Thunderbird School of Global Management
Loading the current phase, the actions taken and what is next.
Not for this step. A message to reopen the fifth-Palme discussion, held in reserve. Open it only if Nicole raises recognition.
Attach: nothing. Offer the criteria; do not invent current deadlines, selection or committee decisions.
Owner: Cyrille Minso. Free examples: approved, with no conditions.
Upgrade outlook: 60-80%, Cyrille's estimate for this school. This is his assessment of upgrade chances, not a formal committee preselection decision or a promise. Keep the estimate in seller guidance; do not present it as an awarded or guaranteed level.
Does payment determine the level? The level of Palmes is determined independently by the International Scientific Committee based on academic and international recognition criteria; the membership fee is simply calculated afterwards according to the level of Palmes awarded.
Evaluation and membership: The priority evaluation costs EUR 2,990 once, separately from membership. For a school holding 4 Palmes, Silver is EUR 5,990 per year and Gold is EUR 9,990 per year, excluding taxes, over a three-year licence. Platinum is EUR 9,990 per year plus a program promotion pack. All three tiers include the certification widget. Payment does not buy an upgrade.
Membership plan: share only exceptionally, when really required. Do not attach it to routine first messages or free-example notes. Platinum promotion packs: up to 5 programs EUR 13,345; up to 10 EUR 23,290; unlimited EUR 59,800. The pack billing period is not specified; use the formal quotation for that detail.
Recognition conversation: discuss an opportunity to apply for an upgrade review, with the fee and independent decision stated clearly. Do not describe the school as formally preselected on the basis of this estimate.
Thunderbird spoke with you in February and March 2026, and nothing in the email thread shows a no. Orelia Villarreal Marker took the first call on February 27 and wrote back the same day. Nicole Almond Anderson took the second call in early March (your March 9 recap thanks her for “the fruitful discussion we had on Friday”) and, after asking to move that call five minutes later, had replied to your confirmation within minutes. In that preserved spring thread, their last written message is dated March 4, and the second call took place on Friday, March 6. Your March 9 recap left the next step as “Upon decision of your dean,” and your April 20 invitation had no reply. Nothing in the exchange shows the dean was ever asked.
Two things matter now. Your list names Dr. Sanjeev Khagram for this school, but Charla Griffy-Brown has been Director General and Dean since July 1, 2024, so she was already dean during that exchange. And the school's rankings page, as collected on September 17, 2026, shows three first places and its AACSB accreditation; we found no mention of Palmes on it. The earlier upgrade offer drew no reply found in the seller’s mailbox; that does not establish why or whether another channel was used. The dated examples offer a new reason to reopen contact. A fresh recognition-led approach can discuss the opportunity for review using Cyrille's outlook and the confirmed terms above, without claiming formal preselection.
She met you in early March, and your two latest emails, March 9 and April 20, were addressed to her. Copy Orelia Villarreal Marker, who took the first call and said she would be in touch with her marketing colleague.
Never contacted. Your own March 9 message named the dean's decision as the next step. Who approves a purchase at the school is not in the pages we collected. Reach her through Nicole, with one page Nicole can hand over. Not directly, not yet.
ASU can only pay a registered supplier, and only an ASU employee can start the registration. We did not find which office at the school would pay. A yes from the dean is not yet an invoice that can be paid.
Subject: reply in the existing email thread
Attach: the three-example note, saved as a PDF. No membership plan.
The examples are delivered regardless of whether she accepts a call.
When: once the sender checks are complete. In session through October 9, and again from October 14.
When: after seven working days without a reply, and not on the dates marked Avoid below: October 10 to 13, November 23 to 27, December 7 to 12, December 13 to January 10.
After this: If there is no reply to the follow-up, stop. Do not write to the dean or to anyone else at the school.
4. One page Nicole can hand to the dean. Only after the short call, and only if she agrees. Never with the first message or the follow-up.Prepared · sender checksOpen
| Person | Part in the decision | What to know | Contact so far |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicole Almond AndersonExecutive Director, Branding and Communications | Your main contact. The person to ask to carry it to the dean. | Her scheduling note to you in March was two short sentences. A question to expect: how much of my team's time does this take? | Spoke with you on March 6. No reply to your March 9 or April 20 emails. |
| Orelia Villarreal MarkerSr. Director of Data Management and Analytics | Took the first call. Said she would be in touch with her marketing colleague. | Her role includes accreditation reporting and compliance with standards. A question to expect: what is measured, by whom, against what? | Spoke with you on February 27 and replied that day. Copied on your later emails. |
| Charla Griffy-BrownDirector General, Dean, and Professor of Global Digital Transformation, since July 1, 2024 | Decides, on your own March account. | Our reading of her published statements: the questions asked, a multi-decade shift, what makes the school distinct. We found no published view of hers on rankings or paid evaluations. | Never contacted |
| Lena BoothDeputy Dean, Thunderbird Academic Enterprise and Finance Professor | Not known. | We found no named budget owner in the pages collected on September 17, 2026. Do not ask about budget before the school agrees to discuss a separate paid service. | Never contacted |
| Katie PradoExecutive Director, Recruitment & Enrollment Management | Possible user of the examples. | Our judgment: recruitment is the office most likely to use them. She does not appear in your email exchange. | Never contacted |
- EduniversalCyrille
- Write to · second call, MarchNicole Almond AndersonBranding and Communications
- Copy · first call, FebruaryOrelia Villarreal MarkerData management and analytics. Said she would be in touch with her marketing colleague.
- Decides · not yet askedCharla Griffy-BrownDean. Reached through Nicole.
- Pays · a yes still needs thisASU purchasingSupplier registration first.
- Not yet involvedKatie PradoRecruitment and Enrollment
- Not yet involvedLena BoothDeputy Dean
Introductions. No one in your network has yet been matched to Dean Griffy-Brown. Several of your past wins came through a personal introduction. Share the deans of your member schools, and each will be checked against her career and her co-authors. Any match appears on this map. Keep members of your committee out of the sales conversation.
Nicole agrees to receive the examples
Cyrille reported on October 6 that the first email was sent and Nicole replied that she is interested. This step is complete on his report; the exact reply has not been supplied here. Do not send the no-reply follow-up to the opening.
You send the three examples to Nicole and Orelia
Attach the prepared note, with each example’s question and date. Use “Send now” above: thank her and explicitly offer a brief, optional call. Do not add a membership brochure or make the call a condition of receiving the examples.
A short call on what it shows
If Nicole accepts, ask what time suits her and Orelia, then confirm the time zone. On the call, ask which finding is useful and who at Thunderbird would use it. If she declines, the examples remain hers with no obligation. If she does not answer the call invitation, one follow-up after seven working days is enough; then stop. Raise budget and supplier registration only for a separate paid-service discussion, and answer any direct fee question plainly.
If Nicole agrees, she takes one page to the dean
The one-page brief above. Ask Nicole whether she is willing to take it. The aim is that the dean is asked one question, by her own colleague: who at Thunderbird should be the contact for this.
After the school engages: ask permission to discuss a separate service
Keep the free examples separate from any purchase. After a substantive reply, you may ask whether the school wants written information about a separate evaluation or membership. Discuss prices, budget and purchasing only with that permission and the confirmed terms below. For when the school asks: an ASU employee has to send Eduniversal a registration invitation before ASU can pay anything. We did not find, in ASU's published policy, how long registration takes or whether a purchase of this size needs competing quotes.
Order form and invoice
The only figure quoted so far is in euros. Expect questions on currency, tax documents and payment terms.
| Dates | Why | |
|---|---|---|
| Now to October 9 | Good | In session. Best moment for the first message. |
| October 10 to 13 | Avoid | Fall break. |
| October 14 to November 20 | Good | In session. Send the examples, hold the call, find who would use them. |
| November 23 to 27 | Avoid | Thanksgiving week. The university is closed on November 26 and 27. |
| December 7 to 12 | Avoid | Final exams. Classes end December 4. |
| December 13 to January 10 | Avoid | Between terms. Spring classes begin January 11. |
| January 11 to March 2, 2027 | Good | In session. |
| July 1 to June 30 | ASU's fiscal year. ASU submits next year's operating budget to its Board of Regents (ABOR) in May, and the Board approves it in June. That is the university's cycle, not the school's. If budget comes up, ask Nicole when the school's own requests are set. | |
| Session, break and exam dates | From Arizona State University's academic calendar, which is university-wide and is the calendar Thunderbird uses. We found no separate calendar for Thunderbird's graduate programs. |
| Item | Why it matters here |
|---|---|
| What happened in March on Thunderbird's side | Whether the dean was ever asked changes how the first message is read. |
| The date of Thunderbird's Deans' Vote session in 2027 | Your April message mentioned it, so the school may ask. The date is for answering that question only. It is not raised first, and it is not linked to anything on offer. |
| Your title and contact details as they should appear under your signature | The drafts are signed with your name and “Eduniversal” only. |
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Level today | 4 Palmes |
| Upgrade outlook | 60-80% (Cyrille's estimate; no guarantee) |
| Owner at Eduniversal | Cyrille Minso |
| Write to | Nicole Almond Anderson, copy Orelia Villarreal Marker |
| Decides | Charla Griffy-Brown, Dean (your list: Dr. Sanjeev Khagram) |
| Route | Nicole, then the dean if Nicole agrees. Supplier registration after the school agrees to discuss a separate paid service. |
| Quoted so far | Evaluation, EUR 2,990 (February 2026). Membership discussed; no price in the email text. |
| Status | Prepared, nothing sent |