“I saw a need for leaders in technology, engineering and manufacturing, with knowledge and talent to create innovative products, who would benefit from UCLA Anderson by learning skills in management, communication and negotiation to run their companies,” says James L. Easton (B.S. ’59), chairman and CEO of one of the world’s largest sports equipment manufacturers, Easton Sports Inc.
Thanks to Easton’s commitment to supporting innovative research and scholarship in technology management, UCLA Anderson launches the new Easton Technology Management Center with gifts totaling $11 million to broaden the base of technology opportunities across the UCLA campus.
The new center expands the Easton Technology Leadership Program, established by Jim Easton at UCLA Anderson in 2009. It was designed to develop strong business leadership skills in students with engineering and technical backgrounds. The new Easton Technology Management Center expands the scope of the programs and offers students with both technical and non-technical backgrounds, as well as faculty, alumni and industry professionals, access to the latest innovations in technology management. The program includes nearly 430 participants, with 30 percent of the Class of 2016 interning at technology firms this summer.
It was Easton’s experience as a CEO, designing and manufacturing high-performance sports equipment, that first led him to recognize the need for business leadership education. His observations took shape with his first job in the aircraft industry and later at Jas. D. Easton Inc., his father’s arrow manufacturing company, where he held several positions and grew the company by introducing innovative aluminum products for skiing, baseball, softball, ice hockey and cycling. (His son, Greg, a UCLA and UCLA Anderson graduate, now runs the archery business.) During the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, Easton served as mayor of the Athlete’s Village at UCLA and Commissioner of Archery, later becoming a member of the International Olympic Committee.
A UCLA graduate with a degree in engineering, he never forgot his collegiate roots, and his philanthropic initiatives have boosted UCLA’s fortunes in engineering, business, medicine and sports. Easton has served on the UCLA Anderson Board of Visitors since 1988 and was named one of the founding members of Entrepreneurs’ Hall within the Anderson complex. In 2014, Chancellor Gene Block awarded him the UCLA Medal of Honor, the university’s highest distinction bestowed on an individual for extraordinary achievement. His business philosophy remains simple: “Excellence is expected. Perfection is the goal.”
“Jim Easton has been a visionary, creating new education approaches at UCLA Anderson since he first joined our board, and later developed the Easton Technology Leadership Program,” says UCLA Anderson Dean Judy Olian. “With the creation of the Easton Technology Management Center, Jim expands the impact of his vision by positioning our students to lead and drive change in the rapidly changing tech landscape of California and the world.”
Guillaume Roels, UCLA Anderson associate professor and the new center’s faculty director, outlined the center’s strategic goals:
- To create a hub for innovative research and scholarship in technology leadership
- To increase program outreach and develop closer ties with UCLA’s engineering and medical schools as well as technology industry professionals
- To foster curriculum innovation in technology leadership
Comments