International careers expert shares advice with LSB students

Marketing and communications consultant, engaging speaker and award-winning author Stacie Berdan, provided advice on how to succeed in the global marketplace to five different business classes on Feb. 21-22.

Berdan talked about her international business experience, how she has adapted to global business, her experience as a woman internationally and the value of understanding cross-cultural environments.

Berdan encouraged students to stay up to date on current issues in both domestic and international countries, maintain contacts in countries that interest them and learn the culture in different countries. She also discussed the changing role of managers as the workplace becomes increasingly global and virtual.

“The biggest thing I took away is that the world is constantly changing into a globally oriented place,” said Kelvin Walker ’13, who heard Berdan speak in his global marketing class. “There are plenty of opportunities to keep up with the changing world; you just have to be able to take advantage of them when they are available.”

Spending the majority of her career at one of the world’s leading communication firms, Burson-Marsteller, Berdan went on to work for Unilever, a large consumer products company where she focused on global branding. Throughout her career, she has counseled a plethora of senior executives, non-profit organizations and foreign governments in the area of strategic business communication. She also advises campus counselors, teachers and students on the importance of going global.

Berdan has made many broadcast appearances on stations including NBS, NPR and ABC. Her work has been featured in magazines and newspapers that include The New York Times and Wall Street Journal. She blogs regularly for the Huffington Post and has written two books. Her third book will debut this summer.