CEAS Career Forum

Friday, February 17  |  3:30 PM

Spooner Hall, The Commons

The CEAS Career Forum is a great opportunity for students to learn about potential international career fields and hear first-hand how our alumni are using their degrees in East Asia and the world!

About the Speakers

Jim Small, Senior Vice President, International at Major League Baseball, KU Alumnus, B.A Journalism

A senior leader of MLB’s international development team for nearly 25 years, Jim Small is responsible for many of MLB’s key international initiatives, including the World Baseball Classic. Under his leadership, the World Baseball Classic has grown into the globe’s preeminent international baseball tournament, with nearly 400 million in cumulative viewership since its inception. Prior to his current role, Small was responsible for growing MLB’s brand and development globally, planning MLB’s international play schedule, generating new opportunities to grow the sport’s popularity internationally, and creating a talent pipeline in key markets.

From 2003 to 2019, Small oversaw MLB’s Asia Pacific business operations based in Tokyo, Japan. Previously, Small oversaw MLB’s international marketing and events as Vice President of Market Development based in New York, beginning in 1998.  A veteran of nearly 40 years in the sports marketing industry, Small started his career in public relations with the Kansas City Royals, the Chicago Cubs, the Texas Rangers and MLB’s New York Office. From 1995-1998, he held a variety of global marketing positions at Nike, Inc., primarily focused on the company’s soccer brand.  Small returned to baseball in August 1998.

Small has served as an advisor to the Japanese Government’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in its preparation for the 2020 Olympic Games and on the Board of Directors of the General Sports Administration of Saudi Arabia. He is a founding member of Tomodachi, a public-private sector youth initiative operated in conjunction with the US Japan Council and the US Embassy, Tokyo. He has served on the board of trustees for Hands on Tokyo, one of Japan’s leading charitable organizations, and the American School in Japan.

Small holds a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Kansas and an M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University in New York.

Jeff Willis, International Director, Kansas Department of Commerce, KU Alumnus, M.A. East Asian Languages & Cultures

Jeff Willis joined the Kansas Department of Commerce as Director of the International Division in late 2019. As director, Willis is leading efforts to grow Kansas exports and attract more foreign direct investment into Kansas. Before joining the Department, Willis ran a consulting firm specializing in helping manufacturing companies with their Asia-related business. A veteran of international trade and international trade promotion, Willis is also a former commercial officer with the U.S. Commercial Service and held positions at the U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, China, and the U.S. Consulate in Shanghai, China.

Willis left the diplomatic service in 1992 to return to the U.S. where he directed the Asian international marketing program for the State of Kansas for three years before joining a Lenexa, Kansas based machine tool manufacturer. While there, he managed the company’s Asian network of agents and distributors and set up its China based contract manufacturing operation.  He is a past president of the International Trade Council of Greater Kansas City and past Chair of the U.S. Department of Commerce Mid-America District Export Council.

Willis graduated with distinction from the University of Kansas with a BA in both French and philosophy and earned his MA in East Asian languages and cultures from KU as well.  He is fluent in French and Mandarin Chinese, having spent a year in Grenoble, France, a year studying at the Stanford Center in Taipei, Taiwan and a year at Zhengzhou University in Henan, China.

NOTICE on KU Repatriation Efforts and Spooner Hall

Sponsored by the KU Center for East Asian Studies.