U of M China Center honors
Carlson School professor Mahmood Zaidi

Mahmood Zaidi, founding director of the International Program Office and human resource and industrial relations professor at the Carlson School of Management, was honored recently by the University of Minnesota China Center for his years of service as president and member of the China Center Advisory Council (CCAC) and because of his efforts to encourage faculty and student exchange, expand research and professional collaboration and strengthen the bridges between the University and mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Zaidi served on the CCAC under three center directors including professors Patricia Needle, David Pui and Hong Yang.

While Zaidi was developing and delivering the Warsaw MBA program for the Carlson School, he became interested in China because, like Poland, China was also in transition from a command and control economy to a market economy. His interest led to an invitation to serve on the China Center's advisory council.

"Serving on the council not only gave me an opportunity to serve with other colleagues from the university and the Twin Cities community, but also provided me with an opportunity to meet and host dignitaries from China, Taiwan and Hong Kong," said Zaidi. All those contacts made it possible to develop and begin delivering the China Executive MBA program which now boasts over 200 alumni.