Nathan Johnson, MBA ’11

Jake Wall and Nathan JohnsonNate (pictured right) and partner Jake Wall (MBA ’08) at Artful Gentleman reached their $30,000 Kickstarter goal, with a week to spare. Artful Gentleman, providers of premium 100% custom bespoke suiting + shirting and separates for men and women handcrafted in San Francisco.

The entrepreneurs turned to crowdfunding to raise enough capital to secure factory space and purchase the additional machinery. Pledges to the campaign came with various tiered rewards toward free custom suit packages and other custom wares.
Artful Gentleman is continuing to accept pledges, hoping to reach $50,000, and now offer includes the additional reward of a custom vest designed by the renowned DC/Marvel comic book artist J.H. Williams III.

Like Artful Gentleman on Facebook is another great way to support Nate and Jake, whether you have pledged or not. There, the alums are trying to push pass 600 likes to surpass the coveted 1,000 mark.

Walter Danley, PKE MBA ‘79

Walter DanleyWalter recently published the mystery novel, The Tipping Point, available in paperback and for the Kindle. The first-time author offers an insider’s look into the rarified business of public real estate investment with a story that follows protagonists Garth Wainwright and Tom Shaw through intrigue involving murder, fraud, betrayal and romance.

Three partners of a successful, opulent corporation are murdered, and colleagues Wainright and Shaw are determined to prove the deaths are not merely accidental. High-stakes real estate ventures, insurance schemes, and office politics entrench this mystery firmly in the commercial monetary sector, covering a global playing field and lots of twists and turns.

tipping.pointOne reviewer praised, “”If you took Barbarians at the Gate and The Firm and blended them together with the best stories of Michael Crichton and John Sandford, then you’d get The Tipping Point by Walter Danley.”

“In business school, I wanted to honor Pepperdine with a scholarly work on the real estate syndication business I worked in for so many years. The fact that I didn’t begin the writing until two years ago may be why “The Tipping Point” is based on a few facts smothered in a lot of fiction,” Walter shared with the school’s official alumni LinkedIn group.

Now retired, Walter formerly serves as a chief financial officer and an investment executive.

Peter William Kent, MSOD ‘81

peter.william.kentPeter takes a realistic and hands-on look at the retirement community scene, capturing the humor permeates the most dreary retirement environments in his new book Here Today and Perhaps Tomorrow.  With the subtitle “…and Die Laughing in a Retirement Community,” his  portraits of elderly care enable readers to more easily appreciate what can and does happen in this retirement style.

here todayKnowledge is important, and retirement community knowledge is especially important to the elderly. Every passing year a growing number of our aging population will enter the retirement ranks. Retirees typically make decisions about their future after gaining a clearer grasp of retirement community life. As they go about making their retirement decisions these retirees will benefit by becoming increasingly informed about retirement community living. Peter has in a retirement community in California since 2000.

At the age of seventeen Peter volunteered for the British Army and served in the Far East during World War II. This experience convinced him that aspiring to long life is a wise ambition. Peter went on to receive an undergraduate degree from Harvard and a master’s degree in organization development from Pepperdine University. While working for three Fortune 200 companies, he gained experience in marketing, organization development, and human resources management. He spent several years in the United Nations as a senior advisor. Mr. Kent served in several African countries. He later taught public policy at Portland State University, and following that managed his own consulting venture.

Seena Mostafavipour, MBA ’10

SeenaSeena Mostafavipour joined 8020 Consulting, a new consulting firm dedicated to applying the intellectual capital, technical expertise and energy of its team to address a range of financial projects for clients ranging from Fortune 50 companies to middle market and venture backed firms.

In his role as a financial consultant, Seena brings a diverse background that includes retail operations, labor, financial analysis, FP&A, data research, and analytics.  Prior to joining 8020 Consulting,  Seena served as  a retail analyst for a $2B retailer and formerly consulted with a variety of companies executing projects in the financial, academic, food and beverage, retail/wholesale, legal and investigations industries. His specialties include financial modeling, budgeting and forecasting, compensation, data mining, and strategy.

8020 Consulting is headquartered in Woodland Hills, CA, with offices in Century City, as well.

Douglas Gates, MBA ’85

KPMGDoug has been appointed to head the Global and U.S. Aerospace & Defense practice in Atlanta at KPMG LLP, the audit, tax and advisory firm.

Doug will drive strategy and client services and broaden KPMG relationships with senior aerospace and defense executives, and will act as the lead engagement partner on several large client engagements. Hewill also help drive the creation of market-recognized thought leadership and industry knowledge for the aerospace and defense sector. MORE →

Steve Diels, PKE MBA ’07

steve.dielsSteve, a City Councilman who is termed out this year in District 4, is a candidate for Redondo Beach city treasurer in elections to be held May 14.

Of all the contenders for city treasurer, Steve’s campaign is proposing the most substantial changes for the office. Having reviewed the functions and pay of treasurers in similar-size cities, he has concluded that Redondo’s budget is “super-sized” and exceeds revenues from city investments. He argues the treasurer’s salary should be cut to an amount commensurate with the work hours needed to get the job done. Even still, he said, he’d devote more time to audits and collections.

Steve owns AAMCOM, a customer service call center, and has been active as a councilman in the League of California Cities and Southern California Association of Governments.

Mike Rakes, PKE MBA ’92

Mike RakesMike passed away in the early hours of Monday, April 29th during surgery in Visalia, California. He was vice President of World Wide Sires, Ltd., the world’s leading cattle genetics marketing organization representing the majority of the U.S. Artificial Insemination Cooperatives.

A farm boy from the hills of Arkansas, Mike followed his passion for dairy cattle genetics and received a Bachelor of Science in Dairy Science from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.  He was active in school as student Senator, National Officer in ADSA and was the outstanding graduating senior. MORE →

Cara Withers Shaw, MBA ’02

cara-golden-torch-2Cara received a Golden Torch Award from the Malibu Graduate Business Society in recognition of the time and expertise she has lent over the years in facilitating the career development of full-time MBA students and strengthening the Graziadio Alumni Network.

Each year the full-time student government body, along the administration and Office of Alumni Relation, recognizes alumni who have made a significant impact mentoring students in their career placement aspirations and/or facilitating the hiring of students.

Cara is executive marketing director of Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. Cara oversees the Blue Sky, Walden Media, and Searchlight brands for all home distribution platforms, including DVD, Blu-ray, DigitalHD, and Video on Demand. This includes the marketing strategies and product development for family franchises, such as Ice Age, Rio, Chronicles of Narnia, Night at the Museum, as well as Searchlight Academy Award® winners, such as Beasts of the Southern Wild, The Descendants, and Black Swan. Cara’s 11 years of entertainment marketing experience, also includes Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.

Tiffany Craft, MBA ’06

Tiffany-golden-torchTiffany earned the praise of the full-time student government body Malibu Graduate Business Society for the time and expertise she has lent facilitating the career development of  students and strengthening the Graziadio Alumni Network. She was honored with a Golden Torch Award this spring.

Tiffany currently works in supply chain management at AT&T, where she is responsible for all supply chain needs associated with the wireless network build out for the West Region, as well as those for maintenance and spare parts for the nation. A graduate of AT&T’s flagship Leadership Development Program, Tiffany has a passion for managing and leading teams. She currently oversees a team of 10 mid-level managers across the nation and is responsible for a $2 billion annual capital budget. Tiffany is very proud of her experience as a student at the Graziadio School and enjoys giving back. She remains involved as an alumnus serving on the Graziadio Alumni Network Council and as a judge for the VCLL case competition.

Tetsuya O’Hara, MBA ’08

Tetsuya-golden-torchTetsuya was honored by the student government body Malibu Graduate Business Society with a Golden Torch Award.

The award recognizes alumni who serve as ambassadors for the Graziadio School, lending their time and expertise facilitating the career development of students and strengthening the alumni network. Among the many ways he remains involved in the school, Tetsuya mentors students and is tireless in his support of their learning and career aspirations.

Tetsuya is the director of Advanced Research and Development for Patagonia, Inc., where he manages the advanced product design, new business concepts, and new technologies for the products. He is also the program founder of the Environmental Entrepreneurship Development and a member of the board of visitors at Pepperdine University Graziadio School of Business and Management. In April 2012, he joined the advisory board at MIT Sports Technology and Education. He has a bachelor’s degree in economics from Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan. He has also completed the Executive Education Program at Harvard Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.