UCLA Anderson School of Management Blog

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."

Seen and Heard (and Felt) at LeVRage

UCLA Anderson’s Center for Management of Enterprise in Media, Entertainment & Sports (MEMES) recently convened LeVRage, an event exploring the most practical ways to monetize new virtual reality and augmented reality experiences that depart from the strictly visual. A lineup of experts in emerging technology, film, gaming, social innovation, marketing and storytelling shared their predictions for the next big trend in VR and AR. #UCLAleVRage

"Do you want to take flight?"
- @gopositron, location-based, narrative-driven #VR #UCLAleVRage #VirtualReality pic.twitter.com/rIxNETLDeO

— UCLA Anderson (@uclaanderson) October 6, 2017

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• Mariana Acuña, Co-Founder, Opaque Studios
How we consume will change dramatically as every industry is touched by AR and VR. Kids will learn to tell stories differently. If you’re an artist, you’re always going to have to be yearning to get ahead of the curve.

• John Canning, VP of Interactive Experiences, NBCUniversal
Building experiences complete with haptic and olfactory sensations is where investors are active.

• Emily Cooper, 360 Video and VR Producer
Tell stories that are a conduit to quieter voices, the unheard Americans. VR can’t literally transport us but it can extend an olive branch to understanding.

Tech Storytellers Explore the Business of VR and AR

Enjoy a full album of photos from UCLA Anderson's LeVRage conference

#UCLAleVRage

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By Carolyn Gray Anderson

We live in a future-oriented culture. But sometimes innovation is already right in front of you.

That was the message at LeVRage, which explored monetizing virtual reality and augmented reality from every angle — whether in a blockbuster movie or a scrappy marketing startup. Organized by UCLA Anderson’s Center for Management of Enterprise in Media, Entertainment & Sports (MEMES), the conference and expo convened panels of veterans and newcomers to make pronouncements on the most practical ways to scale new VR and AR experiences.

MEMES executive director Jay Tucker (’09) opened the day-long event by asking the question, “What if VR and AR tech grew the entertainment industry by $100 billion?” While experts were cautious about tying the profits from storytelling and technology innovations to a hard number within a specific industry, animated discussions ensued as they both agreed and disagreed about what’s going to make the next big difference in a vast number of consumers’ lives. Some observed that it makes more sense to market add-ons to existing products than to require consumers to buy a new gadget for every upgrade — though members of the audience gleefully waved their latest Apple mobile products in response.

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.

UCLA Anderson Executive-in-Residence Charles Burdick Rode Technology Waves Across the Globe

 

By Elise Anderson

Charles Burdick (’77) is the first to admit that his career trajectory was not the result of some grand plan: rather, it was more defined by hard work, preparation and learning and understanding his specific “talent,” and then being ready to take advantage of opportunities as they presented themselves, as they ultimately did in a number of different fields and industries.

He shared some of the details that led to his current position as chairman of Virgin Connect Russia, a provider of broadband, telephony and cable TV in Russia, and as advisory board member for the UCLA Anderson Center for Management of Enterprise in Media, Entertainment & Sports.

Burdick began his career in finance as an M&A analyst at Getty Oil before joining Carnation to work in the international division in finance and treasury. When Time Warner’s assistant treasurer of international, whom he knew slightly, mentioned he was retiring, Burdick applied for the job and got it — just a few months before the stock market crash of 1987.

“I was thinking I was fortunate that I had made the job move (to Time Warner) when I did, but the timing, job and industry were really more by accident than design,” he says.

It was at Time Warner that he discovered his passion for the entertainment business, which he found “full of bright, interesting people from all disciplines, whether it was finance, the creative end or branding and marketing.”

Paramount Television President Amy Powell Rewards “Strong, Tenacious Women” Like Those Who Influenced Her

View the full gallery of photos from Velocity

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By Paul Feinberg

Amy Powell (’05) president of Paramount Television and Digital Entertainment, was the morning keynote at UCLA Anderson’s second annual Velocity Women’s Leadership Summit, whose 2017 theme was Empower Together. Powell used the specifics of her own life and career to illustrate universal lessons for those gathered.

Powell grew up in “a household of very strong influences, parents who encouraged her to go out and get what she wanted,” and she was inspired by a close relationship with a grandmother who was “the epitome of a strong woman.” Those influences infused Powell with a confidence that enabled a recurring theme in her life: moves that took Powell outside her comfort zones.

How the Film Industry Reeled in Anderson Alumna Monique Jones

Monique Jones (’93) is vice president of finance and controller for Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, a leading independent finance and production company dedicated to developing high-quality motion pictures and television programming. Jones provides financial analysis and decision-making support to the executive management team. She has also held senior finance positions with Sony Pictures Television International, Icon Entertainment International, Myriad Pictures and PolyGram Filmed Entertainment. She moderated a panel at Anderson's 2016 Pulse Conference in January.Twenty years into her career in the entertainment industry, she looks back at how she aspired professionally.  

Q. You began your entertainment career in Los Angeles in 1996, but you’re originally from Omaha. Did you know growing up in the Midwest that you wanted to land in Hollywood?

When I was growing up in Nebraska, my dream was to move to New York City. I didn’t know what I would do there, I just knew it was the city for me. I made a pit stop in Washington, D.C., to attend college at Georgetown University. Although I majored in finance, it was during my college years that I developed my interest in the entertainment industry. Specifically, I wanted to work in the music industry. But before heading west, I moved to New York after graduating from college and worked as an internal auditor in the financial services industry.

Q. What led you to UCLA for your MBA?

After working in financial services for four years, I knew I would never be passionate about a career in that field. That said, I was not prepared to quit my job and take an entry-level position in the music industry. I decided my best strategy would be to earn my MBA at a school in Los Angeles. This would give me the opportunity to pursue a variety of internships during my two years in a full-time MBA program and determine if a career in entertainment was the right fit for me. If it wasn’t, then I would still have earned my MBA and would be able to pursue other career options.

Women’s Opportunity Lies in the Unscripted Spaces

Left to right: Karla Ballard Williams, Lisa Erspamer, Mali Kinberg, Susanna Fogel

Enjoy photos from the Velocity conference

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By Carolyn Gray Anderson

One of the leitmotifs at last week’s Velocity conference was the obligation women have to help other women — help people in general, as keynote speaker Jane Wurwand pointed out — as far as keeping workplaces diverse. “Pull a woman in behind you when you move up so that there is no void,” she said. Hollywood is notoriously white and male, and the annual Women’s Business Leadership Summit included a special panel for industry veterans to talk about what’s changed for the better since they embarked on their careers and where they feel like they still face roadblocks.

Karla Ballard Williams, founder of YING Bank (whose motto is Currency for Humankind), moderated the panel, which included: Lisa Erspamer, an Emmy-nominated media executive who co-founded Happy Street Entertainment; EVP and head of international at Media Rights Capital Mali Kinberg, whose knowledge of several languages led her, following a Ph.D. in literature, to a career in foreign film sales and distribution; and Susanna Fogel, a comedy writer, producer and director whose first feature, Life Partners, will soon be followed by a second.

Williams is co-chair of the 41st Annual Gracies, an awards show supported by the Alliance for Women in Media, where Williams serves on the board. She was previously SVP of Participant Media’s TAG division, a social-action agency leveraging the power of storytelling to drive impact, and she served as the global account lead for Sony Pictures Entertainment on rebranding and strategy engagements for Latin America. She is an appointee to the United States Federal Communication Committee on Diversity in a Digital Age.

She opened with, “We’re sitting here with women who have killed it in entertainment.” So, why the dearth of women still?

The Future of Television: The Battle for Your Attention Takes Center Stage

View our album of photos from the 2016 Pulse Conference

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By Andy Tillman

UCLA Anderson’s 2016 Pulse Conference, presented by the Center for Management of Enterprise in Media, Entertainment & Sports, featured an in-depth conversation on the future of television. Distinguished Visiting Professor Brian Frons sat down with Jim Lanzone (B.A. ’93), president and CEO of CBS interactive; Tony Goncalves, senior vice president of strategy and business development at AT&T; Eric Johnson (B.A. ’91), executive vice president of global multimedia sales for ESPN; and Chris Moseley, chief marketing officer for game show network, to discuss the current media landscape and their views for the future.

If ever there has been a Wild West in the industry, this transitory time for television is it. As TV goliaths scramble to define themselves online, the cable industry must find ways to hold on to their subscribers, and online content providers must further perfect their evolving business models. “Consumers are consuming more content than ever, the how and where are changing,” said Goncalves. “If the future is going to be defined as content anytime, anywhere, then those who have scale will win.”

While many networks partner with online counterparts, others fear that handing over access to programming steers hard-earned viewers elsewhere.

UCLA Anderson’s Pulse Conference: Return of the Mid-Budget Film

View our album of photos from the 2016 Pulse Conference

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By Andy Tillman

UCLA Anderson’s 2016 Pulse Entertainment, Sports and Technology Conference brought together leading industry executives to share insights and perspectives on current trends, opportunities and challenges. As part of the event, organized by the Center for Management of Enterprise in Media, Entertainment & Sports, there were several breakout sessions, including the panel “Flipping the Script,” in which experts discussed the mid-budget film gap in movies, its cause and the new opportunity it presents for companies working outside of the studio system.

Moderating the panel was Monique Jones (’93), VP of finance and controller at Sidney Kimmel Entertainment. Panelists included: Paul Neinstein, COO of RatPac Entertainment; Alphonse Lordo, director of media and entertainment at CIT Bank; and Ivana Lombardi, VP of film at Chernin Entertainment.

The story of the mid-budget film gap began over two decades ago when studios started to realize that nearly half, if not more, of their budgets were going to advertising. Studio executives saw that the profits were bigger for bigger budget films. A shift began to take place. The studios would rather make a large-budget film with bigger returns. Suddenly mid-budget films couldn’t get financing.

This blockbuster formula brought the studios two things every studio wants most, profit and certainty. As budgets grew, so too did the cost of keeping the studios running. The kind of money that mid-budget films couldn’t support. The market took on a barbell effect, on one end, smaller, festival films and on the other end, big budget films. This left a gaping hole right in the middle, the land of medium budget films.