International Business Environment: A Multipolar World Approach

Mays Business School, Texas A&M University
Dr. Julian Gaspar is Clinical Professor Emeritus of Finance with Texas A&M University’s Mays Business School and an Adjunct Professor of International Business with The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, where he teaches International Business and International Financial Management. Prior to his recent move to Washington, DC, Dr. Gaspar was the director of Texas A&M University’s Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER), for 30 years where he was responsible for internationalizing Mays Business School’s academic programs, faculty research and outreach programs. As the director of one of America’s 15 CIBER business schools, Dr. Gaspar’s mission was to infuse and promote internationalization
in business courses. He was the architect of institutionalizing globalization content in Mays Business School curriculum through international business course design, study abroad and exchange program implementation, and international business textbook authorship. Dr. Gaspar developed and lead study abroad programs
for graduate and undergraduate business students to understand the business environments of China, Europe, and India. Dr. Gaspar is an international economist by training, with over three decades of expertise in country-risk evaluation, project economic and financial analysis, and financial and industrial restructuring
of emerging economies. His corporate experience stems from his years of work with Bank of America in Tokyo and San Francisco, where he conducted country risk assessments and researched and analyzed debt problems of developing countries. During his tenure as an international economist with the World Bank Group in Washington, DC, Dr. Gaspar analyzed investment projects in Asia and designing financial and industrial reform programs for Poland and Cyprus. Dr. Gaspar earned his PhD in International and Monetary Economics from Georgetown University in Washington, DC, an MBA from Indiana University-Bloomington, and a BTech degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Madras, India. Dr. Gaspar consults with the U.S. Department of State on business education reform in Central Asia and Russia as well as development projects in Africa. Dr. Gaspar is the lead author of two textbooks: Introduction to Business, 4e, and Introduction to Global Business, 3e, as well as case studies on Russian business. He has travelled and worked in 70 countries. 

Mays Business School, Texas A&M University
Dr. Panina earned her BA in Economics from Moscow State University in Russia. She began her career as a research assistant in the international economic policy advisory group to the Russian government and later led a team of researchers who collected and analyzed data on the privatization of Russian companies during the economic reforms of the 1990s. She then pursued graduate studies in the United States, earning her MA and PhD from the School of Management and Labor Relations at Rutgers University. Dr. Panina has worked in the areas of human resources and executive search in both Russia and the US. She ultimately chose a career in academia and joined Texas A&M University’s Mays Business School in 2003. She is currently a Clinical Professor in the Management Department where she teaches international business and management courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. She serves as Associate Director for Academic Programs in Mays CIBER and has been leading Mays Business Study Abroad programs for more than 15 years. She has
taken students to more than 25 countries in the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. With a strong interest in international business and management, she is passionate about experiential learning and helping students develop global skills and competencies. Her research focuses on the development of a global mindset and international business teaching and learning. Dr. Panina is a member of the Academy of International Business (AIB), where she served as the inaugural chair of the AIB Teaching and Education Shared Interest Group. She also contributes to the global virtual experiential learning project X-Culture. Dr. Panina serves on the editorial boards of several academic journals, including the European Journal of International
Management and AIB Insights. She has served as a guest editor of special issues in the area of international business education in several journals, including for the Journal of Teaching International Business, Journal of Management Education, AIB Insights and Critical Perspectives on International Business.