Episodes
Thursday Aug 29, 2024
His Career Skyrocketed
Thursday Aug 29, 2024
Thursday Aug 29, 2024
Featuring: Muhammad “Mo” Shahzad (’09), President and CFO of Relativity Space
With no prior experience, Muhammad “Mo” Shahzad (’09) immersed himself in the rocket industry and secured a top role in the field. An immigrant to the U.S., he embraces the mentality of openness, curiosity and results-driven leadership. Lessons from Anderson fueled his mission to pioneer reusable rockets and make life interplanetary.
Tuesday Feb 13, 2024
Be Open to an International Career
Tuesday Feb 13, 2024
Tuesday Feb 13, 2024
Singapore-based Savita Iyer (’05) has worked in finance at the Walt Disney company for 15 years. But she’s had so many opportunities in different roles worldwide that she doesn’t feel like she’ll ever get stuck doing the same thing for long. Now CFO of Southeast Asia and Head of Finance APAC Media Networks at The Walt Disney Company, Iyer was the commencement speaker for her FEMBA class at Anderson, and worked as a consultant in Sweden following graduation. She recommends that MBAs who want an international career be rigid in their goals but open to the path they take, and make it known early to employers that they’re seeking assignments overseas.
Wednesday Jan 17, 2024
Bridging Worlds
Wednesday Jan 17, 2024
Wednesday Jan 17, 2024
Featuring: Jon Niermann (’95), Co-Founder and CEO, Loop Media Inc.
From a pivotal leadership role at Disney to hosting a late-night show in China to co-founding Loop Media, Jon Niermann’s (’95) professional journey transcends borders and defies convention. His unique and influential career is marked by cultural understanding and reciprocity.
Thursday Jun 22, 2023
Mastering the Craft
Thursday Jun 22, 2023
Thursday Jun 22, 2023
Featuring: Melanie Auguste (MBA/J.D. ’13), VP of Global Brand Narrative, Purpose and Athlete Marketing, Nike
Melanie Auguste (MBA/J.D. ’13) harbors a deep-seated passion for sports and a gift for understanding people and trends. From aspiring pro athlete to influential leader in the sports marketing industry, she transformed her career goals into her dream job at Nike. Her secret? Shift from thinking about your work as a “job” to viewing it as mastering a craft. It also helped that she found, in UCLA Anderson, a graduate school that valued exactly what she wanted to do.
Tuesday Feb 28, 2023
Always at the Forefront of Storytelling and Technology
Tuesday Feb 28, 2023
Tuesday Feb 28, 2023
Featuring: Malik Ducard (’00), Chief Content Officer, Pinterest
Throughout his career, Malik Ducard (’00) has always stood at the forefront of storytelling and technology. He studied liberal arts in college and never thought he would warm to quantitative subjects. When he enrolled at UCLA Anderson, he put himself in the crosshairs of learning new things, fell in love with statistics and developed skills for his first job in entertainment.
Friday Nov 18, 2022
We Have to Think Macro, but We Have to Act Micro
Friday Nov 18, 2022
Friday Nov 18, 2022
Featuring: Blair Taylor (’90), Managing Director of Talent and Organization and North American Lead for Inclusion and Diversity, Accenture
Senior executive Blair Taylor (’90) has spent his career introducing principles of community engagement and inclusion into daily business practices — a professional journey that has put his service to others first. He discusses the three fundamental shifts in the market that have driven a new era for companies, and he describes an operating plan he wrote for his young self that guided the trajectory of his career.
Tuesday Jul 26, 2022
Run at the Barking Dog!
Tuesday Jul 26, 2022
Tuesday Jul 26, 2022
John Carmichael (B.A. ’90, ’95) has enjoyed a 27-year career with Nestlé that is characterized by adventure and turning around struggling businesses. Working like an entrepreneur within a major corporation, Carmichael has found that attacking rather than avoiding the most daunting challenges leads to transformational opportunities. He implores executives trying to solve business problems to “run at the barking dog.”
Wednesday May 25, 2022
A Creative’s Career Pivot
Wednesday May 25, 2022
Wednesday May 25, 2022
Double Bruin Ginny Chien (B.A. ’98, ’10) began her career as a print journalist covering, among other topics, fashion, style and beauty. When she decided to earn her MBA at Anderson, she made the connections and gained the confidence and wherewithal to shift careers. Now she brings her interest in beauty full circle as SVP of brand, content and creative at Murad Skincare, a Unilever prestige brand.
Thursday Apr 21, 2022
What Exploring Mars Can Teach Us about Business and Ourselves
Thursday Apr 21, 2022
Thursday Apr 21, 2022
UCLA Anderson alumnus Allen “Al” Chen (’07) is the entry, descent and landing lead for the Mars 2020 project at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. In describing his fascinating job, he explains how an MBA education fits into a deeply technical role.
Thursday Feb 03, 2022
A Problem-Solver Finds Unexpected Purpose in a Corporate Setting
Thursday Feb 03, 2022
Thursday Feb 03, 2022
Neesha Hathi (’00), chief digital officer and managing director at Charles Schwab, felt motivated to help people create better financial futures for themselves. But she never thought that would mean working in a large corporation, leading a team of 1,500 people focused on digital transformation.
Friday Dec 10, 2021
A Fitness Entrepreneur Strengthens Her Resolve
Friday Dec 10, 2021
Friday Dec 10, 2021
Despite a “burning desire” to launch in the fitness space, Felicia Alexander (’05), co-founder and president of BoxUnion and chief revenue officer at TITLE Boxing Club, needed to overcome her risk aversion.
Wednesday Oct 20, 2021
Friday May 21, 2021
Being Open to New Opportunities
Friday May 21, 2021
Friday May 21, 2021
Deb Johnson ('99), Chief Learning Officer of Deloitte Consulting, tells us how a piece of advice her father gave her as a young girl has shaped her entire career and also the skills you should be developing for a career in consulting.
Thursday Feb 11, 2021
The path to CFO
Thursday Feb 11, 2021
Thursday Feb 11, 2021
Katie Low Anderson, CFO at Guess? Walks us through her up and down journey to becoming the CFO of a multi-billion dollar company. How believing in herself, constantly learning and keeping good relationships were the keys to her success.
Tuesday Feb 02, 2021
Don’t be afraid to trust your gut
Tuesday Feb 02, 2021
Tuesday Feb 02, 2021
Constance Knight, Global Head of Video Curation at Instagram, talks about how not being afraid to make big changes in your career and trusting your gut can lead to life changing outcomes. Also, why it’s so important to have specific career goals and predictions for the future.