Merage Alumni Magazine | Paul Merage School of Business

Explore the Fall 2023 issue of the Merage School Alumni Magazine. Discover how your fellow alums, the Merage School, and external organizations are collectively making an impact in our community and beyond.

Featured Story

How to Become a Global Thought Leader

Ryan Patel shares his journey becoming a world-renowned authority on global business, political economy, and corporate governance.

A World of Impact: Embracing Global Business at the Merage School

Welcome to our Alumni Magazine, centered around the theme of global business. Our alumni's remarkable global impact reflects the essence of the Merage community. We've always prioritized instilling a global perspective in our students to thrive in our interconnected world. Our graduates are shaping international business with innovation, leadership, and cross-cultural adaptability. My recent experiences in Singapore and Taipei reinforced the transformative power of a global education, witnessing alumni thriving in unfamiliar territories and fostering connections that transcend borders.

Future Leaders Initiative shows significant growth in its first year

Dozens of students from local high schools and community colleges learned that critical insight into the entrepreneurial mindset during a recent discussion as part of the 2023 Future Leaders Initiative program. During that event, CEOs Pamina Barkow and Feyzi Fatehi spoke about their experiences as successful entrepreneurs in Orange County. Most importantly, they encouraged students to be tenacious, dedicated, and ambitious.

“You’re not going to be successful right away,” Barkow said. “It may take a lot of trial-and-error but if you cultivate the right mindset, you will be successful.”

For the 115 students who attended this year’s FLI program, it was the first time they heard critical information like this directly from top executives.

“

My career pivots were not always planned, but I took a few risks and said yes to different opportunities – even if that meant stepping outside my comfort zone.

”

— Manisha Dhawan, FTMBA '09

Dean Ian O. Williamson connects with alumni and students in Taipei and Singapore

Becoming a part of the Merage School community means being a member of a global network of industry leaders. In particular, the Merage School has strong alumni connections and university partnerships across Asia.

Upcoming Alumni Events

Jan 1

Event

Location

12:00 am - 11:50 pm

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Latinx Excelencia Conference 2023

The Merage School’s Latinx Initiative (LXi) is excited to present this year’s conference, Latinx Excelencia: Unleashing Economic Power of the Mainstream Economy. Join us on October 14th as we celebrate influential Latino leaders and support the next generation of leaders to prosper in their professional careers.

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Assessing the Economic Impact of Student Debt Freezes

In 2020 the massive economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic prompted governments to take drastic measures to provide financial relief for households and businesses. One of those measures included a pause on student loans, temporarily suspending the repayment requirements for millions of borrowers.

While this policy was intended to stimulate the economy and relieve financial stress, little is known about the impact of the payment pause on the labor market or on the financial outcomes of those borrowers.

UCI Postcast: Featuring Dean Ian O. Williamson

Ian O. Williamson, Dean of UCI’s Paul Merage School of Business, is a globally recognized expert in the field of human resource management, a reputation earned by traveling the world over to examine how talent pipelines affect organizational and community outcomes. In this UCI Podcast, Williamson identifies significant changes in business over the last decade, analyzes how the pandemic altered business education, and forecasts the future of work for employers and employees.

Renowned Scholar Professor Violina Rindova Joins Merage School as the Dean’s Leadership Council Chair and Associate Dean for Research and Doctoral Programs

The Paul Merage School of Business at UCI Irvine proudly announces the appointment of Professor Violina Rindova as the Dean’s Leadership Council Chair and the new Associate Dean Research and Doctoral Programs.

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A Woman’s Touch: How Women Influence Decision-Making in the Boardroom

Although women have long been underrepresented on corporate boards, the last decade has seen a dramatic shift as women have gained significant representation at the highest levels of corporate governance. As boards become more gender-diverse, what happens when women are present in the boardroom?

That’s the question Margarethe F. Wiersema, Dean’s Professorship in Strategic Management at The UCI Paul Merage School of Business, and her coauthor Marie Louise Mors, Professor of Strategy and Innovation at the Copenhagen Business School in Denmark, explore in their paper, “Women Directors and Board Dynamics: Qualitative Insights from the Boardroom,” recently published in the Journal of Management.

With recession looming, UCI researchers seek to uncover whether foreclosures hurt appraised property values

Since the 2008 housing crash, many people have been concerned that their homes would lose value due to the abundance of foreclosed homes nearby that can be used to calculate the worth of their property. Appraisers will use nearby homes that were recently sold to determine the price of a residence.

New Digital IQ Series spreads awareness of emerging technology

The benefits and drawbacks of ChatGPT and other forms of artificial intelligence were recently discussed during the inaugural Digital IQ Series event. The Center for Digital Transformation (CDT) launched the seminar series to demystify and explain exciting new technologies to members of the Merage School and the broader business community.