Celebrating 30 Years of Global Business Leadership at Georgetown McDonough

In today’s interconnected world, business extends far beyond borders. For 30 years, Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business has trained students to be ethical leaders in the global marketplace – a commitment rooted in the school’s signature Global Business Experience (GBE), an international consulting project where students partner with executives to solve real-world challenges. 

Launched in 1995, the first-of-its-kind global project was pioneered by McDonough faculty in the Executive MBA (EMBA) program, who traveled to the Netherlands as part of their inaugural consulting presentations abroad. Professor Emeritus Stanley Nollen, one of the faculty architects of the program, recalls the ambition behind the course: to build on Georgetown’s established strengths as a leader in business and global affairs. 

“The founding ideas from my colleagues were – and are still – very good,” Nollen said. “The concept is something that nobody else, we think, in this country has done. The GBE is a core course, not an elective. It’s core to the experience at McDonough.”

A hallmark of the McDonough experience, the GBE is now a required course for most graduate students and an elective for undergraduates. Over the span of three decades, more than 12,000 students have conducted 2,300 consulting projects across 41 cities and 31 countries, gaining firsthand insight into the complexities of international business. 

The course gives students the opportunity to work in teams on a consulting project for a private, public, or nonprofit organization abroad. Unlike traditional study abroad programs, the GBE is designed to simulate the nuances of global business that students will experience in their careers. Students spend a semester meeting virtually with their client and working together to analyze the company and advise on a specific challenge within the organization. 

Over the years, projects have covered topics such as market entry, market development, innovation strategy, and global growth strategy, among many others. The culmination of the course is the students’ trip abroad to meet face-to-face with clients, present their final recommendations, and immerse themselves in the local culture. 

A Transformative Global Experience

For many, the GBE is a pivotal milestone in a student’s professional journey at McDonough. Eddie Silva (EMBA’23), a former airport executive, decided to pursue the Georgetown Executive MBA to explore new avenues in his field. For his GBE, Silva consulted for Embraer, a multinational aerospace corporation based in São Paulo, Brazil, which exposed him to a new sector of aviation. 

Today, Silva is the chief operating officer of Fly Alliance, a Florida-based aviation company. He credits the GBE for opening new doors and reshaping his career trajectory.

“Before I knew it, I was offered a job at the company I’m at now, in a much smaller capacity,” Silva said. “Fast forward, two and a half years later, I’m now the COO of the company. The dots would have never been connected had it not been for the McDonough School of Business, and specifically the GBE program that really honed in on Embraer and aerospace.”

This year, Silva’s GBE experience came full circle – his company served as a capstone client for students in the EMBA Dubai program. 

“I’m very fortunate for what the university and the GBE program gave me,” Silva said. “I’m very proud to give back, and I love that Hoyas help Hoyas.”

Fostering a Global Mindset Across Programs

Over three decades, McDonough has built a portfolio of innovative global programs and co-curricular experiences, including joint degree programs, cohort-based fellowships, consulting projects, study abroad opportunities, and international internships. 

Global experiences have proven to be an integral part of a McDonough education and a peak milestone for many students, including Adelle Barkhuizsen (B’25), who consulted for Airbus Helicopters in Spain as part of the Global Business Fellows program. 

“This experience fundamentally changed the way I view global business,” Barkhuizsen said. “It reinforced the idea that while companies operate on a global scale, their local presence and decision-making structures remain deeply influential.”

Inspired by his time in Dublin as part of the GBE with the Master’s in Management (MiM) program, Edward Millet (MiM’23) moved to Amsterdam after graduation for a job opportunity with The Kraft Heinz Company. 

“For me, it was amazing to interact with people from across the world and learn how they think and how they conduct business,” Millet said. “Global travel was a vitally important part of my time at McDonough. It was one of the main reasons I came to the MiM program, and it was a way to see if I wanted to work abroad and if I liked traveling for work.”

McDonough’s focus on global business leadership continues to attract students who are eager to gain hands-on, practical experience in an international setting. 

“I decided that Georgetown University had everything that I wanted,” said Marcelo Presa (MBA’24). “A highly-regarded MBA program, the ability to network in Washington, D.C., and opportunities to enrich my international experience through the study abroad program and GBE consulting projects.”

Reimagining a Global Future

Looking ahead, Georgetown McDonough continues to leverage its position in Washington, D.C., as a global hub to the world – but it also sees potential in creating new programs and partnerships abroad. The school recently announced the expansion of its world-class EMBA and Master’s in International Business and Policy programs in Dubai, establishing a presence in a region pivotal to global trade, energy, and international diplomacy. 

“Our history as a Jesuit university is rooted in global curiosity and discovery,” said Paul Almeida, dean and William R. Berkley Chair. “Our international business programs are an extension of the mission set by our founders – to reach across continents, build intercultural understanding, and to do good and do well, globally.”

As McDonough moves into the future, Nollen hopes global experiences like the GBE will continue to equip students with the skills and insights to solve complex global business challenges effectively. He credits the program’s vitality to the shared global mindset that defines the McDonough community. 

“We had the right idea, and we did it right,” Nollen said. “Of course, it has evolved, but it has the same founding dimensions as it did 30 years ago.”