Thunderbird Names Interim President

January 23, 2012

Barbara McConnell Barrett, the U.S. ambassador to Finland, has been tapped to serve as the interim president of the Thunderbird School of Global Management.

Previously, Barrett has served as the school’s chairman of Thunderbird (2001-2003) and sits on the Thunderbird board of trustees. She replaces Angel Cabrera, who takes over the presidency of George Mason University in Virginia.

Barrett’s resume is beyond impressive – the CEO of the American Management Association, she is also a Fellow teaching Leadership at Harvard, President of the International Women’s Forum, Senior Advisor to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, Chairman of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy, and participant with other world leaders at the Global Leadership Foundation, Club of Madrid and World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Transition from Cabrera to Ambassador Barrett will occur at Thunderbird Commencement on April 27, 2012. Barrett will serve until a new president assumes office. A search for a new permanent president is underway.

Thunderbird, based in Glendale, Ari., offers full-time, executive, and distance-learning MBAs, with a focus on global management.

– Alanna Stage, @alannatweets