Cross-border mergers and acquisitions start with empathy, says investment banker Abhjieet Biswas, MBA '00. "Everything else can fall into place," he says. "But if there are barriers to understanding each other, you won't be successful." Biswas, a 2000 MBA graduate of the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business, says empathy is also a key component of global mindset. "It means having the ability to marry knowledge of local markets with a global outlook," he says. "And to see these two things as complementary not supplementary."

Every transaction is international when you work at Maersk, the world's largest container ship operator. "Supply chain management gives you a really literal illustration of global business," says Katie Praske '01, who spent nearly 15 years at Maersk as a customer service and compliance manager. "Each shipment touches at least two countries. You can't do anything in isolation."

Development banker Evelyn Hartwick, EMBA '10, embraces ambiguity and stretch assignments as a way of life. "People who resist change don't grow," she says. Hartwick knew little of the world outside El Salvador when she arrived in the United States at the start of a civil war that tore apart her country in the 1980s. She was 17, fresh out of high school and alone in a foreign place. "I had $200 in my pocket, and I didn't know any English," she says. "Needless to say, I experienced culture shock when I got to New York to study."

Stephen M. Feeney '70 knew his place in the world as a New York banker. "I was working for various financial entities in a narrowly defined square block bordered by 42nd Street, 59th Street, Third Avenue and Broadway in Manhattan," he says.

Surprises come with the territory when working in international development across India. As senior engagement manager at Sattva Consulting, Rahul Shah, PTMBA ’15, MFin ’15, must navigate uncertainty as he works across all domains with all types of stakeholders on a diverse subcontinent.

Ian Bremmer wasn’t looking to bum everyone out with his book, “Us Vs. Them: The Failure of Globalism.” Though, as he admitted at a Maryland Smith event, it’s not a cheerful read.

Different environments pose different challenges, which is why international business developer Rashida Petersen ’03 says seeking information about local contexts is more important than ever. As the founder and CEO of 1847 Philanthropic, a Washington D.C.-based consulting firm specializing in the financial stability of organizations in developing countries, Petersen takes a “first, do no harm” approach to her work.

Cuba will triple its cruise ship berths at the Old Havana port by 2024. If the news seems surprising, following U.S. travel restrictions to Cuba, it shouldn't, Smith School professor Kislaya Prasad says.

For much of the past two decades, the overarching economic theme in sub-Saharan Africa has been "Africa Rising." But growth has slowed since then.

The Smith School's Rebecca Bellinger outlines a business strategy for reversing the recent decline of international student enrollment at U.S. colleges and universities.