flew several key government officials and staff members of the National Bank of Hungary to the company’s European headquarters in Luxembourg for a crash course in finance. The experience confirmed what Davidson was thinking: that these newly freed countries would struggle to transition from a command economy to a free market. And an institute at the business school could help make this transition easier. “He felt the institute could make a real contribution,” Gerson said. “Bill also felt it was an area that could make the business school more international and take its expertise around the world.” The school was moving toward becoming more global in its thinking and actions. The fall of communism interested some faculty, but they knew there was still a lot of work to be done to develop successful market economies. “The view was that the stakes were high because if market economies didn’t develop well in Central and Eastern Europe, there might be backsliding to communism,” White said. Frank Wilhelme, head of development at the business school in those years, was handed Davidson’s stained note and tasked with making it happen. The ensuing months would entail complex and sometimes stressful negotiations between the school, the university’s central administration and Guardian. Still, Wilhelme, who spent nearly 30 years at the school in a variety of roles, called it “the most fascinating gift I ever worked on.” He had a lump in his throat when White told him he had three months to come up with a solid proposal based on Davidson’s note. He immediately started conversations with people at Guardian about the purpose of the institute and how it would be funded. Guardian officials worked on an affiliation agreement between the company, the business school and U-M’s Board of Regents, as well as articles of incorporation and bylaws. Wilhelme also identified key business school faculty such as Kenneth Lieberthal and C.K. Prahalad and talked to them about what impactful work the institute could do. Lieberthal, who often visited Davidson at his Guardian office to talk about Chinese politics and economics, said the business leader didn’t want to establish just a think tank or a consulting firm: “His goal was to foster good research, test the research conclusions in the real world, and then make the results available in practical terms, not just via books, articles and conferences but also by helping set up institutions and curricula and training programs.” One hurdle that needed to be cleared was the university’s central administration, which was uncomfortable with long-term, independent organizational affiliations with outside groups. But White noted Davidson was adamant about the structure, especially the independent aspect. Earlier that year, White flew overseas with Davidson C.K. Prahalad Kenneth Lieberthal An Innovative Institute 6 William Davidson Institute