UCLA Anderson School of Management Blog

UCLA Anderson’s Magali Delmas Sheds Light on the New Climate for Corporate Environmental Responsibility

By Carolyn Gray Anderson

UCLA Anderson Professor Magali Delmas asserts the most important component to slowing climate change is information. “In 20 years we will all have a lot of information about everything we consume,” she says. “We’ll know the impact of the meat we eat … we’ll know the impact of our electricity usage in real time. Once we have this information, what will we do with it? We can’t change our behavior if we don’t know our impact.”

Delmas, who holds a joint appointment at the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability and is also director of the UCLA Center for Corporate Environmental Performance and president of the Alliance for Research in Corporate Sustainability, has studied — and encouraged — conservationist consumer behavior for the last 20 years. She recently spoke to a public audience about her research trajectory and her new book The Green Bundle: Pairing the Market with the Planet (co-authored with David Colgan). Host Zocalo Public Square framed the question as “Does environmentalism need to make peace with capitalism?” and put veteran broadcast journalist Warren Olney in the moderator’s seat to hear Delmas’ answer. But the more-to-the-point question the book poses is whether capitalism can, for its own good, make peace with environmentalism.

Field Study Team Assessing Feasibility of Blockchain Technology as Key to Sustaining Guyana’s Indigenous Communities Earns Inaugural Impact Award

A quintet of UCLA Anderson students was commissioned by Conservation International Guyana to assess the feasibility of blockchain technology to solve a major challenge in the implementation and scaling of the Community Development Plan (CDP) in Guyana. The work was conducted in the group’s Applied Management Research (AMR) project, the field study assignment that serves as the capstone of Anderson’s full-time MBA experience. The team, comprising Class of 2018’s Miriam Leah Feygenson, Yuhei Iwasaki, Vasiya Krishnan, Anubhav Mishra and Harshita Mishra, was awarded the inaugural Impact Alumni AMR Award and received a $5,000 prize.

The Impact Alumni AMR Award recognizes the MBA student team that has excelled at making the greatest impact on their mission-driven client’s project through the course of the AMR program.

Earlier this year, the team published a story about their experience on the UCLA Anderson blog.

Alumni judges selected the winning team for the inaugural Impact Alumni AMR Award. Pictured left to right: Dave Gallon (’03), Nurit Katz (’08), Laura Ferretti (’95), faculty moderator Gayle Northrop (’96), Wendy Spinner (’89), Harshita Mishra (’18), Vasiya Krishnan (’18), Anubhav Mishra (’18), Miriam Feygenson (’18), Yuhei Iwasaki (’18)

---

“This award was established to highlight and appreciate the specialized skills and abilities needed to work with a mission-driven organization’s unique need to balance financial and social impact returns,” says Bhavna Sivanand (’14), executive director of the school’s Impact@Anderson initiative. “An important objective for Impact@Anderson is to integrate impact into the core competency of the MBA program, so that all MBA graduates seek out opportunities such as social impact AMRs to be able to positively contribute to society during their time here and beyond.”

Follow Us:

Congratulations to UCLA Anderson’s Class of 2018 Academic Awards Recipients

UCLA Anderson Academic Awards Dinner, June 7, 2018

---

Congratulations, UCLA Anderson Class of 2018!

The Anderson community acknowledges your dedication and academic achievements:

 

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.

Lior Bartov, Steven Coen, Victor Gebhardt, Alison McCarty, Jared Riemer

 

OUTSTANDING STUDENT IN STRATEGY

Candidates with superior academic achievement in strategy and policy are recommended and chosen by UCLA Anderson policy and strategy faculty. Factors entering into the selection decision include the students’ revealed preference for strategy and consulting as well their excellence as a TA and their potential academic research contributions.

James Gische, Christopher O’Connor

 

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.”

Devon Dickau Is UCLA's 2018 Young Alumnus of the Year

---

Devon Dickau (’15), is the 2018 recipient of UCLA’s Young Alumnus of the Year award. The recognition was announced by Associate Vice Chancellor Julie Sina with the formal presentation to be made at an awards ceremony and dinner in June. He is a “double Bruin,” earning his undergraduate degree from UCLA in 2007 with a B.A. in American literature and culture. He also holds an M.Ed. in technology, innovation and education from Harvard University.

“The UCLA Alumni Awards Committee was truly impressed by the depth and breadth of Devon’s involvement from the moment he stepped onto our campus as a student through his multiple alumni leadership roles today,” said Associate Vice Chancellor for Alumni Affairs Julie Sina. “Devon’s passion and commitment to diversity and inclusion span his professional and alumni involvement. He exemplifies the Bruin narrative we recognize through the association awards.”

Currently, Dickau is a manager in Deloitte’s Human Capital Consulting practice and chief of staff for the Diversity & Inclusion Client Service Center of Excellence. Prior to joining Deloitte, he worked as a community educator in rural Tanzanian villages; a social impact consultant for the entertainment industry; and a higher education administrator, including as a co-founder of UCLA Parent & Family Programs.

Dickau made his presence felt during his years at Anderson. Among his key leadership positions and projects are:

• Anderson Student Association – Section President (2013–14); VP, Student Affairs (2014–15). In the latter role, he came up with the idea of shooting the “brick background” portraits for all students at the beginning of the school year. He also founded the Club of the Month honor and partnered with the school’s marketing and communications office to design the first-ever standard club posters.
• Orientation Program – Co-Director (2014)
• Management Consulting Association – Director, Digital Media Strategy (2013–14); VP, Communications (2014–15)
• Net Impact – Director, Impact Media/Technology (2013–14); Chair, Center for Social Innovation Planning Committee (2014–15), helping in this role to found Impact@Anderson.
• Out@Anderson – Director, Outreach (2013–14); Co-President (2014–15). He founded Anderson LGBTQ Awareness Week and worked with the marketing and commuications team on the first-ever LGBTQ-specific Anderson website.

“As a student, Devon made a lasting impact on the Anderson community,” said Associate Dean Jill Baldauf (B.A.’79, ’81), who heads the school’s Office of Alumni Relations. “It’s no surprise that he continues to live an impactful life as an alumnus. On behalf of the entire Anderson alumni network, I want to congratulate Devon for this well-deserved recognition.”

---

The official announcement of the award reads as follows:

Devon Dickau is the recipient of the 2018 UCLA Award for Young Alumni Volunteer of the Year. A mentor, volunteer and philanthropist, Dickau serves as co-president of the UCLA Lambda LGBTQ Alumni Association. Previously serving as co-chair of the UCLA Young Alumni Development Council, he was the founding assistant director of UCLA Parent & Family Programs and a 2016 Fellow with New Leaders Council. He is a manager in Deloitte’s Human Capital Consulting practice and chief of staff for the Diversity & Inclusion Client Service Center of Excellence. Dickau serves on the board of the Social Impact Fund, a community nonprofit organization providing management and oversight expertise to nonprofits undergoing the IRS 501©(3) determination process. Passionate about nurturing and empowering communities in challenging environments, Dickau facilitates design-thinking workshops and advises clients across sectors on diversity and inclusion, culture, talent and leadership. He emphasizes aligning corporate strategy with social values. After earning his bachelor’s degree in American literature and culture, Dickau moved to Africa where he worked with a non-governmental organization in rural Tanzania. Among his UCLA support, Dickau is a gold level member of the Alumni Association benefitting scholarships, and UCLA Anderson School of Management, where he received an M.B.A. In addition to his UCLA degrees, he holds an Ed.M. in Technology, Innovation and Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Read the complete list of 2018 UCLA alumni awards.

Follow Us:

Let’s Get Real: UCLA Anderson Team Takes Top Honors Pitching AR Solution to Paramount

Left to right: Steven Liu, Naurine Shahzad, Jennifer Buzalewski, Candace Parker, Paul Chang

---

By Naurine Shahzad (’19)

The Center for MEMES MBA Media and Entertainment Case Competition with Paramount Pictures, as one of few nationwide case competitions sponsored by an entertainment company, brings a great deal of excitement to any student interested in the business side of the industry. With top schools from all over the country competing, and because of the anticipation and demand at Anderson alone, our team had to prepare resumes and an essay that would qualify us as one of two Anderson teams to present to the Paramount judges.

Lucky Team 13, as we called ourselves, included Class of 2019’s Paul Chang, Jennifer Buzalewski, Candace Parker, double Bruin Steven Liu (B.A. ’13) and me. Our professional backgrounds are diverse, with some of us coming from marketing, finance or consulting, but our passion for entertainment united us. We are all student leaders in the Entertainment Management Association, and we felt prepared to take on this challenge.

UCLA Awards Dr. Martine Rothblatt Its Highest Honor: The UCLA Medal

By Paul Feinberg and Carolyn Gray Anderson

In a popular series of television advertisements, a narrator describes the accomplishments of a charismatic swashbuckler, ultimately concluding that the fictional figure is, in fact, “the most interesting man in the world.”

Allow UCLA Anderson’s Dean Judy Olian to set the record straight: “Martine Rothblatt is the most interesting person you will ever meet,” the dean said in welcoming Rothblatt back to Anderson this week.

Rothblatt (B.A. ’77, MBA/J.D. ’81), whose company United Therapeutics is based in Silver Spring, Maryland, returned to UCLA to be honored with the UCLA Medal in a ceremony at the home of UCLA Chancellor Gene Block. Before the medal ceremony, Rothblatt participated in a lively question and answer chat with Olian as part of UCLA Anderson’s Dean’s Distinguished Speaker Series.

In the conversation, Rothblatt credited the interdisciplinary education UCLA afforded her as an undergraduate and graduate student for much of her remarkable success. Named by Forbes as one of the World’s 100 Greatest Living Business Minds, Rothblatt leads a multibillion-dollar pharmaceutical company that has brought life-saving treatments to market. Proudly transgendered, a medical ethicist, recognized as a technology and artificial intelligence pioneer, and now advancing the science of organ and consciousness transplantation, Rothblatt told the UCLA audience — which included UCLA Law School Dean Jennifer Mnookin and Department of Communications Chair Kerri Johnson — “This is what it looks like to ‘program’ someone with a UCLA curriculum.”

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.”