By Amy Murphy
For Vanderbilt Executive MBA graduate Jon Haworth, the Global Immersion Capstone Project experience came with a certain amount of pressure. His client on the project, Brian Gleason, is not only a Vanderbilt Executive MBA graduate (class of 1997), but also his boss.
Gleason is the President and CEO of Des-Case, a manufacturing company specializing in contamination control products for industrial lubricants. With a robust 25% annual revenue growth rate and a rapidly expanding international market presence, Des-Case was eyeing its next major market expansion options.
When it came time to develop a market fulfillment strategy for Latin America, he came to Owen and the inaugural Americas MBA cohort for help. Having Haworth, the Vice President of Product Innovation and Plant Operations, bring the expertise of his Americas C-Team to bear on both the strategy and detailed implementation plan gave Des-Case the opportunity to enter the market quickly. The C-Team brought not only specific knowledge of the South American countries that Des-Case was considering, but also a cultural sensitivity to unspoken barriers that can come only from a truly multi-cultural team working together. The team made recommendations for a strategy and time line to build their first South American facility that Des- Case will use over the coming years.
For a closer look at capstone projects and the Executive MBA program, please visit the EMBA program page.
