Global Innovation - The Paul Merage School of Business - University ...

EDWARD YANG, ’01, haslefthisposition
as Senior Manager Strategic
Alliances at D-Link to start his own
company. Firecracker will offer public
relations, traditional marketing and
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) services
specifically for high tech companies.
Edward brings his 13 years of marketing
experience at Gateway and D-Link
to his new company. He can be contacted
at edward@firecrackerpr.com or visit
www.firecrackerpr.com.
’02
JOEL ELAD, ’02, Owner of Real
Method Consulting, has published his
newest book in March 2008. It’s called
Web Stores Do-It-Yourself for Dummies,
and it can help anyone build their own
e-commerce operation. His next book is
Linked In for Dummies, which should
be out this fall.
PAUL JACKSON, ’02, has launched a
media and publishing company and
wasabletosecureventurecapitalbacking.
HW Publishing publishes Housing
Wire, one of the most-read online financial
news destinations in the mortgage
banking industry. Housing Wire currently
serves more than 4 million page
views monthly, and reached more than
2.5 million unique visitors during 2007.
JOHN SPARKS, ’02, recently transitioned
from global Business Intelligence
manager to Lean Six Sigma Leader for
corporate shared services. In this new
role he is responsible for business
process reengineering for the global
finance, IT, HR, legal, business development,
investor relations, and strategy
organizations, as well as oversight for
the Quote-to-Cash and Procure-to-Pay
processes across all functions.
XAVIER MINAKAWA, ’02, and wife
Julie and had their first child, Alexander
Mark Minakawa, on Jan. 28, 2008. He
will also be taking a new job as Merger
& Acquisitions Program Manager for
VMware in April.
’03
TIFFINY VANDOM KAREM, ’03, has
been promoted to Director, Global
Marketing, of Discus Dental, LLC.
JOHN R. KAREM, JR., ’03, has been
promoted to Director, Global Business
Development, of Phillips Distilling
Company.
SHINJI HIGUCHI, ’03, after graduating,
returned to Japan in 2004. He has
stayed with the same parent company
Mitsui & Co., Ltd. Utilizing what he
learned at UCI, Shinji founded a new
company with a U.S. listed company
Clear Channel Outdoor with capital from
MitsuiandCCO.Thenewventurecompany
is called Clear Channel Japan, Inc.
and he became Chief Operating Officer.
CCJ is an out-of-home (OOH) media
company and engaged in developing
outdoor media throughout Japan. CCO
is listed in NYSE and the world's largest
OOH company.
’04
RUSS BARLOW, ’04, currently works
for the Executive branch of the Federal
Government at the National Credit
Union Administration as a Principal
Examiner.HebeganwiththeNCUA
(which is the insurer for the majority;
and the regulator for many credit
unions) in August 2005 after working
for a sub-prime auto finance company,
and was promoted several times to
Principal Examiner. He plans to continue
to serve the public interest by
working for NCUA. He and his wife,
Rebecca, and their six children enjoy
North Carolina.
KELLY HAGGARD, ’04, has been promoted
to Product Development
Marketing Manager for the Orange
County Register. Kelly is managing all
B-to-B advertising initiatives and product
development for the companies
email marketing strategies. She is also
President of Team Freedom board of
directors that manages all the non-profit
and volunteer work of The Orange
County Register.
CHRIS YOUNT, ’04, was recently promoted
to the position of Executive Vice
President/COO of Fortifiber
Corporation. This change brings the
sales, marketing and manufacturing
functions under his control. Chris lives
in Reno, NV with his wife Mary and 2
year old daughter Amanda. They are
expecting the birth of their son in May.
JOE LONGTIN, ’04, writes, “After trying
out a start-up in Pasadena – X1
Technologies – and a legacy ERP company
in Santa Barbara, QAD – I have
ALUMNI NEWS
very happily landed a Product MarketingroleatDATAllegro,anAlisoViejobased
data warehouse appliance vendor.
It is one of the best places to work
in OC and poised for explosive growth.”
’05
DAVID CHEN, ’05, Promoted from
Consultant to Senior Consultant.
Currently working on Finance transformation
project for Las Vegas Sands
(holding company of Venetian and
Palazzo).
AVI GUR, ’05, is working in Sales and
Account Management in Carlsbad, CA
at Atlium, an EDA Software company
that specializes in FPGA design integration,
headquarted in Sydney Australia.
SARAH HINE, ’05, spent the past year
as an American India Foundation Fellow,
working closely with Muse, an Indian
Non-Governmental Organization. In this
capacity, she marketed their ecotourism
services and expanded their conservationeffortswhileenjoyinglifeinboth
Delhi and the Indian Himalayas.
BRIAN KREITZER, ’05, received promotion
to ERP/IT Financial Manager at
Southern California Edison.
ANU MATHUR, ’05, received a promotion
within TV Marketing.
’06
ASHER ADELMAN, ’06, recently joined
The Challenge Fund as an Associate.
Based in Tel Aviv, The Challenge Fund is
a leading venture capital and private
equity firm managing over $200 million.
The Fund invests in privately-held
Israeli technology companies, and over
30 of its portfolio companies have
achieved an exit transaction. The Fund's
exits include 10 NASDAQ IPO's and
more than 20 acquisitions by companies
such as Intel, AT&T, Oracle, and
Nokia Siemens.
PETER CLAYTON, ’06, Edwards
Lifesciences Marketing Manager, and is
relocating to the European HQ in
Switzerland with his wife and three children,
Alex (6), Ruby (4) and Henry (1).
BENJAMIN MEDVITZ, ’06, has moved
to a new job and is now at InTheAirNet
LLC as Vice President of Engineering.
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Merage | 2008 – 2009