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Speakers

Each year, more than 150 specialists on international affairs visit Thunderbird's campus to lecture, conduct seminars or participate in The Global Issues Forum, the school's premiere speaker series. Speakers also meet with classes and participate in class discussions with students.

Upcoming Speakers


Date
Time
Speaker
Location

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Past Speakers

Our speaker series brings some of the brightest minds in global business and international affairs to campus to discuss a wide range of topics. A sampling of past speakers is below.

2012


Date
Speaker
Title
Feb. 14 Mr. Herbert Reginbogin Professor, International Relations, Cag University; Director, Nuremberg Conference Studies
Jan. 26 Mr. Jan Bartscht Director and Co-Founder, Adepicos, Ltd.

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2011


Date
Speaker
Title
Dec. 16 Mr. Robert J. Ulrich Chairman Emeritus, Target Corporation, and, Founding Board Chairman, Musical Instrument Museum
Nov. 15 Mr. Michael Fry Vice President, Africa, ExxonMobil Production Company
Nov. 3 Mr. Patrick Kuhse Speaker, Trainer & Consultant on Business Ethics
Nov. 1 Ms. Beth Brooke Global Vice Chair, Public Policy, Ernst & Young
Oct. 11 Ms. Angela Curley Manager of Corporate Diversity and Inclusion, Henkel Corporation
Sept. 29 Mr. Greg Brown Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Motorola Solutions, Inc.
Sept. 27 Mr. Faisal Abdalla Vice President, Abdul Latif Jameel Group
Sept. 22 Ms. Melissa S. Ho Attorney at Law, Polsinelli Shughart
Aug. 29 The Honorable John McCain U.S. Senator from Arizona
Feb. 15 Mr. Jon Kailey ’76 Director of International Business Development, Owens Corning
Feb. 17 Ms. Nikki Mark ‘95 Executive Vice President, SBE Entertainment Group LLC
Feb. 22 Ms. Patricia Calkins Global Vice President, Environment, Health and Safety, Xerox Corporation
Feb. 22 Mr. Zohar Ziv ’80 Chief Operating Officer, Deckers Outdoor Corporation
Feb. 24 Mr. Jerry Colangelo Chairman of the Board of Directors, USA Basketball
Mar. 3 The Honorable Condoleezza Rice, Ph.D. Secretary of State (2005-09)
Mar. 15 Ms. Eliana Zem Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Diageo North America
Mar. 22 Mr. Diego Veitia ’66 Chairman, International Assets Holding Corporation
Mar. 29 Mr. Ed Fuller President and Managing Director, Marriott International Lodging
Apr. 19 Mr. José Barrios Ng Deputy Administrator, Panama Canal Authority
Apr. 20 Her Excellency Salma Kikwete First Lady of the United Republic of Tanzania
Apr. 29 The Honorable Suresh Kumar Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Director General, U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service, U.S. Department of Commerce
June 2 Mr. Mike Goldberg Play-by-Play Broadcaster and Host
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

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2010


Date
Speaker
Title
Sept. 16 Mr. Kevin Deeble Director, Capital Markets, Cisco Systems, Inc.
Sept. 23 Mr. Bruce Mihok Vice President, Marketing and Demand Management Strategy, SAP AG
Sept. 28 Mr. Mark Wilhelm Principal, Green Ideas Environmental Building Consultants
Sept. 30 David Batstone, Ph.D. President, Not For Sale Campaign
Oct. 4 Mr. Surya Kant President, North America, Tata Consultancy Services
Oct. 5 Mr. William H. Harper III Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer, Pacific Gas and Electric Company
Oct. 7 Mr. Satjiv Chahil ’76 Strategic Advisor, Global Market Development, Hewlett-Packard Company
Nov. 2 Mr. Timothy Sullivan ’76 President and Chief Executive Officer, Bucyrus International, Inc.
Nov. 4 Mr. James McNamara ’77 Founder and Chairman, Panamax Films
Nov. 9 Mr. Andy Berndt Vice President, Google, Inc., Google Creative Lab
Nov. 10 Mr. Bill Morgenstern Chief Executive Officer, Opportunity International
Nov. 16 Mr. Alberto C. Vollmer Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Rum Santa Teresa
Nov. 17 Mr. Richard C. Adkerson Chief Executive Officer and Director, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, Inc.
Feb. 4 Mr. Michael Ahearn Executive Chairman, First Solar, Inc.
Feb. 11 Ambassador Barbara Barrett U.S. Ambassador to Finland, 2008-09; President and Chief Executive Officer, Triple Creek Guest Ranch
Feb. 18 Mr. Eric Bonabeau Chief Executive Officer and Chief Scientific Officer, IcoSystem Corporation
Feb. 23 Mr. Douglas M. Baker, Jr. Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Ecolab, Inc.
Feb. 25 Ms. Jacqueline Novogratz Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Acumen Fund
Feb. 25 Ambassador David C. Mulford U.S. Ambassador to India, 2004-09; Vice Chairman International Credit Suisse
Mar. 16 Mr. Saad Abdul-Latif ’81 Chief Executive Officer AMEA Division, PepsiCo International
Mar. 25 Mr. Michael Welborn President, Global Brand Development, P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Inc.
Mar. 30 Kiron Skinner, Ph.D. Domestic Policy and National Security Expert Co-Director, Center for International Politics and Innovation, Carnegie Mellon University
Apr. 6 Mr. David P. Abney Chief Operating Officer, United Parcel Service, Inc.

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2009


Date
Speaker
Title
Sept. 15 The Honorable Kathleen Stephens U.S. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Republic of Korea
Sept. 15 Mr. Jerry Frieling Chairman, Malcolm Pirnie, Inc.
Oct. 1 Mr. Warren Adelman President and COO, The Go Daddy Group, Inc.
Feb. 3 Mr. William H. Swanson Chairman and CEO, Raytheon Company
Feb. 10 Ms. Gillian Sorenson Senior Advisor, United Nations Foundation
Feb. 10 Mr. Carlos Danel Cendoya Co-Chief Executive Officer, Compartamos Banco
Feb. 11 Mr. Edward Z. Fox Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer, Arizona Public Service Company
Feb. 12 Mr. Jeff Morgan Executive Director, The Global Heritage Fund
Feb. 17 Mr. Harvey Mackay Author and Syndicated Columnist
Feb. 24 Mr. Jerre Stead Executive Chairman and Cheif Executive Officer, IHS, Inc.
Feb. 26 Mr. Alan L. Boeckmann Chairman and CEO, Fluor Corporation
Mar. 3 Mr. Po Chung Co-Founder and Chairman Emeritus, DHL Express (Hong Kong) Ltd.
Mar. 6 Mr. Matthew Bishop U.S. Bureau Chief, The Economist
Mar. 17 Mr. Michael Zuieback '91 Senior Vice President, Strategy and Corporate Development
Mar. 17 Mr. Christian Roe Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Discount Tire Company
Mar. 19 Mr. Roy Vallee Chairman and CEO, Avnet, Inc.
Mar. 26 His Excellency Amar A. Al-Dabbagh Governor and Chairman of the Board of Directors, Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA)
May 1 Mr. E. Neville Isdell Chairman, The Coca-Cola Company

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2008


Date
Speaker
Title
Sep. 9 Mr. John Chidsey CEO, Burger King Holdings, Inc.
Sep. 16 Mr. Lyle Skillen & Ms. Terri Mansfield Retired Navy/Executive Director and Co-Founder of Arizona Department of Peace Campaign
Sep. 25 Mr. Robert W. Cremin Chairman, President and CEO, Esterline Technologies
Oct. 28 Mr. Eric Pillmore CEO, Pillmore Consulting, LLC
Oct. 30 Ms. Marilyn Carlson Nelson Chairman of Carlson Companies, Inc.
Nov. 4 Mr. W. Douglas Parker Chairman and CEO, U.S. Airways
Nov. 6 Google Inc. Panel  
Nov. 11 Ms. Linda M. Dillman Executive Vice President, Risk Management and Benefits Administration Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Nov. 13 Mr. Gordon Smith '96 Head of Card Services, JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Nov. 20 Ms. Ana Palacio Senior Vice President and General Counsel, World Bank Group
Dec. 12 His Excellency Luis Alberto Moreno '77 President, Inter-American Development Bank
Jan. 29 Ms. Kim Williams '92 COO, NFL Network.
Jan. 29 Mr. Michael J. Bidwill President, Arizona Cardinals
Jan. 30 Mr. James Vurpillat Director, Global Marketing and Brand Development, Cadillac Division, General Motors Coorporation
Feb. 5 Mr. Bradley Casper President and CEO, The Dial Corporation
Feb. 7 Mr. Robert F. Moran President and COO, PetSmart, Inc.
Feb. 12 Mr. Donald McLaughlin Vice President, Staffing, Cisco Systems
Feb. 12 The Honorable Paula J. Dobriansky Under Secretary, Democracy and Global Affairs U.S. Department of State.
Feb. 19 Ms. Kathleen Ligocki Former President and CEO, Tower Automotive
Feb. 26 Mr. Lee R. Raymond Chairman and CEO (Ret.), ExxonMobil Corporation
Feb. 28 Mr. John C. Long Vice President, Corporate Social Responsibility, The Hershey Company
Apr. 11 Mr. William Post Chairman and CEO, Pinnacle West Capital Corporation
May 2 Mr. Malcolm S. (Steve) Forbes, Jr. President and CEO, Editor-in Chief, Forbes, Inc.

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2007


Date
Speaker
Title
Sep. 18 Mr. Andrew Shipley Author, "The Japanese Money Tree"
Sep. 20 Mr. Steve Piano Senior Vice President, Human Resources, First Data Corporation
Nov. 8 Mr. John Allen '81 President, Wilden Pump & Engineering LLC
Nov. 13 Mr. David Neeleman Chairman, JetBlue Airways Corporation
Nov. 29 Ms. Julie Hamilton Vice President, International Business Development, The Coca-Cola Company
Feb. 8 Mr. Guy F. Tozzoli President, World Trade Centers Association
Feb. 9 Ms. Molly Melching President Tostan
Feb. 15 Mr. Peter Kalil '78 Chief Integration, Trade and Hemispheric Issues Division Integration and Regional Programs Inter-American Development Bank
Feb. 27 Mr. Jim Alling '85 President, Starbucks Coffee USA
Feb. 13 Mr. Eric Pillmore Senior Vice President Corporate Governance Tyco International
Mar. 20 Mr. Dan T. Cathy President and Chief Operating Officer Chick-fil-A
Apr. 10 Ms. Louise Mushikiwabo Author: "Rwanda Means the Universe: Native's Memoir of Blood and Bloodlines"
Apr. 12 Mr. Bob Hobbs, Jr. President and Chief Executive Officer Bob Hobbs Jr. & Associates

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