People, president of aum
Robert Ritz
Co-founder of AUM, furniture maker, data journalist and newsletter editor, and, according to his son, not bad at Battlefield.
Robert Ritz is the President of AUM and one of its co-founders. He studied political science at the University of North Texas and is also co-founder of Kraft furniture and founder of Data.mn. His background is a colorful one: he has worked for the government, as a tech consultant and as a data journalism consultant.
How AUM started
The "old" AUM was run by a mining executive who partnered with the University of Alaska and focused on engineering. At first it taught only English preparatory courses and sent students abroad to study. At Robert's urging, it began teaching subjects here in Mongolia as well.
The university officially began in 2012 as LETU Mongolia, a business undergraduate program with only five students. Its first graduates finished in 2016. The AUM building has stood since 1998 and was remodeled fairly recently, with help from Robert's furniture company.
Mongolian Data Stories
In 2016 he created the popular Mongolian Data Stories, reporting on topics such as air pollution, marriage and divorce rates, and the financial effects of Tsagaan Sar on the elderly.
Kraft
Kraft is a furniture and cabinet manufacturer that uses modern automated machines to produce high-quality furniture quickly, here in Mongolia. Its typical clients are furniture designers and installers.
MongolBeat
Robert is the editor of MongolBeat, a daily newsletter that translates Mongolian domestic news into English. He built it himself so he could read Mongolian news more easily. It's entirely automated, using large language models to choose the articles and translate them.
Off the clock
- He plays Battlefield 6, War Thunder and occasionally Counter-Strike with his son Erin. He's reportedly "not bad."
- His favorite food is Mexican.
- He is left-handed.