Category: Alumni News

A selection of news highlights about alumni of UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business

Startup Life360 Comes Full Circle with Alumni Team

| by Kim Girard
Life360’s CEO Chris Hulls (left) and Chief Business Officer Itamar Novick 

As Chris Hulls, BS 06, watched the chaos that unfolded in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005, an idea for a new kind of business emerged.

Hulls’ idea—which was the kernel for startup Life360—was to create some sort of location sharing application so people could locate each other in the thick of an emergency.

“I thought that mobile could be a real use of technology to help families stay connected,” he said.

In an entrepreneurship class at Berkeley-Haas, Hulls wrote his business plan for a web-based system to allow families to prepare for emergencies. He developed and tested the idea at the Lester Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation’s entrepreneurship lab, a business incubator for startups.

More than 80 million families registered

Seven years later, Life360 is a growing startup tucked away in 55,000-square-foot building in the the tech corridor on Market Street, which also happens to be Twitter’s first San Francisco headquarters.

The company makes a free location-sharing mobile phone app that helps families and friends keep track of one another through private “circles” that display each member’s whereabouts on a smartphone map. In 2014, the company got a big boost, through a partnership and $25 million investment from home security giant ADT.

While it’s still considered an early-growth-stage company, over 80 million families have registered with the service since its founding in 2008. The venture capital community has also taken notice, pouring slightly more than $76 million into the company.

Hulls, who grew up in Marin, joined the air force after high school and also served a tour of duty in Afghanistan as a member of a C-130 team. But he was always interested in starting a business. After finishing his stint in the service, Hulls returned to the Bay Area with the intention of getting a degree at Berkeley and eventually becoming an entrepreneur.

“This is in my blood,” Hulls said. “I’m a business-y guy.”

“A real impact on peoples’ lives”

While growing the business, CEO Hulls tapped his Haas network to strengthen management ranks, connecting with Itamar Novick, MBA 12, now the company’s chief business officer. A native of Israel, Novick was working as a senior associate at Morgenthaler Ventures while he was finishing his MBA at Haas. Mark Goines, MBA 76, an angel investor in Life360, introduced Novick to Hulls. Novick said he was intrigued by the company and wanted to wait for the right opening.

“I love that Life360 makes a real impact on people’s lives, keeping families safe and connected when they are apart,” said Novick.

After graduating from Haas, Novick helped put together a group of investors to buy out a co-founder who was leaving the company. He joined in 2012 as an employee and stakeholder.

Hulls says they make an effective team. “If you have him take on a project he will grind it down in a piece by piece like a woodpecker until he wins,” he said. “I’m probably a bit more creative but also a lot more erratic. So we are a good combo.”

Novick said he draws on his education often while helping to run Life360.

“I don’t think that I could have been effective in my job without going through the Haas experience,” he added. “Haas helped me to really think about innovation and new business opportunities and quantify them. All those tools that I learned were invaluable in helping me reach where I am today.”

An Outpouring of Thanks at Donor Appreciation Week

| by Laura Counts
Students wrote thank-you cards to donors
Photos Copyright Noah Berger / 2016

Students, students, faculty, and staff wrote 535 letters of appreciation last month to the thousands of donors who ensure that Berkeley-Haas carries on its tradition of excellence.

Donor Appreciation Week is celebrated every January to acknowledge that tuition covers only half the cost of running the school. Philanthropy supports one-third of the other half. Berkeley-Haas also has donors to thank for its new $60 million North Academic Building, which is 100 percent privately funded. The building is expected to be completed in early 2017.

A thank-you letter to a Berkeley-Haas donor

Here’s a sampling of some of the letter writers’ sentiments, as well as photos of a few of those who stopped by the letter-writing tables in the Bank of America Forum to express their appreciation.

Your generous support is not only important to sustain quality research. It sustains quality life. Thanks to your donation I can support my wife and two daughters Cristina (2) and Teresa (5 months). We talk a lot about having real impact. I hope this gives you a tangible measure of the impact you make.
—David Echeverry, PhD student, Real Estate (2017)

 

As a graduate student instructor in our Haas undergraduate program, I am constantly blown away by the maturity, quality and ability of our students. Then I get to know their stories and am inspired by the diversity, both economic and social, of students in one of the top business schools in the world. Thank you for continuing to support the University’s public mission, without which nothing would be possible.
—Christian Kaas, MBA16

 

Thank you for supporting Haas! Your donations really make a difference in continuing to provide a top-notch educational experience for our students. Speaking from personal experience as a member of the Haas admissions team, being able to talk about the wonderful resources available when speaking to prospective students really makes a difference in my recruitment conversation. Thank you for all you do!
—Chelsiah Scouras, EWMBA Admissions Offic

Being a Haas student has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. The professors, my classmates, and opportunities that Haas has given me have been incredible. Thank you for your help in continuing to give me the best possible business education. Because of your support, I’ve been able to get my dream internship at Goldman Sachs while learning skills to help me succeed and thrive! —Anonymous

Berkeley-Haas Raises Record Amount During Big Give

| by Kim Girard

Berkeley-Haas raised just under $700,000 during the 2015 Big Give, a 24-hour campus-wide online fundraiser held Nov. 19.

With a total of 561 gifts, Berkeley-Haas donors topped last year’s total of $561,000. UC Berkeley raised a total of $5.5 million across the campus from 8,149 gifts.

“We are so thankful for the tremendous support and enthusiasm we received from all of our generous donors this year,” says Michelle McClellan, assistant dean of Berkeley-Haas Development & Alumni Relations. “The entire Berkeley-Haas community came together to support programs, students, and faculty, making this year’s event even better than the last.”

This year’s fundraiser—themed “Think Bigger”—included competitions that fostered friendly rivalry between Berkeley schools and departments based on the most money raised, as well as the highest participation rates. Individual donors also competed with creative photos on social media, where people posted “Think Bigger” thought-bubbles filled in with their own ideas on how Berkeley reaches beyond itself.

To help with the effort, Dean Rich Lyons broke out his guitar for a music video. (below)

Berkley-Haas placed second among all schools and departments, just behind the College of Engineering. The feat earned the school $22,600 in extra “Big Slice” funds, designated for schools with the most money raised.

If you missed the Big Give, it’s not too late to donate.

 

Big Give Fundraising Blitz Begins Wednesday

| by Kim Girard

The Big Give 24-hour campus-wide online fundraising blitz, kicks off on Wednesday, Nov. 18, at 9 p.m. PST—and Haas is aiming to beat its 2014 results.

During last year’s inaugural Big Give, Berkeley-Haas raised $561,000 from 651 donors campus-wide. Overall, Big Give donors contributed $5.3 million, in the form of 7,336 gifts, to support students, faculty, and campus programs.

This year’s fundraiser, themed “Think Bigger,” includes competitions that foster friendly rivalry between Berkeley schools and departments based on most money raised as well as highest participation rates. Individual donors can also compete by posting creative photos—including pets and babies—on social media.

“Haas had a fantastic turnout at last year’s Big Give and we’re hoping that everyone is gearing up to top that at this year’s fundraising event,” said Michelle McClellan, assistant dean of Berkeley-Haas Development & Alumni Relations. “Big Give is a perfect way to show support for our programs, students, and faculty and bring attention to the important role philanthropy plays in keeping Haas a top-ten school.”

To spread the word, Berkeley-Haas Dean Rich Lyons grabbed his acoustic guitar and recorded a music video on campus. The full video is here!

The central campus produced a video based on the “Think Bigger” theme, which features students, alumni, and faculty members.

Big Give contests include :

• Big Slice: Schools and programs that raise the most money during the Big Give get the biggest pieces of the pie.

• Big Bang: Schools and programs with the highest donor participation rate during the Big Give win big prizes.

• Big Countdown: Hour-long contests in a variety of categories.

Posting about the Big Give on social media? Use the #CalBigGive and #haasome hashtags together. Have questions about donating? Click here.

 

Haas to Honor Novartis CEO Joseph Jimenez, MBA 84, at Nov. 13 Gala

| by Kim Girard

Joseph Jimenez, MBA 84, the CEO of Novartis AG who has positioned the company to anticipate future health care trends and to make momentous strides against various forms of cancer, will be honored as Business Leader of the Year at the 14th Annual Haas Gala on November 13.

The award recognizes members of the Berkeley-Haas community who have achieved prominence in their fields.

Since assuming the helm of Novartis in 2010, Jimenez, (pictured), whose expertise was previously in corporate marketing and consumer goods, has streamlined the largest company in Europe by market value to focus solely on pharmaceuticals, eye care, and generics. Last year, the Basel, Switzerland-based company saw net sales of $58 billion USD, and Jimenez has committed billions to research and development. Novartis currently has over 25,000 patients enrolled in 340 active global trials for promising cancer therapies.

Jimenez’s leadership and vision to solve one of the world’s most formidable challenges have earned him Berkeley-Haas’ highest honor. Previous recipients of the Business Leader of the Year Award include Janet Yellen, Haas professor emeritus and chair of the Federal Reserve, and Paul Otellini, MBA 74, the former CEO of Intel.

“Though not a scientist, Joe was an inspired choice to run a pharmaceutical giant,” says Rich Lyons, dean of Berkeley-Haas. “It’s his analytical skill at balancing short- and long-term goals, his quiet drive, and his outstanding ability to nurture the right talent that have allowed him to Question the Status Quo and re-envision the industry. He has the confidence and expertise to lead Novartis to deliver where society needs it most and is an example for us all of our Defining Principles.”

Read more about Jimenez, his influence on the pharmaceutical industry, and his connections to Berkeley-Haas.

Three other alumni will also receive awards at the Gala. Danae Ringelmann and Eric Schell, MBA 08s, will receive the Leading Through Innovation Award. The duo propelled the crowdfunding movement when they launched Indiegogo, one of the first crowdfunding sites, with co-founder Slava Rubin in 2008. (Kickstarter, Indiegogo’s chief rival, launched a year later.)


Ringelmann and Schell (pictured),  began working on Indiegogo while Berkeley-Haas students and used their Haas connections to develop the company. To date, Indiegogo has hosted over 300,000 campaigns in 224 countries and territories.

And the company’s growth has been exponential. Funds raised on the site in the past two years have increased 1,000 percent. Crowdfunding itself has disrupted the world of finance. Forbes reports that in 2010, global crowdfunding was an $880 million  business. In 2014, that figure rose to $16 billion and is estimated to more than double this year to upwards of $34 billion.

Read about Ringelmann and Schell and how they’ve revolutionized an industry.

Also at the Gala, the annual Raymond E. Miles Service Award will be presented to Lucky Sandhu, BS 96, MBA 15, the president and co-Founder of Reliance Financial. Sandhu has long been a committed volunteer for Berkeley-Haas, serving on the Berkeley-Haas East Bay Chapter Board of Directors since 2007. He led the chapter as co-president from 2009 to 2011, when it twice won the Chapter of the Year Award.

The event, to be held at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco, will kick off with a reception at 6:30 p.m., followed by dinner, an awards presentation, and a dessert reception.

Joseph Jimenez

Patrick Awuah, MBA 99, Named “MacArthur Genius”

| by Laura Counts

Education pioneer Patrick Awuah, MBA 99, founder of Ghana’s Ashesi University, has been named a fellow of the John D. and
Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Awuah, 50,  is one of 24 fellows to receive the so-called “genius grant,” awarded to people “who have shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction.”

Awuah overcame many obstacles to launch Ashesi University in 2002 as the first Ivy League-style school in his native country. He had arrived at Berkeley-Haas after nearly a decade at Microsoft, and was looking to do something more. He developed the idea for Ashesi in the International Business Development (IBD) program.

The nonprofit university’s mission is to educate ethical, entrepreneurial leaders who will help transform Africa.

The MacArthur Fellows Program awards “no strings attached” grants to extraordinary people. The fellowships come with $625,000 stipends paid out over five years. This year’s “genius award” winners also include University of California, Berkeley, Prof. Peidong Yang, a chemist who is trying to capture carbon dioxide from the air and turn it into a sustainable transportation fuel.

“These 24 delightfully diverse MacArthur Fellows are shedding light and making progress on critical issues, pushing the boundaries of their fields, and improving our world in imaginative, unexpected ways,” said MacArthur President Julia Stasch. “Their work, their commitment, and their creativity inspire us all.”

Awuah certainly personifies commitment and inspiration. He left Ghana in 1985 with $50 in his pocket and a full scholarship at Swarthmore College. He rose through the ranks at Microsoft to become a program manager, but after the birth of his first child he decided to turn his focus to making a difference in Africa.

“Being a father of someone who was a member of a new generation of Africans I felt I needed to return and be a contributor to Africa’s rise for the sake of my children and for the sake of my children’s children,” Awuah said in his MacArthur announcement video (below). Most problems Africa faces are related to leadership, he said, noting that some of the leadership is corrupt. “I felt if we could change the way that that group is educated then we would change the continent,” he said.

Above: Evening & weekend Berkeley MBA students, pictured with Awuah, on a consulting trip at Ashesi in 2014. They were the 10th Haas team to consult at the university.

It took extraordinary persistence to found Ashesi, which required Awuah to question Ghana’s status quo—dominated by large public universities and rote learning. Ashesi’s graduates are continuing to buck the status quo: while an estimated one-third of African professionals leave Africa, nearly all of Ashesi’s grads have stayed.

In 2012, as Awuah celebrated Ashesi’s 10th anniversary, Haas awarded him the school’s Leading Through Innovation Award. “Patrick Awuah has gone beyond himself, questioning the status quo with a bold mission to develop a generation of ethical, entrepreneurial leaders with the courage to transform a continent,” says Dean Rich Lyons. “We couldn’t be more proud of his vision and tenacity.”

Awuah was named to Fortune’s list of the world’s 50 greatest leaders in March 2015—joining Pope Francis, Bill and Melinda Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg. The list honors “extraordinary men and women who are transforming business, government, philanthropy, and so much more.”

Three other new MacArthur Fellows have UC Berkeley connections. William Dichtel, professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Cornell University, received a Ph.D. from the College of Chemistry in 2005. John Novembre, a computational biologist and associate professor of human genetics at the University of Chicago, received a Ph.D. in 2006 while working with Montgomery Slatkin in the Department of Integrative Biology. Gary Cohen, a cofounder and president of Health Care Without Harm in Reston, Virginia, studied at UC Berkeley between 1983 and 1984.

“I hope that being a MacArthur Fellow helps me to connect with other people who are moving the needle in the world and this will help further the work I’m doing,” Awuah said.

Watch Awuah’s announcement video here:

Startup Roundup: WeFinance, California Artesian, TINE, and Honeit

| by Laura Counts

This is part of an occasional series of articles spotlighting students and recent alumni who are working with Berkeley-Haas to start a new business or social enterprise.

WeFinance
Willy Chu, MBA 15
Co-founder and CEO

Though crowdfunding is becoming a crowded space, WeFinance is the first platform focused on truly peer-to-peer loans, says co-founder Willy Chu.

“Many students are paying seven to 8 percent on their student loans—even higher if you’re international—and they have living and moving expenses,” Chu says. “They’re low-risk borrowers but their credit scores don’t reflect that, and they can’t refinance until they have more credit history. Meanwhile, a peer lender in these students’ network could earn four percent or more on their extra savings.”

WeFinance launched with two critical resources. First, it has a software platform built by co-founder and CEO Eric Mayefsky, a Stanford econ PhD grad and ex-Facebook product manager who spearheaded the concept. This platform fully automates disbursements and repayments between borrowers and lenders, allowing both parties to rest easy that payments are made on time. Second, WeFinance has been tested by Chu’s network of fellow Haasies, a dozen of whom have signed on as guinea pigs seeking funding.

Ton Chookhare, MBA 14, used the platform to refinance some of his higher-interest student loans, raising $5,000 in just a few weeks and lowering his interest rate from 8 percent to 4 percent. He already had accepted an offer with Kaiser Permanente, and was working on a side project involving custom suits made in his hometown of Bangkok, Thailand. “I think many people will be surprised at how willing people in their network are to offer financial support, especially when they’re getting much better returns while supporting someone they know and trust,” he says.

Chu says when he came to Berkeley-Haas, he thought he might end up working for a startup—but had no intention of launching his own. His thinking evolved while taking Entrepreneurship with Prof. Toby Stuart and Lecturer Rob Chandra. His new path began last summer when a Stanford MBA friend saw an email from Mayefsky seeking help with the venture. After a few months of working well together, Chu—who previously worked at Credit Karma and Kiva—became a co-founder. He’s focusing on marketing, partnerships, and growth while Mayefsky develops the technological infrastructure.

“I’ve benefitted from starting this in my second year, after I had a strong base, and I’ve been able to piggyback on my coursework and lessons learned from my peers who launched businesses last year,” he says. “In particular, New Venture Finance with Asst. Prof. Adair Morse has been useful.”

Chu’s goal is to expand WeFinance to 40 schools within a year, beginning with Stanford, Harvard, and Wharton. In addition to MBAs, the company will focus on law and other top master’s and undergrad program students.

Read more about WeFinance in TechCrunch.

 

California Artesian
Stewart Wells, EMBA 15,
Founder and CEO
Stewart Wells pulled three parts of his life together to form startup California Artesian: convenience stores, artesian water, and time spent in Asia as an F-16 pilot.

Wells, chief operating officer of a gas station/convenience store chain, uncovered a natural artesian aquifer during a routine well drilling on his company’s property. The water tasted surprisingly good and analysis later proved the water was very pure.

“Our artesian water, sourced from 7,000 feet elevation in the Sierra Nevadas, has a much softer and smoother taste than any type of purified or spring water because it has incredibly low mineral content,” Wells said.

Wells thought the water had immediate commercial potential. He determined that he could sell the it in two markets: Northern California natural food stores and in Asian markets, where he saw a demand for high-quality water and products from California during the time he spent time there in the Air Force.

Wells—an aptly named CEO of a water company— is taking full advantage of his classes at Haas to launch California Artesian. “Three instrumental classes were Finance, which allowed me to change my business model and estimate cash flow; Marketing, which gave me incredible insight into consumer preferences; and Strategy, where I assessed and dissected the competition.”

Another pivotal experience was the EMBA program’s Silicon Valley Immersion Week, led by Professor Toby Stewart, where students visited companies such as Facebook, Google, and Airbnb and talked face-to-face with company founders. “The founders were very candid, sharing stories about how they put their money on the line,” he says. “Sometimes they’re failing and trying again, sometimes succeeding. It was a priceless experience.”

 


TINE
Vik Thairani, CEO and co-founder, and Nivas Chervirala, CTO and co-founder, both MBA 13

Vik Thairani and Nivas Chervirala formed the idea for a startup over a unique libation—a bottle of their very own smart wine. The two, who met in Lecturer Naeem Zafar’s Entrepreneurship class, created a wine label that consumers could scan on their smart phones to grab information about a wine’s quality and authenticity.  The team’s original startup, which focused on wine labels, was a semi-finalist in the 2013 Berkeley Startup Competition.

That original wine idea has since evolved into a mobile application called TINE, (pronounced TINY), which works with TINE tags that the company designed that they mail out to consumers. “You can stick a TINE tag on anything, scan it with the TINE app, and add a video or audio message,” Thairaini explains. “When someone else scans the tag with the TINE app, your message instantly plays on their phone and you get notified. Think Post-it note meets YouTube.”

The TINE team earned a slot at UC Berkeley’s startup accelerator SkyDeck and is now producing TINE Tags that can be stuck on anything from a resume sent to a hiring exec to a birthday present to add a personal happy birthday song. The company has raised close to $1 million, including investments from a former Goldman Sachs partner, and Founder.org, a nonprofit run by Michael Baum, founding CEO of Splunk.

With that support, Thairani and the TINE team is focused on growing the company.  “One of the reasons I came to Haas was entrepreneurship—to meet the people and gain the skills I needed to form a company,” says Thairani. “It worked out perfectly.”

 

Honeit
Nick Livingston, EWMBA 14
Co-founder and CEO
After spending 10 years on all sides of the recruiting industry, Nick Livingston understood the frustrations of trying to interview and hire effectively from hundreds of resumes: You miss potential job candidates who are weeded out by keyword. You lack the time or resources to screen all candidates who could potentially be great.

“Most companies today are adamant about hiring for soft skills and culture fit,” says Livingston, the former director of global recruiting for TubeMogul, the digital branding company founded at Haas. “They are looking for talent that is enthusiastic, passionate, and well-spoken, but 85 to 90 percent of applicants are declined before any of those competencies can be considered.”

To address these pain points, Livingston founded Honeit with senior engineers James Craft and Kim Duong, who shared his frustration with today’s interview process.

The company developed a real-time live interview platform that helps agency and in-house recruiters streamline the candidate screening and submittal process.

Here’s how it works: Recruiters use the system to conduct live interviews with job applicants. Recruiters can then share recorded highlights from the calls with clients and hiring managers, to give them a better sense of the candidate’s enthusiasm, personality, and professional aptitude. “This has the potential to be a real game-changer in time and costs for companies” Livingston says.

Job seekers can also leverage Honeit’s Interview Marketplace to book industry experts, who will conduct realistic “mock” interviews that can be used to help attract potential employers during their own job searches.

The company—currently part of SkyDeck, UC Berkeley’s startup accelerator—secured $120,000 in startup funding and is now preparing for a seed round, Livingston says. It’s also partnered with the Hult Business School, and General Assembly, a programming, business and design boot camp. These platform partnerships allow students to conduct interviews with university’s alumni to help their graduates get hired.

One of the most valuable resources for Honeit, Livingston says, is SkyDeck. “Through SkyDeck we have access to great advisors who answer questions we might not be able to ask typical investors. That’s a pretty powerful resource.”

-Karen Sorensen and Laura Counts

Patrick Awuah, MBA 99, Receives Two Extraordinary Honors

| by Laura Counts
Patrick Awuah, MBA 99, has received the 2015 Elise and Walter A. Haas International Award for his work as a path-bending educational leader in Ghana. The annual award, given to a UC Berkeley alumna or alumnus with a distinguished record of service to his or her country, is one of the university’s most prestigious honors.

“Your contributions to Ghana exemplify Berkeley’s highest values,” Chancellor Nicholas B. Dirks wrote in a March 16 letter to Awuah. “Your work to bring international recognition to Ghana by founding Ashesi University has made you one of the most renowned citizens of Ghana. The range of impact is extensive and has significantly impacted the well-being of the Ghanaian people.”

In the same month, Awuah was also named to Fortune’s list of the world’s 50 greatest leaders in 2015—joining Pope Francis, Bill and Melinda Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg. The list honors “extraordinary men and women who are transforming business, government, philanthropy, and so much more.”
Awuah founded Ashesi University in 2002, after graduating from Haas. While at Haas, he came up with the idea to build a university in Ghana and turned it into a project in the school’s International Business Development (IBD) Program. Ashesi means “beginnings” in the African language Twi, and the name embodies the school’s ambitions. “We’re trying to train leaders of exceptional integrity, who can lead a renaissance in Africa,” Awuah said in a 2012 article in Berkeley-Haas magazine. “There have been times when it has seemed like Mission Impossible, but magic is happening.”

In 2009, Awuah won the Aspen Institute’s John P. McNulty Prize, a $100,000 grant that recognizes the most outstanding, innovative, replicable, and self-sustainable projects to address social problems. In 2012, Haas honored Awauah with the school’s Leading Through Innovation Award, established to celebrate Haas alumni who embody the school’s emphasis on innovative leadership and serve as exemplars to others in the Berkeley-Haas community.

Awuah grew up in Ghana, leaving home in 1985 with $50 in his pocket and a full scholarship to Swarthmore College. He rose through the ranks at Microsoft from engineer to program manager. The birth of his first child inspired him to shift his focus back to Africa and consider how he could make a difference there.

With Ashesi, Awuah aimed to create a new kind of liberal arts university focused on quality, ethics, and personal empowerment; a university that would spark new enterprises, new solutions, and a model for other universities in Africa. Since its founding, the university has built a 100-acre hillside campus and graduated hundreds of students. Under a 10-year plan, Ashesi’s goals included recruiting more students from Africa beyond Ghana; expanding academic programs to include engineering and applied sciences, management and economics, and law and society; and planning for succession.

The Elise and Walter A. Haas International Award includes a cash prize of $15,000, an engraved medallion, and paid travel expenses to the awards presentation, to be held at University Commencement May 16, 2015. Established in 1964 by Mr. and Mrs. Walter Haas, Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Peter E. Haas and Mr. and Mrs. Richard N. Goldman, the award acknowledges their parents’ devotion to the university and their interest in international affairs.

Tim Durbin, MBA 10: 7 Marathons, 7 Days, 7 Continents

| by Laura Counts
Time Durbin runs through Dubai.
Time Durbin runs through Dubai.

Less than a month after arriving at Haas, Tim Durbin, MBA 10, decided to get in shape and attempt his first half-marathon.

About a year later, Durbin was hooked and running full marathons.

Yet no one, not even Durbin, could have expected his newfound love of running would evolve into a record-breaking global challenge.

On Jan. 23 in Sydney, Australia, Durbin became the lone American of 12 runners to complete the 2015 World Marathon Challenge, in which competitors run seven marathons on seven continents in seven consecutive days.
Starting Jan. 17, Durbin boarded a plane every day for a week, heading to Antarctica, Chile, Miami, Madrid, Morocco, Dubai, (pictured), and Sydney. Tapping extreme willpower and years of training, Durbin spent the entire time either running or flying, using his flight time to rest his body as much as possible.

At one point, Durbin had to run two marathons — one in Madrid and the other in Marrakech, Morocco — on less than seven hours of rest.

“Everyone hit the wall hard in Morocco,” Durbin said. “But once we finished that, we knew we were over the hump.”

All these marathons and travels around the world may not have been possible without Berkeley, where Durbin began running again. He recalled the many miles he logged in Strawberry Canyon and on other Berkeley trails.

Durbin says his time at Haas changed his life in several ways: he forged lifelong friendships, studied abroad for the first time, and embraced the “confidence without attitude” Defining Principle that he still holds close.

“That “Confidence Without Attitude” culture is something that I have really taken to heart,” Durbin said. “I always try to keep it in mind through the course of my daily life.”

After finishing the last leg in Sydney, the 31-year old management consultant took a week to rest.

Durbin, who paid for the marathons from his savings, also raised money for a cause that’s important to him: the Jimmy V Foundation for cancer research. He ran in honor of several family members and Haas colleagues who fought cancer.

In the wake of finishing the World Marathon Challenge, Durbin is on to new challenges. He hopes to run 24,901 miles — the length of the Earth’s equator — by 2022.

By Seung Y. Lee

Haas Entrepreneur Sells Startup Krave to Hershey

| by Laura Counts

Jon Sebastiani and his team came into the 2011 Berkeley Lean LaunchPad class with several key observations, Haas Lecturer Steve Blank writes in Forbes:

  • Snack foods were a large  ~$35 billion, but the moribund food category was starving for innovation and modernization
  • Meat snacks were a $2.5 billion subcategory of snacks. So there was plenty of data that proved that Americans loved to snack and loved meat snacks.
  • There was an opportunity for a new company “Jerky 2.0.” in the snack food market
  • Jon believed his competition was the conventional “Meat Guys” (the existing beef jerky companies).

Read more of Blank’s article here.

Haas Crowdfunds to Teach Good Hygiene to Underprivileged Children

| by Pamela Tom

On any given day, a child’s little hands touch hundreds of surfaces and other people – all laden with germs that can make him or her sick.

Teaching children in disadvantaged regions about the importance of hand washing to prevent infections is the primary goal of Hygiene Heroes, a curriculum-based healthcare program developed by Prof. David Levine at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. The program needs a “helping hand” and has launched a crowdfunding campaign on Berkeley-Haas Crowdfund, the business school’s own fundraising platform. Hygiene Heroes hopes to raise $8000 by Feb. 16. 

Through interactive styles of learning, such as stories, games, and songs, Hygiene Heroes teaches children in Asia, Africa, and South American how to practice good personal hygiene and safe water usage. Levine’s team of UC Berkeley (including Haas) undergraduate researchers seeks travel funds to send them to partner schools in Chennai, India, this summer. There, the students will train local teachers and serve as global liaisons. Funds raised will also allow the team to purchase needed classroom supplies for the children.

“The last two summers we piloted our lessons in Chennai,” says Prof. Levine. “The children enjoyed our material and, more importantly, adopted healthier habits. We have adapted the curriculum to the communities’ feedback and look forward to returning and helping more children.”

Eventually the research team plans to share its curriculum with nonprofit organizations for global distribution.

Previously, Prof. Levine, along with Brett Green and William Fuchs, both assistant professors at Berkeley-Haas, raised $16,000 to fund their research on safer cook stoves for rural communities in developing countries.

Berkeley Crowdfund launched in 2014 to “help and attract engagement and financial support for research and innovation, community activity, and entrepreneurial ventures that typically fall between the campus’ normal funding methods and models.”

 

 

 

New North Academic Building to Transform Berkeley-Haas Student Experience

| by Laura Counts

The Haas School of Business has begun construction of a new six-story academic building devoted entirely to student learning and interaction, Dean Rich Lyons announced today.

The $60 million structure will be funded with private donations from alumni and friends of the school.

The building is scheduled to be completed for use in the fall term 2016.

The nearly 80,000-square-foot North Academic Building will serve as a learning laboratory featuring state-of-the art technology and flexible spaces aimed at transforming the student experience. The building will contain many group study rooms, flexible classrooms, a large event space with sweeping views of the San Francisco Bay, and no administrative offices. The building will be able to adapt to new forms of educational technology and learning.

Explore more details here.

“This new academic building will readily support and improve both on-campus and technology-enabled learning for our undergraduate and graduate students and enable the school to keep pace with rapid changes in the delivery of management education,” said Rich Lyons, dean of the Haas School. “The goal of the new facility is to create the best, most up-to-date learning experience for our students. It’s all about them.”

He added: “The building also creates a place that will enhance our ability to teach innovative leadership concepts to our students, by providing abundant space for them to collaborate with one another as they learn in teams, and rooms for them to engage in applied innovation learning activities. This is at the core of what differentiates the Berkeley-Haas education.”

Alumni played a key role in making this building possible. Ned Spieker, BS 66, managing partner of the private real estate firm Spieker Partners; was the school’s lead partner for developing the vision for this building. The Lisa and Douglas Goldman Fund; Robert G. O’Donnell, BS 65 and MBA 66, retired senior VP and director of Capital Research and Management Company; and the late Barclay Simpson, BS 43, who founded and chaired Simpson Manufacturing Co.; among others, have also contributed significant gifts to the campaign.

The North Academic Building was designed by Perkins+Will. The global architecture firm is known for its innovative and award-winning designs including for clients in higher education. Vance Brown Builders of Palo Alto, Calif., is the general contractor.

The North Academic Building will provide an additional 858 classroom seats through a variety of classroom sizes and styles. By removing tiered seating, the eight larger classrooms can easily convert to flat, flexible use rooms or new classroom designs in the future. Each classroom has the infrastructure to provide video streaming and capture as well as video teleconferencing.

The North Academic Building contains:

  • 8 tiered lecture rooms
  • 4 flat, flexible-use space for experiential learning
  • 28 team-based study rooms
  • an indoor/outdoor café
  • lounge areas with configurable seating
  • a 300-seat event space with sweeping views of campus and the San Francisco Bay

Leveraging its location in the San Francisco/Silicon Valley Bay Area, the Haas School has pioneered many programs and experiences tied to the entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem of this area. The school’s mission is to develop innovative leaders who can bring fresh ideas to every corner and every function of their organizations, and who do so responsibly.

Because Berkeley-Haas is committed to environmental responsibility, the North Academic Building has been designed to achieve at least certified LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold status in recognition of its environmentally conscious design, construction, operation, and maintenance.

The North Academic Building will be the fourth building and an important addition to the existing three-building Haas campus, which includes the newly renovated Robert G. O’Donnell Courtyard and the new Berkeley-Haas Innovation Lab, located across the street at Cal Memorial Stadium.

Thanks to the opening of the current Haas buildings in 1995, the school’s reputation and external rankings have flourished, while enrollment has nearly doubled to more than 2,200 students in six degree programs: Undergraduate, Full-time MBA, Evening & Weekend MBA, Berkeley MBA for Executives, Master’s of Financial Engineering, and PhD in business administration.

Read a Q&A with Dean Lyons here.

North Academic Building

Building With a Purpose: A Q&A With Dean Rich Lyons

| by Laura Counts

Dean Rich LyonsWhat do you expect the impact of the new North Academic Building to be?

There is a strong reputational case to be made for this new building. Over the past 20 years, our school has experienced a spike in visibility and rankings, alumni engagement and giving, and employer engagement. We want to make sure we continue on this trajectory.

The North Academic Building also allows us to grow our highly selective programs. In the current building, for example, our classrooms limit our MBA cohort size to 60 students. The new building makes it possible to increase cohorts up to 76 students, which strengthens both our financial model and our partnerships with employers.

20 years ago Haas moved into its current facilities. How did that change things for Haas?

Moving into our current beautiful buildings in 1995 was an inflection point. The new building enabled us to grow self-supporting programs by some 300 percent. The resulting financial strength allowed us to compete for and win top-of-the-market faculty. It stoked a sense of belonging and affiliation among our students and graduates, and it raised our profile with employers.

Today, 20 years later, we have exhausted the lift from our current buildings. Our classrooms in Cheit Hall are booked solid, not just during the week but in the evening and even on the weekend. We had 1,300 degree-program students in 1995; now we have 2,200. There is no room to grow or expand into the opportunities we face. So it is time to create a new inflection point.

Considering the shift toward online education, some might say why build on campus?

I anticipate that Haas may increasingly explore hybrid models of teaching that combine online learning with learning together in the classroom. Like all leading schools, Haas is experimenting diligently in the area of top-quality synchronous and asynchronous digital education.

For example, Haas has been offering one of its most popular courses, Prof. Cameron Anderson’s Power & Politics, as a hybrid. It’s been a huge success, and not just with students. Anderson himself says that he has learned a lot about how to customize learning and claims that he will never teach in the classroom in the same way again.

I don’t believe that online education will ever completely replace the need to come to campus to meet people, learn from each other, and have an experience together. That’s why our North Academic Building will offer different styles and sizes of classrooms, study rooms, etc. It will also have the infrastructure to support all the latest educational technologies.

Is there a financial case to be made for this new building?

Absolutely. Our estimates put the financial lift from the new building at about $6 million in net resources a year. That is the equivalent of $100 million in endowment.

More than 20 percent of our revenues currently come from our (non-degree) executive education program. Exec Ed has lacked the room to grow in the form that the clients want, namely, room that is part of the Haas School proper. Having more classrooms will definitely help.

How does the building reflect the mission and culture of Berkeley-Haas?

Our mission is to develop leaders who redefine how we do business—and who do so responsibly. Environmental stewardship is a key aspect of responsible business. It was important for us to construct a building that meets the latest standards in environmental conservation. We designed the North Academic Building to meet certified LEED Gold status and we may be able to raise it to Platinum status as we complete construction.

The North Academic Building is also designed to encourage community, both within Haas and within the greater community that surrounds us. Overlooking the San Francisco Bay Area from our magnificent event space will give you a sense of perspective of the innovation ecosystem of which Haas is a part. Our new building and the newly renovated courtyard that connects it to our existing buildings will play a central role in boosting new connections and new ideas.

Read more about the North Academic Building.

Haas Raises Record-Breaking $561,000 at Big Give

| by Laura Counts

The Big Give, Berkeley’s first 24-hour campus-wide online fundraiser, was the biggest single-day fundraiser in Haas history. When it ended Nov. 20, Berkeley-Haas had raised about $561,000 from 651 donors.

Haas also won a special $1,500 prize during the competition for having the most student donors.

“Hundreds of alumni, students, staff, faculty, parents, and friends came together to maintain the excellence of the Haas School of Business,” says Michelle McClellan, assistant dean of Development and Alumni Relations at Haas. David Aaker

“It’s a great testament to our school and our community,” she says. “The total we raised didn’t come from one big gift, it was the combined effort of many people working together to keep Berkeley-Haas a top business school. We were thrilled by the number of gifts, tweets, and posts that came from our community throughout the day.”

Across Berkeley, Big Give donations reached $5.3 million.

UC Berkeley organized the Big Give to reach out to its 450,000 alumni worldwide—and bring those alumni, students, Cal parents, and friends together for one day of giving.

Preparations for the Big Give included a video and a social media campaign intended to go viral on Big Give day. Spreading the word at Haas, Dean Rich Lyons appeared on Facebook with “Big Innovation” and “Big Culture” cards. Haas Professor Emeritus David Aaker held a “Big Brand” card, and Haas Lecturer Steve Etter showcased a “Big Network” sign.

After the 9 p.m. PST Big Give kickoff on Nov. 19, donors from all over campus and around the world began posting Big Give selfies on Twitter and Facebook.

Different campus areas also competed for Big Give prizes.

The ten schools, programs, and giving areas with the greatest participation in Big Give won shares of $61,000. Undergraduate Education, Lawrence Hall of Science and the School of Optometry received $12,000, $9,000, and $5,000, respectively.

Competition prizes of $1,500 were awarded at scheduled times during the Big Give to eight campus groups, including Haas, the College of Engineering, (for the most number of international gifts), and the College of Letters and Sciences (for having the 117th Big Game donor).

 

 

Dean Lyons, (below) David Aaker

Obituary: Barclay Simpson, alumnus, business leader, philanthropist

| by Laura Counts

UC Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks issued the following statement on the passing of the university’s dear and trusted friend:

The University of California, Berkeley, mourns the loss of Barclay Simpson, a larger-than-life figure in business, arts, government and philanthropy — and a passionate supporter of Cal. He passed away Saturday evening (Nov. 8) at the age of 93.

Barc Simpson

Barc, as his friends and family knew him, stood enthusiastically for economic innovation and social progress, equity and access to education for young people, and excellence in diverse spheres from the arts to business to athletics.

Barclay Simpson loved Cal wholeheartedly.

He and his wife, Sharon, have left an indelible legacy across the campus. You see it from the Simpson Center for Student-Athlete High Performance, which is a game-changer for student-athletes, to the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive; and from undergraduate scholarships to the Haas School of Business and the University Library.

He was a major force in the initiative to replace BAM/PFA’s seismically challenged museum building on Bancroft Way. The new museum will open to the public in early 2016 in downtown Berkeley at the historic, former site of UC Press — yet another testimonial to the lasting impact of Barc and Sharon’s leadership and philanthropy.

He and Sharon also co-chaired The Campaign for Berkeley, which concluded a few months ago, raising $3.13 billion from more than 281,000 donors. In addition to his campaign work, Barc served two terms as board president at BAM/PFA and as a UC Berkeley Foundation trustee.

For Barc, the love affair with Cal can be traced to his childhood. His mother attended Berkeley and worked as a schoolteacher in Oakland. Growing up in Oakland during the Great Depression, he recalled sneaking over a fence to catch Cal football games for free as a boy. Cal was a major presence in his life already.

While a Berkeley student during World War II, he signed up as a U.S. Naval Air Corps pilot and deployed with his fellow “Flying Golden Bears” to the Pacific. The war and the demands of his business disrupted his studies, yet he maintained his connection to campus through the years and earned a B.S. degree in business administration in 1966.

“I’ve loved the school since I was a little kid, and that hasn’t changed at all,” he said earlier this year in a video for The Campaign for Berkeley. “I think supporting Cal is doing a great deal for society.”

Barc founded one of the world’s most successful firms, Simpson Manufacturing, which builds structural connectors (Simpson Strong-Ties) that are the industry standard.

Yet he was more than a successful entrepreneur. He was an advocate for equity and access — for employees at his plants, for young people from underserved communities in the Bay Area and for the general public. If you have ever taken BART to San Francisco International Airport, you are a beneficiary of his leadership; he almost single-handedly put together the deal that led to the transit extension to the airport when he served on the BART Board of Directors.

Barc and Sharon have supported Girls Inc. of Alameda County. This reflects their conviction that helping young women early in life will transform their lives and serve society in the long run. Among the many community organizations they have championed are the California Shakespeare Theater and the Oakland Museum of California.

At an event honoring him, he once paraphrased Martin Luther King Jr. by saying, “Don’t forget that the only thing that makes philanthropy necessary is social injustice.”

In 2006, he received the Chancellor’s Award in recognition of his many years of leadership and service to Berkeley and the UC Berkeley Foundation. The Haas School of Business also named him the Business Leader of the Year for 2005.

In 2013, he received the Berkeley Medal, the university’s highest honor, for his leadership and many contributions to society.

Over the decades, several university chancellors have had the privilege of working with Barc, and he developed lasting friendships with them. Chancellor Emeritus Robert J. Birgeneau had a particularly close relationship with Barc, and he put it best when he conferred the Berkeley Medal to him in 2013.

“Barc, in everything that you have achieved, you have enriched the lives of those around you — mind, body and spirit. You embody the very best of Berkeley, and our highest ideals of access, excellence and commitment to service.”

Barc is survived by his wife, Sharon, seven children, six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Fast Tracked: Alumni-led Companies Named to Fast 100 List

| by Laura Counts

Five firms led by Haas alumni recently made the San Francisco Business Times’ Fast 100 list of the Bay Area’s fastest growing private companies. The honored Haas-led companies include TubeMogul, New Avenue, Back to the Roots, Modify Watches, and cPrime.

The 2014 class of the Fast 100 are drawn from nearly every industry, including food companies, e-commerce startups, and software firms. Even the slowest among the Fast 100 had more than 50 percent growth from fiscal years 2011 to 2013, the time framed used for this list.

Here’s more on each:

TubeMogul (#35)

After several years of explosive growth, TubeMogul’s days as a private company are over. It went public in July 2014, raising just under $44 million. TubeMogul was co-founded by (CEO) Brett Wilson, John Hughes, and Mark Rotblat, all MBA 07, who met in an MBA class on entrepreneurship at the Haas School’s Lester Center for Entrepreneurship. The Emeryville, Ca.-based online video ad company grew 265.4 percent between 2011 and 2013. The founders offer key advice to entrepreneurs in the Fast 100 article: "In the early stages of any company, it’s critical that you’re able to do everything yourselves: build, sell, recruit, raise money, literally everything. No one will do it for you. But as you grow and evolve, it’s critical that you transition from an entrepreneur into an executive that can lead, manage, and empower others."

New Avenue (#46)

CEO Kevin Casey, MBA 09, founded New Avenue as an online platform for custom home construction in 2009. The Emeryville, Ca.-based company grew 175.5 percent from 2011 to 2013. Casey commented on the decision that most influenced the company's fast growth: “We decided to focus on solving the problem of housing, financial security, and helping families stay close together. This is a huge problem both in market size and in direct impact for every single client.”
 

Back to the Roots (#57)

Ro Alejandro Velez and Nikhil Arora, co-founded Back to the Roots, which produces home mushroom-growing kits and a self-cleaning fish tank that grows food called AquaFarm. Back to the Roots grew 137.2 percent from 2011 to 2013.  Asked by Fast 100 editors what decision most influenced the company's fast growth, they say: “The saying "it takes a village to raise a child" is equally true for business – we wouldn't be here without the support we received from the incredible community around us. From mentors through InnerCityAdvisors, to our first capital from Fund Good Jobs and Beneficial State Bank, to our first customers at the Berkeley Whole Foods — we owe a massive thank you to our community!”

Modify Watches (#75)

Aaron Schwartz, CEO, MBA 10, founded Modify with Gary Coover, MBA 10, and Liz Callahan, MBA 11. The San Francisco-based watch designer grew 96.5 percent from 2011 to 2013.  On the company’s biggest mistake, Schwartz says: "We spent a lot of time pursuing growth in multiple channels, instead of just focusing on our main strength: customizing watches for company gifts.

Advice for other entrepreneurs? "Within your network you have answers to all of the issues that you're going to come across. So be open with your struggles and ask for help — people will step up, they want you to succeed!"

 cPrime (#99)

Zubin Irani, CEO, BCEMBA 13, co-founded this Foster City, Ca.-based project management consulting and staffing company, which grew 59.8 percent from 2011 to 2013. CPrime has made the Fast 100 for an impressive seven straight years and has also been named one of the Top 500 Fastest Growing companies in Inc. Magazine. Founded in 2003, the company has 90 employees. On a decision that contributed to the company's growth, Irani says: "We stopped trying to push our solutions to our clients and started to ask them what their biggest problems were that they needed help solving. We made sure we helped solved those.  It made us more valuable to them, and the products we sold were what our clients wanted."

TubeMogul co-founders Mark Rotblat, Brett Wilson (CEO), and John Hughes.

Haas to Honor Investment/Clean Tech Leader Stuart Bernstein at November 14 Gala

| by Laura Counts
Haas Business Leader of the Year Stuart Bernstein. Pictured below: the late Ralph Bahna, and George A. Willman.

Stuart Bernstein, BS 86, a Goldman Sachs managing director and partner who has shaken up investment banking with his passion for clean energy and the environment, will be honored as Business Leader of the Year at the 13th Annual Haas Gala on November 14.

The black-tie-optional event, to be held at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco, will kick off with a reception at 6:00 p.m., followed by dinner and an awards presentation. At 9:30 p.m., there will be an after-party with dancing and dessert.

Bernstein will be honored for his service, leadership, and long-standing commitment to his alma mater. With the honor, he joins previous recipients Janet Yellen, Haas professor emeritus and now chair of the Federal Reserve; Paul Otellini, MBA 74, the former CEO of Intel; and Shantanu Narayen, MBA 93, CEO of Adobe Systems.In addition to honoring Bernstein, Haas will present its Leading Through Innovation Award to the late Ralph Bahna, MBA 65.Ralph Bahna

Bahna was a former TWA and Cunard executive who founded the Club Quarters hotel chain and served as chairman of Priceline.com.  In addition, the annual Raymond E. Miles Service Award will be presented to George A. Willman, MBA 93, for his profound initiative and involvement to enhance the Haas Alumni Network. Willman is a partner at Reed Smith LLP, and founder, co-president, and chairman of the board of the Berkeley Angel Network.

Throughout his Wall Street career, Bernstein has maintained strong ties to UC Berkeley and the Haas School, initiating Goldman Sachs’ program to actively recruit on campus. Today, the firm employs more than 200 Berkeley-Haas graduates.

Bernstein joined Goldman Sachs after graduating in 1986 and rejoined the firm in 1993 after working in private equity investing.

In 2008, Bernstein, who received an MBA and an MPA from Harvard, executed a nearly $20 billion initial public offering for Visa, the largest IPO in U.S. history at that time.

Bernstein’s passion for promoting clean energy and slowing climate change led to a career shift at Goldman Sachs. While most investment banks were cutting back or shutting down their clean tech businesses, Bernstein brought new ideas to the firm about how renewable energy could be a cost-competitive way to slow global warming caused by fossil-fuel consumption.

George Willman

As Goldman Sachs’ global head of the clean technology and renewables group in the Bay Area, Bernstein led investing for two of the nation’s most innovative clean-tech companies: Tesla, Elon Musk’s electric car manufacturer; and SolarCity, which finances and installs solar-power arrays. He worked on Tesla’s initial public stock offering in 2010 and then led almost $4 billion worth of subsequent financings. Tesla shares jumped from $17 in June 2010 to more than $230 this month.

Two years after joining the Haas School Board in 2007, Bernstein delivered the school’s undergraduate commencement speech. In 2012, Bernstein and his wife, Marcella, made a major contribution to establish the Berkeley Energy and Climate Institute, which coordinates the university’s energy and climate efforts. Bernstein serves as a board member and advisor to the Institute.

“Stuart brings leadership and passion to his life and career—and to his work as a Haas board member and with the Berkeley Energy and Climate Institute,” Dean Rich Lyons says. “As an environmental and financial leader, he is an inspiration. It’s a privilege to have him in our community.”

Bahna, who passed away Feb. 24, 2014, drove countless innovations in the travel industry. After graduating from Haas, he worked to turn Trans World Airlines (TWA) around by inventing business class. He then led a turnaround as CEO at Cunard Line in the 1980s and in 1993 founded Club Quarters, membership-based hotels in high-demand urban centers.  Bahna was a founding investor in Priceline.com, serving as a board chairman from 2004 to 2013.

A member of the Haas School Board, Bahna was a generous supporter of Berkeley-Haas. He also worked with Dean Rich Lyons on the Haas School’s innovative leader curriculum. In August 2012, Bahna shared his “secret sauce” for leading change in a rare talk with Berkeley MBA students.

Bahna described how to become a thinker to solve problems and transform organizations. “If a person can add another half hour or an hour in a week [to thinking], their power increases immensely,” he told students.

To attend the 13th Annual Haas Gala, RSVP by October 31 at the Gala website: http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/groups/alumni/haasgala/.

 

Haas Business Leader of the Year Stuart Bernstein. Pictured below: the late Ralph Bahna, and George A. Willman.

Haas Alumni Beam at Student Union’s Topping Out Party

| by Laura Counts
Tom Glazier, BS 04, and Rick Liu, BS 05, (front) signing the beam at the Topping Out ceremony.

Students, administrators, and city dignitaries, including Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates, gathered at the Lower Sproul construction site Oct. 14 to sign the final steel beam for the frame of Eshleman Hall, the Student Union Building.

As a crane lifted the beam, two Berkeley-Haas alumni in attendance, Tom Glazier, BS 04, and Rick Liu, BS 05, were especially proud, as they work for the Bay Area company that is supplying the steel for the project.

“When I applied to Haas I wrote in my essay how I wanted to make a mark on the Bay Area skyline through the company that was started by my dad in 1979,” said Glazier, vice president and co-owner of Hayward-based Glazier Steel. “Seeing that happen at Berkeley is particularly rewarding.”

As a child, Glazier often accompanied his father on job sites, helping to direct cranes and install steel.

During his freshman year at Fremont Christian High School he met Rick Liu on the varsity volleyball team. It was the start of a long friendship that continued as undergraduate students at Haas.

“Haas not only provided a great education, but the community of people, both students and faculty, was amazing,” Glazier said. “It’s a thriving environment of ambition and excitement.”

Liu especially appreciated how undergraduates mixed with MBA students . “Hearing about graduate students’ pursuits and goals got me motivated and excited about my own plans,” he said.

After graduating, the two went separate ways for work, but remained friends. Glazier joined his family’s steel business, starting in accounting and then moving into project management and operations.  Liu joined the accounting department at Ernst & Young and then worked in corporate finance at the Gap.

One night in 2011, Glazier and Liu were having dinner. Glazier asked him if he knew anyone with accounting and finance experience who might want to join Glazier Steel.

“At first I was thinking about who I could recommend,” Liu said, with a laugh.  “Then it just clicked.  I was a very good match for the job.”

Today, Liu is the company’s financial controller, working alongside Glazier, who leads general management and operations.

Over the last few years, the company has grown by an average of 22 percent per year and doubled its number of yearly projects, which include the UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive and the $223 million Lower Sproul Project.

The Lower Sproul Project started five years ago and is scheduled to be complete in the fall of 2015. It is designed to create a more vibrant gathering place for social and academic interaction and essential student services.

The project includes a new seismically-improved Eshleman Hall; a renovated Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union, César Chávez Student Center and Anthony Hall; as well as new late-night cafes, study areas, and meeting spaces.

 

 

Tom Glazier, BS 04, and Rick Liu, BS 05, (front) signing the beam at the Topping Out ceremony.

Antarctica Explorer Alan Lock, MBA 11, Featured in “Supersurvivors”

| by Laura Counts

Alan Lock, MBA 11, the first visually impaired person to trek from the Antarctic coast to the South Pole and to row across the Atlantic Ocean, is a featured “Supersurvivor” in a new book that tracks tales of human resilience from around the world.

Lock’s 2011 polar trek is among a growing list of his inspiring yet grueling adventures. He’s completed 10 marathons, including the 151 mile Marathon Des Sables in the Sahara Desert. In 2008, he set a Guinness World Record and raised over $80,000 for charity when he became the first visually impaired person to row across the Atlantic Ocean.

“Supersurvivors: The Surprising Link Between Suffering & Success,” (HarperWave 2014), by Santa Clara University Associate Psychology Professor David B. Feldman and journalist Lee Daniel Kravetz, examines inspiring tales, such as Lock’s, of growth through survival and trauma. 

After losing most of his sight in 2004 to macular degeneration, Lock was forced to walk away from his dream career as a submarine officer in the British Royal Navy. Instead of giving up, he moved forward, planning the near-600 mile Antarctic trip during his time in the Berkeley MBA program.

Antarctic landscape“It was an ambition I had since before I lost my eyesight,” he says. “But after I went through my sight loss, I kept hearing stories about people who had done things that didn’t seem possible. It was inspiring.”

At Haas, Lock met Andrew Jensen, MBA 11, a fellow veteran and athlete, and recruited two more to the team, as he began preparations to take on one of the harshest environments on the planet. 

Part of the two-year planning included traversing the ice pack near the Arctic Circle in Iqalui, Canada, training that was backed by a $3,000 donation from Haas.

“Dean Lyons supported us at a time when we didn’t have any other funding,” Lock says. “Without that training and support, we couldn’t have gone on.”

Lock then decided to launch a project to support the venture, Polar Vision, using his MBA training as he marketed the idea and pursued additional funding. Polar Vision since has raised funds and awareness for the charities Guide Dogs for the Blind and Sightsavers, which educates and advocates for the sight-impaired.

When Lock set out with his team, including Jensen, Richard Smith, and veteran guide Hannah McKeand, in November 2011, he faced many challenges, including skiing for nine hours a day in howling winds and white-outs while pulling a 130-pound sled harnessed to his waist. He also endured temperatures that dipped as low as -31 degrees and struggled in thick gloves to put up a tent relying only on his sense of touch. When he reached the South Pole on January, 3, 2012, he became the first visually impaired person to make the expedition.

Now 34, Lock, the head of logistics at British Telecom, isn’t slowing down. A second attempt at swimming the English Channel is in the works; his first try ended due to weather conditions.

“It’s much easier to get off the floor if life pushes you down when you have something to aspire to,” he says.

Check out a Polar Vision documentary here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTQWqpn2QHM

 

 

Alan Lock’s team at the South Pole in 2011.

Centenarian Finally Receives Diploma

| by Laura Counts
Above, Williams surrounded (from left) by his son-in-law, David Larsen, BS 72 (Elect. Engineering and Comp. Science); daughter, Barbara Larsen, BA 74 (Psychology); and daughter-in-law, Sue Williams, BA 66 (Rhetoric).

By Elaine Larsen, BA 84 (Mass Communications)

It may have taken Hugh D. Williams more than 70 years to earn a UC Berkeley

degree. But at age 101, he finally did it.

Williams received the diploma Sept. 22, surrounded by his family at the senior complex where he lives in Cupertino, Ca.

“I’m very appreciative of receiving a diploma at this stage of my life,” Williams said. “I’m honored the Haas School of Business helped make this happen.”

A Riverside, Ca., native, Williams tinkered with machinery and electronics in high school. He was attending UC Berkeley when World War II started. Due to a physical issue, he couldn’t serve in the military so he took a job in a machine shop to help the war effort. When the war ended, he married a fellow UC Berkeley student, the late Ardell Rademacher. They soon had a child to support, so it wasn’t practical to complete his degree. He also realized he enjoyed working with his hands, so he continued to work as a machinist.

Although a UC Berkeley advisor told him that if he petitioned to graduate, the university would probably grant it, life’s circumstances prevented him from pursuing the degree. Williams and his wife built a home overlooking the San Francisco Bay and raised their two children, Douglas Williams, who became an electrical engineer, and Barbara Larsen, a psychology major and special education teacher who graduated from UC Berkeley in 1974.

Some months ago, reminiscing about things he might have done differently, Williams mentioned to his daughter that he regretted not pursuing that degree. So Larsen sent a letter to Barbara Felkins, assistant director of academic affairs for the undergraduate program, who agreed to help. (Felkins and Larsen knew each other as Berkeley High School students in the late 1960’s, participating in marching band together.)

Felkins found the microfiche of Williams’s transcript and added it to the current campus database. Using the requirements published for the class of 1941–1942, she determined that Williams had completed his degree requirements and notified the family.

History was made for the centenarian.

Williams credits his UC Berkeley business courses with helping him as a shop steward. 

“Business courses helped me avert strikes and facilitate better communication between employees and upper management,” he said.

Many other family members followed in his footsteps in attending UC Berkeley, including his oldest grandchild, Kate Williams Coppola, who graduated in 2002.

Williams is the patriarch of all family gatherings, and has many intellectual pursuits. And now, joining other family members, he has a UC Berkeley degree to hang on the wall, too.