UCLA Anderson School of Management Blog

Luis Serrano (’02) Felt Supported While Studying at UCLA Anderson; Now Supports School With Major Gift

By Carolyn Gray Anderson

In 2000, Luis Serrano (’02), whose life and business were comfortably established in his native Spain, matriculated to UCLA Anderson — with every intention of earning his MBA in the U.S. and resuming his career in Europe. But on his first day of class, he found himself in an orientation event sitting next to an outgoing American named May Hasso (’02). Students were each asked to introduce the classmate beside him or her, and Luis fumbled through what he remembers as an earnest introduction in which he complimented May’s beauty.

“I was very wet behind the ears as far as U.S. social conventions,” he confesses. But if his gallantry that day was on the effusive side, it broke the ice for a relationship that led to their marriage in 2003. “You have to be open to what’s in front of you,” he says about his decision to change his life’s plan.

Luis describes May as extremely bright, lively and social. In 2010 they founded the aptly named Sunshine Retirement Living, a boutique management company for senior housing communities, now thriving with 800 employees and 20 locations in eight states across the country. She assumed the helm as CEO, he served as president.

Mission to Myanmar: Alumnus Brings Skills across the Globe to New Venture

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Michael Eister (EMBA ’17) accepted an offer to join a Myanmar-based company upon graduation. With several weeks in the new position under his belt, Eister shares his first impressions about working in a Southeast Asian nation that is undergoing political reforms.

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Michael Eister traveled to Myanmar in a modern longyi, the sarong worn by many Burmese men

By Michael Eister

In December 2016 a group of MBA students ventured into the former hermit kingdom (no, not that one…) of Myanmar. The goal was to assess whether or not the economy offered opportunity, and if the nation was on its way to economic success overall. For the latter, the jury is still out. For the former I can personally attest that yes, yes, yes there is opportunity here. This nation is flowering like a lotus and opening its mind to what the outside world has to offer.

Burma is no walk in the park. In fact, the biggest hazard, as far as I can assess so far, is walking down the sidewalks. Survival depends on watching your step. This is true both literally and metaphorically. The government is still adjusting to the future, and at times is relying on rules and policies held over from British colonial days. As it crawls into the 21st century, Myanmar is a contradiction at every turn. On one hand, they want to be successful and wealthy. On the other hand, they are ever-focused on a balance that has its roots in Buddhist thought.

As MBAs we are taught to focus on disruption, change and growth. This nation’s heart is focused on maintaining an even keel. This makes for quite a challenge when trying to modernize at light speed, as many are seeking to do here. Much of the difficulty for outsiders comes from an ever-changing policy and regulatory structure. Government offices are, by western standards, in a cyclone of churn when it comes to change. A policy made one day can be gone in an instant, and in order to find that out, one often has to make frequent visits to government offices to see hard copies of policies, which are not available publicly.

Same Entrepreneurial Spirit, New Business Savvy for Videographer and Veteran Tyler Hill

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

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By Paul Feinberg

Tyler Hill grew up in a ski town, skating and snowboarding with his friends. Influenced by reality TV daredevil Johnny Knoxville and his band of merry men, Hill and his crew messed around with cameras, capturing their own stunts.

Hill’s hobby took a more serious turn when he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps.

“I was a combat photographer and videographer in the Marines. I did two tours in Iraq,” says Hill, who served in the military from 2005 through 2010 and was deployed in ’06 and ’08.

When Hill separated from active duty he transitioned into a career in outdoor television, specializing in filming shows in remote areas ranging from Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan to Iceland and Greenland. He later earned a degree in filmmaking and became a freelance video producer in Dallas. While there, he saw his clientele shift from big companies with big budgets to YouTubers and Instagrammers making big bucks for posting branded content.