AKRON, Ohio - The University of Akron will host 100 business executives from Brazil this summer as part of a first-time program to help the leaders gain international training and experience American culture.

The program is offered through the Latin America Institute of Business, which helps Latin American business executives develop skills through academic programs at universities in the United States. The executives, who hold positions in human resources, consumer goods, sales and marketing, will visit the university July 8-20 and take part in executive leadership seminars on marketing and management practices at the university's accredited College of Business Administration.

"Brazilian business professionals pride themselves on creativity and practicing new ideas," said College of Business Administration Director of Student Leadership Initiatives Kevin Smith in a news release. "Their visit to the CBA will give them the necessary tools they need to grow professionally and further succeed in their respective careers. Personal progress is a huge value in the Brazilian culture."

College of Business Administration faculty members will lead educational seminars for the program on topics such as "Innovating in Turbulent Times," "Strategizing in Emerging Markets," "Leading Change," "Marketing Analytics" and "Building Business Relationships in a Post-Global World." The visiting executives also will receive business-English terminology training to help hone their conversation skills.



Students at the university's College of Business Administration who volunteer for the training program will have the opportunity to engage with the executives.

"The students who volunteer during the seminars will be experiencing not only executive interactions, but also will begin to develop relationships and understand perspectives from a different culture and country," said Andrew Platt in a news release. Platt is the College of Business Administration's executive director of Corporate Outreach and Professional Development. "They will have the opportunity to observe similarities and differences in both business and social situations either in class or through some of the evening activities and events. We think it can be a 'study-in' abroad type experience for them."

In addition to educational seminars, visiting executives are scheduled to visit the Bridgestone Innovation Center, the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank and the Ohio Army National Guard's Camp Ravenna Joint Military Training Center. At the training center, the executives will participate in a field-leadership reaction course to help build problem-solving skills in a team-based format.

"This training is about more than the subject matter of marketing and management," Smith said in a news release. "The professionals coming to the College of Business Administration are becoming leaders in their own industries and among their peers with advanced leadership training and business-English skills."

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