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Ryan Letourneau ’11 / Major: International Business: Marketing / Minor: Spanish / Internship: Opportunity International, Nicaragua / Path: Business Analyst for Europe and Asia, Delhaize Group, Brussels

“What sets Bryant apart is the ability each student has to make the experience his or her own.”

“I was accepted by a dozen colleges but Bryant had the best International Business program because it gives you international experience in your field. Many professors were from other countries and all had real-world experience. That really solidified it for me,” says Ryan Letourneau.

Today, Letourneau is part of the International Graduate Training Program with Delhaize Group, a food retailer based in Brussels, Belgium, with 2,800 stores on three continents. When Letourneau joined the company, it was the first time that Delhaize had hired Americans and he was one of only 18 selected from more than 750 applicants.

“I was one of the few who didn’t have an MBA, so Bryant’s International Business curriculum afforded me the opportunity to be part of a program that’s really competitive,” he says.

Ryan Letourneau recently completed a six-month stint in Serbia, where he quickly developed a working, conversational proficiency in the language.

“Without the core of Bryant’s International business program, I don’t know if I would have been successful during my time in Serbia,” he says. “Adapting to the culture was made easier by the time spent abroad during my studies. I was able to anticipate how I would feel at different points during my cultural integration, identify situations that might not be ideal, and adapt accordingly. Additionally, the International Business capstone course prepared me for the real-life proposal of a multimillion dollar investment and the questions to anticipate.”

Letourneau received high marks for his presentation skills, which he attributes to the extensive number of presentations that are part and parcel of a Bryant education. He also applied a marketing matrix to analyze product performance, something which his Serbian colleagues had never seen before.

Letourneau is currently completing his18-month training program in Brussels, serving as a business analyst for Europe and Asia, before assuming a corporate-level management position with the company – an extraordinary achievement for a 2011 graduate.