Asian MBA Students at LGSB to Dine with Local Business Leaders

For the more than 300 Asian executives currently enrolled in the Asian Cohort MBA program at UIC’s Liautaud Graduate School of Business, the learning experience will now include a more personal touch. Thanks to Jim Liautaud, the major benefactor of LGSB, these students will meet some of Chicago’s most successful chief executive officers and entrepreneurs, have dinner with their families, visit their businesses, and, most importantly, share views on achieving professional and life goals.

Jim Liautaud initiated “Dinners with CEOs” and has enlisted almost 40 successful entrepreneurs and family business owners to join in this program. In his personal invitation letter to the students, Mr. Liautaud noted, “In the past few years, I have had the pleasure of visiting China and meeting with many of our alums enjoying successful careers in China. They tell me how well the UIC program is constructed and how much they have benefited from their UIC degree. Many also tell me that the highlight of their experience in Chicago is the ‘connections’ they made -- with their professors, host families, leaders of local governments and businesses and, importantly, with classmates. This matches my long-time beliefs that the ‘personal touch’ and ‘connections’ add great value to any MBA program.”

More than 1,600 students from the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan and Korea have graduated from the Asian Cohort MBA Program since 1996. The program has enjoyed continual growth, received positive recognition both here and abroad, and now has three alumni groups in China. UIC’s U.S.-Asia Executive Development Program, under the direction of Dr. Hong Chen, works with LGSB’s Corporate MBA Programs Office to develop and implement the Asian Cohort MBA programs.

With Liautaud’s backing, the “Dinners with CEOs” event is being organized by the USAEDP and the College of Business Administration’s Family Business Council. Founded in 1992 by Liautaud, the council is comprised of owners and CEOs of family-owned and closely-held businesses in the Chicago area. The FBC’s mission is to help businesses achieve their goals through a unique peer-support system and related educational programs that provide grown strategies for chief executives, their families, and their businesses.

For more information, contact Jeff Wang from UIC’s U.S.-Asia Program office at 312 996-0563 or e-mail jwang7@uic.edu.