UC Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business Announces Experian North America CEO Craig Boundy as 2018 Distinguished Executive Commencement Speaker

• By UCI Paul Merage School of Business

Irvine, CA - (February 21, 2018) - The 2018 Distinguished Executive Commencement Speaker for The Paul Merage School of Business commencement ceremony will be Experian North America CEO Craig Boundy. The ceremony, slated for Monday, June 18 from 9:30 a.m. to noon, will be held at the Bren Events Center on the UC Irvine campus.  Tom Wagner, MBA ’89, a lecturer at the Merage School and principal at The Wagner Group LLC, will serve as Distinguished Alumnus Mace Marshal. 

“The opportunity to share my experiences and inspiration with the graduates from the Merage School is an honor,” said Boundy. “Our business landscape has evolved into a data-driven environment where people rely on data to operate virtually every aspect of every industry in the world. Our future success lies in our ability to develop agile leaders who anticipate disruption and capitalize on creating new opportunities in the marketplace.  The graduates from the Merage School are those leaders.” 

“2018 marks another landmark commencement year for UC Irvine and The Paul Merage School of business, as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of our business school’s first graduating class and graduate the first class of two of our newest programs in Business Analytics and Finance,” said Eric Spangenberg, dean of the Merage School.  “We are honored to have Craig Boundy, a celebrated leader in digital innovation as our commencement speaker.”  

More than 670 graduates will participate in the Merage School’s 2018 commencement ceremony, including the first graduating class of Master of Finance and Master of Science in Business Analytics programs, and graduates from the Master of Professional Accountancy, Undergraduate, MBA and PhD programs. More information about the 2018 Commencement Ceremony can be found at merage.uci.edu/commencement.

About Craig Boundy

Craig Boundy is chief executive officer of Costa Mesa-based Experian North America, a global  data and analytics firm, where he is responsible for the company’s North America business lines, including Credit Services and Decision Analytics, Consumer Services, Vertical Markets (Automotive and Health) and Marketing Services.

Experian uses data and analytics to help people manage their financial lives and protect their identities, and to help companies manage, protect and grow their businesses. The company has been recognized as a top workplace by the Orange County Register each year since Boundy began leading the region’s 6,000 employees in 2014.

An accomplished global business leader, Boundy joined Experian in 2011 as managing director of Experian UK and Ireland before becoming CEO of North America in 2014.  Prior to Experian, Boundy was CEO of Logica in the United Kingdom, having joined the organization in 2008 as CEO of Global Operations.  Before that, he served as chief operating officer for Cable & Wireless’s business in Europe, the United States and Asia. Previously, Boundy served as sales director and then COO at Energis. His early career was with British Telecommunications.

About The Paul Merage School of Business

The Paul Merage School of Business at UC Irvine offers four dynamic MBA programs – plus PhD, specialty masters and undergraduate business degrees – that prepare business leaders for our digitally driven world. Through our programs, students acquire the exceptional ability to grow their organizations through strategic innovation, analytical decision-making, digital information technology and collaborative execution. While the Merage School is relatively young, it has quickly grown to rank consistently among the top five percent of all business programs worldwide through exceptional student recruitment, world-class faculty, a strong alumni network and close relationships with both individual business executives and global corporations. Additional information is available at merage.uci.edu.

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