OSU alumnus insists education important to his success

By Jim Mitchell OSU News Bureau Some years ago, Dr. Edwin G. Gutierrez quit his job and earned his doctorate at Oklahoma State University against the advice of his supervisors in the corporate world. Over the course of his career, he has grown accustomed to refusing such well-intended advice in order to get the educational background he felt was necessary to expand his job opportunities. That may be a key reason he now has a position that few of his fellow economists would ever dream of landing. Gutierrez is the director of the economics department for the OPEC Fund for International Development, headquartered in VIenna, Austria. The OPEC Fund belongs to the OPEC member countries but it is dedicated exclusively to providing concessional financial assistance to poor countries of the world for economic development that does not involve oil and gas activities. In his current position, Gutierrez not only represents the Fund as its chief international economist at global forums but also provides strategic guidance to several operating units of the organization and acts as a focal point for overall knowledge management of the Fund. As a member of the Fund’s Senior Management Committee, he handles fund-wide decision- making in administrative, financial, personnel and corporate planning issues. The OPEC Fund represents his latest stop in a 30-year career that began after his graduation from the University of Costa Rica with a degree in economics. Gutierrez immediately started to build an extensive resume which includes work as an economist for the Central Bank of Costa Rica, a financial advisor for upstream operations for the Venezuelan Petroleum Corporation, a consultant for a petroleum and minerals consulting institute in Saudi Arabia, an industrial development planner for private enterprise in the Persian Gulf and an advisor in management and marketing for the Ministry of Oil and Gas in Muscat, Oman. In between his first three positions, despite pleas from managers and colleagues, Gutierrez resigned each time to seek what the corporations could not provide — training that would broaden his horizons. “I became adept at bucking conventional wisdom and consistently pursued a ‘contrarian philosophy’ that has paid some dividends over the years,” says Gutierrez. After earning his initial masters degree in linear programming in Brazil, his education ultimately included a doctorate in economics from the College of Business Administration at Oklahoma State University and another masters degree, this one in international management, from the American Graduate School of International Management in Arizona. “OSU helped me further develop skills as a professional economist and prepare to take on bigger challenges in my fields of specialization which included economic development plan- fling and microeconomics.” As it turned out, those fields served as important stepping-stones to take on major responsibilities in foreign lands, according to Gutierrez. He credits Dr. Kent Olson as one of the most influential economists in his professional development. “Dr. Olson acted as the helping hand and the listening ear constantly giving me prompt and positive reinforcement throughout my studies,’ says Gutierrez. With plenty of advanced reading material from Dr. Gerald Lage and effective technical and mathematical advice from Dr Keith Willet, Gutierrez waded through the complexities and earned his Ph.D. in 1984. Gutierrez now plans, negotiates and manages an OPEC Fund worldwide portfolio of technical assistance programs worth $1.3 billion including 700 projects ranging from health care, education, agriculture and the environment to training for the blind, assistance to street children and emergency relief. He’s also a member of the Fund’s investment committee that provides strategic planning and the assessment of economic development programs covering $5 billion in public sector operations and private sector projects worth $200 million. The programs span more than 110 countries and 1,000 specific projects. Gutierrez recommends that students interested in similar positions in economics be willing to pursue the right mix of education and corporate experience that has allowed him to adapt to different cultures and organizational structures. He also urges them to strive to have the discipline to master the facts and sound methods necessary to evaluate and implement the actions that will help their organization move forward. “But,” as Gutierrez puts it, “Above all, under-, stand how incomplete all that will be if you don’t have the valuable guidance of professors like I had at OSU. They taught me the most and I am deeply indebted to them.”