SAIS Students Take Emerging Market Executives Back to Class

WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwired - Apr 30, 2013) - Tomorrow marks the final class in the inaugural FSG-SAIS practicum. As part of the practicum, nine graduate students from the Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies ("SAIS") had the unique opportunity to present best practices for managing businesses in emerging markets to a group of experienced senior executives from large multinational companies.

The session was part of their final assignment in a co-taught practicum between Frontier Strategy Group ("FSG") and SAIS. The senior executives were FSG clients who served as judges for the final presentation. Topics covered included supply chain management in Latin America, brand localization in Sub-Saharan Africa and sales optimization in Asia. Current and retired emerging market executives from Carlisle Companies, Wärtsilä, Sherwin Williams and CooperVision were all present.

Starting in January 2013, members of the FSG senior management and research teams, in collaboration with SAIS professor Roger Leeds, began a first-of-its-kind practicum for a select group of SAIS graduate students. The practicum taught students the practical analytical, writing, and presentation skills necessary for successful careers working with senior executives in emerging markets.

"Through the FSG-SAIS practicum we hope to help build a new generation of leaders focused on driving outperformance in emerging markets," said Richard Leggett, Chief Executive Officer of FSG. "The practicum allows us the opportunity to share our unique perspective of the opportunities, challenges, and core business activities emerging markets executives encounter with these future leaders."

Based in Washington, D.C., SAIS is one of the world's leading graduate schools devoted to the study of international relations. SAIS's problem-solving approach toward the conduct of foreign policy has benefited approximately 16,000 alumni around the world. The school's graduates work in numerous public, private, multi-sector, and nonprofit organizations in more than 140 countries.

"The essential business skills the FSG-SAIS practicum offered our students are a perfect complement to the rigorous analytical training we offer in a broad range of academic disciplines," said Professor Leeds. "FSG has become a valuable partner over the years, hiring many of our top students to take on leadership roles within their global organization. The FSG-SAIS practicum is a natural step to further strengthen our partnership through this innovative, new course that was both academically rigorous and occupationally relevant."

Following a competitive application process involving multiple interviews and written exercises, FSG selected nine SAIS students to become members of the founding class. Practicum sessions covered a broad range of emerging market managerial challenges and foundational research and presentation skills. Classes were led by FSG senior management, research leaders, and clients, including sessions taught by FSG clients at Kimberly-Clark Professional and The Coca Cola Company.

About Frontier Strategy Group
Frontier Strategy Group (FSG) is the leading information services provider for emerging markets executives. Through a robust offering of research, analytics, data and network of expertise, FSG partners with business leaders at over 200 multinationals to power their emerging markets business strategies. FSG is headquartered in Washington D.C. with regional offices in Singapore, London, and Miami.