Clausen Center for International Business & Policy
International Business Fellowships 2008
The Clausen Center commends the following Haas Students for their commitment to international business and policy as shown in their past, present and future endeavors.
Dung Dao - BA 2009 is pursuing his undergraduate degree in Business Administration, with a Global Management Concentration. To prepare for his future goals, Dung traveled to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia this summer to attend the Harvard Project Business Conference. At the conference, he was able to gain a better understanding of the business trends and environment in Asia. Ultimately, he had the opportunity to meet intelligent and motivated students from all over the world, which allowed him to gain new perspectives as he interacted with students from a variety of backgrounds, experiences and origins.
In addition, he gained a more holistic understanding of cultures and a greater appreciation for the cultural differences between countries. This allows Dung to be more open-minded as he continues his quest for a more global understanding, and ultimately he desires a position working in China.
Michael Martin - MBA 2009 has traveled to more than 25 countries. In addition to his MBA candidacy with concentrations in MOT and global management, he is pursuing a Certificate in Terrorism Studies with a concentration in maritime security from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. This summer attended the HPAIR (Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations) Business Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Martin gained an understanding of business trends in Asia as he interacted with students, academics, government officials and businesspeople from around the world.
He discussed pertinent issues with conference delegates that included, but were not limited to, environmental regulation, alternative energy, international development and government policy. Martin had one-on-one conversations with Director of General Electric (GE) ASEAN and senior administrators within the Malaysian government. These interactions and many others gave Martin the opportunity to truly understand the business changes we can expect to see in Asia for years to come.
In the coming academic year and for years to come Martin plans on continuing to work with the colleagues he met at the conference. Globalization was in full effect at the conference, and the conference certainly prepared Martin for the complexities that he will need to consider when working in the global workplace.
Brandon Purcell - MBA 2009 travelled to Addis Ababa to study the nascent Ethiopian Commodities Exchange. Opened in April of this year, the Exchange is an open-outcry trading platform reminiscent of the Chicago and New York Mercantile Exchanges. At the time of Brandon’s visit, only four commodities were being traded on the Exchange- sesame seeds, beans, wheat, and corn. Coffee, Ethiopia’s biggest export, began trading recently.
The Ethiopian Commodities Exchange was developed to help local farmers, who were previously at the mercy of local merchants when selling their crops. Now, there are 207 market information points across the country displaying real-time prices for each commodity. The dissemination of information allows famers to receive a fair price for their goods while also helping them to plan how much of a given crop to plant for the upcoming season. Ideally, this system will lead to a decrease in the number of regional famines and crop surpluses that have plagued the country.
Prior to Haas, Brandon managed a small specialist unit on the American Stock Exchange. He also worked as a market maker on the Chicago Board Options Exchange. Brandon’s interest in African development stems from his experience as a Peace Corps volunteer in central Benin. Brandon hopes to use his past trading floor experience and knowledge of the Ethiopian exchange in order to create a similar commodities exchange in West Africa, where he believes it would benefit the largely agrarian economy.
