Dominique Hunt recently returned from a two-week consulting trip to the United Arab Emirates, where she worked on a project for Damas, a luxury jewelry brand headquartered in Dubai.
The project was done through the Consulting Abroad Program (CAP), a component of the Global MBA at the George Washington University School of Business. Global & Experiential Education (G&EE) developed CAP in 2009, making GWSB the first full-time MBA program in the United States to integrate an international action-learning component into its curriculum.
“It was such an amazing experience,” Hunt said. “Having that global element really pushes you to see how business adapts and operates in different environments. It broadens your horizons. You’re no longer just thinking from a domestic perspective. Being immersed in another culture forces you to shift your thinking, which helps you grow not just as a business leader, but as a person.”
The trip marked the end of Hunt’s first year in GW’s Global MBA program and reinforced for her that she made the right choice in schools.
According to G&EE Director Sarah LaRosa, the CAP program was developed to provide an opportunity for students to apply all they learned in their first year to address a real-world global business challenge, while developing essential skills needed for career success including teamwork, oral communication, project management and creative problem solving. More than 1,400 Global MBA alumni have participated in CAP since its creation.
Hunt chose GW specifically because of CAP. She first learned about the international consulting opportunity during a campus open house, where the session highlighted the different businesses CAP students have worked with over the years. Hunt was especially excited about Damas. Founded in 1907, Damas has 150+ stores across six countries and employs over 1,100 employees around the world.
“I’ve always wanted to work in the luxury space, and when they mentioned Damas, I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, this is perfect,’” Hunt said.
She was told that company partnerships vary each year, so when Damas returned as a client during her program year, it felt like it was meant to be.
In addition to spending an amazing two weeks in Dubai, with a visit to global business hub Abu Dhabi and a behind-the-scenes tour of the international luxury jewelry house’s headquarters, Hunt said the experience also led to a lot of personal and professional growth.
She learned how to work as part of a team, solve real-world business challenges, communicate her ideas effectively and collaborate with international clients.
For the project, Hunt and her classmates were tasked with working with Damas’s Human Resources team to suggest ways to improve employee retention and reduce attrition rates.
Their work began in January under the mentorship of Professor Thomas Debass, a lecturer in strategic management and public policy at the business school.
“He made the experience that much more fun, and I think he did a great job of reinforcing confidence in everyone,” Hunt said. “He was the best with motivational quotes, and he had a great eye for detail. He helped us flesh out our ideas and communicate them clearly and concisely.”
As the CAP faculty adviser, Debass coordinates client partnerships and guides students through the consulting process, from preparation to final presentations.
As the CAP faculty leader, Debass facilitates industry partnerships in cooperation with G&EE, and guides students through the consulting process, from preparation to final presentations.
Debass has led CAP for three years and said his favorite part is watching the students grow over the course of the semester.
“My favorite moment is always near the end of the trip, after they’ve presented,” Debass said. “Clients are consistently impressed, and I’ll hear students say, ‘I never thought I could do something like this.’ Watching that transformation, seeing where they started and where they end up, is the most rewarding part.”
He said the goal of the program is to mimic real-world consulting work in both scope and pressure, which makes it unique and beneficial to students.
When it came time to present their final project, Hunt and her team delivered their recommendations directly to Damas’s CEO and other members of the senior leadership.
Damas operates two main store types: legacy stores and signature stores. The team’s recommendations focused on the signature stores, where they saw the most opportunity for impact.
They suggested a dual career path program, with one track for new employees and another for existing staff, to support long-term growth and retention. They backed their proposal with examples from other global luxury retailers. Through their research, the students also conducted a competitive analysis of similar companies in the UAE and the United States. Another recommendation was enhancing Damas’s employer branding, particularly through LinkedIn, to strengthen recruitment and increase visibility among prospective employees.
Hunt said their presentation was well received, which boosted her team's confidence in the skills they learned through CAP and their ability to deliver strong, impactful work.
“The CEO loved it,” Hunt said. “It was so validating to know we were clear, had a good presentation and that our work made an impact.”
Like many others who’ve been through the CAP program, Hunt said the experience helped build her confidence, and she’s a more well-rounded person now.
Carlos Navas, M.B.A. ’23, is an alumnus of the CAP program who now works as a financial adviser at Goldman Sachs. Like Hunt, he had the chance to travel to the UAE and work with Damas during his CAP project. His team conducted a market feasibility study for a new menswear product line aimed at targeting a demographic outside of Damas’s typical customer base.
He said the lessons he took away from that experience have stayed with him, adding that the program was an invaluable opportunity to apply business school skills to real-world challenges.
Navas said CAP gave him a concrete experience to bring up in interviews, which helped him stand out as a candidate by showing he’s not just ready for the job but has done the work.
He added that the skills he gained through CAP continue to serve him in his career.
“Once you land the job, the career, you don’t stop. Different perspectives and team dynamics are constant, so honing your communication alongside people from all over the world to formulate a deliverable builds a skill set I use every day,” Navas said.
“Start to finish, I’d do it [CAP] again. It’s one of the first things I talk about when discussing my time at GWSB with others.”
