Center for Global Management

Allen Chen (’23)

Anduril Industries

ALLEN CHEN is a graduate of the FEMBA class of 2023. Chen has worked in corporate finance for over seven years. Post-graduation, he will join Anduril Industries, a U.S. defense company specializing in autonomous systems, as a member of its finance team. Prior to joining Anduril, he spent seven years at Lockheed Martin and is a graduate of its Finance Leadership Development Program. During his undergraduate education at Ohio State University, where he received a B.S. in business administration, with concentrations in accounting and economics, he interned at BT Global Services in Hong Kong SAR. It was following this international experience that Chen knew he wanted to pursue a global career.

Despite living in Denver, UCLA Anderson’s FEMBA program was Chen’s top choice, not just because of the flexibility it provided with its hybrid schedule, but also because of the different global opportunities that UCLA Anderson offers. While the pandemic limited the number of global travel opportunities during his first two years, Chen made the most of the global experiences in his final year. He studied strategies for growth and transformation at London Business School, which shaped how he thought about various transformations that occur within corporations and helped him to understand how he could leverage these learnings in his career. He later traveled to New Zealand for his Global Access Program capstone project with Lanaco, a sustainable filtration company that was looking to expand into the U.S. market. As part of his primary field research, he saw firsthand how its products were made, from the sourcing of raw materials to the end product. One of the highlights and culmination of his MBA program was participating in the CGM’s Japan global immersion course. He traveled to Tokyo, where he learned about the country’s business environment, Japan’s role in the world and the effects of Japanese systems on the way business is conducted in Japan, and he explored business opportunities for both foreign and domestic companies.

On-campus, Chen furthered his global acumen and enrolled in Global Trends, which explored a variety of world events and their impact on business decisions, while also studying how technology, accelerated by the pandemic, has impacted inequality. He continued his global education with the International Business Economics course, where he learned about exchange rates and risks of doing business abroad. The Global Macroeconomy course also provided him with a highly relevant perspective on the impact of interest rates and high inflation around the world. The opportunity to travel to three different continents allowed Chen to see the world from a different perspective and added value to both his personal and professional growth. The most memorable elements were the friendships that he made and networks that he built. He looks forward to leveraging his UCLA Anderson global experiences and learnings as he advances in his career and develops as a global business leader.

Yannan Collins (’23)

PwC

YANNAN COLLINS is a graduate of the FTMBA Class of 2023 and a David J. Wang Fellow, with a strong commitment to impact-driven work. Prior to UCLA Anderson, Collins ran an independent consulting firm that helped businesses and nonprofits in underserved communities. Collins graduated cum laude with a B.A. in media studies, performing arts and social justice, and a minor in Japanese Studies, from the University of San Francisco after completing a study abroad program at Sophia University in Tokyo. Collins is fluent in Mandarin and Japanese and is a registered yoga instructor.

During their time at Anderson, Collins demonstrated leadership and a commitment to fostering inclusivity and building a vibrant community. They served as a partner for the Anderson Strategy Group, a nonprofit, MBA student-run consulting firm; co-founded Anderson’s First-Generation student club; and held multiple vice president positions for clubs such as Out@Anderson, the Greater China Business Association, the Japanese American Business Association and Yoga and Wellness, among others. Collins was also a mentee in the CGM mentor program.

Collins was keen to actively expand their global perspective and enrolled in a variety of global management courses, including those focused on global macroeconomics, technology and society, and environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) for managers and investors. Collins also enrolled in a CGM global immersion course and traveled to Singapore to learn about the tech-driven transformation that is happening in the Greater China region, Southeast Asia and the U.S., enabled by government policy, changes in consumer preferences and enterprise-driven innovation. Collins also attended many discussions in the CGM’s speaker series.

During the summer of Collins first year, they interned at PwC as a deals transformation senior associate and helped to facilitate the spin-off of a multinational corporation. As part of the internship, Collins conducted focus groups and revitalized the corporation’s change and communication strategy, positively impacting over 5,000 employees. After graduation, Collins will be returning to PwC as a senior consultant, where they will leverage their UCLA Anderson global experiences and learnings, use their business school skills, and employ their extensive strategy, technology and change management experience to make a positive impact on organizations, advance inclusivity and develop as a global business leader.

Nicole Djanbatian (’23)

United States Air Force

NICOLE DJANBATIAN is a graduate of the EMBA Class of 2023. She is an aerospace physiologist in the United States Air Force and recently relocated to Washington, D.C., to serve as chief of human factor safety issues. Prior to this, she was an assistant operations officer in the 58th Special Operations Wing, where she oversaw aircrew training and eliminations as well as the Wing’s flying hour program. Djanbatian has spent over 15 years on active duty and completed deployments to Afghanistan and Germany.

Throughout her career in the military, Djanbatian developed a strong interest in working with her foreign counterparts and enjoyed learning about their cultures and languages. Her decision to attend UCLA Anderson stemmed from a desire to build a skill set, learn more about the private sector and expand her knowledge of international relations, and was strongly influenced by the robust programming offered by the CGM. She started her EMBA journey in the fall of 2020. While her first year was fully remote due to the pandemic, she took advantage of the opportunity to enroll in a number of global management courses and develop her global perspective.

In the pan-European virtual global immersion course, she heard from many policy and business leaders, including alumni in France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Germany and the U.K., who provided firsthand accounts of how businesses and governments are dealing with Brexit and COVID-19 and what the future holds for European and global companies. In the Global Trends course, she explored key trends affecting business and their effects on management practices and business opportunities around the world. For her EMBA international business residency, she learned about leadership and business challenges and opportunities in the Asia Pacific region, including Hong Kong SAR, India, Japan and Thailand. Djanbatian also studied strategy and design thinking through a fully virtual international exchange with Japan’s Waseda University. She then took a leave of absence for one year when she was deployed to Germany to support operations within the continent of Africa. This time allowed her to travel to six European and three African countries and experience firsthand some of the lessons learned from her global courses, including gaining an enhanced awareness of how business and governments operate.

During her second year, she was able to attend on-campus instruction and build her connections. Djanbatian enrolled in the CGM’s Vietnam global immersion course and visited Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to explore how political and economic policies in Vietnam play out in one of Southeast Asia’s most vibrant economies, evaluate the potential for growth in a developing country and compare and contrast the startup scenes in both cities. Djanbatian feels that the global management education she received has made her a better, more well-rounded leader, and will continue to serve her well in her new assignment and as her responsibilities grow in scale and scope.

Michael Bybee (’22)

Blizzard Entertainment

MICHAEL BYBEE is a member of the FEMBA Class of 2022 and recipient of the Howard M. Williams Award, which recognizes the top 2% of the graduating class. He is the associate production director for Diablo IV, an upcoming action role-playing game being developed by Blizzard Entertainment, where he has worked for 15 years. He manages producers responsible for Diablo IV content, including all story, worldbuilding, dungeon and audio aspects of the game and thousands of art assets outsourced to studios all over the world. When Bybee decided to pursue the global management specialization, he thought the value he would gain would be primarily from learning how to better manage international teams and understand international consumers. However, over the course of three years, he gained something far more valuable: context.

The pandemic fundamentally altered the course of Bybee’s education. While it was more difficult to build close connections and options to travel for global immersion and GAP were limited, the virtual environment also provided opportunities. As a hybrid student, Bybee was able to enroll in courses and attend events that would otherwise not have been available to him. “Global Trends,” one of Bybee’s favorites courses, was the first time he encountered a topic that became a common theme during his time at Anderson: climate change. He learned how drought, famine and flood are likely to lead to massive patterns of migration that will put even more pressure on geopolitical tensions worldwide. In the pan- European global immersion course, he heard from many policy and business leaders, including alumni in France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Germany and the U.K., who provided a firsthand account of how businesses and governments are dealing with Brexit and COVID-19 and what the future holds for European and global companies. The regulatory and business environments around climate change came up in several discussions. In his “Non-Market Risks” course, Bybee learned how a company’s environmental footprint in one country could become a risk that reduced sales or increased costs in another country. Courses such as “Global Macroeconomics” further provided frameworks to assess macroeconomic impacts and analyze issues through a business lens.

During a worldwide pandemic with rising geopolitical unrest and a volatile global economy, Bybee feels that his UCLA Anderson education and the global management track provided him with the tools to understand what was going on. While there are many examples of things that he learned during his time at Anderson, together they represent something more. His perspective on the world, on global business and on his place in both has changed for the better. Bybee feels that he is a better person and a better leader because of these priceless experiences, that he is more prepared to face whatever comes next and that he is motivated to help the teams that he works with to do the same.

Jong-Yoon Park (’22)

Flex

JONG-YOON PARK is a member of the FTMBA Class of 2022 and a Sandy Sigoloff Fellow. For two years, he served as a drill sergeant in the Republic of Korea army while attending Seoul National University, where he studied Asian history, political science and international relations. Before joining UCLA Anderson, Park worked at Hyundai Steel as a business analyst and strategy manager.

During his time at UCLA Anderson, Park represented the international community and dedicated himself to improving the representation of and opportunities for international students. He assumed multiple leadership roles, including vice president of international student relations for the Anderson Student Council (ASA), and led the international Anderson career team (ACT) to help first-year international students with recruiting. He was chosen by the FTMBA Class of 2022 as the recipient of the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Service, which recognizes a graduating student for their outstanding contribution and dedication to the UCLA Anderson community. He was also honored as an Outstanding Student in Strategy.

To expand his global perspective and enhance his understanding of various economies and markets, Park enrolled in a variety of global management courses, including those focused on global macroeconomics, global trends, and technology and society. He traveled to Chile for the CGM’s global immersion course, where he explored business opportunities in a rapidly changing emerging country. For his capstone experience, Park explored opportunities in the online seafood market to deliver the freshest prime grade fish, sourced from around the globe, directly to customers’ homes. He also held leadership positions for the three student identity clubs: the Korean Business Student Association, the Japan America Business Association and the Asian Student Management Association.

During the summer of his first year, Park interned at Flex, a multinational electronics contract manufacturer, as a strategy manager. As part of his internship, he analyzed leading global automotive OEMs to understand EV battery procurement strategy trends and developed recommendations for potential growth opportunities. After graduation, he will be returning to Flex in San Jose as a corporate strategy manager, where he will use his business school skills, combined with his extensive global technology and strategy experience, to drive new revenue opportunities for the company in the fast-growing global EV and battery markets. He looks forward to leveraging his UCLA Anderson global experiences and learnings as he advances in his career and develops as a global business leader.

Tiffany Wang (’22)

Warner Bros. Discovery

TIFFANY WANG is a member of the EMBA Class of 2022. She is a senior vice president of international film marketing at Warner Bros. Discovery, where she works with over 60 international markets to define, present and execute marketing strategies. As Wang’s career progressed, she became increasingly involved in global initiatives and started to pivot from a domestic-focused role to a global position. She realized that the next stage of disruption in the entertainment sector would come from the globalization of content. As technology continues to provide the backbone of a new infrastructure for importing and exporting information, the entertainment industry is able to leverage this infrastructure to reach a broader audience around the globe and facilitate storytelling in a massively impactful way. Wang, who wanted to be a leader in this aspect, decided to pursue the global management track to gain an enhanced understanding of how to operate in a global marketplace and develop her own global perspective.

During her two years at UCLA Anderson, Wang enrolled in numerous global management elective courses and learned many important concepts and frameworks that she was able to immediately apply to her career. The “Technology and Society” and “Non-Market Risks: Understanding Politics and the Global Context for Doing Business” courses, among Wang’s favorites, provided a solid foundation as to why business is conducted in certain ways around the globe and helped to fill a philosophical perspective for Wang of how to truly manifest and empower a global state of mind in business. The principles she refined and practiced through a combination of classroom learning and practical application have been incredibly helpful to Wang’s career growth. In “Global Trends,” she explored key trends affecting business and their effects on management practices and business opportunities around the world. She also enrolled in the hy-flex Shenzhen-Hong Kong global immersion course, where she learned about the tech-driven transformation that is happening in the Greater China region, enabled by government policy, changes in consumer preferences and enterprise-driven innovation. Earlier this year, Wang served as a guest speaker for a CGM global management seminar with a partner school in Europe and shared her professional experience with international EMBA students. She discussed the disruption and transformation in the movie industry and the trends and new business models that she is observing.

For her EMBA international business residency, Wang traveled to Dubai to learn about the United Arab Emirates and the business climate in the Middle East, a region that had always piqued her interest. From visiting tech-centric hubs to experiencing the different souks, Wang walked away with even more curiosity and passion to work in the MENA region.

Wang feels that these collective experiences on-campus, virtually and around the world have expanded her understanding and appreciation of different cultures and ways of doing business will continue to serve her well as her global responsibilities grow in scale and scope, and have created the capacity for her to lead and truly make a positive impact.