UCLA Anderson School of Management Blog

Mission to Myanmar, Part 2: Reflections on Working in Yangon

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By Michael Eister (’17)

While still a student at UCLA Anderson, I accepted an internship with a CEO whom I met on a visit to Yangon, Myanmar, one of the several global immersion trips organized by UCLA Anderson’s Center for Global Management. My primary task was to investigate an opportunity to invest in a media organization that the company was considering buying. I quickly determined that the deal they had been working on was poorly structured.

When that project disintegrated, I transferred to the company’s energy team and spent 11 weeks working on complex unit-conversion puzzles, such as converting a million cubic feet per day of natural gas into megawatt output from combined-cycle gas turbines. I taught myself how to calculate the storage capacity of floating storage/re-gasification units and developed strategies to sell gas to the energy-hungry Thai market. Concurrently, we worked on projects focused more on local needs within Myanmar, including efforts to bring natural gas into commercial hospitality and large-scale residential developments.

In Latin America, Ambassador Noah Mamet Promotes UCLA’s Strides in Entrepreneurship, Education and Sustainability

By Carolyn Gray Anderson

As U.S. Ambassador to Argentina under President Barack Obama, Noah Mamet (bolstered a positive bilateral relationship in the areas of entrepreneurship, education, clean energy and global climate change, repeatedly looking to his home state — and to UCLA in particular — as an exemplar of progress in all these areas.

Ambassador Mamet recently took part in a conversation with Argentine native Adjunct Associate Professor Andres Terech (Ph.D. ’04), the event sponsored by UCLA Anderson’s Center for Global Management, and drilled down on the economic and trade challenges facing Latin American countries, including a U.S. aversion to problem of inflation in places like Argentina. Mamet said it’s the biggest challenge for managers doing business there today, as local salaries sometimes need to increase as much as 42 percent from one day to the next. One impediment is Argentina’s slowness to invest in infrastructure. “When the cost of energy goes up, it’s hard to control inflation,” he said.

A third of Argentina’s GDP is held outside the country, suggesting a mistrust of domestic reinvestment, which may deter outside investors, too. Mamet said a one-time tax amnesty that invited Argentines to declare their overseas assets revealed $130 billion in investments that the government wants to attract back to the country. “Bank information sharing was a game changer,” said Mamet. “It was the most successful tax amnesty in history.”Mamet believes tech will boost the economy and encourage international trade. Among perhaps six Latin American unicorns, four came straight out of Buenos Aires, said Mamet, making Argentina a contender for world markets.

UCLA Anderson Launches New Online Journal Spotlighting Current Research

Across disciplines, UCLA Anderson’s faculty enhance the school’s relevance through cutting-edge research that is highly applicable to the economy, business and the wider world. The weekly UCLA Anderson Review chronicles for a broader audience the research our faculty publish in leading academic journals.

UCLA Anderson Review launched with articles examining retirement savings, including Americans’ aversion to annuities and the hot topic of decumulation — illustrating how, under a single roof at Anderson, faculty members are individually and collectively expanding understanding of how to solve one of the country’s biggest financial and societal problems.

The Review joins other leading graduate business school publications in making available to a global audience of business leaders, fellow academic researchers, policymakers and others the substantial intellectual capital UCLA Anderson possesses and adds to each day.

Peter Guber Writes a New Chapter: UCLA Medal Recipient

Peter Guber, UCLA Anderson Dean Judy Olian, UCLA Chancellor Gene Block, UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television Dean Teri Schwartz

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By Paul Feinberg

Peter Guber’s story details an eclectic and extraordinarily successful and impactful life. He is a renowned award-winning entertainment industry executive who currently serves as chairman and CEO of Mandalay Entertainment Group, as an owner of traditional sports teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers and the world champion Golden State Warriors, not to mention Team Liquid, a franchise in the emerging world of e-sports. He has taught generations of UCLA students at UCLA Anderson School of Management and at UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television, and he was recently named a regent of the University of California.

But above all, Guber is a storyteller.

He believes deeply that powerful narrative is the driving force of success, whether that success manifests as a great film, a championship season or fulfilling career. Now, Guber’s personal narrative features a new chapter as he becomes a recipient of the UCLA Medal.

The UCLA Medal, established in 1979, is the highest honor for extraordinary accomplishment that may be bestowed upon an individual by the university. Previous recipients include national and international leaders in government, education, science, industry and the arts, as well as men and women who have helped UCLA become one of the world’s preeminent universities. Earlier honorees include Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (B.A. ’69), Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun, Blackrock Founder and CEO Larry Fink (B.A., ’74, ’76), civil rights icon and U.S. Rep. John Lewis, former Czech President Vaclav Havel and many others.

The ceremony held in Guber’s honor took place at the on-campus home of UCLA Chancellor Gene Block, who hosted a gathering of Guber’s friends and family, along with university guests that included three UC Regents and members of the UCLA Anderson and TFT communities. Guber maintains a close relationship with both schools, and is a board member of Anderson’s Center for Management of Enterprise in Media, Entertainment & Sports. He also co-teaches a popular annual leadership course with UCLA Anderson Dean Judy Olian.

“Peter is as passionate about his teaching as he is every other aspect of his career,” Block said in presenting Guber with the medal. “It’s clear that he values the opportunity to contribute and prepare the next generation for success, whether it’s in entertainment, sports or any number of other industries. His commitment is evident in the fact that, despite all he’s worked on throughout his career, Peter has never — to anyone’s knowledge — missed a year of teaching.”

Block also noted that Guber has served as a member of the UCLA Foundation Board of Trustees. “We all thank you tonight, Peter, for playing such a vital role here at UCLA and with the UC; we are deeply grateful for all you have done for UCLA, UC and beyond,” the chancellor said.

During his remarks, Guber said he was honored to teach and mentor UCLA students. “To be able to help students is a gift. The way they learn, the way they ask questions. When you see how you can touch people, it can change your life, he said.

“I dedicate myself to the years ahead to do even better.”

“Peter Guber is extraordinarily deserving of the UCLA Medal, the most prestigious honor our university bestows,” Olian said. “Peter has been a trailblazer in entertainment, sports and business, with a string of successes that few achieve in one, let alone multiple fields. Remarkably, throughout his very hectic professional career, he has always taught at UCLA. With his hunger for lifelong  learning, his intellectual curiosity, broad knowledge of business and entertainment, and infectious enthusiasm, he has impacted generations of young people. We are so lucky that Peter's passion for education has been directed toward UCLA, and I am thrilled that he is being recognized with this special honor."

UCLA Anderson Veterans Discuss Culture, Transitions and Supporting the Troops

Jared Kerntke (’18) and Hagai (Guy) Nir (’18) currently serve as co-presidents of the Anderson Veterans Association. The organization’s membership cuts across the board to include students from UCLA Anderson’s full-time, fully employed and executive programs. The group’s membership is not limited to veterans of the United States armed forces, vets from around the world are welcome.

The relationship between the veteran community and the civilian population is part of the current news cycle, the country carrying on a very public discussion on what it means to “support the troops.” Nir and Kerntke were gracious enough to sit down with the UCLA Anderson Blog team to share their views on recent events and life at Anderson for those who’ve served.

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Q: To begin, why don’t you both tell our readers about your military careers?

Kerntke: I was in the Marine Corps for six years as a supply officer. I spent two years in Japan, three years in San Diego and one year all over. I joined straight out of college. I did not do ROTC, so I guess it was a little unusual in that regard. It was great. I love the Marines. I got out (of the Marines) in June and I started (at Anderson) in August. (I did) undergrad at Penn State.

Nir: I was in the Israeli Defense Forces. I was born and raised in Israel so there's mandatory service for us, but when you apply to a Special Forces unit you go through a qualification course. I got accepted to the Special Forces so I had to sign up for more years. The Israeli system is a bit different. You don’t go in as officers; rather, we join the ranks and then you get promoted. Then I was selected to go to the NCO course, and after that was selected to go to the IDF’s Officers Academy, coming out as a platoon commander. After three years I was promoted to company commander. Overall, I served almost five years active and seven years reserve, coming out as a major.

Microsoft Chairman John W. Thompson Talks Tech Trends, Business Strategy, More

“I don’t think anybody knows what the industry will look like in five years because every eight or ten years there’s an inflection point,” John W. Thompson, chairman of Microsoft Corporation, said when asked how the company’s business will evolve in the next few years. “There’s a pattern of change and it’s difficult to predict.”

Thompson, a Silicon Valley icon who succeeded Bill Gates as chairman of Microsoft in 2014, joined UCLA Anderson Dean Judy Olian in a wide-ranging conversation Monday before a capacity crowd in Anderson’s Korn Convocation Hall. The event was part of the school’s Robertson Lecture Series on Global Business Leadership, which provides students, staff, faculty and others the opportunity to hear top business leaders discuss issues that affect global business and the political economy. The lecture series is made possible by Chip Robertson (FEMBA ’06) and his family in conjunction with UCLA Anderson's Center for Global Management.

With Olian guiding the hour-long conversation, Thompson touched on a variety of topics. While declining to predict what Microsoft will be like in five years, he did say the company would be guided by three core principles. First, he said, the company would focus on personal computing with a goal of making it easier for people to interact with technology. Second, Microsoft will look to help users become more productive through business enterprise software such as Office and Word. It’s in this realm that Thompson believes many users will feel the effects of machine learning and artificial intelligence.

“The third one is obviously the cloud,” Thompson said, noting that in 2014 Microsoft pivoted from protecting its Windows operating system and began shifting emphasis towards the cloud.

Leading with Values: Dr. Va Lecia Adams Kellum’s Journey to Tackle Homelessness in Los Angeles

By Sana Rahim (FEMBA ’19)

Dr. Va Lecia Adams Kellum realized when she was a dance teacher for young girls that she had a passion for teaching and helping others. Later, as a Ph.D. student at Stanford University, Kellum examined the factors that create stress in ethnic minority youth, such as poverty, academic underachievement and family dynamics. This work inspired her to launch a career in service of others.

Now president and chief executive officer of St. Joseph Center (SJC) in Venice, Kellum joined UCLA Anderson to talk about her professional journey to SJC as well as her key leadership tenets. SJC’s mission is to provide working poor families with the inner resources and tools to become productive, stable and self-supporting members of the community. Last year, the center prepared more than 25,000 hot meals and permanently housed 304 people.

The Future of Health Care? Numbers Tell the Story

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National Hispanic Heritage Month runs from September 15 through October 15. UCLA Anderson, in conjunction with the Anderson Latino Management Association and the UCLA campus, recognizes the significant contributions to society among our Latino and Hispanic students, alumni, staff and faculty. Visit [email protected] to enjoy their stories.

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By Paul Feinberg

Integrated Behavioral Health self-describes as a company that specializes in behavioral health plan administration, employee assistance programs, psychological disability management and work-life services. The company works with Fortune 1000 employers, business coalitions, insurance companies, union health plans, HMOs and PPOs.

As corporate controller, Juan Salcedo (’83) is the top finance professional at the company. “I handle monthly reporting, banking and analyzing acquisitions,” he said via phone from the company’s headquarters in Costa Mesa. He also oversees all of the accounting and finance departments.

Salcedo, who did his undergraduate work at Stanford, didn’t enroll at what was then UCLA’s Graduate School of Management with a goal of becoming a corporate controller. His primary objective was to educate himself as to how businesses are run, with a vague notion that someday he’d like to head his own company. While at UCLA, he recognized that his strengths ran more toward finance and analytics as opposed to marketing. He focused on accounting during his last year at Anderson and ended up taking a position with a Big Eight accounting firm.

Moving Forward: Can We Solve L.A.’s Housing Affordability Problem?

Photo: Owen CL, Unsplash.com

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By Carolyn Gray Anderson

Last March, Los Angeles voters rejected proposed limits on the construction of large-scale buildings, limits that included a two-year moratorium on development of dense, high-rise residential properties. In a city where working-class and middle-income households are increasingly forced to prioritize housing costs over medical care, food and even transportation, it was a decisive defeat for ballot Measure S. But will augmenting the pace and quantity of available dwellings really make living here more affordable for anyone but the super rich?

The UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate studies the problem of housing affordability as it reaches crisis levels in California. The constraints are especially acute locally because although there is an immense amount of wealth concentrated in L.A. and land values are extremely high, ours is a very expensive city with no real wage growth within the working class.

Ziman partners regularly with the nonprofit Mercy Housing to organize symposia on topics germane to professionals in real estate, government and industry — but with a crucial public education component consistent with the mission of Ziman’s Howard and Irene Levine Program in Housing and Social Responsibility to promote the kind of dialogue that improves society in all economic sectors. Mercy Housing is a national nonprofit organization that provides affordable housing and supportive programs in 41 states to improve the economic status of residents, revitalize neighborhoods and stabilize lives.

Left to right: Paul Ong, Ann Sewill, Doug Shoemaker, Ben Metcalf, Ben Besley, Kevin Ratner

The Loeb Awards at 60, Honoring Walt Mossberg and Nicholas Varchaver

The Gerald Loeb Awards for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism are celebrating their 60th anniversary. Dean Judy Olian, chairman of the G. and R. Loeb Foundation Inc., revealed the 2017 finalists and announced the recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Lawrence Minard Editor Award.

The 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient is Walt Mossberg, executive editor at The Verge and editor-at-large for Recode. This annual award recognizes an individual whose career exemplifies the consistent, superior insight and professional skills necessary to further the understanding of topics in business, finance and economics.

Nicholas Varchaver, assistant managing editor at Fortune, will receive the 2017 Lawrence Minard Editor Award, named in memory of Laury Minard, founding editor of Forbes Global and a former final judge for the Loeb Awards. This award honors excellence in business, financial and economic journalism editing, and recognizes an editor whose work does not receive a byline or whose face does not appear on air for the work covered.