FGS caught up with Antonio Papuzza to hear his reflections on the process of becoming a changemaker.
Teaching, Directorships, and Consulting
Antonio Papuzza is an international business and negotiation specialist. He is currently an Instructor in the Leeds School of Business at CU-Boulder where he teaches courses in the fields of International Business (fundamentals of international business, cross-cultural management, and global business ethics) and Organizational Behavior (leadership, communication, and negotiation) for undergraduate, graduate, and executive programs. Additionally, he designs, teaches, and directs, for Leeds, academic programs in Northern Europe (the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, and Luxemburg), Southern Europe (Italy), and Asia (Indonesia). Antonio is the faculty director of the Leeds program “Go Global Boot Camp”. Antonio also works as an international business consultant, cultural business mediator, and coach (cross-cultural training, intercultural business communication, and coaching) for multinational companies, world organizations, and international institutions. He has an additional background in analysis of organizational culture and change management. Some of the clients who have recently worked with Antonio are: Pearson Prentice Hall, Lemco MICS (Harley Davidson partner), and Ericsson America. His research in international business focuses on cross-cultural management practices around the world. He is currently working on a book on cross-cultural management.
Service and Outreach
At Leeds, Antonio hosts the IBSS (International Business Speaking Series sponsored by the Ben Miller Fund), the IBCWS (International Business Career Workshop Series in collaboration with CU Career Services), and the IBCH (International Business Coffee Hour at the Leeds Trep Café). He is the academic adviser of a few students‘ clubs and organizations (International Business Club, MBA Global Business Club, and AIESEC (Association of International of Students in Economic and Commercial Sciences). He serves several business committees on and off campus: CU ICAT (International Careers Advisory Team), CWA (Conference of World Affairs), and WTC Denver (World Trade Center in Denver.) Antonio’s outreach for CU, and the Boulder/Denver region includes cross-cultural training (for international students, American mentors for international students, and Boulder professionals), negotiation training (for undergraduate and graduate students for career purposes), and international business mentoring for world entrepreneurs (the Foundation for Global Scholars.) He is one of the 8 world reviewers of the textbook “IB” (International Business Environments and Operations) by Daniels, Radebaugh, and Sullivan for both the American and the global edition and also a regular reviewer of “Management, A Focus on Leaders” by Annie Mckee (both textbooks are published by Pearson). Antonio is a member of AIB (Academy of International Business), EUSA (European Union Studies Association), and other organizations involved in global business and economic research.
Career and Professional Background
He has lived, worked, conducted business, and done research in several countries in Europe, in the Southern Mediterranean region, and in North America for national and international organizations (private companies, nonprofit organizations, public institutions, and schools.) Prior to Leeds, Antonio was a Business Instructor in Business Anthropology with CU Continuing Education, area Professional Development, for a group of senior entrepreneurs and business professionals in Colorado. Prior to CU, Antonio worked in a number of international business consulting, cultural mediation, and language services projects between Europe and the USA (CEO International, Rosetta Stone, Artsana group, WHO, WWF, International House World Organization, Rosebud Sioux Lakota Sicangu Nation, and City of Palermo/Italian Government.) Prior to that, he worked in sales and marketing with the European network GLS (General Logistic System) for 2 years and consulted in advertising, including creating video ads in Italy. Other lives also include working as a freelance business consultant and business coach for 5 years, owning a business in food and wine distribution in Italy, and co-founding a nonprofit organization that has operated internationally for 10 years. As a parallel career to business, Antonio has been teaching Italian language, culture, and business, for 15 years, as an instructor and as consultant, in a variety of countries and organizations within both business and academic contexts. As an expert in Italian business, language, and culture, Antonio consults, trains, coaches, and advises professionals who conduct business in and with Italy.
Titles and Professional Development
Antonio holds a doctorate in Anthropological Sciences (research in Economic/Business Anthropology and modern Ethnography) from the University of Florence, Italy (2006) and a bachelor’s degree in Natural Sciences (with honor), major in Holistic Studies (Interdisciplinary Natural Science Studies), with a specialization in Protection of Nature and Management of its Resources) from the University of Palermo, Italy (2002). This was awarded after an extracurricular year at the University of Granada, Spain, on an Erasmus scholarship award. He is a certified business mediator at the Chamber of Commerce in Italy (2005); holds an international certification from the International House World Organization in Rome, Italy (2006), recognized by the Italian government, to teach “Italian language and culture”. He has completed the Leadership Development Program at Teleos Institute in Philadelphia and he is currently preparing for the international certification in coaching with the ICF (International Coaching Federation). and the CIEE (Council on International Education Exchange) in Moscow, Russia, within the field of geopolitics and global business through the MCMIO University.
Interview with Antonio Papuzza
How did your international experience change or alter your career or life direction?
I made a career out of my success and failure within the interface between business and culture in all the countries I have lived, worked, and conducted business.
What advice would you give to an aspiring global changemaker?
Don’t embrace globalization, be it! This is just the world in which we live today. Whether or not you are aware of it, you are a global citizen.
Was there an “aha” moment in your time in a different country that helped you gain clarity in your life or altered your life?
I worked for a while in an Indian reservation in Rosebud, South Dakota, US, land of the Sioux Lakota Sicangu Nation. That experience was life changing. Not enough space here to tell you how 🙂
What is your favorite go-to quote?
Everybody cries, that’s perfectly fine. However, it is what you do after you are done crying that will make the difference and eventually change the situation.
Looking forward, what do you see as important in shaping a globalized world?
Helping people to develop a global mindset.
What skills or attitudes have you found most useful operating in an international context?
Intercultural competence and life long learning. However, these two are key if you practice personal growth.I love international business because it gave me a chance to learn about me by learning about anything else in all the countries I have lived, worked, and conducted business.