Lansing Economic Club series is presented by the Capital Region International Airport. Celebration of Regional Growth Awards is Co-sponsored by PNC and Loomis, Ewert, Parsley, Davis & Gotting, P.C., five organizations are recognized for investments that are making a transformational impact on the community. This years CORG honorees include: Farm Bureau Insurance McKesson Moneyball Sportswear TechSmith Red Cedar Development

In this webinar, four area editors of the Journal of International Business Studies will discuss key trends, topics and issues in IB research, as well as the best practices for publishing in leading international business journals. This webinar will include short presentations followed by a discussion moderated by the co-hosts, Dr. Ahmet Kirca and Dr. David Griffith. Key Takeaways Learn topics of significant interest to a variety of international business areas Tips related to best practices for publishing international business research Gain insights into the JIBS review process Webinar Meeting Time Conversions: 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM (CDT) 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM (EDT) 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM (GMT) Registration is not available, but you can view the recorded session in the website link

A one-day conference to transformbusiness education for a globalized world.

Join expert Jon M. Huntsman, Jr, former US Ambassador to Russia, China and Singapore,in the national conversation of US-China relations! Jon Huntsman, Jr. began his career in public service as a staff assistant to President Ronald Reagan, and served each of the five presidents since then in critical roles around the world, including as deputy assistant secretary of commerce for Asia, U.S. trade ambassador, and ambassador to Singapore, China, and most recently, Russia. Twice elected governor of Utah, Governor Huntsman brought about strong economic and tax reforms, tripled the states rainy-day fund, and helped bring unemployment rates to historic lows. During his tenure, Utah was named the best-managed state in America and ranked number one in the nation in job growth. Ambassador Huntsman was a candidate for president in 2012. Previously he chaired or served on the boards of several major companies, educational institutions, and nonprofits. He has been a visiting fellow at the Kennedy School of Government, and a distinguished lecturer at Duke Universitys Sanford School of Public Policy. Huntsman is a seventh generation Utahn and has been married for 36 years to Mary Kaye Huntsman. They are the parents of seven children, including two adopted daughters from China and India. Huntsman is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and has ten honorary doctoral degrees. Registration in the website link.

A key concern in business education is creating solid and sustained bridges between school and career. Career readiness remains a central focus and challenge. Recent studies by Pew Research points to the lack of preparedness of college graduates for the workplace and the need for novel approaches in what we teach, and how we teach it, to address the skills gap. In international business, partnerships and virtual exchange are increasingly valuable ingredients in developing the skills required of todays global managers. Using selected virtual exchange projects with partners in North and South Africa, we discuss how global competencies, cultural awareness, and international virtual-teaming skills can be imparted as integral aspects of an international business curriculum. The three panelists representing academic and business groups will describe their roles in designing and implementing these collaborative cross-border projects, their value to different stakeholders, including students and employers, and propose ways to assess and sustain these career readiness, impactful initiatives. Key Takeaways Conceiving, implementing and assessing team-based, virtual exchange projects, involving international partners. Leveraging academic-business partnerships to ensure career relevant virtual exchange initiatives for students. Identifying funding sources for signature international business projects.

When Martin Richenhagen joined AGCO Corp. in 2004, it was already a $3 billion publicly traded firm. But sixteen years later, when he retired from his posts as chairman and CEO, it was a Fortune 500 powerhouse combining some of the biggest brands in the business of agricultural equipment. With $10 billion in sales, it doubled in size during his tenure to more than 20,000 employees around the globe. This extraordinary growth story, rooted in metro Atlanta, is linked with Mr. Richenhagens vision to expand aggressively via acquisitions while peering constantly around the corner to see future trends in food and farming. Key Takeaways: -How multinational corporations should navigate a strategy of growth through acquisitions versus organic sales -Lessons on hiring, training and deploying executives in various emerging and developed markets and across functions, from management to marketing to manufacturing -How leaders can use embrace cultural differences as an advantage rather than a hindrance

FREE and open to all, but registration is required. Recently, the nature of entrepreneurial activity has gone through tremendous change with entrepreneurs designing business models challenging even the strongest global players, and responding to urgent calls such as sustainability. Fashion industry have showcased numerous striking examples of how new ventures change the rules of the game in a well-established industrial domain. This has been traced in the rise of several international brands founded by fashion entrepreneurs (i.e., ACBC Shoes, Reformation, Everlane, Patagonia), in the increasing number of collaborations between incumbent firms, new ventures and NGOs (i.e., ACBC shoes collaborating with luxury brands like Missoni and Chloe, Gucci collaborating with Wordrise and Artolution, Adidas collaborating with Parley for the Oceans), as well as in criticisms towards the current business models of established global brands (i.e., fast fashion companies like Zara). With the purpose of providing insight both from the academic domain and practice, this webinar will present a discussion to highlight following questions: - How does a strong orientation towards sustainability transform the playground of big multinationals in the fashion industry? What kind of opportunities have emerged for international new ventures? - How do digital technologies change the nature of fashion entrepreneurship and affect the achievement of sustainability-oriented goals? Is technology a part of the problem, or is it the solution? - In the face of these changes, what are the high priorities on the agenda of practitioners? What are the striking research questions for academics? Key take-aways: Hearing about the personal experience of a fashion entrepreneur with international coverage. Gaining a viewpoint on various business model implications of sustainability orientation with a special focus on how entrepreneurs change the face of international competition in the fashion industry. Learning about new research questions and strategies

Are you looking to offer an education abroad program? This webinar will provide you with the knowledge, experience, and resources you need to design an education abroad program at the two-year college level. The workshop is specifically targeted towards educators and will focus on all aspects of education abroad and international internships. View program flyer in the File Upload Please click the website link to register.

The Lansing Regional Chamber Economic Club, in partnership with the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commission of Mid-Michigan will welcome Donzaleigh Abernathy, actress, author, and civil rights activist on Thursday, Feb. 2. Sponsored by LAFCU, Abernathy is the goddaughter of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the daughter of Rev. Ralph Abernathy, who was a leader in the civil rights movement with Dr. King, and will focus her talk on the business case for diversity, equity and inclusion, economic justice, and civil rights.

A new world order is in place. Globalization is taking a different turn and evolving further. Businesses operate in a deeply interconnected yet polarized world, facing disruptions at multiple levels. Local relevance is one of the pillars for companies to maintain resilience and to thrive during times of turbulence. How do multinationals win with local consumers, customers and stakeholders? What are some of the critical enablers for success in the face of a VUCA environment and scarcity of resources? Where do you centralize and how much do you localize to create scale and maintain focus? What is the impact of talent, organizational structure and culture to drive global scale and local relevance? Todays radical change in context requires us to review and refresh past learnings on some of the questions which have been discussed for decades. Recycling our knowledge might be helpful as we design the next phase of global business where the dichotomy of local and global is becoming both blurred and further contrasted. Key take-aways: Gain insights into how multinationals operate in local settings Learn about different approaches in adapting global value propositions Obtain learnings on talent, structure and culture in leading and executing multinational operations