UCLA Anderson School of Management Blog

The Entrepreneur’s Origin Story – Fritz Demopoulos (’97)

 

China is where Fritz Demopoulos (’97) decided to launch his career and make his life after b-school. Turning down a lucrative ― and stable ― offer in Europe, Demopoulos trusted his instinct for opportunity and headed for Asia.

The decision paid off.

Fritz Demopoulos and UCLA Anderson Interim Dean Al Osborne

Demopoulos founded Qunar, China’s biggest online travel company, and Shawei, its largest web-based sports portal. He’s held senior positions at Net Ease and The News Corporation and worked as an executive in the Chinese media, internet and wireless industries. An entrepreneur and investor, he is a founding partner of venture capital firm Queen’s Road Capital, which focuses on entrepreneurial investments across Asia.

Demopoulos launched his first business as a youngster — partnering with a cousin to pass out advertisments for a nickel per flier — and the feeling of freedom and independence still thrills him, he says. Before earning his MBA, he worked in aerospace but didn’t take to the institutional vibe. “At Anderson, it was the first time I was genuinely exhilarated,” Demopoulos says, crediting the school with helping him make a profound decision: “To take control of what I’m doing in life.”

That process was energizing. Anderson’s location proved crucial as well. “You need to be in a major economic center to get an amazing education,” he says. “If you’re in Manhattan, L.A. or the Bay Area you’re just in the middle of all sorts of cool stuff.”

Then there are the connections he formed. Demopoulos says he built “amazing relationships” while in business school, including the lifelong friendships he forged with Professors Bill Cockrum and Al Osborne (now Anderson’s interim dean). Demopoulos found Osborne especially inspiring, often asking himself “What would Al be doing?”

UCLA Anderson Celebrates Commencement with the Class of 2018

UCLA Anderson’s 2018 commencement ceremony, like others before it, celebrated the degrees and accomplishments of the newest graduates of its three MBA programs, along with a scattering of brand new Ph.D.s.

But unlike any such event at Anderson in more than a dozen years, Friday’s celebration also marked the end of an era. On July 1, Dean Judy Olian will become president of Quinnipiac University in Connecticut, making this year’s graduation the last time she will confer Anderson degrees and preside over its commencement.

“These last 12-plus years at UCLA have been the best years of my life” Olian told the crowd of several thousand, including some 800 graduating students, gathered before her on sun-swept Wilson Plaza. “What a privilege and joy it’s been.”

Before delivering personal remarks, Olian introduced the afternoon’s keynote speaker, William S. (Bill) Anderson (J.D. ’88), son of the school’s namesake,Topa Equities founder John E. Anderson (’40). The late John Anderson and his wife Marion, who passed away in 2017, are the institution’s most generous benefactors, together with Bill Anderson and his siblings.

In his address, Anderson spoke movingly about the concept of change and his admiration for those in the business world who find the courage to take a risk. Anderson then told of his own long-debated decision to leave the family business where he had worked alongside his father, to strike out on his own.

“So, there I was for almost a year, thinking about leaving a very safe family business position,” Anderson said, noting that such a leap might feel less intimidating for many younger people in his audience. “You change jobs more frequently and you do a better job of seeking out new experiences than many prior generations. You have all had the courage to pause and step out of your work lives to attend business school. But, my guess is that some of you still fear change as much as the rest of us.”

Anderson referenced his experience in the beverage industry, saying a few risk-taking craft beer brewers had challenged and changed an industry once dominated by a handful of established major brewers.

“To lead change, you’ll need to step out of your cozy worlds and model the change you want to be known for in your life,” Anderson said. “That will take grit and courage. You won’t be able to ask others to grab and embrace change before you do.”

Returning to the podium after the keynote, Olian characterized her long, successful tenure as Anderson’s dean as “a lot of learning.” She shared with the graduates five lessons she said she would carry with her.

“I’ve learned that you can continue to learn forever,” Olian said. “I’ve realized how much I have yet to learn, and how much better I am when I open myself up to others. I wish the same for you — always to be curious, to seek out the unfamiliar and to keep learning.”

Her second lesson spoke to the capriciousness of fate and fortune. “It is a matter of luck that certain gifts are handed only to some,” she said. “There’s nothing that’s ‘deserved’ about being lucky, or unlucky, (and) it’s our duty — those of us who were born lucky — to give opportunity to others, to those who are less lucky.”

Next, she referenced the Anderson quality of sharing success. “I’ve learned that if you’re surrounded by a great team, a lot can happen,” she said, “way more than you could ever achieve by yourself.

UCLA Anderson Eagerly Awaits Marion Anderson Hall

By Carolyn Gray Anderson

UCLA Anderson is on a growth trajectory — in excellence, reputation and numbers. Yet Anderson is one of only three leading U.S. business schools without a recent expansion to keep pace with enhanced programs, top faculty and students. As we prepare students for meaningful global careers amid growing competition, a new building to update and transform the Anderson educational experience is the highest fundraising priority of our $300 million Into the Next campaign.

The goal? Quite simply, to enable Anderson students and faculty to learn, work and think “in the next.”

In October, UCLA Anderson broke ground on a beautiful, modern structure that will be named for a member of our namesake family and one of the school’s most generous benefactors, the late Marion Anderson. The 64,000-square-foot building will occupy the space just east of our 1995 complex, creating a new “front door” for the school and an impressive entrance to north campus.

“Marion realized we were capped,” Dean Judy Olian said of the limits of a physical plant designed for far fewer students and dating to a time when business schools granted a single advanced degree. “We were capped in terms of the impact we could have and the opportunities we could provide.”

Marion Anderson, with her husband John E. Anderson (B.S. ’40), donated generously over many years to the school named in their honor — not least, Mrs. Anderson’s transformative $100 million gift in May 2015. That unprecedented gift is funding research and fellowships, with $40 million earmarked for the state-of-the-art building that bears her name.

The new space is greatly needed. When the current facility opened 23 years ago, UCLA Anderson had three degree-granting programs. Now there are eight, including two in-demand, data-focused master’s programs added in the past three years. The school’s academic centers have also multiplied, from three a dozen years ago to the current eight, with a ninth on the way. And it now boasts three career centers instead of one, to serve a student population that is 64 percent larger than it was in 1995.

The new building, with features and design carefully planned to foster community and collaboration, will play a crucial role in keeping UCLA Anderson student-centric, innovative and cutting-edge for years to come. Victoria Lew (FEMBA ’19) said of the new building, “It will allow us to succeed by having the creative space to work together.”

UCLA Anderson Alumnae Advise: Think Fearlessly about Building and Tapping the Network that Supports Your Next Transformation

Professor Sanjay Sood engaged Paramount Television and Digital Entertainment President Amy Powell in conversation and audience Q&A

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By Carolyn Gray Anderson

UCLA Anderson alumni from 44 class years ― ranging from 1962 to 2017― convened for the May 4–5 Alumni Weekend, starting with the annual conference and Dean Judy Olian’s final State of the School report. Addressing the crowd in Korn Convocation Hall, she acknowledged an extra element of emotion this year: “In another couple of months I’ll become an ‘alum’ in a sense, myself.”

Olian departs at the end of the academic year to become president of Quinnipiac University. “We all try to leave a mark at Anderson,” she said, “something that lifts this extraordinary school higher and leaves it better than when we arrived. Each class aims to do that.”

With the help of faculty, staff, students, donors, and alumni, Olian said she, too, has tried to raise the bar at Anderson since she arrived in 2006. The accomplishments she listed included the school’s increasingly global outlook and education, the growing strength of its academic centers and progress on diversity and inclusion.

UCLA Anderson Master of Financial Engineering Commencement Features Record Number of Graduates

By Paul Feinberg

The Class of 2017 is the ninth graduating class in the history of UCLA Anderson’s Master of Financial Engineering program. But the class also represents a first — as in, the first time two cohorts of students graduated from the program at the same time. The 78 students (from 18 countries) who earned their degree set a record number, collectively embodying the growth of the program since its inception and the strength and relevance of the Anderson MFE degree.

UCLA Anderson Dean Judy Olian addressed the graduates and assembled guests at what is always one of the most familial gatherings on the UCLA Anderson calendar. She reminded the graduates that although their understanding of the technical side of finance is important, their work is as much art as it is science. As part of a select group whose decisions might ultimately impact financial markets, Olian made it a point to remind the graduates that their work comes with significant responsibility.

“You have the values and now the tools to make a decision, and with humility,” Olian said. “You’re blessed with many gifts and extraordinary talents — otherwise, you wouldn’t be at Anderson.”

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.

UCLA Anderson African-American Alumni Association Expands Reach and Goals

Karen Williams (’93) is a career coach at Management Leadership for Tomorrow, a career development institution that works with high-potential African-Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans. Previously, she served as the executive director of UCLA Anderson’s Center for MEMES. She has also held posts with Hearst Magazines, Disney, Time Inc. (with Essence Magazine) and USC’s Marshall School of Business.

Williams is currently the president of the Anderson African American Alumni Association (5As). She was gracious enough to answer a few questions from the UCLA Anderson blog.

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Q: What are the purpose and goals of the group?

5As is a forum for black alumni to convene, communicate and contribute to mutual professional development and the cultivation of Anderson African-American graduates both present and future. We are committed to building and strengthening the Anderson African-American community.

The goals are as follows:

• To enhance the professional and personal development of our members at all stages of their career journey.
• To support the academic, career and personal development of current students.
• To increase the number of talented African-American students applying and choosing to attend Anderson.
• To assist in identifying, recruiting and retaining underrepresented African-American administrators and faculty.
• To create initiatives for members to serve the communities in which we live and work.

Andrea Wade Walks Her Talk as She Helps Alumni Tap into the Lifelong Value of Their MBA

By Carolyn Gray Anderson

In 2016, UCLA Anderson alumna Andrea Wade (’96) celebrated her 20th reunion. “What started out as a way for me to see what old classmates were up to turned into something much more meaningful,” she says. Now, six months later, she finds herself working with UCLA Anderson’s office of alumni relations (OAR) as the director of alumni programming and events to develop the strategy to engage alumni where they live, work, think and play.

A few of her past employers include Creative Artists Agency, Bank of America, e-commerce pioneer eToys and Arthur Andersen, where she worked as a business consultant following graduation from Anderson. She has also worked as a brand marketing consultant, helping organizations and individuals amplify their brand positioning to improve awareness and profitability. Amid that range and variety, Wade is an ambassador for continuity.

Philanthropic Startup Omaze Unlocks an Untapped Network of Donors

Omaze co-founder and Anderson alumnus Ryan Cummins spoke at the UCLA Anderson #originalthinkers campfire event

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By Cheechee Lin

Ryan Cummins (’11) is a storyteller turned entrepreneur. 

Cummins has always been enthralled by the art of storytelling. As an undergraduate at Stanford, he studied video production alongside eventual partner Matt Pohlson. After a couple of years in the field working with Nobel Laureates, Pultizer Prize winners and Oscar winners, Cummins found that his work didn’t satisfy his thirst for doing good. 

It all started when Cummins and Pohlson went to a benefit hosted by Magic Johnson for the Boys & Girls Club of America. The two fans were thrilled at the prospect of joining their childhood hero for courtside seats at a Lakers game followed by a dinner. The auction at the benefit reached $15,000 — which, as starving students, Cummins and Pohlson couldn't outbid. But this fundraising opportunity got them thinking about how they could make life’s most amazing experiences accessible to the public, while making a greater impact through charity.

Enter Omaze, a storytelling platform that leverages the power of technology to transform lives. The idea is simple: Omaze’s online platform offers everyone the chance to have a once-in-a-lifetime experience with a celebrity for as little as $10. Omaze has partnered with celebrity-supported charities to connect ordinary donors with the likes of Robert Downey Jr., Ben Affleck, Cyndi Lauper, Mario Batali, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Charlize Theron.

Meet the Alumnus Who Built the UCLA Anderson Brand in Indonesia

Front row, left to right: David Setiawan (’13), Fenelia Kosasih (’13), Will Ongkowidjaja (’07), Adityo Kusumo (’14); back row, left to right: Dominic Sumarli (’16), Amir Darpi (’15), Harsono Tjandra (’09), Jefrey Joe (’12), all members of the UCLA Anderson alumni chapter in Indonesia

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Will Ongkowidjaja (’07) is the outgoing president of the UCLA Anderson Indonesia alumni chapter, which he founded with the express intention of building the UCLA Anderson brand and network in Indonesia. With a background in management consulting and investment banking, he is also a co-founder and managing partner of Alpha JWC Ventures, an institutional and independent venture capital firm with an Indonesia focus, and a contributor to Forbes Indonesia. He talks here about his distinctly international journey to where he is today — and reflects on the spirit of shared success within his global Anderson network.

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Q: You graduated from UCLA Anderson in 2007 and established the Indonesia alumni chapter in 2012. How did your group evolve?

Our journey toward building UCLA Anderson’s Indonesia alumni chapter started naturally. I link it to what is unique about UCLA Anderson — its people. In my view, UCLA Anderson alums are top-notch people that are down-to-earth and uniquely collegial.

When I moved to Jakarta in 2008 to join McKinsey & Company, I found a good group of UCLA Anderson alumni. From our initial casual gathering, we thought it would make sense to try creating an annual admission information session for potential MBA applicants as a way to promote UCLA Anderson and, in addition, have another reason for us alumni to get together. We started small. We contacted the UCLA Anderson admissions office to send us brochures, and we decided to hold the very first session at a restaurant owned by a fellow UCLA Anderson alumnus, Harsono Tjandra (’09) — with a couple of us personally splitting the cost of the event. Despite not having a formal alumni chapter, and with no financial support from the school, to us, this was just the right thing to do.