and, most importantly, established WDI’s place within the school and university.” Snyder, who is now dean at Yale’s School of Management, said being named the Institute’s first director was “one of the most amazing moments of my life.” Under Snyder, the Institute focused on four major efforts: • Developing relationships with enterprises in transition economies and deploying faculty- led teams of master’s- level students to work on high-priority projects • Delivering six-week seminars for senior business leaders, entrepreneurs and government officials from countries with emerging economies • Funding fellowships that allowed U-M scholars to engage intensively on an international basis • Hosting forums led by U-M business professor C.K. Prahalad, one of the world’s top management gurus and author of the seminal “Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid.” Davidson and White gave Snyder his marching orders. “They didn’t want the Institute to do white papers,” Snyder recalled. “They wanted it to do project work with both indigenous companies and multinational companies that wished to get involved in the emerging markets of former Soviet bloc countries.” Snyder enjoyed welcoming senior executives from these countries to the busi- ness school for executive education classes, and was thrilled to visit student teams in the field. One of the earliest WDI interns was MBA candidate Jack Foreman, who spent a summer near the port city of Gdansk, Poland, during the Institute’s formative months. While there, Foreman was assigned to work on two projects centered on privatization and a third evaluating the local market for potato chips. For the chip project, Foreman took a Polish- speaking person with him to interview people on the street. He also surveyed local stores that carried the snack food. These experiences gave him the confidence and comfort to work in any setting – a skill that has come in handy during his career as a product development consultant. “I don’t think I would have known where to start or how to talk to people if I hadn’t spent those months abroad,” he said. Growth associated with international work wasn’t just limited to students. Snyder said that what he learned from engaging with senior managers from transition economies has stayed with him throughout his career. “I’m much more able to engage with people around the world, and I expect that’s true for other faculty and staff who have been involved in WDI,” he explained. Satisfied that he had established a solid foundation at the Institute and set it on a fiscally sound path, Snyder stepped down after three years. In 1996, the Institute undertook a national search to replace Snyder. Its primary goal was to recruit someone who could strengthen WDI’s research agenda. “They didn’t want the Institute to do white papers. They wanted it to do project work with both indigenous companies and multinational companies.” Four Who Moved It Forward 16 William Davidson Institute