Notable alumni

• Fatmir Sejdiu (Yugoslavia, now Kosovo)

  Semester at Arizona State University

  Sejdiu was a Professor of Law at the University of Prishtina when he spent a semester in residence at ASU in 2003. He was among 17 participants from Kosovo who were part of an educational partnership administered by ASU’s Melikian Center for Russian, Eurasian and East European Studies through a grant from the U.S. Department of State.

  Lifetime achievements

  The 1st President of Kosovo. Recipient of ASU’s Distinguished Global Leadership Award for his work in enhancing international and intercultural understanding through his professional endeavors.

• Halla Tomasdottir (Iceland)

  Graduated from ASU

  Earned an International Master of Business Administration (MBA) from ASU’s Thunderbird School of Global Management.

  Lifetime achievements

  CEO of The B Team, “a not-for-profit initiative formed by a global group of business leaders to catalyze a better way of doing business, for the well-being of people and the planet”.

• James Harden (USA)

  Attended Arizona State University

  Studied for 2 years before joining the NBA as a professional basketball player.

  Lifetime achievements

  Hugely successful basketball player. At ASU in 2009, he was named the Pacific-10 Conference’s Player of the Year. In 2018, Harden was named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player. He is a 7-time NBA All-Star and has twice played for the US national basketball team, winning gold medals at the 2012 Summer Olympics and 2014 FIBA World Cup.

• Kate Spade (USA)

  Graduated from ASU

  Graduated in 1985 with a Bachelor of Arts in Broadcasting.

  Lifetime achievements

  American fashion designer and businesswoman, she is the founder and former co-owner of the designer brand Kate Spade New York.

• Phil Mickelson (USA)

  Graduated from ASU

  Graduated in 1992 with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, on a golf scholarship.

  Lifetime achievements

  An American professional golfer. He has won 44 events on the PGA Tour, including 5 major championships: 3 Masters titles (2004, 2006, 2010), a PGA Championship (2005), and an Open Championship (2013).

• Ramon Laguarta (Spain)

  Graduated from ASU

  Earned a master’s in International Management in 1986 from ASU’s Thunderbird School of Global Management.

  Lifetime achievements

  The CEO of PepsiCo since October 3, 2018. He has previously worked for the Spanish confectionery company Chupa Chups.

• Reka Cseresnyes (Hungary)

  Graduated from ASU

  Earned a Bachelor of Science in Finance and Purchase/Logistic Management in 1999.

  Lifetime achievements

  Founder of SCR Sport in Budapest, Hungary and the first 4-time All-American in Sun Devil women’s tennis history. In 2013, Cseresnyes was inducted into the Sun Devil Athletics Hall of Fame.

• Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori (UAE)

  Graduated from ASU

  Earned a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering and Management Systems.

  Lifetime achievements

  An Emirati Engineer and Minister of the Economy of the United Arab Emirates since 2008.

• Ted Sarandos (USA)

  Attended Arizona State University

  Majored in journalism before pursuing a film and television career.

  Lifetime achievements

  Chief Content Officer for Netflix. Under his leadership, the company received 54 Primetime Emmy Awards nominations in 2016.

• Venkat Nallapati (India)

  Graduated from ASU

  Earned an MBA in Global Management from ASU’s Thunderbird School of Global Management in 2008 before pursuing a film and television career.

  Lifetime achievements

  Founder and CEO of KryptoPal, a blockchain-based platform that can be integrated with different types of applications around the world to perform various cryptocurrency transactions.