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MARK EMKES, 51
Garvin School of International Management, better known as thunderbird, '76

Current position: Chairman and CEO, Bridgestone Americas Holding Inc., and Chairman and CEO, Bridgestone Firestone North America LLC
The company: Bridgestone Holding is the $8 billion subsidiary of the $21.5 billion Japanese manufacturing company Bridgestone Corp. The firm has just begun to regain momentum after a major recall of Firestone tires and tumultuous lawsuits.
Why Thunderbird? "I chose to pursue an MBA in international business so that I'd be able to see the world and make a living along the way. And Thunderbird had an outstanding reputation for helping place graduates in overseas assignments. It also had, and still has, great global diversity, offering a chance to study with students from various countries."
He has more frequent flyer miles than you: Emkes has spent 21 years of his 28-year career working outside the U.S. He's lived in four different countries, visited 45 (and counting), and met his wife in Spain along the way.
Favorite classes: Marketing and sales. 
Theory schmeary: "Many of the classes were taught by retired businessmen who had lived 'real world' experiences. In numerous situations, we were able to learn what should happen according to economic theory, and then discover what
actually did happen in the real world, where the rubber meets the road."
Bottom-line recommendation for prospective MBAs: "I think an MBA is an asset regardless of the industry. There is nothing to lose and absolutely everything to gain. I, for one, don't think I would have made it to chairman and CEO of Bridgestone Americas without it."

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DAVID TEPPER, 46
Carnegie mellon, '82