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Meet the Advisors

Our experienced faculty advisors support our students throughout the six-month Global Access Program (GAP) project. Each team is assigned a faculty advisor who works closely with the team to monitor progress, review documents and presentations, and encourage academic and professional growth. However, the faculty advisor does not directly manage the interactions with companies; that is the job of the student team. 

Many of our advisors have directed, invested in, and provided consulting services to, leading companies all over the world, in addition to their academic accomplishments, so both our students and our partner organizations benefit from their wealth of expertise. They are chosen both for their skills as generalists and for their specialties.

Paulo de Rezende
Paulo de Rezende
Faculty Director
Applied Management Programs

Paulo de Rezende

Paulo has over 20 years of investing experience, both in Venture Capital and Private Equity. From 2000 to 2007, as an early-stage venture capitalist at Zone Ventures, where he co- managed investments in over 30 portfolio companies across 3 funds, securing successful exits with DivX (IPO) and NevenVision (sold to Google).

In 2008 he returned to his native Brazil, where he developed the investment thesis, solicited investors, and raised US$225 million for a growth equity fund targeted at the Brazilian energy supply chain (logistics, automation and control systems, capital goods and specialized services). The fund invested in offshore logistics providers with combined enterprise value of over US$2.5 billion.

For the last 4 years Paulo has been supporting the development of entrepreneurial ecosystems in Australia (Queensland), Brazil (Sao Paulo), and India (West Bengal) and has lectured in early-stage cleantech accelerators in Nigeria, Pakistan, South Africa, and Ukraine. 

Paulo holds a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil and an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management.

paulo.de.rezende@anderson.ucla.edu
 

David Dowling
David Dowling
Faculty Advisor Since 2022

David Dowling

David founded and was president of media.com, an innovative and award-winning interactive marketing agency in New York City. His clients included Proctor & Gamble, Dell, Intel, and Sprint Business. He is recognized as a pioneer in performance-based digital media buying, as he created and successfully implemented the first cost-per-click media buys on the Internet. He has been honored by Ad Age as a Digital Media Master and by Mediaweek as a New Media All-Star.

Mr. Dowling joined NetZero prior to their IPO. Throughout the years, he held several leadership positions in Business Development, Marketing, Products and Services, and Media. He served as Chief Marketing Officer for United Online’s $100 million Communications business, where he and his team created and launched NetZero Mobile Broadband.

David is currently the co-founder and managing director at Propellant Labs, where he has provided guidance to over 150 startup founders in 11 countries around the world. He also manages Propellant Marketing and Propellant Public Relations, which are agencies providing full-service solutions to early-stage ventures and small businesses across the United States.

David is a leader in the Los Angeles start-up community, serving as a mentor for early-stage companies and accelerators, as well as the BCO program at the UCLA Anderson School of Management.  He holds a B.S. degree from The University of Connecticut and an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

david.dowling@anderson.ucla.edu

Jody Dunitz, J.D.
Faculty Advisor Since 2017

Jody Dunitz, J.D.

Dunitz has an extensive business and legal background in the entertainment industry. She served as the EVP of Sony/ATV for nine years and is an active member of the Tech Coast Angels. She also provides her support by judging entrepreneur competitions and providing published commentaries to the music business community.

jody.dunitz@anderson.ucla.edu

Mitch Feinman
Mitch Feinman
Faculty Advisor Since 2022

Mitch Feinman

A leading voice at the intersection of media, technology and data with over 25 years of experience in online, mobile, connected TV and AI, Mitch Feinman’s accomplishments have ranged from running the American Idol text-message voting program to launching the first websites for ABCNEWS, The Academy Awards and Oprah Winfrey. Currently Mitch oversees Strategy and Business Development for The Weather Company, part of IBM Watson, including partnerships with companies such as Samsung, Apple and Google that drive traffic, revenue and branding.

Before IBM/Weather, Mitch oversaw business development for a “big data” company founded by the inventor of Google AdSense that offers places/location data to Facebook, Apple, and Uber and that was acquired in spring 2020 by Foursquare.

Prior Mitch was part of a global partnerships team at Google that distributed YouTube optimized

for mobile and OTT devices globally, growing TV from 0 to 100M daily views in 5 years. Before Google, Mitch was a Senior Vice President at News Corp., including founding and running Fox Mobile Entertainment. In addition to the American Idol text-message voting initiative, he launched FOX in Flight on JetBlue and oversaw development of what are still some of the best-selling mobile games including for The Simpsons, Family Guy and Ice Age.

Prior as a Vice President at Disney’s ABC TV division, Mitch launched the first web sites for ABCNEWS.com as well as for ABC TV partners The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and Harpo Productions the first web sites for the Oscars and The Oprah Winfrey Show,

respectively.

Subsequent to business school, Mitch was a senior consultant at Regis McKenna, a 50-year-old+, boutique marketing strategy consulting firm based in Silicon Valley that helped launch the MacIntosh computer. While there Mitch launched the first consumer electronic travel reservations service for a US airline and its partner British Airways as well as advised the Electronic Frontier Foundation on its anti-censorship, purple-ribbon campaign.

Mitch is a regular speaker/moderator at industry events and conferences such as Digital Hollywood and has served on the Boards of the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) and USC’s Communications & Technology Management Institute. Mitch graduated magna cum laude with a BA from the University of Pennsylvania and also earned an MBA from the Kellogg

School of Management at Northwestern University.

Mitch lives in Brentwood with his wife Abby, a trusts and estates partner at a national law firm

with an office in Century City, they have 2 college-age sons and a Golden Cavapoo named Max.

mitch.feinman@anderson.ucla.edu
 

Jeffrey C. Lapin, J.D.
GAP Advisor Since 2012

Jeffrey C. Lapin, J.D.

Lapin, a consultant and angel investor since 2010, has served as CEO of six companies, including Atari S.A., Razorgator Interactive Group, Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. and Starwood Hotels. He has extensive experience in executive management, organizational structure, finance, corporate growth, public company management, and restructuring, as well as domain experience in a variety of industries.

jeffrey.lapin@anderson.ucla.edu

Jonathan Lasch, Ph.D.
GAP Advisor Since 2005

Jonathan Lasch, Ph.D.

Lasch is the executive director for the Alfred E. Mann Institute for Biomedical Engineering at the University of Southern California (AMI-USC). He brings more than 25 years of experience in science and technology development and evaluation in the fields of biomedical instruments and systems, biotechnology, chemistry and materials science. In addition to advising GAP, he served for two years as the director of the Executive MBA Field Study Program at UCLA Anderson. 

jonathan.lasch@anderson.ucla.edu 

Peter Lee
Peter Lee
Faculty Advisor Since 2022

Peter Lee

Peter Lee is an experienced executive who has held leadership roles (e.g., CEO, CSO, CTO, SVP, VP) at companies such as The Walt Disney Company, IBM, PetSmart, Technicolor, and PlayNetwork.  As CEO, he has successfully sold two companies and was part of the executive team at PetSmart that represented the company in an $8.7 billion sale.  He has a passion for creating exceptional customer experiences using innovation and digital transformation.  His skills include digital transformation, technology, strategic planning, business development, operations, project management, leadership, technology, and collaboration.  He has over 16 patents granted and a Technical Emmy.  

peter.lee@anderson.ucla.edu
 

Debbie Lin
Debbie Lin
Faculty Advisor Since 2022

Debbie Lin
 

Dr. Debbie Lin has over 15 years of business leadership experience in multinational environments, having lived and worked in global executive positions in the US, Europe, and Asia. Debbie’s forte is new business model strategy, business development, and venture capital in healthcare and medtech with a focus on scientific product development, value proposition refinement, and market access.

As Executive Director for Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, Debbie was accountable for digital health investments, board directorship, and digital health strategy setting in North America. Before her role at the Venture Fund, she was Global Director of Corporate Development where she crafted new business models for healthcare in major global markets.

She has also held operational roles in field-based Health Economics and Medical Affairs working with national payers, regional providers, and opinion leaders. She supported more than 5 drug launches and a variety of disease indications. Debbie is an Adjunct Faculty Lecturer at UCLA Ander-son School of Business and a mentor at Stanford MedicineX, NYU’s Endless Frontier Labs. She is currently VP of Strategic partnerships at Caris Life Sciences, a precision oncology technology company.

debbie.lin@anderson.ucla.edu
 

Jim Myers
GAP Advisor Since 2019

Jim Myers

Myers joined Northrup Gunman in 1997 at the former TRW Space & Electronics, where he served as vice president of business development and, subsequently, vice president of strategic development with responsibility for strategic planning, mergers and acquisitions, and portfolio and intellectual asset management. In 2003, he was named vice president of satellite communications and later served as vice president of payloads and sensors at Northrop Grumman's Aerospace Systems sector. In 2007, he joined the company's Electronic Systems sector serving as sector vice president and general manager of the Navigation Systems Division. Today he serves as vice president and general manager of its Civil Systems business group

jim.myers@anderson.ucla.edu

Bruce Rothman
Bruce Rothman
Faculty Advisor Since 2022

Bruce Rothman

Bruce H. Rothman is the Co-Managing Member of KOAR Institutional Advisors,  LLC, and founding principal of Storage Etc. and FlexHQ. He has been involved in the real estate industry for over 30 years.  Prior to entering the real estate industry, Mr. Rothman practiced corporate securities law in Los Angeles.  Mr. Rothman has been involved in the acquisition or development of approximately $1,500,000,000 of income-producing real estate in the United States including office, industrial, retail, residential, hotel, self-storage, and mixed-use. Mr. Rothman, a Los Angeles native, received a bachelor's degree in psychology from UCLA (1976) and a J.D. degree from the Gould School of Law at the University of Southern California (1982) where he serves on the Board of Councilors. He is a member of the California State Bar, is admitted to practice law in all California courts, and is an Adjunct Faculty member at the UCLA Anderson School of Management. 

bruce.rothman@anderson.ucla.edu
 

Bill Seeger
Faculty Advisor Since 2022

Bill Seeger

Bill Seeger developed his global financial experience at TRW, where he spent 30 years in the automotive, aerospace, energy and electronics sectors. Seeger held positions as division CFO, corporate treasurer, VP finance – automotive, VP finance – aerospace and VP planning and analysis. During the past 11 years at GKN plc, a U.K. automotive and aerospace company, he was the CFO of the aerospace division, president and CEO of propulsion systems and CFO, as well as a member of the company’s board. He lived in the U.K. for seven years.

Seeger currently is on the board of directors of Smiths Group as well as on the board of Spectris plc, both U.K. engineering and industrial companies. He has been a visiting professor at UCLA Anderson since January 2015.

bill.seeger@anderson.ucla.edu
 

Gregory Zikos
Gregory Zikos
Faculty Advisor Since 2022

Gregory Zikos

Mr. Zikos is the current Director of Business Development and Strategy at the Alfred E. Mann Institute at USC. Greg has a diverse background and experience as an attorney, business consultant and senior-level financial services executive with an emphasis on business development and client relations. He has achieved a high level of success selling products and services while growing and managing complex relationships with a variety of companies, funds, and organizations. He can be helpful as a mentor by providing guidance on the topics of leadership, business development, strategic planning, market research, risk management, finance, business law, and other business-related topics. Mr. Zikos holds an undergraduate degree in Government from Harvard University, a Law and a Masters in Tax Law degree from Boston University School of Law, and a Master’s in Business Administration degree from the Anderson School of Management at UCLA.

gregory.zikos@anderson.ucla.edu
 

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