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Ekaterina Walter '08
Russia
Juggling a demanding, full-time job Ekaterina Walter took on Thunderbird's Global MBA On-Demand program - pursuing her passion for global business.


Ekaterina Walter '08

Ekaterina Walter's self-described workaholic tendencies began even before she landed her first full-time position.

Instead of earning one bachelor's degree in business administration, she earned two.

Even more notable is that her business degree programs overlapped, resulting in the simultaneous completion of her final year with Russia's Kuban State Technological University and the beginning year of her bachelor's program with the University of Alaska in Anchorage, USA.

"When I was doing my BA in Russia, I knew that I wanted an education that would allow me to work and live outside of just one country," explains Walter. "I always wanted to work in Europe or Asia, and I figured a U.S. education would get me where I wanted to go."

As her current title at Intel Corp. – Worldwide Channel, Mobile Demand Creation Manager – implies, Walter's global plan appears to be working.

Working for Intel in Portland, Ore., today, Walter interacts with channel distributors and resellers from countries throughout the world, among them Taiwan, China, France, United Kingdom, Brazil, Mexico and Russia.

"Our channel partners launch the same products Intel is launching," explains Walter of the Intel "ingredients" that make up the innards of computer notebooks – Intel chips, processors and wireless cards. The channel distributors' Intel products go into unbranded notebooks sold across the world.

"The channel relationship is complicated with all kinds of distributors and resellers from big accounts to mom-and-pop operations who integrate the products into their own notebooks," explains Walter. Her job is to make sure that the robust network of channel partners – totaling thousands worldwide – has the proper marketing tools to effectively sell Intel's products.

The Russian native, who grew up under the Communist regime in the agricultural region of Krasnodar near the Black Sea, says that her current job is rewarding and challenging, but that she still can't resist the urge to work in Europe some day.

The attraction to different cultures is something she believes is just part of her DNA, even though trips to Turkey and Italy were part of her upbringing, along with a multi-week exchange program to the United States during high school.

"When I started working with people speaking different languages, I knew then that I wanted to travel the world and work for an international company," explains Walter, who previously worked as a project manager for Accenture LLP and for Krasnodar's Regional Highway Administration.

Earning a Thunderbird MBA has already contributed to that dream. Even during her studies Walter began reaping the benefits of her Thunderbird education. "I loved working with people from all the over the world," she says of her former classmates. "Though other schools are desperately trying to catch up with the globalization aspect of their program, T-bird is already there – living it."

Walter points to Thunderbird's on-site global visits and classroom content as building formidable strengths. "I've used concepts from my Competing through Strategy course multiple times," she says. "By learning about the renewal cycle, I now understand the historical cycles that global companies go through, and I can apply their past lessons to my current situation."

When she's not reinventing her group's strategy, or with her laptop – which she calls her best friend – Walter enjoys reading, golfing and spending time with her family.