For Amazon Web Services (AWS) global program manager, Vandy Gyandhar, a global mindset is more than traveling around the world or working for an international company. It is about being able to build relationships of understanding and respect no matter where you are in the world. “I've lived in and grew up in multiple countries. I am a global program manager. I work on projects that span across the globe. I am in India right now and I have a call in an hour with team members in Australia, Ireland, the US and Sweden. So I thought I have a global mindset.

To be in a position to help others is a privilege, says Ali von Paris ’12, and it’s something she doesn’t take for granted.

Tyrone Brooks ’96 is stepping up to the plate for Major League Baseball in a big way – to bring more diversity and inclusivity to America’s pastime. As the senior director for the MLB’s Front Office and Field Staff Diversity Pipeline Program, Brooks is helping usher in a new workforce. Launched in 2016, the program focuses on attracting and hiring more people of color and women in baseball operations, including on-field and front-office positions.

Over the years, Laura Benkowski’s entrepreneurial spirit has taken her all over the world, even to the site of a closed gem mine in Arizona. “The gem mine was shut down in 2012 and contains a turquoise known as Sleeping Beauty turquoise that is very rare and highly sought,” says Benkowski ’11, MBA ’14.

Intercultural empathy is the ability to perceive the world as it is perceived by a culture different from your own. For Ansa Edim, MBA '16, vice president and staff board chair at Change.org, a global mindset is just that. “A global mindset means having an understanding of a shared narrative around the world so that we have an understanding of the struggles of other people and empathy. At Change.org, we're dealing with people who don't typically have a voice and we are giving them space to have that voice. So that requires some empathy to their plight,” Edim says.

Perception is how we view, understand, and interpret the things around us. For international trade specialist, Ja’Nel Edens, a global mindset starts with changing your perception and thinking of yourself not just as a citizen of your nation, but as a global citizen. She states, “We must recognize that we are all interconnected in some way. We share similarities with other cultures outside of our own country and we are part of one big world, even though we are separated by waters.”

Business is now more global than ever, challenging us to expand our understanding of other cultures and develop deeper cultural knowledge. For Zeynep Ozenci, principal investment officer at International Finance Corporation (IFC), developing this sort of cultural consciousness is not a choice, it is needed to effectively do her job.

Ed Novak divides much of his time between Boston and the Washington, D.C., area, but his professional reach is global. As managing director and partner at Vistra, an international business services provider, he’s in constant contact with clients and colleagues worldwide. Because much of his work involves helping growth-oriented clients expand their operations overseas, Novak says his global mindset competencies, relationship-building abilities and cultural curiosity are key skills.

Sometimes, it’s a journey halfway around the world that opens doors all the way back home. Iris Lan, MBA ’20, says that’s what happened for her when she left China to pursue an MBA at Maryland Smith. “Before attending the Smith School, I was a supply chain manager at Baxter,” Lan says. She had over 10 years’ experience in supply chain in the healthcare industry, but she wanted to shift her career into general management. The Smith curriculum gave her the tools and business acumen to help make the transition.

Chris Steadley, MBA ’12, has consistently used his global mindset in his eight-plus years at advisory and research services firm Gartner. His current role as a senior partner in consulting includes managing business in the Midwest region of the U.S. from a public sector, education, and nonprofit perspective. Steadley’s main responsibility is to oversee the growth of Gartner’s portfolio, which includes delivering the right solutions for clients. He enjoys leading his team to success.