• share
• print
• bookmark

  Add this page to your favorite site:

  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 

$0.00 Million	0 Donors

About the Annual Fund

The Fuqua Annual Fund plays a critical role in our ability to serve students and alumni and advance Fuqua's strategic objectives:

• Strengthen our core by extending our research advantage, nurturing educational innovation, and continuing to graduate a special kind of student
• Become the first truly global business school
• Develop a sustained strength in six industry verticals that provide career opportunities for our students and position us for the future
• Link to other strengths at Duke, especially around sustainability, health, public policy, and law
• Create a Master of Management Studies program that is the best of its kind in the world

Please support these objectives by contributing to The Fuqua Annual Fund by June 30, 2009.

Take a look at the thermometer to see the current goals and giving to this year's Annual Fund drive.

Have you made your gift to The Annual Fund? Make a gift now!

A Global Campus: Running an International Brand

Jay Duke (Daytime '01) manages the acquisition of a Finnish sports brand, fulfilling his career dream.

This article was originally published in the alumni magazine Team Fuqua.

Jay Duke (Daytime '01) has been running around the world for about 20 years, in hot pursuit of career opportunities. Just a couple years ago, he caught up to his dream job.

After graduating from Boston College in 1991, Duke spent the majority of the next eight years abroad. Holding various senior marketing positions with Reebok International LTD, Duke lived in the United Kingdom and Japan, and has worked in Russia, Italy, France, Brazil, and China. Despite all the traveling, he always had a specific career goal in mind.

"From very early on I have wanted to own and run my own business, ideally, a great sports brand," Duke said.

His dream came true in 2007. After studying at Fuqua and working at Morgan Stanley & Co., Duke managed the acquisition of a Finnish sports brand, KARHU , along with friend and business partner Huub Valkenburg. Together they established KARHU Holding, B.V.

"Huub and I met in Moscow where we were part of the team that established Reebok's business in Russia in the early 1990s," Duke said. "Huub approached me about buying KARHU."

KARHU, which means "bear" in Finnish was established in 1916, and specializes in running footwear. Duke said the brand is known throughout Europe. Before deciding on the acquisition, Duke researched the business opportunity, the brand, products and their marketability — putting his MBA to use.

"Jay provides a great example of someone who has forged a meaningful career path by leveraging the best of a traditional MBA with a less traditional business field," said Sheryle Dirks , Associate Dean for Career Management. Dirks assisted Duke with his transition from being a student at Fuqua to working at Morgan Stanley & Co. where he was financial advisor to companies including Nike, Timberland and Converse.

"My studies at Fuqua and experience at Morgan tipped the scales to allow me to do this," Duke said. "It took all of my MBA experience to pull together a new product line soon after purchasing the brand."

Duke explained that product line development usually takes 18 months, but he and his team did it in 12, with intense teamwork and execution. As a result, the line was honored with the prestigious Best Debut award from Runners World.

KARHU is headquartered in Beverly, MA, with Duke as president and Board of Directors member. Duke leads global corporate strategy for brand marketing, finance and product creation, and the business execution in North America for KARHU and CRAFT. In addition to KARHU, Duke and Valkenburg own the North American distribution rights for CRAFT, a Swedish performance apparel brand focused on endurance athletes.

Duke is increasing awareness of the brands globally, but particularly in North America, including expansion in the Carolinas. He traveled to North Carolina in February 2009 to market to specialty running stores.

"We are targeting about 100 stores," Duke said. "The challenge is that running is a crowded market, but we are one of the only truly dedicated and authentic running brands in the bunch."

For more information, please visit http://karhu.com .

Thank You for Making Fuqua Reunions 2009 a Great Success!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to the more than 450 alumni, guests, and kids who came to Durham to celebrate 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35 years of being Fuqua alumni. We had a great weekend reconnecting with old friends in the North Carolina sunshine. Photos of the weekend will be posted to the  Fuqua Reunions 2009 website .

Fuqua has two publications that are regularly sent to all alumni. If you are not receiving either of these publications, please visit the My Profile page to see if your contact information is up-to-date.

FuquaNet

Our e-newsletter, FuquaNet , is distributed to all alumni each month with information about what's happening at the school, current faculty research, opportunities to volunteer, and alumni highlight from throughout the globe.

Read the current issue of FuquaNet.

Past Issues

Team Fuqua

Fuqua's quarterly magazine, Team Fuqua , contains alumni news and notes and is mailed to all Fuqua alumni. To view class notes on the web, please visit your class page . To submit a note, please contact the class communication chair listed on your class page, or use our online form .