To most people the subject of international finance is business on a global level. The students of Bus 441 International Finance, taught by Chris Dunnaville, this semester were fortunate to meet with and learn from three executives who know the intricate financial considerations of globalization and what it means for their companies.
The first executive was the retired Chairman and CEO of Aramco, Mr. Frank Jungers, who shared his knowledge and 30 years of experience behind the largest oil company in the world. Today Aramco is considered to be the largest company in the world and is 20 times the size of Exxon.
Mr. Jungers shared that, ‘the best thing a student can do is look at what they are best at, and determine whether that is technical or people management based’. Then, pick a group of good companies and ask yourself, “What can I give them? What value can I provide? What kind of people culture do I want to be a part of because the right people matter. Training can be difficult, so companies want to know you are the right fit in their culture and want to train people to do what they can do.”
Coming from a small town in North Dakota, he never imagined going to Saudi Arabia to work for a foreign company. He said it was the best decision that he ever made, even though he thought he was going for only 2 years. He intended to make some good money and pay off his debts, and ended up staying for 31 years!
The second visit to the Bus 441 International Finance class was from the Executive Vice President of Finance and CFO, Mr. Tom Cusick and the Director of Investor Relations, Ron Parham from the Columbia Sportswear Company. The class had access to the financial data of this company so that they could study and analyze how the company was doing on the global stage.
The two executives spoke of the international challenges of distribution and sourcing. They also described in detail how they focused on improved global operations that led to a record net income in 2015. While discussing future plans, they expressed their biggest concern was over the movement in consumer buying patterns from brick and mortar to online shopping. 
They noted that this will be a game changer within the next 10 years in the apparel business.
If you are looking for an in depth look at international finance and its future, the Bus 441 class is for you.