UCLA Anderson School of Management Blog

As His Company Takes Flight, UCLA Anderson Alumnus Derek Herrera Aligns His Incentives

By Carolyn Gray Anderson

When he accepted the John Wooden Global Leadership Fellowship in 2014, Derek Herrera (EMBA ’15) quoted the inspirational UCLA coach’s aphorism “adversity is your asset.” And Herrera knows about adversity: In 2012, the former U.S. Marine Special Operations Officer was shot by sniper fire while fighting in Afghanistan and became paralyzed from the chest down.

Last June Herrera blogged, “Exactly three years ago I was confronted with a situation that altered my life in many ways. Physically, psychologically, spiritually and emotionally. In most respects, I would say that getting shot and paralyzed is a wholly negative event. Conversely, the path I have traveled in the past three years has been absolutely incredible.”

Turning adversities into assets, Herrera has propelled his ideas forward, pursuing more than one project inspired by his military expertise and experiences — both positive and negative. Herrera was the first person in the U.S. to buy and get FDA approval for in-home use of the ReWalk exoskeleton, a robotic device that enables him to walk upright. He has trained as a para-triathlete, entered marathons and served on multiple foundation boards. When he was still enrolled at Anderson, he spent a week as a teaching assistant in the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans, helping to teach veterans basic skills to start and run their own businesses.

But, Herrera recently wrote, “I have gradually subtracted more and more activities from my life so that I can try to magnify and grow the one project I am willing to commit to indefinitely.”

Tackling Severe Autism, Human Trafficking Issues, Waterborne Illness and More: Dr. Rob Douk (GEMBA ’16)

By Britt Benston

Real ambition starts early.

Rob Douk was born in a labor camp during the final years of the Khmer Rouge, the brutal regime in Cambodia that left roughly two million dead in less than four years. His family fled to Thailand, then to New York, where they arrived with literally nothing.

Douk’s parents worked their way up doing swap meets and managed to start a successful sport shoe store in lower Manhattan, effectively showing him what determination can make possible. They decided a better life was in store in Long Beach, California, home to a large Cambodian contingent, and moved there in time for Douk to go to high school.

Douk is one of four 2015 John Wooden Global Leadership Fellows and is pursuing a dual Global Executive MBA at Anderson and National University of Singapore. After earning a doctorate in psychology with a certification in behavior analysis, Douk worked with the Los Angeles Unified School District. He noticed an extreme deficit between the number of autism cases coming in and the qualified psychologists available to treat them. Worse, the more severe cases had even fewer treatment options. Douk was inspired to start his own company to deal with this deficit and take on the surplus of cases, all from the friendly confines of his kitchen.

Forecast for California Real Estate Market Signals a Boom in Multi-Family Housing

Left to right: David Shulman, Jerry Nickelsburg, John C. Williams, Ed Leamer, William Yu

By Paul Feinberg

The UCLA Anderson Forecast sustained an optimistic theme throughout the September edition of its quarterly conference. The positive economic feelings began with the presentation of the national and California forecasts, presented by Forecast Director Ed Leamer and Senior Economist Jerry Nickelsburg respectively, and a keynote address from Dr. John C. Williams, president and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

Following the keynote from Williams, real estate became the theme of the day with a set of talks from John Tipton, operating partner of the Law Firm of Allen Matkins; David Shulman, UCLA Anderson Forecast senior economist; and William Yu, UCLA Anderson Forecast economist. After a brief discussion of positive trends in commercial real estate — rooted in across-the-board developer optimism — Tipton spoke of the current Allen Matkins UCLA Multi Family Market Outlook that showed strong developer optimism in every sector. Tipton also noted that low vacancy rates supported the rental rate increases being seen.

Shulman examined the national real estate markets. He and the Forecast economists are predicting that housing starts are “on the road to 1.4 million per year in 2016,” up from 1.14 million in 2015 and just 1 million in 2014. While housing starts will approach 1.5 million, this total remains well below the 2 million starts the nation saw at peak before the last recession.

Forecast: Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco’s John C. Williams says Economy Is Moving in the Right Direction

By Nathan Moorman

Everything seems to be moving in the right direction, according to Dr. John C. Williams, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and keynote speaker at the UCLA Anderson Forecast's third quarterly economic forecast conference in 2015.

Williams said this is the seventh year of expansion and the economy has momentum to continue in that direction despite global headwinds and risks. Consumer spending increased more than 3 percent in the last year. Auto sales are on pace to reach 17 million this year — the highest they’ve been since the 2000s. Household debt is down and real incomes are growing strongly.

Williams also expects the unemployment rate to fall below 5 percent later this year and remain there through 2016, with the U.S. on pace to add 2.5 million jobs this year. This means we should reach or exceed full employment on a broad set of measures by the end of this year or early in the next one.

He forecasts real GDP increasing at a 2.25 percent annual rate in the second half of 2015 and GDP growth to be slightly above 2 percent next year. There also might be more of an up side on the way with housing potentially rebounding more strongly and a possible consumer spending surging resulting from low gas prices. However, the potential down side of further slowdown from weakening foreign economies or further depreciation of the dollar remains.

Despite all the improvements, Williams cautioned against too much optimism. With continued growth, it might be time to raise interest rates in order to prevent large imbalances from occurring — recall the dot-com bubble and the housing bubble of the 2000s. He stressed heading off circumstances like those as early as possible since fewer options are available as the imbalances become more severe.

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John C. Williams is the president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. He also serves as the managing editor of the International Journal of Central Banking. He holds a doctorate from Stanford, a master’s of science with distinction in economics from the London School of Economics and an A.B. with high distinction from the University of California, Berkeley.

UCLA Anderson Forecast: Quarterly Economic Report Looks at U.S. and Los Angeles Housing Markets

UCLA Anderson Forecast’s third quarterly economic report in 2015 for the United States considers whether or not the economy can withstand an increase in the prime lending rate. The forecast concludes that the answer is, “Yes.” All the Anderson economists’ reports will be presented at the sold-out quarterly conference on Monday, September 28, 2015, starting at 1:15 p.m. The conference features a number of panels focused on the housing industry and includes a keynote address from Dr. John C. Williams, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

The forecast for the national economy for the next two years is a healthy one, a slim chance of a recession and a slight chance of a surge in growth. In California, the forecast remains largely unchanged since June. Growth in employment in California will continue, albeit it at a slower pace by 2017, as the unemployment rate falls to about 4.8%, similar to that of the nation as a whole.

John Wooden Global Leadership Fellow Virginia Tancioco Puts Health Literacy in the Hands of Mothers

By Britt Benston

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A fourth grade reading level.

What do those words make you think of? A lack of education? Fourth graders?

What about inclusivity?

Virginia Tancioco (M.D./MBA ’16) is driven to change health care where it is needed most. Along with her classmate, Margaret Threadgill (M.D./MBA ’16), Tancioco is working on an app to educate expectant mothers about pregnancy — and it’s all written at a fourth grade reading level. They believe that since pregnancy isn’t limited to those who are highly educated, information shouldn’t be either.

But launching this app is not her only mission.

“Margaret and I are co-founding a nonprofit called Project Pregnancy and the app is only our first product. The project is looking to do many things for the underserved community, helping those who typically have poor outcomes, so that they will have healthier kids and will be healthier moms at the same time.”

What compels Tancioco to get involved on a deeper level with helping underserved mothers has a lot to do with what she’s seen during her experience as a fourth-year OB/GYN medical student at UCLA Medical Center, and from seeing what her mother went through while working and raising five children on her own. Combine this with her many travels on which she has found herself in need of medical help in countries where the health infrastructure was lacking and it’s easy to connect the dots that led her to co-found Project Pregnancy.

“After my stint with AmeriCorps in Maryland, I taught English in Ecuador and got an ear infection from the water [which isn’t potable from the tap]. It was pretty painful. Simple access to a quick examination and medicine just wasn’t there. At that point, I was inspired to do something more health-related because I realized that by improving the health of the community, we could make an even larger impact.”

These experiences have left Tancioco with a desire to do more — as if getting an MBA and an M.D. simultaneously weren’t enough. When she has time off, she goes to countries such as South Sudan and Haiti to perform operations on expecting mothers with complications and disease. She says she gets energized from the group dynamic on these trips, not to mention from her work in general.

“It’s all about the value of team spirit with me. It applies to life,” she says, acknowledging John Wooden as an inspiration. “The success of any group depends on the success of the individual. After a team has achieved success, you have to strive to do better. You’re never done. Success is an ongoing process, you know?”

Dean Judy Olian Welcomes UCLA Anderson Students and Shares a Compelling Year in Review

An excerpt from the year-end infographic emphasizes how UCLA Anderson shares success. Check out highlights of the past 12 months in pictures and numbers that communicate the powerful momentum we're enjoying across all programs at Anderson.

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Dean Judy Olian welcomed back continuing students and those just embarking on their UCLA Anderson degrees following 2015 orientation. With compelling statistics to reflect the multitude of school activities and accomplishments over the last year, she reminds students that the Anderson community's ethos to Think in the Next is supported by three key pillars:

We share success: Performance and innovation are not about winning at the expense of others. Success comes from creating the new direction of business — together.

We think fearlessly: Our faculty and students provoke new thinking and experimentation with bold ideas.

We drive change: We’re impatient unless we can measure our efforts against tangible impact.

Dean Olian wishes Anderson students "a momentous year of profound learning, personal growth, deep friendships, and fulfillment from family and community."

 

UCLA Anderson Alumni Chapters Welcome the Class of 2015 around the Globe

Share your Worldwide Welcome Week photos! Follow us on Instagram and tag your snaps @UCLAAndersonAlumni and #BruinsWorldwide.

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UCLA Anderson MBAs become integral members of the school’s international alumni network the day they graduate. And Anderson doesn’t wait long to organize special events around the globe to help new alumni stay connected — to Anderson and to each other.

This fall, Worldwide Welcome Week offers opportunities for networking and socializing in cities across the U.S. and abroad, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, New York, Chicago, London, Paris, Zurich and Tokyo. Class of 2015 alumni attend most events for free.

Epic Experience: Global Immersion Course Takes Anderson FEMBA Students to the Ancient Cradle of Democracy

FEMBAs visit Sounion, Greece; the Temple of Poseidon is in the background. Left to right: Sergei Grunt, Ray Obico, Vivek Sai Munipalle, Arthur Hu, Brittany Blackamore, Alycia Beutner, Mark Lee, Caitlin Cassidy, Professor Ed Leamer, Naomi Slusser, Senior Associate Dean Carla Hayn, Jonathan Driscoll, Zach Au, Clarissa Chiang, Mark Reidy, Miron Ilincev, Tony Ferro, Keisha McCurtis, Victor Shyu, Chris Ferruzzi, Andrew Upchurch, Michael Hwang, David Penskar, Vamsi Bommakanti, Taylor Nyman, Ryan McKee, Matt Rissi, Sully Lee and Chris Hasenzahl.

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By Mark E. Lee (FEMBA ’17), Clarissa Chiang (FEMBA ’17) and Mark A. Reidy (FEMBA ’17)

Most of us first considered traveling to Greece with the inimitable Professor Ed Leamer and Senior Associate Dean Carla Hayn, as a rare opportunity to witness a living case study that Professor Leamer titled Business Opportunities in an Indebted Country. Many of us did not know what to expect once we were in country. Lots of us heard that Athens was dirty and unwelcoming, especially when compared to the more tourist-focused islands. We expected homelessness to be rampant as a result of the weak economy and high unemployment rate, and for people to be rioting in the streets, given that Greece’s third national election in a mere nine months was just a week after our visit.

Athens was, in fact, neither dirty nor unwelcoming; homelessness was not apparently rampant; and we saw no rioting in the streets. (A tourist might actually be hard pressed to perceive Greece to be in an economic depression.) Be that as it may, Greece is experiencing a dire debt crisis, and is about to embark on a unique transition. We learned quickly that among experts and locals alike, few could agree on what kind of future lies ahead for their country, and what steps are needed to get there. Indeed, the variation among opinions was as interesting as the opinions themselves.

UCLA/Johnson & Johnson Management Development Institute a Decade On: Meeting African Nations’ Health Priorities in the Face of Scarce Resources

By Paul Feinberg

For health care workers across Africa, battling the AIDS epidemic or dealing with a potential Ebola outbreak is all in a long day’s work. That work includes standing at the front line and the very real life-and-death medical issues associated with such maladies. But it also includes preparing for and dealing with serious health concerns without the same sort of infrastructure their peers in a country like the United States have at their disposal.

For the past decade, the UCLA/Johnson & Johnson Management Development Institute, housed in UCLA Anderson’s Harold and Pauline Price Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, has assisted African health care workers facing such problems. Crucial to the success of the program has been the sponsorship and involvement of Johnson & Johnson.

“The people we’re working with are making decisions with scarce resources,” says Professor Miguel Unzueta, faculty director of the program. “We talk about psychology and biases and how these things impact what you do with scarce resources. We put things in a bigger picture, give them a framework.”

After 10 years of good work, UCLA Anderson’s involvement in the program is slowly winding down. The program has been offered in three regions — southern Africa, West Africa and East Africa — and in several countries, including (but not limited to) South Africa, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. In May 2015, the program was offered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for the first time, where it graduated 38 East African leaders, bringing the total graduates among East African leaders to 513. To date, MDI has graduated nearly 1,000 participants from 32 African countries.