Former RTKL head offers advice on conducting business abroad

Students learned what and what not to do when doing business abroad in a lecture by Harold Adams ’61, retired as chairman of [RTKL] (http://www.rtkl.com) , which he transformed from a one-office design operation to a firm with projects in more than 60 countries.

You need to have a sensitivity to other people’s religions,” he said in an appearance before students in the college’s [Cultural and Ethical Global Practices] (http://archone.tamu.edu/college/news/newsletters/fall2009/stories/etiquette_classes.html) class, led by Rodney Hill, professor of architecture.

“Any young person should start studying Mandarin,” said Adams, an outstanding alumnus of the College of Architecture. “It will greatly help you in the future.”

The lessons Adams provided are part of the knowledge students will need in their careers, said Hill.

"After students graduate, they're going to be working globally," he said. "In the next 40 years, there will be three billion people added to the earth, and only 120 million of them are going to be in the U.S. There will be global opportunities for all these kids. That's why this course was established."

Adams is one of a number of chief operating officers of global design firms that who have been guest lecturers in the class, said Hill.