UCLA Anderson School of Management Blog

From Graduation to Head of Global Diversity at Mattel in Just Two Short Years

Jessica Kimball (’15) was recently named head of global diversity at Mattel, after working with the legendary company for just two years. Alumna Bhavna Sivanand (’14), UCLA Anderson’s director of Impact@Anderson, caught up with her to learn more about her promotion.

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Q: First and foremost, congratulations! We should know a bit about where you come from. What is your background?

Thank you, Bhavna. The core tenets of diversity and inclusion have always been important to me and, whether I was aware of it or not, I have always worked to help level the playing field, giving those from underrepresented backgrounds a better chance of achieving their goals. Between graduating from Yale and attending UCLA Anderson, I ran my own college admissions consulting company, helping students prepare for and apply to college. My students came from culturally and economically diverse backgrounds, and within those five years we helped students throughout America, as well as from international locales such as Spain, Turkey and Hong Kong. What I loved most about that experience was helping my students grow, not just as students, but as young and driven changemakers.

Q: You were a star leader while you were at Anderson. You created the Anderson Student Association position VP of diversity and inclusion. What were some of your most meaningful experiences at Anderson?

My favorite part about Anderson was meeting so many amazing people! My classmates were all so brilliant and inspiring, and I felt that the best way I could contribute to Anderson was by serving my classmates however I could. It was an honor to be chosen as first-year Section B president (shout-out to the BEST SECTION EVER!).

EBV Graduate Ben Wynkoop Demystifies the Digital Ecosystem of Marketing Niches

See a full gallery of photos from UCLA Anderson's 2017 Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans

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By Matt Duyst

Ben Wynkoop, who completed UCLA Anderson’s Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV) program in 2010, returned to campus in July to share his expertise in digital marketing through search engine optimization with the EBV class of 2017. The crux of Wynkoop’s talk advocated the importance of SEO to achieve the broad goals of digital marketing — how to bring more traffic to one’s website vis-à-vis consulting, strategies for reaching out to online vendors, the necessity of pay-per-click Google AdWords. His visit fell on the occasion of Anderson’s 10th anniversary hosting EBV, which gave it special relevance. Wynkoop, a former U.S. Marine, emblematizes as well as emulates the purpose of UCLA Anderson’s EBV program, serving as a symbol of its continuation within the veteran community and as a tangible representation of the program’s success.

Underscoring Wynkoop’s presentation was his personal progression, which he illustrated by streaming a timeline of his entrepreneurial metamorphosis — a play-by-play recap of his life before and after the bootcamp. He told his audience that EBV served as a vehicle for him to develop as an entrepreneur, though his introduction to the formalities of management came a couple of years before his enrollment in the program.

Job Sharing in Military Support? U.S. Air Force Veteran Kristina Iskander Wants to Make It Fly

See a full gallery of photos from UCLA Anderson's 2017 Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans

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By Carly Milne

As a captain in the U.S. Air Force for nearly eight years, Kristina Iskander became acutely aware of two things: one, many baby boomers were retiring from the work force, which meant there was a need for highly skilled and well-trained military support personnel to take their place; and two, if non-active-duty military employees with families were allowed a more flexible schedule, they could fill those open positions — and excel in the workforce in a whole new way.

“Although the military is making great strides — the U.S. Air Force has the highest percentage of females — it’s still a male-dominated profession,” Iskander says. “I want to provide more support to the military, and to the women who want to enter and remain part of this important work. Many women feel they have to choose between having children and working, and even if they choose work after children, they feel pressured to be on maternity leave for the shortest amount of time possible. I want to change that.”

UCLA Anderson Alumna Kristin Mirek Channels Nickelodeon Tweens by Mini-Networking for a Major Network

Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles won Favorite Female Athlete at the 2017 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Sports Awards

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By Margaret Bliss

“Is our filter live on SnapChat?” Kristin Mirek (B.A. ’91, ’04) asked while running a pre-production meeting for the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Sports Awards, held July 13 in Pauley Pavilion on the UCLA campus. She was assured that it was. “And,” she was informed, “you can play a game on the world lens!”

As senior VP of Nickelodeon Social at Viacom, Mirek (née Rolla) successfully communicates with the tween world; but before achieving that status she earned her bachelor’s degree in history at UCLA and then became a “double Bruin” when she graduated from UCLA Anderson. She serves on the Department of History’s board of advisors.

In a world where “social” means so much, it is not surprising that “doing social well” is far more complicated than posting the coolest Boomerang on Instagram or creating the best stream on Facebook Live. “My role is truly multidisciplinary,” Mirek said. “I am essentially running my own mini network within Nickelodeon.” She describes herself and her team as writers, strategists, storytellers and production experts — all while being charged with creating the roadmap for content creation. “Sixty percent of Nickelodeon’s audience, tweens ages 11 to 13, are on social media, and it’s my job to make online social media a place of ‘heart share.’”

Entrepreneur-in-Residence Glen Warren Shares Success as a Leader and a Team Player

By Constance M. Kleinert (’17)

Just a few weeks after taking his latest company public, Glen Warren (’89) returned to UCLA Anderson in late May as an entrepreneur-in-residence at the Price Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. Warren is the president, CFO and a director of Antero Resources, an independent oil and gas exploration and production company. Since co-founding the company in 2002, Warren has helped grow Antero into one of the largest natural gas producers in the United States. He and his partner, Paul M. Rady, took Antero Resources (NYSE: AR) public on the New York Stock Exchange in 2013, Antero Midstream (NYSE: AM) public in 2014 and Antero Midstream GP (NYSE: AMGP) public in May 2017. After three IPOs in three and half years, the Antero family now has a combined enterprise value of roughly $18 billion.

Warren spent his visit sharing insights and answering questions about his experiences in the fields of energy, finance and entrepreneurship. As a second-year student entering the energy industry after graduation, I saw it as a fantastic opportunity to talk directly and candidly with an industry leader who was able to use his Anderson MBA as a launch pad for his career. At a working lunch session with students in the Anderson Venture Accelerator, Warren talked openly about his experiences starting, growing and managing businesses, including how to work effectively with private equity sponsors, when and how to execute a successful IPO, and what it takes to lead a large company with 500 employees.