new capabilities. Morocco’s automotive sector is a good example: it has built on existing manufacturing capacity and deepened its access to European markets while developing supplier networks that now serve global markets.

Regional integration is also increasing. Although the share of the continent’s total trade that is intra-African trade remains relatively low, at 14.4 percent as of 2024, the value of intra-African trade increased 12.4 percent between 2023 to 2024, enabling economies to develop by serving regional markets before competing globally. Nigeria, for instance, increased its intra-African exports by 14 percent in the first six months of 2025. And the World Bank predicts that intra-African exports will grow by 109 percent by 2035 if the African Continental Free Trade Area, an African Union initiative launched in 2019, is fully implemented.

Weak governance can clearly constrain African economies. But across the continent, governance capacity varies enormously. Cape Verde ranks roughly five times better than the continental median on the UN Conference on Trade and Development’s 2024 governance vulnerability ranking, and Mauritius scores an extraordinary 26 times better. Many African countries have the fundamental capacity to translate policy decisions into real economic responses when shocks arrive.

POTENTIAL ENERGY

Africa’s resilience represents one of the most significant yet underrecognized developments in the global economy. The right way to understand Africa in this moment is to unpack the differences among countries, which reveals the surprising advantages that many of them are using to navigate global economic upheaval. Moving forward, countries can build on their strengths. The Trailblazers can leverage their existing stability to drive productivity growth, develop new technology, and lead the way in regional integration; the Builders will need to strengthen their institutions; and the Adapters must deploy their institutional strengths to actively reduce external exposure.

Countries affected by active conflict—the Stabilizers—need basic peace and security before economic resilience strategies can take hold. But even in those places, citizens living abroad send money home in volumes that often exceed the amount of foreign aid those societies received before the recent cuts: for instance, Nigeria received $20.93 billion in personal remittances in 2024, compared with $3.37 billion in aid from foreign governments. Regional bodies such as the African Union can do more to channel funding across borders, including reducing the cost of sending money by advancing technological innovations for cheaper cross-border payments and quickly implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area’s Digital Trade Protocol so that conflict-prone countries do not have to depend on institutional donors.

If policymakers outside of Africa recognized the continent’s resilience, they would direct more capital toward Trailblazer countries whose stable institutions and diversified economies offer genuinely lower risk than prevailing narratives suggest. They could work with Adapter and Builder economies to address weaknesses holding them back. When it comes to Africa, they ought to recalibrate their risk assessments entirely: the majority of the continent’s countries demonstrated that external financing is a supplement to domestic capacity, not a substitute for it—and that economic opportunities await for those willing to put long-held presumptions aside.

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03/02/26

10 years of building business dreams for Indigenous women

Three years ago, Denella Belin was not looking to become her own boss. A Navajo chef from Tuba City, Arizona, she had what many would consider strong job security.

She was working as a sous chef at a tribal-owned casino in the Valley, a position she had spent years building toward. She had five children, more than a decade of kitchen experience and a steady paycheck. Entrepreneurship was not part of her plan.

Then someone asked her a question she could not shake.

Representatives from Project DreamCatcher attended a small food demonstration Belin was leading. Afterward, they asked whether she had ever considered turning her work into a business.

Her answer was immediate.

“I loved my job. I had a committed position,” she said. “I wasn’t looking for a business opportunity.”

But the question lingered.

“They told me there was a market for what I was doing,” Belin said. “When someone sees something in your work, I reflect on that, good or bad. I ask myself why they said it and what it means.”

Three or four months after attending the weeklong cohort in fall 2022, Belin made a decision she once believed was beyond her capacity. She left her casino position and used her final paycheck to launch her own business.

“Project DreamCatcher gave me the foundation to believe I could become someone I hadn’t imagined before,” she said.

 

Today, she owns Nellas Innovative Kreations, a Phoenix-based catering company established in 2023.

Belin’s story reflects what Project DreamCatcher has cultivated for nearly a decade: confidence rooted in culture and entrepreneurship grounded in sovereignty.

For Zuzette Kisto of the Gila River Indian Community, that shift did not mean leaving a job. It meant redefining retirement.

After 32 years working in marketing and public relations for her tribe, Kisto stepped away from full-time employment with a desire to build something of her own.

“I’ve always had a dream of creating a business,” she said. “I felt it was a great opportunity to dive into all aspects of what it would take for me to become an entrepreneur.”

Encouraged by her friend April Tinhorn, a member of DreamCatcher’s first cohort, Kisto joined in August 2025. She arrived with decades of professional experience and questions about how to shape it into something intentional.

“I don’t want to be someone who simply adds every skill they have into one business,” she said. “I want to enter my business with a clear structure — a defined set of services. I don’t want my business to run me.”

A program built for Indigenous women

Over the past several years, the global headquarters of Thunderbird School of Global Management on ASU’s Downtown Phoenix campus has become, for one week at a time, a gathering space that feels both scholarly and ceremonial. Women travel from tribal communities across Arizona and the Southwest carrying business plans, lived experience and ambition.

Project DreamCatcher is a free, culturally grounded business education program created by the Freeport-McMoRan Foundation in partnership with Thunderbird. Its goal is to build the capacity of women business owners from tribal nations across Arizona.

“What makes this program different is that it was designed specifically for the Indigenous and tribal populations we serve,” said Mary Sully de Luque, academic director of Project DreamCatcher and a professor of management at Thunderbird. “It’s really their program. I always say I’m a guest in their program, because I am.”

Since launching in 2015, Project DreamCatcher has graduated approximately 350 Indigenous women and supported the creation or growth of nearly 120 Native-owned businesses across industries including food, health care, consulting, logistics, technology and cultural preservation.

“This wasn’t just a program they funded,” said Michelle Lyons-Mayer, senior director of global development at Thunderbird. “This was a community they joined.”

Ondrea Barber, manager of Native American affairs for Freeport-McMoRan, said the long-term investment reflects the company’s commitment to tribal communities.

“We have seen the positive impact it has in tribal communities on an individual level, with families, and across communities as a whole,” Barber said. “It provides a glimpse into what is possible and a pathway to business ownership where many community members may not have seen that as an option for themselves.”

Jacob Moore, vice president and special advisor to the president on American Indian affairs at ASU, said Project DreamCatcher reflects the university’s broader commitment to serving tribal communities.

“Project DreamCatcher is a good example of ASU’s ability to offer unique and effective learning modalities that meet the economic, social, cultural and overall health of the communities it serves,” Moore said. “Thunderbird School of Global Management didn’t just assume that standardized business curriculum would be sufficient. The Project DreamCatcher program validates the wisdom, teachings and experiences that the women bring with them and integrates that knowledge with MBA-level business concepts.”

The first cohort and building trust

Long before Belin walked into a DreamCatcher classroom, Tinhorn was helping launch the first cohort.

Tinhorn, who is an enrolled Hualapai citizen and is also Navajo and Chinese, is the CEO and founder of Phoenix-based Tinhorn CX, a consulting firm she established in 2010. Her company focuses on business wellness through strategic planning, tribal connection and facilitation services, primarily serving Indigenous-led nonprofits, tribal health corporations and tribal governments.

In 2015, she received a call from Katherine Zuga, then program manager, who was working to recruit enough applicants to launch DreamCatcher’s inaugural class. At the time, eligibility was limited to Arizona women entrepreneurs enrolled in the Hualapai, San Carlos Apache, Tohono O’odham and White Mountain Apache tribes.

“They needed 20 applicants and had not been able to reach that number after three cycles,” Tinhorn said.

She helped recruit, using relationships across those tribal communities.

“That’s how the inaugural cohort was established,” she said.

Her involvement continued well beyond that first class. Tinhorn CX designed the DreamCatcher logo, conducted alumni surveys through the ASU Kauffman Inclusion Challenge grant, hosted workshops and recruited participants. Today, she returns to lead sessions on topics such as money mindset and marketing, and serves on panels.

For Kisto, Tinhorn’s participation influenced her own decision years later.

“She was the first cohort and she talked about it,” Kisto said. “I was always inspired seeing it on social media, hearing people’s stories.”

 

A week that changes trajectories

DreamCatcher is structured as an intensive, weeklong, in-person experience. Each cohort includes about 30 women from multiple tribal communities. Lodging, meals and transportation are covered so participants can focus fully on their development.

Participants complete master’s-level coursework in entrepreneurship, leadership, accounting and pitching. They visit Native-owned businesses and build relationships that often extend beyond the classroom.

“When women come from communities where there may be very little commerce, entrepreneurship can feel isolating,” de Luque said. “When they come here, they realize they’re not alone.”

That realization stood out to Kisto.

“First and foremost, it was the sisterhood,” she said. “Being surrounded by other women striving to become entrepreneurs, or who were already entrepreneurs, was incredibly inspiring.

“For me, it’s knowing there are other Native women out there who want to empower themselves, their communities and their businesses. Just taking that leap of faith and saying, ‘I have skills to offer. I am valuable.’ It was inspiring to know you’re not alone.”

The coursework also left a practical impact, particularly the financial training.

“(The instructor) explained how to set rates and prices in a way that was easy to understand,” Kisto said. “He showed us how to factor in all necessary information when pricing services for potential clients.”

Graduations include blessings and ceremonies led by alumnae, with participants wearing traditional attire and carrying tribal flags.

“In some tribal cultures, there are beliefs around death, spirituality and generational wealth that affect how you talk about finance or long-term planning,” de Luque said. “We create space for those conversations, and we’re very attentive to what is appropriate.”

“The connections continue long after the cohort ends,” Barber said. “Women stay in touch, share resources and lift one another up.”

 

Businesses rooted in community

Many DreamCatcher businesses grow from cultural practice and community need. Some begin with catering for ceremonies or beadwork. Others expand into health care, trucking, consulting and digital education.

Through Kisto Consulting LLC, a company she established 11 years ago for Native outreach work, Kisto is refining her focus on presenting and consulting in management and women’s empowerment, drawing in part from her experience as a caregiver.

“I want to have a business that I love,” she said. “Not just a business based on skills I happen to have.”

Lyons-Mayer said many DreamCatcher ventures are inseparable from identity.

“For many of them, business is about preserving culture,” she said. “It’s not separate from identity.”

Kisto agrees that Native women often carry entrepreneurial leadership within their communities.

“I grew up on my reservation. I was born and raised here, and I still live here,” she said. “From watching my aunts and my mom, I’ve seen that Native women carry a strong inner power. We’re doers. We figure things out, get things done and provide for our families and communities.”

Tinhorn said supporting Native women entrepreneurs creates ripple effects.

“Native women bring in approximately two-thirds of household income in tribal communities,” she said. “If someone wants to make a difference in tribal communities, support and buy from Native women business owners. The impact spans generations.”

Belin sees that generational impact at home.

“I’ve worked in kitchens for 15 years,” she said. “For most of my kids’ lives, I worked long hours. Becoming a business owner has allowed me to be home more and be a better parent.”

A decade after its launch, Project DreamCatcher has grown from a single cohort into a statewide network of Indigenous women entrepreneurs.

“Ten years ago, we were hoping to build a strong cohort,” Lyons-Mayer said. “What we see now is a thriving ecosystem of women who are mentoring one another, hiring one another and proving that sovereignty and entrepreneurship go hand in hand.”

  • Read more about 10 years of building business dreams for Indigenous women
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
02/10/26

Thunderbird at ASU launches reimagined hybrid master’s degree

Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University recently launched the Master of Leadership and Management (MLM) – Global Experience, a 30-credit-hour hybrid graduate program that combines the flexibility of online learning with immersive, global experiences in Dubai.

Widely recognized as a premier global trade hub, Dubai connects Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Europe, serving as a living laboratory for global business, innovation, artificial intelligence and digital transformation. By anchoring the program in Dubai, Thunderbird builds on its global recognition as the world leader in international trade, as reflected in its repeated No. 1 ranking in the QS International Trade Rankings (2023–2026).

Students in the MLM – Global Experience degree program will develop expertise in cross-cultural communication, finance, data analytics, marketing and leading diverse global teams.

  • Read more about Thunderbird at ASU launches reimagined hybrid master’s degree
01/16/26

Global power struggles over the ocean’s finite resources call for creative diplomacy

Oceans shape everyday life in powerful ways. They cover 70% of the planet, carry 90% of global trade, and support millions of jobs and the diets of billions of people. As global competition intensifies and climate change accelerates, the world’s oceans are also becoming the front line of 21st-century geopolitics.

How policymakers handle these challenges will affect food supplies, the price of goods and national security.

Right now, international cooperation is under strain, but there are many ways to help keep the peace. The tools of diplomacy range from formal international agreements, like the High Seas Treaty for protecting marine life, which goes into effect on Jan. 17, 2026, to deals between countries, to efforts led by companies, scientists and issue-focused organizations.

Examples of each can be found in how the world is dealing with rising tensions over Arctic shipping, seafloor mining and overfishing. As researchers in international trade and diplomacy at Arizona State University in the Thunderbird School of Global Management’s Ocean Diplomacy Lab, we work with groups affected by ocean pressures like these to identify diplomatic tools – both inside and outside government – that can help avoid conflict.

Arctic shipping: New sea lanes, new risks

As the Arctic Ocean’s sea ice cover diminishes, shipping routes that were once impassable most of the year are opening up.

For companies, these routes – such as the Northern Sea Route along Russia’s coast and the Northwest Passage through Canada’s Arctic Archipelago – promise shorter transit times, lower fuel costs and fewer choke points than traditional passages.

However, Arctic shipping also raises complex challenges.

 

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Declining sea ice is opening two shipping routes to greater use: the Northern Sea Route, off the Russian coast, and the Northwest Passage, along Alaska’s coast and through the Canadian islands. Susie Harder/Arctic Council

The U.S., Russia, China and several European countries have each taken steps to establish an economic and military presence in the Arctic Ocean, often with overlapping claims and competing strategic aims. For example, Russia closed off access to much of the Barents Sea while it conducted missile tests near Norway in 2025. NATO has also been patrolling the same sea.

Geopolitical tensions compound the practical dangers in Arctic waters that are poorly charted, where emergency response capacity is limited and where extreme weather is common.

As more commercial vessels move through these waters, a serious incident – whether triggered by a political confrontation or weather – could be difficult to contain and costly for marine ecosystems and global supply chains.

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German Naval vessels sail near Harstad, Norway, during Arctic exercises on Oct. 13, 2025. Sean Gallup/Getty Images

The Arctic Council is the region’s primary official forum for the Arctic countries to work together, but it is explicitly barred from addressing military and security issues – the very pressures now reshaping Arctic shipping.

The council went dormant for over a year starting in 2022 after Russia, then the Arctic Council president, invaded Ukraine. While meetings and projects involving the remaining countries have since resumed, the council’s influence has been undercut by unilateral moves by the Trump administration and Russia, and bilateral arrangements between countries, including Russia and China, often involving access to oil, gas and critical mineral deposits.

In this context, Arctic countries can strengthen cooperation through other channels. An important one is science.

For decades, scientists from the U.S., Europe, Russia and other countries collaborated on research related to public safety and the environment, but Russia’s invasion of Ukraine disrupted those research networks.

Going forward, countries could share more data on ice thaw, extreme weather and emergency response to help prevent accidents in a rapidly opening shipping corridor.

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Arctic sea ice has been declining, with less multiyear ice and less coverage. The map shows the Arctic sea ice at its minimum extent in 2025, in September. NOAA and CIRES/University of Colorado Boulder.

Critical minerals: Control over the seabed

The global transition to clean energy is driving demand for critical minerals, such as nickel, cobalt, manganese and rare earth elements, that are essential for everything from smartphones and batteries to fighter jets. Some of the world’s largest untapped deposits lie deep below the ocean’s surface, in places like the Clarion-Clipperton Zone near Hawaii in the Pacific. This has sparked interest from governments and corporations in sea floor mining.

Harvesting critical minerals from the seabed could help meet demand at a time when China controls much of the global critical mineral supply. But deep-sea ecosystems are poorly understood, and disruptions from mining would have unknown consequences for ocean health. Forty countries now support either a ban or a pause on deep sea mining until the risks are better understood.

These concerns sit alongside geopolitical tensions: Most deep-sea minerals lie in international waters, where competition over access and profits could become another front in global rivalry.

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A map of the Pacific Ocean between Mexico and Hawaii shows exploration targets for mining seafloor nodules that contain critical minerals in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone. National waters are shown in blue. The striped APEI squares are protected areas. KA McQuaid, MJ Attrill, MR Clark, A Cobley, AG Glover, CR Smith and KL Howell, 2020, CC BY

The International Seabed Authority was created under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to manage seabed resources, but its efforts to establish binding mining rules have stalled. The U.S. never ratified the convention, and the Trump administration is now trying to fast-track its own permits to circumvent the international process and accelerate deep-sea mining in areas that are outside national jurisdictions.

Against this backdrop, a loose coalition of issue-focused groups and companies have joined national governments in calling for a pause on deep-sea mining. At the same time, some insurers have declined to insure deep-sea mining projects.

 

A visualization of deep-sea mining and the debris clouds created that could harm sea life.

Pressure from outside groups will not eliminate competition over seabed resources, but it can shape behavior by raising the costs of moving too quickly without carefully evaluating the risks. For example, Norway recently paused deep-sea mining licenses until 2029, while BMW, Volvo and Google have pledged not to purchase metals produced from deep-sea mines until environmental risks are better understood.

Overfishing: When competition outruns cooperation

Fishing fleets have been ranging farther and fishing longer in recent decades, leading to overfishing in many areas. For coastal communities, the result can crash fish stocks, threatening jobs in fishing and processing and degrading marine ecosystems, which makes coastal areas less attractive for tourism and recreation. When stocks decline, seafood prices also rise.

Unlike deep-sea mining or Arctic shipping, overfishing is prompting cooperation on many levels.

 

In 2025, a critical mass of countries ratified the High Seas Treaty, which sets out a legal framework for creating marine protected areas in international waters that could give species a chance to recover. Meanwhile, several countries have arrangements with their neighbors to manage fishing together.

For example, the European Union and U.K. are finalizing an agreement to set quotas for fleets operating in waters where fish stocks are shared. Likewise, Norway and Russia have established annual quotas for the Barents Sea to try to limit overfishing. These government-led efforts are reinforced by other forms of diplomacy that operate outside government.

Market-based initiatives like the Marine Stewardship Council certification set common sustainability standards for fishing companies to meet. Many major retailers look for that certification when making purchases. Websites like Global Fishing Watch monitor fishing activity in near real time, giving governments and advocacy groups data for action.

Collectively, these efforts make it harder for illegal fishing to hide.

How well countries are able to work together to update quotas, share data and enforce rules as warming oceans shift where fish stocks are found and demand continues to grow will determine whether overfishing can be stopped.

Looking Ahead

At a time when international cooperation is under strain, agreements between countries and pressure from companies, insurers and issue-focused groups are essential for ensuring a healthy ocean for the future.

  • Read more about Global power struggles over the ocean’s finite resources call for creative diplomacy
01/16/26

Thunderbird at ASU earns global recognition for bestselling cases

Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University has received international recognition from The Case Centre, the world’s leading independent authority on case-based teaching, for two outstanding faculty-authored cases that continue to shape global business education.

On Jan. 16, The Case Centre announced its annual lists of bestselling and classic cases, based on unit sales and adoption data from institutions worldwide. Two cases authored by Thunderbird faculty were included in this year’s rankings, underscoring the school’s global influence in case writing and experiential learning.

Thunderbird’s bestselling classic case was “Hola-Kola: The Capital Budgeting Decision,” (Case No. A06-13-0013) authored by Lena Booth, deputy dean of Thunderbird Academic Enterprise and finance professor. Published in 2013 and set in Mexico, the case examines capital budgeting decisions, policy considerations and strategic trade-offs in global markets.

Classic cases are defined by The Case Centre as those more than 10 years old that continue to be taught extensively across institutions worldwide. Now more than a decade after its publication, the case continues to influence how students engage with complex financial decision-making.

“It's humbling to see the case resonate with so many students and practitioners, and the insights within the case continue to shape minds and spark debate years later,” Booth said.

Thunderbird was also recognized for a bestselling case in the Finance, Accounting and Control subject category: “Kangaroo Tail Winery Limited (A),” (Case No. A01-17-0012 (A)) written in 2017 by Graeme Rankine, former associate professor of accounting at Thunderbird who retired in 2020. Set in Australia, the case has been widely adopted by business schools around the world for its practical exploration of financial decision-making in a global context.

“We are delighted to recognize Thunderbird School of Global Management for their bestselling 2025 case and their bestselling classic case in Finance, Accounting and Control,” said Vicky Lester, CEO of The Case Centre. “Both demonstrate the lasting impact of their work on business education worldwide.”

Each year, The Case Centre compiles its bestselling case lists based on unit sales from its global catalog during the preceding calendar year. The rankings include the top 15 cases in each of 10 major subject areas, as well as classic cases determined by the number of organizations that have ordered and taught them over the past five years.

“This recognition affirms Thunderbird’s long-standing dedication to educational excellence with global impact,” said Charla Griffy-Brown, director general and dean of Thunderbird. “Our faculty’s commitment to immersive, case-based learning ensures that students engage deeply with real-world challenges, developing the insight, cultural fluency and ethical leadership required to navigate an increasingly complex global landscape.”

The announcement builds on Thunderbird’s growing momentum in case writing excellence. In October 2025, the school was recognized for the third consecutive year in The Case Centre Impact Index, climbing four places to rank No. 16 globally and No. 7 in the United States. This marked an improvement from No. 20 worldwide and No. 10 nationally in 2024, and placed Thunderbird ahead of peer institutions including The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. Internationally, Thunderbird ranked above HEC Paris, SDA Bocconi School of Management and the National University of Singapore Business School.

Launched in 2023 as part of The Case Centre’s 50th anniversary, the Impact Index recognizes institutions based on the global reach and influence of their case writing.

Thunderbird’s continued success is driven by the Thunderbird Case Series and the Thunderbird Case Lab. Founded in 1996, the Thunderbird Case Series transforms real-world global management challenges into rich classroom materials that are central to the school’s educational model. To date, the series has produced more than 500 original cases, nine of which have received international awards for excellence and impact.

Euvin Naidoo, director of the Thunderbird Case Series and distinguished professor of Global Accounting, Risk and Agility, emphasized the unique power of the case method in preparing future leaders.

“Teaching with cases is an opportunity to bring real-world challenges into the classroom, encouraging critical thinking and practical application of theoretical frameworks,” Naidoo said. “This method not only builds analytical skills but also fosters empathy, communication and leadership among students. It's a dynamic and interactive way to learn, offering insights that prepare students for the complexities of leadership and decision-making. The joy and impact of case teaching lies in seeing students teach each other, with the professor guiding the discussion towards deep, actionable insights.”

Naidoo added that Thunderbird’s approach to case writing is deeply rooted in global perspectives and inclusive storytelling.

“As the director of the Thunderbird Case Series, I am deeply committed to fostering a global culture of curiosity and learning through cases,” Naidoo said. “My role involves guiding students and professors alike in crafting their first case studies and facilitating master-class workshops on best practices in case writing. We are proud to publish cases from around the world, emphasizing global perspectives, diversity and cutting-edge topics that align with Thunderbird's mission to develop global leaders ready to embrace new frontiers. This work is not just a job; it's a passion for advancing knowledge and understanding across international boundaries.”

A full list of Thunderbird’s prize-winning cases is available at thunderbird.asu.edu/cases.

  • Read more about Thunderbird at ASU earns global recognition for bestselling cases
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.”

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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
12/19/25

Thunderbird celebrates a decade of global excellence and impact with ASU

Ten years ago, Thunderbird School of Global Management stood at a defining moment. 

After nearly seven decades of pioneering international business education for leaders around the world, the school faced a crossroads: deeply proud of its legacy yet challenged by the rapidly evolving demands of global higher education. How could Thunderbird continue to advance its mission while expanding its global reach?

The answer arrived in December 2014, when Thunderbird joined the Arizona State University enterprise.

The unification brought together two institutions with a shared commitment to excellence, access and global impact. Now positioned within the nation’s most innovative university, Thunderbird has gained new opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration across ASU’s strengths, while retaining its distinct identity as a premier institution for global business, leadership and management education.

“Ten years ago, we invested in the revival of a school built on the ability to adapt and have impact, driven by some of the brightest, most innovative thinkers from around the world,” ASU President Michael Crow said. “Thunderbird brought a global identity, a borderless network and a deep commitment to international management education. ASU brought scale, research capacity, financial stability and a willingness to constantly reinvent. 

"The bet was that what we could do together would exceed what either could achieve alone.”

Reimagining campus and community

Soon after the merger, Thunderbird began reimagining not only its academic future, but its physical presence. In 2018, the school announced it would leave its historic Glendale, Arizona, campus — a decision that stirred deep nostalgia alongside excitement for what lay ahead.

By August 2019, Thunderbird classes had begun in downtown Phoenix in a temporary location, embedding the school in one of the fastest-growing metropolitan cities in the country. This move created unprecedented access to experiential learning, from engagement with state government and multinational firms to hands-on public-policy and civic collaborations.

But the school’s downtown presence was just beginning.

Drawing on Thunderbird’s rich history at Thunderbird Field No. I in Glendale, the school launched a bold vision for a new, state-of-the-art global headquarters. Guided by input and support from ASU and Thunderbird leadership, alumni, donors, city of Phoenix officials and community stakeholders, that vision moved from concept to reality.

“Thunderbird’s move to downtown Phoenix reinforced the city’s emergence as a global center for innovation, entrepreneurship and international collaboration,” Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said. “By embedding a world-class institution for global leadership at the heart of our city, Thunderbird has strengthened Phoenix’s connections to global markets, accelerated talent development and helped position our downtown as a place where ideas, cultures and industries converge.”

In October 2019, construction broke ground on Thunderbird’s new home. Even amid the challenges of a global pandemic, progress continued, bringing the ambitious project to life.

In August 2021, the F. Francis and Dionne Najafi Thunderbird Global Headquarters, a nearly $70-million facility, officially opened in downtown Phoenix. 

Named for Thunderbird alumni and philanthropists Francis (’77) and Dionne (’06) Najafi, whose historic $25 million gift helped make it possible, the 110,000-square-foot facility features cutting-edge technology, immersive learning environments and collaborative regional lounges that honor Thunderbird’s heritage while advancing its future-focused mission. 

A highlight for students and alumni alike is the reimagined Pub at Thunderbird, a rooftop terrace made possible through alumni support, blending the historic charm of the former Glendale campus with a vibrant, energetic atmosphere where the community comes together to celebrate.

The new building quickly became a symbol of Thunderbird’s reinvention. In April 2022, alumni from around the world returned to the global headquarters to celebrate the school’s 75th anniversary in its new home, a milestone that honored both legacy and progress.

Expanding global access

The Najafi gift also enabled one of Thunderbird’s most transformative initiatives to date, the Francis and Dionne Najafi 100 Million Learners Global Initiative.

Launched in 2022, the initiative delivers accredited, multilingual business and management education, all at no cost to the learners. Extending Thunderbird’s mission far beyond traditional classrooms, it empowers underserved learners wherever they are.

“The Najafi 100 Million Learners Global Initiative exemplifies Thunderbird’s mission to expand access to high-quality education worldwide,” said Charla Griffy-Brown, director general and dean of Thunderbird. “We are building a truly global community of changemakers, and we hope many will continue their journey through pathways into our degree programs.”

Alongside expanded access, Thunderbird strengthened its academic reputation across its many degree programs. 

Soon after joining ASU, Thunderbird’s new flagship Master of Global Management earned the No. 1 world ranking in the 2019 Times Higher Education/Wall Street Journal Business Schools Report. Thunderbird was the only U.S.-based school to rank in the top five master’s in management specialty.

In the years that followed, Thunderbird continued to earn global recognition, ranking as the world’s No. 1 institution for international trade for four consecutive years (2023–26) in the QS International Trade Rankings. In the 2026 rankings for MBA and master’s programs, Thunderbird placed ahead of Columbia University, the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford and the National University of Singapore.

“Earning this distinction year after year reflects our commitment to preparing future-ready global leaders,” Griffy-Brown said, “and it affirms that our peers recognize the profound impact Thunderbird has on our learners, students and communities.”

Thunderbird Executive Education has also continued to thrive with custom programs ranked in the top 25 globally and No. 2 among U.S.-based institutions.

In addition, the Thunderbird Case Series has been recognized for its expanded library of practitioner-driven case studies. In the 2025 Case Centre Impact Index, the school ranked No. 16 globally and No. 7 in the U.S. for global reach and impact of case writing, its third consecutive year among the top 20 worldwide and top 10 nationally.

Thunderbird’s academic achievements are matched by strong student career outcomes, underscoring the commitment to preparing students for what lies ahead.

In recent years, and mirroring its storied history, Thunderbird graduates have gone on to make impactful contributions all over the world, with graduates employed in over 30 countries, from India to Brazil and Taiwan to Saudi Arabia, finding ways to foster global change through their work.

Alignment with ASU’s broader innovation ecosystem has also provided Thunderbird access to interdisciplinary collaboration across AI, health care, sustainability, public policy and other specializations, further enriching the student experience and expanding the school’s research and teaching portfolio.

That shared vision comes to life through students like SHARE Fellow Daniel Chaves, who graduated in May 2025 with an MGM specializing in health care innovation. From Quito, Ecuador, Chaves founded T-Meds, Thunderbird’s first global health student organization, and was selected as a graduate research scholar in the Mayo Clinic–ASU MedTech Accelerator. 

As he looks ahead, Chaves intends to keep pushing the boundaries of health care and technology by continuing to teach courses in biomechanics and medicine in Ecuador.

“My experience at Thunderbird has been nothing short of life-changing,” Chaves said. “It has allowed me to expand my knowledge beyond medicine and into the realms of business, innovation and leadership. I’ve had the opportunity to work on groundbreaking projects, collaborate with brilliant minds and develop skills that will be essential in my future endeavors. Thunderbird has truly been a launchpad for my career.”

Alumni impact at the core

Alumni engagement remains central to Thunderbird’s core mission. 

Kimberly Wiehl (’80), nonexecutive director at UK Export Finance, remained deeply connected to the school, serving as a trustee, then as a member of the Thunderbird Global Alumni Network advisory council after the school merged with ASU. 

Today, Wiehl is most active as an executive committee member of the SHARE Fellowship at Thunderbird.

Of her desire to give back and stay involved with the school, Wiehl says it is natural.

”I truly believe in Thunderbird’s guiding motto, that ‘borders frequented by trade seldom need soldiers,’ and in the importance of equipping others with the tools they need to succeed,” she said.

For nearly 13 years, she has helped provide scholarships and mentorship to students like Chaves.

“I am profoundly grateful to the generous donors whose contributions have made it possible for me to attend Thunderbird and pursue my dreams,” Chaves said. “Above all, I am grateful for the strong sense of community that has guided me, particularly during my time at Thunderbird, where I’ve been fortunate to connect with inspiring individuals who share a vision for global impact.”

Alumni like Wiehl have been united at recent school milestone anniversaries — its 70th in 2016 and its 75th in 2022. These celebrations honor Thunderbird’s roots, dating back to its founding in 1946, while reminding the community of its enduring mission of preparing principled global leaders.

“Even as the world shifts beneath our feet, the Thunderbird Mystique endures,” Griffy-Brown said. “Ten years into our journey with ASU, we remain guided by a commitment to lead with humanity and to build bridges where others see boundaries.”

That ethos is reflected in the Global Challenge Lab experience — a cornerstone of the Thunderbird MGM curriculum. 

What began as Thunderbird’s signature applied-learning experience has transformed into a high-impact, global consulting platform that places students on multinational teams, solving real problems for real clients around the world — many of which are alumni owned and operated.

Supported by faculty mentors and global practitioners, students spend time in the field conducting research, engaging local stakeholders and presenting actionable recommendations to senior leaders. Today, Global Challenge Labs span over 40 countries, with more than 300 clients served to date, marking them as one of Thunderbird’s most defining experiential learning opportunities for students.

Longstanding traditions like Regional Night have also grown, evolving from informal gatherings on the Glendale campus into large-scale celebrations in downtown Phoenix that are open to the entire ASU community.

Looking ahead

Thunderbird’s first decade with ASU exemplifies reinvention rooted in purpose. 

In October, a $50 million gift from Thunderbird alumnus Bob Zorich was announced to establish the Global Institute for the Future of Energy, a joint initiative between ASU’s Global Futures Laboratory and Thunderbird. The gift will fund an endowed chair, scholarships, fellowships and public-education programs designed to expand access to practical energy education and innovation globally.

This milestone aligns directly with ASU’s Changing Futures campaign goal of transforming global education, which ensures learners everywhere, from Arizona to the world, have access to transformational opportunities.

“The results speak for themselves. The next decade will test every institution that claims to prepare leaders for a connected world,” President Crow said. “Thunderbird has already demonstrated that it can adapt, absorb shocks and reinvent with purpose, and we look forward to an expanded impact as we seek to advance global education as a university committed to access and service to the public.”

Even as Thunderbird has evolved, it has remained grounded in its legacy. Now as Thunderbird enters its second decade with ASU, its focus is clear.

“Over the next decade, Thunderbird will further harness Phoenix’s rapid emergence as a hub for advanced industries and innovation to create more distinct, experiential opportunities for our students,” Griffy-Brown said. “We will continue to both lead and shape the future of global commerce and technology-enabled management education.

"The world-class education that has always been the hallmark of our school will deepen and inform the global intersection of trade, artificial intelligence, emerging technologies and geopolitics. That is the power of Thunderbird at ASU.”

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12/10/25

T-bird alum turns global conflict experience into local impact

If there’s one thing required when working in foreign aid, humanitarian service, NGOs and other impact work, it’s overcoming the ego.

From preventing an ecological disaster in Yemen to containing the Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and even peacekeeping in Sudan, which ultimately led to the referendum for South Sudanese independence in 2011, David Gressly’s career in humanitarian assistance for the Peace Corps and United Nations has placed him as a key figure in resolving several international issues in the Middle East and Africa. 

And now, he brings that global experience and perspective as the executive director of the Friends of the Verde River, a nonprofit organization that advocates for the protection of Arizona’s sixth-largest river.

Before graduating with his bachelor’s degree in developmental economics, he began his career in Thessaloniki, Greece, working for the Cotton Research Institute as a research assistant. As a passionate, self-described environmentalist, this introduction to international development compelled him to join the Peace Corps in Kenya, which he says was his first step in developing the skills necessary to deliver humanitarian aid. He spent four years immersed in the culture, developing relationships with farmers and families as he assisted in managing agricultural processes. Two years later, he was put in charge of the Peace Corps’ training center.

“We didn't have access to any kind of telecommunications aside from communicating by call or by mail," David reminisces. The seldom available cellular service and the speed of the postal service encouraged him to focus on being present and learning in the country. “It forced me to really be absorbed into the culture, and without losing my identity at the same time.”

He says that learning process was an odd balance.

“You have to learn how to separate your ego from the work that you're doing while still being able to work, in my case, as an American — not losing that part of me but not having it overshadow relationships either,” he said.

He returned to the United States in 1982 for the MBA program at Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University, then named the American Graduate School of International Management. Attracted by the student body’s diversity, he felt welcomed by the likeminded community’s extensive global experience.

After graduating in 1983, he worked the latter half of the '80s in the Peace Corps in Mauritania, eventually as the country director. He recounted a story of a representative from another organization that wasn’t able to adjust to the country.

“He stepped out of the plane onto stairs, took one look around, and went back inside the aircraft and said, ‘This is not me.’ Organizations want to avoid that happening, you need to make sure that you have what it takes to work in these kinds of environments.”

Those skills contributed to his success after joining Unicef in 1993, where he managed assistance programs in Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea and, finally, India, which focused on emergency response, security and public health. With two decades of experience in facilitating humanitarian aid and development initiatives, he joined the United Nations' mission in the southern region of formerly unified Sudan in 2004.

At the time, Sudan was facing their second civil war. Over two decades of clashes between the North and South left the country in famine, fear and an estimated death toll of 2 million people. One year after Gressly joined, in 2005, both sides signed a peace agreement, officially ending the war. Meanwhile, another conflict was rising in the region.

Gressly notes that the U.N.’s support network was instrumental in ensuring aid was distributed effectively.

“We had a comprehensive system that allowed nonprofit and U.N. personnel to work in remote locations, and it ensured that if something was going wrong, we could pick our people up in two hours."

That system provided them both the logistical security of their supply chains and volunteers as well as confidence from their beneficiaries in the region that assistance agreements would be fulfilled or, in the case of noncompliance, revoked.

After leading projects like delivering food assistance to malnourished civilians in Senegal and peacekeeping in Mali, Gressly was assigned to the U.N.’s Ebaola outbreak response in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 2019, where he was already on a peacekeeping mission. Three years after the 2014–16 outbreak had subsided in West Africa, global attention had since shifted from the disease despite its lingering persistence in several countries. But in 2018, DRC had reported a spike in cases concentrated near the Ugandan border.

His efforts in the region were met with reluctance from organizations in Washington, D.C., which he says feared that a strong response might hurt the private groups involved in the outbreak. His action plan was doubted by others who took a far more conservative — and sometimes opportunistic — approach.

“I remember talking to some people on the National Security Council, and they eventually admitted that they were afraid that if anybody got hurt on the mission, that their careers in Washington would be over.”

That attitude held back other missions from being as effective as Gressly’s. He gives the example involving the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“They told me at one point, ‘It'll take two years to shut this thing down.’ We did it in five months.”

Much of that expedition can be attributed to his strategic placement of ground workers. He was able to follow the disease outbreak through the region and address cases others considered to be too high risk. At the end of his mission, there were no new infections.

Ground presence was critical both to his overarching mission in DRC and his response to the epidemic. Of course, field workers need to be willing to put themselves in unfamiliar territories and situations, but those managing and directing operations, like Gressly, can’t shy away from it either.

“I never advocated people go someplace that I wouldn't go, or hadn't already been,” he says.

But the ability has since changed. With the rising empowerment of fundamentalist and extremist groups, Gressly experienced a major shift in the Middle East and Africa.

“Fundamentalists in the Middle East and Africa are in a kind of competition. You can't use the same techniques. It's hard to be present on the ground because of the threat of being kidnapped, of being a target.”

Previously, he felt working with a humanitarian organization like the U.N. provided him a position of neutrality that afforded security and cooperation from the parties involved in a conflict. He observed that position change while in Yemen.

“Both sides repeatedly said, ‘All the Yemeni are our brothers and sisters, and they all deserve access to humanitarian assistance.’ Both sides had bureaucratic processes with permits and paperwork, but there was the ever-present threat that this assistance would be diverted to militant groups,” he said.

The difficulty of ensuring security poses a threat to ensuring proper support of civilians and increases the risk of diversion of aid to militant groups in the region. Without a ground presence, information is unverifiable, but with a presence, there is no guaranteeing the livelihood of workers. It’s a problem that he says is one of the most difficult issues facing assistance groups today.

“Al-Qaeda captured five of our security personnel and held them hostage for a year and a half. We had a World Food Program person assassinated on the streets in one of the towns. That changes the dynamic. And then you have to think how you can keep people safe.”

Despite the challenge, there was still stability in certain areas.

“I felt safest in the Houthi-controlled areas because, if nothing else, they knew how to control the territory.”

Nevertheless, both sides were cooperative enough to organize the transfer of oil from the slowly sinking FSO Safer, an oil tanker off the Yemen coast in the Red Sea. Described a “ticking time bomb” of a humanitarian crisis by the U.N., businesses, governments and NGOs all united under Gressly’s direction in 2023 to avoid the impending spill into the largest body of water in the Middle East.

After years of navigating crises like these, Gressly eventually closed his chapter in Yemen. Now, he has brought his experience home, joining the Friends of the Verde River as executive director. With only one day separating his retirement from the U.N. and his initiation at the nonprofit, he now runs environmental protection and educational programs for the Verde River Valley community.

He was introduced to the organization through his daughter, who was privy to his plan to relocate to the U.S. Since starting his career in 1977, he spent only a collective five years living in the United States. Friends of the Verde River offered him an opportunity to integrate into the community, readjust to the culture, and combine his passions for river sports and environmentalism.

After learning more about the work the organization does and their cherished positioning in the community, he joined with the mission of protecting the river through the removal of invasive species, sound water management, and offering community educational programs and development grants. Notably, the organization’s partners — the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority and the Salt River Project (SRP) — have expanded private and community grant programs from just $10,000 to amounts in the hundreds of thousands. He's currently targeting the restoration of riparian habitats, a project that has cleared 12,000 acres so far of invasive species. He’s also managing the monitoring of other wildlife like beavers and otters to support their role in the ecosystem. 

According to Gressly, many of his accomplishments wouldn't have had quite the reach without his time at Thunderbird.

“A degree from Thunderbird was necessary, but I also needed the Peace Corps experience; I needed that ground-level experience in the countries I wanted to work in.”

He says those experiences were fundamental in becoming a better listener, negotiator and humanitarian, which required him to put his own bias behind him and learn to empathize with those in the situations he sought to remediate.

Gressly will be using those skills as he prepares the organization and its affected communities for the upcoming development of the Bartlett Dam, which will effectively remove 6 miles from the Verde River. 

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