Atsuko currently works in the Credit Risk Management and Advisory Department of Goldman Sachs Japan. As part of her major responsibilities, she works closely with investment bankers and conducts credit assessment on deals - such as M&A and debt underwriting - which are currently active areas in Japan in an economic environment of recovery and corporate restructuring. Atsuko also has responsibility for credit risk management of derivatives trades, especially in commodity derivatives, the market for which has grown rapidly in Asia in the past few years.

Knowledge gained in the MAief program at the International Business School and her past professional experience as an equity analyst have provided her with an integrated core competency for her current career. At IBS, she further developed her insights into corporate and industrial analysis while gaining a broader view of related fields, such as foreign currency markets, international trade, globalization, and various financial products.

Atsuko comments: "I feel that all the aspects of what I learned at IBS are interconnected and allow me to do better, more integrated credit risk analysis at work. The value I gained from this wonderful experience, learning from IBS' great professors, and the friends I made at the School are an important part of my life".

Diego works as a Senior Economic Analyst in the Research Department at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. As part of his various responsibilities, Diego participates in pre-FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) meetings, briefing the bank's president on the international aspects of the US economy. In addition, he contributes to the writing of several macroeconomic reports and delivers presentations to other groups within the Federal Reserve System, providing insights and forecasts. Diego also actively participates in conferences and research seminars, sharing thoughts, findings and ideas with other fellow economists.

Prior to joining the Federal Reserve, Diego had worked in the investment banking and strategy consulting industries. In addition, while in Spain during an exchange program, he was able to secure an internship in the research department of the BBVA in Madrid.

Upon graduation, Diego had also received job offers from the World Bank and NERA.

Diego comments: "I believe the MAief program gave me two main things. On the technical side, it allowed me to continue improving my economic and analytical skills. I knew what I wanted and the program was flexible enough to adapt to my needs. On a personal level, I was exposed to an innumerable quantity of new realities, cultures and perspectives, which I had never experienced before. As such, I was able to grow not only as an economist, but also as a citizen of this world."

Carolina comments: "The open approach of the MBA program allowed me to choose several courses in Economics which expanded my opportunities in the economic consulting field. The class diversity and the quality of instructors were very important in my experience at IBS. The support from Career Services was highly valuable and provided me with effective leads that ended in more than one job opportunity."

Manuel Nunez works as a Fixed Income Analyst in Wellington Management Company in Boston. He has primary responsibility for debt investments in Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Panama, Central America and the Caribbean. Before Brandeis, Manuel traveled and worked throughout Latin America. He has lived in Chile, where he worked in corporate finance and management in the manufacturing sector and earned an MBA from the University of Santiago in Chile. He is originally from Havana, Cuba, where he managed a health care institution.

Manuel comments: "IBS was a critical stepping stone in my career path. It expanded my horizons and broadened my cultural knowledge beyond my initial Latin American experience. IBS also added a valuable set of financial skills to my business background, allowing me to switch into an asset management career, and enabling me to make rapid progress in my current job"

Dato Sandroshvili is Vice President at Citigroup Global Market's Investment Banking Division in London. He focuses on providing strategic advisory, M&A and capital raising services to Energy companies in Europe, Middle East, Asia, Japan and Former Soviet Union. Dato has been at Citigroup London sincehis graduation in 2001 and has also spent several months in the company's New York offices on an extended rotation.

Dato comments: "IBS has built a very balanced curriculum and it has offered me all the tools that I needed for my job. Since I work in the financial industry, courses in Accounting and Finance have benefited me directly. However, as an Investment Banker, I have to focus on companies' strategy, as well as softer, 'people' issues, both of which were covered in the curriculum. In addition, with the flexibility of cross-registering, I took a special negotiations class at Babson, which was also extremely useful. Most career tracks today require knowledge in many areas, and Brandeis has given me a platform in all the important areas that I need to build on in order to grow. Most importantly, the school has given me global network of alumni that I can rely on and which I have used number of times."

Amy is Managing Director of Public Finance at Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. In this role, Amy is responsible for structuring bond issues, derivative transactions, securitizations and refinancings for some of the nation's largest municipal issuers, including the City of New York. In October of 2001, she helped the City of New York access the bond market for the first time after September 11th in the successful $1 billion New York City Recovery Note transaction.

During her career, Amy has structured over $30 billion of securities and has been instrumental in the development of the municipal asset securitization market, which blends the techniques of the asset backed securities arena with the financing needs of state and local governments. In 1997, she worked on the nation's first municipal asset securitization for New York City's Transitional Finance Authority. More recently, she has led the establishment of the tobacco securitization market, in which states securitize their share of a $40 billion legal settlement with the tobacco manufacturers. Amy has structured over $9 billion of tobacco securitizations, putting Bear Stearns at the top of the league tables in this area.

Amy comments: "At IBS, I learned that my financing ideas have to change constantly to keep up with dynamic market conditions. This approach has helped me stay ahead of my competitors and give my clients the best possible advice."