Leaders From Public, Private Sectors Join Thunderbird

Leaders From Public, Private Sectors Join Thunderbird

World's Top-Ranked School for International Business Welcomes Former Microsoft
COO Robert Herbold, Former University President Larry Penley, Executive
Recruiting Strategist Joie Gregor, and U.S. Senator Jon Kyl

GLENDALE, Ariz., May 10, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Thunderbird School of Global
Management today announced four new appointments as Ambassador Barbara
McConnell Barrett begins her tenure as Interim President of the world's
#1-ranked school for international business.

Robert J. Herbold, Ph.D., renowned business strategist and former chief
operating officer of Microsoft Corporation (Nasdaq:MSFT), will serve as Senior
Advisor to the Interim President and Visiting Executive at Thunderbird.
Herbold will advise Ambassador Barrett, faculty and school administrators on
business operations and organizational management.

During Herbold's tenure with Microsoft, the company realized a four-fold
increase in revenue and a seven-fold increase in profits.  Prior to joining
the software giant, Herbold spent 26 years at Procter & Gamble. His corporate
expertise runs the gamut from finance and marketing to information systems,
human resources, manufacturing and distribution, and public relations.  He
also recently served as adjunct professor at INSEAD, a highly respected
business school based in Fontainebleau, France.

"There is a reason Thunderbird is consistently ranked #1 for international
business," said Herbold.  "No other school combines global mind-set with an
innovative curriculum that hones real-world business skills, cultural
understanding and language proficiency.  I will do my part to advance
Thunderbird's reputation for educating global business professionals who
create borderless success."

Larry E. Penley, Ph.D., former university president and business school dean,
will serve as Thunderbird's interim Chief Academic Officer and Provost.  Over
a 35-year career in higher education, Penley has held top faculty and top
administrative positions at universities in the U.S., Mexico and Venezuela. 
He is known for creating successful, market-driven MBA programs.

As dean of the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University,
Penley led the transformation of the college into a top-50 ranked business
school.  He then served as president of Colorado State University, where he
boosted student enrollment and diversity, doubled university fundraising, and
enhanced business education solutions for working professionals.  Penley also
chaired the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the
world's leading business-school accreditation body, during an early stage of
its international expansion.

Joie Gregor, former Vice Chairman of worldwide executive search and leadership
advisory firm Heidrick & Struggles (Nasdaq:HSII), will serve as Senior Advisor
to the Interim President and Visiting Executive at Thunderbird.  Gregor is a
recognized expert in aligning leadership teams to drive operating results and
was named in The Global 200 Executive Recruiters, compiled by Nancy
Garrison-Jenn. 

Gregor has worked with some of the world's most influential corporations,
including Citigroup, Raytheon Company, Honeywell International, Starbucks, and
IBM.  She has served on the boards of public, private and nonprofit
organizations, from entrepreneurial start-ups in Silicon Valley to globally
focused venture capital firms.  Gregor headed the White House Office of
Presidential Personnel under President George W. Bush, with responsibility for
recruiting, assessing and recommending senior-level officials for the
Executive Branch.  Prior to her work in executive search and leadership
consulting, she held management roles of increasing responsibility at IBM for
13 years.

U.S. Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) has accepted an invitation to be a guest lecturer
at Thunderbird, offering insights and observations about public policy
development, processes and perceptions.  Students and faculty will hear from
this influential leader, who has represented Arizona in Washington since 1987.

"Jon Kyl has earned a reputation for unparalleled command of public policy and
international security issues," said Barbara Barrett, Interim President of
Thunderbird School of Global Management.  "Thunderbird welcomes his presence,
and we look forward to what our students will learn from his insights."

The new leadership appointments at Thunderbird School of Global Management
correspond with the arrival of Ambassador Barbara McConnell Barrett as Interim
President.  Ambassador Barrett's decades-long service to the school has been
instrumental in bringing some of the world's most influential leaders to
Thunderbird, including His Holiness the Dalai Lama, UAE Minister of Foreign
Trade Her Excellency Sheikha Lubna Bint Khalid Al Qasimi, Canadian Prime
Minister The Right Honorable Kim Campbell, former Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice, and most recently former President of the Soviet Union
Mikhail Gorbachev.

Ambassador Barrett is expected to serve as Thunderbird's Interim President
until a new permanent president assumes office.  A worldwide search is
underway, led by executive search firm Korn/Ferry International (NYSE:KFY).

About Thunderbird School of Global Management

Thunderbird is the world's #1 -ranked school of international business, with
over 65 years of experience in equipping global leaders with the business
skills and global mindset necessary to create sustainable prosperity
worldwide.  For more about Thunderbird, visit http://www.thunderbird.edu.

Thunderbird's degree and program offerings

Thunderbird offers a wide range of global management graduate degrees and
certificate programs for full-time students, working professionals, distance
learners and companies, including Full-time, Executive, Evening and
Distance-learning MBAs, a Master of Arts and Master of Science degrees, and a
comprehensive suite of executive education programs. The school is also home
of six Centers of Excellence focused on cultures and languages, Global
Mindset®, ethics in global management, entrepreneurship, global private
equity, and global energy studies.

For more information on Thunderbird School of Global Management, please
contact Samantha Novick at samantha.novick@thunderbird.edu or +1 (602)
978-7922, or visit http://www.thunderbird.edu/news .

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CONTACT:  Samantha Novick
          samantha.novick@thunderbird.edu
          +1 (602) 978-7922
          visit http://www.thunderbird.edu/news