Dropped my guacamole: SuperBowl Ad has FEMBA Nick Avallone ’11

There I was. Watching the SuperBowl. Eating my chips, when BAM!

Was that Nick Avallone, FEMBA 2011, former FEMBA Council President, Global Marketing Communications Manager, Hospira, on national TV?   Why, Yes, it was.

Nick Avallone during the SuperBowl.

I tracked Nick down this week. Of course, he was in London.

Dylan: Saw the commercial. Couldn’t believe it. What was the story?

Nick: Yes, that really was me, although I was only in the teaser, not the full length Super Bowl spot, but still exciting. And, a great story about how McDonald’s has been launching a new brand image, focusing on bringing the “lovin'” back to communities, or at least highlighting that in their campaigns.

The back story in a nut shell is I had gone into a McDonald’s, and when ordering, was surprised by their “pay with lovin'” approach. Cameras were hidden, and I didn’t know I was being filmed until after I was done, when they filled me in they were creating a video, and walking out the door. This was several months ago, during a 1 store pilot, and the videos they captured have transpired into their newest campaign. (If you haven’t seen their other new commercials, check them out; one focuses on arch enemies, one highlights the signs in local communities, etc.)

I’d be happy to fill you in even more if you’re interested. I’m in London until late tomorrow…feel free to blog away. 🙂

At $4.5M, for 30 seconds, I figure America got to see Nick for the bargain price of $200,000. He’s on-screen at about the 4-second mark.

TGIF! Hits of the week

What a busy week around campus:

• Thick in the reading of Round One applications;
• John Wooden Global Leadership Award Monday;
• San Diego recruiting Wednesday;
• Vincent Chan ’17 promoted to Vice President Wednesday;
• Recruiting on-campus Thursday;
• Sunshine in SoCal before the big game with USC tomorrow.

Gary Lai 15, Vibhore Bhaskar 15, Allyson Tom ’15, with Nicole and her husband

We won the “most spirited table” award!

Nicole’s recognition, back on-campus.

Wednesday in San Diego, Christy Marquez hosted 26 prospects for the information lunch. She got great support from current and alumni FEMBAs: Amod Bam 2017, Naomi Reynolds 2017, Richard Stanley 2013, Allen Tian 2013, Fred Ellis 2013.

Thursday on-campus, we had A.301 almost full for a UCLA staff FEMBA lunch-and-learn. I hosted this one and was supported by the team and three great FEMBAs, Paisha Allmendiger ’13, Rachel Saar ’17 and my buddy, Steve Yu ’03.

Thursday, we hosted 40+ UCLA staff interested in FEMBA. With me are the three wonderful FEMBA panelists who supported our lunch-and-learn.

And just when I thought there wasn’t room for any more good news, came a wonderful email from Vincent Chan ’17, brand new VP, Client Solutions, at Ares Management, announcing his career victory:

Dear, Gordon, Susan and Dylan,

Wanted to make sure you are amongst the first to know!  I was promoted today to VP, Clients Solutions, at Ares Management, and I have you guys to thank!

Right about the time I got accepted to FEMBA, our firm was going through a restructure, and my promotion was put on hold.  I was transferred to a new group and put under a manager who was new to the company and didn’t know much about me.  I wasn’t officially a student yet, but Gordon was generous enough to meet with me.  It was very helpful to bounce off ideas with Gordon, and after that I met with my old and new bosses on a regular basis to make sure I was on track.

Another very valuable tip I got was from the Career Management Workshop that Gordon and Susan conducted at the end of LF.  The list of accomplishments that Susan suggested us to work on, that was money!  That’s what I provided to my new boss at the performance review and he helped me build a case and got me promoted!

Dylan, thought you might want to know that I’ve put my FEMBA to work already, and it’s only my first quarter!  Everything you said was true!  =)  I’m so excited to be in the program and thank you all for your support!

Best Regards,
Vincent Chan
FEMBA 17, Section 4

Vincent Chan 17 new Vice President of Client Solutions at Ares Management

Parting thought for the week…

SoCal has great weather.

Did you hear that Buffalo, New York, got over seven feet of snow this week… Here was what I saw when I looked up a lunch this afternoon in the courtyard.

Did you know that Buffalo, New York, received over 7 feet of snow this week? Blue skies from the courtyard of UCLA Anderson today.

 

 

 

Backstreet Boys after Finance Class

Backstreet Boys after Finance Class? What kind of interactive study-tool is this? Well, Kelly Stelbasky ’16, Tour Director, North American Concerts, for Live Nation Entertainment sent me this note this week, and the below photo, and you can gauge for yourself.

Kelly: Hey Dylan! Here is a photo for your collection. In honor of Throwback Thursdays, a group of us went down to The Forum last week after class to see none other than the Backstreet Boys.Clockwise from top left:
Carlos Aguirre ’16, Senior Analyst, Compass Lexecon
Yuliya Shynkarenko ’16, Senior Project Manager, United Aeronautical Corporation
Howie Hendler ’16, Asset Management Analyst, Radnet
Shreena Grewal ’16, Senior Financial Analyst, The Walt Disney Company
Dave Forbes ’16, Director Of Finance, Center Light Films
Kristen Palchak ’16, Senior Account Manager, TVGla
Nigel Beckmeier ’16, Test Engineer, Woodward HRT
Isadora Dantas ’16, Product Designer, Cornerstone OnDemand
Josh Kahn  ’16, Executive Assistant to EVP Production, HBO
Lisa Mau ’16, Senior Business Analyst, Ethics and Compliance Planning, Southern California Edison
and Kelly Stelbasky ’16, Tour Director, North American Concerts, for Live Nation Entertainment

Dylan: That’s great Kelly. How may people went?

Kelly: There were 27 of us including SigOs and FoFEMBAs (friends of FEMBAs) who made our way down to Inglewood after Finance class. Afterwards some folks hung around to mingle and eat some post-show dessert in the Forum Club. This, plus very loud singing, dancing, people watching, and general merriment pretty much summed up the night.

Dylan: Love it. Thanks for organizing the great photo. That’s gotta help retention of your Thursday night’s Finance material, putting it to music!

After I initially posted this story, Kristen Palchak, emailed me with an addendum.

Kristen:  Thanks Dylan. We had a blast dancing and singing BSB favorites from the past, with FEMBA friends of the present – my 12 year old teeny bopper heart was happy. Kelly was amazing to organize for us!  And here’s another fun photo from the night:

 

Ryan Gutterson ’14: The Most Interesting TED Talk in the World

I love this guy! Ryan Gutterson, I’m sorry, but you are never allowed to graduate, you oh Most Interesting MBA in the World.

Ryan Gutterson ’14 (center), one of the student speakers at the third annual TED Talk at UCLA. (Courtesy of TEDanderson)

As reported in the Daily Bruin by Fiona Kirby

UCLA Anderson hosted its third TED Talks on-campus last week. One of the Thursday evening presenters was Ryan Gutterson, FEMBA 2014.

Ryan Gutterson said he noticed the negative repercussions for children when adult figures in their lives overprotect them during play.

In addition to his personal experience, an article about overprotected children in Atlantic Monthly prompted Gutterson to focus his talk on child development and the positive impact exposure to moderate risks can have on kids’ life skills.

Gutterson said he thinks adult figures overreacting or overprotecting children could be detrimental to their growth.

He opened his talk with an anecdote about working in a school and seeing a teacher bench a boy during recess. When he asked why, the teacher said it was because the boy was running. After an accident in which two girls ran into each other during recess and one dislocated her jaw, running had not been allowed at the school.

He said he thinks mindsets similar to the teacher’s do not help children learn the skills needed to develop an entrepreneurial spirit, such as outside-the-box thinking, which comes from doses of independence.

“They get that (entrepreneurial spirit) by being taught skills and then getting out there and being encouraged to use them,” he said.

He said while parent involvement in their children’s lives is incredibly important, he was concerned about inhibiting kids from being able to do what they are capable of doing.

He said he has great admiration for parents and the pressure they are under in such a crucial role. Still, he said a parents’ instinct to be afraid for their child can be inhibiting.

“To me, that’s the kind of involvement that makes the most sense: teaching, and then backing off a little bit, as opposed to having control and steering your kid toward what you think makes them successful or what you think they need,” he said.

And, if you really want to see Ryan exercise his acting chops, you have to watch his prize-winning, 60-second, UCLA Anderson Commercial Challenge entry below:

Raahul Srinivasan ’16: Magician, Bay Area Commuter, Double-Bruin

We admit the most amazing people to FEMBA.

Take Raahul Srinivasan, FEMBA 2016, who splits his time between Mountain View and Westwood, while he continues to amaze colleagues and classmates alike with his skills as a magician. A Double-Bruin and a member of the Magic Castle, a nearly 5,000-member Hollywood clubhouse for magicians, Raahul is one of those people I’m watching with anticipation to see what he creates next.

Raahul Srinivasan, FEMBA 2016, commutes to UCLA from San Francisco and continues to pursue his passion as a magician during graduate school.

The Daily Bruin did a profile story on Raahul last month, and also quoted his classmate, Massimo Chimienti, my favorite Italian FEMBA in the Class of 2016.

Here’s the full article. http://dailybruin.com/2014/02/12/graduate-student-balances-jobs-as-engineer-professional-magician/

The Most Interesting MBA in the World

…A UCLA Anderson MBA is a master of persuasion, an innovative strategist and an overall showstopper. Crowds part at the very thought of a crisp, Bruin business card. With our Dos Equis parody, Team “Polished by Diamonds” sought to illustrate the extraordinary potential that an MBA from UCLA Anderson unlocks, through the awe-inspiring life of the Most Interesting MBA in the World… from the award-winning video.

I still love this work. Thanks Anastasia Ali ’14, Melissa Astete ’14, Ryan Gutterson ’14, Timothy Hui ’14, Khoa Le ’14, Dianna Moore ’14, Dania Shaheen ’14, Linda Tran ’14 and Rose Zhu ’14.

Friends don’t let friends skip happy hour

Two of my favorite FEMBAs, Ben Larson ’13 and Alex Valente ’13 tell a cautionary tale for your Friday viewing pleasure.

Kidding aside, check out their LinkedIn profiles. Both made major career changes during FEMBA: Ben from Technicolor to Electronic Arts to HP, and Alex from being an actor and tennis pro to a real estate career for Trammell Crow Company.

Fearless Freddy Wolfe, 2014

Freddy Wolfe ’14, shown participating in a very-non-UCLA-recommended manner during the December 2012 FEMBA International Study trip to Thailand. I had the honor of teaching Freddy’s Management Communications 298D course last summer; I hoped my students would get a confidence boost, but this is too much!

UCLA Anderson & TED

Big news at UCLA Anderson this afternoon…

Newsfeed to follow.