Students get new perspectives on global business at 2nd Annual ...

The 2012 Global Careers Day event team.

For the second year in a row, Global Careers Day at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh drew in many corporate guests, faculty and alumni who shared their experiences and career opportunities with students through panel presentations and a hands-on workshop.

The event took place on April 6 and each of the three morning sessions featured different presenters and topics. After each presentation, the audience could interact with the speakers by asking questions and engaging in discussion.

During the three morning sessions, the students heard from eight global executives about why it is important to consider a global career, what corporations look for in global managers and about the variety of ethical challenges one may face during the course of a global career. From these sessions, students gained valuable insights on how to plan and pursue a successful global career. Speakers included:

• Suhas Apte, vice president of sustainability at Kimberly-Clark Corp.
• Tim Fliss, vice president of human resources at Bemis Co.
• Dnyanesh Patkar, vice president of corporate development at Schneider National Inc.
• Nancy Ebben, director of international finance at Oshkosh Corp.
• Kim Peterson, director of marketing and strategy at Alta Resources
• Doug Olson, vice president of Quest Core Team at Schneider National Inc.
• Dan Rokjer, vice president of sales at Bemis Co.
• Kurt Wanless, senior compliance counsel at Plexus Corp.

After networking over lunch, students, faculty and speakers participated in a series of hands-on workshops about ethics in global management and negotiating across cultural lines.

Professor B.S. Sridhar, faculty adviser for the International Business Club, facilitated a simulation of cross-cultural negotiation entitled ?Ugli Orange? involving all participants. Doug Killough, partner development team at Schrieber Foods Inc., and Pete Stanius, vice president of customer management at Plexus Corp., debriefed the participants and shared their experiences and strategies for effective cross-cultural negotiations.

Kathryn Simon, International Business Club president

The event was organized under the leadership of Kathryn Simon, president of the International Business Club, assisted by a number of student volunteers.

?I hope next year there will be an even higher turnout and more company display booths,? Simon said. ?We?re also planning more time for networking with the professionals.?

Jessica Alt , International Business Club member, led the marketing efforts for the event and said it was different from the previous year because not only was the event held in a larger space, but Alta Resources and Bemis Company set up booths about their businesses.

?It was great?because?students were able to talk with professionals from these companies to find out more about them,? Alt said. ?I think this would be great if even more?companies?did this next year.?

The event is only in its second year, but there was a significant increase in interest in the event from last year and it looks like the trend will continue, Sridhar said.

?It was great to see more businesses, students, alumni and faculty take part in the event this year,? Sridhar said. ?I am looking forward to seeing how this event grows in the coming years.?

Dean of the College of Business, Bill Tallon said the event is a great way for students to connect with global business leaders and to become better prepared for a future career in global business.

?Students learn so much from networking events like this and the International Business Club has done a great job connecting with businesses to bring them to campus,? Tallon said. ?The experiences students learned from the global business leaders represented at this event were really extraordinary.?

There was no cost for the students to register or participate thanks to a generous grant from the Pepsi Fund.

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