Los Angeles News: Black Panther’s Success, UC Irvine Commencement, and More
We’ve rounded up some of the biggest news coming out of Los Angeles business schools this week.
‘Black Panther’ success amplifies findings of UCLA’s Hollywood Diversity Report – UCLA Newsroom
The immense success of Black Panther, the newest entrant into the Marvel cinematic universe, is pushing against the old Hollywood narrative that diverse casts often hinder the financial success of films, according to UCLA Anderson. Less than two weeks after its debut, the film has already grossed $400 million in the U.S. alone, with gross worldwide sales surpassing $727 million.
According to Forbes, the film is approaching the all-time pantheon of financially successful films:
This puts the MCU action drama’s 11-day domestic total at $411.7 million. Yes, it is already past Captain America: Civil War ($408 million in 2016) and Iron Man 3 ($409m in 2013) to be the third-biggest MCU grosser. And it’s pennies away from topping Wonder Woman ($412.5m in 2017). Once it tops Wonder Woman, presumably by the end of this sentence, Black Panther will be the fifth-biggest comic book superhero movie of all time in unadjusted North American grosses, behind only The Dark Knight Rises ($448m in 2012), Avengers: Age of Ultron ($458m in 2015), The Dark Knight ($534m in 2008) and The Avengers ($623m).
UCLA Anderson points out that the Black Panther box office success underscores its Hollywood Diversity Report, which it explains in full below:
UC Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business Announces Experian North America CEO Craig Boundy as 2018 Distinguished Executive Commencement Speaker – UCI Paul Merage School of Business Newsroom
The Paul Merage School of Business at UC Irvine recently announced that the 2018 Distinguished Executive Commencement Speaker will be Craig Boundy, CEO of Experian North America. Over 670 graduates will be part of the event, including students from Undergraduate, MBA and PhD programs, as well as the first-ever graduating class of the Master of Finance and Master of Science in Business Analytics programs.
Boundy has a long career in business, with experience in marketing services, decision analytics and customer service. Beginning in a role with British Telecommunications, Boundy has moved through the ranks before joining Experian in 2011 and ultimately moving into the CEO role in 2014. “The opportunity to share my experiences and inspiration with the graduates from the Merage School is an honor,” Boundy said. “Our future success lies in our ability to develop agile leaders ho anticipate disruption and capitalize on creating new opportunities in the marketplace. The graduates from the Merage School are those leaders.”
Read more about Boundy and the Merage Commencement Ceremony here.
USC Marshall Online MBA Breaks Top Ten in U.S. News Rankings – U.S. News & World Report
After some considerable changes to the U.S. News & World Report Online MBA ranking, the USC Marshall School of Business online program jumped to the 8th overall spot—four spots higher than last year.
The school’s Vice Dean for Online Education, Sandra Chrystal, Ph.D, said, “We look forward to sustaining the success of the Online MBA program well into the digital future by maintaining our dedication to delivering an innovative, high-touch, advanced business education to accomplished working professionals who need online flexibility to stay on track while earning their degree.”
You can read more about the USC Marshall online program ranking here.
Harvard Black Business Leaders Series Celebrates Black History Month
To commemorate Black History Month, Harvard Business School presented a series of cases, courses, and podcasts highlighting influential black business leaders. Within its MBA curriculum, HBS has also been working to increase the representation of compelling African-American protagonists culled from a wide range of industries in the case studies at the heart of its distinctive case study method.
Senior Lecturer Steven Rogers (no not that one), who teaches the course “Black Business Leaders and Entrepreneurship,” was one of the catalysts for this initiative. Rogers uses his course as an opportunity to honor the unsung impact that many African-American business leaders have had on the way America does business. As part of the Black Business Leaders Series of podcasts, Rogers interviews living African-American leaders about the dizzying highs and devastating lows of doing business.
John Rogers Podcast
One such interview features Ariel Investments Founder, Chairman, and CEO John Rogers (no relation), whose financial management firm handles about $13.1 billion. Ariel currently has 90 employees and considers itself a miniature version of Fidelity. “John Rogers is one of America’s great entrepreneurs,” says Steven Rogers by way of introduction. “In the words of Warren Buffett, he is one of the greatest investors of our time.”
The podcast delves into John’s vocal criticism of diversity in Fortune 500 companies and how his comments got him in trouble with his board. It also discusses such topics as a severe lack of inclusion present in the financial management industry. It’s a problem that impacts the entire sector, from job creation to community health.
“When African-American–owned companies are allowed to prosper and grow, we see the creation of more jobs,” Steven Rogers explained in the podcast. “When people have jobs, they’re self-sufficient. When people are self-sufficient, they live in healthy communities. That’s exactly what happens when diversity and inclusion is actualized and people like John are given a chance to grow their companies.”
To listen to the full podcast visit the school website.
Black Business Leaders Series Highlights
Don’t miss these other great podcasts in the HBS Black Business Leaders series:
- A discussion of Ebony Magazine, which for more than seven decades has chronicled the most important African-American issues and interests of the time.
- An interview with Senior Lecturer Henry Q. McGee on the topic of “The Black List” in Hollywood.
- An in-depth look at the legacy of Maggie Lena Walker and the Independent Order of St. Luke.
To access the complete Black Business Leaders Series, visit the HBS Newsroom.
