Jorge Riveras, a new visiting assistant professor of Strategy & International Business at the Sawyer Business School, brings more than 22 years of global business experience to the classroom.

“The global business focus of Suffolk University is in-line with my background and experience,” said Riveras, who has served as an adjunct professor for the last four years at the Sawyer Business School. Riveras is particularly interested in the areas of strategic alliances, global marketing, sales management, and the political impact on business. This fall, he will be teaching Managing in the Global Environment, Strategic Management, and Globalization.

Shortly after earning a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from the Universidad Central de Venezuela, Riveras founded PLS de Venezuela. The company represents global manufacturers of analytical instruments for quality control and research fields.

Riveras went on to earn his MBA from Sawyer Business School and his PhD in International Business from Southern New Hampshire University. In 2000, he served as the international sales manager for a Massachusetts-based company that provides technology and responsiveness solutions to predict and prevent capital equipment malfunctioning.

In 2007, he was promoted to vice president - director of sales and marketing for the company, where he managed over 45 world distributors, as well as sales and marketing personnel. He developed strategic alliances, negotiated contracts, created promotional material, and conducted market research.

Riveras was also responsible for training a global sales force. After leading seminars on business and technology in more than 30 countries, Riveras became interested in academia.

Teaching at Suffolk felt like a natural fit for Riveras. “The faculty and students are very diverse, and the small classes allow for a perfect environment to share my international experiences in class and learn from other colleagues with vast global experience,” he said. Riveras is bilingual in English and Spanish, has a working knowledge of Portuguese, and has traveled to more than 60 countries.

In the classroom, Riveras’ goal is to help students “understand the concepts through real events,” he said. “I learned first-hand the difficulties and complexities of dealing with different cultures, organizations, and business environments, and this has been something that I have used in my studies and bring to class to present an international perspective when it comes to business and channels of distribution,” Riveras said.

He hopes his students will become “active participants” in classroom discussions and express their opinions through respectful debates. “In my opinion, support, encouragement, and guidance are key to a student’s success,” he said.