Boeing

Our visit with Boeing on Wednesday, January 13 went beyond just talking about airplanes. Fakher Daghestani, Communications Director, began the presentation with an overview of the Middle Eastern business climate, spanning northern Africa to Iran.


Many of us were surprised to hear that the term "Middle East" is a relatively new concept. Not too long ago it was not uncommon to hear the region referred to as the "Arab world." We also learned about the opportunities and challenges facing the area. Though the Middle East is experiencing rapid economic diversification and regional integration, it is still experiencing a high rate of unemployment.

As they did in 2009, Boeing presented a thought provoking survey of issues. Once again, students raved about their hospitality and generosity.

Thanks to Tae Sung Hyon (Full-Time MBA '10) for working with Boeing to get this meeting scheduled and for an excellent presentation to prepare us for the meeting. Check out the presentation from one of our pre-trip class meetings below the video players.

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Boeing Company Presentation

View more presentations from the trip by clicking here.

Sabanci Holdings

Today we turn our attention back to Turkey and our meeting with Sabanci Holding, organized by Lock Bingham (Full Time MBA '11).

Sabanci Holding, as quoted from it's website, "is composed of 69 companies, many of which are recognized as market leaders in their respective sectors. Sabancı Holding’s main business units include financial services, automotive, tire and tire reinforcement materials, retail, cement and energy. Listed on the Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE), Sabancı Holding has controlling interests in 11 companies also listed on the ISE."

And as a special treat, we've uploaded the slideshow that Lock put together as a presentation before the trip to get students familiar with the company. Enjoy and we'll see you next week!

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Sabanci Holdings[1] Final Version

Burj Al Arab and Jumeriah Group

There was no better way to kick off our first day in Dubai than with a trip to the iconic Burj Al Arab--the world's only seven-star hotel. This sail-shaped building boasts the world's tallest atrium at 180 meters in height and contains 202 duplex suites. We were fortunate to get a tour of one of the suites and were astounded at the amenities available to guests: from private butlers to the 17 different types of pillows offered, not a single detail had been overlooked.

Afterwards, we visited the Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management to learn how the Jumeirah Group operates the Burj Al Arab and other famous hotels around the world. The Vice President of Brand Strategy, Thatcher Brown, shared insights on how the Jumeirah Group stays competitive in the luxury market.

Thanks to Tony Yeh, Full Time MBA 2010 for setting up such a wonderful start to the trip! Check out the video below and be back Thursday for more on our trip.

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Tuskon in Istanbul, Turkey

Many of the MBA students on our trip are pursuing concentrations in Entrepreneurship. With that in mind, we scheduled meetings not only with companies, but also with organizations committed to supporting businesses. Our latest video highlights such an organization and chronicles a student's experience with that company.

SooWan Park is a Part Time Intensive MBA '10 who served as the primary contact with TUSKON, the Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists of Turkey. TUSKON operates as one of the leading associations of businessmen dedicated to the economic and social development of Turkish businesses. For more information on TUSKON visit tuskon.org.

While in Istanbul, we also visited with ABFT, the American Business Forum in Turkey, and Endeavor, a Turkish company that supports entrepreneurs. Look for both of these videos in the coming weeks as well as videos about the other companies we toured in the Middle East and Turkey.

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Doing Business Abroad

Hi everyone. As we work on editing down all the video as well as filtering through the nearly 30 gigs of photographs that we took on our trip, we wanted to take a moment to thank one of Professor Imparato's former students: Michael Colaneri (Vice President Global Markets, AT&T; EMBA ’02). Mr. Colaneri visited our class a few weeks before we departed and provided us with valuable insights that he has gained from doing business abroad.

Learning about different cognitive styles and negotiating techniques helped us mentally prepare for our business meetings in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Knowing ahead of time what to expect allowed us to enter the meetings with confidence and consideration.

Michel speaking with Trung Nyguen (MBA '10)

Speaking with Courtney Ewing (MBA '10) and Sabeen Ahmad (MBA '11)

Hedley International

I apologize for the delay in material everyone, but it has been a whirl wind of a week. We've visited 17 companies and cultural sites in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. These have been 10 to 14 hour "go go go" days which is why there has been no content up this week. (That and a not terribly reliable Internet connection.) We will be traveling tomorrow, January 16th to Istanbul which will give me more time to edit the incredible amount of footage we have shot as well as type up the personal reflections of the students on the trip.

That said, enjoy the first of our visits. It is a visit with Hedley International, a civil engineering company in Abu Dhabi. Thanks to everyone at Heldey for the extremely warm. Through the personal relationship that Prof. Sidaoui has with the Baltaji Family one of our part time students, Gina Collins, MBA '10, arranged a meeting. She is currently the Planning Lead for oncology brand marketing teams at Genentech.

Special thanks to Mr. Baltaji, who arranged our meeting at Hedley, and Mrs. Baltaji, who is a USF alum and was our defacto tour guide/historian for Abu Dhabi, who have been so wonderful with their generous hospitality. You can see Mr. Baltaji very prominently in the video (he's the gentleman with the beard.) They are perfect examples of the kind of Arabian reception we have received at the companies we have visited here.

Also, we will be setting up a Flickr account once we get to Istanbul so we can share the immense amount of photos shot by the students. Please check back in the next few days as I add that account as well as get more video content uploaded to Youtube.

- Darcy Villere, MBA '10

Our First Video!!

Darcy Villere (MBA '10) and Sabeen Ahamad (MBA '11) have made the first of what we hope will be daily short subject videos about our journey. Please click and watch it below. We look forward to keeping everyone up to date with our videos and our writings so check back everyday for the latest update!!