E. Marisa Furno
Mbus (Mktg) (SUT)

Coordinator International Programs 
Faculty of Business and Enterprise 
Swinburne University of Technology 

Marisa Furno is the Program Coordinator for the Master of International (MIntA) Program, conducted entirely in Vietnam by Swinburne University of Technology (Australia) and its associate, NEU Business School, National Economics University (Vietnam).

Having a long association with Vietnam, Marisa first arrived in Ho Chi Minh City in May 1993 to train secretaries for BHP Petroleum. From there she took the role of Director of Sales for the Saigon Floating Hotel and managed an active team of 14 local and expatriate sales executives. This led her to the role of Agent/Representative (HCMC) for Swinburne University in which she marketed a range of accredited and short course business education programs. After 7 years in Vietnam she returned to Australia at the end of 1999.

Undertaking further study, Marisa recently completed a Master of Business (Marketing). She focussed her dissertation on offshore education, and looked at the competitive advantage that the MIntA Program holds in Vietnam. Using a services marketing framework, she explored ways to sustain that competitive advantage by researching the experiences of past and present MIntA students and using the findings as a basis for implementing constructive change.