Dean's Thought Leadership Series

Marlo is an XR technology visionary with a passion for innovating the impossible. Under her leadership, AVATAR Partners™ supports Military and Industry with heavy-duty Immersive Reality and Virtual Workforce Collaboration, Marlo is Chapter President, VR/AR Association Orange County CA, and CEO Roundtable Member, University of California Irvine.

Following Your Passion | Anoosheh Mostafaei-Oskouian by UCI Paul Merage School of Business

Nick Tran MBA '11, global head of marketing for TikTok. In his current role at TikTok, Tran oversees all aspects of the company's global marketing efforts, including brand strategy, media and advertising, social media and co-marketing partnerships. Tran led TikTok's first global marketing campaign, "It Starts on TikTok," to celebrate the global TikTok community for propelling unique and inspiring content into memorable cultural moments and movements. Before joining TikTok, Nick was vice president of brand and culture marketing at Hulu, where he helped to reinvent the brand, working on memorable campaigns such as "Better Ruins Everything," "Hulu Has Live Sports"(including the Tom Brady Super Bowl ad) and the "World Record Egg."

Josh Childress co-founded LandSpire Group to further his personal commitment to community development and expand the investment platform for people of color. While Josh spent 15 years as a professional basketball player in the U.S., Greece, Australia and Japan, he has cultivated over 10 years of experience as a venture capitalist and real estate investor. He was a seed stage investor in Viola, the largest black-owned cannabis company, and is part owner of the SouthEast Melbourne Phoenix, the only black and minority-owned sports team in Australia. In 2010, Josh founded the Josh Childress Foundation (JCF) to provide mentorship and resources to high school and collegiate athletes. He also established and funded the Josh Childress Athletic Scholarship, the first ever Summer Studies scholarship at Stanford University. Josh received his B.A. in Sociology from Stanford University.

Chad T. Lefteris, an executive with considerable experience in integrated and academic health systems, has been named CEO of UCI Health, overseeing Orange County's only academic medical center and all clinical and patient-serving operations. His appointment was approved by the University of California Board of Regents. Lefteris has served as UCI Health's chief operating officer since December 2018. In his new role, he oversees the overall UCI Health system, which includes UCI Medical Center and more than a dozen outpatient research and specialty care centers throughout Orange County and portions of Riverside County.

Catherine Zhou, CEO of EcoKMC LLC, joins Dean Ian Williamson's Thought Leadership Series to share about how organizations should never waste a crisis and always following the market force. Ms. Catherine Zhou is the CEO of EcoKMC LLC, a management consulting, Investment, a financial advisory firm with an accelerator in China. Our mission is to promote and integrate U.S. technology and solutions into China's ever-growing market by providing them with Chinese investment, manufacturing resources and, most importantly, Chinese market opportunities. This mission is collaborated through its wholly owned Chinese entity EcoKMC (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. With offices in Los Angeles and Suzhou, on the one side, EcoKMC works closely with Suzhou government, Chinese investment communities, and industries associations to built an eco-system for its China Accelerator; on the other side, EcoKMC has been successfully promoting products, technology, and solutions in China through a tightly managed nationwide distributor channel. Through the years, Zhou, FEMBA '04, has aided the Merage School's admissions and alumni relations efforts in China and was recently selected as the school's ambassador for China under a new alumni connection program. She helps organize both the Merage School and UCI Alumni chapters in Shanghai.

Jason Wright, president of the Washington Football Team, joins Dean Ian Williamson's Thought Leadership Series to share how disruption in the business sector is calling for innovation through diversity. Jason Wright is the first Black team president in the history of the NFL and currently is the youngest team president in the League. He is the fourth former NFL player to become president of a team. Prior to joining the Washington Football Team, Jason was a partner in McKinsey & Company's Washington DC office. Jason also led McKinsey's global inclusion strategy and recently spearheaded the rollout of McKinsey's anti-racism and inclusion strategy. He co-founded the Black Economic Institute, a research entity that analyzes the racial wealth gap, and is a prominent voice in public discussions regarding racial equity in corporate America. Wright spent seven years as a running back in the NFL and was team captain and NFLPA player representative for the Arizona Cardinals during the 2011 NFL Lockout. He has a B.A. in psychology from Northwestern University, where he was an Academic All-American student athlete and an M.B.A. in Operations and Finance, from the University of Chicago- Booth School of Business.

Authenticity is important, but what does it have to do with leadership? Dean's Advisory Board member Craig Boundy, CEO at Experian North America, shares how certain characteristics like authenticity are important for individuals to excel as leaders. Craig Boundy is CEO Experian North America. Craig joined Experian in November 2011 as Managing Director of Experian UK and Ireland. Prior to joining Experian, he was CEO of Logica in the UK, having joined Logica in 2008 as CEO Global Operations. Before this, Craig was at Cable & Wireless, where he was Chief Operating Officer (COO) of its business in Europe, US and Asia. Before Cable & Wireless, he was Sales Director and then COO at Energis. His early career was with BT. Craig attended Lancaster University in the UK, graduating in management studies and German.

This week, Dean Williamson interviews our very own Paul Merage, Chairman of MIG Group. Takeaways from this episode include opportunities for tomorrow's entrepreneurs as well as intrapreneurs, changing dynamics of global business and the future of technology. Paul is a philanthropist, an innovative and successful entrepreneur, and a champion of education. Born in Iran during World War II. In the early 1960s, his father sent him to the United States so that he might have a better future. He arrived alone and could barely speak English. However, he soon enrolled at Hope College in Michigan where he excelled as a top student, giving him the academic accomplishments necessary to transfer to UC Berkeley. By the time he was 22, he had earned both his bachelor's degree and his MBA. Paul planned his career carefully. He researched the restaurant industry to find out what owners and customers needed most and eventually used this information to found Chef America. With an eye for change, Paul recognized the demographic and social shifts in America — more working parents, less time to prepare meals for families and an array of advances made possible with the expanding use of the microwave oven. Paul seized this opportunity and created HOT POCKETS® as an innovative answer to societal trends. His new product ensured that Chef America was a great success, and it was eventually purchased by Nestlé. Now Paul is leaving a different legacy — giving back to the community. In addition to his namesake donation to The Paul Merage School of Business, he maintains involvement with organizations that reflect his own immigrant background and his passion for America. These charitable organizations expand educational opportunities for families with low to moderate income levels. The Merage Institute for the American Dream offers major fellowships to outstanding immigrant college students “to help them pursue their American Dream.” And through the Children First Foundation, needy children are provided with educational, developmental and mentorship opportunities.