EXPANDING
THUNDERBIRD’S
Global Presence
O
ver the last 75 years, we have been the vanguard of global management and business education. Working together as a global village of learning, the Thunderbird family of faculty, staff, and alumni has trained and empowered global leaders who are prepared to tackle the challenges of our evolving world and propel humanity into the Fourth Industrial Revolution and beyond.
every major region in the world. In 2020, even in the midst of the pandemic, we made huge strides toward this goal and we’re pleased to be making even more progress this year.
In the next 75 years, we will continue to be pioneers of innovation. By developing a digital global mindset, engaging across cultures and sectors, and embracing diversity, we’ve created a network of sensors enabling us to detect global changes. Our regional centers of excellence are integral cogs in this network – helping us to understand what’s happening in different markets around the world and better prepare for the opportunities and challenges that will arise.
Thunderbird’s regional center of excellence in Moscow – the Center for Business Skills Development (CBSD) Thunderbird – was founded more than 25 years ago, making it our longest-standing regional center. Well known and well respected in the region, the Moscow center has expanded our reach and capabilities with a focus on executive education and business skills development.
“We’ve always taught how to navigate and lead in regional business environments,” said Thunderbird Director General and Dean, Dr. Sanjeev Khagram. “And now we’re not only teaching it, but we’re practicing it in spades. Our regional centers layered with the alumni chapters around the world create a global web that enables us to have a really broad and also very robust global presence.” Our goal is to have 25 regional centers of excellence by 2025 delivering degree programs, executive education, alumni relations, and student engagement while fostering partnerships in
REGIONAL CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE Moscow: Flourishing and diversifying after 25 years
Thriving over two and a half decades, this center is no stranger to evolution, and in 2019 began working on a plan to expand services to an online learning model. Then the pandemic hit, hard. “The early months of the pandemic were very challenging,” said Igor Korganov, Head of Strategy and Talent Development at CBSD. “We knew we needed to adapt quickly if we were going to survive and thrive.” The fact that the Moscow center team had begun developing a plan for their online model prepandemic was very helpful. “I can’t say we were ready for what happened, because no one was,” Anna Kirin, President of CBSD Thunderbird in Russia said. “But we
