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Niki Post '09, United States
“Everyone associated with Thunderbird has a clear hunger for global business. Their knowledge and experience of doing business in the global world shows."


Niki Post '09

Niki began to connect to the world when she was just seven, writing to pen pals in the Philippines and Canada. Her interest in other cultures was so great that, by the third grade, she was enrolled in a voluntary after-school Spanish language program.

By the time the Indiana native was 15, she was on her way to Mexico as part of a school trip, and she says she hasn’t really been “home” since.

In fact, she has called Latin America her home base since 2004, where both she and her husband, Cameron, work for Procter & Gamble Market Research. Initially assigned to Caracas, Venezuela, Post spent three years there as a senior market research manager for Procter & Gamble’s Latin American Feminine Care Business.

When the company moved part of its general offices to Santiago, Chile, in 2007 and asked if Post and her husband wanted to make the move, they readily agreed. “I originally started my career in P&G in Cincinnati, Ohio, and throughout my career always expressed an interest in having an international assignment.”

So the choice to stay in Latin America, she says, was easy. Post relishes the constant exposure to different cultures, including managing and interacting with a team of two Chileans, two Brazilians, one Venezuelan and one Mexican. It was her passion for international business – and cross-cultural relations – that prompted Post to seek out a dual degree that would help bolster her global awareness both professionally and socially.

Thanks to a very busy schedule, however, she needed a program that would allow her to continue working while she earned her degree – and one that would provide her access to quality, highly rated business academics. Those were key reasons she opted for the Thunderbird-Indiana University Kelley Direct Distance Learning Dual Degree program.

“I studied business administration with a concentration in international studies when I was an undergrad at Indiana University” says Post. “And, I was really attracted to Thunderbird due to its global learning environment and prestigious international business rankings. It wasn’t until eight years [after my undergraduate days] that I felt I could join the program and still manage a full-time job.”

The program didn't disappoint. “Everyone associated with Thunderbird has a clear hunger for global business, and their knowledge and experience of doing business in the global world shows,” she says.

Post says one of her most memorable experiences at Thunderbird was during the dual-degree international excursion to Beijing, China. As she celebrated her birthday, classmates sang to her in 15 different languages. “It was truly an amazing and unforgettable experience,” she recalls.

As she looks to the future, her eyes are still set on the global world. “As I continue my career with P&G, I would like to take on more global responsibilities,” Post notes. And she’s well on her way. The Thunderbird experience, she says, has strengthened her global skill set and greatly expanded her global connections.