Shifting Gears: ProfitPlus Planet - The Paul Merage School of ...

Shifting Gears:
ProfitPlus Planet
2010/2011
Published by UC Irvine
The Paul Merage School of Business
ISSUE NO 4
NO LONGER SIMPLY BLACK OR RED,
TODAY’S CORPORATE FOCUS IS GREEN Pg. 4
ECONOMIC OUTLOOK,THEN AND NOW Pg. 22
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: CULTIVATING
THE SUSTAINABILITY MINDSET Pg. 26

Strategic Issues in Management Series
Forward-thinking seminars geared toward managers and administrators who
want to sharpen management skills and enhance their careers.
2010
September 30, 2010
GLOBAL NEGOTIATION:
THE NEW RULES
Professor John Graham
October 14, 2010
OPERATIONS EXCELLENCE
AS A COMPETITIVE
ADVANTAGE
Professor Tathagata “Das”
Dasgupta
October 28, 2010
BEING “PRESIDENTIAL”
Cherie Kerr
November 4, 2010
HARNESSING CREATIVE
ENERGY
Professor Thomas Turk
2011
February 17, 2011
TALENT MAGNETISM:
BUILDING THE RIGHT
EMPLOYEE VALUE
PROPOSITION
Will Sproule
March 3, 2011
FINANCE FOR NON-
FINANCIAL MANAGERS
(SESSION I/LEVEL I)
Professor Todd Richey
March 17, 2011
FINANCE FOR NON-
FINANCIAL MANAGERS
(SESSION II/LEVEL II)
Professor Todd Richey
April 7, 2011
CRITICAL THINKING AND
DECISION MAKING
Professor Thomas Eppel
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Merage
Cover design by:
Runi Sancho
2010-11
3 Dean’s Letter: Efficiency is
Limitless
INNOVATION
4 No Longer Simply Black or
Red, Today’s Corporate Focus
is Green
10 Lessons from the Amazon
11 New Class Takes Sustainability
Beyond Green
12 Practicum: MBA Students and
Companies Form Winning
Combination
BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
14 Distinguished Speakers Series
Features Leadership Stars
15 Effective Boardroom
Leadership
16 The Fattening of America and
Health Care Reform
18 Health Care Debate Rages
During Health Care Forecast
Conference and Beyond
21 Polaris Investment Competition
22 Economic Outlook – Then and
Now
24 Alumni Businesses: Sustaining
a Competitive Advantage
26 Social Responsibility:
Cultivating the Sustainability
Mindset to Change the Global
Landscape
32 Prosperitas and Net Impact
33 Alumni Spotlight: Aaron Byzak
STUDENTS
34 The Business of Celebration:
Students Raise Funds for
Charity
35 Merage School Team Takes
First Place in American Cancer
Society’s Relay for Life
35 PhD Students Honored
MBA PROGRAMS
36 Strategic Issues in
Management Series Engages
Professionals as it Sharpens
Business Skills
38 Challenge is Contagious
40 Merage School Jumps 15
Spots to Rank 36th Among
America’s Best
40 HCEMBA Program Ranks 23rd
For Physician Executives
41 Merage on the Move
FACULTY INSIGHTS
42 Faculty Research
50 Merage School Faculty in the
News
COLLABORATION
52 Profile of a Corporate
Champion
54 Merage School Joins Yellow
Ribbon Program
55 What Does Success Look Like?
56 Center News
58 Thank You!
4 26 62
62 Merage School and Dean’s
Leadership Circle Celebrate
5th Anniversary
64 Dean’s Leadership Circle
ALUMNI NEWS
68 Merage School Fund
70 Merageville Reunion
72 New Alumni Relations Team
Off to Fast Start
72 Class Notes
1
Merage | 2010 – 2011

Orange County’s World-Class MBA
#1 ranking in the U.S. for employment of MBA students within three
months of graduation. (Financial Times 2010)
The Merage School made the largest leap ahead to #36 in the
U.S. for its Full-Time MBA Program. (U.S. News & World Report 2011)
Executive MBA Program (EMBA) is ranked #23 in U.S.
(U.S. News & World Report 2011)
Fully Employed MBA Program (FEMBA) is ranked #24 in U.S.
among part-time programs. (U.S. News & World Report 2011)
MBA alumni compensation 10 years after graduation is
ranked #25 nationally. (BusinessWeek 2008)
WORLD-WIDE ADVISORY BOARD OF LEADING EXECUTIVES
CEOs from more than 50 of southern California’s foremost companies,
including:
Allergan
Abbott Medical Optics
Boeing
Experian
Ingram Micro
Marriott Lodging International
DYNAMIC MBA PROGRAMS BASED ON:
Teaching sustained growth through strategic innovation
In-class and on-site experiences with real-world business issues
SIX “CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE” WITH FIRST-CLASS CONNECTIONS TO
THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY:
Don Beall Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Center for Investment and Wealth Management
Center for Real Estate
Center for Global Leadership
Center for Health Care Management and Policy
Center for Research on Information Technology and Organizations (CRITO)
merage.uci.edu
Mazda
Mattel
Rockwell Collins
Toshiba
UPS
Wells Fargo
Merage
EDITORIAL DIRECTORS
Donna Mumford and Diane Sagey
EDITOR
Anne Warde
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Efficiency is Limitless
THE LEVEL OF INVOLVEMENT in, the attention to, and
the success of corporate sustainability initiatives may
become the most significant factor in the future definition
of a leader. As the most predominant topic of our time,
environmental sustainability and the leaders who “get it”
will secure their spot in history for generations to come.
In just a few short years, it is astounding the progress
corporations have made toward designing and implementing
environmentally sustainable business practices. To
move from questioning the validity of global warming
concepts to initiating worldwide programs to reducing
the carbon footprint of multinational corporations is true
progress.
But change does not come easily, and the leaders
who are making sustainability happen did not spring up
overnight. Instead, they were born with an innate sense of
social responsibility and an uncanny ability to make things
happen. They have guided their businesses through an
evolution involving philanthropy, corporate social responsibility,
and now sustainability. In the process, companies
have learned to walk lighter on the Earth, leaving less of
a footprint behind.
The Merage School has played its part in the drive
toward sustainability. We are
integrating sustainable
concepts into the core
of our curriculum and
into the minds of our
students. And we are
continuing our commitment
with a future focus
emphasizing carbon neutral
operations and high
efficiency manufacturing.
We are guiding
our
DEAN’S MESSAGE
students to embrace innovation in sustainable practices
as a fundamental part of successful business, with an
understanding that improving the standard of living for
everyone – by making the world more productive and sustainable
– is a goal worth achieving.
As we enter the
second decade of
“As the 21st century, we a business school,
recognize efficiency
it is our responsibility
as a limitless frontier
and fundamental to to ensure leaders are
progress and success.
High efficiency equipped to leverage
manufacturing, in
particular, is a lead- innovative concepts
ing concept yet to be
and incorporate
fully exploited. While
there are several these ideas into the
major companies
that are implement- very fiber of our
ing high efficiency
manufacturing programming.
”
processes, there is
tremendous room for growth in this area.
As a business school, it is our responsibility to ensure
leaders are equipped to leverage innovative concepts and
incorporate these ideas into the very fiber of our programming.
To this end, we are embarking upon a journey to
instill in our students understanding that smart, safe and
sustainable manufacturing technologies and practices
increase productivity and allow companies to meet business
objectives and improve their ability to compete. The
productivity gains of manufacturing, in turn, raise the living
standards for consumers, businesses and
communities, and contribute to the overall health of our
planet.
Together we can effectively reduce resource consumption
and increase efficiency, the result of which will be
measured not only on a balance sheet, but in the quality
of life of people everywhere. Walk lightly upon the Earth
and together we will thrive.
Andy Policano
3
Merage | 2010 – 2011

INNOVATION
No Longer Simply Black or Red,
Today’s Corporate Focus is
Green
by Anne Warde
Today’s business environment is a
mixture of rising energy prices,
unprecedented climate change, growing
scarcity of natural resources, and
increasing economic pressure from emerging
economies. In order to compete, companies
are finding that incorporating environmentally
sustainable business practices may hold the
key to corporate survival.
But what does sustainability really mean and
how do companies go about leveraging the
benefits? We asked a panel of experienced
executives from our Dean’s Advisory Board for
their insights.
Q
How would you define sustainability?
INNOVATION
The Brundtland Commission of the United Nations developed
the most widely quoted definition of sustainability
back in 1987, stating, “Sustainable development is development
that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their own needs.”
Others have built on that definition. Paul Hawken,
noted environmentalist, entrepreneur, journalist and
author, wrote, “Sustainability is about stabilizing the
currently disruptive relationship between earth’s two most
complex systems – human culture and the living world.”
No matter how you define it, sustainability is here to stay.
“Sustainability is long-term thinking as opposed to profitability,
which is more short-term thinking,” said Nam K.
Woo, immediate past president of LG Electronics (China),
Inc. “For me, sustainability is more of a balanced diet,
where profitability is like sugar candy. Without a focus on
sustainability, Korean companies, for example, would not
be where they are today.”
“Marriott has focused on sustainability over the longterm
and with more intensity recently,” commented Ed
Fuller, president and managing director of Marriott
Lodging International. “For more than 30 years, our
hotels outside the U.S. have been involved in environmental
practices and sustainable activities; however, it’s been
only these last few years that we have really started to
focus on it in the U.S. as our customers and guests in the
U.S. have become more sustainability-focused.”
Dean’s Advisory Board members participate in roundtable discussion on sustainability. (From left) Ed Fuller, president and managing director of
Marriott Lodging International, Marriott International, Inc.; Mike Aghajanian, former CEO of PRTM; Nam Woo, president of LG Electronics, Inc.;
and Julie Hill, owner of The Hill Company.
Merage | 2010 – 2011
5

INNOVATION
Q
6
experience INNOVATION
What is the first step a CEO or company
can take in order to be cognizant and to
incorporate sustainability?
“Once companies look into it, many will find that there is
a tremendous interest and conviction around sustainability
within their entire employee base,” said Michael
Aghajanian, former president and CEO of PRTM. “The
first step is to reach out to the employees and give them
a chance to participate in sustainability practices. What
you will discover is that there are folks who have a real
passion around sustainability, and it’s those people who
will become the champions within your organization.
From there, it’s almost like giving permission within the
company to make sustainability important, then using
peoples’ own passion as a driver to get action going.”
Julie Hill, owner of The
Hill Company and director
for WellPoint, The Lord
Abbett Mutual Funds, and
Lend Lease stated,
“Getting sustainability on
the agenda and making it
important is a critical first
step.
“The next steps are
finding champions and
then beginning to report
on your first steps... and
building a base to report
against each year. Each company needs to be aware of
the logical ways it can become a better and more sociallyconscious
corporate citizen. Good for the company, good
for the planet.”
Q
How can company leaders reconcile
profitability with sustainability?
The drive toward sustainability is ushering in a transformation
in the competitive landscape; a paradigm shift in
business models. As a result, many companies have been
forced to reinvent themselves and find new ways to meet
the needs of their markets and maintain a competitive
edge. Instituting sustainable practices may put companies
ahead, but only if they act before the government
steps in and mandates action.
“Marriott has put tremendous
effort into using
resources like solar power
to produce electricity and
reducing water, waste and
energy throughout our
properties,” said Fuller.
“These efforts are not just
about saving money,
they’re about generating
money. From a consumer
point of view, there’s a
huge advantage to companies
with environmental
sensitivity.”
“Companies are beginning to move beyond the mindset
of ‘we don’t want to get into trouble’ to ‘we want to look
good’ and beyond to ‘we want to DO good,’” said Hill. “It
then can be partnered with finding innovative ways to
drive profitability while doing good for the environment.
“In health care, we have to consider the impacts of the
environment on our health. For instance, PCB is in plastic
bottles and is dangerous to health. If we are truly
focused on wellness and prevention, we need to understand
the environmental effects of the products we use.
We have to stay true to ourselves and social consciousness,
and then determine how to derive profitability.”
“Over the next decade or so, sustainable development will constitute one of the
biggest opportunities in the history of commerce.
”– Stuart Hart, Harvard Business Review
Q
Do you believe innovation in sustainable
practices drives business growth? If so, how?
Aghajanian said, “In the
‘80s, the mindset was that
you could have quality, or
you could have low cost,
but you couldn’t have
both. That has proven to
be extremely false.
Sustainability runs parallel
to that thinking. The
things that you can do to
be sustainable can create
a lower cost environment.”
“China is a good example,”
said Woo. “I visited Beijing at the end of 2005 and
the sentiment was that no one wanted to go green. The
Beijing Olympics was the turning point where the country
began to feel pressure to change their practices. The
spotlight was on them. Today, there is still a lot of room
for improvement, but the people there understand that
sustainability is an important issue, not only for the government,
but for businesses that want to succeed.”
and attract more investors.
”
Fuller added, “I agree with Nam that the Beijing
Olympics was the turning point because the world turned
its camera on China. I held some forums in China two or
three years ago and sustainability was not an issue. But
today it’s at the forefront of everyone’s thinking; it’s in
the media. There is really a mindset change and we (in
the U.S.) had better take heed. Once China gets focused,
they're off and running.”
As consumers become ever greener, the group agreed,
INNOVATION
their support for sustainable products and practices is
growing. Worldwide, sustainability is rapidly becoming
the recognized frontier for innovation. In fact, many companies
are no longer content to comply with emerging
environmental standards. Instead, they are turning
toward sustainability to drive innovation.
“As an example, Marriott spends about ten billion dollars
in purchasing every year,” said Fuller. “So we said to
our top vendors, ‘Let’s talk green.’ One of our suppliers
is BIC. We buy about 25 million pens annually. As a result
of our conversations, BIC came up with a biodegradable
pen and we now have
them in our hotels.
Twenty-five million of
them! We’re now buying
golf tees made of bamboo
because bamboo is
biodegradable and key
cards made from recycled
materials, diverting tons of
plastic from landfills.
These are just some examples
of how sustainable
practices can drive business
growth.”
“Consumers have a tremendous amount of power and
influence over businesses and inadvertently over supply
chains. If consumers demand eco-friendly products, businesses
must deliver to stay competitive,” added Hill.
“By investing in communities’ growth and welfare, a corporation empowers
tomorrow’s customers and creates a stronger brand with a more loyal following.
It can thereby weather economic downturns, ensure greater long-term profits,
– Former President Bill Clinton
“So what needs to happen is suppliers need to be challenged
to think outside of the box,” stated Aghajanian.
“Consider the carbon footprint made by developing and
building products overseas and shipping them here. Why
not build products in closer proximity to your company
and your customer base? With companies growing
increasingly aware of their global carbon footprint, some
practices just don’t make sense and companies are
forced to rethink their strategies.”
7
Merage | 2010 – 2011

INNOVATION
Q
8
experience INNOVATION
What are the three things a manager/CEO
should do to drive innovation in sustainability?
What can an organization do to promote –
even cause – innovation?
Many believe green technology will be the next major
growth sector, one that promises to generate both jobs
and profits. The companies that have already established
and implemented green initiatives will be ahead of the
curve and will set the standard by which others will be
measured.
According to Aghajanian,
“The first step toward sustainability
is determining
cost. An audit is necessary
to establish an estimated
baseline to help us understand
what are we doing
and how can we improve
five or 10 percent. Then
we need to push for
stretch targets and breakthrough
targets.”
“It takes a leader at the
top involved,” added Hill. “To reach stretch targets, you
have to innovate and audit your own carbon footprint.”
Aghajanian added, “I agree. CEOs can open the floodgates
when they say, ‘This is important to us. This is
something our company needs to do.’”
“With Lend Lease, for instance, as a board we established
a base case that we will not build a home or a
commercial building that isn’t LEED certified,” said Hill.
“It takes that kind of definitive leadership that says, ‘This
is what we will do.’ From there, any exception to the plan
has to come up through the proposal process and most
often gets knocked out very quickly because it doesn’t
meet the standards.”
“The government also
needs to take more
responsibility forcing the
American people to think
about the products they
are using and what they
can do to eliminate waste
and what can be recycled,”
Woo said.
“When we go into new
countries – which we are
doing often now – one of
the first things that we do
is get our supply chain in order,” said Fuller. “Instead of
buying goods and transporting them a long way, we
explore opportunities to purchase locally. We’ve even
gone so far as to go into a community and teach farmers
what to grow to meet our standards. This approach benefits
us, but it also benefits the community, and you can
build your relationship with the community. And that can
go a long way.”
“One thing I would like to reiterate: for us to gain traction
in sustainability, we really need to develop a system
around how we assess the issue. As business leaders, we
should develop ideas on how we can do this incrementally
in a system,” said Woo.
“If you can challenge each associate to come up with
something that they can relate to personally – in other
words, their own personal sustainability program – they
begin to understand the importance, and you can gain
their buy-in,” added Hill.
“Until everyone has
awareness of what impact
they are personally having
on the environment, the
issue will not get the kind
of traction it really
deserves. I believe that
there are people who are
socially aware, but unfortunately
I think it’s a small
portion of the population,”
stated Fuller.
Q
What is “greenwashing” and how can
companies avoid being caught in this trap?
“My understanding of greenwashing is what a company
will do when they're trying to benefit off of the environmental
movement. There are people who take advantage
of making claims they cannot support,” said Aghajanian.
He went on to comment, “And I think companies need
to consider the impact (of greenwashing) on their brand.
I think the time limit of getting a benefit from being
green is starting to pass. In fact, I think, actually, there
will be a penalty for those
that aren't green.”
Hill said, “Greenwashing
is about companies trying
to get the benefits without
really walking the walk.
And there has been serious
backlash against it.”
“I believe that greenwashing
will be short-lived,”
said Fuller. “There are a lot
of companies taking the
lead in sustainability, and
as companies see measurable progress, they will see
value in marketing their success.”
Fuller also stated, “The last comment I want to make
on greenwashing concerns the ultimate travesty that
we’ve started to hear about in California, particularly in
southern California. Our Air Quality Management District
has established standards for producing solvents. So
what did companies do? They didn't come up with innovative
ways to produce a product without these solvents.
Instead, they moved to places that didn't have as stringent
of standards. I would actually argue that a big part
of the pollution issues in China are a direct result of us
exporting dirty business.”
It appears clear that beyond greenwashing, beyond government
intervention, is innovation, and innovation will
pave the way to sustainability. The question will be: who
will take the lead and drive us to this next frontier?
“Green is no longer a trend; it’s inextricably linked to
how companies do business, design, use and dispose
of products,” said Joel Makower, executive editor of
GreenBiz.com and author of Strategies for the Green
Economy. “In 10 years, you won’t be able to sell a car
without electric assist. Green will be part of the fabric.
It’s those other differentiators, like cost and performance,
that will still be important.”
INNOVATION
Global Business Conference
March 24 and 25, 2011
ProfitPlusPlanet? is the premier southern California
event for business leaders who are harnessing sustainability
as a driver of innovation and profit. Join us for one
and a half days of educational sessions and site visits
focusing on topics including employee engagement, CSR
measurement, and funding opportunities. Discover cutting
edge techniques to integrate green strategies into your
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Take your company’s sustainability strategy to the next level.
Build Your Network
PROFIT
plus
PLANET?
Meet attendees from the Fortune 500, Orange County’s
business elite, clean technology investors, and environmental
consultants.
Hosted by the UC Irvine Paul Merage School of Business
Ranking among the nation’s top 10 greenest schools by the
Sierra Club, UC Irvine researchers, students, and administrators
are already at the forefront of sustainability initiatives.
Whether your company is already an industry leader in
sustainable products and practices, or you are looking to
incorporate sustainability into your bottom line, you can’t
afford to miss UC Irvine’s ProfitPlusPlanet? Global
Business Conference brought to you by The Paul Merage
School of Business.
Visit ProfitPlusPlanet.com to register and learn more.
9
Merage | 2010 – 2011

INNOVATION
10
experience INNOVATION
e
Lessons
t
from the Amazon
by Connie Clark
DON’T READ ANY FURTHER
if you’re squeamish about exotic
cuisine, but the trick to eating live
firefly larva, according to John
Ritchey ’11, is to bite the head off
before diving into the rest.
That’s one of the lessons learned
during a four-day stay at the
Amazon Towers Eco Resort on the
Negro River in Brazil. But Ritchey
insists the most intriguing aspect of
the journey was encountering contrasting
worldviews. “I had the
chance to meet sustainability consultants,
business school professors,
judges, bank officials, as well as
business owners and even the tour
guides. They had differing points of
view, but all seemed to agree that
sustainability is a means to keep
Brazil competitively producing
goods on the world market.”
After attending the annual Net
Impact global conference at Cornell
University with a handful of UC
Irvine students, Ritchey, vice president
of business development for
UC Irvine’s Net Impact
chapter, made the decision
to travel to the
K
A trip to the Amazon gave Merage School
student John Ritchey ’11 a new perspective
on sustainability.
Professional athletes, Hollywood personalities and Merage School students have journeyed to
the Amazon Towers Eco Resort on the Negro River in Brazil.
@
Amazon. “The goal was to further
my experience in sustainability and
to broaden my viewpoint.” Ritchey,
who is fluent in Spanish and is
learning Portuguese, says it wasn’t
until later that the conference
impact was felt most strongly. “I
met a Brazilian executive at the
conference who was completely outside
of the sustainability buzz and
he was interested in the fields that
were driving innovation in the U.S.
today. After trading stories, I realized
that his perspective on innovation
would be extremely valuable in
understanding how the rest of the
world handles innovation. My next
step was Brazil.”
The experience included piranha
fishing, (and yes, eating), a cayman
catch and release excursion, and a
grueling survival tour. It’s not
for the faint of heart, and
Ritchey, whose experience includes
project management, finance and
entrepreneurship in renewable energy
and mixed-use development, says he
now sees his time at the Merage
School in a new light.
“Coming home, as foreign equity
plays a larger role in our capital
markets, I have been fortunate that
the Merage School is so plentiful
with opportunities to get involved.
The business plan competition, UC
BIrvine’s Net Impact, Polaris and
many other programs have helped
me stay ahead of the
curve, to be able to
speak the new international
language of business: sustainable
innovation.”
New Class Takes Sustainability
Beyond Greenby Kristin James
IT WASN’T TOO LONG AGO that many organizations
viewed the simultaneous goals of sustainability and
competitive advantage as being incompatible. Today,
companies recognize that sustainability is about reducing
expenses to achieve optimal output with as few inputs as
possible. It is now widely recognized that
producing better products and reducing
waste is not only good for the environment,
it is good for business.
One way in which UC
Irvine’s Paul Merage School of
Business is promoting awareness
of issues concerning
sustainability is through its curriculum.
Professor Margarethe Wiersema
has developed a course
that provides business
leaders with the skills to implement,
evaluate, and raise awareness for
a successful sustainability program.
“The BP oil crisis was a wake-up call for many
companies, and not only in the energy sector,”
said Wiersema. “Corporate leaders recognize that
environmental and safety disasters can affect the bottom
line, but the larger challenge remains, which this course
addresses: how to reconcile sustainability with profit -
ability and competitive advantage.”
Negative investor perception is one of the first hurdles
facing leaders determined to implement a successful
sustainability plan. The long-term commitment necessary
to sustainability is frequently viewed as a direct
challenge to short-term growth.
INNOVATION
“With sustainability becoming a mainstream issue, it’s
getting easier to make the business case for a program,”
says Wiersema. “CEOs are moving toward a more inclusive
strategy as the risk of not adopting a strategy for
sustainability is becoming greater.”
The first step in establishing a successful program is
building awareness through leadership. Executives must
develop a plan that includes established metrics and
goals, as well as communicate a mindset of sustainability
to other managers. Once
the plan is established, execution
proceeds at an operational level
as part of the business strategy.
Sincerity and commitment are
also key factors in the success of a
sustainability program. If efforts
fail to reach beyond superficial
cosmetic value, a concept known
as ‘greenwashing,’ a sustainability program
can backfire. Companies must walk a
fine line between making customers aware of
sustainability practices without
being perceived as pushy or
disingenuous.
“Competitive advantage can
be fueled by the way a company’s
stakeholders and customers
perceive its reputation,” says
Wiersema. “In today’s market,
an innovative, well-executed
sustainability program can
drive growth.”
11
Merage | 2010 – 2011

INNOVATION
12
experience INNOVATION
Practicum:
MBA Students and Companies Lock Down Winning Combination
by Anne Warde
What do Experian, Marriott International,
PAAMCO, Taco Bell Corporation and Volcom
have in common? They were all participants
in Merage School’s fall 2009 MBA Consulting
Program. Instead of hiring professional consultants, these
five corporations have collaborated with the Merage
School for MBA business expertise.
Each of the companies invited to participate in this
past year’s program identified a critical business issue
they needed to address. They were then matched with an
MBA student consultant team that spent the next 10
weeks exploring solutions.
“This program makes winners out of everyone involved,”
said Gary Lindblad, assistant dean of the Full-Time MBA
Program. “Our MBA students benefit from exposure to
and responsibility for managing real-life business issues.
Participating companies benefit from the fresh ideas and
perspectives these dynamic student teams provide.”
Entering its seventh year, the MBA Consulting Program
has a track record of proven success. The winning formula
involves several key elements: the participation of top
businesses, a team of exceptional Merage School MBA
students, and a faculty technical advisor who provides
2009 Fall MBA Consulting Project with Experian.
valuable suggestions in terms of conceptual frameworks,
research sources and methodology. The secret ingredient
is the addition of an executive coach who provides the
team with technical advice. More often than not, the
executive coach is a Merage School alum. This last combination
of corporations, faculty, executives and students
is quite remarkable.
The Fall 2009 MBA Consulting Program was arranged
by Emile Pilafidis, PhD, lecturer and faculty director, and
Management Consulting Practicum coordinator for the
Merage School. Shaheen Husain, executive director of
Corporate Relations and Business Development, facilitated
company participation.
Businesses invited to participate in the consulting program
were selected from among the Merage School’s
current Corporate Partners Program members or from
interested companies of significant size seeking to build
a partnership with the Merage School.
Previous corporate participants in the MBA Consulting
Program reported they were exceedingly impressed with
the professionalism and level of insight the Full-Time MBA
teams provide, along with the solid, documented results,
actionable analysis, and recommendations they offered.
Projects Merage School
MBA students address
focus on perfor mance
improvement and involve
strategic management
issues or changes in the
organization.
Departments that have
benefited from the MBA
Consulting Program have
included: Corporate
Marketing, Operations,
Strategic Planning,
Human Resources, and
Business Development.
Teams consist of second
year MBA students who
contribute approximately
500 hours of work over a
10-week period. For more
information visit
merage.uci.edu/go/
MBAconsulting.
2009 Fall MBA Consulting Project with Marriott International, Inc. 2009 Fall MBA Consulting Project with PAAMCO (Pacific Alternative
Asset Management Company)
Corporate Sponsor Experian
Faculty Technical Advisor Phil Bromiley, Professor of Strategy
Executive Consultant Ken Neeld ’07, President/CEO, Delphi Display Systems
INNOVATION
Corporate Sponsor Marriott International
Faculty Technical Advisor Robin Keller, Professor of Operations and Decision Technologies
Executive Consultant Bill Rowland ’06, formerly with Disneyland Resort Consumer
Marketing
Corporate Sponsor Pacific Alternative Asset Management Co. (PAAMCO)
Faculty Technical Advisor Vijay Gurbaxani, Director of the Center for Research on
Information Technology and Organizations and Professor of
Information Systems and Computer Science
Executive Consultant Scott Ryder ’00, Sr. Vice President, McGladrey Capital Markets
Corporate Sponsor Taco Bell Corporation
Faculty Technical Advisor Chris Schwarz, PhD, Assistant Professor of Finance
Executive Consultant Steve Fichtelberg ’93, CPA & Consultant, DLC, Inc.
Corporate Sponsor Volcom
Faculty Technical Advisor Leonard Lane
Executive Consultant Heather Miller ’06, HotWheels, Mattel
Additionally, Robert Lewis of McKinsey & Co. and Tom Donohue ’09 of Deloitte visited the
class to discuss the management consulting process.
2009 Fall MBA Consulting Project with Volcom.
13
Merage | 2010 – 2011

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
14
experience INNOVATION
Distinguished
Speaker Series
The Paul Merage School of
Business fifth annual
Distinguished Speaker
Series (DSS) is underway
with some impressive business
leaders on the docket.
“The caliber of speakers participating
in the Distinguished Speaker
Series is a testament to the success
of this program,” said Shaheen
Husain, executive director of
Corporate Relations and Business
Development for the Merage School.
“Participants and guests alike value
the opportunity to share ideas and
insight with some of the top companies
in the country.”
The Distinguished Speaker Series
brings together prominent business
executives with MBA students and
community business people to
address innovation, current business
issues, leadership, ethics, and
other relevant topics. The series is
organized by the Merage School’s
Center for Global Leadership and
supported by corporate sponsors.
For the 2010-2011 series, Bank of
America is the presenting sponsor.
For more details, visit
merage.uci.edu/go/DSS.
Features Leadership Stars
Held at the UC Irvine Student Center, the 2010-2011 line-up includes:
NOVEMBER 4, 2010
Jeanne Jackson
President, Direct to Consumer
Nike, Inc.
FEBRUARY 10, 2011
Victor Nichols
Chief Executive Officer
Experian North America
MARCH 31, 2011
Douglas Hutcheson ’91
President & Chief Executive Officer
Leap Wireless International, Inc.
MAY 12, 2011
Kevin Clifford
President & Chief Executive Officer
American Funds Distributors
EFFECTIVE
BOARDROOM
LEADERSHIP
by Kristin James
THIS COMING SPRING 2011,
corporate leaders can take part in
the four-day weekend workshop:
Effective Boardroom Leadership –
A Comprehensive Directorship
Program, now in its fourth year. The
program, accredited by RiskMetrics
Group Institutional Shareholder
Services (ISS), addresses the latest
thinking on the variety of issues facing
boards today, with a focus on
risk evaluation.
“The BP oil crisis is a good example
of how a board of directors
failed to be aware of the enormous
risk portfolio their company was
taking on,” said faculty member and
instructor Margarethe Wiersema.
“This program can help new and
established board members better
evaluate and manage risk.”
The sessions are geared toward
new or aspiring directors, C-level
managers, directors, and non-profit
and family business owners. Topics
range from the board’s role in
mergers and acquisitions and planning
and strategy, to ethics
responsibilities and enterprise risk
management. The highly interactive
sessions are taught by distinguished
faculty at The Paul Merage School of
Business in conjunction with leading
southern California business executives
associated with the Forum for
Corporate Directors in Orange County.
“In past years, this program has
provided a unique forum for business
leaders and academics to interact
and share ideas,” said faculty member
and instructor Mort Pincus.
Professor David Blake commented,
“By using real life scenarios
from my experience on more than
15 corporate boards, my co-presenter,
usually a CEO, and I discuss
situations where the board as a
whole or individual board members
must take up the mantle of
assertive board leadership. I discuss
with the participants what is
perhaps the most important function
of a board: identifying,
selecting, developing, coaching,
guiding, evaluating, and then replacing
the CEO.” Blake continued, “We
explore what leadership does and
how to evaluate and assess the
BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
leadership actions and activities of
the CEO, not just assess the CEO’s
attributes and characteristics.”
Blake adds that this team
approach stimulates discussion and
dialogue between the instructors
and among the participants.
“Participants become very engaged
and take away an understanding of
the different perspectives of the
CEO and independent board members.
They also gain a more
complex, comprehensive and rigorous
set of guidelines about what
leadership does and should be
doing for the benefit of the company
or organization.” Merage School
faculty includes: Margarethe
Wiersema, Dean’s Professor in
Strategic Management; David Blake,
Professor, Strategic Management and
Director of International Programs;
and Mort Pincus, Dean’s Professor of
Accounting in Strategic Management.
The program is offered in partnership
with the Forum for Corporate
Directors, a non-profit business
organization committed to increasing
the effectiveness of directors,
CEOs and senior level executives by
anticipating important issues facing
companies in today’s global economy
and presenting peer-to-peer
forums to share ideas and key
strategies.
To learn more, please visit:
merage.uci.edu/go/corpgov.
15
Merage | 2010 – 2011

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
16
experience INNOVATION
Commentary by Professor Richard McKenzie
The unacknowledged 800-pound gorilla in the
ongoing health care reform caucuses on Capitol
Hill and in the White House weighs... well, far
more than 800 pounds. That gorilla could literally
make quality health care for the uninsured masses a
political pipe dream or a budget nightmare. The stealth
gorilla I have in mind is the fattening of Americans that
could be encouraged by warm-hearted plans to subsidize
everyone’s health care demands.
The statistics on the fattening of America over the past
half century are stark. More than two out of every three
Americans are overweight. Over a third are obese, two
and a half times the obesity rate in 1960 and more than
ten times the obesity rate at the turn of the twentieth
century. The country is growing the next generation of
obese adults with the expanding count of obese kids.
For decades, excess weight and obesity have been
causally linked to as many as thirty-five diseases –
including hypertension, heart disease,
various cancers (breast, colon, and
prostate), type-2 diabetes, osteoarthritis,
gallbladder disease, and
incontinence. More recently, obesity
has been linked to impaired brain
function and the incidence of
Alzheimer’s among the elderly.
And only a minor
percentage of excess
weight can be
THE FATTENING
OF AMERICA AND HEALTH CARE
REFORM
chalked up to genetic abnormalities.
Researchers have estimated that the total medical cost
of treating diseases related to obesity was $147 billion in
2008, roughly 10 percent of all medical spending. That
year the real (inflation-adjusted) health care expenditures
for obesity, half of which were covered by Medicaid and
Medicare, were 50 percent greater than the real health
care expenditures for the obese in 1998.
Between 1960 and 2006, American adults (20 to 74
years of age) gained an average of more than 26 pounds.
That might not sound like much, but it means that the
average adult American today is hauling around the
equivalent of a large Thanksgiving turkey – over and
above what the average American weighed in 1960. And
there were plenty of overweight Americans then.
The added weight gained during the last half century
means that adult Americans (just those in the 20-74 age
group) today weigh nearly 3 million tons more than they
would have weighed in total had they stayed as “trim” as
they were in 1960. That added tonnage equals more than
34 million undocumented 1960-equivalent American
adults (or 3.4 million of the fabled 800-pound gorillas)
whom we are hauling around in our cars and planes. (A
flight attendant’s announcement today that the “plane
will be full,” could be understood in a way and to a
degree not considered a generation ago.)
The total weight Americans have gained during the past
fifty years also equals 29 billion three-ounce Twinkies,
which is more than 57,000 times the annual world
output of Twinkies. It equals the weight of
more than 180,000 empty 75-foot, eighteen-wheel
tractor-trailers that, if put end
to end, would stretch, via the shortest
road route possible, from Los Angeles almost to Capitol
Hill. And these figures do not include the pounds added by
the hundred million or so overweight kids and teenagers or
seniors 75 and older. If their extra tonnage were added to
the total, the lineup of tractor-trailers would extend from
Los Angeles to way out into the Atlantic.
American’s added weight negates, albeit somewhat,
the fuel economy advances automobile manufacturers
have been able to achieve in recent decades and has
caused American car buyers to move to larger cars (SUVs
included). Overall, according to research, Americans are
burning close to a billion gallons of gasoline plus a billion
gallons of jet fuel a year more than would have been
required had Americans maintained their 1960 average
weight. A nontrivial source of the current red ink of airlines
can be seen in the extent to which passengers are
filling up their seats.
Of course, the greater gasoline and jet fuel consumption
has marginally propped up the price of oil and
financed some of the political instability and terrorist
activities emanating from the Middle East. And the
greater fuel consumption pumps tens of millions of tons
of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, also a source
global health problems. In a small way, the fates of the
polar bears and the Arctic ice shelves have links to the
pounds Americans have packed on over the last half century,
or more.
How does Americans’ added weight affect the health
care reform debate? Consider the extra cost of reinforced
wheel chairs, gurneys, and ambulances that communities
now must buy for their newfound “peak-load problems.”
Consider the number of television ads for “scooters” (at,
of course, subsidized prices for the featured overweight
BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
buyers). Recognize that such costs can expand radically
when all “preexisting conditions” must be covered
(regardless of whether they are self-inflicted).
Then consider how any form of nationalized or just
subsidized health care can shift, through taxes and insurance
premiums, the costs of overeating and sedentary
lifestyles from heavy people to trim people who have, at
some personal costs, kept their appetites under control,
lowering the private costs of weight gain to everyone.
Everyone has to worry that government- subsidized
health insurance and health care will cause Americans to
pack on pounds with even greater abandon, which can
give rise to an array of “fat taxes” (and other federal
mandates) that will force trim people to pay more for
their occasional single-patty burger just to discourage all
overweight people from all too frequently doubling up on
triple-patty burgers.
If people truly want health care reform, and health
insurance at a more modest price, there is a simple private
solution: America, go on a diet!
Richard B. McKenzie is the
Walter B. Gerken professor of
Enterprise and Society in The Paul
Merage School of Business at the
University of California, Irvine.
Most recently, he is the author of
Why Popcorn Costs So Much at the
Movies, And Other Pricing Puzzles (Springer, 2008). He is
writing a book on Paying by the Pound: The Economic
Causes and Consequences of America’s Weight Gain.
17
Merage | 2010 – 2011

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
18
experience INNOVATION
Healthcare executives once
again swarmed the
Beckman Center on the
campus of UC Irvine to
participate in the 19th Annual
Health Care Forecast Conference
and the comprehensive analysis of
health care reform. As the conference
took place, President Obama
held a bipartisan meeting at the
White House to seek common
ground among Democrats and
Republicans on the same subject.
Since that time, much has
changed. Public options, which
President Obama favored, have
been removed by the Senate, and
the plan that did get passed will be
phased in over a number of years.
Many of the changes will occur in
2014, while others will be adopted
through 2020.
From the conference it was clear
that, according to a report written
by Sheryl R. Skolnick, PhD, Senior
Vice President of CRT Capital Group
LLC, attendees were confident that
reform would happen. In fact, many
pro active organizations were already
working to transform themselves
into comprehensive integrated delivery
systems in an effort to bring
down costs and enhance quality
and outcomes. Skolnick’s report
also noted that the need to change
the way medicine is practiced in
local markets was urgent, especially
among not-for-profit systems with
limited access to capital.
THE HEALTH CARE DEBATE RAGES DURING
19th
Health Care Forecast Conference
Annual
Presentations given by representatives
from several prominent
health care organizations outlined
innovative strategies for reducing
costs and improving quality – all of
them centered on the integration of
the physician and the hospital.
Some even went a bit further to
include some aspect of a payer’s
role. According to Skolnick’s report,
however, physician leadership is key
to true reform.
Now That
Reform is
Here, How
Do We Make
it Work?
Only a few short months following
the 19th Annual Health Care
Forecast Conference, the Health
Care Speaker Series was held, this
time to discuss the “Impact of
Health Care Reform on Physicians,
Hospitals, Insurance and Publicly
Funded Programs.”
“Now that we have passed
legislation, what we need to do is
determine how to make reform
work,” said Christopher De Rosa,
AND BEYOND by Anne Warde
HCEMBA ’00, president and general
manager for CIGNA HealthCARE of
Southern California, “especially considering
how incomplete it was.”
Richard Afable, MD, MPH, president
and CEO of Hoag Memorial
Hospital Presbyterian, added, “We
are no longer debating whether
healthcare will change or what the
issues are – socially-driven or entrepreneurial-based
– given that
healthcare reform is here, and given
providing and paying for services will
change, the question now is, how?”
Afable went on to say, “Thanks to
the Merage School for bringing
together speakers to think through
what will affect all of us and our
children’s children for a long time.
What we do in this community will
have an effect on southern California,
California and the country. It’s
important work.”
Taking place today through 2014
is the integration into the health
care system of millions of individuals,
10 to 15 million of them. In
a few more years, another 10 to
15 million people will be added to
the system.
“We fixed the access problem,”
stated Afable. “Now we have to consider,
access to what? With a limited
number of physicians and clinics
we need to decide how to reform
the functional healthcare system
and redesign what we have. It is
likely hospitals will become greater
participants in the ongoing care of
a community, not niche providers
where you go when you are sick.
Hospitals that have the resources
may actually come together and
work with health plans, or interestingly
we will be competing with
those organizations. Hospitals without
resources will merge,
consolidate, or go away. The business
community will have a huge
impact on how we actually move
this forward.”
“Half of the funding will come
from cuts in Medicare,” said Jay
Cohen, MD, MBA, president and
chairman of Monarch HealthCare, A
Medical Group, Inc. “The other half
comes from taxes, fees on health
plans, device manufacturers and
doctors. The healthcare reform we
got does not provide a lot of delivery
system reform. The good news
is that billions of dollars have been
directed toward comparative effectiveness,
which will affect the way
BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
we deliver care and help us drive
toward quality and efficiency.
“There is an incredible amount of
innovation in this bill,” Cohen continued.
“The government is really trying
everything, giving us plenty of opportunities
to innovate. Accountable
Care Organizations (ACO) are law
now and Monarch is already piloting
one. Critical success factors of these
organizations involve engaging
Continued on next page
Now that we have
passed legislation,
what we need to do
is determine how to
make reform work.
19
Merage | 2010 – 2011

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
20
experience INNOVATION
physician leadership, aligning physician
incentives through appropriate
payment methodologies, strong
financial performance and reserves,
robust investment in IT systems,
data warehouse reporting capability,
and care coordination capability.
What will result, if we are successful,
is the delivery of higher quality
health care at a lower cost.”
Tammy Tucker, vice president at
Anthem Blue Cross, said, “What we
got was not health care reform.
What we got was health insurance
reform.” Tucker explained that the
new legislation includes:
• New Taxes and Fees
• Market Reforms
• Individual Mandates
• Insurance Exchanges
• Employer Mandates
“Health care will require increased
regulation, expanded benefit coverage,
and a whole new set of
administrative service requirements
imposed upon employers, all of which
are bound to impact premiums.
Essentially, we’re shifting costs to
everyone, and the commercial sector
is picking up the slack.
“It will be imperative for us to get
control of health care costs,” said
Tucker. “This might be done through
payment innovations, health information
technology solutions, or
employee engagement strategies.
Together, with care givers, hospitals,
health plans, and employers, we
can transform the system and move
to a model of payment innovation,
administrative innovation, delivery
innovation and simplification. We
think the current system can be
Thanks to the Merage
School for bringing
together speakers to
think through what will
affect all of us.
improved and we can drive systemwide
improvements for how we
organize, finance and provide care
for the uninsured.”
Richard Chambers, CEO of
CalOptima, reiterated that the
greatest need will be finding access,
especially for the children, disabled
and seniors seeking health care
services. “We need to get people
into organized systems – managed
systems – to control costs. We also
need to find ways to provide access.
We have realized improved outcomes
with ACOs, which are promising.
Moving forward, I believe we’re
going to see more integration of
medical services. There will be an
ongoing need to consider the
impact of the uninsured population
and for capacity building for the
delivery system. We also need to
maintain and build support for the
safety net,” Chambers concluded.
All said, the work continues in all
facets of health care in the United
States, and only time will tell what
reform truly becomes. The Merage
School and its Center for Health
Care Management and Policy continue
to act upon our shared vision
to add value to the debate, seeking
out and sponsoring speakers and
research to inform business knowledge
and action.
Polaris Investment Competition
Providing Scholarship Opportunities for MBA Students
An investment team of six taleted MBA students
took home first place in the sixth annual
Polaris Investment Competition after posting
an enviable return on their investments of
45.6% for the year. For the win, each of the members of
the “Alpha, Yes We Can” team received a scholarship in
the amount of $6,838.
“This team far outperformed the market and other
teams in the competition,” said Chuck Martin, the program’s
sponsor and member of the Merage School’s
Dean’s Advisory Board.
The team “Super 6” took home second place on a
gain of 34.3% for the year and earned a scholarship
of $6,000 for each student participant. Out of the five
teams that participated in this year’s competition, four
posted gains for the year and only one experienced a
modest loss of 2%.
The Polaris Investment Competition is a high-level
challenge open only to Merage School MBA students,
including both Full-Time as well as Fully Employed
(part-time) MBA students. Teams work together to
select investments and manage a portfolio over a 52-week
competition – using real money provided by program
sponsor Chuck Martin. Each team must select companies
worthy of their investment based upon an
exhaustive qualitative and quantitative analysis. Teams
are mentored and taught by Martin.
BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
“To our knowledge, this is the only investment competition
offered by any MBA program that allows an open
forum for every single student across all MBA sections
to participate – and receive real cash rewards from the
return in the portfolio,” said Merage School Dean Andy
Policano. “We are just delighted with the results, year
after year, and are deeply grateful for Chuck Martin’s
generosity and guidance in this very unique program.”
Each year MBA students attending the Merage School
form teams and submit proposals to invest in a portfolio
of domestic and international stocks in order to compete
in the Polaris Investment Competition. Chuck Martin,
chairman and CEO for Mont Pelerin Capital, LLC, and
his team at the hedge fund evaluate the proposals
(typically 15-20), select 10 teams for Apprentice-style
interviews, and fund five to six teams to participate in
the competition. Each team is allocated between
$175,000 and $300,000 of capital to invest over a
52-week period. The amount of the scholarships is
determined based on the team’s performance and
awarded a few days before graduation.
To date, a total of $480,000 in cash awards has
been distributed to Merage School students since 2005.
Concurrent with wrapping up the 2009/2010 competition,
six new teams were already selected and funded
to compete in the year-long event that will conclude in
June 2011.
ABOUT CHUCK MARTIN
Chuck (Charles) Martin is the Chairman, CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Mont Pelerin
Capital Management Company, a Newport Beach investment management firm. Martin is a
highly seasoned investor in a broad range of asset classes, particularly in the corporate
equities world. He has been an active investor in the stock market for over 40 years. Martin
founded Enterprise Partners in 1984, the largest venture capital firm in southern California,
and served as its managing partner until his retirement in 1999.
As a champion of real accountability/real responsibility practices, Martin believes in taking
education beyond the classroom and into the real world, where the correct answer isn’t as easy to discern.
21
Merage | 2010 – 2011

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
22
experience INNOVATION
EACH
conomic
utlook
Then and Now
Merage School Dean Andy Policano, Irvine Chamber of Commerce
President and CEO Talia Hart and David Crane, Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger's Special Adviser on Jobs.
by Anne Warde
JANUARY, Merage School
Dean Andrew Policano and other
esteemed speakers are invited to
share their insights on the local
and general business climate at
the Economic Outlook breakfast
sponsored by the Irvine Chamber
of Commerce and the Merage
School. While the January 2011
outlook remains to be heard, in
January 2010, Dean Policano was
joined by David Crane, special
advisor on jobs to Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger. Both agreed the
economy had
bottomed out,
and Orange
County residents
could
expect slow
and steady
growth –
although no
major increases
in
employment.
It appears they
were right.
Speaking to a record crowd of
550 people, Policano predicted the
recovery would be slow, likely 2 to
3 percent annually as opposed to
the 4 to 6 percent growth we have
grown accustomed to over the
past ten years. Results today show
Policano was spot on. Growth has
inched up as credit has remained
constrained, despite interest rates
being at an all-time low.
Unemployment has hovered
around the 9.5 percent mark for
Orange County, up from 9.2 percent
in May 2010, and above the
year-ago estimate of 9.4 percent
made by the state’s Employment
Development Department. If Crane
and Policano are correct again,
unemployment will continue to be
a concern over the next few years.
In addition, with the summer
behind us, any improvement in
housing is unlikely, though summer
housing appeared to stabilize
with small pockets of growth in
Orange County. At the time of the
January conference, Crane and
Policano praised the local biotech
and medical device industries and
were optimistic for their future in
the global economy. Crane emphasized
the opportunities in
emerging markets such as India,
Brazil, and China. Both speakers
agreed, if the U.S. is to get back
to a growth state, we must: stimulate
innovation, increase savings,
increase exports, control spending,
and, not surprisingly, reduce
the deficit.
Policano offered his own macroeconomic
scenario where
government uses stimulus money
to invest in infrastructure, promotes
innovation with research
and development tax credits, and
“makes Detroit our China,” by
establishing business friendly policies
to promote investments in
manufacturing in that city.
“We have an American city with
15 percent to 20 percent unemployment,
people willing to work
for smaller wages, and really qualified
workers,” Policano said. “We
can make it into a manufacturing
infrastructure zone. This country
doesn’t have to abandon that
industry.”
In the long term, both experts
are worried about spending, overconsumption
and the unprecedented
levels of private and public debt.
According to Crane, the state is
under-accounting for the largest
debt, the
state’s
employee
retirement
benefits,
which cost
the state’s
tax payers
$5.5 billion
this year
and is
expected to
grow exponentially.
He went on to point out that
American households are highly
leveraged, and for our economy to
gain traction we must exploit trade
and exports to fuel growth.
“There has been a reduction in
capital for small business. Economics
tells us that capital follows
demand, and demand is created
by innovation,” Crane concluded.
“Looking at some of these
projections, at our current rate,
the worst-case scenario is the
federal government will go bankrupt
in our lifetimes,” Policano
said. “At our current rate, the
best scenario is that the federal
government will go bankrupt in
our children’s lifetimes.”
23
Merage | 2010 – 2011

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
24
experience INNOVATION
Riding the
Entrepreneurial Wave
Prior to entering the
Merage School as a
Fully Employed MBA
student, Aric Plumley
’08, had already
started his own engineering
design firm.
He still runs that business today,
but he also serves as project manager
for WaveTec Vision Systems,
Inc., a start-up company in the
healthcare arena.
“I’ve always been attracted to
entrepreneurial endeavors,” said
Plumley. “My own business allowed
me to explore consulting, which is
something I do enjoy, however the
job I have at WaveTec better matches
my personality.”
Plumley’s relationship with
WaveTec was bolstered by another
Merage School alumnus and fellow
ALUMNI BUSINESSES
Sustaining a Competitive Advantage
by Anne Warde
surfer, Tom Berryman, EMBA ’88.
At the time of Plumley’s hire,
Berryman was the president and
CEO of WaveTec, a role he recently
relinquished in pursuit of other
entrepreneurial ventures. Hired as a
senior mechanical engineer, Plumley
was soon promoted to project manager
responsible for WaveTec’s
premier product, the ORange ®
Intraoperative Wavefront Aberrometer,
a device used to measure the optical
power of a human eye. ORange,
which launched in the United States
in April 2009, is scheduled to go
worldwide by early 2012.
“WaveTec has provided me with
the opportunity to meld my entrepreneurial
drive with my medical
engineering experience. It’s a position
that gives me the best of both
worlds,” said Plumley. “I couldn’t
have gotten into this role without
my MBA. It opened doors for me
and gave me skills, particularly in
organizational behavior, that have
been invaluable to me as an entrepreneur.”
Plumley continued, “In
addition, the product that I have
been working on and that we have
now launched assists physicians
with cataract procedures and
improves patient outcomes. That, in
and of itself, is satisfying.”
Plumley has more than 15 years
of experience in product development
and entrepreneurship. He has
worked in a variety of industries
including semiconductor, medical
device, aerospace, and consumer
product. WaveTec Vision is a privately
held company and a leader in
intraoperative wavefront measurement
technology for refractive
cataract surgeons.
Fighting Counterfeit
Medicine
With a mission to stop counterfeit
medicine, Sarah Hine
’05, along with
Nathan Sigworth
and Taylor
Thompson, founded
PharmaSecure in
2007. Based in India,
PharmaSecure uses SMS text messaging
and special product coding
labels to determine the authenticity
of medications.
“We label each unit of medicine
with a unique code,” explained
Hine. “When the medication is purchased,
the consumer can send the
code, via SMS text message, to a
PharmaSecure number and instantly
receive authentication letting
them know whether their medicine
is genuine.
“The problem with counterfeit
medicines is that they may or may
not contain active pharmaceutical
ingredients. Even worse, they may
contain partial or low levels which
can create a resistance to medication
altogether, and in some cases
can even cause death,” said Hine.
On a worldwide basis, counterfeit
medications are responsible
for thousands of deaths and contribute
to the development of
drug-resistant strains of disease.
In addition, counterfeit products
are costing pharmaceutical companies
upwards of $75 billion
dollars per year. In some countries,
like India and Africa, as
much as 40% of high-value drugs
are counterfeited.
“PharmaSecure’s technology
empowers consumers to authenticate
the medicines they buy. There
is a significant social need for this
service and a huge potential for
growth,” said Hine. “Our business is
just getting started and already we
anticipate revenue this year. Next
year we should become a self-sustaining
company.”
Hine credits her ability to build
PharmaSecure in part to her MBA
education. “Having my MBA enabled
me to lead a company. It gave me a
good foundation. Starting this company
was almost a second MBA. I
really enjoy the challenge, but it’s a
steep learning curve. I love the
lifestyle and travel, and I get to
meet really interesting people.”
Hine added, “Operating in the
social enterprise space is rewarding.
We are meeting the needs of
consumers and businesses alike. I
hope to stay in this space and even
open another social enterprise.”
A Hot House of
Innovation
Founded by Tony Page and Daniel
Vesely, XIQ is a virtual hot house for
innovation. A family of entrepreneurial
business, XIQ is siphoning
off some of the best and brightest
entrepreneurial-minded Merage
School MBAs, and providing young
entrepreneurs with the environment
they need to grow.
“Entrepreneurs come to us with
their ideas. If what they have to
offer sounds viable, we enter into a
partnership of sorts where we supply
foundation level support –
human resources, accounting, office
space, etc. – to enable these entrepreneurs
to establish and grow their
dream,” said Page.
Under the XIQ umbrella, a
variety of young businesses are
sprouting, including: BioLink, a
recruiting organization; LNX
Pharma, a social network analysis
company run by Philip Topham, a
UC Irvine alumnus and member
of the Merage School Dean’s
Leadership Circle; and Reimburse -
ment IQ, a reimbursement strategy
consulting firm.
HealthIQ, another of the XIQ
companies, was founded in 1985
and is the genesis of the XIQ family.
The business was purchased by
Page and Vesely in 2000, when the
two took over management, and it
was the only business they ran until
2004. The employer of many
Merage School alumni, Health IQ
was the launching point for Dao Vo
’01. Vo started as an
intern with HealthIQ
and is now general
manager of her own
endeavor,
PharmaVoxx, a
marketing and
competitive analysis company.
“The Merage School gave me the
building blocks and product development
expertise to manage my
own business. Tony and Daniel gave
me the freedom and support to
enable me to establish and make it
grow,” said Vo. “I started
PharmaVoxx with a vision of delivering
market intelligence to clients
seeking competitive knowledge
about pharmaceutical communications
to the healthcare and patient
community,” said Vo. “It’s a niche
market, one with a tremendous
amount of potential.”
Vo’s vision appears to be on target.
While still in its infancy,
PharmaVoxx is showing real signs
of growth. With only six employees,
the company has already
expanded to India where much of
the data entry work takes place,
and plans are underway to pursue
companies outside of the pharmaceutical
industry.
Currently XIQ and its family of
businesses have about 35 full-time
current employees of whom eight
are Merage School alums. “Since
the company’s formation 12 years
ago, the percentage of employees
who have been Merage School
alumni has always been significant,”
said Page, “We definitely
“Think Merage First.”
25
Merage | 2010 – 2011

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
26
experience INNOVATION
Social Responsibility
by Connie Clark
Cultivating the Sustainability
Mindset to Change the
Global Landscape
The roots of social responsibility run deep and
wide at the Merage School, from undergraduates
to PhDs. Here are three stories about Merage
School leaders, and how they’re transforming the
world, one project at a time.
Rotaract and Gawad Kalinga: New
Lessons in Real Estate Value
Here’s a property deal for the ages: New single-story
home in close-knit, private community. Modest floor plan
with basic amenities. Needs some construction work, but
ample opportunity for investors and others interested in
rebuilding economy and ending poverty. Asking price:
$2,000.
It was in 2009 that a small group of Merage School
students began raising funds for a residential construction
project. Yes, 2009.
Undaunted by the worldwide financial crisis, the undergraduates
– together with local business leaders –
managed to raise enough money to build a comfortable,
UC Irvine and Merage School Rotaract volunteers hope to travel to the
Philippines in December 2010 to join residents in building a home in
the Brookside Gawad Kalinga Village in Quezon City, Philippines.
modest home for a family in the Brookside Gawad
Kalinga Village in Quezon City, Philippines. Granted, the
funds were the rough equivalent of a single mortgage
payment in the United States, a gift from Rotary Club of
Newport-Irvine and UC Irvine’s Rotaract Club. But the
$2,000 raised will become much more.
According to Gawad Kalinga, a non-profit similar to
Habitat for Humanity, the future owners of the home
will invest sweat equity by building their home alongside
Gawad Kalinga (GK) volunteers from the Merage School
and other UC Irvine schools. The construction is part of
GK’s worldwide movement of community and nation
building that organizers say provides shelter, reduces
poverty, restores dignity, and ultimately strengthens
economies.
And it’s helping shape the outlooks of a new generation.
Business students are perfect for projects like
Gawad Kalinga because of their innate efficiency and
adventurous spirit, says Merage School undergraduate
Melissa Manalang ’12, project leader and a member of
the Rotaract team that will travel to the Southeast Asia
republic to build the residence. “Taking the lead to organize
this project has taught me to maximize my resources
for brainstorming, getting tasks done, and especially
fundraising. Everything I have learned – from organizing
events and people, to going to a different country and
being in a foreign territory – I will take with me throughout
my education and career.”
Social Entrepreneurship
When GK founder Tony Meloto visited UC Irvine in
2009, his seven-point plan of social entrepreneurship
resonated with the student Rotarians. “GK is about
making a difference through small steps,” says Stephanie
Johnston, 2010-11 Rotaract president. “It is not throwing
a band-aid over a problem or just offering monetary
assistance. It is about putting a roof over people’s head,
giving them the ability to cultivate their own food,
creating a shared community,
and helping the young
to attend school instead
of searching for food
and money.”
Local business leaders
are also teaming with the
students. Ernie Delfin, a
marketing consultant and
Rotarian who facilitated the
campus Rotary Club and
helped make the GK connection,
points to more
pragmatic benefits. “Once
people regain their pride,
they become better citizens
and ultimately, stronger
consumers,” he says.
Continued on next page
Tony Meloto, Gawad Kalinga founder
and 2006 Ramon Magsaysay Award
recipient, spoke to UC Irvine
Rotarians and Merage School
students in 2009.
27
Merage | 2010 – 2011

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
28
experience INNOVATION
The UC Irvine and Merage School students are not
alone, as the GK website lists contributions and building
teams from the likes of Procter & Gamble, Colgate,
Pfizer, Citigroup, McDonalds, Bank of America, Lexmark,
IBM and Convergys.
Gawad Kalinga villages have emerged throughout the
Philippines and are planned for Singapore, Cambodia,
Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. Villages are named for
their donors, and each house bears a plaque acknowledging
them.
Construction on the UC Irvine Rotaract home was originally
scheduled for the summer of 2010, but has been
postponed until December. The biggest challenge now is
additional funds. While the group has secured money for
materials and construction, and an additional $1,000 for
housing, transportation, and food expenses in the
Philippines, they still need airfare for the four or five
members who will travel there.
But students remain optimistic. “Being involved in
Gawad Kalinga has opened my eyes to how individuals
and companies can work together in community service,”
Manalang says. “It has shown me that by changing lives,
people can slowly change the economics and politics of
countries.”
Haiti: You Can Pretend
You Don’t Know
“Now you know, you can pretend you don’t know.” These
words were remembered by Dr. Lijun Wan HCEMBA ’10
a few days after the devastating 2010 earthquake that
tore through the island nation of Haiti. One of Wan’s
colleagues, a trauma surgeon at California Medical
Center in Los Angeles, had decided to make the trip to
Haiti, but needed an anesthesiologist. With the words still
running through his mind, Wan didn’t hesitate. He quickly
connected with a med school friend who was directing a
relief effort through their alma mater, Loma Linda
University. Shortly thereafter, Wan, an anesthesiologist
and CMO at Anesthetix, found himself on a plane to
Santo Domingo, along with a team that included the
trauma surgeon, a general practice physician and two
nurses. It was just hours after his weekend classes at the
Merage School, and only a day after the surgeon told
him about the trip. From Santo Domingo, Wan headed
for Port-au-Prince and the Adventist Hospital there. Here
is his story:
After 24 hours of travel and operative work, Dr. Lijun Wan manages
to find time for his Merage School course reader while watching
post surgical patients. “I don’t remember if I got an A in that
class,” he says with a wry grin.
I arrived in Haiti exactly one week after the earthquake.
There were still stories of live people getting saved from
rubble. I had been to poor areas in Africa, but to see a
country so close to our homeland – with general conditions
that were no better than some of the worst
neighborhoods in Africa – was sobering. There were no
government services. Law enforcement was made up of
U.N. soldiers from different countries. When you looked
in people’s eyes, you didn’t see a trace of hopefulness.
While the news reports indicated that literally tons of
aid supplies had arrived, everything remained stuck at
the airport, because there was no existing governmental
infrastructure to distribute it. And the threat of violence
kept things from moving.
When I arrived at the Adventist Hospital, one of the few
hospitals that did not sustain major damage, we only had
a few hours of fuel for the generator, occasionally running
water, no clean surgical instruments or post operative
pain medication, and less than one day’s worth of oxygen
supply. Our team joined the teams of physicians and
nurses from all over the U.S., plus those from France,
Canada, and later, South Africa. Together we saved many
lives and limbs, and even delivered several babies into
this world.
Q
Were there any particular experiences that made you
think differently about health care delivery in the United
States?
Yes. Not that I wish the tragedy or the lack of resources
would happen to us here in the U.S., but the fact that a
7-year-old died in front of me from an intracranial injury
because the route was unsafe to transfer her, or a 17year-old
died from severe asthma exacerbation due to
lack of medication, ventilator and oxygen, or an 18-yearold
died from hemorrhage from his broken femur, and we
did not have blood to transfuse him, nor did we have the
ability to harvest blood from his distraught mother, it
reminds me how fortunate we are. But it also forces me
to actually avoid thinking about how inefficiently we deliver
the health care in this country. Sometimes I have to
remind myself that I am in the United States when I practice
medicine here, particularly when I experience
situations that are inefficient and wasteful.
BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
QWhat can the business and medical communities learn
from Haiti?
The lack of development in Haiti is principally due to lack
of general education, thus the lack of appreciation for the
value of education. There are so many well-educated
Haitians overseas who are willing to go back, yet fear for
their safety. One-time aid will not produce a lasting effect
in Haiti because those who live there do not have the education
or skills to manage the money or the infrastructures
built by donor countries or non-governmental organizations.
As for the medical community, one lesson that can be
learned from this disaster relief was that careful planning
would go a long way. A few examples: we eventually got a
lot of gloves, but most of them were size medium. In the
hot tropical weather, and often without AC, we sweat a
lot, and most of the men could not fit into medium sized
gloves once they took the old ones off. Another example:
Continued on next page
Left: Lijun Wan, MD, HCEMBA ’10 arrived in Port-au-Prince within
days of the devastating January earthquake. Despite monumental
challenges, the medical team saved limbs and lives, and even
delivered babies.
29
Merage | 2010 – 2011

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
30
experience INNOVATION
we received a lot of IV fluids, however, there were no IV
tubings accompanying the fluids to transfuse to the
patients. Along that same line, the IV catheters we
received were often too large to be placed in the collapsed
veins of the severely dehydrated patients. We also
had donated ventilators that did not have matching hoses
to connect to the oxygen sources or the patients. All
these caused a lot of valuable resources to be wasted.
QWhat can the Merage School community do to help?
I think there are many awesome organizations the
Merage School community can support. Everyone can
be involved at some point, whether through religious
affiliations, professional societies or philanthropic
organizations. One suggestion I have is to establish a
grant within the Merage School to help fund humanitarian
trips by the students and faculties. Because every
story we bring back through our experience will hopefully
be an inspiration to many more. As I said earlier,
“Now you know, you can pretend you don’t know,”
which means that we often choose (thus pretend) that
we don't know about things when we actually know
about the devastating consequences.
Terra Endeavors:
Green with Algae
If Charles Abramson, PhD ’99, gets his way, blue-green
algae will soon blanket impoverished villages throughout
eastern Africa.
The fast-growing, indigenous organism is central to
producing spirulina, a versatile food supplement that’s
experiencing a commercial boom thanks to its rich,
organic array of vitamins, minerals and protein.
Advocates of spirulina have long cited its potential to
eradicate malnutrition and build food security. The U.N.
once heralded it as the “best food for the future.”
But within the coiled spirals of this eons-old food
source, Abramson envisions even more: energy, improved
quality of life, and jobs.
“We have an opportunity here,” he says. “There’s the
community development aspect and an attractive financial
opportunity in spirulina, which has a very high profit margin.
There’s potential for substantial revenues for villagers
and investors. But there is also such great need in Africa.”
Abramson is a Merage School PhD graduate and
Chairman and CEO of Terra Endeavors, a not-for-profit
startup that’s integrating rural communities with strategic
partners around the world. One of the centerpieces of
the organization is its algae production.
A Race to Produce Algae
The algae that forms spirulina is commercially cultivated
in shallow, racetrack-shaped facilities known as
raceway ponds. Abramson’s company has already built
an impressive, 20-square-meter raceway pond near
Johannesburg, South Africa, that’s been cultivating wild
algae since 2008.
An integrated
biodigester essentially
breaks down
animal manure
and waste material,
turning it into
biogas.
Abramson, a
PhD with a background
in
alternative energy,
is proposing more
ambitious units for
villages in Eastern
Africa. Half the
Charles Abramson, PhD '99 strives to
eradicate malnutrition and build food
security with spirulina, a substance
formed by algae.
algae would be processed into spirulina, which would be
distributed to local markets and aid organizations to help
combat malnutrition. It could also be exported for profit
that could be invested directly back into villages. The
other half would be processed into ethanol cooking fuel,
replacing the wood or charcoal that’s traditionally used in
the region. (Villagers will be supplied with safe, cleancooking
stoves by a partner in Africa.) Another by-product
of the ethanol production is a high-protein animal feed
that can be used for local livestock.
Large-scale biodigesters will produce biogas for engine
gen-sets that can power communities. They also give off
carbon dioxide, which is then ported to the algae ponds
to speed growth. Added benefits are carbon and renewable
energy credits that would go back into the
community. The facilities also include a rainwater harvesting
system to provide more access to fresh water.
New Ideas for Established Technology
While Abramson admits to the ambitiousness of his
plan, he insists the company’s goals are reachable. “This
is simply a new application of established technologies,”
he says.
He also has a sound business model, along with a
hand-selected a team of strategic partners and experts
with impeccable credentials. As he explains it, “Terra
Endeavors is a social entrepreneurship, combining elements
of both for-profit and not-for-profit. We plan on
being a money-making venture, mainly through the sale
of spirulina and other algae-derived products like omega-3
fatty acids, which we’ll then share with the communities
with whom we collaborate.”
Embedding humanitarianism into the purpose of a
business venture isn’t completely unusual, but it is a
change for Abramson, who grew up in California. “I had
traveled extensively in Europe and the United States.
Before I came to Tanzania in 2006, I would never have
believed that a people with so few resources and so many
BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
challenging circumstances could have such kindness and
deep generosity. It really opened my eyes.”
And while he’s given up a lucrative consultancy to
devote himself full time to the venture, he shrugs off talk
of sacrifice. “Sometimes you look outside yourself, your
immediate family, the media, and the world – and you
decide to make a difference,” he says. “When you find
Abramson builds his business on humanitarianism and seeks to
make a difference.
that you’re benefitting someone – even someone you
don’t know – a lot of things that you think you could
never give up aren’t really a sacrifice. You find you’re not
giving up anything at all.”
Abramson urges others to get involved. His first suggestion,
of course, is with Terra Endeavors. There’s a
great opportunity, he says, “for fellow Merage School
alums to join me as a sponsor, benefactor or investor, or
pursue their own new opportunities.”
To learn more, visit terraendeavors.net.
31
Merage | 2010 – 2011

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
32
experience INNOVATION
DURING THE LAST DECADE, a new
movement has emerged that is
gaining traction throughout the
world and driving businesses to
shift their thinking from financiallybased
business models to models
more inclusive of sustainable practices
and socially responsible
performance. This paradigm shift
has drawn worldwide attention to
such essentials as subsistence,
worker’s rights, pollution prevention,
education, economic growth,
healthcare, and the list goes on.
Accordingly, as “for-profit” businesses
move toward solidifying their
investment in sustainability, their
leaders – in alliance with the world’s
scholars and entrepreneurial innovators
– are presented with a unique
opportunity to create partnerships
and positive dialog for change.
It was within this context, the
Merage School-based organization
Prosperitas, composed of entrepreneurial
self-starters from an
extensive range of industries, called
to action their pledge to raise
awareness about the critical topics
of our times. Their promise was fulfilled
with a gift to underwrite
Merage School student participation
in the 18th Annual Net Impact
Conference. Titled, 2020: Vision for
a Sustainable Decade, the conference
challenges attendees to
envision their role in working toward
A
SUSTAINABLE ALLIANCE:
Prosperitas & Net Impact
by Julianne Alfe
a sustainable future. Hosted this
year by the Ross School of Business
at the University of Michigan, the
conference is one of the largest and
most attended conferences in the
world, drawing more than 2,500
people, with representation from 20
countries.
“Net Impact is an organization
composed of students fully committed
not only to being successful in
business, but also in making a positive
impact on the globe, the
community, and the environment,”
said Mary Patrick, executive director
of Prosperitas. “Because their mission
aligns so nicely with our
group’s purpose, we are thrilled to
support the students in their attendance
of the conference.”
Net Impact representative Matthew
Souther added, “Our organization
covers topics that are directed
toward using business skills for the
greater good. These include, among
many others, corporate responsibility,
social entrepreneurship,
international development, and
clean technology.”
Gary Lindblad, assistant dean of
the Merage School’s Full-Time MBA
program, recognized the value the
Net Impact conference offered students
and introduced the concept to
Mary Patrick. Through Prosperitas,
Patrick facilitated funding for a
group of five Merage School stu-
dents to attend this year’s conference
including: Bonnie Chen,
George Huang and Wendy Wu from
the Full-Time MBA program, and
John Ritchey and Vikram Moorjani
from the Fully-Employed MBA program.
“This was an outstanding opportunity
for Prosperitas to benefit the
Merage School and its students,
and to demonstrate our commitment
to sustainability,” said Patrick.
Interested students applied for
Prosperitas’ support by providing a
statement of interest including: why
they wished to attend the conference,
how they have been involved
in sustainability and corporate
social responsibility in their careers,
and how their involvement with Net
Impact would continue.
Lindblad commented, “This generation
of MBA students has an
interest in socially and environmentally
sustainable business practices.
When this interest and enthusiasm
is informed and guided by the
knowledge and insights gained at
the Merage School MBA Program,
and it is coupled with involvement
in global organizations like Net
Impact, graduates have the real
opportunity to make significant positive
impact over the lifetime of
their career. The financial support
that our MBA students are receiving
from Prosperitas to attend the
2010 Net Impact Conference is an
investment that will pay dividends
for years to come.”
“As one who has experience in
corporate social responsibility on
the side of ‘for-profit’ business as
well as experience working at a
company that offers sustainability
solutions, I am very interested in
learning about the latest in technology
advancements and industry
trends from the meetings at the Net
Impact Conference,” said Chen. “I
am also eager to meet with chapter
leaders from other schools and learn
about their activities on campus.”
Huang, emphasizing the managerial
and financial aspects of this
relationship added, “We are
extremely grateful that Prosperitas
has underwritten our expenses. As a
direct result, we expect a 100%
increase in attendees at the confer-
ence from The Paul Merage School
of Business. In addition, this sponsorship
gives us the opportunity
to meet with the members of
Prosperitas and share our ideas.”
This concept, Huang points out,
is truly important because it formalizes
to the students the mission
Prosperitas has set for its members
to ignite ideas, create connections,
and raise awareness about critical
topics of our times.
“Personally, I cannot wait to
share what I learned from attending
the conference,” said Huang.
“Through Prosperitas, we can
share the ideas generated from the
Net Impact Conference with our
local community.”
Prosperitas is an intimate
peer-based organization of 25
innovators, leaders, and entrepreneurs.
Operating under the
BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
umbrella of The Paul Merage
School of Business at the University
of California, Irvine, the group
hosts bi-weekly meetings designed
to provide members with the place,
space, and diverse peer input to
learn about and debate the critical
topics of our times. For more information,
visit merage.uci.edu/go/
prosperitas.
Net Impact is a global organization
of 200 students and
professional chapters with over
10,000 members. The Paul Merage
School of Business Net Impact
Chapter is dedicated to growing
and strengthening a network of
leaders to use the power of business
to make a positive net social,
environment, and economic impact
in Orange County communities.
For more information, visit
merage.uci.edu/go/clubs.
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: Aaron Byzak
AARON J. BYZAK, HCEMBA ‘08,
received two Emmy Awards for his
work co-writing and producing the
"Oxy Abuse Kills" public service
announcement series, while serving
as Health Policy Advisor for the San
Diego County Board of Supervisors.
The series was a project of the Oxy
Task Force of San Diego County, a multi-faceted, multiagency
response to the rising problem of prescription
drug abuse in San Diego, which Byzak helped to create
and co-chair. Byzak and his coworker, Erica Holloway,
each won two Emmy Awards: one for Writer – Short Form,
and one for Public Service Announcement – Single Spot
or Series. The director and editor for the PSAs also won
Emmys, bringing the grand total for the project to five.
In other news, Byzak was also recognized by San Diego
Metropolitan Magazine in the publication’s 40 Under 40
Award. This annual award recognizes the 40 most influential
business and civic leaders under the age of 40 in
San Diego. Byzak, 33, was included on the 2010 Honor
Roll and was profiled in the September issue of the magazine
with his photo on the cover.
(From Left) Aaron Byzak, HCEMBA ‘08, director of Government and
Community Affairs, UC San Diego Health Sciences; Erica Holloway,
director of Communications, Office of San Diego County Supervisor
Slater-Price; Nicole Friedman, actress, “Oxy Abuse Kills” PSA; and
James Keckes, video production specialist, County Television Network.
33
Merage | 2010 – 2011

STUDENTS
34
experience INNOVATION
The Business of Celebration
STUDENTS RAISE FUNDS FOR CHARITY
The annual event raised $7,000 for Special
Olympics and Junior Achievement of
Orange County. (Photo by Anna Minassian)
by Connie Clark
WHAT DO AN AUTOGRAPHED
Lakers jersey, an authentic Anaheim
Ducks hockey stick, and a weekend
getaway in Catalina have in common?
For one thing, they’re now in
the hands of Merage School
students, faculty, alumni and staff.
For another, they recently helped
raise thousands of dollars for two
worthy organizations.
The items were among the donations
at the Challenge for Charity
(C4C) auction in April. The event
annually brings together the Merage
School community for an evening of
relaxation, fun and giving. Held at
the new, state-of-the-art UC Irvine
Medical Education Building, the
event helped raise $7,000 for
Special Olympics and Junior
Achievement of Orange County.
C4C is a non-profit 501(c)3
organization with chapters at nine
business schools along the west
coast, including the Merage
School. Members engage in meaningful
fundraising and volunteer
work with their local chapter
throughout the year. But it’s the
annual weekend intramural event
at Stanford where their efforts can
also pay off for the team. That’s
where the coveted Golden
Briefcase is awarded to the school
with the highest scores in fundraising,
volunteerism, and sports and
trivia events.
While April’s auction boosted the
Merage School chapter’s fundraising
scores, C4C members insist
they’re in it for more. Most agree
that the chance to roll up their
sleeves – volunteering at local food
banks and working on the fundraisers
– is their biggest reward.
They’re also gracious about
acknowledging their teams. “I cannot
thank Nick Mendez and his
team from UC Irvine Catering
enough for their generous support
of our event,” says Lori Hwangbo
’11, co-president of the Merage
School C4C chapter and chair of
the event. “In addition, Dr. Ralph
Clayman, dean of UC Irvine’s
Medical School and Nancy
Koehring of UC Irvine’s Medical
School made this event happen by
generously providing us with an
amazing venue. They allowed us to
hold an event at their brand-new,
one-month old building.”
More than 125 attendees enjoyed appetizers,
blackjack tables, and dancing to a live
DJ at the C4C Auction in April. (Photo by
Katie Pelton)
Merage School Relay for Life Team Members (from left): Adam
Whitescarver, Perry Leventhal, Raymond Wan, Margo McEntee,
Stephanie Blakeslee, George Goodman, and Jin Puertollano.
Merage School Team
Takes First Place in
American Cancer
Society’s Relay For Life
CONGRATULATIONS to undergraduate Business
Administration majors who participated in the American
Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. Out of the 69 UC Irvine
teams that competed, Team Merage was awarded first
place in fundraising. In addition, freshman Stephanie
Blakeslee took first place in individual fundraising over
more than 1,700 participants. Among those on the
winning team were:
Jin Puertollano (Captain)
Maria Aintablian
Sara Bangloria
Stephanie Blakeslee
Catherine Gliniak
George Goodman
Breneé Hall
Jeff Kimura
Perry Leventhal
Aaron Levin
Rebecca Levy
Margo McEntee
Jeet Nagda
Julie Onitsuka
Emily Rong
Linda Tan
Martin Vu
Raymond Wan
Adam Whitescarver
“What an exceptional group of students we have,”
said Denise Patrick, assistant dean of Undergraduate
Programs for The Paul Merage School of Business. “We
are proud to have them represent the Merage School
community.”
STUDENTS
PhD Students
Honored
Renee Rottner PhD
’10, won the INFORMS
dissertation proposal
competition for
Organization Science.
She was one of eight
doctoral students to
present her dissertation
proposal to a panel
of eight judges.
Rottner’s dissertation proposal titled, The Life of a
Project: Accomplishing Legitimacy in Sustained
Innovation, examines a space telescope project at
NASA over a 30 year period to understand how the
innovation was created and sustained over time.
Dante Pirouz PhD ’10
was one of the winners
of the Marketing
Science Institute’s
2009 Alden G. Clayton
Doctoral Dissertation
Proposal Competition.
The annual competition
is intended to encourage
doctoral work on
topics of importance to the marketing community.
This year’s winners were selected from nearly 60
high-quality entries received.
Doctoral student Kenji
Klein was selected as
a finalist for the
Western Academy of
Management’s Best
Doctoral Student Paper
Award for his work
titled, “Organizational
Community Interaction
and Novel Form
Generation.” The announcement was made during
the Western Academy of Management’s annual
meeting held this past March in Hawaii.
35
Merage | 2010 – 2011

MBA PROGRAMS MBA PROGRAMS
36
experience INNOVATION
Strategic
Issues in
Management
Series
Engages Professionals
as it Sharpens
Business Skills
by James Lystra
For business professionals,
skill building goes hand-inhand
with career building.
That’s why today’s executives
pursue lifelong learning to
remain competitive and increase
their value within their organizations.
One way executives
accomplish this is through the
Strategic Issues in Management
Series (SIMS) offered by the public
Executive Education Program at UC
Irvine’s Paul Merage School of
Business.
Directed by Lynette Albovias, MBA,
associate director, SIMS consists
of a series of 10, four-hour seminars
offered throughout the year
on current business topics such
as Finance for Non-Financial
Managers, Global Negotiations,
and Critical Thinking & Decision
Making. SIMS also offers participants
a small glimpse into various
opportunities available to companies
for fully-customizable
corporate education programs
designed to address the business
needs unique to each organization.
“The Strategic Issues in
Management Series offers a
refreshing approach to relevant
business topics, and the dynamic
structure of the sessions provides
participants with a unique arena to
pool points of view and share
sound managerial experience in
various sectors,” said participant
Fernando Eiroa, president and CEO
of Palace Entertainment.
“Additionally, we were most impressed
with the excellent design
of a customized Executive
Education program for the Palace
Entertainment management team
that resulted in a well organized
and carefully conducted training
that addressed key issues perfectly
connected with the day-to-day
business situations within our
company.”
“The type of experience we are
striving for with this program is one
that will benefit an individual in
multiple ways, offering new knowledge
and new insights in dynamic
and highly interactive sessions,”
said Albovias.
Indeed, it is the interactive
nature of these seminars that
enables Executive Education to
achieve program goals successfully
and create a setting that lends
itself not only to learning, but also
provides a unique networking
opportunity where professionals
can share their experiences and
leverage the knowledge of the
expert faculty as well as the
knowledge of their fellow participants.
“Through our discussions,
participants benefit from a cross-
pollination of ideas where the
faculty’s input or another participant’s
experience may offer new
perspectives and possible solutions
to another’s issues or challenges,”
Albovias added.
Keeping the seminars both current
and relevant is of utmost
importance as each year’s offerings
are organized. “We review and
refresh the sessions always with an
eye towards what’s new. Even if we
repeat a particular topic, we’ll
update the content materials,” said
Albovias.
“The topics selected for SIMS
were interesting and very relevant
to the times and also to the needs
of my business. The subject matter
was presented in an interactive
manner by well prepared and upto-date
faculty, which resulted in
lively discussion. I looked forward
“Through our
discussions,
participants
benefit from
a cross-
pollination
of ideas.
”
to those special Thursday afternoons
of interacting with
professionals from other industry
segments and learning from their
different perspectives,” said Rahul
Vir, general manager, Marriott
International – Irvine Marriott
Hotel.
Visit merage.uci.edu/go/ExecEd
for more information on current
program offerings, registration
information, and to learn about
custom Executive Education
opportunities.
WHICH MBA
IS RIGHT
FOR YOU?
37
Merage | 2010 – 2011

MBA PROGRAMS
38
experience INNOVATION
Challenge
is
Contagious
Classroom Opportunity
Sends Some Students to
Work; Others to Hawaii
and Chicago
by Anne Warde
WHAT STARTED OUT AS A LUNCH MEETING between
a Merage School Professor and one of the School’s
esteemed Dean’s Advisory Board (DAB) members, turned
into a unique marketing experience for some very lucky
students.
DAB Chair Ed Fuller, president and managing director
of Marriott Lodging International, met with Assistant
Professor of Marketing Loraine Lau-Gesk to share some
of his ideas and explore the possibility of giving a presentation
to Lau-Gesk’s marketing class of first year MBA
students. The result of the meeting sent one student to
work and another to Hawaii.
Moving far beyond a traditional guest speaker gig in
the classroom, Fuller and Lau-Gesk co-developed a live
Marriott case based on a recent and wildly successful
marketing campaign promoting hotels in Hawaii. Students
prepared for the live case by conducting extensive primary
research, participating in an hour-long team strategy session
following Fuller’s classroom visit, then presenting
their recommendations. It was after the presentations
that an impressed Fuller made an impromptu offer. He
challenged Lau-Gesk’s class to submit brief proposals
outlining their strategic marketing recommendations to
promote Marriott hotels in China. The China Challenge
became an extra outside-of-class assignment.
Individuals and teams of students were provided structure
and were required to prepare a three page proposal.
The winner of the China Challenge was offered an all-expenses
paid, week-long trip to Hawaii courtesy of Marriott.
“The live case and surprise challenges were ideal projects
that added a new dimension to learning,” said
Lau-Gesk. “Students got the chance to test their mettle
and Ed Fuller was genuinely happy to reward them for
their efforts.”
Hu (Hila) Qu was the talented student who won the
China Challenge and the trip to Hawaii, which she shared
with her husband. “I think I had an advantage being from
China,” said Qu. “I understand what it will take for
Marriott to relate to the locals there and to capture the
trend of leisure traveling in the Chinese market.”
To promote her marketing concept to the Chinese, Qu
recommended a bus promotion along with presentations
and shows in major malls and other retail centers. Qu
even invited a famous Chinese singer to write a theme
song for the event.
“Developing the proposal and winning the contest really
gave me a lot confidence. For an international student
it can be difficult to get into marketing as there are
many barriers. Professor Lau-Gesk helped tremendously
and encouraged me to follow my instinct, but do so with
rigor,” Qu stated.
Dean’s Advisory Board Chair and Marriott Lodging International
President and Managing Director Ed Fuller offered an impromptu
“China Challenge” to students in class.
“Ed Fuller’s China Challenge has really turned out great
for our students and the Marriott,” commented Lau-Gesk.
“In fact, one of our students, Doug Allan ’11, landed a
fabulous internship with Marriott that will take him on a
road trip all over the country.”
“I introduced myself to Ed Fuller following the presentation
he did for our class,” commented Allan. “I am
extremely interested in pursuing a marketing career. I
already have a degree in hotel administration and this
was the perfect opportunity to make a connection.”
Lau-Gesk followed up on the introduction to Fuller and
Allan was awarded the internship that could change his
career. He begins his nationwide “Spirit of Aloha Bus
Tour” in January and will be promoting Marriott’s
Hawaiian Resorts throughout the nation.
“We have almost finalized the itinerary for the tour and
after that is complete we will be rolling full-steam ahead
with the rest of the programming,” said Allan, officially
appointed Sales and Marketing intern – Marriott Resorts
Hawaii.
The marketing class was not the only group to benefit
from Professor Lau-Gesk’s dedication. Her Consumer
Behavior class was also presented a challenge. Theirs
was to solve a real-world business problem for United
Airlines.
Winners of the United Airlines Project were given the
opportunity to present their case to United executives in
Chicago. “A live case adds a lot of value to the learning
MBA PROGRAMS
Professor Loraine Lau-Gesk (front) is surrounded by United Airlines
Project student winners, Julia Buchanan, David Safani and Paula
Chang.
experience,” said Julie Buchanan ‘10. “The project is elevated
a notch because it’s a current issue that a business is
facing that could have an immediate impact on revenues.”
“Professor Lau-Gesk is a catalyst who actively seeks
out new and innovative projects for students that serve as
both a hands-on experience in finding solutions to a realworld
business problem and an opportunity to forge new
and stronger relationships between Fortune 500 companies
and fellow students,” added Paula Chang ‘10.
“Throughout the project, Professor Lau-Gesk’s invaluable
insights and professional connections played a pivotal
role in supporting our team.”
Key to the success of the winning team members in
the United Airlines Project challenge was finding ways to
capitalize on the strength of their differing experiences
and backgrounds. By collaboratively applying the theories
and concepts learned in the classroom, the team created
a recommendation that was both relevant to the team’s
MBA experience and impactful to United Airlines.
“We were somewhat surprised by the praise we
received from United,” says team member David Safani
’10. “Our presentation led to serious discussion about
the viability of many of our ideas and how United might
bring them to fruition.”
Professor Lau-Gesk is continuing to seek out ways to
provide a platform for reality based education. The connections
the Merage School has to major corporations
and top executives are making her goal attainable.
39
Merage | 2010 – 2011

MBA PROGRAMS
40
experience INNOVATION
Merage School Jumps
15 Spots to Rank 36th
Among America’s Best
by Anne Warde by Anne Warde
The Full-Time MBA program at UC Irvine’s Paul
Merage School of Business leaped forward 15
spots to take 36th place on U.S. News and
World Report’s 2011 annual ranking of
America’s Best Graduate Schools, and ranked first in
the nation for employment of its MBA graduates three
months after graduation, with 91.7 percent of its Class of
2009 accepting positions.
Merage School’s Executive MBA and Fully Employed
MBA programs both ranked in the Top 25 nationally
among part-time business school programs, with the
EMBA program ranking 23rd and FEMBA program
ranking 24th.
In addition to the top employment slot, the Merage
School ranked 16th among public university business
schools, 19th in the nation for GPA, 23rd for acceptance
rate, 29th for employment at graduation, and 33rd for
GMAT entrance scores.
“As a leading business school, we expect to remain in
the Top 50 as we continue to define our vision and differentiate
our programs, and graduate business leaders
with the exceptional ability to help grow their organizations
through strategic innovation,” said Dean Andy
Policano. “Through input from our corporate partners,
we’re continually focused on the caliber of students
we’re bringing into the program, and we’ve enhanced
our curriculum with a keen eye toward strategic innovation
and global competitiveness which helps to set our
graduates apart in the job market.”
ABOUT THE METHODOLOGY
Each year, U.S. News ranks professional-school programs
in business, education, engineering, law, and
medicine. These rankings are based on two types of
data: expert opinions about program quality and statistical
indicators that measure the quality of a school's
faculty, research, and students. These data come from
surveys of more than 1,200 programs and some 12,400
academics and professionals that were conducted in fall
2009. The part-time MBA ranking was based on surveys
of over 300 business schools conducted in fall
2009. More detail on the report and methodology can
be found at usnews.com.
HCEMBA Program Ranks
23rd For Physician
Executives
Among the top business schools for physician
executives, The Paul Merage School of Business
ranks 23rd, according to Modern Healthcare’s
2010 Business Graduate Schools for Physician-
Executives Survey.
“We are all about immersive, reality-based education,”
said Marty Bell, interim director, MBA Program
Services. “This recognition illustrates how well our strategy
is being received in the business world.”
Data for the survey was collected between January
and March 2010 and reflects the 2009-10 school year.
Modern Healthcare’s 2009 Business Graduate
Schools for Physician-Executives Survey rankings were
based on a list of programs awarding MBAs of similar
degrees in courses that
focus on physicians. All
schools ranked offer
MBAs or similar
degrees that focus
on physicians and
have accreditation
unless
otherwise
“This recognition illustrates how
well our strategy is being received
in the business world.
”
noted. Programs were ranked on
five factors; length of time to complete
(the shorter the program, the higher the rank);
cost of total tuition (the lower the tuition, the higher
the rank); number of days students must spend on
campus (the fewer the days, the higher the rank); age of
each program in years (the older the program, the higher
the rank): and number of total graduates. The five
rankings were then totaled, with the lowest score getting
the highest final rank.
Merage on the Move
TONY HANSFORD ‘98 has accepted
the position of Assistant Dean of
Executive Degree Programs and
began his new role September
15th. In this position, Hansford will
have responsibility for leading both
the Executive MBA and Health Care
Executive MBA programs. For the
past seven years, Hansford has
served as Assistant Dean for the
Fully Employed MBA Program.
During his tenure, the FEMBA program
gained national prominence
ranking 24th in the U.S. News and
World Report and among the top 10
in the West in BusinessWeek. He also
played a significant role in strengthening
the international component of
the program and adding new destinations
that reflect the vibrancy of
emerging global markets.
JON MASCIANA, FEMBA ‘06, has
rejoined the Merage School staff as
director of FEMBA Admissions &
Recruitment. Previously, Masciana
served as associate director for the
department and was later promoted
to admissions director before leaving
to serve a vital management
role at UC Riverside as director of
Web Development for the Office of
Strategic Communications, Uni -
versity Advancement. Masciana has
over 11 years of experience in MBA
admission and recruitments, online
marketing, market research and
operations in higher education and
the entertainment industry. He
received his MBA from the Merage
School in 2006.
DENISE PATRICK has been
promoted to assistant dean of
Undergraduate Degree Programs
for the Merage School. Patrick has
been with the School for more than
23 years working in student affairs.
In 1990, she became the director of
the undergraduate minor program.
Patrick built the program to capacity
enrolling over 550 students
annually. In 2008, the School added
an undergraduate major, which is
currently beginning year three, and
enrolls an additional 430 students
with an eventual enrollment goal of
600. Due in part to her efforts, the
Merage School has attracted students
with the highest GPA and SAT
scores on campus. Business is the
MBA PROGRAMS
third most requested major out of
84, and it constitutes nearly ten percent
of the campus freshman
application pool and 15% of the
transfer student application pool. It
is the number one most-requested
major by transfer students.
TAMMY STEENSLAND has joined
the MBA Career Center as Associate
Director and lead for the department’s
marketing careers vertical.
With over 15 years of staffing and
training experience with a number
of Fortune 500 companies,
Streensland brings a unique
perspective to the Merage School.
As a Career Consultant at Right
Management Consultants,
Streensland delivered career
transition services for departing
employees of companies throughout
southern California.
Steensland earned an MBA
from the Anderson School at
UCLA and a Bachelor of Business
Administration from Loyola
Marymount University. She is a
Certified Career Management
Coach (CCMC) through the Career
Coach Academy, a program recognized
by the International Coaches
Federation. She is also a member
of the National Human Resources
Association and the American
Society of Training and
Development.
41
Merage | 2010 – 2011

FACULTY INSIGHTS FACULTY INSIGHTS
42
experience INNOVATION
Faculty
Research
Faculty research is an important
part of the Merage School’s focus
on strategic innovation. Following
are summaries of 20 recent
papers by our faculty members
(names in bold) or co-written with
colleagues from other UC Irvine
departments or other universities.
STRAGEGY
By Professor Philip Bromiley
Looking at
Prospect Theory
BY CAREFULLY EXAMINING the
implications of Tversky &
Kahneman’s Prospect Theory, this
paper demonstrates that, contrary
to frequent assumptions in the literature,
the theory makes few predictions until all its
conditions are fully specified. Furthermore, the often-mentioned
“risk aversion above and risk seeking below” the
reference point are not generally correct, and, indeed,
most choices firms face
involve both positive
and negative outcomes
making the “all above”
or “all below” results
irrelevant. Finally, the
theory’s probability
weighting function,
which has often been
ignored, significantly
influences the theory’s
predictions.
“Contrary to frequent
assumptions, the
theory makes few
predictions until all
its conditions are
fully specified.
”
FINANCE
By Professor Nai-fu Chen
Banking Reforms
for the 21st Century:
a Perfectly Stable
Banking System
Based on Financial
Innovations
ALTHOUGH BANK LOANS themselves are somewhat illiquid
because of private information, most of their
cashflows are not. Recent financial innovations allow commercial
loans to be liquefied via credit derivatives and
actual and synthetic securitizations. The loan originating
bank holds the remaining illiquid equity tranche containing
the concentrated credit risk, private information rent
and the “excess spread” that incentivize the bank to continue
to monitor and service the loans. Empirically it was
found that the average size of the equity tranche is about
3% for the representative commercial loan portfolios in
the sample. The liquefaction of bank loans makes possible
a banking system that restricts the guaranteed
accounts to be backed by 100% reserves and the nonguaranteed
deposits to be backed by liquid securitized
loan tranches, while retaining the deposit-lending synergy.
Such a system is perfectly safe without deposit insurance
and it renders banks bankruptcy-remote without sacrificing
a bank’s traditional role as a financial intermediary.
MARKETING
By Professor Imran Currim
Multi-Stage Purchase
Decision Models:
Accommodating
Response Heterogeneity,
Common Demand
Shocks, and
Endogeneity Using Disaggregate Data
Rick L. Andrews, co-author
THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE models of purchase
behavior for frequently purchased supermarket items
explain households’ purchase incidence decisions
(whether to buy), brand choice decisions (what to buy),
and purchase quantity decisions (how much to buy). In
this study, researchers developed a three-stage purchase
incidence/brand choice/purchase quantity model
for household-level data in which all three stages are
specified with (i) random coefficients distributions for
model covariates and (ii) random effects distributions to
account for unobserved factors affecting demand
(known as common demand shocks), while also (iii)
controlling for the effects of endogeneity in prices.
Compared to current state-of-the-art models for multistage
purchase decisions, the results show
improvements in fit and forecasting accuracy when purchase
behaviors are modeled with all of these
components in combination. Perhaps more importantly,
when common demand shocks are ignored, substantial
differences in parameter estimates and diagnostic information
about consumer behavior are likely (median
differences in parameter estimates are 10% and 20% in
two product categories), which impact managerial deliberations
about price and promotion policies. Further,
failure to account for common demand shocks affect
the mean and variance of random coefficients distributions
in unpredictable directions, which could produce
results that encourage managers to pursue inappropriate
and costly micro-level product marketing strategies.
By Professor Imran Currim
Amalgamation of Partitions from
Multiple Segmentation Bases: A
Comparison of Non-Model-Based
and Model-Based Methods
Rick L. Andrews and Michael J. Brusco, co-authors
THE SEGMENTATION OF customers on multiple bases is
a pervasive problem in marketing research. For example,
segmentation service providers partition customers using
a variety of demographic and psychographic characteristics,
as well as an array of consumption attributes such
as brand loyalty, switching behavior, and product/service
satisfaction. Unfortunately, the partitions obtained from
multiple bases are often not in good agreement with one
another, making effective segmentation a difficult managerial
task. Therefore, the construction of segments using
multiple independent bases often results in a need to
establish a partition that represents an amalgamation
or consensus of the individual partitions. This paper
43
Merage | 2010 – 2011

FACULTY INSIGHTS
compares three methods for finding a consensus partition.
The first two methods are deterministic, do not use
a statistical model in
the development of
the consensus parti-
obtained from multiple tion, and are
representative of
bases are often not in methods used in
commercial settings,
good agreement with whereas the third
method is based on
one another, making
finite mixture model-
effective segmentation ing. In a large scale
simulation experi-
a difficult managerial ment the finite
mixture model yield-
task.
”
ed better average
recovery of holdout
(validation) partitions than its non-model-based competitors.
This result calls for important changes in the
current practice of segmentation service providers that
group customers for a variety of managerial goals related
to the design and marketing of products and services.
“The partitions
44
experience INNOVATION
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
By Professor Sanjeev Dewan
Information
Technology and Firm
Boundaries: Impact
on Firm Risk and
Return Performance
Fei Ren, PhD ’07, co-author
THIS PAPER REFLECTS an empirical investigation of the
impact of information technology (IT) investment on firm
return and risk financial performance, emphasizing the
moderating role of the firm boundary strategies of diversification
and vertical integration. While the direct effect
of IT capital is to increase firm risk for a given level of
return, it is found that suitable boundary strategies can
moderate the impact of IT on firm performance in a way
that increases return and decreases risk, at the margin.
This moderation effect is strongest in service firms, in
firms with high levels of IT investment intensity, and in
more recent time periods. These results provide new
insights into how IT and firm boundary strategies interact
to affect the risk and return performance of firms.
ACCOUNTING By Professor Lucile Faurel
Post Loss/Profit
Announcement Drift
Karthik Balakrishnan and Eli
Bartov, co-authors
THIS PAPER DOCUMENTS a market
failure to fully respond to loss/profit quarterly
announcements. The annualized post portfolio formation
return spread between two portfolios formed on extreme
losses and extreme profits is approximately 21 percent.
This loss/profit anomaly is incremental to previously documented
accounting-related anomalies, and is robust to
alternative risk adjustments, distress risk, firm size, short
sales constraints, transaction costs, and sample periods.
In an effort to explain this finding, this paper shows that
the mispricing is related to differences between conditional
and unconditional probabilities of losses/profits,
as if stock prices do not fully reflect conditional probabilities
in a timely fashion.
MARKETING
By Professor Mary Gilly
Employees as Internal
Audience: How
Advertising Affects
Employees’ Customer
Focus
Mary Wolfinbarger, co-author
AD CAMPAIGNS TARGET consumers with information
about the company, its products, and sometimes its
employees. Ads also reach the organization’s employees
and may contain information useful to employees in
meeting customer needs. Results from a study involving
a high-tech firm indicate that when employees believe
ads are effective and value congruent, their customer
focus increases. Pride completely mediates the effects of
value congruence and effectiveness on customer focus.
Organizational identification of employees generally
results in a more favorable reaction to ads. A second
study involving a regional health facility replicates and
extends these findings to include employee portrayal
accuracy when employees are featured in ads. Employee
portrayal accuracy affects promise accuracy, effectiveness
and value-congruence. In addition, employee
portrayal accuracy has a direct effect on customer focus.
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
By Professor Vijay Gurbaxani
IT Outsourcing
Contracts and
Performance
Measurement
David Fitoussi, co-author
COMPANIES THAT OUTSOURCE IT services usually
focus on achieving multiple objectives, and outsourcing
contracts typically specify a variety of metrics to measure
and reward (or penalize) vendor performance. The
specific types of performance metrics included in a
contract strongly affect its incentive content and ultimately
its outcome. One specific challenge is the
measurement of performance when an outsourcing
arrangement has a mix of objectives, some that are
highly measurable and others that are not. Recent
advances in contract theory suggest that the design of
incentives for a given objective is affected by the characteristics
of other objectives. However, there is little
empirical work that demonstrates how relevant these
“multitask” concerns are in real-world contracts. In this
paper, contract theory is applied to examine how objectives
and incentives are related in IT outsourcing
contracts that include multiple objectives with varying
measurement costs. In this context, contracts generally
share the objective of reducing IT costs but vary in the
importance of increasing IT quality. The authors establish
empirical results about performance measurement
in IT outsourcing contracts that are consistent with
recent theoretical propositions. They find that the use of
strong direct incentives for a given measurable objective
is negatively correlated with the presence of less-measurable
objectives in the contract, and show that
outsourcing contracts that emphasize goals with high
measurement costs employ more performance metrics
than initiatives whose objectives have a lower measurement-cost
profile. Surprisingly, as the number of
performance metrics increase, satisfactory outcomes
decrease, which is explained within a multi-task theory
framework. Overall, the results provide empirical sup-
port for multi-task principal-agent theory and important
guidance in designing outsourcing contracts for complex
IT services.
FINANCE
By Professor David Hirshleifer
Investor
Overconfidence
and the Forward
Premium Puzzle
Craig Burnside, Bing Han and
Tracy Wang, co-authors
THIS PAPER OFFERS an explanation for the forward premium
puzzle in foreign exchange markets based upon
investor overconfidence. In the model, overconfident individuals
overreact to their information about future
inflation, which causes greater overshooting in the forward
rate than in the spot rate. Thus, when agents observe a
signal of higher future inflation, the consequent rise in
the forward premium predicts a subsequent downward
correction of the spot rate. The model can explain the
magnitude of the forward premium bias and several other
stylized facts related to the joint behavior of forward and
spot exchange rates. The approach is also consistent with
the availability of profitable carry trade strategies.
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
By Professor Ken Kraemer
Who Captures
Value in a Global
Innovation Network?
The Case of Apple’s
iPod
Greg Linden and Jason Dedrick, co-authors
FACULTY INSIGHTS
INNOVATION IS OFTEN TOUTED as a key driver of economic
growth, but when firms operate within production
and innovation networks that span national and firm
boundaries, the question arises as to who actually
benefits from innovation. Is it the home country of the
innovating firm, the country where the innovative product
45
Merage | 2010 – 2011

FACULTY INSIGHTS FACULTY INSIGHTS
is manufactured, or the countries that supply the key
high value components? To unravel that question, this
study moves away from macroeconomics and down to a
micro-level analysis of one well-known innovative product,
the Apple iPod. The
iPod is designed and
marketed by an
American company,
within production and assembled by
Taiwanese manufactur-
innovation networks
ers in China, and
that span national and includes key parts
from Japanese, Korean
firm boundaries, the and U.S. suppliers. So
who captures the value
question arises as to generated by this
hugely successful inno-
who actually benefits
vation? This paper
from innovation.
”
develops a framework
for analysis based on
financial measures of
value capture, and uses that framework to study one iPod
model to provide one perspective on these questions.
“When firms operate
46
experience INNOVATION
By Professor Ken Kraemer
One Laptop Per Child:
Vision vs. Reality
Jason Dedrick and Prakul Sharma, co-authors
IN JANUARY 2005, at the World Economic Forum in
Davos, Switzerland, Nicholas Negroponte unveiled the
idea of One Laptop Per Child (OLPC), a $100 PC that
would transform education for the world's disadvantaged
school children by providing the means for them to teach
themselves and each other. Negroponte estimated there
could be 100-150 million of these laptops shipped every
year by the end of 2007 (BBC News, 2005), but as of
January 2009, only a few hundred thousand laptops had
been distributed and OLPC had scaled down its ambitions
dramatically. This paper analyzes the OLPC experience,
focusing on (1) the successes and failures of OLPC in
understanding and adapting to the developing country
environment, and (2) the unexpectedly aggressive reaction
by the PC industry, including the industry’s superpowers
Intel and Microsoft, to defeat or co-opt the OLPC effort.
The study finds that OLPC created a novel technology, the
XO laptop, developed with close attention to the needs of
students in poor rural areas. Yet it failed to anticipate the
social and institutional problems that would arise in trying
to diffuse that innovation in the developing country context.
In addition, OLPC has been stymied by
underestimating the aggressive reaction of the PC industry
to the perceived threat of a $100 laptop being widely
distributed in places that the industry sees as emerging
markets for its own products.
By Professor Ken Kraemer
Who Profits From Innovation in
Global Value Chains? A Study of
iPods and Notebook PCs
Jason Dedrick and Greg Linden, co-authors
THIS ARTICLE ANALYZES the distribution of financial
value from innovation in the global supply chains of iPods
and notebook computers. It finds that Apple has captured
a great deal of value from the innovation embodied in the
iPod, while notebook makers capture a more modest share
of the value from PC innovation. In order to understand
these differences, we employ concepts from theories of
innovation and industrial organization, finding significant
roles for industry evolution, complementary assets, appropriability,
system integration, and bargaining power.
ACCOUNTING
By Professor Alexander Nekrasov
Fundamentals-Based
Risk Measurement in
Valuation
Pervin Shroff, co-author
IN THIS PAPER a methodology is
proposed to incorporate risk
measures based on economic fundamentals directly in
the valuation model. Fundamentals-based risk adjustment
in the
residual
income valua“The
single-factor risk
tion model is
captured by measure... largely explains
the covariance
the “mispricing” of value
of ROE with
market-wide and growth stocks.
”
factors.
Demonstrated
is a method of estimating covariance risk out of a sample
based on the accounting beta and betas of size and
book-to-market factors in earnings. Shown is how the
covariance risk estimate can be transformed to obtain
the fundamentals-based cost of equity. The empirical
analysis shows that value estimates based on fundamental
risk adjustment produce significantly smaller
deviations from price relative to the CAPM or the Fama-
French three-factor model. Further findings show that
the single-factor risk measure, based on the accounting
beta alone, captures aspects of risk that are indicated
by the book-to-market factor and largely explains the
“mispricing” of value and growth stocks. The study
highlights the usefulness of accounting numbers in
pricing risk beyond their role as trackers of returnsbased
measures of risk.
OPERATIONS AND DECISION
TECHNOLOGIES
By Professor Carlton Scott
Optimizing the
Location
of a Production Firm
Zvi Drezner, co-author
A FACILITY NEEDS to be located
in the plane to sell goods to a set
of demand points. The cost for producing an item and
the actual transportation cost per unit distance are
given. The planner needs to determine the best location
for the facility, the price charged at the source (mill
price) and the transportation rate per unit distance to
be charged to customers. Demand by customers is elastic
and assumed declining linearly with the total charge.
For each customer two parameters are given: the
demand at charge zero and the decline of demand per
unit charge. The objective is to find a location for the
facility in the plane, the mill price charged to customers
and the unit transportation rate charged to customers
such that the company’s profit is maximized. In this
paper, the problem is formulated and an algorithm that
finds the optimal solution is designed and tested on
randomly generated problems.
MANAGEMENT
By Professor Shivendu Shivendu
Mechanism Design
for “Free” but
“No Free Disposal”
Services: The
Economics of
Personalization Under
Privacy Concerns
Ramnath Chellappa, co-author
ONLINE PERSONALIZATION services belong to a class of
economic goods with a “no free disposal” (NFD) property
where consumers do not always prefer more services to
less because of the privacy concerns. These concerns
arise from the revelation of information necessary for the
provision of personalization services. This paper examines
vendor strategies in a market where consumers have heterogeneous
concerns about privacy. In successive
generalizations, the authors allow the vendor to offer a
fixed level of personalization, variable levels of personalization,
and monetary transfers (coupons) to the
consumers that depend on the level of personalization
chosen. They show that a vendor offering a fixed level of
personalization does not offer a coupon unless his marginal
value of information (MVI) is sufficiently high, and even
when personalization is costless, the vendor does not
cover the market. Under a fixed services offering, the vendor
serves the same market with or without couponing.
Next, it is demonstrated that in the absence of couponing,
the vendor’s optimal variable personalization services contract
maximizes surplus for all heterogeneous consumers,
which is in contrast to standard results from monopolistic
screening. When the vendor can offer coupons that vary
according to personalization levels, the optimal contract
is not fully revealing unless his MVI is high and he will
not offer coupons when this MVI is low. However, a vendor
with a moderate MVI (between certain thresholds) offers
a bunched contract, wherein, consumers with low privacy
concerns receive a variable services-coupon contract,
those with moderate privacy concerns receive a fixed
services-coupon contract, and those with high privacy
concerns do not participate in the market. The coupon
value is decreasing in privacy sensitivity of consumers.
47
Merage | 2010 – 2011

FACULTY INSIGHTS FACULTY INSIGHTS
48
experience INNOVATION
OPERATIONS AND DECISION
TECHNOLOGIES
By Professor Rick So
PhD Student Wenting Pan, co-author
Optimal Product
Pricing and
Component
Production Quantities
for an Assembly
System Under Supply
Uncertainty
THIS RESEARCH CONSIDERS an assemble-to-order
system where one of the components faces uncertainty
in the supply process in which the actual available quantity
is equal to some random fraction of the production
quantity. Demand is assumed to be price-dependent.
Researchers analyze how the supply uncertainty of one
component affects the product pricing and production
quantities of all the components under the assembly
structure. They show that it is profitable for the firm to
assemble the product only if the product price exceeds
a certain threshold. This price threshold increases as the
unit cost of each component or the degree of variability
of the supply reliability distribution increases, but is
independent of the underlying demand function and
demand distribution. Also, the optimal product price
decreases as supply uncertainty decreases. It further
shows that under deterministic demand, the components
can be managed independently such that the
production quantity or unit cost of the component with
supply uncertainty does not affect the optimal production
quantity of the other components as long as it is
profitable to assemble the product. However, when
demand is stochastic, the optimal production quantity
of each component depends on the supply reliability
distribution as well as the unit costs of the other components.
For a fixed product price, the optimal
production quantities of the components are smaller
when the unit product price is low, and are higher when
the unit product price is high as compared to the case
with no supply uncertainty.
MANAGEMENT
By Professor Alladi Venkatesh
Perceiving Images and
Telling Tales: A Visual
and Verbal Analysis of
the Meaning of the
Internet
Annamma Joy, John Sherry Jr. and Jonathan
Deschenes, co-authors
THIS PAPER USES VISUAL and verbal analysis to delve
into the multi-faceted ways in which individuals construct
their own meanings and shape their own experiences with
the Internet. It builds on the Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation
Technique, and the principles of visual rhetoric to show how
perceptual processes affect picture choices, and how these
choices contribute to the narrative imagination. Numerous
perceptual principles (abstraction, concept formation, perceptual
problem solving, constancy, closure, symmetry and
balance) are identified in the choice and organization of
visual images. The argument made is that images and
words (visual and textual processes) provide deeper insights
into our understanding of consumer online experiences.
OPERATIONS AND DECISION
TECHNOLOGIES
By Professor Shuya Yin
Alliance Formation
Among Perfectly
Complementary
Suppliers in a
Price-Sensitive
Assembly System
INDEPENDENT PARTIES who produce perfectly complementary
components may form alliances (or coalitions or
groups) to better coordinate their pricing decisions when
they sell their products to downstream buyers. This paper
studies how market demand conditions (i.e., the form of
the demand function, demand uncertainty, and price-sensitive
demand) drive coalition formation among comple mentary
suppliers. In the model with deterministic demand,
the authors shows that
for an exponential or
price increases suppli- iso-elastic demand
function, suppliers
ers’ incentives to form always prefer selling in
groups; while for a lin-
alliances relative to ear-power demand
function, suppliers may
the case with a fixed
all choose to sell inde-
retail price.
”
pendently in
equilibrium. These
results are interpreted
through the pass-through rate associated with the demand
function. In the model with uncertain demand, it is shown
that, in general, the introduction of a multiplicative stochastic
element into demand has an insignificant impact on
stable coalitions, and that an endogenous retail price (i.e.,
demand is price-sensitive) increases suppliers' incentives to
form alliances relative to the case with a fixed retail price.
Also taken into consideration is the impact of various other
factors on stable outcomes in equilibrium, e.g., sequential
decision making by coalitions of different sizes, the cost
effect due to alliance formation (either cost savings or additional
costs), and a system without an assembler.
“An endogenous retail
By Professor Shuya Yin
Durable Products with Multiple Used
Goods Markets: Product Upgrade
and Retail Pricing Implications
Saibal Ray, Haresh Gurnani and Animesh Animesh,
co-authors
USED GOODS MARKETS are nowadays important transaction
channels for durable products. For some durable
products, such markets first appeared when retailers
started buying back used products from “old” customers
and selling them to new ones for a profit (retail used
goods market). The growth of electronic peer-to-peer
(P2P) markets opened up a second, frictionless used
goods channel where new customers can buy used products
directly from “old” ones (P2P used goods market).
Both these markets compete with the original primary
market whereby retailers sell unused products procured
from the manufacturer. This paper focuses on understanding
the role that the sequential emergence of the above
two used goods markets plays in shaping the product
upgrade strategy of the manufacturer and the pricing
strategy of the retailer. It does so in the context of a
decentralized, dyadic channel dealing with a renewable set
of consumers. The analysis establishes that frequent
product upgrades and rising retail prices in durable product
sectors of interest are due to the emergence of the
P2P used goods market and how it interacts with the
retail used goods source in altering the relative powers of
the channel partners. Moreover, contrary to popular belief,
the paper shows that the initial introduction of the retail
used goods channel actually discourages introduction of
new versions and restrains the rise in retail prices.
Comment is also
made on how the two
used goods markets “Frequent product
affect the profits of
the channel partners. upgrades and rising
Empirical support is
provided for the theoretical
result product sectors are
regarding product
upgrades using data due to the emergence
from college textbook
industry, a durable of the P2P used
product which fits the
goods market.
model setup.
STRATEGY
retail prices in durable
By Professor Yu Zhang
Earnings Pressure and
Competitive
Behavior: Evidence
from the U.S.
Electricity Industry
Javier Gimeno, co-author
”
THIS STUDY EXAMINES the effect of earnings pressure –
the tension felt by management to meet or beat analysts’
earnings forecasts – on firms’ behavior in oligopolistic
output competition. The authors argue that firms whose
management experiences earnings pressure seek to
increase current profits to meet analysts’ forecasts by
exploiting market power opportunities and tightening output,
even though this could encourage rival output
expansion. Using data from the US electricity generation
industry, it is found that firms facing earnings pressure
tended to restrict output in markets where market structure
and competitor characteristics were favorable for the
exercise of market power, while their competitors tended
to increase output in those markets.
49
Merage | 2010 – 2011

FACULTY INSIGHTS FACULTY INSIGHTS
50
experience INNOVATION
Merage School Faculty
in the News
A W A R D W I N N E R S
KRISTIN BEHFAR received two awards
this year. One for Outstanding Paper
Published in 2008 from the International
Association for Conflict Management and
the second, Ascendant Scholar, from the
Western Academy of Management.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
SANJEEV DEWAN received the Best
Paper Award from the INFORMS
Conference on Information Systems and
Technology (October 2009).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ROBIN KELLER was chosen for a second
term as Editor-in-Chief of Decision
Analysis, January 2010-December 2012.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
B O O K S R E L E A S E D
PETER NAVARRO
Professor of Economics and Public Policy
Seeds of Destruction: Why the Path
to Economic Ruin Runs Through
Washington, and How to Reclaim
American Prosperity
In this book, a top Republican and
Democratic economist each explain why Obama’s economic
policies are failing…and offer a commonsense blueprint
for re-igniting long-term growth and prosperity for all
Americans. They show how to overhaul the tax system,
increase business investment, slash government spending, control
entitlements, and even rebuild American manufacturing.
JONE PEARCE
Dean’s Professor of Leadership
Status in Management and Organizations
It is only relatively recently that management
scholars have turned their attention
to the powerful role that social status plays
in organizations. This book brings together
this important work, showing how a better understanding
of status can be used to address problems in a number of
different organizational settings.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
N E W S M A K E R S
PROFESSOR DEVIN SHANTHIKUMAR
has joined The Paul Merage School of
Business as Assistant Professor of Financial
and Managerial Accounting. Formerly a
faculty member at Harvard Business
School (HBS), Shanthikumar taught both
financial accounting and managerial accounting for MBAs,
wrote cases, and conducted academic research. Prior to joining
HBS she earned her PhD in Business Administration
with a focus in Finance from Stanford University and her
BS in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from
UC Berkeley. Her research focuses on investors’ use of
financial information, and the role of financial intermediaries
given investors’ behavioral and cognitive limitations.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
JOHN TURNER has joined The Paul
Merage School of Business as Assistant
Professor of Operations and Decisions
Technologies effective July 2010. Turner
previously served as an instructor at the
Tepper School of Business at Carnegie
Mellon University where he taught Production: Operations
Management and served as a recitation leader and head TA,
project course TA, and teaching assistant.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
LIBBY WEBER has joined the faculty of
The Paul Merage School of Business as
Assistant Professor of Strategy. Prior to
her position at the Merage School, Weber
taught Strategic Management and
Contemporary Issues in Competitive
Strategy at the Marshall School of Business at the
University of Southern California.
PROFESSOR JOANNA HO was
appointed director of International
Programs for The Paul Merage School of
Business. In this role, she will work with
the dean, faculty, staff, and students to
oversee the International Residentials and
student exchange programs. She will also advise the dean
and faculty on all aspects of the School’s global strategy.
Ho received her PhD from the University of Texas at
Austin and has been at UC Irvine since 1986. Her
research work has included examining accounting issues
involving companies in the U.S. and other countries such
as China, Japan, and Taiwan. She has taught the EMBA
international residential, and has served the School in a
number of important roles, including the Associate Dean
for MBA programs. She has also served outside of the
School as Vice President – Sections and Regions of the
American Accounting Association (AAA) and is currently a
working member of the AAA Global Initiatives Task Force.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
PROFESSOR ALLADI VENKATESH
accepted a new role as Associate Dean of
the Masters Programs effective August 1,
2010, for a renewable two year term. In
this position he oversees the vision, strategy,
curriculum, and academic matters
for all the masters programs in the Merage School including
the FTMBA, FEMBA, EMBA and HCEMBA.
Professor Venkatesh is well-known for his scholarly contributions
in the area of Technology Diffusion. He is a
recipient of research grants from the National Science
Foundation and has published widely in the areas of
Marketing and Informatics.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
PROFESSOR IMRAN CURRIM has
begun the new role of Associate Dean,
Marketing and Student Relations,
Executive MBA Programs. In this position,
he assists the school in marketing
the executive degree programs to potential
and admitted students, and conducts internal and
external marketing research to help ensure that there is a
match between the student/employer expectations and
the Merage School’s Executive Degree Programs.
51
Merage | 2010 – 2011

COLLABORATION COLLABORATION
52
experience INNOVATION
Profile of a
Corporate
Champion
by Lynn Selich
Tom Wagner ’89
Vice President, Consumer Insights/Marketing, Taco Bell Corp.
and Vice President Marketing, Yum! Brands
Corporate Partners Program Executive Committee Member Tom Wagner
believes that trust and loyalty are two of the most important qualities
any individual or organization can demonstrate on both a personal and
professional level. His long-standing relationship with the Merage School,
and with its staff and faculty, ultimately resulted in his commitment to
being an active member supporting the Corporate Partners Program.
Tom Wagner’s belief in the importance of forging
strong, trusting relationships began to take form
back in 1987 when he was accepted to UC Irvine’s
graduate program at what is now The Paul Merage
School of Business. Wagner fondly recounts how the
entire organization’s staff went out of their way to get to
know him personally, helping to ease his concerns by
assisting him with everything from housing to finding a
teaching job. Upon graduation, they helped Wagner
secure interviews with top-tier companies and encouraged
him to remain involved in the Alumni Association.
To this day, Wagner recalls their kindness and efficiency,
citing that it is a primary reason why he has chosen to be
actively involved as an alumnus and a Corporate Partner,
giving back to the institution that helped him become the
business and community leader he is today. He hopes
other executives and future graduates will join him in creating
an even more robust, sustainable program
dedicated to providing an important venue in which executives
meet, network and get to know each other on a
more personal level.
“Networking is critical to the business world and life in
general. There are many examples over the years how
Corporate Partners contacts have facilitated new business
relationships,” states Wagner. He recounts, “The
most recent example is when I asked Andy Policano
(Dean of the Merage School) if he could help me introduce
Ray Westin (Taco Bell’s General Counsel) to Erwin
Chemerinsky (Dean of UC Irvine’s Law School). Within a
few weeks, this introduction had already taken place and
both Taco Bell and the UC Irvine School of Law are considering
establishing an important Internship and
Mentoring program.”
In addition to his current participation as a Corporate
Partners Program Executive Committee member, Wagner
has also lent his time to the organization as a Dean’s
Advisory Board member, a member of the Dean’s
Leadership Circle, as a Career Center lecturer and graduation
speaker, and has participated in the Executive
Mentoring Program. For the Distinguished Speaker
Series, Wagner arranged for the CEO of Taco Bell, Greg
Creed, to be the featured speaker in this signature
Merage School event.
As a top executive at Taco Bell Corp., Wagner supports
company programs designed to encourage higher education,
providing certain levels of tuition reimbursement to
full-time employees. Taco Bell currently hires approximately
four to six MBAs per year across a variety of
functions and actively recruits at UC Irvine. Currently,
more than 12 Merage School alumni are working in the
Taco Bell corporate office.
Wagner feels strongly that organizations are only as
good as the people involved. It is for this reason that he
chose to make a commitment to become an active MBA
student and is now a committed alumnus.
“Because the Merage School is made up of four integral
groups: faculty, staff, students and alumni, all four
factions have key responsibilities in advancing the school’s
reputation, and positively impacting the community,”
concluded Wagner. “Taco Bell is committed to giving
back to the community by continuing to support the
Merage Corporate Partners Program, and I encourage
everyone to get involved on whatever level they are able.
It has been some of my best time spent.”
For information about the Corporate Partners Program,
visit merage.uci.edu/go/CorporatePartners.
53
Merage | 2010 – 2011

COLLABORATION
Looking for top
MBA talent?
Let the Merage School MBA Career Center be your first
source in Orange County for qualified MBA business
professionals.
Tapping into the professional talent network of our four
MBA programs and alumni has never been easier.
■ POST full-time and internship opportunities
■ REVIEW resumes for your open positions
■ REQUEST a resume referral tailored to your specific
needs
■ CONTACT us today at:
UC Irvine Paul Merage School of Business
MBA Career Center
MPAA 201
Irvine, CA 92697-3130
949.824.8464
recruiting@merage.uci.edu
merage.uci.edu/go/recruit
Merage School Joins
Yellow Ribbon Program
The Paul Merage School of Business is participating
in the Yellow Ribbon GI Educational
Enhancement Program for 2010-2011 and will be
providing financial assistance to as many as 14
elite eligible U.S. military officer veterans who are accepted
into one of the Merage School’s four MBA programs.
“The Yellow Ribbon Program is one of the best ways
we can reward people who have served our country,” said
Alladi Venkatesh, associate dean of MBA Programs for
the Merage School. “Enhancing the education of our veterans
enables them to make an even stronger
contribution to the growth of our communities.”
Funding for eligible individuals will be available on a
first-come, first-served basis. Prospective students must
meet all requirements for admission to The Paul Merage
School of Business and must submit an application. The
business school will waive the admissions application fee
for all active military and U.S. veterans. The U.S.
Department of Veterans Affairs will determine each applicant’s
eligibility for the Yellow Ribbon
Program (YRP). If the applicant is
accepted into one of the Merage
School MBA programs and one of
the fourteen YPR openings are still
available, the applicant may be eligible
to receive the YRP award. For
more information about the
Yellow Ribbon Program
at UC Irvine’s Paul
Merage School of
Business, contact
Mary Morris at
mkmorris@uci.edu or
949.824.5728.
54
experience INNOVATION
What Does
Success
PICTURE AN EXECUTIVE who is
founder, principal and CEO of his
own company; a Visionary member
of the Merage School’s Dean’s
Leadership Circle; a top alumni
recruiter for the Merage School;
coach for the MBA Management
Practicum; member of the Don
Beall Center for Innovation and
Entrepreneurship; and newly
appointed member of the Merage
School’s Dean’s Advisory Board for
2010. We’d like you to meet Merage
School Alumnus Thomas Antunez,
FEMBA ’05.
Recently Antunez shared his success
with The Paul Merage School
of Business in the form of a
$150,000 gift toward the Merage
School Building Campaign.
“As an entrepreneur, I realize
creating a product, service, or institution
requires investments of time,
capital, and energy. Our mission at
the Merage School is no different,”
said Antunez. “The School is striving
to create an institution that
personifies the social and business
impact that a Merage School MBA
can make locally and globally. Our
recent ascent in the business school
rankings is a lagging indicator of
Look Like?
by Anne Warde
the successful path upon which we
are executing. I will continue to support
my alma mater with all of my
abilities, and in the process, hope
to inspire my fellow alumni to contribute
as well.”
Antunez is the first of the Merage
School’s alumni to make a Building
Campaign contribution, and he is
leading the charge to recruit others
to join him. In recognition of his
extraordinary generosity, the suite
of offices occupied by the Fully-
Employed MBA program will be
named in his honor.
“Thomas exemplifies the exceptional
business leaders we are
training and developing at the
Merage School. He is a brilliant
COLLABORATION
financial expert with exceptional
drive, motivation and generosity,”
said Dean Andy Policano. “We are
so proud of his achievements and
his commitment to our success.”
Antunez’s company, Percentix,
is a management and technology
consulting firm specializing in the
diagnosis, design, delivery and
deployment of Enterprise
Performance Management (EPM)
solutions. Percentix was recently
acquired by Prithvi Information
Solutions, Inc., a large IT services
company, for which Antunez now
serves as senior vice president.
He also serves as an advisory
board member for Outcome Logic,
a small software startup that
provides security solutions for
the public, private and consumer
sectors.
A graduate of the University of
California, Riverside, Antunez holds
a BA degree in both Economics and
Mathematics. Antunez is certified in
Hyperion Planning and Hyperion
Essbase, and is also a Six Sigma
Certified Professional. In 2008, he
was named one of Orange County’s
“Top 40 Business Leaders Under
40” by OC Metro magazine.
55
Merage | 2010 – 2011

COLLABORATION
56
experience INNOVATION
Center News
Merage School’s
Center for Real
Estate Breaks
Ground on
Urban Design
Competition
JOINING NEARLY 100 top universities
from around the country, the
Center for Real Estate (CRE), for the
first time sponsored a team to compete
in the prestigious Urban Land
Institute (ULI)/Gerald D. Hines
Student Urban Design Competition.
Now in its eighth year, the ULI
Competition offers graduate-level students
attending schools in the United
States and Canada the opportunity to
form multidisciplinary teams and
engage in a challenging exercise in
responsible land use.
The Urban Design Competition is
part of ULI’s ongoing effort to raise
interest among young people in creating
better communities, improving
development patterns, and increasing
awareness of the need for multidisciplinary
solutions to development and
design challenges.
“It was an honor to represent the
Merage School and be among the
first to participate in this competition
with other top schools from around
the country,” commented Merage
School MBA student team member
Sean Rawson, EMBA ‘10, and Jason
Ireland, FTMBA ‘10
Jason Ireland. “I found it to be a fascinating
project that really helped me,
and all the team members, build skills
and learn to work with other disciplines
– more than just personalities.
The experience made all of us more
aware of how to approach a largescale
project, not only from a finance
perspective, but from a development
and planning perspective as well.”
Eligibility for the competition
required a multidisciplinary team of
students. The Center for Real Estate
partnered with UC Irvine’s
Department of Planning, Policy and
Design at the School of Ecology and
the Southern California Institute of
Architecture to compose its team.
Members included:
The Paul Merage School of Business
• Jason Ireland, FTMBA ‘10
• Sean Rawson, EMBA ‘10
UC Irvine, Department of Planning,
Policy, and Design at the School of
Ecology
• Yu Xie – Masters in Urban and
Regional Planning, Department
of Planning, Policy and Design
Southern California Institute of
Architecture
• Karen Filippe – Masters of Urban
Design and Policy
• Robert Lisaukas, Masters of Urban
Design and Policy
Deans Professor of Finance Kerry
Vandell and Adjunct Professor Kevin
McKenzie provided guidance and
helped students prepare for the competition.
“This activity represents just one of
the Center’s initiatives to provide
young leaders with extraordinary
learning and training opportunities to
prepare them for careers in the industry,”
said Sharon Nakamura-Brown,
associate director of the Center for
Real Estate, who assembled the team
members and managed the process.
Fostering a
Culture of
Mentors
ONE OF THE MOST successful –
and rewarding – Merage School programs
continues to be the Executive
Mentoring Program. Over its 11-year
history, more than 970 Merage
School students have been paired
with mentors for one-on-one guidance
and leadership training.
Mentors come from top businesses
and organizations such as Allergan,
Broadcom, Deloitte, Smith Barney,
Pacific Life, and Mazda.
Once they join the program, most
mentors stay for years, including
many who have been active since its
inception. In fact, over the program’s
history, many protégés have moved
behind the desk and become mentors
themselves.
What makes the Merage School
program such an enduring one?
“I have benefitted from mentors
throughout my career,” says John
Waldeck ’01, vice president, Pacific
Life. “My objective is to pay back
that support through mentorship of
the next generation of real estate professionals.”
Many add that the rewards are
worth the time investment. Larry
Behm, senior vice president of
Operations Support and Innovation
at Panda Restaurant Group, offers a
number of reasons for mentoring. “I
mentor to: 1) improve our community.
Business as a force for positive change
in society is my focus. 2) Help an
individual learn key lessons sooner in
life than I may have, and 3) stay challenged
by youthful and energetic
minds.”
Says Ly Do, vice president at
Experian, “I like to coach and develop
individuals who are motivated and
hard working. I take personal pride in
seeing people grow and reach their
goals.”
The Merage Executive Mentoring
program is currently accepting
applications for mentors. For
more information, visit
merage.uci.edu/go/mentors.
World Renowned
Entrepreneur to
Keynote Real
Estate Awards
Luncheon
PETER UEBERROTH,
managing director of
the Contrarian Group,
will be the keynote
speaker at the 2010
Real Estate Awards
Luncheon to be held Tuesday,
November 9, at the Westin South
Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa. The public
is invited to attend.
Hosted by the Center for Real
Estate at the Merage School, this
event marks the 21st anniversary of
the presentation of the Lifetime
Achievement Award which will be
bestowed upon John O’Donnell,
managing general partner of The
O’Donnell Group. This year’s Rising
Star Award will be presented to Greg
Merage, CEO of Stoneridge Capital
Partners, with the Orange County
Community Foundation’s Powerpacked
Philanthropist Award being
presented to Bob Campbell,
Chairman of the Board & Co-
Founder of CT Realty Corporation.
For more information, please visit
merage.uci.edu/go/CREawards.
Planting the
Seeds of Growth
A PARTNERSHIP that formed at a
student networking event may serve
to revolutionize stem cell culturing
throughout the world. Yen Kong,
PhD ’10, a researcher now at the
University of Michigan, had just
patented a new technology for culturing
stem cells, when he met Manas
Bhat ’11, a Full-Time MBA student,
at a Merage School Matrix Mixer.
The two quickly became friends
and soon focused their attention on
Kong’s patent. Realizing the market
potential of the invention, Kong and
Bhat began strategizing how to make
a business out of it.
The new start up business they
created, nSTEM, is today a researchdriven
biotechnology company that is
creating tools and enabling technologies
for cell culturing.
In an effort to gain exposure for
nStem and the new product, Kong
and Bhat participated in the Merage
School Business Plan Competition.
They recruited team members Kevin
Zanjani ’05 and Adam Dao ’10 and
together prepared their plan with
some valuable insight from Duncan
Liew, PhD, academic coordinator,
and UC Riverside and UC Irvine
Professor Peter Donovan, PhD.
“Our company needed exposure
and the Business Plan Competition
gave us the perfect platform. By participating
in this competition, we
were able to position nStem in front
of some very savvy venture capitalists,”
commented Bhat.
Their strategy worked. The
COLLABORATION
nSTEM team ended up winning
Best Concept Paper for the overall
competition and was selected as the
wildcard winner, which gave the
team an opportunity to present
their business plan at the Tech Coast
Angels Seed Financing Invitational.
57
Merage | 2010 – 2011

COLLABORATION COLLABORATION
Thank
you!
58
experience INNOVATION
DEAN’S ADVISORY BOARD:
Ed Fuller, Chair – Marriot
International Lodging
David Murphy, Vice Chair – Barrie
D’Rozario Murphy
Pamela Adams ’98 – Wells Fargo
Advisors
Richard Afable – Hoag Memorial
Hospital Presbyterian
Mike Aghajanian ’88 – PRTM
Robert Anderson – Health Savings
Technology
Thomas Antunez ’05 – Prithvi
Percentix
Craig Barbarosh – Pillsbury
Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
Donald Beall – Dartbrook
Partners, LLC
John Belli – Ernst & Young
Eric Boden, Ret. – HireRight
Jane Buchan – Pacific Alternative
Asset Management Co.
Christopher Callero – Experian
Americas
Joel Calvo – Calvo Capital
James Caudill – Black & Decker
Bruce Chapman
Victoria Collins – The Keller Group
Michael Davis – Deutsche Bank
National Trust Company, Private
Wealth Management
Dwight Decker – Conexant
John Della Grotta – Paul Hastings
Tommy Dodson – Rockwell Collins
David Dukes – Ronal Simon Family
Foundation
Rick Dutta – Nexvisionix
William Ellermeyer – Emeritus –
The Ellermeyer Company
Larry Emond – The Gallup
Organization
John Evans – Wells Fargo – Private
Client Services
William Ficker – Emeritus – The
Ficker Group
Thomas Gephart – Ventana Capital
Richard Gilchrist – The Irvine
Company
Neel Grover – Buy.com
William Halford – Bixby Land
Company
Cynthia Harriss – Metropark
Julie Hill – Chair Emeritus –
WellPoint, The Lord Abbett
Mutual Funds, Lend Lease
Jeanne Jackson – Nike
Camille Jayne – Matters at Hand
Alan Kaye – Mattel, Inc.
Rick Keller – The Keller Group
Parker Kennedy – The First
American Corporation
Darcy Kopcho ’80 – Capital
Research and Management
Knute Kurtz –
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Greg Lai ’88 – Invesco
Leon LaPorte – Retired
Commanding General
Marc Levin – Levin Capital
Management
Robert Lucenti – Deloitte
Stephen Marlow – Toshiba America
Electronic Components, Inc.
Chuck Martin – Chair Emeritus –
Mont Pelerin Capital
James Mazzo – Abbott Medical
Optics
Greg Mech – Bank of America
James Mellor – USEC, Inc.
Paul Merage – Chair Emeritus –
Falcon Investment
Management, LLC
Mark Moehlman – Wealth
Management Network
Don Natenstedt – RSM McGaldrey
Eddie Northen – UPS
Edmund Olivier – Oxford
Bioscience Partners
James O’Sullivan – Mazda North
America Operations
John Parker – Parker Properties
Sue Parks – WalkStyles, Inc.
Daryl Pelc – Boeing Integrated
Defense Systems
Bill Pesch – McBride Electric, Inc.
Jim Peterson – Microsemi
Corporation
Andy Peykoff II – Niagara Bottling
David Pyott – Allergan
Richard Reisman – Orange County
Business Journal
David Schramm – Maxwell
Technologies
Glen Schrank
Alan Sellers – SAIL Venture Partners
Ariela Shani – Neiman Marcus
Peter Shea – J.F. Shea Company, Inc.
Richard Shields – Oakley, Inc.
Ronald Simon – RSI Holding
Corporation
Patricia Soldano – GenSpring
Family Offices
Greg Spierkel – Ingram Micro, Inc.
Dennis Sweeney – Emeritus –
Newport Consulting Partners
Ariela Tannenbaum '95 – Allianz
Global Investors
Peter Ueberroth – The Contrarian
Group, Inc.
Tom Wagner ’89 – Taco Bell /
YUM! Brands, Inc
Bob Waltos – The Waltos Group
Nam Woo – LG Electronics, Inc.
Dean Yoost –
PricewaterhouseCoopers
DON BEALL CENTER FOR INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP BOARD MEMBERS:
Dick Allen – DIMA Ventures
Allen Anderson – Experian
Marc Averitt – Okapi Venture
Capital LLC
Chris Baclawski – CB Capital
Don Beall – Dartbrook Partners
Bob Bova – Vangard Voice Systems
Joel Calvo – Calvo Capital
Ray Cohen – Symphony Med
John Creelman ‘89 – PowerGenix
Joe Davis – Triton Pacific Capital
Partners
Bruce Feuchter – Stradling Yocca
Carlson & Rauth
Neel Grover – buy.com
Bruce Hallett – Miramar Venture
Partners
James Houlihan – InnoCal
Robert Hovee – RAH Consulting
Group
Larry Jordan – Tech Coast Angels
Michael Kaye – Clearlight Partners LLC
Marc Levin – Levin Capital
Management
Mike Mata – SCORE, Orange
County
Sid Mohasseb – Tech Coast Angels
CENTER FOR HEALTH CARE MANAGEMENT AND POLICY BOARD MEMBERS:
Richard F. Afable, MD, MPH – Hoag
Memorial Hospital Presbyterian
Terry Belmont – UCI Medical Center
Robert A. Beltran, MD, MBA ‘99 –
Registry of Physician Specialists
James E. Bova –
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Richard Chambers – CalOptima
Jay J. Cohen, MD, MBA – Monarch
HealthCare
Christopher H. Coulter, MD – The
Precept Group
Markie Cowley – Mission Hospital
Regional Medical Center
Chris De Rosa ‘00 – CIGNA Health
Care of California
Wendy Dorchester, PhD – Long
Beach Memorial
James Elliott – Blue Shield of
California
Nick Franklin, JD – Public Affairs
Dimensions
Alan Hoops – Caremore
Patrick E. Kapsner – Bristol Park
Medical Group
Dale L. Macrae – Aon Consulting
Jeffrey H. Margolis – The TriZetto
Group
Jeanine Martin – Microsoft Health
& Life Sciences
Gerald A. McCall – Kaiser
Permanente
Christine Metz – Welvie
Janet Newport – Public Affairs
Dimensions
Gordon K. Norman, MD, MBA –
Alere Medical, Inc.
Joel Portice – Intelimedix
Murray N. Ross, PhD – Kaiser
Permanente Institute for Health
Policy
Elizabeth Russell – SCAN Health
Plan
Sue Parks – WalkStyles, Inc.
David Pyott – Allergan
Safi Qureshey – Skyline Capital
Partners
Ken Rohl – Rohl LLC
Stanton Rowe – Edwards
Lifesciences
Alan Sellers – SAIL Venture
Partners
Maribeth Shannon – California
HealthCare Foundation
David L. Steffy
Michael D. Stephens
David L. Tsoong, MD – Pinnacle
Senior Care
Betty K. Tu, MD, MBA ‘99 –
Pinnacle Senior Care
Tammy Tucker – Anthem Blue Cross
Paul S. Viviano – Alliance Imaging
Bud Volberding – Avalon Healthcare
Consulting
Laurence D. Wellikson, MD –
Society of Hospital Medicine
Maureen L. Zehntner
Continued on next page
The 2011 Health Care Forecast Conference
February 24-25, 2011
Visit merage.uci.edu/go/hcc
for current Health Care Forecast Conference details and
to view past conference programs and videos.
59
Merage | 2010 – 2011

COLLABORATION
Thank
you! continued
60
experience INNOVATION
CENTER FOR INVESTMENT AND WEALTH MANAGEMENT BOARD MEMBERS:
Pam Adams ‘98, CFP
Laine Ainsworth – Wealth
Management Network
Al Beimfohr – Knightsbridge Asset
Management
Steve Borowski – Metropolitan West
Capital
Greg Brown – Payden & Rygel
Matt Brown – Brown & Streza, LLP
Jane Buchan – PAAMCO
Jeffrey Carlin – Nuveen
Investments, Inc.
Nai-Fu Chen – The Paul Merage
School of Business
Victoria Collins – First Foundation
Advisors
Matt Cooper – Beacon Pointe
Advisors
Jane Couperus – Knightsbridge
Asset Management
Richard Crum – RS Crum
Peter DeGregori – Vertical Advisors,
LLP
Michael Duckworth – Duckworth
Mehner Private Wealth Advisors
Kimberly Dwan Bernatz – First
American Trust
Abbott Medical Optics, Inc. –
Christine Darragh
Accenture – Doug Cunningham
Bausch & Lomb – Andy Corley
The Boeing Company – Daryl Pelc
Dartbrook Partners – Kenneth Beall
Emulex Corporation – Jeff Benck
Experian – Allen Anderson
Gallup Consulting, Inc. –
Larry Emond
Lupe Erwin – Wood Gutmann &
Bogart Insurance
Shannon Eusey – Beacon Pointe
Advisors
Robert Evans – Fidelity Investments
Jim Ferruzzo – Ferruzzo & Ferruzzo
Steve Freeman – K & L Gates, LLP
Carla Furuno – City National Bank
David George – Wealth
Management Group
Darin Gibson ‘99, CFP – Burnham
Gibson Financial Group /
AXA Advisors
Miles Healey – WealthBook
Mark Hebner – Index Fund Advisors
Thomas Hopper – BNY Mellon
Wealth Management
Mark Iwamoto – Iwamoto Kong
Wealth Management Group
Camille Jayne – Matters at Hand
Irving Katz – Irvine R Katz &
Associates
Frank Kavanaugh – Fort Ashford
Funds
Rick Keller – First Foundation
Advisors
Harmon Kong – Iwamoto Kong
CORPORATE PARTNERS PROGRAM MEMBERS:
HireRight, Inc. – Robert Pickell
IBM Corporation –
Giovanni Gigliotti
Jones Day – Lester Savit
Kingston Technology Company, Inc.
– Darwin Chen
Mazda North America Operations –
James O’Sullivan
Microsemi – James Peterson
Neudesic – Parsa Rohani
Wealth Management Group
Darcy Kopcho ‘80 – Capital
Research Company
Jim Leese – Ferruzzo & Ferruzzo
Jeff Lenning – CalCPA Long Beach
Chapter
Brad Losson – Schwab Institutional
Sarah Lyons – Lord Abbett
Chuck Martin – Mont Pelerin
Capital
Glenn Mehner – Duckworth Mehner
Private Wealth Advisors
Richard Merage – Falcon
Investment Management
Mark Moehlman – Wealth
Management Network
Brad Morgan – Morgan Advisory
Group
Jayson Morgan – WilsonMorgan LLP
Julian Movsesian – Succession
Capital
Corinne Myre – Corinne Myre &
Associates
Brenda O'Leary – Payden & Rygel
Gregory Pellizzon – Hollencrest
Capital Management
Gary Polich – WilsonMorgan LLP
PAAMCO (Pacific Alternative Asset
Management Co.) – Jane Buchan
PricewaterhouseCoopers –
Knute Kurtz
Rohl, LLC – Ken Rohl
Sage Software – Dennis Frahmann
Steelhead Brewery Co. – Steve Lewis
Taco Bell Corporation – Tom Wagner
The Precept Group –
Christopher Coulter, MD
Melissa Pollard – Comerica Bank
Mark Prendergast – Inspired
Financial
Adam Ratner – City National Bank
Dave Roberson – TRC Financial/
The Roberson Company
Mark Rooney – Burnham Gibson
Financial Group/AXA Advisors
Brian Rush – CalCPA Long Beach
Chapter
Todd Rustman – GR Capital
Management
Michael Ashley Schulman, CFA –
Hollencrest Capital Management
Mike Silvio – CBIZ
Shaun Skeris – Anfield Group, LLC
Patricia Soldano – GenSpring
Family Offices
Jon Theriault – RS Crum
Mark Van Mourick – Optivest, Inc.
Joseph Volz – Merrill Lynch
Robert J. Waltos, Jr. – The Waltos
Group of Northwestern Mutual
David Young '90 – Anfield Group,
LLC
Evelyn Zohlen – Inspired Financial
Toshiba America Electronic
Components, Inc. – Bill Nutini
Union Bank – Joe Sweet
Virtium Technology, Inc. –
Phu Hoang
Volcom – Hoby Darling
Wells Fargo Bank – John Evans
The Wet Seal, Inc. – Steve Benrubi
Yamaha Corporation of America –
Brian Jemelian
CENTER FOR REAL ESTATE BOARD MEMBERS:
Lawrence Armstrong – Ware
Malcomb
Ken Beall – The Beall Family
Foundation
Philip Belling – LBA Realty
Eric Bergstrom – Bergstrom
Capital Advisors
Brandon Birtcher – Birtcher
Development & Investments, LLC
Gregory A. Blomstrand – NAIOP
SoCal
Robert Brunswick – Buchanan
Street Partners
Robert Campbell – CT Realty
Corporation
Lawrence Casey – Donahue
Schriber Realty Group
Paul Cate – Mark IV Capital, Inc.
Rachid Chamtieh – Deloitte
David DePillo
Celina Doka – KPMG, LLP
Ranney Draper – The Draper Family
Foundation
Steve Duffy – Moss Adams
Greg Edwards – Rancho Mission
Viejo Company
Steve Elieff – Suncal Companies
Rodney Emery – Steadfast
Companies
John French – Ernst & Young
Walter Frome
Cynthia Fusco – NAIOP SoCal
John Garrett – Garrett DeFrenza
Stiepel, LLC
James Gianulias – Cameo Homes
Steven Gordon – Commercial
Capital Bancorp
Emile and Dina Haddad – Lennar
John Hagestad – SARES•REGIS
Group
William Halford – Bixby Land
Company
Rebecca Hall – Idea Hall
Robert M. Hamilton – Allen Matkins
Bobby Hatfield – Fidelity National
Title
Greg Herder ‘05 – Hobbs Herder
Advertising
Julie Hill – The Hill Company
Barry Hoeven – US Storage Center /
Westport Properties
Doug Holte
Mark Hoover – First American Title
Insurance
Mark Kehke ‘93 –
DMB Associates, Inc.
Parker Kennedy – First American
Title Insurance
David Kim – The Bascom Group
Peter and Valerie Kompaniez –
AIMCO
Phil Kunisch – First American Title
Insurance
John Lutzius and Alison Cohen
Adam Markman – Green Street
Advisors
Bill and Romy McFarland – The
Street Companies
Kevin McKenzie – Parker Properties
Gary S. McKitterick – Allen Matkins
Carl F. McLarand – McLarand
Vasquez Emsiek & Partners
Doug Meece – Merrill Lynch
Greg Merage – Stoneridge Capital
Partners
Michael L. Meyer – AMG Realty
Investors, LLC
Tony & Anne Marie Moiso
Jeffrey Moore – CB Richard Ellis
Douglas O’Donnell – O'Donnell
Group
John B. Parker – Parker Properties
Gerald N. Pharris – Pharris
Properties
Tony Premer – Pacific Life
Insurance Company
COLLABORATION
George Rudolph – Luce, Forward,
Hamilton, and Scripps
Christine Scheuneman – Pillsbury
Winthrop Shaw Pittman, LLP
Royce Sharf – Studley
Peter Shea – J.F. Shea
Company, Inc.
John Simonis – Paul, Hastings,
Janofsky & Walker
Justin Smith – Lee & Associates
Timothy Strader – Starpointe
Ventures
Steve Swerdlow – CB Richard Ellis
David Team – LNR Property
Corporation
Robert Thiergartner – Davis
Partners, LLC
Ray Watson
Bill Williams – Creative Wealth
Strategies Williams Group, Inc.
Warren W. Williams, Jr. – Silver Oak
Development
Bill Witte – The Related Companies
of California, Inc.
Judy Woolen – KB Homes
The Center for Real Estate at UC Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business
2010-2011 Calendar of Events
Please check our website at merage.uci.edu/go/CRE for more information, updates and new events.
O CTOBER 7, 2010
UCI REAL ESTATE ALUMNI
EVENT:
Alumni Golf Tournament
Tijeras Creek Golf Club
O CTOBER 7, 2010
REAL ESTATE CENTER
DIRECTOR KERRY VANDELL
ADDRESSES WISE (Women
Investing in Security and
Education)
Westin South Coast Plaza
O CTOBER 15, 2010
REAL ESTATE DAY IN THE
LIFE EVENT
O CTOBER 20, 2010:
BREAKFAST SERIES 1:
"What are they thinking?
Early movers in Orange
County Commercial Property
make their case for the
opportunity."
The Pacific Club,
Newport Beach
N OVEMBER 9, 2010
REAL ESTATE AWARDS
LUNCHEON PROGRAM
The Westin South Coast
Plaza, Costa Mesa
11:30 - 1:45pm
J ANUARY 19, 2011
BREAKFAST SERIES 2
The Pacific Club,
Newport Beach
7:30 to 9:00am
F EBRUARY 2011
ACADEMIC RESEARCH
SYMPOSIUM
Date, Location and Time TBD
M ARCH 2011
SPRING BOARD MEETING &
SYMPOSIUM
Date, Location and Time TBD
M AY 25, 2011
BREAKFAST SERIES 3
The Pacific Club, Newport
Beach
7:30 to 9:00am
61
Merage | 2010 – 2011

COLLABORATION COLLABORATION
62
experience INNOVATION
The Paul Merage School
of Business and the
Dean’s Leadership Circle
Celebrate
Our
Anniversary
Pelican Hill Resort was a beautiful
backdrop for the 5th Anniversary
Celebration of naming of The Paul
Merage School of Business and the
launch of the Dean’s Leadership
Circle. Overlooking the ocean in
Newport Beach, more than 300
members and invited guests gathered.
The star of the evening, business leader and
entrepreneur Paul Merage, paraphrased George
Bernard Shaw: “Some people see the world for
what it is and despair; others see the world for
what it could be and act. Strive for the latter.” He
shared with everyone how amazing it has been for him
and his family to watch the success the Merage School
has experienced over these five years. He was joined on
stage by his wife, Lilly, who thanked everyone for their
commitment and support and said how the Merage
School community has become a part of their extended
family. This point rang true with the continued celebration
at their home where Visionary Dean's Leadership
Circle members with their spouses were invited to dinner
with members of the Merage family.
Joining Paul Merage at the podium were Edwin Fuller,
Chair of the Dean’s Advisory Board and President of
Marriott International and UC Irvine Executive Vice
Chancellor Michael Gottfredson. Gottfredson commended
members of the Merage family for their extreme generosity
which created a landmark event in the life of UC Irvine
and has allowed the Merage School to take extraordinary
leaps forward in excellence and reputation. He noted how
The Paul Merage School of Business truly exemplifies the
UC Irvine commitment to excellence and has helped to
build upon the pride of the UC family.
Dean Andy Policano shared several achievements the
School has experienced as a result of the Merage gift,
such as:
• Faculty excellence and enhanced recognition
• Rise in rankings in every survey – including 15
point leap in this year’s U.S. News
• Demand for admittance into our MBA and
undergraduate programs significantly grow
• Support from the community and engagement and
support from our talented alumni
Dean Policano recognized the Founding Chair of the
Dean’s Leadership Circle, Pamela Adams ’98, by thanking
her for her vision and leadership and presented her with
a token of appreciation from the Merage School. In addition,
Dean’s Leadership Circle Director Sandra Findly was
honored for her service to the School and dedication to
strengthening alumni relations and helping the DLC
become the largest academic support group on the UC
Irvine campus today.
Visionary members (from left) Ken ‘07 & Carla Neeld, John Waldeck ‘01, Len Ambrosini ‘02, Thomas Antunez ‘05, Kristen Monson ‘86, Lisa
Locklear ‘84, Paula Milano ‘80, Mark Locklear ‘84, Elizabeth & Michael Aghajanian ‘88, Pamela Adams ‘98, Sandy & David Young ‘90 and Dean
Andrew Policano
Visionary members not in photo: Greg ‘88 & Cindy Lai, Brent Brewer ‘98, Johnson Chuang ‘05, Tallia Hart representing the Irvine Chamber of
Commerce and Bill Rowland '06
63
Merage | 2010 – 2011

COLLABORATION
64
experience INNOVATION
Dean’s Leadership Circle
Your Network for Success
We shine the spotlight on our Visionary members of the Dean’s Leadership Circle.
We are grateful to this group of committed members who have provided an even
greater level of support toward the Endowed Professorship Campaign by making a
5-year membership pledge.
Additionally, we wish to acknowledge all of our 2009-2010 contributors who supported
the Dean’s Leadership Circle Endowed Professorship. Thank you for making the
first 5 years of the Dean’s Leadership Circle such an amazing success.
VISIONARY
Pamela Adams ‘98, CFP ® , Wells Fargo Advisors – Founding Chair
Michael ‘88 & Elizabeth Aghajanian, The Paul Merage School
of Business
Len Ambrosini ‘02, Rosemount Analytical
Thomas Antunez ‘05, Prithvi Percentix
John Belli, Ernst & Young
Brent Brewer ‘98, American Environmental Energy, Inc.
Johnson Chuang ‘05, AIPTEK, Inc.
Tallia Hart, Irvine Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors
Greg Lai ‘88, CFA, Affinity Investments Advisors – Chair &
Campaign Leader
Mark Locklear ‘84 & Lisa Locklear ‘84, Ingram Micro
Paula Milano ‘80 & Eric Nielsen, Focus Leadership
Kristen Monson ‘86, PIMCO
Ken ‘07 & Carla Neeld, Delphi Display Systems, Inc.
Bill Rowland ‘06, Marketing Executive
John Waldeck ‘01, CMB, CRI, Pacific Life Insurance Company
David ‘90 & Sandy Young, ANFIELD Group, LLC
INNOVATOR
Dwight Decker, Mindspeed Technologies
Darren McCall ‘10, Union Bank
Dean Andrew & Pamela Z. Policano, The Paul Merage School
of Business
INVESTOR
Tim Cannon ‘07, Avanade
Alphonse Chan Jr. ‘90, Brandes Investment Partners
Al DeGrassi ‘79, Alliance Bank
Noah Garrett ‘08, Christen C. and Ben H. Garrett Family
Foundation
David Hayes UCI ‘79, Dorsey & Whitney, LLP
David Jones ‘93, Select Portfolio Management
Samuel J. King ‘00, King’s Consulting
Michelle Koontz ‘03, Fluor Corporation
Johnny Mosham, Lett-uce Cater To You
Carl Neisser, The Neisser Company
Beau Pirghibi ‘06, Rubber-Cal
Stephen Rodriguez ‘98, Kingston Technology
Scott M. Ryder Jr. ‘00, McGladrey Capital Markets
Joseph Volz UCI ‘95, Merrill Lynch
Darren Whissen ‘02, Select Portfolio Management
MEMBER
Ed Abad ‘07, Prithvi Percentix
Gary Abraham ‘94, Aspect Debt Fund, LLC
Laine Ainsworth, Wealth Management Network, LLC
Marco Baltero ‘07, Medtronic, Inc.
Eve Barker ‘06, Barker Consulting
Dawn Beattie ‘92
Harry Beck, HUZO.com
Michael Bernstein ‘84, Bernstein Financial Services, Inc.
Bob Bettwy ‘92
Katie Bianchi ‘96, Marriott International
Eric Boden, retired Chairman & CEO, HireRight
Geoffrey Bremmer ‘05, Hansen’s Beverage
Tracy Bremmer ‘05, Experian-Scorex
Rafael Buitrago ‘01, The Boeing Corporation
Louis Burke ‘98, ConocoPhillips
Sheila Burke ‘01, FDIC
Andy Carney, E-Z-GO, a Textron Company
Marilyn Carroll Jackson, Integrity International Insurance
Brokers, LLC
Christen Chambers ‘05, Fox Networks Group
Erik Charles ‘03, Canon Business Solutions
Professor Nai-Fu Chen, The Paul Merage School of Business
Tosha Clements-Woolforde ‘04, Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc.
Dan Coffman ‘92, UPS Protection
Peter Cullen ‘82, Core Performance Consulting
James Elliot ‘00, J.F. Elliott & Associates
Larry Engwall ‘87, Westberg & White
Greg Ferrell ‘05, Pfizer, Inc.
Steven Fichtelberg ‘93, New Century Health
Edwin D. Fuller, Marriott Lodging International
Judith Gass ‘00, GE Money-Care Credit
John Gibson ‘01, Gibson Law Group
Michael Gillman ‘08, Michael Gillman M.D.
Daniel Gorman Jr., Integrity International Insurance
Brokers, LLC
Jeff Greenberg ‘04, Fugu Corp.
David J. Hackett ‘97, Stillwater Associates
COLLABORATION
Thomas Hartline ‘01, Navitas Utility Corporation
Rob Henderson ‘07, Advanced Pacific Tank
Rodney Hill, Rodney C. Hill, Inc., CPA
Shaheen Husain, The Paul Merage School of Business
John Karem ‘02, Phillips Distilling
Tiffiny Vandom Karem ‘03, Harman International
Glen Kauffman ‘94, Northwestern Mutual Financial Network
Timothy J. Kay, Snell & Wilmer, LLP
Alan Kaye, Mattel Inc.
Professor Robin Keller, The Paul Merage School of Business
Ian Koskela ‘06, IBM Financial Services
Selva Kulasingam ‘07, ZTNet Solutions
John Lambert ‘83, Lambert and Associates
Leon LaPorte ‘77, LaPorte and Associates, LLC
Lin Leng ‘04, Walt Disney Interactive Media Group
Timothy Leyden ‘92, Western Digital Corporation
Kristen M. Maher ‘98, Maher & Associates
Elizabeth Mahoney ‘98, Metrolink
Ahmed Mandre ‘00, Microsoft
Jon Masciana ‘06, The Paul Merage School of Business
Kristen McAlister ‘03, KD Consulting
Benjamin Medvitz ‘06, IntheAirNet, LLC
Richard Milo ‘96, Deloitte & Touche
Mark L. Moehlman, Wealth Management Network, LLC
Brad Morrison, Executive MBA Candidate Class of 2011
Rashad Moumneh ‘04, Taco Bell/YUM Corporation
Jennifer Moumneh ‘04, University of California, Irvine
Richard Neff ‘05, Smart Modular
Professor Sue Padernacht, Ncline Leadership Strategies
Jim and Janice Pavelko, The Paul Merage School of Business
Professor Jone Pearce, The Paul Merage School of Business
Robert Peirson ‘84, Skyworks
Mark Pero ‘98, Logicalis
David Perrott ‘03, Salinas Valley Memorial
Professor Mort & Mary Pincus, The Paul Merage School of
Business
Professor Emeritus Lyman & Meredith Porter, The Paul
Merage School of Business
Greg Queen ‘03, Brasstech, Inc.
Steve Richards ‘93, Pinnacle Consulting Services
Jessica Riester ‘01, FlexWork Connection
Professor Emerita Judy B. Rosener and Joe Rosener,
The Paul Merage School of Business
Nira Kozak Roston & Daniel Roston ‘89
Diane Sagey ‘99, The Paul Merage School of Business
James J. Scheinkman, Snell & Wilmer, LLP
65
Merage | 2010 – 2011

COLLABORATION
66
experience INNOVATION
David Schramm, Maxwell Technologies, Inc.
Eileen Seibert, MD ‘08, Kaiser Permanente
Craig Shugert ‘93, GoodSource Solutions
Mitchell & Maureen Spann, University of California, Irvine
Amy Tan ‘06, Tannart Consulting
Ariela Tannenbaum ‘95, Allianz Global Investors of America
Shelley Thunen ‘92, LenSx Lasers, Inc.
Philip Topham UCI ‘85, LNX Research
Kyle van Hoften ‘97, StratEvo Consulting
Professor Kerry Vandell, The Paul Merage School of Business
Tom Wagner ‘89, Taco Bell/YUM Corporation
Shalinda Wijayawickrama ‘99, Deloitte & Touche, LLP
Jay Witzling ‘79, Witzling & Associates
Charlie Wright, Partnervest Advisory Services, LLC
Nick Yocca, The Yocca Law Firm, LLC
Greg Yocum ‘99, Alphatec Spine
Timothy C. Zevnik ‘93, Molina Health Care, Inc.
Chris Zumberge ‘82, U.S. Bank
SHAREHOLDER
Bryan Anderson ‘09
Dean Anderson ‘10
Kimberly Balcerzak ‘09
Lisa Baldewin ‘09
Gretchen Bender ‘08
Andy Bi ‘09
Linda Bolland ‘09
Gina Bowman ‘10
Juan Campo ‘09
Amanthi Chandraratna ‘08
Erik Chantarapan ‘08
Darwin Chen ‘07
Kevin Chen ‘10
Violet Chen ‘07
Maranda Chui ‘09
Andrew Corkill ‘10
Paulo Correa ‘08
Jayson Crouch ‘09
Marc Crudgington ‘08
Hai Dang ‘10
Jenny de Anda Fast ‘10
Francois Delestre ‘08
Stephanie Dudley ‘08
Jason Fair ‘09
Nina Faustino ‘09
Adam Fingersh ‘09
James Freeman ‘10
Bernardo Garcia ‘07
Guillermo Gower ‘09
Jason Green ‘08
Rajesh Gupta ‘09
Julie Gutierrez-Farley ‘10
Rebecca Haberstroh ‘10
Huzefa Hakim ‘08
Alex Hammerschmidt ‘08
Eric Henrickson ‘07
Ken Hsu ‘07
Helena Hwang ‘07
Tina Hwang ‘10
Suhail Imtiaz ‘08
Henry Jenkins ‘10
Linda Jenkins ‘08
Jose Joaquin ‘10
Kelly Johnson ‘10
Ryan Kaneshiro ‘07
Manas Kanungo ‘09
Lena Kattar Vann ‘07
Deborah Kelly ‘11
Petros Keshishyan ‘10
Rafay Khalid ‘07
Hideyuki Kikuchi ‘06
Angela Kim ‘08
Zsolt Kiraly ‘08
Stefan Kokolios ‘07
Samara Larson ‘08
Cord Laule ‘08
David H. Lee ‘08
Eli Lee ‘08
Peter Liu ‘08
Wayne Liu ‘09
Jonathan Lu ‘10
Michael Ma ‘07
Christopher Mackenzie ‘07
Jasdeep Singh Mann ‘09
Nick Markovsky ‘10
Stacie McLean ‘10
Greg Metzger ‘07
Chris Meyer ‘08
Kim Miller ‘10
Hitomi Momose, MD ‘07
Andrew Monteabaro ‘08
Angelica Monetesinos ‘10
Ritesh Nair ‘10
John Newton ‘10
Susan Nishiya ‘08
Rowell Nueva ‘07
Francis Obedoza ‘07
Justin Okun ‘09
Michael Perlongo ‘09
Duke Pham ‘09
Cristain Pop ‘10
Sai Pratap ‘10
John Presser ‘07
Michael Pressman ‘08
Manette Quinn ‘06
Brent Rahn ‘10
Valente Ramos, MD ‘07
Bill Rasmussen ‘08
Canaan Reich ‘07
Reza Sabahi ‘09
Bijan Sadri, MD ‘08
Prabhjot Saini ‘09
Joyce Seak ‘07
Bethany Semeiks ‘10
Bharat Shah, MD ‘08
Sameer Shah ‘09
Jean Shahdadpuri ‘11
Gautam Sharma ‘09
Roy Sharma ‘09
Jeffrey Shekell ‘09
Joseph Smith ‘08
Trevor Speirs ‘08
Brad Stoker ‘09
Alan Sung ‘09
Timothy Tang ‘07
Kathryn Taylor ‘08
James Tea ‘08
Jane Terry ‘09
Kevin Thiha ‘08
Catherine Tran ‘10
Danny Tran ‘08
Ernest Trinidad ‘09
George Varghese ‘08
Vinod Vasudevan ‘09
Sujata Watts ‘09
Fred Webb ‘08
Jeffrey Williamson ‘07
Tiffany Wilson ‘07
Richard Wood ‘10
Jennifer C. Wong ‘08
Steven Wong ‘09
Vivian Wong, MD ‘07
Perry Yeh ‘08
Jason Young ‘09
Genevieve Yulo ‘08
Kaisu Zhuang ‘08
Todd Zive ‘07
Based on gifts & pledges received 7/1/09 – 6/30/10
Donate to the Merage School Fund
And help further the education
of tomorrow’s leaders.
Any investment, no matter the size, helps keep UC
Irvine on the leading edge of business education and
solidly among the top 10% of the world’s best business
schools. From student scholarships to
technology upgrades and exceptional faculty recruitment,
the need is as important as ever.
Greg Lai ‘88, Chair &
Campaign leader
Pamela Adams ’98
Sheila Burke ‘01
Sam King ‘00
Dave Jones ‘93
Paula Milano ’80
COLLABORATION
With special gratitude we also wish
to recognize the members of the
2009-2010 Dean’s Leadership Circle
Advisory Board, who played an
important role in helping to guide
the organization. These members
volunteered their time, leadership
and support which allowed the
Dean’s Leadership Circle to become
the fastest growing academic support
group on the UC Irvine campus.
Ken Neeld ‘07
Greg Queen ‘03
Amy Tan ‘06
Kyle van Hoften ‘97
Sandra Findly,
Senior Director of
Development
For more information on how you can become our newest
member of this growing network or volunteer on a committee,
please contact Sandra Findly at 949.824.8865 or
DeansLeadershipCircle@Merage.uci.edu.
Pick your own investment path.
Donate to the Dean’s Leadership Circle
And join the premier OC network
of today’s leaders.
When you pledge $1500 or more, you are welcomed
into the Dean’s Leadership Circle, the fastest growing
academic support group at UC Irvine. Entrée to exclusive
networking events facilitates expanding your
professional and social circle. Get an insider’s view
to the Merage School and help chart its course.
Learn more how your tax-deductible donations benefit both you and the Merage School at merage.uci.edu/go/donate.

ALUMNI NEWS
68
experience INNOVATION
Donor Honor Roll
WE WISH TO THANK the following alumni and friends
for their support from July 2009 through June 2010.
Contributions enable us to direct funds toward the most
critical areas of need and help deliver an unparalleled
business education. As such, the Merage School Fund
allows us to maintain our financial strength and flexibili-
Platinum $1,000+
Brian Kreitzer ‘06
Gold $500 - $999
Michael E. Bernstein ‘84
Leo William Conboy ‘90
Glen Frank ‘82
Steven Johnson ‘04
Larry Jordan
Christopher Kilpatrick ‘03
Robert Leamy ‘78
Jose Manalo ‘07
John Murphy ‘06
Doug Patterson ‘05
Christopher R. Purvis ‘04
John Reichle ‘97
Daniel D. Song ‘01
Jesse J. Sowell ‘03
Tosha Clements-Woolforde ‘04
Wendy Yamagishi ‘01
Silver $250 - $499
Jeffrey Barkehanai ‘05
Michael William Becker ‘97
John David Blake ‘01
Michael Kenneth Bushey ‘97
Stephen Chien ‘02
Scott Green ‘97
Barbra Marangell ‘08
Jamal Rushdy ‘02
Maria Sara ‘96
Theodore Tai-Yeu Su ‘00
Edward Uy ‘94
Kevin Wardel ‘75
Karolyn Ann Woo-Miles ‘99
Raymond Zhang ‘06
Bronze $100 - $249
Steve Acterman ‘99
Sean Thomas Bradley ‘91
Scott William Buchan ‘90
Gregory Buscher ‘95
ty year to year. A gift of any size will make a difference
and strategically impact everyone – current students,
faculty, staff, and alumni. Your generosity not only
strengthens the school’s resources, but inspires others
to become part of this loyal group of supporters. We’d
like to extend our thanks to:
Steve Chang ‘06
Wenchun Royal Chen ‘96
Kwok Cheng
Kenneth A. Chew
Aaron Coldiron ‘01
Hari Damineni ‘07
Thomas Donohue ‘01
Denji Ebisu ‘79
Francesca Fitchett ‘00
James Freeman ‘10
Catherine Garipay
Franklin George
Bradley S. Guffey
Bradley Logan Heinauer ‘86
Vicki Lanza Hines ‘77
Steven M. Hogan ‘80
Todd William Hopson ‘79
William Scott Hoverman ‘93
Neetu Khilnani ‘03
Julie L. Lien ‘05
Paul Ping-jen Lin ‘02
Mark Locascio ‘93
Kenneth L. MacAlpine ‘04
Bryan MacQuarrie ‘00
Rodney Kent Madsen, Sr. ‘90
Lawrence P. Martin ‘00
Sivan McLetchie ‘04
Laurie Meamber ‘97
William P. O’Connell ‘89
Paul Ping-jen Lin ‘02
Umesh Ratnam ‘01
Janet Kay Reece ‘77
Sandon K. Saffier ‘98
Maria Sara ‘96
Todd Sigler ‘04
Khang Ta
Suna Taymaz ‘00
Julie Trom ‘85
Anna Wang ‘05
James Wang ‘00
Andy Wei ‘06
Allison Chew Willis ‘05
Dora Wong
To view a current list of donors and learn more about the Merage School Fund, visit merage.uci.edu/go/MSF.
The New Merage School
Fund Offers Something
for Everyone
Quick Q&A with Senior Director of Development, Sandra Findly
Q Q
Why does the Merage School need private
What kind of incentives?
support?
The Merage School receives contributions each year from
major corporate donors and individuals who often earmark
their support for specific needs such as the Centers
of Excellence. A certain amount of unrestricted donations
are needed so they can be applied to meet a variety
of immediate and long-term needs. Tuition is not enough
these days to cover expenses. An easy way to provide
support is through matching gift programs that hundreds
of companies offer to their employees and some can
even double or triple your contribution.
Q
Why did the School change the name from the
Annual Fund to the Merage School Fund?
Several reasons. First, we want to emphasize that the
Merage School Fund not only supports annual operating
and basic maintenance costs that are critical to the
School, but it also invests for the long term as well.
Funds are applied where they are most needed, including
areas such as top student recruitment, capital improvements,
classroom technology updates, and year-over-year
operating costs.
Second, the Merage School Fund has always been
thought of as an alumni program but we want to emphasize
that it is really for everyone who supports higher
education. Being the top business school here in Orange
County, the Merage School has very strong ties to the
business community, and the Fund offers everyone a
chance to invest in our business leaders of tomorrow. In
addition, Merage School graduates who contribute to the
Fund are also investing in the value of their own business
degrees, which helps add prestige to the Merage School
and is reflected in the School’s ranking.
Finally, for those who contribute any size gift to the
Fund, we are providing valued incentives in addition to
providing an annual tax deduction.
ALUMNI NEWS
All gifts, large and small, make a difference and will be
rewarded. There is a strong correlation between top business
schools and the annual alumni participation rate of
each school. Also, a critical factor that journals and publications
ask is the participation rate by friends of the
School including parents who donate. Your gifts, regardless
of the amount, provide the Merage School with
valuable leveraging ability that helps us obtain additional
support.
Certainly, gifts to the Merage School Fund from members
of the business community provide donors the
reward and satisfaction of knowing they have helped to
develop better business leaders. Alumni are rewarded by
featuring a top-ranked business school on their resume or
bio. Donors may receive a variety of gifts that say thank
you for their support throughout the year such as an item
from the new line of MerageGear, or a special invitation
to attend a Merage School event.
Donors who make an annual pledge of $1500 are automatically
enrolled as a member of the Dean’s Leadership
Circle and enjoy special privileges and benefits such as
access to several business databases, invitations to social
and networking events throughout the year and more.
Further information is available at
merage.uci.edu/go/DLC.
It’s quick and easy to make a gift on-line at
merage.uci.edu/go/msf.
You can also find out if your company offers a matching
gift program.
A complete list of donors is located in the newly
renovated lobby of our building reflecting the names
of alumni, faculty, staff, corporations and individuals –
even other non-profits – who support the School’s
mission.
69
Merage | 2010 – 2011

ALUMNI NEWS
70
experience INNOVATION
Merageville Reunion
September 11, 2010
ALUMNI NEWS
MERAGE SCHOOL ALUMNI from the classes ending in 0 or 5 (1970 – 2010) returned to campus to reunite with classmates
and the Merage School community at “Merageville,” a festive resort-themed party for the 2010 reunion. Donning their
favorite tropical attire, guests relaxed to calypso music from Alan Lightner and enjoyed a barbeque with friends and faculty.
Professor Emerita Judy Rosener welcomed more than 150 guests and shared stories with former students along with
Paula Milano, class of 1980 and Dean’s Leadership Circle charter member.
The celebration continued on Sunday at Anaheim Stadium where alumni enjoyed bringing their families to a pregame
tailgate party and Angels baseball game.
See more photos at merage.uci.edu/go/alumni.
71
Merage | 2010 – 2011

ALUMNI NEWS
72
experience INNOVATION
New Alumni Relations
Team Off to Fast Start
Barbra Marangell, director of Alumni
Relations
Melissa La Puma-Delaney, manager of
Alumni Relations
Anew Alumni Relations team is in place at the Merage School and has
already made great progress in reaching and engaging alumni from all
years.
Barbra Marangell (FEMBA ‘08) was appointed Director of Alumni Relations
in April 2010. Prior to that, she provided marketing and admissions consulting
to the Merage School’s FEMBA program, including the development of the
2010 FEMBA brochure and new social marketing initiatives.
“My time as a student at the Merage School was such a great experience,”
commented Marangell. “I learned and experienced so much not only from our
top faculty and staff, but from my classmates as well. My relationship with my
classmates is very tight knit, and it’s been rewarding to extend that relationship
to alums from all years.”
Melissa La Puma-Delaney has also joined the group as the new Alumni
Relations Manager. La Puma-Delaney has been with the Merage School since
2008. Previously, she had the unique role of cultivating partnerships and coordinating
event details for both the Center for Leadership and Team
Development (now the Center for Global Leadership) and The Don Beall Center
for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. La Puma-Delaney received her undergraduate
degree from UC Irvine.
Together Marangell and La Puma-Delaney have undertaken a number of projects
with positive results including alumni database improvements (improving
ease of use and encouraging alums to update their information), the 2010
Merageville Reunion (over 150 alums and guests returned to campus for a fun
afternoon of memories and margaritas), the new social marketing pages including
groups on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, consolidating email communications,
and beginning to integrate current students into the Alumni Network.
“We are really excited about what we have in store, and already we have
received such positive feedback from alums, staff and current students about
what we’ve accomplished in this short time,” Marangell said. “It’s a great time
to get involved with the alumni network!”
Class Notes
2009 - 2010
’75
MICKEY NOVAK ’75 is now retired and
living in Costa Rica with his wife, Jody,
and 5 year old son Caleb.
’78
DANIEL APPLETON ’78 Captain US
Navy (Ret), formerly associate director
of UC Public Policy Research
Organization (a predecessor to Merage)
under Director Ken Kraemer, is
continuing independent research to
help people in US Navy ships perform
expertly under extreme conditions.
’81
CHRISTOPHER BLANK ’81 continues
to practice law in the areas of business
litigation and business bankruptcy. He
is a founding member, and has served
as president of Family Summits, Inc.,
since 2006.
CHRISTOPHER LAWSON ’81
recently released his new book,
“Snappy Interviews: 100 Questions to
Ask Oracle DBAs.” Chris is currently a
performance consultant at Wells Fargo
Bank, San Francisco.
’84
JILL JACOBS FORBATH ’84
announced her daughter, Tracy Diana
Forbath, graduated June 2010 from
UCLA with a major in Philosophy and
plans to attend law school.
’90
DAVID YOUNG ’90 has launched Anfield
Group LLC, in Newport Beach, with the
aspiration of delivering institutional quality
investment and risk management to
the private client. The website is
www.anfieldllc.com.
’97
JEFF HERRERA ’97 was appointed vice
president of Integrated Marketing for
Western Union. Based out of Denver,
CO and is responsible for leading all
marketing and advertising.
ABIOLA LAWAL ’97 was appointed
interim chief financial officer for CAMAC
Energy Inc. Lawal is currently the executive
vice president and chief strategy
officer for CAMAC International and its
subsidiary, Allied Energy.
’98
PAM ADAMS ’98 ranked among Barron’s
“Best of the Best” Financial Advisors.
RYAN MALONE ’98 recently authored a
book titled “By Families, For Families
Guide to Assisted Living”.
’99
MARK LOGOMASINI ’99, three and half
years after selling Molecular Medicine to
Sigma-Aldrich, is going back to his own
business: Foothill Scientific Associates,
which specializes in Federal contracting
in the life sciences.
BRIAN ROWE ’99 and his wife Deborah
welcomed new daughter Anika Elizabeth
into the world on August 21. Rowe also
formed a private equity company,
HedgeRowe Asset Management LLC.
’00
KRISTOPHER KIMMEL ’00, his wife
Jamie and their family, are relocating
back to the Southern California area
after being abroad for six years.
’01
SRI VENKATESHAN ’01 has been hired
as the associate vice president for SAIC
and will be based out of Houston, Texas
and will be looking after the oil and gas
business.
JOHN WALDECK ’01 earned the
Commercial Certified Mortgage Banker
designation at the Mortgage Banker
Association’s 20th Annual Commercial
Real Estate Finance/Multifamily Housing
Convention & Expo.
’02
J
BRYAN BOWERS ’02 recently launched
iproduceapps.com, a new venture involving
iPhone app development.
BRYAN BOWERS ’02 has published his
first book, “Secrets To Effective iPhone
App Marketing.”
ROBERT KELLER ’02 is now working
with Cisco as corporate counsel in
California’s Bay Area.
’03
KRISTEN MCALISTER ’03, executive
vice president of Cerius Interim
Executive Solutions, was selected to
lead the company’s new regional offices
located in the Washington D.C. area.
YAN WU ’03 recently had his book
“Partners” published in China. It is a
venture story of three MBA students
going back China to catch their dreams.
’04
DIPAYAN BISWAS, PHD ’04, assistant
professor of Marketing at Bentley
University in Waltham, MA, was
featured in the June 14, 2010 issue of
Time magazine, discussing his research
in the area of brand management.
KEN LU ’04 and Katherine welcomed
their first child to the world on Oct 22,
2009. Allyson Naomi Lu was born at
8 lb 1 oz and 18".
JENNIFER WOLF ’04 and RASHAD
MOUMNEH ’04 tied the knot in Culver
City, California on July 10, 2009. The
happy couple reside in Costa Mesa.
’05
SHARRY PSICHOGIOS ’05 has moved
back to Greece after seven years in
Irvine, and now works at Psichogios
Publications where he serves as new
business development director.
’06
AMY WAKEHAM ’06 was promoted to
senior director, Investor Relations and
Corporate Communications at Leap
Wireless.
’07
DAVID NANIGIAN ’07 will received his
Ph.D. in Personal Financial Planning
from Texas Tech and became an assistant
professor of Investments at The American
College.
’08
BILL RYAN ’08, formerly HR financial
planning advisor at UC Irvine, was
appointed manager of Benefits
Education in the Office of the President,
University of California.
’09
MATT BRINKER ’09 was recently
promoted to senior vice president
of Partnership Development and
Acquisitions for the Orange Countybased
wealth management firm,
United Capital.
’10
SUMIT DEO ’10 has joined Prithvi
Percentix, Inc. in Irvine, California as a
consultant.
In Memoriam
ALUMNI NEWS
JIM BROWN EMBA ’96 passed away
while hiking in Denali National Park on
September 9, 2009.
Alumni Relations
Goes Social
IN AN EFFORT to make staying
informed as convenient as possible,
Alumni Relations is “going
social,” providing alumni with the
latest news and events, such as
the School’s recent leap to #36
in national MBA rankings.
facebook.com/UCIrvineMBA
linkd.in/a3cyff
twitter.com/ucimeragealum
More information can always be
found at the Alumni website,
merage.uci.edu/go/Alumni, which
features the most complete event
information and news.
73
Merage | 2010 – 2011

You’re a business leader. So are we. Together, we create a better future.
EXPLORE THE CORPORATE PARTNERS PROGRAM AT THE MERAGE SCHOOL
For nearly thirty years, our Corporate Partners have been involved in major facets of The Paul Merage
School of Business at UC Irvine. Their positive impact on our School through philanthropic leadership,
mentoring, and commitment to improving business education is inspiring. Our collaboration has led to
a standard of excellence placing the Merage School among the top 10% of MBA programs in the world.
And our exceptional graduates help grow companies that fuel the southern California economy and
beyond.
Dean Policano’s vision is clear: “We encourage partnerships with the most innovative corporations in
the world. This win-win collaboration gives Corporate Partners direct access to our top research and
MBA talent, and we gain access to exceptional input that helps drive our School’s future.”
We are proud of, and grateful for, the many ways in which our partners have had a meaningful
impact on the School, including:
• $37 million in total giving to support key
initiatives at the Merage School
• Presentations by CEOs in the
Distinguished Speaker Series
• Recruitment of MBA talent
• Sponsorship of MBA consulting projects
• Funding of faculty research
• Updating of named classrooms
• Endowing professorships and chairs
• Executive mentoring of MBA students
Learn just how this powerful alliance can benefit organizations like yours. To schedule an appointment
in your office, please contact Shaheen Husain at 949.824.7311 or s2husain@uci.edu.
Visit merage.uci.edu/go/CorporatePartners for a complete list of current Corporate Partners.
MPAA Suite 210
Irvine, California 92697-3130
merage.uci.edu
INGOODCOMPANY
Thanks to the leadership of our
Executive Steering Committee,
we are moving forward to the
next level. We want to express
our sincere gratitude to:
Lester Savit, Chair
Partner, Jones Day
Drew Aron
Senior Consultant
Point B Consulting
Alumnus
Christopher H. Coulter, MD
Chief Medical Officer
The Precept Group
Steve Dosier
Associate Partner
The Gallup Organization
Tom Wagner
Vice President, Consumer
Insights & Brand Planning
Taco Bell Corporation
Alumnus