Category: Business

The Post-COVID Economy

The global economy has been ravaged by a significant decline in consumption, leading to a challenging business environment. Some companies are struggling to survive while others are taking advantage of new opportunities. What are senior industry leaders seeing from their perspective?

To understand this environment, this exclusive series of webinars from the UC Davis Graduate School of Management features panels of prominent executives and alumni who share career insights and experiences as well as their outlook in key business fields, such as finance, technology, business development and supply chain logistics.

Browse more programs in UC Davis Graduate School of Management’s Dean’s Distinguished Speaker Series.

How Wrestling Led to a Career in Medicine

As the child of a single mother growing up in one of San Francisco’s poorest neighborhoods, Dr. Esteban Burchard’s background makes him particularly sensitive to issues surrounding health equity. He is a world leader in efforts to untangle the contributions of genes and environment in the expression of common diseases. Much of his work centers on childhood asthma, for which he runs the world’s largest cohort of diverse patients in an effort to better understand the risk factors for the disease and the predictors of outcomes and responses to therapy.

He has also made major contributions in the areas of health disparities, precision medicine, and the promotion of underrepresented populations in the health professions. He is a Professor of Pharmacy and Medicine at UCSF and director of the UCSF Center on Genes, Environment and Health. He is proud of being able to merge his personal passion with academic rigor.

His honors include membership on President Obama’s Precision Medicine task force, as well as election to the Alumni Hall of Fame at San Francisco State University and his selection as an Academic All-American for wrestling.

Watch — Dr. Esteban Burchard – A Life in Medicine: People Shaping Healthcare Today

UCSB Students Present Innovative Business Ideas

What if you never had to enter another password or unlock another door for the rest of your life? That’s the promise behind Allthenticate, one of six finalists in the annual UCSB New Venture Competition. The competition features teams of undergraduate and graduate students from UCSB’s Technology Management program. The teams spend eight months working on their projects before presenting them to a panel of entrepreneurs and successful business leaders.

This year’s finalists were: Allthenticate, a mobile-based security solution to keep companies and employees safe from both hackers and thieves; EnterVIEW, a software platform designed to make the job hunt easier for candidates and companies; Guniea Gig, an application aimed at creating a central database for university research studies; MicroPrint, a highly innovative printing process which will soon enable every device you own to be powered by Micro LEDs; Selva, an on-line marketplace that connects textile mills with apparel companies to facilitate the sale and usage of deadstock (excess) fabric; and The Hurd Co, a more sustainable pulp feedstock for textile production from cannabis waste.

Learn more about these upcoming companies and see who takes home the top prize.

Watch — 2019 New Venture Competition Finals

From “Never Medicine” to Acclaimed Physician-scientist

When he was a young man, Dan Lowenstein used to proclaim that he would never be a doctor. Fast-forward to today and he is not only an accomplished physician-scientist in the area of epilepsy, an award-winning medical educator, and an innovative and forward-thinking leader but he is also UCSF’s Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost. As provost he oversees the university’s academic programs and tackles issues ranging from the modernization of the Parnassus Heights campus to the future of big data in healthcare.

In prior roles, he helped launch UCSF’s Academy of Medical Educators, led UCSF’s Physician-Scientist training programs, and served as Dean for Education of Harvard Medical School. In this interview with Dr. Robert Wachter, Chair of UCSF Department of Medicine, Lowenstein describes his circuitous path to a career in medicine, his passion for social justice, and the importance of authenticity for leaders. Find out how we went from “never medicine” to where he is today and what keeps him going.

Watch — Dr. Daniel Lowenstein – A Life in Medicine: People Shaping Healthcare Today

Investing for Good

What if you could align your values with your investment portfolio?

Leaders from the world of impact investing discuss what it means to invest for good. Their stories are fascinating and you will understand the path of early stage ventures that create meaningful social and environmental value.

First up is a panel with Lewam Kefela, Investor at VilCap Investments; Noushin Ketabi, Founder of Vega Coffee; Nancy Swanson, Executive Director of Linked Foundation. The moderator is Julia Sze an impact Investment strategy advisor. They discuss their paths to investing for good.

Then, Kat Taylor, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Radicle Impact, talks about the problem with the banking system and how it can be fixed. She is the CEO of the Oakland-based Beneficial State Bank, a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) whose mission is to bring beneficial banking to low-income communities in an economically and environmentally sustainable manner.

Watch — Investing for Good: Women in Innovation and Entrepreneurship Series