Huntsville, Alabama a.k.a. Rocket City is where scientists developed rockets that sent men to the moon. That’s also where Katy Parker Dickson ’92 spent her formative years. Exposure to Huntsville’s science and engineering culture led her to the U.S. Air Force Academy and subsequently to Los Angeles to work on a program to develop an anti-ballistic missile system. During her stint at the L.A. Air Force Base, she enrolled at UCLA Anderson, which enabled her to pivot into a 23-year marketing career at General Mills. Learning an appreciation for risk-taking from her dad—an engineer, college professor, and seminary school student—Katy made a move in 2015 to take on a chief marketing officer role at News Corp and then to Mattel in 2016 to become SVP and President of Mattel’s American Girl subsidiary. Thrilled to infuse her hometown Space Camp into the story of American Girl’s 2018 Girl of the Year doll Luciana Vega, Katy said “American Girl is not exclusively in the toy business. We are in the business of telling great stories to girls that help them develop into the best women they can be.” Read more.

As UCLA Anderson moves into the final 12 months of our $300 million Into the Next Campaign, we are excited to announce a $20 million Anderson Leadership Giving Challenge! Focused on the school's highest fundraising priorities—fostering support for UCLA Anderson students and faculty—this challenge is born from the inspirational legacy of our generous benefactor Marion Anderson. $20 million of her transformative gift is dedicated to this new Giving Challenge, directing a 100 percent match of new gifts of $250,000 to $1.5 million to endowments that support student fellowships and faculty. Learn more.

Watch Interim Dean Al Osborne’s announcement.

Gain insights on a variety of business topics from cutting-edge research by UCLA Anderson’s faculty in this month’s UCLA Anderson Review.

What Makes a True Financial Crisis?
Tyler Muir

Financial systems crashes have shaped economies on both the national and global level, but how much was their actual impact? New research examines the damage of these disasters, and whether or not they deserve to be labeled a "crisis." Read full article.

Are you ready for a day of friendly competition with the UCLA Anderson community? Whether it is competing on the greens to win the coveted Anderson Cup (and six other contests!) or winning a bid for a day with your favorite professor—the 13th annual UCLA Anderson Alumni Golf Tournament will help unleash your inner competitive spirit!

The tournament is a scramble format so everyone is welcome to play and participate in a special day of fun and networking in support of UCLA Anderson student fellowships. A big thanks to our tournament committee and sponsors Wescom, Bolton & Company, Treehouse Partners, Voss and Digital Room LLC for doing their part to drive impact for UCLA Anderson's future leaders. Learn more about the tournament and sponsorship opportunities.

Q: You’ve only just come on board. That said, what plans might you have for the center?

Our first task is looking at all of our existing programming and seeing what's working and what could be improved. Terry [faculty director] and I have talked about making sure that all of the programs we offer are really high quality and have value for the MBA students. The MBAs are all coming in with work experience, and you can often acquire direct vertical skills lots of ways. So I think it's important that more of what we work on is really looking at leadership and innovation and technology, and understanding the implications of all the rapid changes we're seeing. Read full interview.

Come back to campus to network with industry peers to learn about the current business issues and emerging trends facing the entertainment, sports, healthcare, retail and technology landscape at UCLA Anderson's upcoming conferences.

Pulse Entertainment, Sports & Technology Conference
February 8, 2019
The 10th annual Pulse Conference will bring together leading executives to share insights and perspective on the current trends, opportunities and challenges impacting the entertainment, sports and technology industries. This year's theme will be the Age of Personalization. Featured speakers include 2019 Game Changer recipient Jeffery Katzenberg (Founder & Managing Partner, WndrCo), Thai Randolph (EVP & GM, Kevin Hart's Laugh Out Loud Network) and John Penotti (President, SK Global). Register.

Vitals: UCLA Anderson Healthcare Conference
February 15, 2019
Healthcare intersects with technology, finance, public policy, social impact and retail industries, influencing everything from patient experience to pharmaceutical pricing and consumers’ interaction with the healthcare system. Learn about the changes coming to the healthcare industry as a result of these dynamic connections. Featured speakers include Kent Thiry (CEO, Davita), Cynthia Patton (Chief Compliance Officer, Amgen), and Dr. Susan Love ‘98, (Chief Visionary Officer, Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation). Register.

Evolve 2019: Retail Reimagined
February 22, 2019
The 2019 Evolve Conference, "Retail Reimagined," will bring together industry professionals, disruptors, entrepreneurs and academics for a daylong discussion on how retailers are envisioning the future of the industry and the strategies that companies are employing to survive and thrive in this new era of retail. Featured speakers include Terry Boyle (President, NordstromRack.com, Hautelook.com and Trunk Club) and John Coletta '00 (Chief Financial & Strategy Officer, Interim President of Retail, Peet's Coffee). Register.