UCLA Anderson School of Management Blog

8 Reasons to Unite at FEMBApalooza

UCLA Anderson’s annual Fully Employed MBA celebration FEMBApalooza is the official welcome event for the newly admitted Class of 2019 students, and it returns this summer on Sunday, July 24. Here are eight reasons why the fifth installment of #FEMBApalooza is not to be missed!

1. Expand your network and meet new people from across the Anderson family.
Twenty-nine years of FEMBAs will unite on campus for this ultimate reunion and networking event. Dickson Plaza will host what is expected to be the largest FEMBApalooza yet, with 900 – 1,000 attendees.

2. Learn about new entrepreneurial ventures by FEMBAs in the Opportunity Zone.
Support FEMBA entrepreneurs who will be on site talking about their companies and offering ways for other FEMBAs to get involved. So far we’ve confirmed Kathleen Hein (’18) of HappinessInk, Oscar Rodriguez (’14) and Hanson Chang (’14) of Reassure Analytics, EpicVisor founders Ed Cho (’13) and Eugene Kim (’11), and the Class of 2016 team behind Petsnap, Matthew Rose, Rex Hatch, Frankie Judy, Isadora Dantas, Rich Headly and Matt Bailey.

3. Work on your tan while hearing from faculty, alumni and current students at Learning on the Lawn.
Professors from a range of disciplines will be giving short lectures on a range of topics. This year’s speakers include: Margaret Shih, Senior Associate Dean; Gonzalo Freixes, Associate Dean; David Cooley, Director of Alumni Career Services; and Paul Brandano, Executive Director of Marketing for GAP. Stay tuned, we’ll announce the topics soon!

UCLA Anderson School of Management Announces 2016 Gerald Loeb Award Winners

Paul Ingrassia (left), Lifetime Achievement Award; Amy Stevens, Lawrence Minard Editor Award (photos: Business Wire)

Journalists from across the nation gathered at Capitale in New York for the 2016 Gerald Loeb Awards banquet. The Gerald Loeb Awards are among the highest honors in journalism, recognizing the work of journalists whose contributions illuminate the world of business, finance and the economy for readers and viewers around the world.

UCLA Anderson Dean Judy D. Olian, chairman of the G. and R. Loeb Foundation, welcomed Loeb Awards honorees and their guests. Tyler Mathisen, co-anchor of CNBC’s Power Lunch, served as master of ceremonies.

The Gerald Loeb Awards were established in 1957 by the late Gerald Loeb, a founding partner of E.F. Hutton. His intention was to encourage reporting on business and finance that would inform and protect the private investor and the general public. Distinguished journalists and outlets nationwide submit entries to compete for the most prestigious honor in business journalism.

Out@Anderson’s Co-President Steph Lo Shares Thoughts on Orlando

Out@Anderson members and allies share a moment of silence during LGBTQ Awareness Week

The following is a letter to the UCLA Anderson community from Out@Anderson Co-President Steph Lo (’17), reflecting on the mass shooting at an LGBT nightclub in Orlando, Florida, on Sunday, June 12.

My girlfriend, Kelsie, and I were up early Sunday morning getting ready to march in LA PRIDE when we found out about the news in Orlando. It hit me in waves. A mix of confusion, disbelief, and disappointment. I recited numbers, details, and headlines in my head, but all I felt was numb. I sat on the edge of the bed not saying a word and then I finally turned to Kelsie. "There are no safe spaces anymore." As I muttered the words aloud, I began to cry. And I honestly haven't stopped crying since.

It's tough to explain the sadness I feel right now. I didn't personally know anyone in that club; I don't even know a single person who lives in Florida. I know myself, though, and I know people who would have been in a club just like Pulse, in any other city, on any other night, to celebrate each other, the LGBT community, and our shared experiences. I know how incredible it feels to be somewhere in public where I'm certain I'll be free of judgment and can interact with my girlfriend in the exact same way I'd interact with her behind the doors of our own home.

Orlando shook me in a way I'll never forget. Perhaps I'll never feel more empowered than I did walking down Santa Monica Boulevard with Kelsie the morning after the shooting, with thousands of other queer individuals and our allies, as we collectively vowed to keep marching toward equality, despite all of the threats and challenges we face. The vigil Kelsie and I attended Monday night at City Hall was a reminder of L.A.’s diverse community, its strength and its unwavering resilience.

Into the Next: UCLA Anderson Adds 10 New Faculty Members

UCLA Anderson Dean Judy Olian has spent much of her time recently meeting with alumni on campus, across the country and internationally. One of the most important elements in her most recent “State of the School” presentations has been the school’s excellent record of faculty recruitment, one of the ways Anderson continues to meet the needs of the always evolving landscapes in both research and the classroom.

Simply put, it’s just one of the ways the school continues to Think in the Next. After welcoming eight new members to its globally renowned faculty last year, UCLA Anderson has added 10 this year.

UCLA Anderson Professor Mike Hanssens Pioneered Big Data and Says He Sought to Answer the Question: “How Well Does Marketing Work?”

By Elise Anderson

Dominique Hanssens might well consider UCLA Anderson home, as this is where he has spent his entire academic career, serving in a variety of roles and capacities that include faculty chair, associate dean and marketing area chair. Along the way he has collected numerous honors and awards, authored and co-authored a host of published papers, books and book chapters, consulted with large corporations, served on numerous committees and editorial boards, been interviewed by top broadcast and print media, and expanded his academic horizons as the 2005–07 executive director of the Marketing Science Institute (MSI) in Cambridge. He is a pioneer in the use of what is now known as “big data” in marketing, focusing his research on strategic marketing problems, in particular marketing productivity, in which he applies his expertise in data-analytic methods. Several industries, including hospitality, airline and banking, adopted his research to develop and advance their ongoing marketing strategies.

In November 2015, Hanssens officially retired from his teaching responsibilities, but he is far from relinquishing his ties to the school. Indeed, he remains director of the Morrison Family Center for Marketing Studies and Data Analytics and continues working with and mentoring Ph.D. students. He also continues his research endeavors as Distinguished Research Professor of Marketing at UCLA.

Hanssens took time from his still busy schedule to ponder the years he has spent here on the myriad activities with which he has been involved and the roles he has played as teacher, researcher, corporate partner and groundbreaking analyst in the area of marketing.

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Q: What prompted your interest in marketing analytics?

I first became interested in an academic career during my undergraduate program in Antwerp, Belgium. My interest in marketing analytics was prompted by a former MIT professor who got me thinking of pursuing a Ph.D. in the U.S. But it was while I was at Purdue that a guest lecturer piqued my interest in time-series models in marketing, an area I found fascinating. You need a lot of passion for a topic to make it through a Ph.D., tenure, etc., and I found that I had a passion for this type of work.

Q: You are often asked about your work in the area of big data, but your research and efforts predate that more modernly recognized industry. Where did your work begin?

My research has been focused on answering the question, “How well does marketing work?” It really began with an early project I did with just one sheet of data and a little model to find out how marketing, in this case price changes versus advertising spending could affect brand sales. Consider the fact that just two elements of marketing — sales calls and advertising — represent about 10 percent of the economy. Ours is an $18 trillion economy, so about $1.8 trillion is spent on sales calls and advertising. It’s a huge portion of economic activity.

The Journal of Manufacturing and Service Operations Management, Edited by UCLA Anderson Professor Chris Tang, Added to Financial Times Journal List

Financial Times (FT) has added the journal of Manufacturing and Service Operations Management (M&SOM) to its list of journals used to rank global business schools, effective January 2017.  

“Having this journal on this list is important, as FT counts the per capita faculty publications in these journals to calculate the research ranking of faculty,” says Chris Tang, current editor-in-chief of M&SOM and distinguished professor and holder of the Edward W. Carter Chair in Business Administration at UCLA Anderson School of Management. “This research score accounts for 10 percent of the Global MBA, Executive MBA and online MBA rankings.”

The FT journal list, developed in 2003, initially included 40 journals, adding five more in 2012. In 2016, FT invited the deans of 210 business schools to suggest journals to be dropped from or added to the list. Based on the votes submitted by 140 business schools worldwide, four journals were dropped and nine out of 150 journals that were nominated were added to the FT list.  The M&SOM was among the most recent additions. 

Vow To Be Chic, Founded by UCLA Anderson Alumna Kelsey Doorey, Receives Series A Funding, Continues to Offer Women Options in Wedding Planning

By Paul Feinberg

Vow To Be Chic, the Santa Monica-based designer bridesmaid dress rental startup founded by UCLA Anderson alumna Kelsey Doorey (’13), received $5 million in Series A funding last week. As noted in the company’s press release, Vow To Be Chic “gives millennial women the shopping experience and dream wedding that they desire while providing aspirational designer dresses at a fraction of the cost.”

The round includes existing investors Pritzker Group Venture Capital and Wavemaker Partners, and new investor Women’s Venture Capital Fund. The funds will be used to scale the business, improve technology systems and grow the team to enhance customer experience and support growing demand.

“Men have been winning for decades by renting tuxes while women purchased expensive dresses that they only wore once. I knew something had to change. Someone needed to solve the ‘27 Dresses’ problem,” says Vow To Be Chic CEO and founder Doorey. “With these funds, we are excited to continue expanding our offering so that women have a superior option when planning their weddings.”

Doorey, whose company was featured on NBC’s Shark Tank and HBO’s Girls, won the Knapp Venture Competition in 2013, earning $15,000, and also received additional funding from two of the Knapp judges. She says that the Knapp competition “literally changed my life in one night.”

In 2015, Doorey hired the most Anderson interns of any company and also hired Hannah Stephens (’15) for a full-time position.

Read more about Vow To Be Chic’s funding news.

Kenichi Nogami Brings Pioneering Technology to Market

Former investment banker Kenichi Nogami (’17) embraced the Business Creation Option at UCLA Anderson because he wanted to bring vital medical technology to market. He says he chose Anderson because of its location in a region of cutting-edge medical technology and a culture of shared success that sets it apart from other b-schools.

Q: Tell us about your startup, Metcela.

Metcela is a pioneer biotechnology company founded in Japan in March 2016 that aims to be the first to commercialize biological products that heal damaged heart muscle in order to treat heart diseases. The product can save patients’ lives by preventing risky and expensive heart transplants, which can cost up to $787,000.

I co-founded the company with my partner, Takahiro Iwamiya, an experienced stem cell researcher in Japan, while getting support from UCLA Anderson classmates.

Q: What inspired you, and how did your education and experience prepare you to launch your own venture?

Before coming to UCLA Anderson, I was an investment banker at Morgan Stanley in Japan and I executed financing and M&A deals for major Japanese companies. But I had entrepreneurial aspirations in my mind since college. In January 2014, while I was still at Morgan Stanley, I met Takahiro and, after several meetings, we decided to work together to launch a business from his technology. However, as a former investment banker, I had no clue about the steps of launching the business and what strategy we should take. I decided to apply to business schools to learn more about entrepreneurship while Takahiro worked on R&D and prototyping for a couple of years. Anderson resources really helped me in creating convincing business plans and presenting them to investors. Capitalizing on all the learnings here, we could convince one key venture capitalist in Japan and actually launch the company.

Q: Describe disruption and innovation in the medical space. What differences have you noticed between Asia and the U.S.?

The Japanese government is provding a lot of grants to researchers and companies in the field of stem cell research. In addition, the government also enforced a new law to reduce difficulty of stem cell clinical trials and promote commercializing stem cell treatment. Taking advantage of this support, Metcela received a grant from the government in May and we located our first lab in the stem cell-focused research center developed under a prefectural project, starting June 1.

Congratulations to UCLA Anderson’s Class of 2016 Academic Awards Recipients

On Friday, June 3, students celebrated with faculty and staff at the 2016 Academic Awards dinner reception. Congratulations to the students in the Class of 2016 for their respective accomplishments:

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GLORIA APPEL PRIZE

The Gloria Appel Prize is given annually to graduating MBA students who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in entrepreneurial studies and student leadership. The full-time MBA students who received this award excelled in three or more entrepreneurial electives, while also taking on leadership roles at Anderson.

MBA: Enrique Besa, Jenna Glassock, Ken Hamada, Michelle Hill, Kevin Jones, Margaret Threadgill

FRED WESTON AWARD

The J. Fred Weston awards are given to the graduating MBAs whose achievements in their finance courses best exemplify the highest standards of academic excellence and scholarship.

MBA: Solon Aposhian, Nigel Beckmeier, Man Hong Chan, William Geiger, Winston Guo, Patrick Halley-Harris, Jiajun Huang, Gregory James, David Krietzer, Jonathan Lea, Taylor Leach, Darren Ong, Joon Young Park, Howard Tsai

OUTSTANDING STUDENT IN MARKETING

The Outstanding Student in Marketing awards are given to students who excel in both their core and elective marketing classes. The winner is selected by faculty and based upon GPA and number of marketing classes completed.

MBA: Christopher Hunsaker, Catherine Barnett

UCLA Anderson FEMBA Class of 2016: “Be Champions of Change”

It is difficult to adequately express how profoundly UCLA Anderson has impacted my career, my relationships, my global perspective and, most of all, my personal growth. Approaching commencement, I knew I could never sufficiently thank all those professors, staff, students and cherished friends who have inspired me, supported me and launched me onto a path I couldn’t have imagined three years ago. But I knew I wanted to try.

— Cara Bibbiani (FEMBA ’16), Fully Employed MBA Class of 2016 Commencement Speaker

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Thank you faculty, staff, friends and family, those live streaming from around the world, and UCLA Anderson GRADUATES! I am truly honored to have this opportunity today. And I’m told that I must impart great wisdom and knowledge … with only four minutes … which is a truly fitting analogy to what it means to be a FEMBA!

But what is a FEMBA? What is this FEMBAlife we hashtag? Well, we are 36 different nationalities, a global community of doctors and lawyers, managers and bankers, business owners, military veterans, mothers and fathers, with so little time and yet so much faith that we could be something more. We would not settle for the status quo, or the jobs we had, or our healthy bank accounts!

We are leaders who made a conscious decision to sacrifice our time, our friends and our families to become even better leaders. And because it truly takes a village to raise a FEMBA, let’s please have a round of applause for all those who supported us in person or in spirit throughout this journey! And to my own mother, Barbara, I would not be here without your unfailing love and support. You are the reason I succeed.

Three years ago, we came together on a ropes course on this very campus because we believed in embracing change. Some of us wanted to change a job into a career. Some wanted to switch into a new field entirely. Some wanted more change in their pocket and others simply wanted to change their family’s future.