Managing the Seas of Change - The Paul Merage School of Business
Transcription
Managing the Seas of Change - The Paul Merage School of Business
Merage S T R AT E G I C I N N O VAT I O N AT W O R K The Center for Real Estate 2009/2010 Published by UC Irvine The Paul Merage School of Business ISSUE NO 3 at UC Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business 2009-2010 Calendar of Events Please check our website at merage.uci.edu/go/CRE for more information, updates and new events. OCTOBER 6, 2009 MREA MEETING I : “Mortgage 101 - Current Trends & Factors Affecting Today’s Residential Mortgage Markets” UC Irvine Campus, SB116 OCTOBER 7, 2009 BREAKFAST SERIES 1: “Decoding CMBS: Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? A Primer for Borrowers and Buyers” Pacific Club, Newport Beach OCTOBER 9, 2009 MREA SITE VISIT I: Buchanan Street Partners 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM OCTOBER 14, 2009 UC IRVINE REAL ESTATE ALUMNI GOLF EVENT Tijeras Creek Golf Club, Rancho Santa Margarita OCTOBER 15, 2009 MENTORSHIP APPRECIATION EVENT University Club, UC Irvine OCTOBER 30, 2009 REAL ESTATE DAY IN THE LIFE NOVEMBER 2009 UC IRVINE REAL ESTATE ALUMNI EVENT: Fall Boss Talk JANUARY 20, 2010 BREAKFAST SERIES 2 Pacific Club, Newport Beach FEBRUARY 2010 ACADEMIC RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM Laguna Beach, CA FEBRUARY 2010 UC IRVINE REAL ESTATE ALUMNI EVENT: Winter Boss Talk MARCH 2010 SPRING BOARD MEETING & SYMPOSIUM APRIL 2010 UC IRVINE REAL ESTATE ALUMNI EVENT: Spring Boss Talk M AY 5 , 2 0 1 0 BREAKFAST SERIES 3 Pacific Club, Newport Beach Managing the Seas of Change The Road to Recovery Begins Here Diagnosing Health Care Reform Innovation Conquers the Business Cycle MPAA Suite 210 Irvine, California 92697-3130 merage.uci.edu Strategic Issues in Management Series Forward-thinking seminars geared toward managers and administrators who want to sharpen management skills and enhance their careers. Merage 2009-10 2009 October 1, 2009 GLOBAL INNOVATION Professor John Graham 3 Dean’s Letter: Up for the Challenge October 15, 2009 FROM CONFLICT TO COLLABORATION I N N OVAT I O N Dr. David Hartl 4 The Road to Recovery Begins Here October 29, 2009 “DOING LEADERSHIP” IN A WORLD OF COMPLEXITY 6 World Wars: Battling Assumptions 8 MBA Consulting Program: An Endless Summer of Innovative Ideas Professor David Blake November 12, 2009 MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS: STRATEGIC DECISIONS 9 Distinguished Speaker Series Boasts Impressive Lineup Professor Kristin Behfar The Strategic Issues in Management Series provides today’s senior managers with an opportunity to both update and broaden their business skill set and knowledge. World-class faculty from UC Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business conduct highly interactive seminars designed to address today’s most pressing management needs. March 18, 2010 FINANCE FOR NON-FINANCIAL MANAGERS Each of the half-day seminars (held 2:30 – 6:30pm) is held on campus in executive classrooms using the latest teaching technology. A certificate of completion is given to participants who attend any four (4) sessions.* February 25, 2010 BUILDING EFFECTIVE TEAMS Professor Todd Richey ■ Professor Vijay Gurbaxani Gain tools and techniques today – apply them tomorrow! ■ Network with peers in a dynamic classroom setting. ■ Learn new approaches and perspectives from our world-class faculty and each other. ■ *Earn a certificate of completion – a great resumé builder. April 15, 2010 RESOLVING ORGANIZATIONAL ISSUES WITH NEGOTIATION Register now for one or more seminar dates. Visit merage.uci.edu/go/SIMS for Merage School Alumni and Friends discount information. April 8, 2010 DRIVING TRANSFORMATION WITH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Professor Lisa Barron Cover design by: Michael Ward 23 MBA for the Greater Good STUDENTS 24 Competition Heats Up for CRE-NAIOP Fellowship 25 Merage School Clubs Energize Students M BA P RO GR AM S 26 Is It Time to Go Back To School? Physicians Look Beyond Their MDs 40 Marriott’s Ed Fuller First to Commit to New Building Campaign 40 Deloitte Strengthens Alliance With Merage School 41 Center News 44 Prosperitas Group Quadruples Membership 45 CRE Fast Becoming Beacon for Real Estate Industry 28 MBA Program News 46 Dean’s Advisory Board and Donor Lists 14 38 B E YO N D T H E C L AS S RO O M FAC U LT Y I N S I GH T S 10 MBAs Find Success in a Tough Market 30 Faculty Research 48 Dean’s Leadership Circle – Your Network for Success Professor Philip Bromiley 2010 22 The Treasure Box 6 12 Leadership and Team Development Services 13 Keeping Sight of the Horizon: Sustainability is Key 14 Diagnosing Health Care Reform: Study and Debate 18 How Big is Your Global Footprint? 20 The Business of Businesses: Entrepreneurs Stay Involved 35 Faculty Books 36 Faculty in the News C O L L AB O R AT I O N 38 A Practical Plan for Being Charitable 40 Executive Classrooms Named in Honor of Experian 40 PAAMCO Provides Cause for Celebration ALU M N I N E W S 52 Merage School Annual Fund Donor Honor Roll 53 Annual Fund 2008-2009 Co-Chair Spotlight 54 Merageville Reunion 2009 55 Class Notes 60 Renovation Update Visit merage.uci.edu/go/ExecEd to learn more about other Executive Education offerings including Custom Programs and Leadership & Team Development Services. 1 Merage | 2009 – 2010 DEAN’S MESSAGE Merage E D I TO R I AL D I R E C TO R S Donna Mumford, Diane Sagey E D I TO R Orange County’s World-Class MBA Anne Warde ART D I R E C TO R Maureen Bresse C O N T R I BU T I N G D E S I GN E R S Maureen Bresse, Matt Erickson, Raymond Pirouz and Michael Ward WRITERS Aurora Abt, Connie Clark, Donna Mumford, Robert Preer and Anne Warde P H OTO GR AP H E R S Carmella Rodriguez Hardy, Leb Orloff, Carlos Puma, Jorge Salas and Steve Shea PRINTING Lester Lithograph, Inc. P U B L I S H YO U R N E W S : If you are a graduate and would like to publish your news or information go to merage.uci.edu/go/alumni and go to Profiles, then Post Class Notes. World-Wide Advisory Board of Leading Executives CEOs from more than 50 of southern California’s foremost companies, including: Allergan Mazda Abbott Medical Optics Mattel Boeing Rockwell Collins Experian Toshiba Ingram Micro UPS Marriott International Lodging Wells Fargo T E L L U S W H AT YO U T H I N K: Let us know what you think of Merage Magazine or if you have any interesting story ideas or photos to publish. Contact Anne Warde at awarde@uci.edu or 949.824.7922 with any thoughts, comments or ideas you may have. TO S U B S C R I B E to this free publication visit merage.uci.edu/go/subscribe Merage Magazine is published by: The Paul Merage School of Business, UC Irvine Marketing & Communications, MPAA Suite 210 Irvine, CA 92697-3130 Dynamic MBA programs based on: Teaching sustained growth through strategic innovation In-class and on-site experiences with real-world business issues Six “Centers of Excellence” with first-class connections to the business community: The Don Beall Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship The Center for Investment and Wealth Management The Center for Real Estate The Center for Leadership and Team Development The Center for Health Care Management and Policy The Center for Research on Information Technology and Organizations (CRITO) m era g e. u c i. ed u Up For The Challenge appears to be on the verge of a recovery, although questions remain about how vigorous the recovery will be and whether it can be sustained. A question often asked of me is how we adjust our curriculum to respond to the challenges companies face during a downturn. The answer is quite simple. We don’t. Not because we don’t believe that companies need to react strategically during a recession, but rather because a well devised strategy is one that presumes a cycle will occur and has already taken into account necessary reactions and strategies during every part of the cycle. The Merage School MBA focuses on strategies that provide sustainable growth throughout the economic cycle. Key factors underlying At press time, 92% of the Merage these strategies are based on innovation, analytics, informaSchool’s Full-Time MBA class had tion technology and collaborative execution. By accepted full-time positions. combining these four components that maintain growth, companies can build a sustainable competitive edge. Those companies that identify opportunities at each point in the cycle and then act on them will not only survive but thrive, even in a downturn. How well is the Merage School program recognized for providing those capabilities to our students? An important measure of our quality is our placement success relative to that of other top programs. We recently received data from ten of the top 20 MBA programs in the country indicating that at these schools, placement of full-time MBA graduates ranged from 67 to 80% as of early August. In contrast, at press time, 92% of the Merage School’s Full-Time MBA class had accepted full-time positions. We are gratified that the business community is recognizing that our graduates bring the skills necessary to help their businesses sustain profitable, long-term growth. Our functional strengths in operations, information technology, corporate finance and marketing – combined with the four pillars underlying sustainable growth mentioned above – have provided successful career paths for our graduates. Over the long term, these skills have helped ensure success for our alumni. According to BusinessWeek, Merage School graduates rank among the top 25 globally in terms of financial remuneration 10 years after graduation. Our focus on innovation within a highly personalized program has resulted in substantial benefits for our students and for the School as a whole. Today, we are attracting some of the top talent in the world, individuals who recognize the distinct value of the Merage School program captured in our theme: T H E GLO BAL E C O N O M Y “ ” Innovation to shape the world, Personalization to shape you. meragefirst.com We continue on our remarkable journey toward the distinction among the best research-based business schools in the world. Thank you for joining us. Dean Selected Vice Chair/Chair Elect for AACSB Board dean of The Paul Merage School of Business at UC Irvine, was selected to serve as vice chair/chair elect for the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) Board of Directors in 2009. “Andy is to be congratulated on his selection as chairman of our board. This is an exciting time for AACSB, and his enthusiasm for our many compelling initiatives is a welcomed addition to our leadership,” said John J. Fernandes, president and chief executive officer of AACSB International. Policano is responsible for evaluating and setting policies to guide the accreditation group, which is the premier global organization overseeing business and management programs worldwide. “The work of AACSB in representing and furthering the interests and goals of business schools globally is immensely important,” Policano said, “and I am honored to serve this influential organization.” Policano assumes his chairmanship responsibilities in 2010. “Andy’s impressive contributions to management education, and ongoing commitment to AACSB makes him an excellent choice,” said Fernandes. “His drive and dedication are of tremendous value to both AACSB and our membership as we continue to advance management education worldwide.” A N D R EW J . P O L I C A N O , Andy Policano 3 Merage | 2009 – 2010 INNOVATION INNOVATION The Road to Recovery Begins Here W hile some employers search for the right person for the job, the savvy ones search for the right person for the organization, knowing how the value of a good leader is never limited to one position. The Merage School curriculum is designed to graduate exceptional leaders equipped to manage in any cycle, and the statistics bear that out: the Merage School MBA graduate employment rate is outstanding (see page 3) and the School is among BusinessWeek’s 2009 Top 25 MBA Salary rankings for MBA pay after 10 years. Of course, it’s not only savvy employers who know the score; it’s the savvy graduates who can magnify the value of their MBA education: Jennifer Wong ‘08 Rapid Prototyping Lead Phantom Works Unit The Boeing Company When her unit adjusted its employment numbers recently, Jennifer Wong did what almost anyone else in that situation does. She worked as efficiently and productively as possible with the resources she had. But sometimes it’s not enough, and Wong credits her Merage School MBA with helping her stand out. “I am considered a multi-skilled employee who can move in various directions within the company and am not constrained to one job code.” As a lead software engineer at Boeing, Wong says she also has a clearer view of the tough choices companies can be forced to make nowadays. “The Merage School gave me a broader perspective and I have a greater understanding for why some decisions, even though they may be difficult for an organization or team, are required to benefit the company and keep the business going.” Those decisions can encompass career paths as well. “When I entered the program I thought I had a vision for my career. I discovered that my vision was much more limiting than my potential. Because of my success in the MBA program, I have placed higher professional stretch goals, and I’ve laid out a timeline. The Merage School has given me the knowledge, skills and support necessary for me to achieve my goals.” Wong believes one of the School’s strengths is its focus on entrepreneurs. “During economic downturns we usually come out of it with some amazingly successful entrepreneurs. This program can give you the knowledge and tools needed to make it happen.” Wong acknowledges that the current downturn has left talented people without jobs, and has shuttered businesses, but she remains positive and pragmatic. “There are success stories all over the place, you just have to go out and make them happen for yourself. You do this with hard work, dedication and focus. In addition you want to continue maintaining those healthy professional relationships because you never know when you will need a helping hand from one of your networks.” Todd Zive ‘07 Marketing Manager Masimo Corporation Todd Zive says he knew the Merage School was right for him after he attended an information night at another graduate business school. “I was struck by the fact that I had to complete an information card with carbon copies. You returned the yellow and blue copies and you kept the pink one,” he says. “At the Merage School, I met people. We shook hands.” Zive notes it’s a relatively minor incident, but a telling example of the difficulties some schools have in adapting to change. “In our strategic marketing group, we have to think about different approaches to the market,” he says. “We need creative ways to introduce technologies, and we often have to change our thinking to adapt to an environment.” It was important, he says, to learn from a school that practiced what it preached. That kind of adaptability appealed to Zive, who is responsible for strategic planning and marketing at Masimo, a medical device manufacturer. “My company is very entrepreneurial, very adaptable to change. We thrive on it.” Knowing how and when to push for change was also part of the learning process. “Sometimes I may bring up an idea even though we won’t be ready for three or four months. I know when it’s right to push, and how hard.” Zive credits Merage School professors like Imran Currim for challenging his way of doing things. “He’d say, ‘You have five or ten minutes in a presentation to say what you need to say.’” But Zive says he gained more than effective presentation skills, and he uses what he’s learned now more than ever. “Business is easy to manage when times are good. But how do you maintain and grow for the future? How do we prioritize, especially in the current market, with limited resources? The Merage School helps you develop thinking skills for this. We learned from executives who have been through difficult times and who didn’t just study them.” Zive points out faculty such as Richard Chandler, founder of Sunrise Medical, and guest lecturers including Steve Carley, CEO of El Pollo Loco. But the Merage School experience doesn’t end at graduation, Zive says. “They want students to be successful. My career and what’s best for it are my lifelong commit- ments and the Merage School is always right there, supporting me and the community.” Frank Ury, ‘92 Mayor, City of Mission Viejo Vice President, Insurance Company of the West Not many ten-year-olds ponder an MBA, but for the mayor of Mission Viejo, California, the drive to succeed in business formed at an early age. “My father got his MBA when I was 10, and I saw how it helped his career. I always knew I would get one, because my vision was always to progress in engineering and management.” Unlike his business determination, Ury’s civic interests came along later. “Being interested and active in politics was not something I planned on, but I certainly enjoy it. Having the Merage School MBA gave me the flexibility to go beyond what I was planning professionally into an area I did not know I would enjoy so much.” The ability to apply MBA skills across a broad spectrum was important to Ury, who balances a business career with running a thriving city government in south Orange County. “The MBA was vital for me to By Connie Clark understand finance in general, and then to make the transition to understanding the differences between corporate finance and government finance. Without a doubt I had the best finance and economics teachers in the world at the Merage School. The Organization Development course really helped me in evaluating and learning how to find and hire the best talent we can find for running our $50 million city.” But Ury says there are other benefits, especially as government plays an even more crucial role in business than ever. “The biggest help for me was my concentration in finance and the strong direction of long term planning that it gave me. Currently, cities that adhere to long range planning are not panicking. They are cutting back a bit, but still providing services to their residents. In fact, the municipalities that did do a good job of planning – the ones who saved for projects and watched their cash flow – are now going to bid on many planned projects, as bids are coming in well below planned expense levels.” One of the keys to success in a tough market like this, according to Ury, is the ability to trust your own insight. “Far too many times people abdicate their own understanding of issues to ‘the experts.’ More and more I find that each individual is really the expert. Rely on that, plan on that,” he advises. “Whether making a decision in politics or business, you have much to offer and many ideas of merit, so take the lead.” 4 e x p e r i e n c e I N N O V AT I O N 5 Merage | 2009 – 2010 INNOVATION INNOVATION WORLD WARS all communication is done online, these aren’t virtual students, but real people from nine international universities. Gibson points out that it’s critical to connect students with international colleagues and to give them the skills to work in electronic contexts. The class, unique to the Merage School and its international collaborators, is just one example of the school’s global commitment; other programs provide students with a global learning environment they won’t find anywhere else. The Merage School leads the battle against assumptions about global business, and brings about peaceful – and profitable – collaboration. By Connie Clark P RO F E S S O R C R I S T I NA GI B S O N is an unlikely fighter. But the Dean’s Professor of Organization and Management spends much of her research and teaching days battling generalized assumptions about doing business internationally, and she’s helping students tackle them, too. In classes that deploy student teams from around the world, Gibson’s students learn to challenge traditional ideas about global teams, and how to work effectively in the increasingly static global marketplace. “The many assumptions we have developed in the U.S. about what it means to be an effective team member are actually not the same assumptions held in other cultures,” she says. For starters, her research shows that the scope of working teams has several key differentiators among countries. “In the United States, we tend to assume that membership on a work team has implications for our lives at work, but that relationships with fellow team members are less important (or not at all pertinent) for life outside of work,” she notes. “So the scope of the team is limited to work. Yet, in many cultures, it is assumed that the role of a work team member extends far beyond the narrow confines of our work life, and that fellow team members will be involved in one another’s family and social life. The scope is much broader. If a U.S. team leader doesn’t understand this, and attempts to implement teams that are multi-cultural or based in non-U.S. contexts, he or she may overlook an important need and expectation that non-U.S. team members have, thus appearing less effective to those non-U.S. members.” Real Global Power Gibson and other Merage School professors agree that the only way students can learn about these important cultural differences is by immersion. When it comes to international business, they say it’s one thing to listen to lectures about multicultural management or take part in case studies of global firms, but as the new world marketplace takes shape, real exploration and actual work beyond international borders is as critical and foundational for business students as taking Finance 101. In Gibson’s Global Team Collaboration class for instance, students collaborate electronically on multinational teams to produce a real training module. Although 6 e x p e r i e n c e I N N O V AT I O N Fact-Finding Missions Go Abroad The International Residential Program sends student and faculty teams to key locations around the globe for business discovery missions unlike any other. “It’s a very sharp learning exposure,” says Professor of Strategic Management David Blake. “Students learn very quickly the challenges and opportunities of doing business in any other country.” Professor of Marketing and International Business John Graham cites the big picture view. “If you’re going to master any topic, you must be an expert in the details, but you must also comprehend the big picture. The International Residential delivers that to our students.” But both caution against making snap judgments or assumptions. “You’re not going to learn everything about how to do business in the Czech Republic after you’ve visited the businesses there,” says Blake, who along with Graham accompanies the teams. “But you will learn to open your mind to cultural differences. To challenge what you think you know.” The inputs: World class leadership. World class business alliances. World class faculty. The outcome: World class events. Blake refers to the International Residential as a “living case study,” and says students grasp general lessons of global business in the concrete context of a specific country. “Students can understand the kinds of host country factors and relationships that must be taken into account no matter where international business is conducted.” During their seven-day trip, students typically meet with senior-level executives from U.S. and foreign-based companies and discuss their major issues – the investment climate, banking and finance, supply chain management, and economic transition in emerging economies. It’s a trip that’s also packed with tours of offices, factories, and other business centers. Recent tours have taken students to Russia, the Czech Republic, Belgium, Germany, Beijing, Hong Kong, and Guangzhou. For an even broader experience, Full-Time MBAs can participate in the Merage School’s International Exchange Program at partnering schools in Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Schools include Bocconi University, Milan, Italy; Chinese University of Hong Kong; Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration; and Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea. Beyond fighting cultural stereotypes and ending the barriers that divide students geographically, Professor Gibson says there is an added benefit to all of these global experiences. “Students gain insight into cultures and business practices outside the U.S., but they also gain insight into themselves. I am a firm believer that it is only by experiencing other cultures that you can truly understand your own.” Each year, The Paul Merage School of Business and its Centers of Excellence offer a myriad of conferences, colloquia and events for the business community. From the long-running Health Care Forecast Conference to the popular Distinguished Speaker Series and the Global Business Conference, the School brings together leading-edge academics and businesspeople addressing critical issues of the day. You are most welcome to join us. You’ll learn more at Merage. Visit merage.uci.edu/go/events Watch for details on the 2010 Global Business Conference on Sustainability! Visit merage.uci.edu/go/greenconference Merage | 7 2009 – 2010 INNOVATION INNOVATION MBA Consulting Program: An Endless Summer of Innovative Ideas Merage School expands program to include summertime internships. by Connie Clark he fundamental mission of the Merage School’s Corporate Partners Program (CPP) is to create mutually beneficial partnerships between the corporate community and the school. One of the most popular benefits to CPP members is the complimentary access to the MBA Consulting Program – a student consulting team coached by seasoned executives who provide the insights, ideas and solutions that only an outside source can discover. During the summer of 2009, the CPP helped place Merage School student teams at two prominent Orange County companies. At Experian Information Solutions, Inc., a student team set out to identify and research growth opportunities outside of the company’s core busi- ness. For Oakley, Inc., another team helped develop a model for evaluating certain product segments’ profitability. Executives from both companies were pleased with the results. “Your work was equal to or better than a professional consulting team that looked at this for a much longer time and at a higher expense,” Oakley executives commented. Experian executives were equally impressed: “We definitely learned some important things.” Reflecting the growing demand from companies to get involved, those projects mark the first time the program was extended through the summer months. It’s little wonder that business leaders are eager to sponsor projects, considering the benefits. “Companies get a team of five or six very bright minds to tackle an issue,” says coach-advisor John May, a retired Wall Street executive and former Kingston Technologies corporate treasurer. “These young MBAs are very creative, very broad in their thinking. They’re not afraid to offer ‘out of the box’ solutions.” Under the guidance of experienced coaches like May and Thomas Antunez, MBA ’05, CEO of Irvine-based Percentix, Inc., students also get an opportunity to work with high-level executives they may never have been exposed to before. “This was a great window into this side of the business,” says Justin Clare, ’10, team lead for Oakley. Clare, a chemist, hopes to combine his background with his Merage School MBA to pursue a career in corporate finance in health care. “I had the opportunity to match talents to projects, and work with a very dynamic team. It was very beneficial to me.” The team concept was crucial to the outcome. “With a large business scope at hand, the students quickly learned that the success of any consulting engagement eventually rests on the ability to execute as a team,” says Antunez. “In this regard, they excelled tremendously. The client was quite pleased with the deliverable.” The elective course is coordinated by Professor Emile Pilafidis who stresses the value to both students and companies. “The MBA teams and company executives create value from project definition to project conclusion,” he says. “They challenge each other to think creatively and produce something useful. The students experience ‘sticky learning’ that will always help them in their careers, and the executives have a specific deliverable to help them advance their business. It is a tremendous winwin outcome.” The projects address substantive topics culminating in a final presentation to top corporate executives. “Some involve issues that companies may have struggled with,” says May. “They may have tried several solutions and they’re still not satisfied. The students come in with completely fresh ideas for them to pursue. This is highly value-added for the companies that participate.” Visit merage.uci.edu/go/cpp for more information. Teaming Up With the Corporate Partners Program More and more companies are partnering with the Merage School and taking advantage of the MBA Consulting Program. Some Corporate Partners who have sponsored student teams include: Abbott Medical Optics Beckman Coulter Emulex HireRight Kingston Technology Mazda North America Operations Taco Bell The Gallup Organization Toshiba America Electronic Components Toyota Material Handling Neel Grover President & CEO Buy.com Sue Swenson President & CEO Sage Software November 5, 2009 January 21, 2010 Mike Mussallem John Krafcik Chairman & CEO President & CEO Edwards Lifesciences Hyundai Motor America March 4, 2010 May 6, 2010 Distinguished Speaker Series by Anne Warde Boasts Impressive Lineup Buy.com CEO Neel Grover Kicks Off this Series on November 5 T H E F O U RT H AN N UAL Paul Merage School of Business Distinguished Speaker Series (DSS) is well underway with some impressive business leaders on the schedule. Held at the UC Irvine Student Center, the 2009-2010 schedule includes: November 5, 2009 Neel Grover, President and Chief Executive Officer, Buy.com January 21, 2010 Sue Swenson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Sage Software March 4, 2010 Mike Mussallem, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Edwards Lifesciences May 6, 2010 John Krafcik, President and Chief Executive Officer, Hyundai Motor America “The Distinguished Speaker Series continues to draw some of the most innovative leaders of our time,” said Shaheen Husain, executive director of Corporate Relations for the Merage School. “Our audiences gain tremendous value from these business leaders and their input is helping to shape the future of businesses far beyond their own.” The series brings together prominent business executives with MBA students and future leaders to address current business issues, leadership, ethics, and other relevant topics. The series is organized by the Merage School’s Center for Leadership and Team Development and supported by corporate sponsors. For the 2009-2010 series, Bingham McCutchen, PricewaterhouseCoopers, The Capital Group Companies, and Wells Fargo all support the series. For more details, visit merage.uci.edu/go/DSS. 8 e x p e r i e n c e I N N O V AT I O N 9 Merage | 2009 – 2010 BEYOND THE CLASSROOM BEYOND THE CLASSROOM MBAs Find Success in a Tough Market: by Anne Warde Preparation is Key AS T H E E C O N O M Y F LU C T UAT E S and businesses adapt to the new environment, the search for employment has become increasingly competitive. Only those who are the most prepared and who have positioned themselves well will succeed. According to the latest employment results (at the time of publication in 2009), Merage School MBAs are certainly up for the challenge. “Preliminary results showed our employment stats are surpassing those of the top twenty business schools in the nation,” said Tom Kozicki, executive director of the Merage School MBA Career Center. “The fact that more than 90 percent of our Full-Time MBA class have accepted full-time positions really illustrates how well prepared our students are to enter the work force and take on leadership roles.” To assist Merage School MBA alumni and executives looking to make a change, the MBA Career Center offers these ten ways to search during a tough economy. 1. Positive Communication: How you communicate in the marketplace will directly and possibly adversely affect your job search efforts. Think positively during your job search, especially when exchanging information with others, such as cover letters and informational interviews. It will promote further networking and additional references. Decrease any negative communication such as “I’ll never find a job in this economy.” Remember that “like attracts like.” If you are negative about your search it will deter you from getting any positive information and instead will attract more negative feedback. 2. Patience and Organization: During a challenging economy you can lose opportunities if you are not keeping track of your search efforts. It is also at these times where you see a lack of immediate gratification or immediate payoff from your efforts. Be patient! Keep Human Resources contacts and hiring managers informed about your status (still show strong interest in the company) and regularly inform your network on your progress. Be organized! Create a contact database, follow through with each of your contacts (formal and informal), keep meeting notes, and save your written correspondence. 3. Have a Plan: Your career marketing plan will keep you focused and on target during your job search. The hidden job market accounts for up to 80% of the jobs in today’s marketplace. Your career marketing plan will help lower stress and increase confidence. Know your transferable skills – this is extremely important for anyone who is planning to make a job/career shift. Preparation, preparation, preparation is key. More than one plan is optimum. 4. Time: Commit to the search – yes it can be tough and somewhat discouraging but you have to stay the course and dedicate the time each day and week. Budget your time for what is going to give you the biggest return. For example: if you have 10 hours a week for job searching, then apply 8 hours towards networking. The more contacts you obtain, the more you have a chance to “soft sell” yourself all the while gathering information and more contacts. You will get out of it what you put into it. If you are unemployed, the search is your full-time job. vacation, etc. Employers are looking for people who can go above and beyond and can be highly productive – do the work of more than one person. Position yourself wisely! 8. 21st Century Resources: Integrate your everyday networking technology but be professional. Just as you are accessing them, employers can access you. Through your efforts you are creating a brand for yourself, so be aware of how you build your reputation and positioning. a. Online communications: LinkedIn, Google Groups, FaceBook, MySpace, Twitter b. Record your verbal presentation into a podcast or YouTube video, but be professional. c. Create a contact database with names and email addresses for all individuals you come in contact with during your job search and set ticklers to re-contact them. 5. Network: Get involved! Network through the Merage School, your Alumni Association, the Centers of Excellence and other Merage School programs where groups gather. 6. Positioning Statement (“30-second commercial” or verbal presentation): Have a solid response to “Tell me about yourself.” Practice verbally and, if possible, record yourself. Understand your strengths and how to communicate them both in verbal and written form. Know your accomplishments. When there are so many candidates to choose from, companies want to know specifically what you can do for them. How can you generate revenue, save money or otherwise make a positive impact on their organization? 7. Pricing: Are you at an employable price range? Do your research and be “within the range” when seeking opportunities. This is more important now in a slow and very competitive job market. Also, avoid discussions of work-life balance, 9. Know the Marketplace: Many companies are currently unable to forecast their hiring needs, so be prepared for some ambiguity. Companies are decreasing the amount of recruitment opportunities, nationally and globally. They are staying closer to “home” for recruiting efforts. Companies are looking for exact matches because they can and are taking longer to fill positions because of budget and staffing constraints. They want to know you’ve done your homework. 10. Keep Your Network Alive: Once you have landed a new job, your network needs to be nurtured and kept alive even while you are employed. In these volatile economic times, you never know when you will be job searching again. A well-managed network will present opportunities to you. 10 e x p e r i e n c e I N N O V AT I O N 11 Merage | 2009 – 2010 BEYOND THE CLASSROOM BEYOND THE CLASSROOM Leadership and Team Development Services A NEW KIND OF DREAM TEAM Reflecting the close, collaborative relationship each Merage School team employs with client companies, the program itself is a collaborative effort between the office of Executive Education and the CLTD. The combined result is a program that offers access to the most recent research, and to business leaders with a wealth of practical experience. Keeping Sight of the Horizon: Sustainability is Key By Cristina Gibson, Dean’s Professor of Organization and Management and Co-Director of the Center for Leadership and Team Development By Connie Clark I f you could assemble a team of world-renowned experts to work with you to provide detailed solutions to your most pressing business challenges, who would you choose? What if you could select from a roster of some of the most prestigious professors and business leaders with illustrious experience and credentials? What if they provided you with an almost dizzying array of services, from leadership and team assessment tools to personalized executive coaching, consulting services and even access to business skill-sharpening programs for almost every member of your team? of the Leadership and Team Development Services program within the Merage School’s Center for Leadership and Team Development is that it is research-based. Merage faculty – along with colleagues at universities and centers around the globe – provide participants with the most recently-developed ideas, concepts and practices for which we have real evidence from rigorous research, effectively bridging research and practice. We also aim to help leaders and teams incorporate knowledge of important trends, issues and resources that are external to a particular team or firm. That is, much of the work done by other Centers helps leaders be effective internally, but that is only part of the challenge. Increasingly, to be optimally effective, leaders and teams need to scan the external environment and adjust their practices based on real-time demands or trends. We call these “Horizon Issues” and we plan to identify and focus on one of these each year When you get right with the guidance of our Advisory Board. down to day-to-day The Horizon Issue for 2009-10 is Sustainability and the Environment, an practices, what important issue now facing business leaders. Any team or firm not familiar does “sustainability” with the public demand for sustainability will have difficulty surviving and thriving really mean? in the next decade. But what does that mean for a given team or firm? Throughout our Center’s programming this year we will be addressing the theme – including significant contributions to the Merage School’s annual Global Business Conference in 2010 on sustainability and environment. By facilitating intellectual exchanges regarding various views of sustainability, reflection on its implications and guidance in action-planning for it, we seek to help leaders and teams stay ahead of the curve on this very timely and urgent demand, and to understand the implications of sustainable practices on their operations. This intersection of research-based and horizon-focused programs makes the Center truly unique. More important, our team is made up of inspiring business leaders and faculty who have a lot of passion for the Center and its mission. It’s very contagious! O N E KE Y AS P E C T A growing number of businesses are doing just that, working with the Merage School’s newest and most collaborative endeavor between the office of Executive Education and the Center for Leadership and Team Development (CLTD). It brings together the best, brightest and most experienced business and academic minds to help executives respond to today’s pressing needs for creative and results-driven business practices. “When we talk to businesses, the thing they’re looking for most is leadership development and resources,” says Dr. Newt Margulies, director of Executive Education programs and part of the team that spearheaded the program. Responding to that need, Margulies, along with Merage School Professors Jone Pearce and Cristina Gibson, worked together to develop Leadership and Team Development Services, an Executive Education program that provides relevant, practical and complete solutions for individual businesses. The overall team comprises world-class Merage School professors and Fellows of the CLTD, representing hundreds of years of experience in business leadership. They bring strong backgrounds working with, and consulting to, organizations of all sizes and industries, including health care, governments, non-profits, entrepreneurial initiatives and more. For an individual company, the Merage School team might begin with a variety of assessment tools to pinpoint both conflicts and strengths. Highly competent executive coaches can then work with individuals or teams to develop effective leadership approaches, action plans and ongoing support. The program can also include public leadership training in areas such as conflict management, effective teams, negotiating, and effectively using influence. So why should executives hire a team of consultants no matter the economic climate? Margulies stresses that the companies who respond to an economic crisis with leadership are the ones who manage to succeed. “There’s an immediate and long term payoff,” he says. “Businesses gain the skills they need to cope in a downturn, and they’re prepared for a market upturn.” Pearce points out that because of the highly specialized nature of the program, business leaders gain specialized, advanced skills. “We’re not teaching the ABCs of management,” she says. “Our people are executives and entrepreneurs who are looking for the very latest in research and techniques.” Participants say they appreciate the balance of academic knowledge and practical tools they can apply immediately, and say the program is needed now more than ever. For more information about the Leadership and Team Development Services program, visit merge.uci.edu/go/ExecEd. “ ” 12 e x p e r i e n c e I N N O V AT I O N 13 Merage | 2009 – 2010 BEYOND THE CLASSROOM BEYOND THE CLASSROOM Forecasts: U.S. Economy, Private Sector Health Care and Federal Health Care Expenditures James Baumgardner, PhD, the Deputy Assistant Director for Health Policy at the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), weighed in with insight from his agency’s most recent report. The key issue of the day for Baumgardner clearly involved how we reduce the number of uninsured. “Is it with subsidies, mandates or facilitating enrollment?” Baumgardner thinks it will require a combination of approaches if we’re going to find a solution. “Policymakers face difficult trade-offs between the objectives of expanding insurance coverage and controlling both federal and total costs for health care. Serious concerns exist about the efficiency of the health care system, but no simple solutions are available to reduce the level or to control the growth of health care spending.” The CBO report can be found at cbo.gov. Prospects for Federal Health Legislation in a New Administration Diagnosing Health Care Reform by Anne Warde in the industry, economics professor and Robert Gumbiner Chair in Health Care Management Paul J. Feldstein, directs UC Irvine’s Center for Health Care Management & Policy at The Paul Merage School of Business. Under his leadership, the Center attracts national – and international – learning and debate on one of today’s most pressing issues. After nearly 20 years, the Center’s Annual Health Care Forecast Conference is now a standing-room-only event held each February. Distinguished speakers also join in the education and debate throughout the year, including former House Ways and Means Chairman Bill Thomas and an international panel of health care advisors who compared their own country’s systems – for better or for worse. The following provides the flavor of those events; learn more at merage.uci.edu/go/CHC. ONE OF THE MOST RESPECTED NAMES Annual Forecast Conference Poses Difficult Questions and Provides Insightful Possibilities for Health Care Reform During the 2009 Health Care Forecast Conference, Health Politics and Policies in a New Administration, health care industry leaders from all segments of the market gathered to address the nation’s most prominent issue – Health Care Reform. Here is what some of them had to say. Dean Rosen, JD, partner at Mehlman Vogen Castagnetti, Inc. and Former Health Policy Director for Sentate Majority Leader William H. Frist, asked, “Will the economy overwhelm reform or will reform pull the economy forward?” He went on to support the connection between good employee health and economic security, and he provided that business supports reform – they are trying to shape reform, not stop it – adding, “We’re not going to get it all done. What we have done is complete the SCHIP expansion; health IT is in process; there is agreement on the quality agenda; and we’re moving toward more rational entitlement programs. In two years we can make the case that we followed through. We could always have done more, but for the economy and other issues… incremental steps are being taken. Ultimately,” Rosen commented, “to get reform, the compromise will have to be formed in the Senate.” Keynote Speaker Norman J. Ornstein, PhD, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research Norman J. Ornstein, a popular draw for his wit and wisdom, returned to the conference with his keynote address: “Health Politics and Policies in a New Administration.” Richard Afable, MD, MPH, president and CEO of Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, moderated the session. Ornstein opened with, “The economy, politics and global banking: serious things are going to happen, just not along the path that we have seen in the past.” He recommended the audience “watch the Widen-Bennett Plan which has bipartisan support.” He also cautioned, “The Forum Continues Health Care Reform Debate M embers and friends of the Merage School’s Center for Health Care Management and Policy continued the debate on health care reform with Keynote Speaker Bill Thomas, former chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, who spoke at a special sold-out presentation on campus in May 2009. Thomas was a key proponent of several of President Bush’s agenda items, including the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003. During his talk, Politics and Prospects for Health Care Reform, Thomas focused on the debate in Congress regarding the health care agenda of the current Administration. health care industry is ready for reform, but first we have to determine if health care is a right or a privilege.” California State Budget and the Impact on Health Care According to Kim Belshe, secretary for California’s Health & Human Services Agency, “While California went through an extensive bipartisan effort in 2007, it ultimately failed. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez partnered on a reform strategy requiring individuals to purchase insurance and insurance companies to provide access. Their plan addressed affordability and performance improvements. While the effort ultimately failed, many lessons were learned.” She went on to say, “Leadership is necessary, but not enough. We have to have bipartisan support. We also need to focus on delivery, not just coverage. And, it really is about the money; health reform is expensive and we can’t do it with a budget deficit.” Belshe believes right now the federal government is in a better position than the states to move forward with reform, however it will require a combination of market-based and government-based solutions. Belshe closed by pointing out, “First we need to get our fiscal house in order.” Continued on next page 14 e x p e r i e n c e I N N O V AT I O N 15 Merage | 2009 – 2010 BEYOND THE CLASSROOM BEYOND THE CLASSROOM without fixing health care. Since we’d like to see reform in our lifetime, it’s truly now or never.” Lessons on a Global Scale: Comparative Effectiveness in other Countries A t press time, the Comparative Effectiveness (CE): Lessons from Abroad conference was about to take place. Along with other programs sponsored by the Center for Health Care Management and Policy, the Merage School is tackling the issue of health care reform from all angles. This conference is scheduled to bring together speakers from Great Britain, Canada and Germany to share insights on their experience, plus health care leaders from the U.S. will assess the implications of a similar process in this country. The Comparative Effectiveness Conference is designed to help business leaders determine what the U.S. can learn from the use of CE analysis. A number of other countries have developed a centralized capacity for coverage decisionmaking linked to the results of CE research. To date, federal funding in the U.S. has focused on research into coverage decisions. However, a centralized national coverage decision-making process could be included in health reform legislation currently under debate. This conference will pose the question, “How can the U.S. learn from the experiences of other countries using CE research for coverage decision-making?” Continued from previous page Innovations in Health Care Delivery Bringing care to the underserved is a complex issue requiring significant research. Margaret Laws, director of Innovations for the Underserved for the California HealthCare Foundation asked, “How do we bring innovations to the ‘safety net’ and how do we provide better chronic disease care?” She indicated the number of underserved is growing and more than 20% of Californians are currently uninsured. “We’re exploring retail clinics, looking for ways to continue to improve, exploring telehealth to improve access and virtual visit programs.” Laws suggested changing the idea of a “visit” may help to remedy the crisis in the state. “In California, there is limited access to the safety net. We need to encourage regulators to embrace innovation, enabling us to deliver less complex services differently in order to reduce costs.” Elizabeth Stewart, PhD, qualitative analyst at TransforMED, noted, “There is a primary care crisis. We are losing primary care physicians at an alarming rate.” She suggested the industry explore the innovative Medical Care Home as an option for delivery which includes a personal physician and a physician-directed medical practice using a team approach to address the medical needs of the “whole person.” “It’s one stop shopping. Care is coordinated and integrated, quality and safety are hallmarks, and it offers enhanced access. Payment is the greatest impediment and reimbursement has to catch up. We are testing the feasibility of the medical home idea and we don’t know if it will work, but we are cautiously optimistic.” Early indications suggest positive results on cost savings, 16 e x p e r i e n c e I N N O V AT I O N and the medical home is gaining political traction. “The challenges are that transformation takes time, outcomes take time, and people fear it will be a fad like managed care.” Strategic Outlook on the Health Care Market In the final session of the conference, Leslie Margolin, president and general manager at Anthem Blue Cross, stated, “We need to fix the system that is very near crisis and we must work together to build a sustainable healthcare system.” She declared there are four issues defining health care reform including: quality and safety, lower costs, access, and how to finance care. “Costs are exploding. In California, we’ve seen an increase in cost of 70% over the past 5 years. Prices are rising and coverage is decreasing. If all plans participated in public programs, we could eliminate much of the problem of the uninsured. Why not? If we work together we can guarantee coverage for all individuals. It’s time to fix what’s broken.” The closing speaker was Sheryl Skolnick, PhD, senior vice president at CRT Capital Group LLC, The UC Irvine Paul Merage School of Business and the UC Irvine School of Medicine gratefully acknowledge the educational grants provided by: PRINCIPAL BENEFACTOR California HealthCare Foundation MAJOR BENEFACTORS CIGNA Health Care of California Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian Kaiser Permanente who summed up the sentiment prevalent throughout the entire meeting, “I’m delighted and worried about how packed this conference is because it suggests to me that we’re all in need of some guidance, some help with our thought process, and maybe some strong rope to hold on to as we pull through these difficult economic times, globally, locally and specifically in health care.” She questioned how we got to where we are today and where we might be headed. “Will we see a rational plan to cover the uninsured at the federal or state level? Will we finally see “Change” (i.e., a viable health care reform plan and coverage for uninsured)… or will we see “Chapter” (bankruptcies or near-bankruptcies of hospitals, other providers, and health plans)?” Skolnick encouraged the industry to stand up and speak out, stating, “It is time for hospitals to say…. enough is enough. It is time for consumers to say we are tired of being asked to pay for benefits that deliver no value. It is time for tax payers to say we must stop spending money on fraud on waste, on abuse, and on health plans that do not achieve the same or better outcomes for seniors and others.” Skolnick closed the 2009 Forecast Health Care Conference with the thought, “We can’t fix the economy BENEFACTORS Anthem Blue Cross AON Consulting Beckman Coulter Foundation Blue Shield of California CO-BENEFACTORS Orange County Medical Association The Annual Health Care Forecast Conference is hosted by the Merage School’s Center for Health Care Management and Policy. The Center serves as an interdisciplinary research institute that enables health care scholars, students, business leaders, policy experts, and professionals to share critical knowledge, research, trends, information and education. The Center is under the direction of Paul J. Feldstein, PhD, professor and Robert Gumbiner Chair in Health Care Management. For a complete recap of the conference, visit merage.uci.edu/go/hcc. The 2010 Health Care Forecast Conference February 25-26, 2010 Visit merage.uci.edu/go/hcc for current Health Care Forecast Conference details and to view past conference programs and videos. 17 Merage | 2009 – 2010 BEYOND THE CLASSROOM BEYOND THE CLASSROOM How BIG is Your Global Footprint? Merage School Hosts Top Business Leaders to Address Global Economic Challenges by Anne Warde one of the most challenging economic crises in our country’s history. The events taking place today are reshaping the banking and investment world as we know it,” said Andy Policano, dean of The Paul Merage School of Business. “By gathering the input of these experienced leaders, we are providing our business community access to some of the most brilliant economic minds in the world.” With those opening words, the Merage School joined the Orange County Business Council (OCBC) in hosting the School’s annual Global Business Conference titled, Global Business Strategies… Navigating Today’s Economic Challenges. Some of Orange County’s most influential leaders were on hand to discuss the impact and solutions to today’s growing economic challenges. “WE ARE CURRENTLY FACING Dr. Max Zedtwitz, vice president, PRTM Management Consultants, kicked off the morning segment with a look at the global economy and the role Orange County might play. “It was said capitalism will save China. It looks more like China can perhaps save capitalism,” Zedtwitz commented citing the fact that China provides much of the movement and growth in the world. “Globalization is the key to a better life for these countries. Through it they are getting into a life that they have been promised, unlocking what the future holds.” He went on to warn, “Emerging countries want to catch up, and we want to stay in front. China is leap-frogging ahead. If we don’t start running a little, they will bypass us.” To keep a strategic advantage, Zedtwitz recommends focusing efforts on customer orientation, product management, innovation, and investment in research and development. Specifically he notes, “If we want to keep a step ahead, we need to make sure we are taking steps forward in R&D. Other countries walk in our footsteps, but sooner or later they will have to go into territories where no one has gone before. India and China are laying foundations for success with lean manufacturing, quality management, JIT (just in time) manufacturing and kanban. We need to find the perfect balance between east and west. If we don’t make use of it, somebody else will.” The conference continued with a panel discussion, led by Michael Aghajanian, managing director of PRTM and conference co-chair, on international strategies and global footprints. Panelists discussed risk assessment and the rewards of global business, along with the concept of global footprints and the strategic issues of international business. Panelists participating included: David Pyott, chairman and CEO of Allergan; John O’Connor, director of Global Supply Chain for Cisco; Stephen Marlow, executive vice president for Toshiba America Electronic Components, and board member for the Center for Unconventional Security Affairs at UC Irvine, and Kate Gutmann, vice president, worldwide strategic accounts for UPS. Much of the discussion surrounded the advantages of local cost centers for labor and escalating operational risks, specifically how to mitigate escalating global footprint risk, inventory de-risking, and eliminating issues affecting supply. Security and safety are a growing concern and it was noted Europe is a relatively safe environment, while Asia presents multiple risks. Businesses seeking to reduce costs are migrating to low cost areas; however, low cost areas are unstable and crisis management becomes standard. The importance of risk analytics was emphasized as a tool to determine how much risk a company is willing to tolerate. A second panel, moderated by Wayne Gross, a partner at Snell and Wilmer law firm and including Bijan Kian, director of US Export Import Bank; Geoffrey Jackson, US Trade and Development Agency director of Policy and Program and regional director for East Asia, and Cindy McKim, chief financial officer of the California Department of Transportation, explored global public/ private partnerships and how companies can access capital and the funding resources available through government partnerships and agencies. The panel pointed out how successful companies are focused on increasing relevance to the customer and designing a better customer experience. They are also If we want to keep a step differentiating their ahead, we need to make products, driving profitable growth sure we are taking steps and managing complexities. The forward in R&D. Other panel recommended companies countries walk in our empower their footsteps, but sooner or frontlines, expand the delivery later they will have to go ecosystem and focus on innovainto territories where no tion and patent development. one has gone before. Esteemed economist and managing director of PIMCO, Paul McCulley, was the keynote speaker of the two-day event, and spoke on “The Paradox of De-Leveraging.” McCulley shared his insights on how the rational personal decisions of individuals irrationally impact the U.S. and global economy. Robert E. Wollan, global managing partner for Accenture followed with his presentation on the Seismic Shift in Global Consumerism. Dr. Wallace Walrod, vice president of Economic Development and Communications for the Orange County Business Council gave an overview of economic development in Orange County. The conference concluded with a final panel moderated by Dean Andy Policano, which focused on Orange County’s global influence and featured business leaders Steve Tully, president, Quiksilver Brand (Americas); Mike Mussallem, Chairman and CEO, Edwards Lifesciences; Aram Bassenian, chairman and CEO of Bassenian Lagoni Architects, and Ed Grier, president of the Disneyland Resort. “ ” 18 e x p e r i e n c e I N N O V AT I O N 19 Merage | 2009 – 2010 BEYOND THE CLASSROOM BEYOND THE CLASSROOM Ken Neeld, ‘07 A LU M N I BU S I N E S S E S The Business of Businesses Staying Involved is Common Denominator Among Entrepreneurs by Anne Warde for staying involved and maintaining a network of business associates long after the MBA experience is complete. Some business leaders who volunteer their time and expertise to educational organizations see their participation as a way to give back. Some see the Merage School as a catalyst for real change and improvement. Almost all see the benefits derived from their involvement with the Merage School for years beyond their graduation. Ken Neeld, for example, is no stranger to the business world. He graduated from the Merage School in 2007. Years before, in 1995, Neeld had co-founded what was then was Delphi Engineering Group. Today, his company T H E R E I S M U C H TO B E S AI D has evolved into Delphi Display Systems and has become a leading manufacturer of ruggedized LDC display systems for the outdoor signage market. Delphi Display employs about 50 people at two locations in Costa Mesa. Plans are underway to relocate into a single facility by the end of 2009, allowing Neeld to consolidate operations, improve efficiencies and reduce costs. “My MBA experience provided me with more focus and helped me look at my business in a lot of different ways,” said Neeld. “We’re looking at both long and short term strategies to design a clear path for the business moving forward.” Like most companies, Delphi Display has endured some hardship during the current economic environment. However, through strategies he learned at the Merage School, they’ve weathered the storm and are positioned for growth. “We had to implement cost reductions, scale back discretionary spending and reduce labor, but now we’re scaling back up,” Neeld stated. “We’ve optimized our operations and we are focusing more attention on our long term strategy. We’re actually spending more on R&D and product development to be in prime position to grab market share when things turn around.” Neeld is a member of the Dean’s Leadership Circle executive committee, a network that he credits with helping to build his business. “We do on-campus recruiting and have hired several people from UC Irvine. The referral network and quality of individuals we’ve hired is remarkable,” Neeld concluded. Rob Henderson, an entrepreneur in his own right, graduated in 2007. Henderson came to the Merage School with decades of experience. “I had worked in the custom building products for 20 years,” said Henderson. “I began to realize the industry was going through a lot of change and I realized I would need to do something to strengthen my position in the market and expand my opportunities. I chose to pursue an MBA at the Merage School.” Henderson’s decision couldn’t have come at a better time. Not long after enrolling in the School’s MBA program, he found himself unemployed. However, leveraging his connections with the Merage School and utilizing the knowledge he had gained from the program, Henderson was able to live his dream and soon became his own boss. In March of 2008, Henderson purchased his first company and then purchased a second one in July of the same year. He folded the two companies together under the name Advanced Pacific Rob Henderson, ‘07 Tank, which designs and manufactures a full line of specialty tanks used to transport and store light viscosity materials. According to Henderson, “It was extremely satisfying to transform a company from a stodgy ‘mom and pop’ organization into a modern sophisticated business poised for growth.” He continued, “We purchased the second company to eliminate a competitor, then invested in equipment and implemented LEAN manufacturing techniques. Professor Leonard Lane and a team of Merage School students also came out and provided some guidance on business growth and accounting. Today, we’re entering new markets and we have all the pieces in place. When the economy stabilizes, we’re ready to go.” Henderson still networks with his former class members, especially his team members with whom he talks almost every week. He is also a member of the Dean’s Leadership Circle where he found the lead on the first company he purchased. Paula Milano received her MSA in 1980, when the Merage School was still the Graduate School of Management. While she spent 30 years working in the technology business, she credits her master’s level education with helping her land a job at Hewlett Packard. Paula Milano, ‘80 “At the time, Hewlett Packard was only hiring engineers with MBAs” said Milano. “I was the only person I knew of who didn’t have an undergrad in engineering; mine was in economics.” Milano has since left Hewlett Packard to pursue several businesses on her own. She founded Axion Solutions in 1997, which sold and implemented Oracle applications for the mid-market. In 2005, following the sale of Axion, Milano founded Ki Solutions, an SAP Certified Channel Partner. She sold Ki Solutions in December 2007, but stayed on with Idhasoft – the company that purchased Ki Solutions – for a year coaching and providing leadership training through the transition. Milano commented, “It was always my intent to develop these companies to the point they could be sold. I was fortunate in that the timing was good. It was very satisfying seeing something you built become profitable and then be able to sell that business to an even larger organization.” On her own again, Milano’s goal is to pursue a new career in consulting and teaching. She is currently in the process of being certified in coaching. Already a member of the Dean’s Leadership Circle, Milano is entertaining the idea of volunteering with the Merage School’s Don Beall Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, an obvious fit for a proven entrepreneur. “I feel it’s important to give back to the school that contributed so much to my career,” said Milano. “I really believe that the more successful the School is, the more successful I can be.” 20 e x p e r i e n c e I N N O V AT I O N 21 Merage | 2009 – 2010 BEYOND THE CLASSROOM BEYOND THE CLASSROOM The Treasure Box A Whole(some) New Way to Serve A Channel by Connie Clark C raig Shugert’s (MBA ’93) newest customer base isn’t wealthy or successful. Many don’t earn a salary. They’re always strapped for funds, and their own customers might go days without eating. But they represent a rapidly growing market and Shugert is happy to serve them. Welcome to The Treasure Box, a non-profit initiative that’s helping feed hungry families. Started by Shugert in 2008 as a natural offshoot of Good Source Solutions, his Carlsbad, CA-based food distribution company, The Treasure Box, delivers frozen, pre-assembled boxes to clients including food banks, community outreach programs and churches. Launching the initiative required a different approach. “This was about thinking outside of the box and seeing people who really needed our help,” Shugert says. “Sometimes it isn’t about making money. Sometimes you have to use all of your innovation and creativity to figure out a way that you can help.” Shugert was a newcomer to the company in 2006, when he took over for retiring CEO Andrew McCluskey. Charged with new product development and targeted sales in emergent channels, Shugert sought to strengthen the company’s position as a leading distributor for niche and special application markets. With a background in consumer goods, along with a Merage School MBA, Shugert went to work. Along the way, he discovered an emerging channel almost literally in the company’s backyard. According to the San Diego Food Bank, nearly half a million people face hunger in San Diego. That doesn’t include the large numbers of military families stationed there. “An enlisted person makes $20,000 a year,” Shugert says. “How do you feed a family on that with today’s food prices?” Leveraging Good Source’s buying power and relationships with more than 500 leading food companies, Shugert knew he could offer high quality nutrition to this market at a fraction of its retail price. With a retail value of $75 to $100 and enough food to feed a family of four lunch and dinner for a week, each Treasure Box costs $30. Churches and food banks foot the bill through private donations, fundraisers and often, Good Source itself. Customers say they are pleased, since the program requires only a handful of volunteers for distribution. That’s a big plus for organizations that find themselves short on volunteers in troubled economic times. Although The Treasure Box has developed a strong presence throughout California, the initiative isn’t without its challenges. “Our most significant costs are freight charges,” Shugert says. “But as orders increase, we’re optimistic about the future.” If Shugert’s leadership at Good Source is any indication, The Treasure Box will continue to thrive. Good Source revenues have grown in excess of $100 million and have experienced an average compounded growth rate of 8%. “We’ve continued to grow during this recession at rates greater than most food service companies,” says Shugert. In addition, he’s challenged his sales team to grow into new markets to achieve growth rates in excess of 15% per year. There’s no doubt the sales team will perform, considering the mutual respect Shugert fosters. Earlier this year Shugert and his team sorted and served food at the San Diego Food Bank. The company also donated Treasure Boxes to everyone in attendance. Shugert says the work was inspiring for employees. “When somebody comes up to you and says, ‘I wouldn’t have been able to feed my family this week without you guys,’ that’s pretty powerful.” For a company that measures success in dollar amounts and in the number of people it’s truly helping, The Treasure Box and Good Source seem to be right on the money. MBA For the Greater Good by Anne Warde internship during the summer of 2005 turned into the career Liana Constantinescu had dreamt about. After graduating from USC with a degree in gerontology, Constantinescu applied her skills to a job in social work. There she spent her time working with elderly clients who were homeless or near-homeless, trying to connect them with services to help them survive. “It’s that ‘service gene’ in me,” Constantinescu jokes. “At one point I wanted to become a doctor, but as I explored my opportunities, I discovered I really wanted to take a management role in helping patients.” Constantinescu applied to The Paul Merage School of Business and was accepted in 2004. The summer of the following year, with the help of the Merage School’s mentor program, she landed an internship at Silverado Senior Living, Inc. It was there that she found her calling. Initially Constantinescu served as Assistant Administrator for Silverado’s Encinitas community. But shortly after completing her MBA, she was promoted to Administrator for the Newport Mesa community located in Costa Mesa. “In Costa Mesa we have an 82 bed long term care program. It’s an assisted living community with a social engagement environment with a medical model. We focus on the social programs to help those with dementia live a fulfilled life with many activities during their day. We encourage residents to W H AT S TART E D AS AN M BA stay active for a sense of purpose and the feeling they are contributing members of society. “I find it very satisfying. Every day I’m here to serve our residents, my associates, the company and the families. It’s extremely fulfilling,” said Constantinescu. “There is a tremendous need for the kind of personal and medical services a Merage School MBA.” Since Constantinescu took the lead, the community she manages has been recognized for outstanding management in terms of staffing and expenses. Through her efforts the program’s census continues to grow. She received the company’s Rising Star Community award for 2008. facility like Silverado offers,” Constantinescu continued. “It’s quite gratifying to be able to utilize my business skills to benefit members of the community.” Constantinescu credits her Merage School MBA with giving her the operations, marketing, and financial expertise she needed to help her gain a clear picture on how to manage a complex business. “I started at Silverado as an intern and now I manage all areas of the residence,” she said. “I couldn’t have done it without my “The company uses my community as an example for other locations. Many new hires go through this community for training. We’ve really set the standard for how a community should operate,” said Constantinescu. Constantinescu recently joined the Merage School Dean’s Leadership Circle. “I feel it’s important to give back to your community. I try and do that through my career and through my ongoing relationship with the School.” 22 e x p e r i e n c e I N N O V AT I O N 23 Merage | 2009 – 2010 STUDENTS STUDENTS COMPETITION HEATS UP for CRE-NAIOP Fellowship ALT H O U GH T H E W I N N E R of the first CRE-NAIOP Fellowship will be announced after publication, many applications have been submitted by hopeful first year and continuing MBAs enrolled in the Merage School with an interest in real estate as a career. Established in August 2009, the fellowship is the result of a partnership between NAIOP SoCal, the region’s leading commercial real estate organization, and the School’s Center for Real Estate (CRE). Together these organizations will provide one deserving student each year with financial support to pursue an unparalleled learning experience with some of the nation’s top real estate executives and scholars. “We are making a concerted effort to draw in the best and brightest real estate students to the Merage School,” by Anne Warde said the Center’s associate director, Sharon NakamuraBrown. “This is a unique fellowship that serves the dual goal of providing financial support and a practical working experience for the recipients to advance their understanding of the industry.” The CRE-NAIOP Fellowship will provide one deserving winner each year with a $7,500 financial award. The fellowship will be honored in the form of tuition over a period of three quarters, beginning fall 2009. To provide a richer learning experience, the student will also be given the opportunity to become an intern or mentee at an NAIOP member company along with the opportunity to serve an internship with the NAIOP SoCal Board of Directors. For more information about the fellowship visit merage.uci.edu/go/CRE. Would You Qualify? F R E S H M AN AP P L I C AT I O N S for the third class of business administration undergrads at The Paul Merage School of Business are coming in and by all indications, the bar has already been raised. Only 12 percent of applicants were accepted in the first year, resulting in a selectivity rate that is more competitive than nearly all top ranked undergraduate business programs. With 4,000+ freshman applications Competition Fierce for Business Undergrad Program expected for Fall 2010, getting in could be tough. Competition for a spot in the program is fierce with GPA and SAT scores for Merage School undergrads remaining the highest of any school on the UC Irvine campus. Incoming freshman entering the business program have a mean GPA of 4.03 and their mean composite SAT scores exceed the 83rd percentile. Just introduced in Fall of 2008, the program already has a total of 350 students. The first class of 100 students has moved on to their sophomore year and another 250 have already begun instruction. Another 50, who will transfer or change majors from other schools or other programs, will join as juniors in Fall 2010. Full capacity for the program is 600, which the school expects to reach by academic year 2011-12. Please join us for our 2009 - 2010 Merage School Clubs Energize Students on the leading edge of digital communications, from Twitter tweets to Facebook and LinkedIn groups. After the successful launch this year of the innovative new website at merage.uci.edu, subsequent development now includes an updated look for the Merage Student Association (MSA) whose goal is to provide social, learning and networking opportunities for all Merage School students. An energetic society, the Merage Student Association coordinates student sponsored activities such as Career Day, the annual Awards Banquet, and numerous other social, athletic and recreational activities. At the core of the Student Association are the individual clubs and networking groups. Extremely active, the MSA strives to meet the needs of students by providing a sense of community and cooperation, both on and off campus. It is a valuable supplement to the educational goals of The Paul Merage School of Business. To learn more, visit merage.uci.edu/msa. Distinguished Speaker Series T H E M E R AGE S C H O O L R E M AI N S 24 e x p e r i e n c e I N N O V AT I O N Neel Grover President & Chief Executive Officer Buy.com NOVEMBER Sue Swenson President & Chief Executive Officer Sage Software 5 JANUARY Event Details: All events, 6:00 - 7:00pm Reception to follow RSVP required For more information visit our website at merage.uci.edu/go/dss 21 Mike Mussallem John Krafcik Chairman & Chief Executive Officer Edwards Lifesciences M A RCH President & Chief Executive Officer Hyundai Motor America 4 MAY 6 Register for all events and receive a significant discount. SERIES OF FOUR EVENTS INDIVIDUAL EVENTS General Public $150 $50 Merage Alumni $75 $25 Free for Dean’s Leadership Circle, Corporate Partners, and students with event registration. We want to thank the sponsors of the 2009-2010 Distinguished Speaker Series: Bingham McCutchen LLP, Capital Group, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Wells Fargo (as of September 2009). Their generosity has made this series a signature event at the Merage School. Merage | 25 2009 – 2010 MBA PROGRAMS A ccording to a recent article in the Los Angeles Times, unpaid Medicare claims are “forcing some physicians to reject elderly patients and jeopardizing the solvency of others. Some physicians are owed hundreds of thousands of dollars.” While this is only one example, it’s clear the world of healthcare is constantly evolving and the rules are changing every day. What may have appeared as a clear path to success is now proving to be a tough road to follow, especially in light of the current economic environment. Being a skilled physician may no longer be enough. Some doctors are seeking specialized MBAs to help keep their careers moving. “It was very apparent early in my training that I would need some business skills if I was going to impact my patients’ lives in a significant way,” said Timur S. Durrani, MD, MPH, MBA, CPT, MC, FS, USAR, a senior public health analyst for the Civil Military Operation Center, MBA PROGRAMS dous change in the delivery of healthcare and the demand for improved outcomes, disease prevention and wellness programs will increase. In order to compete, physicians must position themselves to take advantages of the opportunities that arise. “Currently patients do receive the benefits of a comprehensive healthcare system. However, I think this is going to change in the coming years, as payors start incentivizing for improved outcomes and focusing on prevention and wellness,” said Durrani. “Changing the current healthcare model is critically important. Every year, there are decreasing revenues from Medicare and private insurers to medical providers, while costs to provide care to patients are increasing. In addition, patients want the best care possible including cuttingedge technologies and treatments,” said Merage School Alumnus, Michael Gillman MD, ‘08, an orthopedic surgeon. “By incorporating into your practice an education decisions and how they’re made. I approach business decisions in a much more effective way, which has prompted others to seek my advice on surgery center issues, operating room issues, and more. My peers routinely rely on me to help with problems and make sure our group is functioning as efficiently and effectively as possible.” “At The Paul Merage School of Business, we offer a HCEMBA program that was designed with the physician in mind. Not only are our class selections optimized to meet the unique needs of medical doctors, but our schedules and administration processes are, too,” said Debbie Moysychyn, MBA, ‘06, executive director of the HCEMBA program at the Merage School. “Most doctors and other healthcare professionals have difficulty getting away to participate in classes. By scheduling meetings once a month, our students have the opportunity to participate and gain the full benefit of our program.” Work Experience: A minimum of five years of work experience (residency can count), 12 years on average. Work experience is heavily valued, with emphasis on increasing amounts of responsibility through the progression of your career. Current Employment: A health care position with significant management responsibility or an entrepreneurial role with top-level responsibility. Career Goals: Clearly defined goals that a HCEMBA would help achieve. It is important to define how you expect to use the knowledge, skills and contacts you will develop. Motivation and Temperament: Energy, drive and ambition to succeed. The HCEMBA program will demand a significant amount of time and effort on top of your job responsibilities, and students must be highly motivated to successfully accomplish the program. ISPhysicians IT Look TIME TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL? Beyond Their MDs by Anne Warde Combined Joint Task Force – 101st Airborne Division in Afghanistan. “I was still a resident when I applied to The Paul Merage School of Business at UC Irvine. I felt management was something that should have been part of my medical school training.” Durrani is a graduate of the Health Care Executive MBA (HCEMBA) program at the Merage School in 2008. Today, Durrani is working in Afghanistan seeking to improve the country’s basic health. “In my current role, I interact with multiple international agencies. The global management and negotiations training I received as part of the Merage School’s HCEMBA program helped prepare me for the work I am doing now. Also, the integrated curriculum of dealing with group dynamics has been very useful, as I deal with this on a daily basis.” “It’s not enough to be a good physician,” said Jeffrey Koempel, MD, MBA, ‘05. “Today you have to be a good business person as well to be successful. I believe, in the next 5 to 10 years, any physician in a higher position in an academic center or other large healthcare organization will most likely have an additional graduate degree of some kind.” Koempel is a pediatric otolaryngologist, associate professor at the University of Southern California, and Merage School graduate. In the coming years, the U.S. is likely to see tremen- in management, negotiations, accounting, finance or investment, you are prepared to recognize opportunities for providing better care and meeting the requirements of payors.” Some physicians seek to enhance their practices and further benefit from the satisfaction they receive treating patients. For these medical doctors, a HCEMBA provides the management skills and business savvy they need to maintain a successful practice and build a bright personal future. For those seeking to move into careers outside of patient care, a HCEMBA sets them apart from their competition and helps build strong leadership and decisionmaking skills that will drive success. “Following the completion of my HCEMBA program, my approach to managing people has changed for the better. I have made better financial decisions both in my professional and personal life. I am confident when reviewing financial statements and accounting statements: I know how to interpret them and look for problems. I am also better positioned to achieve my long-term strategic goals,” said Gillman. “While I enjoy being a surgeon, I don’t think I want to do it forever. By getting an MBA, I can develop my career beyond the O.R.,” said Koempel. “As a business school graduate, I understand a lot more about management A Health Care Executive MBA is a specialized type of MBA. The right candidate for a Health Care Executive MBA typically has: Educational Background: A Bachelor’s degree (required) and possibly a graduate or doctoral degree. Many students hold the title of MD, MPH, DDS, DO, OD, RN or PharmD. Learn more about the Health Care Executive MBA Program at an information session, held three times per month on campus and throughout California. During the information session you’ll hear from admissions staff, current students and alumni, and have the opportunity to ask questions. Visit merage.uci.edu/go/HCEMBA for dates and locations. 26 e x p e r i e n c e I N N O V AT I O N 27 Merage | 2009 – 2010 MBA PROGRAMS Shaheen Husain Recipient of Taco Bell’s “Sauce Packet Award” Executive Director of Corporate Relations & Business Development at the Merage School was presented with the highlyregarded “Sauce Packet Award” by Merage School Corporate Partner Representative Greg Creed, president of Taco Bell. “On behalf of all Taco Bell associates, we thank Shaheen for upholding the standard of excellence,” said Creed. “She is a great example of how one person can use her professional and personal influence to create a strong and lasting relationship between the University and the corporate world.” SHAHEEN HUSAIN, MBA PROGRAMS E M BA/H C E M BA EMBA Program Recruits Stars The Executive MBA Program is growing and the School is proud to announce the following three outstanding talents have joined the team: J OA N N PI T T E LO U D joins the Merage School as the Associate Director, Executive MBA Admissions, and will serve on the Program Management team to identify and recruit qualified Executive MBA students. Pitteloud comes to the Merage School with a combination of expertise in small-business growth advising, coaching, and consulting. Her professional experience includes Director of MBA Admissions and Financial Aid at the International Institute for Management Development, (IMD), in Lausanne, Switzerland, where she was responsible for recruiting full-time MBA students. Pitteloud earned a BA in business communications from Michigan State University and an MA in Organizational Leadership from Biola University. M A RT Y B E L L The Sauce Packet Award is given by Creed to a select few individuals who demonstrate outstanding efforts in helping build the Taco Bell brand. Shaheen was selected for her inspiring and tireless efforts in promoting the Merage School/Taco Bell partnership over the last several years through the Corporate Partners Program. 28 e x p e r i e n c e I N N O V AT I O N has been selected as Director of Program Services for the Executive MBA Programs. Bell is responsible for logistics and operations of program management including scheduling, faculty and university policies and procedures. For the past sixteen years Bell has served as the Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Business Programs, Director of the Full-Time MBA Program overseeing both Admissions and Student Services, Director of MBA Program and Student Services for all MBA Programs, and he has an ongoing role as the Director of MBA Financial Aid. Prior to coming to the Merage School, Bell was Assistant Director of Financial Aid at UC Irvine and Director of Financial Aid at Orange Coast Community College. DOUG REGNIER has accepted a position as Student Affairs Officer. Together with Marty Bell, Regnier is responsible for logistics for both the Executive MBA and Health Care Executive MBA programs and student needs. Prior to joining the Merage School, Regnier managed the internal purchasing, travel and credit card programs for Intuit in San Diego, where he served as a business analyst for accounts payable and managed the company’s credit card program. Doug earned his BA in Art History at UC Santa Barbara. F E M BA CO N I ZINGARELLI has been appointed Associate Director of the Fully Employed MBA (FEMBA) program, where she will oversee all aspects of FEMBA Student Affairs. Zingarelli is a current member of the Dean’s Leadership Circle and a recent Merage School alum. She received her MBA in the FEMBA program with a spe- cialization in Strategy in June 2008. As a student, she served in the Merage Student Association as VP of Programs for Working Professionals. Prior to joining the Merage School, Zingarelli served as Director of Special Events for Grill Concepts, Inc., where she was responsible for business development and management of event operations at 33 locations nationwide. Zingarelli received her BA from the Pennsylvania State University in Social and Behavioral Science. LEADERSHIP and TEAM DEVELOPMENT SERVICES - Leadership and Team Assessment Tools - Executive Coaching F T M BA - Consulting Services J AYC E E C H U has been promoted to Associate Director of Program Services for the Full-Time MBA Program. Chu has been with the Merage School since September 2008 as the Assistant Director of Program Services. She has been at UC Irvine since 2006 where she began in Student Affairs with the Physics and Astronomy Department. Before joining UC Irvine, Jaycee was the Program Coordinator for USC’s Undergraduate Success Program. Jaycee received her BS in Hotel and Restaurant Management from The Collins College of Hospitality Management at Cal Poly Pomona and a MEd degree in Postsecondary Administration and Student Affairs from USC. The Associate Director of Program Services is a key point of contact for faculty, staff, and current students. Jaycee will oversee student advising, curriculum planning and scheduling, intensive and international residential planning, and international exchange programs. - Public Leadership Programs - Custom Programs merage.uci.edu/go/leadership The Office of Executive Education and the Center for Leadership and Team Development (CLTD) at UC Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business are collaborating to offer the professional community an array of educational programs and services. Each is designed to help individuals and organizations assess leadership styles and competencies and develop action plans to support the development and enhancement of effective leadership practices. All of our programs and services are taught by our highly qualified faculty that include world-class professors from the Merage School and Fellows of CLTD, who present the most current research on leadership practices with relevant, practical applicability. They are carefully selected from among the best in the profession for their outstanding academic credentials, business experience, and ability to effectively communicate their knowledge to others. Our faculty and Fellows have extensive experience working with corporations of all sizes and industries, including government and non-profits, and understand the real-world leadership challenges being faced today. FACULTY INSIGHTS FACULTY INSIGHTS major obstacles to a negotiating team’s success: aligning the conflicting interests held by members of your own team and implementing a disciplined strategy at the bargaining table. Faculty Research Faculty research is an important part of the Merage School’s focus on strategic innovation. Following are summaries of 12 recent papers by our faculty members (names in bold) or co-written with colleagues from other UC Irvine departments or other universities. INFORMATION SYSTEMS Use of Pricing Schemes for Differentiating Information Goods By Vidyanand Choudhary W H E N U N D I F F E R E N T I AT E D F I R M S ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT How to Manage Your Negotiating Team: The Biggest Challenge May Be on Your Own Side of the Table By Kristin Behfar, Jeanne Brett and Ray Friedman often unwittingly, routinely undermine one another and thus their team’s across-the-table strategies. This study explores 45 negotiating teams from a wide array of industries, including finance, health care, publishing, manufacturing, telecom, and nonprofit. Findings show the biggest challenges these teams faced Findings show the came from their own side of the table. biggest challenges Drawing on the lessons learned from the these teams faced experiences of these teams, this study came from their own offers advice on how side of the table. to manage the two T E AM M E M B E R S , “ 30 e x p e r i e n c e I N N O V AT I O N S E L L commoditized products in a friction-free market with fully informed buyers, the equilibrium price falls to unit cost and the sellers do not earn any profit. This well-known result from Economics is known as the Bertrand equilibrium. Prior research has established that the Bertrand equilibrium may not hold under some conditions. However, this paper shows that under conditions that are expected to yield the Bertrand equilibrium, firms may be able to earn large (monopoly) profits when buyers are heterogeneous in their demand and sellers can offer different pricing schemes. The paper demonstrates the existence of a Pareto-dominant equilibrium where competing firms adopt different pricing schemes even though they sell the same product. The paper offers an explanation for the observed diversity in pricing schemes (such as per-user pricing and site licensing) offered by sellers of information goods. ” INFORMATION SYSTEMS Complementarities in the Diffusion of Personal Computers and the Internet: Implications for the Global Digital Divide By Sanjeev Dewan, Ken Kraemer and Dale Ganley (doctoral alumnus) T H I S PAP E R STUDIES the cross-country diffusion of personal computers (PCs) and the Internet, and examines how the diffusive interactions across these technologies affect the evolution of the global digital divide. Whereas prior research has focused on factors that explain the existence or widening of the digital divide between developed and developing countries, this paper focuses on a factor the authors believe contributes to the narrowing of the global digital divide, which is the complementarity in the diffusion of personal computers (PCs) and the Internet. The findings indicate co-diffusion effects between PCs and the Internet are complementary in nature and the impact of PCs on Internet diffusion is substantially stronger in developing countries as compared to developed ones. Further, the results suggest that these co-diffusive effects are a significant driver of the narrowing of the digital divide. Policy implications are also examined along with how complementarities in the diffusion of PC and Internet technologies might be harnessed to further accelerate the narrowing of the global digital divide. MARKETING Consumer Identity Renaissance: The Resurgence of Identity-Inspired Consumption in Retirement By Mary Gilly, Hope Jensen Schau and Mary Wolfinbarger (doctoral alums) U S I N G M U LT I -M E T H O D DATA, this team investigates retirement as a life stage centered on consumption, where cultural scripts are particularly contested and in flux, and where they witness an increase in breadth and depth of identity-related consumption which they term consumer identity renaissance. While prior research on older consumers focuses on corporeal and cognitive decline and its impact on individual decision making situations, this paper focuses on the competency and growth potential of those who have exited their formal productive stage, and privilege consumption as a means to create and enact identity. Contrary to the perceived view of older consumers simply reviewing and integrating their already-developed identities, this paper finds retirement can be a time of extensive identity work with multiple revived and emergent inspirations weaving across all time orientations (past, present and future) and involving intricate consumption enactments. 31 Merage | 2009 – 2010 FACULTY INSIGHTS FACULTY INSIGHTS FINANCE Do Individual Investors Cause Post-Earnings Announcement Drift? Direct Evidence from Personal Trades By David Hirshleifer, Siew Hong Teoh, James N. and Linda A. Myers T H I S S T U DY TESTS whether naïve trading by individual investors, or some class of individual investors, causes post-earnings announcement drift (PEAD). Inconsistent with the individual trading hypothesis, individual investor trading fails to subsume any of the power of extreme earnings surprises to predict future abnormal returns. Moreover, individuals are significant net buyers after both negative and positive extreme earnings surprises, consistent with an attention effect, but not with their trading causing PEAD. Finally, we find no indication that trading by individuals explains the concentration of drift at subsequent earnings announcement dates. FINANCE Driven to Distraction: Extraneous Events and Underreaction to Earnings News By David Hirshleifer, Siew Hong Teoh, and S. Lim RECENT STUDIES PROPOSE that limited investor attention causes market underreactions. This paper directly tests this explanation by measuring the information load faced by investors. The investor distraction hypothesis holds that extraneous news inhibits market reaction to relevant news. We find that the immediate price and volume reaction to a firm’s earnings surprise is much weaker, and post-announce- 32 e x p e r i e n c e I N N O V AT I O N ment drift much stronger, when a greater number of same-day earnings announcements are made by other firms. We evaluate the economic importance of distraction effects through a trading strategy, which yields substantial alphas. Industry-unrelated news and large absolute earnings surprises have a stronger distracting effect. MARKETING Effects of Indirectly and Directly Competing Reference Group Messages and Persuasion Knowledge: Implications for Educational Placements By Cornelia Pechmann and Liangyan Wang (doctoral alumnus) were conducted among 2,850 adolescents where versions of a real television program with an antismoking educational placement were tested against a control. Educational placements increasingly replace public service announcements but their efficacy is questioned because they invariably contain mixed messages. In an antismoking program, there are typically three indirectly competing messages about referents: smokers are attractive and prevalent but disapproved of. The study found for smokers, the educational placement was counterattitudinal. Thus when the epilogue disclosed the placement and evoked persuasion knowledge, smokers actually Educational placements generated more positive smoker increasingly replace beliefs and intent. The findpublic service announceings contribute ments but their efficacy to the literatures on competing is questioned because referent messages, they invariably contain disclosures and persuasion mixed messages. knowledge. T W O E XP E R I M E N T S “ ” ACCOUNTING Earnings Management Strategies and the Trade-Off between Tax Benefits and Detection Risk: To Conform or Not to Conform? By Morton Pincus, Brad Badertscher, John Phillips, and Sonja Olhoft Rego THIS STUDY EXTENDS EARL IER research concerned with whether and how managers exploit the generally greater discretion available under U.S. financial accounting standards vis-à-vis income tax rules to manage earnings (i.e., cook the books). In particular, the study investigates the prevalence of, and firm characteristics that impact the choice between, managing earnings upwards in ways that do or do not have current income tax consequences (respectively referred to as “book-tax non-conforming” or “book-tax conforming” earnings management). The study analyzes companies that restated their earnings for shareholder reporting purposes due to accounting irregularities and finds that restating companies generally employed earnings management strategies that increased the earnings they reported to shareholders without increasing the companies’ taxable earnings. Moreover, the study shows companies traded off the net present value of tax benefits against the net expected costs of being detected as an earnings manager. ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT Intercommunity Relationships and Community Growth in China’s High Technology Industries By Claudia Bird Schoonhoven, A. Zhang and H. Li T H I S PAP E R R E P O RT S O N A unique panel study of 53 national technology development zones in China spanning 1988 – 2000. The question addressed is what predicts community revenue growth? The group examines how inter-community relationships affect the revenue growth of organizational communities, controlling for community age, provincial versus central government origin, R&D and export intensiveness, political importance of city location, local city GDP, cities' degrees of industrialization, city foreign direct investment, city colleges, and calendar year to control for China’s substantial development since 1988. The findings show that greater community density (number of zones in a given region), a community’s geographic proximity to the nearest community, and its domain overlap with the nearest community all have an inverted The question addressed is U-shaped relawhat predicts community tionship with community revenue growth? growth. These non-monotonic findings support the argument that organizational communities are interdependent and that they share both mutualistic and competitive relationships, which in turn have a significant impact on community growth. These findings have both policy and managerial significance which are developed in the paper. “ ” FINANCE Subprime Lending and the Housing Bubble: Tail Wags Dog? By Kerry Vandell, Major Coleman IV (PhD student), and Michael LaCour-Little (CSU Fullerton) T H E C AU S E O F T H E “H O U S I N G BU B B L E ” associated with the sharp rise and then drop in home prices over the period 1998–2008 has been the focus of significant policy and research attention. The dramatic increase in subprime lending during this period has been broadly blamed for these market dynamics. In this paper we empirically investigate the validity of this hypothesis vs. several other alternative explanations. Results suggest that prior to early 2004 economic fundamentals provide the primary explanation for house price dynamics. Subprime credit activity does not seem to have had much impact on subsequent house price returns at any time during the observation period, although there is strong evidence of a price-boosting effect by investor loans 33 Merage | 2009 – 2010 FACULTY INSIGHTS FACULTY INSIGHTS (non-owner occupied mortgages). The study does find strong evidence that a credit regime shift took place in late 2003, as the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were displaced in the market by investment banks Results suggest that and hedge funds as originators and buyprior to early 2004 ers of new mortgage products. Market funeconomic fundadamentals became insignificant in affectmentals provide the ing house price primary explanation returns, and the price-momentum for house price conditions characteristic of a ‘‘bubble” dynamics. were created. Thus, rather than causing the run-up in house prices, the subprime market may well have been a joint product, along with house price increases, (i.e., the ‘‘tail”) of the changing institutional, political, and regulatory environment characteristic of the period after late 2003 (the ‘‘dog”). “ ” MARKETING Digital Home Technologies and Transformation of Household By Alladi Venkatesh and Michael LaCour-Little (CSU Fullerton) examined in this paper is whether and how contemporary home life is being transformed with the arrival of new digital technologies. As new technologies diffuse into the home, new terminology has begun to emerge as, for example, in smart homes, home automation, digital home, digital living, networked home, home of the future, smart As new technologies appliances and so on. All of diffuse into the home, these technologinew terminology has cal developments seem to point to begun to emerge... a great sense of anticipation that T H E BAS I C I S S U E “ 34 e x p e r i e n c e I N N O V AT I O N ” home life, as we have understood in the past two or three decades, will undergo some fundamental changes. It is claimed that some of the changes may be the result of advances at the technological frontier. Based on a twenty year trajectory of theoretical and empirical work, this paper will identify the triumphs and failures. STRATEGY Faculty Books Merage faculty members share their knowledge and insights through five recently published books. KRISTIN BEHFAR Stock Market Reaction to CEO Certification: The Signaling Role of CEO Background By Margarethe Wiersema and Anthea Zhang of the corporate scandals that started with Enron and led to general unrest in the financial markets, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) required chief executive officers (CEOs) and chief financial officers (CFOs) of large publicly traded companies with revenues greater than $1.2 billion to certify their financial statements by August 14th of 2002. Utilizing the SEC ruling to define a natural experiment, this research investigates the signaling role of the characteristics of the CEO to investors. Since it is not possible to fully ascertain the truthfulness of the firm’s financial statements from the act of CEO certification, we utilize market signaling theory to propose that attributes of the CEO send important signals to the investment community as to the credibility of the CEO certification and thus the quality of the firm’s financial statements, which in turn impact the stock market reaction to the CEO certification. AS A D I R E C T R E S U LT Assistant Professor of Organization and Management Conflict in Organizational Groups: New Directions in Theory and Practice Professor Behfar explores one of the most commonly raised questions about group conflict: Does conflict further or threaten group goals in organizations? This book integrates and summarizes interdisciplinary findings on the most current thinking about the impact of conflict on organizational groups and teams, including: team design, member selection, managing team process, effective team leadership, and fostering norms of effective collaboration both within and between groups. Each chapter presents cuttingedge advances in theory, methodology and challenges to dominant perspectives in explaining which conditions make conflict functional versus dysfunctional. JOHN GRAHAM Professor of Marketing and International Business Together Again: A Creative Guide to Successful Multigenerational Living Professor Graham and Sharon Graham Niederhaus have published a particularly valuable resource for those in the field of Intergenerational Relations. The authors (siblings themselves) have combined their expertise to produce a guide for families and professionals who are dealing with multigenerational households, e.g. living in a single home or living nearby. They provide some helpful background and historical perspective since multigenerational living arrangements were so common in earlier times. The authors note research documenting the more than 6 million such living arrangements in the United States and provide an insightful analysis of the rationale as well as issues that must be faced. RICHARD MCKENZIE Walter B. Gerken Professor of Enterprise and Society Predictably Rational? In Search of Defenses of Rational Behavior in Economics In this book, Professor Richard McKenzie takes on wide-ranging criticisms of the economists’ continued use of the premise of “rational behavior” in economic theories, given the mounting experimental evidence that people are “predictably irrational,” according the behavioral economists and psychologists. PETER NAVARRO Professor of Economics and Public Policy Always a Winner: Finding Your Competitive Advantage in an Up and Down Economy Most companies make a lot of money during economic expansions and lose a lot of money during recessions. That is the way it has always been. It need not always be that way. Professor Navarro shows you how to “always be a winner” over the course of the entire business cycle – not just when economic times are good. This book will arm you with all the strategies, tactics and forecasting tools you will need to profitably manage your organization through the business cycle seasons-from the best of boom times to the worst of recessionary times. Learn how to strategically manage the business cycle, and create a powerful, competitive, sustainable advantage over your rivals. Gain in-depth insight and practical knowledge you will need to survive and thrive in the increasingly risky conditions of the 21st century. 35 Merage | 2009 – 2010 FACULTY INSIGHTS JONE PEARCE Dean’s Professor of Leadership Organizational Behavior: Real Research for Real Managers Professor Pearce draws on organizational behavior research to help solve practical problems we face in gaining mastery of organizations. It clearly, honestly, and accurately conveys what the field of organizational behavior can say to experienced managers, providing applications and advice based in what systematic research can tell us. It addresses real organizational challenges: How to Hire, Why Managers?, Working with Feelings at Work, Managing Performance, Managing Incentives, Navigating the Social Scene, Understanding Culture, Mastering Power, and How to Fire and Retain. Among other awards, this book received the Academy of Management’s 2009 Practice-Relevant Scholarship Award as the best translation of scholarship to practical tools. FACULTY INSIGHTS Merage School Faculty in the News O PE R AT I O N S M A N AG E M E N T P RO F E S S O R R I C K S O has accepted the role of Associate Dean of the Undergraduate Program effective July 1, 2009, for a renewable two year term. So oversees the vision, strategy, curriculum and academic matters for the undergraduate major and the two undergraduate minors in the Merage School. In this role, he works closely with the Area Coordinators, the Undergraduate Programs Committee and Programs Office, and the Dean’s Office. So also joins the Merage School’s strategy team and serve on the Faculty Advisory Committee in his new role as Associate Dean. P RO F E S S O R M O RT PI N C U S is taking a well-deserved sabbatical upon completion of his role as Associate Dean of the Undergraduate Program. Pincus led the development of the Merage School’s new undergraduate major, which boasts the highest freshman GPA on campus. Pincus also oversaw the highly successful minor program which, at over 500 strong, constitutes one of the largest minors on campus, again with excellent students. A F T E R S E RV I N G A S T H E D I R E C TO R of the PhD Program for three years, Professor Alladi Venkatesh is now taking a one-year sabbatical. Venkatesh has been a passionate and able leader of the PhD program and worked diligently to streamline many aspects of the program. He improved time-tograduation and placements, and worked with other academic units on campus, such as Department of Statistics, School of Social Sciences, and School of Social Ecology, to make it easier for our students to take courses in these units. Among his other initiatives, he started the Research Fest, a day-long event attended by Merage School alumni, faculty, students and community from other units on campus. is the Merage School’s new PhD Program Director, starting July 1, 2009, for a renewable two-year term. Keller received her PhD from UCLA and has been at UC Irvine since 1982. She is a renowned researcher in the area of Decision Analysis, and has served the School in a number of important roles, most recently as the Associate Dean for the Full-Time MBA program. Enthusiastic and passionate about the PhD program, with a history of working with and helping our PhD students, Keller will play a leading role as our school continues to streamline and improve the PhD program. P RO F E S S O R RO B I N K E L L E R has published an article in the MIT Sloan Management Review titled, RecessionProofing Your Organization: Lessons from the Crash. The article explores, among other things, what managers and organizations can do to anticipate downturns and mitigate the worst effects of a recession. P RO F E S S O R PE T E R N AVA R RO is the winner of the 2009 Pollay Prize at the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia. She was awarded this prize for intellectual excellence in research on marketing in the public interest for her research titled, “Smokescreen: Making sense of youth-geared messages about tobacco in entertainment and advertising.” Tobacco use remains a leading cause of death worldwide, and is driven in part by marketing. Young people in particular have a window of vulnerability for initiating smoking, which explains the public health push to close that window through tobacco marketing restrictions. Research by Pechmann examines youth-geared tobacco marketing messages in advertising and entertainment – and how youth respond to them. Her findings have helped inform and change tobacco control policy in the United States and Canada. The endowment was established in 1992 to fund research efforts in information and technology on organizations and markets. It will enable Gurbaxani to further facilitate collaboration between the Merage School and the extensive IT and technology business community in and around Orange County. Gurbaxani is an accomplished professor with extensive experience in management education and advisory services. He has lectured worldwide on management issues, taught extensively in degree and executive education programs, consulted for and provided research expertise to many organizations, and been a visiting scholar at the business schools at Stanford University and at MIT. P RO F E S S O R P H I L I P PE J O R I O N received the Inaugural Progress Emerging Manager Research Award from the Journal of Investing for his article “The Risk of Emerging Hedge Fund Managers.” This award honors contributions to rigorous research on the quality and characteristics of emerging managers. This article is co-authored with Professor Rajesh Aggarwal of the University of Minnesota. P RO F E S S O R CO N N I E PE C H M A N N Professor of Information Systems and Computer Science and Director of the Center for Research on IT and Organizations (CRITO) was appointed Taco Bell Endowed Professor at The Paul Merage School of Business effective July 1, 2009. The appointment was made by Chancellor Michael V. Drake, MD. V I J AY G U R B A X A N I , P RO F E S S O R K E N K R A E M E R received the 2008 Association for Information Systems (AIS) LEO award. This award recognizes truly outstanding individuals in the Information Systems community, both academics and practitioners, who have made exceptional contributions to research in and/or the practice of Information Systems. Professor Kraemer is the 18th person to receive the award out of an AIS membership of over 1500 academics. the Dean’s Professor in Strategic Management, has accepted the role of associate editor for the Strategic Management Journal (SMJ), the premier academic journal in the strategy discipline. The Strategic Management Journal has been the official journal of the Strategic Management Society since its inception in 1980 and is published 13 times per year by Wiley-Blackwell Publishing. It is consistently rated one of the top publications in the management area. The SMJ promotes the development and dissemination of advances in the field by maintaining the highest standards of intellectual thought combined with practical relevance. M A RG A R E T H E W I E R S E M A , 36 e x p e r i e n c e I N N O V AT I O N 37 Merage | 2009 – 2010 COLLABORATION COLLABORATION A Practical for Being Charitable Merage School facilitates strategy to “do well” and to “do good” financially. It is the deal of a lifetime. Y ou have an opportunity to make some financial moves. While you’d like to support a Merage School scholarship or research initiative, your personal cash flow could use another income source. It seems impossible to undertake both goals at once. Or is it? Instead of choosing between financial and philanthropic objectives, you could pursue both through one plan of action. The charitable gift annuity (often referred to as “the gift that pays back”) is an estate planning solution offered by University Advancement. Put simply, the gift initially operates as an income-producing investment. After the donor has passed away, the remaining investment is donated automatically to the school. Helping potential donors to navigate the giving process is Director of Legacy Planning, Jay Donoghue. “A charitable gift annuity is a very attractive way for someone to make a direct gift to the Merage School and also receive a fixed amount of income during their lifetime.” As Donoghue elaborates, the gift annuity offers highly desirable perks. “Charitable gift annuities are easy to create [with a one-time contribution of $10,000 or more], provide attractive tax benefits in addition to reliable income, and allow a donor to designate the gift portion of the annuity to the specific program at UC Irvine they would like to support.” Selecting an Area of Influence One of the most rewarding aspects of the gift annuity process may be choosing a program, an exercise that is judgment free. “Merage School donors have numerous reasons for choosing specific areas to supAt the end of the port, and we are always respectful of a day, each gift will donor's preferences,” says Assistant Dean of help shape the External Relations, Donna Mumford. quality of educa“Whether a donor's tion and research goal is to support scholarships, fellowwhile improving ships, research or other areas, there are our community.” many wonderful giving opportunities at the Merage School. At the end of the day, each gift will help shape the quality of education and research while improving our community.” “ ” Performance Counts Charitable aspects aside, the annuity is indeed a competitive income-producing source. With a rate of return ranging between 5.0 and 9.5 percent, it performs generally slightly better than other life-income gifts, while outpacing the current 2.78 percent average five-year CD rate (www.Bankrate.com, 8/7/09). Moreover, unlike other gift options, the annuity’s income payment receives favorable federal tax treatment, which boosts its effective yield. Getting to the Heart of the Matter “What are my gifting options?” “How can my estate benefit from my donation?” “What are the tax implications?” These questions are fielded regularly by the Legacy Planning office during complimentary private consultations offered to potential donors. The role of the legacy planning process is not to push a particular plan option but to “assist the donor with the fulfillment of their specific wishes, goals and desires,” says Donoghue. “The legacy planning process that we offer at UC Irvine focuses on the donor and the primacy of their philanthropic interests and motivation.” Acting as an impartial advisor is not new to Donoghue, a 25-year veteran of the financial services industry. Prior to joining University Advancement in May 2007, Donoghue often provided strategic financial and estate planning advice to high net worth individuals. This expertise comes in handy as he counsels potential UC Irvine donors, even providing a customized analysis of the annuity’s financial and tax implications. The primary benefit of an in-person consultation is the personal attention provided by Legacy Planning. “Throughout our consultation with prospective donors who are considering a planned or deferred gift, we try to help them accomplish what would be meaningful to them and address the specific issues and questions related to executing a gift,” adds Donoghue. Which program benefits have the greatest donor appeal? Mumford provides this insight: “Primarily, donors view a charitable gift annuity as a source of fixed income, with earnings that will supplement retirement income, enhance the value of an estate by potentially avoiding estate taxes, and create significant tax savings. The flexibility of a gift annuity, particularly being able to choose whether to receive income or direct it to a family member, is definitely appealing." Notably, an annuity may pay the donor, spouse, parent or child. While potential donors often contact Legacy Planning with initial questions, giftlegacy.uci.edu is also a valuable resource. It features an interactive tool (see box for details) that illustrates an individual’s potential annuity benefits and tax treatments. This quantitative analysis estimates the degree to which a donor can “do well” financially while “doing good.” by Aurora Abt Preview Your Customized Analysis Online You can build a customized illustration of potential tax and financial benefits specific to your situation at giftlegacy.uci.edu by following these simple steps. STEP 1: In the sidebar, choose “Create Your Plan” and press the “Enter” button on your keyboard. STEP 2: On the new screen, under “Select a Presentation,” choose “Gift Annuity.” STEP 3: Provide the requested information. Your personalized PowerPoint presentation will run automatically with optional audio. 38 e x p e r i e n c e I N N O V AT I O N 39 Merage | 2009 – 2010 COLLABORATION generosity PAAMCO Provides Cause for Celebration Merage School Dean Andy Policano, with Experian’s Andrea Butz, Geoff Bell, Business Information Services President Allen Anderson, Group Presidents Ty Taylor and Mike DeVico and President and Chief Operating Officer, Chris Callero Executive Classrooms Named in Honor of Experian The Merage School commemorated a groundbreaking gift from Experian with the dedication of two executive classrooms in the existing Merage School building on September 10, 2009. Experian’s gift of $550,000 is being applied toward the new building campaign just recently underway and two executive classrooms in that structure will be named in Experian’s honor once it is complete. “Experian believes that education is the cornerstone of success, and investing in our future business leaders is the responsibility of organizations and communities alike,” said Chris Callero, president and chief operating officer of Experian. “We are honored to be in a position to present this gift to the Merage School and be a part of its future.” More than a dozen Merage School alumni currently employed at Experian were on hand to witness the dedication along with Experian President and Chief Operating Officer, Chris Callero, Business Information Services President Allen Anderson, Group Presidents Ty Taylor and Mike DeVico. Dean Andy Policano presided over the dedication and offered a champagne toast to Experian for its gift. A plaque installed in each of the executive classrooms reads, “Within this classroom, our students and faculty enjoy a superior learning environment made possible by the commitment and dedication of one of Orange County’s most generous corporate citizens. We gratefully acknowledge Chris Callero and the leadership of Experian for their visionary gift in support of this state-of-the-art facility.” Since news of the Living Building Campaign was first presented to the business community in January 2009, the Merage School has received pledges totaling $1.5 million. The proposed new Merage School facility will be the first new business school building built since 1989. Pacific Alternative Asset Management Company (PAAMCO) has joined the Merage School’s Living Building Campaign with a pledge of $500,000. “We believe so strongly in the importance of this business school that we did not hesitate to show our commitment,” Jane Buchan, CEO of PAAMCO, said. “This school and its programs are an integral part of our business community and it is in all our best interests to ensure its continued growth and success.” In recognition of its generous contribution, the PAAMCO name will be featured prominently in the new building. Marriott’s Ed Fuller First to Commit to New Building Campaign Ed Fuller, president and managing director of Marriott International Lodging, and chair of the Merage School’s Dean’s Advisory Board, set the pace for the School’s new Living Building campaign early in 2009 with a pledge of $100,000. “Ed’s support is further testament to the value our business partners, alumni and students place on the Merage School and the business leaders we develop,” said Dean Andy Policano. Deloitte Strengthens Alliance with Merage School Deloitte Managing Partner Rob Lucenti joined Dean Andy Policano and Merage School faculty and staff at Deloitte’s Costa Mesa office for a presentation and reception celebrating the positive impact the partnership has made on both organizations and the community. Merage School alumnus Rich Milo, principal of Deloitte’s Enterprise Risk Services, co-hosted the event joined by other Merage School alumni from Deloitte; nearly 100 work within the Deloitte family of businesses worldwide. COLLABORATION BUSINESS PLAN COMPETITION Show Me the Money By Robert Preer an 18-year-old freshman, had been on the UC Irvine campus only a few weeks when he decided to enter the Merage School’s Business Plan Competition, managed by the Don Beall Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Center Administrative Director Charlie Baecker first advised the aspiring entrepreneur and economics major to attend the Center’s “Matrix Mixers.” These informal gatherings bring together business students and graduate students in technical fields to form teams for the competition, which awards $30,000 in prizes and a shot at up to a million dollars in private investment. At a Matrix Mixer, Isaac met computer science graduate student Le Nguyen Tran, who had developed a high-speed, super-efficient microprocessor. Isaac and Tran formed a team and developed a business plan. They made the first cut when judges trimmed the 90-team field to 20. After enhancing their business plan and patenting Tran’s invention, they competed again in May and were selected as one of only three teams to pitch their idea to the Tech Coast Angels, a large southern California venture capital network prepared to invest up to a million dollars in projects from the competition. Isaac and Tran will learn in January 2010 whether they won. In the meantime, they are refining their business plan and meeting with a Tech Coast Angels coach. “Our hope ideally is to compete with companies like Intel and Advanced Micro Devices,” said S H AW N I S AAC , Isaac. “As far-fetched as that may sound, everything starts from a dream. That's something Mr. Baecker and the Beall Center taught us.” Nurturing entrepreneurs and their dreams has been the mission of the Beall Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship since its founding in 2003. Through the business plan competition and other programs, the Center has become a strong presence both on the UC Irvine campus and in the Orange County business community. “For us to sit in the ivory tower, so to speak, and ruminate about innovation won't cut it,” says Baecker, a veteran entrepreneur himself. “We really need to be out there working with people who are doing innovation.” The Business Plan Competition is the Center's signature program, drawing 500 or more students every fall. The Center also organizes frequent workshops and luncheons and runs programs like Innovation@ Merage. “It’s a clearinghouse for all things innovation,” says Associate Director Christine Beckman, the Center's faculty co-director. “We always emphasize inclusiveness,” says Shaheen Husain, the Center's first director and now head of Corporate Relations for the Merage School. “We will show anyone who wants to become an entrepreneur the steps to succeed. We have undergraduates, community people, and graduate students from across the campus.” Aided by Don Beall’s $6.6 million endowment of the Center, Baecker continues to expand the Center’s offerings. The business plan competition got a boost two years ago when venture capitalists with substantial investment resources started reviewing the winners. A contest winner two years ago, Bone-Rad Therapeutics, Inc., has gone forward from competition to real world. The company's innovative spinal cancer treatment is now in FDA testing. Administrative Director Charlie Baecker, shares his innovative insight with up-andcoming entrepreneurs during 2009 Business Plan Competition Kick-Off. “To date this is the best experience of my MBA program,” says Aaron Samson, a second year MBA student and member of a five-person team that finished near the top in the most recent competition. “I learned more from this and worked harder on it than any project or class at school.” According to Baecker, all who enter the competition learn valuable lessons. In four months, students go through all the steps required to start a business. “It's like taking a drink from a fire hose,” Baecker says. “But we manage to make it work.” 40 e x p e r i e n c e I N N O V AT I O N 41 Merage | 2009 – 2010 COLLABORATION CFA Institute Partnership Gives Students an Advantage By Robert Preer COLLABORATION Center News I N T H E S U M M E R O F 2 0 0 8 , Todd Richey, lecturer at the Center for Investment and Wealth Management, began talks with CFA Institute on establishing a partnership between the organization for investment professionals and The Paul Merage School of Business. For the Merage School, there was much to gain. The School could coordinate its curriculum with the association’s Chartered Financial Analyst exam, a rigorous graduate-level certification program; it would have access to the association’s research and publications; and it would gain prestige from a relationship with one of the business world’s most influential professional organizations. Richey discussed the possibility with finance Professor Nai-fu Chen and Dean Andy Policano, both of whom encouraged him to pursue the matter. For the next 12 months, Richey worked with the Charlottesville, Virginia-based CFA Institute, going over the School’s curriculum and possible adjustments to meet CFA Program Partner standards. He worked with the finance faculty and others at the Center for Investment and Wealth Management to find ways to adapt courses. This past summer, Richey got word that the CFA Institute had officially accepted the Merage School as a CFA Program Partner. The School is one of only 103 educational institutions worldwide and the second in the western states with this distinction. “The CFA certification has always been viewed as the gold standard,” says Richey. “This shows that our students with a finance focus will be well prepared when they graduate and are out looking for a job. It means we can attract high quality MBA students.” Bob McLean, CFA, head of university relations for CFA Institute, worked closely with Richey during the partnership talks. He said the arrangement is a credit to the Merage School. “Becoming a CFA Program Partner demonstrates to potential students and employers UC Irvine’s commitment to maintaining high standards in professional education and ethics,” McLean said. “As a CFA Program Partner, UC Irvine joins a small number of high-profile institutions around the world.” “A lot of corporations in the finance arena as well as wealth management and financial analyst positions either require the CFA designation or will require individuals they hire to start working on it,” Richey says. “As a CFA Program Partner with coordinated curriculum, Merage School can better prepare students to take the CFA exam.” “You are never better prepared to take the CFA examination than you are right out of business school,” says Marla L. Harkness, CFA, co-director of wealth management for Pacific Income Advisers of Santa Monica. Harkness, a past CFA Institute Presidents Council Representative for the western United States, worked with Richey to develop plans for the partnership. “There is no doubt that the designation is required for jobs in investment management and securities analysis – for both stocks and bonds – and increasingly for jobs in investor relations or with hedge funds,” Harkness says. Max Brunner received his MBA from the Merage School this spring, and he obtained his CFA certification about the same time. Doing both simultaneously had its advantages, he believes. “I really thought it was a good mix,” Brunner says. “The MBA classes were broad and often involved interaction with companies in the Orange County area. The CFA Program work helped to solidify some of the concepts we were learning in the classes.” Brunner thinks the curriculum will benefit from the partnership. “Macroeconomics from the CFA perspective can be a little different from an MBA professor’s take on it. I think a program that combines elements of both will be good.” The Bottom of the Pyramid Takes Center Stage of the Pyramid (BoP) in fact a realistic market or development strategy? How does the current economic climate influence the BoP approach? Are particular types of services better suited to delivering value and development services? Where do the opportunities lie? These questions and more were the focus of the “Bottom of the Pyramid in Practice” conference, co-sponsored by the Merage School’s Center for Research on Information Technology and Organizations (CRITO). I S TA RG E T I N G T H E B OT TO M Speakers included representatives from the Gates Foundation, Microsoft Research, Intel Corporation, Nokia, London School of Economics, UC Berkeley, Queensland University, and of course, UC Irvine. Notably, Merage School Professor Dr. Vijay Gurbaxani, Director of CRITO, served on the closing discussant panel with distinguished experts Paul Thomas, Intel’s Chief Economist, and Mohammed Mohammed of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Gurbaxani emphasized his own ethos as a former Indian national who knew about community-based technologies and the bottom of the pyramid from personal experience growing up in Bombay (Mumbai). He described how business model innovation creates new means of value creation and that IT-led innovation is often an integral part of the solution. Samantha Cross, a newly minted PhD in Marketing from The Paul Merage School of Business, served as a moderator for the discussion surrounding consumption and emerging markets in the BoP. Money Matters compels those responsible for the investment and management of other people’s wealth to embrace innovation in order to sustain profitable, socially responsible growth in their organizations. The Merage School’s Center for Investment and Wealth Management (CIWM) is at the heart of this focus. A vehicle to connect the community, the university, and investment and wealth management professionals, the Center has experienced phenomenal growth. Faculty, MBA students and professionals in the community are supported by an Advisory Board of well-respected business leaders from financial institutions, investment companies, law firms, accounting firms and wealth management companies in Orange County and beyond. Over the past three and half years, the Center has become a leading resource for innovative programs that enhance and spotlight the fields of investment and wealth management. Through the commitment and generosity of the members, the Center has raised more than $2.2 million to provide innovative research and education. A target of $3 million has been set for the 2009-2010 year to support new initiatives including: TO D AY ’ S E CO N O M Y CFA Institute partnership A new multi-day conference similar to those held by Wharton, Chicago and Stanford Continuing Education programs After Market Salon offering CE credit Faculty-developed series of best practice case studies CIWM quarterly luncheons The Center is co-chaired by Rick Keller, CEO of First Foundation Investment Management, and GenSpring’s southern California President, Pat Soldano. The combination of a widely acclaimed university and business school with the expertise of the professional wealth management community from one of the wealthiest areas in the world provides an unparalleled opportunity to develop a Center that will stand alone as truly distinctive. For more information, visit merage.uci.edu/go/CIWM. New Leader for Leadership Center ANNA LIZA G A RC I A has been named Associate Director for the Center for Leadership and Team Development at the Merage School. With a masters in education and counseling from UCLA and currently enrolled in the PhD program in education at USC, Garcia’s background is leadership and education. She was most recently Associate Director and International Exchange Coordinator in the MBA program office at USC. She also served as Director of the Students Center for Professional Development at Cal State Long Beach. 42 e x p e r i e n c e I N N O V AT I O N 43 Merage | 2009 – 2010 COLLABORATION COLLABORATION P R O S P E R I T A S Quadruples Membership in Second Year Business leaders, philanthropists and social entrepreneurs have come together to ignite ideas, create connections and raise awareness about critical topics of the times. By Mary Patrick a group of successful leaders, philanthropists and entrepreneurs meeting semimonthly at the Merage School, experienced such a sharp rise in 2009/2010 that it was necessary to start a waiting list. Executive Director Mary Patrick attributes the wave of new interest to a variety of factors, most importantly, a hunger for camaraderie and debate regarding key social, political, and scientific issues challenging the local, national and global economy. Patrick commented, “The group exists to fill a clear need that individuals have to come together and face the enormous challenges of our world in a community of proven problem-solving professionals. There is obviously a need in the business community for the kind of relevant conversation and action-oriented ideas that lead to informed decisions and positive change.” She adds, “Our salon-like setting closely connects our members to the thought-leaders available through UC Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business and members’ personal networks, and it has proven enormously popular.” M E M B E R S H I P L E V E L S AT P RO S P E R I TAS , “It is exciting to see the growth of this innovative organization,” said Jone L. Pearce, Dean’s Professor of Leadership at the Merage School. “Clearly, there is great interest among business leaders in learning how to make their philanthropy more effective. The rapid growth of Prosperitas shows that the School has developed a vehicle that helps those who want to make a difference to do so.” The name Prosperitas is the Latin term for “hope” and “success.” Founded by UC Irvine Alumnus Frank Kavanaugh, the group was originally designed to be a forum for high net-worth individuals to band together to examine how best to put resources to use personally, politically, and philanthropically. After completing its first year, the program was retooled to be more inclusive of the larger business community, which was accomplished by shortening the meetings, adjusting the membership fee, and creating more frequent networking and idea exchanges. Proceeds from the group will underwrite a new microfinance loan fund that is intended to offer support to the growth and success of innovative, sustainable, and socially relevant businesses launched by Merage School students and other UC Irvine community members. “My aim is to present a variety of diverse topics and opinions so that it’s not a group of people sitting around agreeing with one another,” said Kavanaugh. “We listen to people who are developing new ways of solving old problems. Inviting a cross section of the community to get insight from some of the Merage School’s top thoughtleaders offers us fresh, creative perspectives for debate. Now more than ever it’s apparent that the secret to survival and success requires remaining focused and optimistic, informed and connected. This group offers up an environment to make that happen,” Kavanaugh concluded. The 2009-2010 Prosperitas program features twicemonthly lunch meetings in salon-like settings where members can exchange ideas with thought-leaders and peers. Some of the scheduled topics include the California economy, stem-cell research, bioethics, biomimicry, climate change, aging and memory, and global investment opportunities. The group is organizing a June Idea Incubator that will be open to the public. For more information, visit merage.uci.edu/go/prosperitas. P RO F E S S O R KE R RY D. VAN D E L L , director of the Center for Real Estate, discusses real estate and how the “Housing after the Fall: Reassessing the Future of the American Dream” symposium can benefit the new administration. CRE Fast Becoming Beacon for Real Estate Industry I n just four short years, the Merage School’s Center for Real Estate has gone from an exciting new idea to a fullfledged Center of Excellence. Ranked among southern California’s Top Business Schools with a Real Estate focus in US World News & Report, the Center’s mission is to advance real estate knowledge and engage in activities that promote teaching, research and industry outreach. “The Center’s strong partnership with students, faculty, practitioners and the community at large have enabled it to advance our knowledge base as well as “bridge” theory with practice. We have also instituted some really outstanding programming that trains students to contribute to the real world and shapes leaders for the new global community,” said Professor Kerry Vandell, director of the Center for Real Estate. Vandell was recruited in 2006 to build the Center’s infrastructure and establish the School’s research program and real estate specialization, which now includes a selection of seven real estate courses within the MBA curriculum. Since joining the Merage School, Vandell has made an impressive impact. In addition to creating the infrastructure to support the burgeoning program, Vandell appointed Sharon Nakamura-Brown as associate director of the Center to oversee its growing operations. Among the Center’s various activities and programs is a newlyestablished research program that has garnered national attention, most recently through its “Housing After the Fall: Reassessing the American Dream” symposium. Analysis from the symposium, sponsored by the MacArthur and Rockefeller Foundations, provides policy guidance to Congress and the Obama Administration to aid the recovery of the housing and mortgage markets. The Center produces and sponsors over 20 events over the academic year which serve students, alumni, researchers and the industry. Its widely acclaimed industry-focused programs include the Real Estate Gala and Awards Celebration, Breakfast Series, Annual Spring Board Meeting & Symposium, and the Distinguished Executive in Residence program. The Center has also launched an initial marketing and communications program, has helped launch the UC Irvine Real Estate Alumni Group and sponsors the Merage Real Estate Association. For more information, visit merage.uci.edu/go/cre. Q: What is the state of the U.S. housing and mortgage markets? A: These markets have not been this bad since the Great Depression in terms of property value declines and the disruption of money flow into the mortgage markets. There were several periods of regional problems (including in southern California and the northeast) where credit was tightened because of increased risk of loan default, but nothing of the magnitude we have seen today (mid 2009). Q: Why is it important for the housing and mortgage markets to recover? A: We have seen a decline in the values of many types of assets, including houses. It is absolutely necessary that the housing market recover because it is such an important part of the economy. We must seek to re-establish a balance that helps keep consumer consumption at sustainable levels and prices mortgage credit properly. Q: How can the symposium, along with UCI research, make an impact? A: Many of the topics we study at the Center, such as mortgage availability and urban development, are relevant to future policies that could emerge in light of the economic situation. We have a unique opportunity to conduct sound academic research that could have a direct impact on public policy and make a measurable difference. It is not often you are presented with a situation that is of such importance and in need of immediate help. This is one of those times. 44 e x p e r i e n c e I N N O V AT I O N 45 Merage | 2009 – 2010 COLLABORATION COLLABORATION Thank you! A sincere “thank you” from the faculty, staff and students of The Paul Merage School of Business to our many supporters and donors. The community and business leaders listed below have helped to launch the School’s Centers of Excellence and other important initiatives, and have devoted energy, talent and wisdom to the Merage School. As always, a special thanks to Paul and Lilly Merage for their tremendous and tireless efforts on our behalf. Dean’s Advisory Board Ed Fuller, Chair – Marriott International Lodging David Murphy, Vice Chair – Barrie D'Rozario Murphy Pamela Adams ‘98 – Wells Fargo Advisors Richard Afable – Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian Mike Aghajanian ‘88 – PRTM Robert Anderson – Health Savings Technology Craig Barbarosh – Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP Donald Beall – Dartbrook Partners, LLC John Belli – Ernst & Young Eric Boden, retired – HireRight Jane Buchan – Pacific Alternative Asset Management Co. Christopher Callero – Experian Americas Joel Calvo – Calvo Capital James Caudill – Black & Decker Bruce Chapman Victoria Collins – First Foundation Investment Management Michael Davis – Deutsche Bank National Trust Company, Private Wealth Management Dwight Decker – Conexant John Della Gotta – Forum for Corporate Directors Tommy Dodson – Rockwell Collins Rick Dutta – Nexvisionix William Ellermeyer – Emeritus – The Ellermeyer Company Larry Emond – The Gallup Organization John Evans – Wells Fargo, Private Client Services William Ficker – Emeritus – The Ficker Group Thomas Gephart – Ventana Richard Gilchrist – The Irvine Company William Halford – Bixby Land Company Cynthia Harriss – Formerly Disneyland Resort & Gap Brand North America Julie Hill – Chair Emeritus – Boardmember, WellPoint, The Lord Abbett Mutual Funds, Lend Lease Jeanne Jackson – Nike Camille Jayne – Matters at Hand Alan Kaye – Mattel, Inc. Rick Keller – First Foundation Investment Management Parker Kennedy – The First American Corporation Darcy Kopcho ‘80 – Capital Research and Management Knute Kurtz – PricewaterhouseCoopers Greg Lai – Morgan Stanley General Leon J. LaPorte – U.S. Army, retired Marc Levin – Levin Capital Management Robert Lucenti – Deloitte Stephen Marlow – Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. Chuck Martin – Chair Emeritus – Mont Pelerin Capital James Mazzo – Abbott Medical Optics James Mellor – USEC, Inc. Paul Merage – Chair Emeritus – Falcon Investment Management Mark Moehlman – Wealth Management Network Eddie Northen – UPS Edmund Olivier – Oxford Bioscience Partners James O'Sullivan – Mazda North American Operations John Parker – Parker Properties Sue Parks – WalkStyles, Inc. Daryl Pelc – Boeing Company Bill Pesch – McBride Electric, Inc. Jim Peterson – Microsemi Corp. David Pyott – Allergan Richard Reisman – Orange County Business Journal David Schramm – Maxwell Technologies Glenn Schrank – HireRight Alan Sellers – SAIL Venture Partners Ariela Shani – Neiman Marcus Peter Shea – J.F. Shea Company, Inc. Richard Shields – Oakley, Inc. Ronald Simon – RSI Holding Corp. Patricia Soldano – GenSpring Family Offices Greg Spierkel – Ingram Micro, Inc. Dennis Sweeney – Emeritus – Newport Consulting Partners Ariela Tannenbaum '95 – Allianz Global Investors Peter Ueberroth – The Contrarian Group, Inc. Tom Wagner ‘89 – Taco Bell – YUM! Brands, Inc Bob Waltos – The Waltos Group Dean Yoost – PricewaterhouseCoopers Hoby Darling, Vice President of Strategic Development – Volcom Christine Darragh, Divisional Vice President, Human Resources – Abbott Medical Optics, Inc. Larry Emond, Chief Marketing Officer – Gallup Consulting, Inc. John Evans, Sr. Vice President, Regional Manager – Wells Fargo Bank Christopher Fawcett, Vice President – Sony Electronics Inc. Giovanni Gigliotti, Site Location Executive IBM Corporation Richard Grabowski, Managing Partner – Jones Day Knute Kurtz, Office Managing Partner – PricewaterhouseCoopers Steve Lewis, Owner – Steelhead Brewery Co. Stephen Marlow, Executive Vice President – Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. Michael McCole, Product Marketing Manager – Sony Electronics Inc. Bill Nutini, Vice President, Sales – Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. James O’Sullivan, President & CEO – Mazda North America Operations Daryl Pelc, Vice President Engineering & Technology Advanced Systems – Boeing Company – Space Station Catherine Pendleton, Director of Global Staffing & Recruiting – Beckman Coulter, Inc. James Peterson, President & Chief Executive Officer – Microsemi Parsa Rohani, CEO – Neudesic Ken Rohl, Founder – Rohl, LLC Lester Savit, Partner – Jones Day Glenn Schrank, President & CEO – HireRight Vivian Soren-Myers, Internal Consultant – Pacific Alternative Asset Management Company (PAAMCO) Stacy Stachniak, Human Resources Manager – Toyota Material Handling U.S.A. Joe Sweet, Sr. Vice President, Regional Director – Union Bank Edmond Thomas, President and Chief Executive Officer – The Wet Seal, Inc. Tom Wagner, Vice President, Consumer Insights & Brand Planning – Taco Bell Corporation Melissa Ward, Director, Marketing Corporate Partners Drew Aron, Director, Advisory – PricewaterhouseCoopers Debra Barrow, Human Resources Manager – Rauxa Direct Kenneth Beall, Managing Member – Dartbrook Partners Jeff Benck, Executive Vice President & COO – Emulex Corporation Darwin Chen, Director, Global Flash Operations – Kingston Technology Company, Inc. Andy Corley, Corporate Vice President and Global President – Bausch & Lomb Americas, Surgical Products Christopher Coulter, MD, Chief Medical Officer – The Precept Group Doug Cunningham, Past Office Managing Partner – Accenture Center for Real Estate Lawrence Armstrong – Ware Malcomb Ken Beall – The Beall Family Foundation Philip Belling – LBA Realty Eric Bergstrom – Bergstrom Capital Advisors Brandon Birtcher – Birtcher Development & Investments, LLC Robert Brunswick – Buchanan Street Partners Robert Campbell – CT Realty Corp. Lawrence Casey – Donahue Schriber Realty Group Paul Cate – Mark IV Capital, Inc. Rachid Chamtieh – Deloitte David DePillo Roger DeWames – Hines Celina Doka – KPMG, LLP Ranney Draper – The Draper Family Foundation Greg Edwards – Rancho Mission Viejo Company Steve Elieff – Suncal Companies Rodney Emery – Steadfast Companies John French – Ernst & Young Walter Frome Cynthia Fusco – NAIOP SoCal John Garrett – Garrett DeFrenza Stiepel, LLC James Gianulias – Cameo Homes Stephen Gordon Emile and Dina Haddad – Lennar John Hagestad – SARES•REGIS Group William Halford – Bixby Land Co. Robert M. Hamilton – Allen Matkins Bobby Hatfield – Fidelity National Title Greg Herder ‘05 – Hobbs Herder Advertising Julie Hill – The Hill Company Barry Hoeven – US Storage Center/Westport Properties Mark Hoover – First American Title Insurance Mark Kehke ‘93 – DMB Associates Parker Kennedy – First American Title Insurance David Kim – The Bascom Group Peter and Valerie Kompaniez – AIMCO John Lutzius and Alison Cohen Adam Markman – Green Street Advisors Bill and Romy McFarland – The Street Companies Kevin McKenzie – Palisades Equity Partners Gary S. McKitterick – Allen Matkins Carl F. McLarand – McLarand Vasquez Emsiek & Partners Doug Meece – Merrill Lynch Greg Merage – Stoneridge Capital Partners Michael L. Meyer – AMG Realty Investors, LLC Anne Marie Moiso ‘00 – Rancho Mission Viejo Company Jeffrey Moore – CB Richard Ellis John Murphy – Luce, Forward, Hamilton, and Scripps Douglas O’Donnell – O'Donnell Group John B. Parker – Parker Properties Gerald N. Pharris – Pharris Properties Tony Premer – Pacific Life Insurance Company Christine Scheuneman – Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, LLP Royce Sharf – Studley Peter Shea – J.F. Shea Company, Inc. Tom Sherlock – NAIOP SoCal John Simonis – Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker Justin Smith – Lee & Associates Timothy Strader – Starpointe Ventures Steve Swerdlow – CB Richard Ellis Ray Watson – The Irvine Company Bill Williams – Creative Wealth Strategies Williams Group, Inc. Warren W. Williams, Jr. – Silver Oak Development Bill Witte – The Related Companies of California, Inc. Judy Woolen – KB Homes Don Beall Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Dick Allen – DIMA Ventures Allen Anderson – Experian Mark Averitt – Okapi Venture Capital Chris Baclawski – CB Capital Don Beall – Dartbrook Partners Bob Bova – Vangard Voice Systems John Brandt – ThyssenKrupp Elevator Joel Calvo – Calvo Capital Ray Cohen – Symphony Med John Creelman ‘89 – PowerGenix Joe Davis – Triton Pacific Capital Partners Bruce Feuchter – Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth Neel Grover – buy.com Bruce Hallett – Miramar Venture Partners James Houlihan – InnoCal Robert Hovee – World Am Larry Jordan – Tech Coast Angels Michael Kaye – Clearlight Partners Marc Levin – Levin Capital Management Mike Mata – SCORE, Orange County Sid Mohasseb – Tech Coast Angels Sue Parks – WalkStyles, Inc. David Pyott – Allergan Safi Qureshey – Skyline Capital Partners Ken Rohl – Rohl LLC Stanton Rowe – Edwards Lifesciences Alan Sellers – SAIL Venture Partners Luis Villalobos – Tech Coast Angels Frank Kavanaugh – Prosperitas Rick Keller – Keller Group Investment Management Darcy Kopcho – Capital Research Co. Jim Leese – Ferruzzo & Ferruzzo Chuck Martin – Mont Pelerin Capital Glenn Mehner – D&M Capital Management Richard Merage – Falcon Investment Group Mark Moehlman – Wealth Management Network Corinne Myre – Sweek Connolly & Co. Brenda O'Leary – Payden & Rygel Jim Olmore – Fidelity Investments Mary Patrick – Prosperitas Gregory Pellizzon – Hollencrest Capital Management Melissa Pollard – Comerica Bank Monica Rebella – CalCPA Todd Richey – UC Irvine Dave Roberson – TRC Financial Tom Rogers – City National Bank Brian Rush – CalCPA Todd Rustman – GR Capital Michael Schulman – Hollencrest Capital Management Mike Silvio – CBIZ Patricia Soldano – GenSpring Family Offices Joe Volz – Merrill Lynch Bob Waltos – The Waltos Group of Northwestern Mutual Darren Whissen – Select Portfolio Management Joe Yerosek – Comerica Bank Joyce Munsell Janet Newport – Public Affairs Dimensions Gordon K. Norman, MD, MBA – Alere Medical, Inc. Joel Portice – Enclarity Murray N. Ross, PhD – Kaiser Permanente Institute for Health Policy Elizabeth Russell – SCAN Health Plan Maribeth Shannon – California HealthCare Foundation David L. Steffy Michael D. Stephens – Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian David L. Tsoong, MD – Pinnacle Senior Care Betty K. Tu, MD, MBA ‘99 – Pinnacle Senior Care Tammy Tucker – Anthem Blue Cross Paul S. Viviano – Alliance Imaging Bud Volberding – Avalon Healthcare Consulting Laurence D. Wellikson, MD – FACPSociety of Hospital Medicine Maureen L. Zehntner – UCI Medical Center Center for Investment and Wealth Management Pamela Adams – Wells Fargo Advisors Laine Ainsworth – Wealth Management Network Al Beimfohr – Knightsbridge Asset Management Jim Berens – PAAMCO Steve Borowski – Metropolitan West Asset Management Greg Brown – Payden Rygel Matt Brown – Brown & Streza Michael Cancelleri – Mont Pelerin Capital Nai-fu Chen – The Paul Merage School of Business Victoria Collins – The Keller Group Leo Connolly – Sweek Connolly & Co. Kelli Cruz – Charles Schwab Michael Duckworth – D&M Capital Management Inc. Kimberly Dwan Bernatz – First American Trust Kate Eder – The Waltos Group Lupe Erwin – Wood Gutmann & Bogart Shannon Eusey – Beacon Pointe Advisors Robert Evans – Fidelity Investments Carla Furuno – City National Bank Thomas Hopper – BNY Mellon Camille Jayne – Matters at Hand David Jochim – Union Bank of California Dave Jones – Select Portfolio Management Irving Katz – Business and Estate Planning Center for Health Care Management and Policy Richard F. Afable, MD, MPH – Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian Terry Belmont – UCI Medical Center Robert Beltran, MD, MBA ‘99 – Monarch HealthCare James E. Bova – Deloitte Richard Chambers – CalOptima Jay J. Cohen, MD, MBA – Monarch HealthCare Christopher H. Coulter, MD – The Precept Group Markie Cowley – Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center Chris De Rosa ‘00 – CIGNA Health Care of California Wendy Dorchester, PhD – Long Beach Memorial James Elliott – Blue Shield of California Nick Franklin, JD – Public Affairs Dimensions Alan Hoops – Caremore Patrick E. Kapsner – Bristol Park Medical Group Dale L. Macrae – Aon Consulting Jeffrey H. Margolis – The TriZetto Group Gerald A. McCall – Kaiser Permanente Christine Metz – Welvie 46 e x p e r i e n c e I N N O V AT I O N 47 Merage | 2009 – 2010 COLLABORATION COLLABORATION Dean’s Leadership Circle Your Network for Success L aunched in 2005 in conjunction with the announcement of the $30 million naming gift to UC Irvine’s business school from Paul and Lilly Merage, the Dean’s Leadership Circle (DLC) was designed to engage alumni and members of the business community in a much closer relationship with the School. Now, more than four years later, Dean Policano confidently says “due to the significant support and dedication of mostly Merage School alumni and, in particular, a small group of highly committed founding and executive committee members, the DLC has been successful beyond our fondest hopes.” Thanks to the leadership of Executive Committee members, the DLC has: helped raise more than $1.5 million in total support for the Merage School provided high-level networking opportunities yielding business and career opportunities for its members added a very rewarding and active circle of alumni and business leaders to the Orange County landscape 2008-2009 Executive Committee Members Gregory R. Lai, ‘88, 20082009 Chair, Campaign Leader Greg Queen, ‘03, Past CoChair, Events Committee Ken Neeld, ‘07, Co-Chair, Marketing Committee Thomas Antunez, ’05, Member at Large, FEMBA Liaison Pamela Adams, ‘98, Founding Chair, Co-Chair, Membership Committee Sam King, ‘00, Co-Chair, Membership Committee Kristen McAlister, ‘03, CoChair Marketing Committee William Rowland, ’06, Member at Large, Marketing Committee Paula Milano, ‘80, Past Chair & Co-Chair, Events Committee Kyle van Hoften, ‘97, Member at Large, Marketing Committee Katie Bianchi, ‘96, Member at Large, FEMBA Liaison Wolfgang Beez, ‘01, Member at Large, Marketing Committee Sandra Findly, Director The Dean’s Leadership Circle Endowed Professorship Campaign The Endowed Professorship Campaign began at the start of fiscal year 2007, with the goal of $1 million exclusively to create this professorship. The group is close to reaching the goal and thirteen (as of press time) members have helped the campaign get ahead by stepping up and making a 5-year pledge which is known as “Visionary-level” membership. Visionary Members Gregory R. Lai ‘88, 2008-2009 Chair & Campaign Leader Michael Aghajanian ‘89 Thomas Antunez ‘05 William Rowland, ‘06 Pamela Adams ‘98, Founding Chair Len Ambrosini ‘02 Tallia Hart, Irvine Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors Paula Milano ‘80, Past Chair & Co-Chair Amy Tan ‘06 & Mark Tran ‘08 Johnson Chuang ‘05 Mark ‘84 & Lisa Locklear ‘84 Kristen Monson ‘86 David Young ‘90 Become a member today and help make a difference. The Dean’s Leadership Circle offers a year-long calendar of exclusive member events. Each fall kicks off with the Annual Insider’s View held at a member’s private home and offers conversation with the Dean about the current state of the School. The Distinguished Speaker Series and VIP Reception with each of the featured speakers is always a highlight. The Holiday Celebration at year end has become known for offering unique venues and a very festive atmosphere for members and spouses. Past years’ events have taken place at interesting locations such as Neiman Marcus Gift Shop in Fashion Island, The Tides luxury residences in Crystal Cove, and gathering at the home of a member to watch the Newport Boat parade. Consider becoming a member today. Visit merage.uci.edu/go/DLC. In Appreciation: To all contributors during 2008-2009 who helped support the Dean’s Leadership Circle Endowed Professorship Campaign VISIONARY Greg Lai, ‘88, Morgan Stanley – Chair & Campaign Leader Pamela Adams, ‘98, Wells Fargo Advisors – Founding Chair Mike Aghajanian, ‘89, retired, formerly PRTM Len Ambrosini, ‘02, Rosemount Analytical Thomas Antunez, ‘05, Percentix Johnson Chuang, ‘05, AIPTEK, Inc. Tallia Hart, Irvine Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors Mark Locklear, ‘84 & Lisa Locklear, ‘84, Ingram Micro Paula Milano, ‘80, & Eric Nielsen, Idhasoft Company Bill Rowland, ‘06, formerly Disney Amy Tan, ‘06, Tannart Consulting Mark Tran, ‘08, Tannart Consulting David Young, ‘90, ANFIELD Group INNOVATOR Dwight Decker, Mindspeed Technologies Greg Herder, ‘05, Hobbs Herder Advertising Jesus Mantas, IBM Kristen Monson, ‘86, PIMCO Ram Mudiyam, MD, ‘05 Gary Toyama, ‘78, formerly Boeing INVESTOR Katie Bianchi, ‘96, Marriott International Eugene Choi, ‘01, United Exchange Corp. Tosha Clements-Woolforde, ‘04, Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. Edwin D. Fuller, Marriott Lodging International Noah Garrett, ‘08, Christen C. and Ben H. Garrett Family Foundation David Jones, ‘93, Select Portfolio Management Samuel J. King, ‘00, King’s Consulting Michelle Koontz, ‘03, Fluor Corp. 48 e x p e r i e n c e I N N O V AT I O N 49 Merage | 2009 – 2010 COLLABORATION Kristen M. Maher, ‘98, Maher & Associates Johnny Mosham, Lett-uce Cater To You Rick W. Rayson, Deloitte & Touche Dean Andrew & Pamela Z. Policano, The Paul Merage School of Business Stephen Rodriguez, ‘98, Kingston Technology Co. Scott M. Ryder, Jr., ‘00, McGladrey Capital Markets Isabel Satra, ‘02, Tradewinds Global Investors, LLC Jay Witzling, ‘79, Witzling and Associates MEMBER Laine Ainsworth, Wealth Management Network, LLC Eve Barker, ‘06, Barker Consulting Dawn Beattie, ‘92, retired, formerly Qualcomm Wolfgang Beez, ‘01, George Fischer Signet, Inc. Shep Bentley, NeuroMed Devices, Inc. Michael Bernstein, ‘84, Bernstein Financial Services, Inc. Geoffrey Bremmer, ‘05, Hansen’s Beverage Company Tracy Bremmer, ‘05, ExperianScorex Rafael Buitrago, ‘01, Boeing Louis Burke, ‘98, ConocoPhillips Sheila Burke, ‘01, OptionOne Mortgage Marilyn Carroll Jackson, MC-Adept Practice Management Consulting Group COLLABORATION Christen Chambers, ‘05, Fox Networks Group Erik Charles, ‘03, Canon Business Solutions Professor Nai-Fu Chen, The Paul Merage School of Business Sanjay Dalal, Innovation Index Group Al DeGrassi, ‘79, Plaza Bank James Elliot, ‘00, City of Carlsbad Jason Emmons, ‘96, Deloitte & Touche Lupe Erwin, Wood Gutmann & Bogart Insurance Steven Fichtelberg, ‘93, DLC, Inc. Judith Gass, ‘00, GE MoneyCare Credit & Daryl Bogard, Allergan Pharmaceuticals John Gibson, ‘01, Gibson Law Group Michael Gillman, MD, ‘08 Professor Vijay Gurbaxani, The Paul Merage School of Business David J. Hackett, ‘97, Stillwater Associates Anthony Hansford, ’98, The Paul Merage School of Business Robert Herin, ‘89, Drake Management LLC Shaheen Husain, The Paul Merage School of Business Timothy J. Kay, Snell & Wilmer, LLP Professor Robin Keller, The Paul Merage School of Business Christopher Kelly, ‘98, RSI Home Products, Inc. Sandra Kos, ‘93, IBM Ian Koskela, ‘06, Financial Services, IBM Selva Kulasingam, ’07, ZTNet Solutions John Lambert, ‘83, Lambert and Associates Leon LaPorte, ‘77, LaPorte and Associates, LLC James Largent, ‘77, World AM Inc. Lin Leng, ‘04, Walt Disney Interactive Media Debbie Lewis Timothy Leyden, ‘92, Western Digital Corporation Mark Lush ‘92, Deloitte & Touche Rich MacDonald, ‘05, Dawson Cole Fine Art Elizabeth Mahoney, ‘98, Metrolink Ahmed Mandre, ‘00, Microsoft Kristen McAlister, ’03, KD Consulting Don McKinley, ‘01, Maersk Logistics Benjamin Medvitz, ‘06, IntheAirNet, LLC Richard Milo, ‘96, Deloitte & Touche Mark L. Moehlman, Wealth Management Network, LLC Rashad Moumneh, ‘04, Taco Bell Corporation Debra Moysychyn, ‘06, The Paul Merage School of Business Richard Neff, ‘05, Smart Modular Carl Neisser, The Neisser Company Gus Ordonez, ‘05, Plastek, LLC Lecturer Sue Padernacht, Ncline Leadership Strategies Anthony Padilla, ‘87, IMPAC Financial Services Jim and Janice Pavelko, The Paul Merage School of Business Professor Jone Pearce, The Paul Merage School of Business Robert Peirson, ‘84, Skyworks Solutions, Inc. Mark Pero, ‘98, Logicalis Professor Mort & Mary Pincus, The Paul Merage School of Business Michael Plue, ‘98, Premier Recovery Service Johanne Pollock, ’96, Deloitte & Touche, LLP Professor Emeritus Lyman & Meredith Porter, The Paul Merage School of Business Greg Queen, ‘03, Brasstech, Inc. Steve Richards, ‘93, Pinnacle Consulting Services Jessica Riester, ‘01, FlexWork Connection Professor Judy B. Rosener, The Paul Merage School of Business Nira Roston & Family Diane Sagey, ‘99, The Paul Merage School of Business Arnold Savage, MD, ‘03, Western Healthcare Medical Group Lecturer Terry Schmidt, The Paul Merage School of Business Eileen Seibert, MD, ‘08, Kaiser Permanente Kane Shieh, ‘05, PIMCO Craig Shugert, ‘93, GoodSource Solutions Mitchell & Maureen Spann, The Paul Merage School of Business Ariela Tannenbaum, ‘95, Allianz Global Investors of America Philip Topham, LNX Research Kyle van Hoften, ‘97, Kyle van Hoften Consulting Professor Kerry Vandell, The Paul Merage School of Business Thomas Wagner, ‘89, Taco Bell/YUM Corporation John Waldeck ‘01, Pacific Life Insurance Company Darren Whissen, ‘02, Select Portfolio Management Greg Yocum, ‘99, Alphatec Spine Timothy C. Zevnik, ‘93, Molina Health Care, Inc. Chris Zumberge, ‘82, US Bank SHAREHOLDER Edward Abad, ‘07 Bryan Anderson, ‘09 Arvind Arumbakkam, ‘09 Kimberly Balcerzak, ‘09 Lisa Baldewin, ‘09 Marco Baltero, ‘07 Yuliya Barbasheva, ‘06 Yvonne Bean, ‘08 Gretchen Bender, ‘08 Scott Bennett, ‘06 Andy Bi, ‘09 Linda Bolland, ‘09 Adam Bondy, ‘08 Vernon Briggs, ‘09 Iveta Brigis, ‘07 Juan Campo, ‘09 Tim Cannon, ‘07 Amanthi Chandraratna, ‘08 Erik Chantarapan, ‘08 Darwin Chen, ‘07 Violet Chen, ‘07 Shubra Chowdhury, ‘09 Doris Chu, ‘08 Maranda Chui, ‘09 Richard Cimino, ‘08 Casey Cochran, ‘06 Liana Constantinescu, ‘06 Paulo Correa, ‘08 Marc Crudgington, ‘08 Canaan Crouch, ‘08 Jayson Crouch, ‘09 Cuong Dang, ‘08 Frank de la Bretoniere, ‘07 Jonathan Danao, ‘08 Francois Delestre, ‘08 Adam Diep, ‘07 Jivko Donev, ‘06 Jacqueline Dresow, ‘08 Stephanie Dudley, ‘08 Brent Eickhoff, ‘06 Chris Elgaaen, ‘06 Gnanashanmugam Elumalai, ‘09 Jason Fair, ‘09 Nina Faustino, ‘09 Adam Fingersh, ‘09 Tony Frangieh, ‘09 Bernardo Garcia, ‘07 Sepideh Gazeri, ‘06 Brian A. Gibbs, ‘06 David Glazov, ‘07 Guillermo Gower, ‘09 Jason Green, ‘08 Rajesh Gupta, ‘09 Huzefa Hakim, ‘08 Alex Hammerschmidt, ‘08 Jeff Hanks, ‘09 Rob Henderson, ‘07 Eric Henrickson, ‘07 Ken Hsu, ‘07 Valentina Huang, ‘08 Ryan Huff, ‘08 Helena Hwang, ‘07 Ken Hwang, ‘07 Suhail Imtiaz, ‘08 Linda Jenkins, ‘08 Brad Johnson, ‘06 Ryan Kaneshiro, ‘07 Manas Kanungo, ‘09 Victor Kao, ‘07 Lena Kattar, ‘07 Lowell Kessel, ‘08 Rafay Khalid, ‘07 Angela Kim, ‘08 Zsolt Kiraly, ‘08 Howard Ko, ‘09 Stefan Kokolios, ‘07 Dimitri Krikelas, ‘08 Shankar Krishnan, ‘07 Monica Kristoffersen, ‘08 Selva Kulasingam, ‘07 Eric Lang, ‘08 Samara Larson, ‘08 Cord Laule, ‘08 David H. Lee, ‘08 Eli Lee, ‘08 Patrick Lee, ‘06 Mark Lenert, ‘07 Haifeng Li, ‘08 Jeff Light, ‘08 Peter Liu, ‘08 Wayne Liu, ‘09 Aileen Ma, ‘06 Michael Ma, ‘07 Christopher Mackenzie, ‘07 Jasdeep Singh Mann, ‘09 Todd Margrave, ‘08 Jon Masciana, ‘06 Kerry McCarthy, ‘09 Paul Mendonca, ‘08 Greg Metzger, ‘07 Chris Meyer, ‘08 David Mildren, ‘08 Heather Miller, ‘06 Hitomi Momose, MD, ‘07 Andrew Monteabaro, ‘08 Neill Mosqueda, MD, ‘07 Vasu Narasimhan, ‘07 Ken Neeld, ‘07 Susie Nishiya, ‘08 Rowell Nueva, ‘07 Francis Obedoza, ‘07 Justin Okun, ‘09 Brendon O’Neill, ‘07 Michael Perlongo, ‘09 Duke Pham, ‘09 Jean Platt, ‘09 John Presser, ‘07 Michael Pressman, ‘08 Manette Quinn ‘06 Valente Ramos, MD, ‘07 Alexander Jay Rapoport, ‘08 Joseph Raquel, ‘08 Bill Rasmussen, ‘08 Canaan Reich, ‘07 Matthew Rhead, ‘09 Paul Robidoux, ‘07 Lucy Rosales-Watson, ‘07 Bill Ryan, ‘08 Reza Sabahi, ‘09 Bijan Sadri, MD, ‘08 Prabhjot Saini, ‘09 Laurie Sanderson, ‘07 Koushik Sasmal, ‘08 Priyanka Saxena, ‘08 Joyce Seak, ‘07 Shibu Sen, ‘08 Bill Shadrick, ‘06 Ali Shah, ‘06 Sameer Shah, ‘09 Bharat Shah, MD, ‘08 Gautam Sharma, ‘09 Roy Sharma, ‘09 Timothy Sheehan, ‘06 Laura Sheen, ‘09 Jeffrey Shekell, ‘09 Amarinder Sidhu, ‘08 Simon Singh, ‘08 Joseph Smith, ‘08 Trevor Speirs, ‘08 Amy Stevens, ‘08 Brad Stoker, ‘09 Gopal Subramani, ‘08 Alan Sung, ‘09 Timothy Tang, ‘07 Kathryn Taylor, ‘08 James Tea, ‘08 Jane Terry, ‘09 Dinesh Thigale, ‘08 Kevin Thiha, ‘08 Graham Threadgill, ‘08 Ernest Trinidad, ‘09 Margaret Townsend, ‘07 Danny Tran, ‘08 Jon Tran, ‘08 George Varghese, ‘08 Vinod Vasudevan, ‘09 Dawn Verzosa, ‘09 Andre Vovan, MD, ‘07 Wakeem Wakeem, ‘08 Amy Wakeham, ‘06 Bradley Walker, ‘06 Rebecca Warner, ‘08 Sujata Watts, ‘09 Fred Webb, ’08 Terence Weiner, ‘07 Jeff Williamson, ‘07 Tiffany Wilson, ‘07 Jennifer C. Wong, ‘08 Steven Wong, ‘09 Vivian Wong, ‘07 Perry Yeh, ‘08 Genevieve Yulo, ‘08 Kaisu Zhuang, ‘08 Todd Zive, ‘07 Includes gifts & pledges to the Dean’s Leadership Circle during 7/01/08 – 6/30/09 50 e x p e r i e n c e I N N O V AT I O N 51 Merage | 2009 – 2010 ALUMNI NEWS ALUMNI NEWS The Merage School Annual Fund Donor Honor Roll to all of our alumni and friends whose philanthropic contributions to the Merage Annual Fund during the 2008-2009 fiscal year have enabled The Paul Merage School of Business to enrich the experience of students, faculty and the community at W E AR E S I N C E R E LY GR AT E F U L large. Your support allows our School to help deliver its thematic approach to business education: sustained growth through strategic innovation. *Gifts & pledges received 7/1/08 – 6/30/09 Stephen Chien ‘02 David Chia ‘98 Raymond Komar ‘96 Charles Rieckhoff ‘88 Daniel Gladden ‘99 Susan Chun ‘97 Brian Kramer ‘00 Praveen Rikkala ‘05 Timothy Bremer ‘92 Scott Green ‘97 Kristin Clarke Batoy ‘96 Michele Laird-Williams ‘88 Matthew Riley ‘06 Susan Cimbaluk Robert Herin ‘89 Hari Damineni ‘07 Jennifer Leuer ‘04 Steven Ross ‘01 Bruce Daly ‘96 Zhu Liu ‘06 Joan Di Laura ‘88 Christopher Lieber ‘01 Sandon Saffier ‘98 Vito Francone Vishal Mehra ‘08 Mitchell Diamond ‘97 Julie Lien ‘05 Preet Sahni ‘06 Timothy Guth ‘84 Jeff Nelder ‘05 Eric Dibella ‘93 Mark Locascio ‘93 Maria Corazon Sara ‘96 Lin Leng ‘04 Christopher Purvis ‘04 Umesh Divekar ‘08 John Loo ‘87 Robert Schenz ‘75 Jose Manalo ‘07 Valente Ramos ‘07 Jason Dunn ‘05 Ken MacAlpine ‘04 Sherry Schulman ‘88 David Sullivan ‘02 John Richmond ‘00 Denji Ebisu ‘79 Bryan MacQuarrie ‘00 Theodore Su ‘00 Alexander Strachan ‘08 Judith Flattery ‘90 Rodney Madsen ‘90 Kojiro Sugiura ‘04 Mark Tacconelli ‘00 David Forsyth ‘90 Vinod Malik ‘08 Gary Swon ‘96 Dora Wong Bernadette Fruto ‘96 Gregory Marks ‘94 Khang Ta Kerra Guffey ‘00 Lawrence Martin ‘00 Julie Trom ‘85 Bronze $100 - $249 Thomas Ha ‘99 Don May ‘00 Camlien Tsai ‘98 Daniel Ham ‘94 Joseph McGirr ‘98 James Tu ‘99 Steve Acterman ‘99 Michael Hemingway ‘01 Daniel Mckelvie ‘80 Alan Velasco ‘08 Andre Amiri ‘05 Dwight Henninger ‘87 Laurie Meamber ‘97 Steven Waltman ‘97 David Ardini ‘94 Simon Ho ‘00 Richard Morgan ‘80 James Wang ‘00 Christie Bach ‘97 Steven Hogan ‘80 Kurt Mowery ‘88 Anna Wang ‘05 Michael Becker ‘97 Julie Holdaway ‘94 Leo Nguyen ‘03 David Watson ‘00 Rajarama Bhagwat ‘97 Deborah Holmgren ‘98 Donna Oba ‘84 Tony Weatrowski ‘06 Miguel Blass ‘07 Todd Hopson ‘79 William O'Connell ‘89 Andy Wei ‘06 Rachel Bobroff ‘08 William Hoverman ‘93 Rebecca Ozoa ‘02 Ivan Williams ‘96 Gregg Boehm ‘06 Jennifer Hu ‘03 Marc Pannier ‘02 Allison Willis ‘05 Marta Borsanyi ‘75 Daniel Huggard ‘01 Andy Paz ‘07 Mitchell Wilson ‘91 Robert Boullon ‘86 Charles Hulem ‘82 Mark Peller ‘03 Chik Wong ‘06 Sean Bradley ‘91 Cathy Imai ‘01 Brian Potts ‘04 Lorraine Wrazen ‘87 Roger Brown ‘90 Brett Johnson ‘00 Diane Prins ‘00 Michael Wu ‘03 Silver $250 - $499 Scott Buchan ‘90 Craig Johnson ‘95 Umesh Ratnam ‘01 Cindy Wu ‘07 Gregory Buscher ‘95 Steven Johnston ‘98 Janet Reece ‘77 Hani Yassin ‘04 Carson Barnett ‘91 Alice Carter ‘01 Fernando Kang ‘06 Lisa Reyer ‘94 Christopher Zahlis ‘96 Michael Bissonette ‘98 George Chelius ‘06 Matthew Ketsdever ‘98 Paul Rianda ‘00 Ren Zhang ‘06 Lesley Bauer ‘00 Allyson Brown ‘97 James Chergey Peggy Chiu ‘01 Richard Cordova ‘84 Dave Dew ‘00 Daniel Hammond ‘00 Elizabeth Hargreaves ‘84 Christopher Kilpatrick ‘03 Brian Kreitzer ‘06 Robert Leamy ‘78 Douglas Patterson ‘05 John Reichle ‘97 Tiffany Scarborough ‘01 Camille Seifert ‘06 Wendy Yamagishi ‘01 ALUMNI NETWORK The Merage Annual Fund Co-Chair Spotlight O R AN GE C O U N T Y E V E N T S : Platinum $1,000+ Gold $500 - $999 Your Central County Luncheon: 1st Fridays Costa Mesa South County Luncheon: 4th Fridays Irvine North County Luncheon: Once per quarter Anaheim Amy Tan, ‘06 Dave Jones, ‘93 QUART E R LY R E GI O NAL P RO GR AM S : Programs are planned throughout the year in major cities throughout the U.S. and some international locales. Contact MerageAlum@merage.uci.edu to organize one in your area. Visit merage.uci.edu/go/alumni for details. L IFE AFTER THE MERAGE SCHOOL doesn’t mean life without the Merage School. One way our alumni and friends stay involved is through the Merage School Annual Fund. This is an opportunity for all alumni to give back to the School while helping today’s students move forward. Each year, a select few of our most devoted and loyal alumni share their “treasure” and also their “time.” They devote their energy volunteering and generously providing philanthropic support. These individuals are able to see the positive impact they and other alumni have upon the School and the outstanding legacy they leave behind. We are truly grateful for their expertise, leadership, and commitment. Our 2008-2009 Annual Fund CoChairs, Amy Tan ’06 & Dave Jones ’93 are two wonderful examples of this alumni spirit. In light of a challenging economy, they helped increase participation and aware- ness of the fund at a time when many could not participate. Because of their leadership, hundreds of Merage School alumni stepped forward to help raise over $50,000 in one of the most difficult years we have ever faced. Amy graduated from the Fully Employed MBA program in 2006. She is currently managing partner for Tannart Consulting, a biotech/ medical firm in Orange County. In addition, she is a Visionary member of the Dean’s Leadership Circle. Dave Jones graduated from the Executive MBA program in 1993. He is a wealth management specialist at Select Portfolio Management in Aliso Viejo. Dave is also an Investor member of the Dean’s Leadership Circle and serves on the Advisory Board for the Center for Investment and Wealth Management. Thank you to all of the generous Merage Alumni who participated, and thank you to our co-chairs for their direction and hard work! 52 e x p e r i e n c e I N N O V AT I O N 53 Merage | 2009 – 2010 ALUMNI NEWS ALUMNI NEWS Reunion Chairwoman Lisa Locklear (MBA ’84) and Memories Co-Chair David Ochi (MBA ’04) “Best Dressed” Winners Torin Finney and Jill Jacobs Forbath (MBA ‘84) Memories Co-Chair Mike Harrington (PhD ’73) Merageville Reunion September 12, 2009 M E R AG E S CH O O L A LUM N I from the classes ending in a “4” or “9” (1969 – 2009) returned to campus to reunite with classmates and the Merage School family at a festive party for the 2009 reunion called “Merageville.” Dean Andy Policano welcomed and shared stories with some of the former students as did several long time Merage School (GSM) professors including Imran Currim, Judy Rosener, Richard McKenzie, and Robin Keller. Lisa Locklear (MBA ’84) did a wonderful job as “Merageville" volunteer chair and David Ochi (MBA ’04) along with Mike Harrington (PhD ‘73), helped to inspire the guests in recounting favorite memories from their business school days. More than 160 guests enjoyed margaritas sponsored by the Merage School Dean’s Leadership Circle. Jill Jacobs Forbath (MBA ‘84) and Torin Finney were presented with the “best dressed” award by Alumni Director Maureen McAndrews. Traveling the greatest distances to attend the reunion were Cathering Zhou (FEMBA ‘04) who traveled from China, Mike Harrington (PhD ‘73) from Virginia, and Bob Moschorak (FEMBA ‘94) from Chicago. On Sunday, the celebration continued at Anaheim Stadium with a “tailgate” BBQ courtesy of everyone’s “favorite caterer” Johnny Mosham at Let-tuce Cater to You. Learn more at merage.uci.edu/go/alumni. 54 e x p e r i e n c e I N N O V AT I O N 55 Merage | 2009 – 2010 ALUMNI NEWS Class Notes ’75 M IC KE Y NOVAK, ’ 7 5 , is now retired and living in Costa Rica with his wife, Jody, and 5 year old son Caleb. He sold his business in 1999 and is enjoying life. ’78 DANIEL APPLETON, ’ 7 8 , Captain US Navy (Ret). Formerly Associate Director of UC Public Policy Research Organization (a predecessor to Merage) under Director Ken Kraemer. Today, Daniel is continuing independent research to help people in US Navy ships perform expertly under extreme conditions. ’81 C H R I S TO P H E R B L AN K, ’ 8 1 , continues to practice law in the areas of business litigation and business bankruptcy. He just returned from the Family Nature Summit which was held at Lake George, New York, and is looking forward to the next gathering at the Granlibakken Resort in Lake Tahoe. He is a founding member, and has served as President of Family Summits, Inc., since 2006. C H R I S TO P H E R L AW S O N , ’ 8 1 , recently released his new book, “Snappy Interviews: 100 Questions to Ask Oracle DBAs.” Chris is currently a performance consultant at Wells Fargo Bank, San Francisco. ’82 B I L L OW E N , ’ 8 2 , joined Hunter Wise Financial Group in January of 2009. Hunter Wise is a specialized investment banking firm providing the highest quality level of institutional financing, merger and acquisition, divestiture and advisory services for middle market, privatelyheld companies, as well as small to medium-sized public businesses. ’83 JE F F H AT H AW AY, ’ 8 3 , has retired as a rear admiral in the U.S. Coast Guard and is now vice president of federal ALUMNI NEWS programs for L-1 Identity Solutions, a premier provider of biometric and secure credentialing solutions. ’84 JI L L JAC O B S F O R BAT H , ’ 8 4 , announces that her daughter, Tracy Diana Forbath, will graduate from UCLA with a major in Philosophy in June of 2010. She will be taking the LSAT and plans on attending law school, maybe even at UC Irvine! ’89 JAM E S KO, ’ 8 9 , and his wife, Elizabeth, welcomed their first baby boy, Jasper James Ko, into the world on February 7, 2009. James is currently a Senior Business Analyst at LiveNation. M ATT M ITC H E L L , ’ 8 9 , has been elected Board Chairman of Greater DC Cares, Washington DC's largest volunteer nonprofit. Matt had the opportunity to sit with First Lady Michele Obama to discuss the Administration’s push to serve in our communities. ’90 R E Z A GAN JAV I , ’ 9 0 , is a senior project manager for a large Swiss organization. He is also managing and performing in a new band, Rezangela and is maintaining an online journal (rezajournal.com). ’91 JAM E S H AS KI N , ’ 9 1 , was promoted to Senior Vice President on July 18, 2008, and he is the Chief Information Officer for Websense in San Diego. ’92 T I M B R E M E R , ’ 9 2 , recently returned to Los Angeles to lead the National Aerospace & Defense Audit and Enterprise Risk Services practice for Deloitte. ’93 P H I L I P P E T U S L E R , ’ 9 3 , has been honored to move from Wamu Home Loans to the Retail Bank Incentives Management group, where he is working as a Sr. BSA with the business and the developers to keep incentives plans refined and current. ’94 GL E N KAU F F M AN , ’ 9 4 , and the rest of the Kauffman family welcomed Abby to the household a little over 2 years ago. She is the sparkle in daddy’s eye. Glen took a leap this year into new field and joined Northwestern Mutual Financial Network. He has the privilege of helping provide financial security for people personally and in their business, and is able to leverage his background in corporate finance to make a difference in peoples’ lives. ’95 KE N T B Y E R S , ’ 9 5 , has partnered with the founder of Golden Wellness, Inc. They are an early stage startup that is manufacturing universal-use fitness equipment designed for people with disabilities or physical limitations. KARY N W O M AC H , ’ 9 7 , recently became the Finance Systems Training Manager for Qualcomm Incorporated. She is responsible for overall systems training strategy, content development and delivery. ’98 H E AT H E R KR AU S E , ’ 9 8 , married Joe Kelsen on May 18, 2008. They reside in Irvine. ’99 S T E V E AC T E R M AN , ' 9 9 has joined Alliance HealthCare Services in Newport Beach as the new Director, IT Infrastructure. Steve is an active Merage alum, previously serving on the GSM Alumni Network Board and assisted the 2009 Reunion Committee. F R I T Z H E I R I C H , ’ 9 9 , was named Chief Executive Officer at the Schools Excess Liability Fund (SELF) in September 2008. SELF is a Joint Powers Authority and is the leading provider of catastrophic liability insurance to California public schools and colleges. TO B Y GR E E N E , ’ 9 5 , is the Marketing Director of Provident Financial Mexico. Toby has been based in Puebla, Mexico since July 2008. AR I E L A TAN N E N BAU M , ’ 9 5 , lives in Newport Coast and is a Senior Vice President, Finance, for Allianz Global Investors. Her husband, Zvi, founded Advanced Cluster Systems, LLC, a hightech company that specializes in supercomputing technologies. ’96 D I AN E LO H M AN , ’ 9 6 , reports that her company Seed offers eclectic items including: jewelry, t-shirts and stationery. Seed’s hand drawn design and haiku offer a thought provoking message. Diane studied at both The School of Visual Arts and the FIT in NYC. ’97 RO B E RT L E N Z I N I , ’ 9 7 , was appointed to Administrative Law Judge of the California Unemployment Appeals Board (CUIAB), on April 6, 2009. LO R E L RO E H L , ’ 9 9 , is now the Senior Regional Director, Human Resources – West, Hawaii and Mexico at Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Inc. B R I AN ROW E , ’ 9 9 , After ten years with Weyerhaeuser Realty Investors, Brian recently left to start his own company to purchase, manage and liquidate nonperforming portfolios of debt and equity investments in real estate. B R I AN ROW E , ’ 9 9 , and his wife, Deborah, are expecting their two year old son, Ezekiel, to become a big brother to Anika on August 21st in Seattle, WA. DAV I D S C H U LT Z , ’ 9 9 , was named 2009 San Diego Business Journal CFO of the year. ’00 P H I L I P AL L E GA, ’ 0 0 , is honored to have received from Patrimony the Freedom of the City of London. He is a Freeman in the Information Technologists’ Company, a City of London Livery Company. He exercised his new rights as a Freeman when he drove sheep over London Bridge on September 19, 2008 with the Worshipful Company of World Traders and other Freeman. Merage School to teaching Small Business Management. She looks forward to helping develop and mentor the next generation of entrepreneurs. P H I L I P AL L E GA, ’ 0 0 , after 5+ years in Europe, Philip has been officially relocated to San Antonio, TX. DAV I D BAR C L AY, ’ 0 0 announces the arrival of his twins, Valerie and Kathryn, who arrived in September 2008. Big sister Jillian is thrilled, although still adjusting to her new post-only-child role. AN JAL I BAT R A-B O N FAN T E , ’ 0 0 wel- comed identical twin girls, Jasmine and Maya Bonfante on July 24th, 2009. JAM E S C U M M I S KE Y, ’ 0 0 , Cosworth announced the appointment of Jim Cummiskey as the Group's Senior Vice President, Americas, effective as of June 1st, 2009. Cummiskey brings extensive technical and leadership experience gained from posts in leading aerospace and Silicon Valley technology companies and a successful career in the US Marine Corps. SCOTT DUNAGAN, ’ 0 0 , has formed DMIdeas.com, LLC, to provide online marketing services to clients in the Orange County Metro area. JO R GE V E L AR D E , ’ 0 0 , was promoted to the position of Vice President of Business Development at Illumina. In this new role Jorge will continue to provide direct leadership to Illumina’s Business Development organization as well as to the company’s Alliance Management team. D I NA YO U N G , ’ 0 0 , started with Hasbro, Inc. as HR Director for Corporate Services in March 2009. D I NA YO U N G , ’ 0 0 , and William Young welcomed their first child, Zachary Todd Young, into the world on June 19, 2009. ’01 C AR M E N BAM E RT M AS O N , ’ 0 1 , and her husband recently welcomed the newest addition to their family, Timothy, born in September 2007. Carmen is enjoying every second of motherhood! JI M I N KU M AM OTO, ’ 0 0 , and Kris Kumamoto welcomed daughter Allison on August 14, 2008. JOHN BL AKE, ’01, recently moved to the 787 program. John reports that it’s very fast-paced and a lot of fun. He is really looking forward to a successful first flight! S U S AN M O E , ’ 0 0 , has been living C O R B I N F OW L E R , ’ 0 1 , moved to an abroad in Oslo, Norway the past year. Check out her blog at moefamily.wordpress.com. “internal consultant” role with corporate Supply Chain Solutions Group, based in the corporate offices in Richmond, Virginia. His role is to establish strategy and lead optimization efforts in supply chains across the globe. JE N N I F E R R I S N E R , ’ 0 0 , recently accepted a position as Director of Admission for St. Mary and All Angels School in Aliso Viejo, where she resides with her husband, Mark. S U NA TAY M AZ , ’ 0 0 , Senior Manager in Deloitte & Touche LLP’s Security and Privacy Practice is a proud holder of a world record she set last year for the longest transcontinental limousine journey, from Las Vegas, Nevada, USA to Timbuktu, Mali in Africa. She looks forward to setting more records on an upcoming trip to Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. E R I N T H O M AS , ’ 0 0 , is now an Associate Professor at Mira Costa College in the Business Department. She is bringing knowledge gained at the C AT H Y I M AI , ’ 0 1 , and her husband, Ryokei welcomed their third child, Taryn Mei-Tsong Imai, on April 23, 2009. Big brothers Brandon and Ryan are excited to have a new baby sister. KE N N E T H P I E R C E , ’ 0 1 , is the princi- pal at Pierce & Company which provides forensic accounting and litigation support services. JE S S I C A R I E S T E R , ’ 0 1 , formed a new recruiting and staffing company, FlexWork Connection, focused on connecting experienced professionals with flexible work schedules in Orange County. 56 e x p e r i e n c e I N N O V AT I O N 57 Merage | 2009 – 2010 ALUMNI NEWS ’02 AD I T YA C H AU H AN , ’ 0 2 , announces that her book on Applied Game Theory was recently published and is now available on Amazon. PAT R I C K F E AT H E R S TO N , ’ 0 2 , is living in Sydney, Australia helping US companies set up sales channels in and export to Asia, Australia and New Zealand. AN D R E W KI M , ’ 0 2 , tied the knot in October 2007. He wasn't sure if he’d be ready, but so far, it's pretty good! RO B E RT S H I P L E Y, ’ 0 2 , moved to Columbus, OH last fall to take a position as the Director of Customer Marketing Analytics for Victoria's Secret. He and his family are enjoying their new home and are glad to be back in the Midwest. DAR L E E N S W AF F E R , ’ 0 2 is currently working in Washington, DC at Commander Navy Installations Command, as a Planner developing strategic plans for the Navy's shore infrastructure. ’03 RAM Z I AM M ARI, ’ 0 3 , is Vice President of Product Development at Universal Electronics, a consumer electronics company specializing in universal wireless control technologies, based in southern California. Ramzi is married to Dana (nee Borda) and they have three children; Paris (7) and twin boys Grey and Pierce (1). They live in Newport Coast, California. C Y N T H I A ( C I N DY ) B E AL E , ’ 0 3 , and Steve Settimo, co-founders of Stecin Leadership Solutions, announce the release of DISC The Game™, a learning tool based on the DISC behavioral model used extensively in Corporate Training, Coaching, and Counseling. B I L L B L AC KW E L L , ’ 0 3 , works for Carne Global Financial Services (UK) Ltd as a principal consultant and heads up product development and management. GE R AR D O C H AR V E L , ’ 0 3 , celebrated the arrival of his third daughter, Natalia Isabella, in March of 2008. JA M E S C O L E M A N , ’ 0 3 , reports in 58 e x p e r i e n c e I N N O V AT I O N ALUMNI NEWS March 2008 and again in May 2008, TechRoom Inc. was recognized by Apple Inc. for having achieved levels of service excellence that place TechRoom in the top 5% of all authorized service providers in North America. T E R RY H AGE N , ’ 0 3 , moved to DC last summer and was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in February. He is currently working near the Pentagon at Headquarters Marine Corps Installations and Logistics branch on future strategic level logistics concepts. S H I N JI H I GU C H I , ’ 0 3 , is leaving Clear Channel Japan, Inc. where he worked as COO and eventually CEO for 3 years. He is going back to Mitsui & Co., Tokyo, Japan, a company where he worked for over 25 years. T I M JO H N S O N , ’ 0 3 , started in April as Director, Strategic Alliances at Commtouch in Sunnyvale. C R AI G JU L I E N , ’ 0 3 , accepted a job in February of 2009 as VP of Corporate Development at TriZetto. He is working for a member of his study group and classmate of the 2003 EMBA class. M ONTY M A, ’ 0 3 , recently moved from Silicon Valley to Manhattan to join Radio One's Interactive One division as Sr. Analyst, Finance and Web Analytics. He will use his skills in Web analytics, financial analysis and product management as well as extensive experiences in radio/entertainment industries to contribute to the continuous offline/online expansion of Radio One. S T E V E PAR K, ’ 0 3 , asks everyone to check out his monthly humor column at oclifemagazine.com. It's called Ask An Asian. He invites everyone to send him questions! M . AN N P E O P L E S , ’ 0 3 , reports the U.K. Nuclear Decommissioning Authority recently announced the winner of a contract to manage, operate, and selectively decommission plutonium-producing facilities at the Sellafield nuclear site. Ann led the successful program management team, developing the strategic plan, performance-based incentives, expenditure profile management, and project controls. B E AU S C H I N D L E R , ’ 0 3 , and his wife, Kristin Schindler had their first child on January 24, 2008. August Schindler was born at Touro Infirmary in New Orleans during the height of Mardi Gras season. Mom and baby are happy and healthy. L AN C E S M I T H , ’ 0 3 , started a small business and is expecting his first child in 3 weeks! He invites everyone to stop by and say hello at CarlsbadOptometry.net. C R AI G T I F FAN Y, ’ 0 3 , accepted a position at Citrix Systems as the Director of Sales for the Advanced Networking Group. Craig will be working with his team and customers throughout the western United States. YAN W U, ’ 0 3 , had his first book, Partners, published in Chinese in June 2009. ’04 AN U AGAR W AL , ’ 0 4 , announces the birth of her son, Aayan born on May 27th, 2008. D O NAL D AR C H E R , ’ 0 4 , started PQM, Inc. in 2006 which provides quality management, risk management and project management services to major infrastructure projects. PQM’s goals are to help owners reduce construction cost overruns through improved management practices early in the project development phase. He lives in Huntington Beach, CA. cial/residential general contractor located in Orange. JAC K LO N D O N , ’ 0 4 , and his wife and welcomed their son, Jack Tobin London, on November 11th, 2008. JO E LO N GT I N , ’ 0 4 , After trying out a start-up in Pasadena – X1 Technologies – and a legacy ERP company in Santa Barbara – QAD – Joe has very happily landed a Product Marketing role at DATAllegro, an Aliso Viejo-based data warehouse appliance vendor. AN T H O N Y N GU Y E N , ’ 0 4 , has become a SVP at Wellpoint. TO D D S I GL E R , ’ 0 4 , and his wife, Heidi Sigler announce the birth of their second child, Olivia Sigler. Todd has left LECG and has taken the position of Vice President in the financial advisory services group of AlixPartners. M I KE VAC H AN I , ’ 0 4 , left the Lewis Companies last year as Land Acquistion Manager and started up his own Real Estate Investment Brokerage & Consulting Firm. He has 3 main areas of expertise: Investment/Commercial, Residential/ Multi-Family,and Consulting. JENNIFER WOLF, ’04, and Rashad Moumneh, ’04, tied the knot in Culver City, California on July 10, 2009. The happy couple currently reside in Costa Mesa. WE ARE ALL TODAY’S LEADERS Together, we can continue to educate both hearts and minds, delivering passionate graduates who contribute to their family, their company – our community, our world. WE ARE ALL FORWARD-THINKING Our donors who give consistently each year enable us to move forward with confidence – support that is especially appreciated in today’s economic climate and so vital to our ability to compete. DALE BOYLES, ’04, recently sold Monarch Senior Living to Senior Care Management, LLC in Irvine, CA, and has assumed the role of President. Senior Care Management has 18 assisted living communities throughout the West. Dale has also recently relocated to San Diego, CA. L E O N GLOV E R , ’ 0 4 , announces that Lionheart Wines had its first release party on July 19, 2008. Five wines were released: 2007 The Angel's Share, white Rhone blend (Marsanne / Roussanne / Viognier), Russian River Valley; 2007 McGinley Roussane, Santa Barbara County; 2006 Syrah, Santa Barbara County; 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley; 2006 Roaring Red. JO NAT H AN H AW KI N S , ’ 0 4 , and his wife, Shannon, are expecting their fourth child in September 2009, joining Riley, 7; Will, 5; and Finley, 3. Jonathan is the CFO of PR Construction, a commer- WE ARE ALL PARTNERS The Merage School family springs from the founding spirit of the School: the desire to educate, to enable and to enrich our students as others did for us. Please join us in paying it forward. Your gift – no matter what the size – provides the flexibility to attend to our most critical needs, including: · attracting world-class faculty and student · enhancing classroom technology and instruction · funding fellowships for deserving students The Paul Merage School of Business Annual Fund Please give today. A convenient envelope is enclosed, or visit merage.uci.edu/go/AnnualFund. ’05 DAV ID C H E N, ’ 0 5 joined JCB Partners, a mid-size boutique consulting firm out of Denver, as Senior Lead Consultant for the US west region. His job will require him to grow the regional practice through his intimate knowledge about the performance management/business intelligence industry. B R AD E I S E N S T E I N , ’ 0 5 , joined Twin Med LLC as CFO in September 2008. Twin Med LLC is a nationwide distributor of medical supplies to long-term and acute care facilities. M AR C FAW AZ , ’ 0 5 , earned a Doctorate in Organizational Leadership from Pepperdine University in Malibu and ALUMNI NEWS Looking for top MBA talent? walked at graduation in June 2009. Marc has been a Professor of Business at Concordia University, Irvine for the past 3 years. GR E G F E R R E L L , ’ 0 5 , and his wife Tanya are currently living in Huntington Beach with their 18 month old son Jack. Greg works for Wyeth (soon to be Pfizer), Tanya is a hospice admissions nurse, and Jack works both parents overtime with his boundless energy. S AR AH H I N E , ’ 0 5 , is co-founder and CEO of PharmaSecure, Inc., a social enterprise dedicated to curbing the global trade of counterfeit medicine and providing branding and security services to leading pharma manufacturers. Sarah lives in New Delhi. S C OT T PAD E L S KY, ’ 0 5 , was promoted to Managing Consultant with IBM Global Services. KYL E PATTE RS ON, ’ 0 5 , and his wife Rebecca welcomed their second son who was born January 22, 2009. Miles joins his 2 year old brother Eli! The Pattersons are doing great living in Washington, DC. ’06 the clean energy and climate goals of President Obama and the U.S. Department of Energy. JE S S E S AL E N , ’ 0 6 , the VP of Sales and Technology at Online Radiology Medical Group, Inc., was the featured speaker at the AHRA 2008 Annual Meeting & Exposition held from July 27 through July 31 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, Colorado. H I R E N S H AH , ’ 0 6 , has recently been promoted to Director of SAP Practice at Irvine-based consulting firm Idhasoft. you to the FEMBA ‘06 Section A for all their help and support after she lost her house in the San Diego Wildfires in October. She especially wants to thank Felice Szeto-Wong for her efforts on her family's behalf. Her classmates’ support is greatly appreciated. ’07 JAM E S L E E , ’ 0 7 , started a new job at Warner Bros. in Burbank. AN GE L A M AN Z ANAR E S , ’ 0 7 , the Thach on July 11th, 2009, and is now living in Sunnyvale, CA. C AS E Y C O C H R AN , ’ 0 6 , is Murad’s S T E V E R H E E , ’ 0 7 , Attended the Beijing Bonnie are excited to be expecting their first child this February. CLARENCE CHAN, ’06, married Maggie Catalog Manager and was recently interviewed by Multichannel Merchant Magazine on Murad's secrets to success despite a down economy. Murad's 2008 Catalog received national accolades as a finalist in the 2008 MCM Catalog Awards. JE S S I C A JO R GE N S O N , ’ 0 6 , Graduated from University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law with a J.D. in May of 2009 and is awaiting the California Bar results. L I V I KE R S Z E N BAU M , ’ 0 6 , is working in Washington DC as Chief of Staff for Liebman & Associates, a clean energy and environmental technology advocacy and consulting firm. Skills learned at the Merage School are applied daily to embrace revolutionary technologies and best practices that closely align with 60 e x p e r i e n c e I N N O V AT I O N JE F F L AW R E N C E , ’ 0 8 , recently accepted the position of Vice President of Business Development with Inventory Optimization Solutions, which provides web based inventory management solutions for healthcare providers, distributors and manufacturers. TO N Y M ART I N , ’ 0 8 , co-founded a leadership development and training firm based in San Diego. Exemplar Leadership Development & Training helps develop a company's most important asset, its people. JAN E T TAI T, ’ 0 6 , wanted to say thank founder of Fitlosophy Inc., marks the 1year anniversary of the fitbook (a product of many FEMBA projects)! The past year has included: landing Sport Chalet and GNC, implementing corporate wellness programs for Fortune 500 companies, and receiving national PR. Fitlosophy is slated to release Fitbook Junior (for the young ones) this month. S C OT T B E N N E T T, ’ 0 6 , and his wife ing to close escrow on a brand new home and expecting his first child in December! Olympics opening ceremony on September 8, 2009, got married in 2008 and has a newborn daughter, Eileen Rhee. NATAS H A S H C H E R BAT KO, ’ 0 7 , and her husband are excited to announce the arrival of their daughter Gianna on June 20, 2009. ’08 M AR LO N B O R B O N , ’ 0 8 , accepted a new position as the Director of Rehabilitation Services at Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital. JO NAT H AN DANAO, ’ 0 8 , within three months of graduation, got married and started a new job as Project Manager for WebVisible Inc. in Irvine. He is now wait- JO H N N Y O L I VA, ’ 0 8 , USN/MSC, has been designated as the Medical Regulating and Control Officer at NATO Joint Forces, Kandahar, Afghanistan. GAU R AV S H AR M A, ’ 0 8 , joined his family business in real-estate development and successfully launched his first project this past May; 228 of the 572 condominiums in this project have already sold! ’09 AMANDA GAST, MBA ‘09 Johnson & Johnson AM I R BAGH E R P O U R , ’ 0 9 , will begin a PhD program in public policy at Claremont Graduate University. Amir will be conducting preliminary research in Afghanistan from June to August 2010. JE N N I F E R C R I C K, ’ 0 9 , will be transferring to the Denver Ernst & Young office in mid-September! Let the Merage MBA Career Center be your first source in Orange County for qualified MBA Business Professionals. Tapping into the professional talent network of our four MBA programs and alumni has never been easier. JAYS O N C RO U C H , ’ 0 9 , was married on July 10, 2009 to Desiree Aguirre. ■ POST full-time and internship opportunities PAR H AM JAVAH E R I AN , ’ 0 9 , has been ■ REVIEW resumes for your open positions ■ REQUEST a resume referral tailored to your specific needs ■ CONTACT us today at: UC Irvine Paul Merage School of Business MBA Career Center MPAA 201 Irvine, CA 92697-3130 949.824.8464 recruiting@merage.uci.edu involved in an exciting start-up of a “Virtual Accounting” company which offers state of the art technology in outsourced accounting services. At “Peak Virtual Accounting” he is responsible for Marketing Strategies and Operations. AD R I E N N E KI M B L E , ’ 0 9 , accepted a new position as Marketing Director for Orange County-based Veros Real Estate Solutions. TAKE S H I YAM AM OTO, ’ 0 9 , met Peggy Hsieh , ’09 while attending the Merage School and they were married on June 28, 2009, bringing new meaning to the Merage School being a life-changing experience! merage.uci.edu/go/recruit Join these companies – and others – who recognize the value of the Merage School MBA Abbott Medical Optics Annawar Tun Company Archbay Capital AT&T B&L International Bloosky Blue Shield Boeing BSH Home Appliances California Stem Cell, Inc. CET Cancer Center Deloitte Consulting Deloitte ERS Deloitte, Japan eBay Enlight Pictures Evident Experian Family Real Estate Business GCV Violin Company GD Commercial Hackers Enterprise, Taiwan HealthIQ IBM Inverted Code, Inc. Johnson & Johnson JOICO Jones Lang LaSalle Kaiser Permanente Mattel Morgan Stanley Niagara Waters Nlight Photonics PaciRim InterTrade Inc. Pacific Gas & Electric Pamela Pharmaceuticals Peak Virtual Accounting PricewaterhouseCoopers Redhill Consulting Rosenow Spevacek Group Samsung Electronics Korea Silverpoint Investments Southern California Edison SRC St. Joseph’s Hospital University of Maryland US Airways Xelleration