UCLA Anderson School of Management Blog

Former Mayor Richard Riordan, Riordan Programs Co-Founder, Publishes ‘The Mayor’

Mayor Riordan with Riordan Programs students.

Richard J. Riordan, former mayor of Los Angeles, has a new book, “The Mayor: How I Turned Around Los Angeles after Riots, an Earthquake and the O.J. Simpson Murder Trial.” The book details the “successes and difficulties during his time as mayor, the ideas and value system that drove his work — such as his deep spiritual beliefs that everyone is equal and deserves the opportunity to succeed.” Riordan served as mayor from 1993 to 2001.

UCLA Anderson’s The Riordan Programs were founded in 1987 by Riordan and William Ouchi, UCLA Anderson professor and New York Times bestselling author of "Making Schools Work," to serve as career-based outreach programs for disadvantaged high school and college students in the Los Angeles area. Now, The Riordan Programs provide leadership and management training to diverse individuals all over the country, many of them becoming the first in their families to even attend college. The Scholars Program, College to Career Program and MBA Fellows Program develop tomorrow's leaders by providing a transformational experience through the use of mentors, educational workshops and community service.

Angélica Gutiérrez (Ph.D.'12) was a Riordan MBA Fellow in 2006. She says the programs’ benefits are multifaceted. "Professionally, it provided the tools that I needed to pursue and obtain a Ph.D. at a top business school,” says Gutiérrez, who now teaches at Loyola Marymount University. “Personally, it gave me an incredibly rewarding opportunity to mentor high school students through the Saturday Business Academy and The Riordan Scholars Program. It is because of these students that I decided to become a business school professor."

The programs earned the 2013 UCLA Community Program of the Year Landmark Award, for which Riordan said he was amazed and grateful. “For a program like this to exist more than a few years, is a miracle,” Riordan said. “I’m honored to receive this award, and particularly thankful for how the Anderson school has managed The Riordan Programs for the last 26 years.”

Congresswoman Karen Bass Addresses Los Angeles' Affordable Housing Crisis

Earlier this week, Congresswoman Karen Bass served as the keynote speaker for the inaugural Levine Affordable Housing Summit. As recent headlines suggest, and many southern Californians know firsthand, homeownership is in decline, rents continue to rise and the median income doesn’t afford people the ability to live in Los Angeles. Congresswoman Bass addressed these issues and discussed programs for home ownership and renters.

An expert panel discussion followed the Congresswoman’s address, which was led by Lance Bocarsley, UCLA Law adjunct professor of affordable housing transactional law and a transactional attorney who specializes in bond funding and tax credits for housing. Panelists represented a range of industries and included Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell of Los Angeles, 13th District; Bill Witte, chairman and CEO of Related California; Ann Sewill, vice president of housing and economic development at California Community Foundation; and Joan Ling, lecturer in urban planning at UCLA.

The discussion covered topics including leveraging the strength of the market to produce more mixed income housing, the necessity for minimum wage increases to help ensure renters have enough money to rent affordable housing, policy changes at the federal level and additional tools, tax credits and tax exempt bonds to support growth. For more on Los Angeles’ housing crisis, read the Ziman Center’s September Economic Letter.

The Howard and Irene Levine Program in Housing and Social Responsibility and the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate hosted the event. The Levine Program addresses timely and critical issues related to urban housing markets, as well as housing policy and sustainability, particularly the housing needs and outcomes of low-income and workforce households. For more information on the Levine Program, visit the Ziman Center website.

Romm (’82) Shares Story of Going from Prison to Prestige

Major General (Ret.) Giora Romm (’82), one of UCLA Anderson’s Inspirational 100 Alumni, spoke today in the EDR on “Overcoming the Bengal Tiger You are Traveling With: From Prison to Prestige.” His story of moving from captivity to the highest levels of business and government is detailed in his book, "Solitary," which he gave away and signed following his talk.

Romm served in the Israeli Air Force for 33 years, holding a variety of flight roles and senior-command and staff positions, including deputy commander of the Air Force and defense attaché to the United States. In 1996, he was appointed CEO of the Ministry of National Infrastructure, and he served as CEO of the Jewish Agency from 2001-04. In 2008, Romm was appointed director general of Israel’s Civil Aviation Authority. “Solitary” describes his war experiences between 1969 and 1973.

The talk was co-sponsored by UCLA Anderson Center for Global Management, Jewish Business Student Association, UCLA Department of History, UCLA Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for Israel Studies, American Technion Society, Jewish Graduate Student Initiative.

To catch photos from the event, head to the Flickr gallery, or click here for video.

Worldwide Welcome Week 2014

Alumni and their families got a behind-the-scenes look at Lakeshore Learning, California's leading supplier of educational materials.

Worldwide Welcome Week 2014 has officially kicked off! From Oct. 6 to 17, 2014, join fellow classmates in your city to welcome new alumni to Anderson’s global alumni network.

This week’s highlights in Southern California include a special Oktoberfest event last night hosted by the Los Angeles alumni chapter at the First Republic Rooftop downtown, which featured live music by The Munich Boomsteiners, a traditional German feast and beer from The Great Beer Company. In San Francisco, alumni got a behind-the-scenes look at ticketing and registration company Eventbrite, where they heard from the global director of metro marketing and took a tour of the company’s headquarters. Tonight in San Diego, alumni will gather for an entertaining and informative evening with Anderson Professor Eric Sussman, who will discuss real estate trends, the economy and more. Tomorrow evening at the Pelican Hill Resort, special guest Robert S. Murley (’74), vice chairman and senior advisor of Credit Suisse and chair elect of the UCLA Anderson Board of Visitors, will share ideas, expertise and memories.

On the international front, networking events will span from Shanghai to Tokyo, Milan to London, Sao Paulo to Buenos Aires, Argentina, and more.

The festivities continue this weekend and throughout next week. Don’t miss out on these opportunities to reconnect and engage with fellow alumni, faculty and friends. Visit the alumni relations website for a full list of events. 

Inspirational Alumna Helps Victims of Human Trafficking

(Photo by Matt Harbicht, courtesy UCLA Magazine)

Carissa Phelps ('07) is using the skills she honed as a UCLA Anderson student to help victims of human trafficking — an experience she knows all too well. 

Her company, Runaway Girl, works with victims to get them off the street and on a path to healing.

The new issue of UCLA Magazine has a story detailing Phelps' personal saga and how she is using her personal experience as a victim of human trafficking to change the lives of others. 

"When I was at UCLA Anderson, I planned to go into private equity," Phelps says. "I wanted to start a fund through local investing that would focus on costly social questions. But I stepped away, went back to Fresno, wrote the book and formed Runaway Girl in early 2012."

The entire article may be read here.

Maxim Weitzman ('98)/Concept II Cosmetics Going After U.S. Market

Three years ago, Maxim Weitzman ('98) and a partner purchased Concept II Cosmetics LLC, a Florida-based bath and beauty product company. Despite serious competition from bigger companies, Concept II Cosmetics is thriving. Now, there are plans to launch a new line of sun care products in both domestically and overseas.

The companies success has drawn attention, including a story in the Miami Herald by Joseph A. Mann. Jr. In the story, Mann quotes Weitzman:

“When we acquired the business in July of 2011, it was running well and sold products to a number of export markets,” said  Weitzman, 43, who with his partner Daniel Bittner, 39, are the firm’s owners and managing partners.

“We saw opportunities to expand our product line and market reach, and since then we’ve invested over $1 million to add new production lines (from two lines to six), increase our workforce from nine employees to 30 and boost the number of individual products from less than 10 to over 50.” 

Mann continued, quoting Weitzman:

“Our strategy has been to expand to new foreign countries, deepen our presence in existing markets and penetrate the U.S., mainly through our new sun care line,” said Weitzman, who held executive positions at Telefónica S.A., a Spanish-based multinational communications firm and IBM, and founded and ran Intrigo, a company that developed and sold mobile workplace solutions.

Read more about Maxim Weitzman and Concept II Cosmetics here.

 

"Pre-cations" Are a New Concept, But Remind Professor Emeritus David Lewin of an Old Practice

Companies seeking to hire new employees are often willing to go to great -- or new -- lengths to bring in the right person. One of the latest trends, according to the Sydney Morning Herald, are "pre-cations." What's a pre-cation? It's a paid vacation offered to new hires that one takes before starting at their new job.

Will Oremus, writing in the SMH, describes pre-cations thusly:

It's the perfect job perk for our overworked times. Americans work longer days and take less vacation than anyone else in the developed world. Worker productivity has increased by 80 per cent since 1973. Meanwhile, 40 per cent of Americans get less than seven hours of sleep per night. We deserve a break.

But to Professor Emeritus David Lewin (MBA 1967, PhD 1971, Inspirational 100 Alumnus 2010) the specifics may be new, but the concept is not. Says Lewin:

"Especially in economic growth periods as opposed to recessions, (newly graduated MBA students) will negotiate over their start date. It happened a lot in 2006 and '07, it happened in the late '90s, and it's starting to happen again. It probably reflects the same underlying notion: 'We're working our butts off, and gee, wouldn't it be good to have a couple months off to go do whatever one does with free time, and then start fresh and ready to roll?' "

According to Oremus, Lewin is skeptical of the unlimited-vacation policies that have become common in the startup world, noting that "when you can take all the vacation you want, that means you can also take as little as you want, and employees might feel insecure or uncertain about how long they can afford to be away." As for the pre-cation policies, Oremus says that "Lewin can see the appeal but notes that they may come at a price that not every company can afford."

A Picture-Perfect First Day

Fall quarter 2014 is out of the gate, with more than 1,800 Anderson students across different programs charging full speed into another academic year. A warm welcome to our new students, and welcome back to those of you returning to campus.

This year brings several new developments, including new senior associate deans for our MBA and FEMBA programs: Mark Garmaise, Professor of Finance; and Margaret Shih, Professor of Management and Organizations, respectively. We’ve hired five excellent assistant professors with PhDs from Columbia, Berkeley, Stanford, Wharton and UT Austin. Spend some time getting to know them and their viewpoints.

We are also launching our new Google collaboration for MBA and FEMBA, a course taught by marketing Professor Sanjay Sood called “Digital Marketing Strategy” featuring Google execs and new Google cases. FEMBA GAP program participants are working with their first companies from Sweden. Students also will have a new automated system for recording and documenting their research, the OSCAR System, thanks to GAP Fellow Oscar Rodrigues.

On the career-search front, Parker Career Management Center has a new eBook version of their Parker Binder, which provides a wide range of information, from critical steps in the career search process to industry-specific overviews, so you can take it with you wherever you are.

The faculty and staff are here to support you in your transformative journey at Anderson. Here's to a great year of sharing success, thinking fearlessly and driving change.

GEMBA Profile: Yerling Vallejos (GEMBA ’13) Goes Global

Yerling Vallejos (GEMBA ’13) is one of 19 members of the inaugural class of the UCLA-UAI Global Executive MBA for the Americas program (GEMBA for the Americas). Vallejos was recently named Operations Manager for Taco Bell International in Latin America, a subsidiary of Yum! Brands Inc., one of the world’s largest fast food restaurant companies. In her current position, she oversees the entire Taco Bell business operations for new and existing markets within Latin America.

A native of Nicaragua, Vallejos began her career with Yum! Brands as a team member during her sophomore year of high school in Culver City, Calif. During her studies in business administration at California State University, Los Angeles, she was promoted several times and elevated to district manager with responsibilities for 10 company restaurants in Los Angeles with average annual sales of $1.6 million. As a district manager she also managed clusters of restaurants in the Orange County and San Diego areas.

Following a five-year stint as district manager, Vallejos was relocated to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to become franchisee business manager for Yum! Restaurants International for Latin America. It was while in Florida that Vallejos sought, and found, what she labels the “perfect” executive MBA program at UCLA Anderson.

From her office in Orange County, Calif., Vallejos shares details about her profession, aspirations and the role that GEMBA for the Americas played in her career.

Your career at Yum! Brands appears to have been moving along very well. What prompted you to pursue a global executive MBA program?
Prior to moving to Florida in 2008, I was accustomed to working in California on the corporate side. As a franchisee business manager, I became part of an international team doing business in different countries in which no two are alike. That opened my eyes to a world economy.

I love my job, so I wanted to stay with YUM! while gaining my MBA experience. I knew that I was ready for an executive MBA program, but it had to be one that offered an educational experience in the world where I do business, one that provided a global perspective.

Why UCLA Anderson?
Because I was traveling 80 percent of the time, I couldn’t do a traditional or part-time MBA. Given the extent of my work experience, I was ready for an executive MBA, but I also was choosy. Since I was going to make such a significant investment in myself and my career, I wanted something that was the best experience I could get. I found it at UCLA Anderson.

The modular learning experience in the GEMBA for the Americas program was perfect for me. When at work, I could be committed to work, and when at school, be committed to the learning experience. It also offered an extensive, lifelong network, which is important in doing business internationally, and a dual degree, which is a differentiator and turns heads. I work all over Latin America and earning degrees from two very different distinguished universities is not only rare, but provides me with a unique ability to understand the challenges and strategies of doing business internationally with the perspectives of the faculties of both schools.

Are there advantages to being part of the GEMBA for the Americas network?
Absolutely! What differentiates the GEMBA network from other networks is the international experience. A number of former classmates and alumni live and work in the countries where I travel for business and I can make connections when I am in their respective nations. My peers are friendly, willing to lend support and share information about their different experiences, challenges and economic climates. I can tap any of them for their expertise and counsel on doing business in their own countries, and I fully plan to do so.

Any insights you can share about the international educational experience?
Many members of my class had never been to all the places where the GEMBA modules are conducted. The program gave us the opportunity to travel to Santiago, Sao Paolo and Miami (as well as Los Angeles) and immerse ourselves in the culture and the business aspects of those cities to understand how things work there. Having the opportunity to listen to a multinational company or local enterprise really elevated our classroom experience. Being exposed to the ways that business is conducted, visiting companies and hearing about their strategies to grow locally or internationally, which included the opportunities, challenges and successes — all eye opening.

Traveling together and experiencing things as a team also connected the classroom setting with the real world. Even little things, such as walking someplace as a group to have dinner, helped to build a sense of community.

Any lessons learned in the GEMBA experience that you have been able to apply in your current position?
A program like this really opens your eyes and broadens your perspective about life, cultures, what it entails to work in different countries and the people who grew up in an environment other than your own. You learn to be humble and discover ways to understand different business challenges and perspectives.

I now handle things more strategically and approach challenges with a greater sense of knowledge and maturity. I love seeing that what I do has a positive impact. The GEMBA for the Americas program has significantly contributed to the work that I am currently doing with Yum!. It has enhanced my business perspective on the international landscape, and I am sure that it will continue to have an impact on my career.

Professor Chowdhry Takes on Pay Disparity

Professor Bhagwan Chowdhry, famous for taking on world economic inequality through his Financial Access at Birth initiative, has turned his sights on gender pay disparity. Taking to The Huffington Post through an article and a video piece, Chowdhry says closing that pay gap is currently a pipe dream.

In fact, he says the problem won’t be fixed until the pipeline filling positions is. “If the percentage of qualified women remains lower than that of men, gender balance at all organizations is mathematically impossible,” he writes. Also, he points to a possible hardening of pay inequality through run-of-the-mill principles of capitalism. “If women continue to get paid less than their male counterparts, profit-maximizing competitive firms can hire more women (if they are less expensive to hire) and fire men (if they are more expensive to hire), improving, and perhaps even reversing, not only gender balance but also their bottom lines at the peril of their competitors who continue to discriminate against women by hiring (more expensive) male labor force,” he writes.

Read his post, “Would a Push to Hire More Women Reduce Gender Pay-Gap? Not Until We Fix the Pipeline,” at HuffPost Women page, and check out the interview at HuffPost Live. (Chowdhry appears at approximately 11 minutes.)