Professional Career

Larry Ishmael has a business career that spans over 35 years, 6 continents, and more than 125 countries. A developmental economist by trade and education, Larry worked as a corporate officer in various Fortune 500 companies. When he opened his consulting practice nearly 20 years ago, the Suasor Consulting Group Limited, his emphasis switched to economic development of the less developed world.

Upon graduation from Thunderbird School of Global Management, Larry began his working career despite being accepted to the London School of Economics. His early career was in the construction industry where he worked for eleven years and traveled to more than 100 countries and served on the industry board of directors. His next career was as a Vice President of a former Boeing Company subsidiary, which is what brought him to the Seattle area. In 1991 he founded the Suasor Consulting Group Limited, a consultancy company that did business development work for numerous Fortune 500 companies, the US Government’s US Agency for International Development, as well as foreign companies and governments. Larry and his company worked to privatize telephone companies, electric companies, sewer and water companies, and various government services as well, thereby providing needed capital to foreign governments that helped lift them out of the poverty trap.

In addition to utility partnerships, Larry has worked in the environmental sector almost exclusively for the past 15 years and has helped to clean up the environment in various countries around the world. His company has been involved in implementing clean air projects in some of the world’s most polluted cities. The company’s goal is not only to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but more importantly, to reduce the amount of toxins emitted by vehicles through creating environmental and public health programs. By emphasizing public health rather than climate change, his efforts have helped save thousands of lives.

Larry began his latest career as an economics professor at Northwest University in Kirkland, WA, a school affiliated with the Assemblies of God denomination. He has taught courses in Economic Development, Business Ethics, Business Negotiations, Principles of Management, Selling and Sales Management, Money and Banking, and Corporate Strategies to undergraduates, continuing education, and MBA students.