The course, created and taught by Thunderbird Professor Steven Stralser, Ph.D., provides students with the essentials needed to bring and leverage the important elements of entrepreneurship into the corporate environment. Classes started Jan. 25.

During the trimester, students will learn how to identify barriers to organizational entrepreneurship, observe best practices in corporate innovation and entrepreneurship, identify the personal qualities and skills needed by corporate entrepreneurs and implement a plan of action for innovation and new product/service launch. Students will apply their skills from the first-half of the class to solve a practical application from Henkel.

“This course provides important contrast and perspectives to some of the structured thinking and formulaic methodologies found in graduate business school education,” Stralser says. “Companies today are looking for not just technically competent finance or marketing talent, but finance and marketing talent that look at things differently and can help a company compete in turbulent and changing markets.”

Henkel, a Fortune Global 500 company, develops laundry and home care products, personal care products and adhesives technology. The company has more than 52,000 employees in 125 countries. Thunderbird and Henkel’s relationship dates to 2007, when Thunderbird developed a customized executive education program in the United States to serve Henkel’s top-tier executives. One hundred of Henkel’s executives from their offices in North America, Germany, China and other global locations have come to Thunderbird for executive education since the partnership started. Henkel’s Consumer Goods Inc. President and CEO, Brad Casper, joined Thunderbird’s Board of Fellows in October 2008.

“We know that it is critical to look outside our own walls for new ideas to remain competitive in a global marketplace and this class represented a great opportunity to do just that,” said Cynthia Milgroom, vice president of Business Development and Innovation for Henkel. “Henkel is a strong believer in open innovation and we are always looking for new ways and partnerships to help grow that commitment. We’re excited to see the new ideas and perspectives the students will bring and hope to use this as a learning opportunity to create more opportunities like this in the future.”

Henkel also participates in Thunderbird’s International Consortia, a program that brings leaders from different global companies together in the same classroom.

About Thunderbird
Thunderbird is the world’s No. 1-ranked school of international business with more than 60 years of experience in developing leaders with the global mindset, business skills and social responsibility necessary to create real, sustainable value for their organizations, communities and the world. Dedicated to preparing students to be global leaders and committed global citizens, Thunderbird was the first graduate business school to adopt an official Professional Oath of Honor. Thunderbird is sought out by graduate students, working professionals and companies worldwide seeking to gain the leadership skills they need to succeed in today’s global economy. For more about Thunderbird, please visit: www.thunderbird.edu.

Thunderbird’s 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 Science, a Master of Arts and a comprehensive suite of executive education programs. The school is also home of the Thunderbird Knowledge Network, the school’s hub of research and cutting-edge global business knowledge that includes six centers of excellence focused on cultures and languages, global mindset, ethics and corporate citizenship, global financial services, global private equity and global entrepreneurship.

About Henkel
Henkel markets a wide range of well-known consumer and industrial brands in North America, including Dial® soaps, Purex® laundry detergents, Right Guard® antiperspirants, got2b® hair gels, and Loctite® adhesives. Henkel has been committed to making people's lives easier, better and more beautiful for more than 130 years. A Fortune Global 500 and Germany's most admired company according to a recent Fortune survey, Henkel offers strong brands and technologies in three areas of competence: Home Care, Personal Care and Adhesive Technologies. Each day, more than 52,000 employees in 125 countries are dedicated to fulfilling Henkel's claim "A Brand like a Friend.” In fiscal 2008, Henkel generated sales of $20.8 billion and adjusted operating profit of $2.1 billion.