During the last challenging and unpredictable years, individuals and businesses alike were forced to pivot,...

A SURVEY OF 251 CFOS AND OTHER FINANCE LEADERS REVEALED THAT 72% OF CFOS WILL FOCUS ON IMPROVING THE FLEXIBILITY OF BUDGETING AND FORECASTING IN 2022, ACCORDING TO GARTNER, INC.

HOW HEDGE FUNDS ARE NAVIGATING THE NEW TALENT LANDSCAPE

CFOS FIND THEMSELVES HAVING TO ACCOUNT FOR INFLATION-RELATED UNCERTAINTIES IN ANNUAL BUDGETS AND GUIDANCE FOR INVESTORS

BANK ECONOMISTS EXPECT CREDIT CONDITIONS TO CONTINUE IMPROVING FOR BOTH CONSUMERS AND BUSINESSES OVER THE NEXT SIX MONTHS, ACCORDING TO THE AMERICAN BANKERS ASSOCIATION’S RECENTLY RELEASED CREDIT CONDITIONS INDEX.

CFOS WHO EVOLVE THEIR CAPITAL ALLOCATION APPROACH TO ONE THAT PRIZES RESPONSIVENESS CAN ADD 2.5 PERCENTAGE POINTS TO ECONOMIC VALUE ADDED THAN “UNRESPONSIVE” PEERS, ACCORDING TO GARTNER, INC.

A RECENT SURVEY OF MERGER AND ACQUISITION (M&A) PROFESSIONALS HAS FOUND THAT DEALMAKERS ARE OPTIMISTIC THE RISE OF M&A DEALS WILL CONTINUE DESPITE CHALLENGES POSED BY REGULATION AND THE ONGOING PANDEMIC.

A SURVEY BY GARTNER, INC. OF 111 CFOS LAST YEAR REVEALED THAT 60% OF ORGANIZATIONS EXPERIENCED WAGE INFLATION IN THE SECOND QUARTER OF 2021, NEARLY DOUBLE THE AMOUNT COMPARED TO THE PREVIOUS QUARTER.

A RESEARCH REPORT – “PRIVATE CREDIT AND THE TRADE FINANCE OPPORTUNITY” – FROM TXF INTELLIGENCE HIGHLIGHTS THE INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT ROLE OF PRIVATE CREDIT FUNDS IN THE TRADE FINANCE MARKET. ATTRACTED BY AN ESTIMATED GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE GAP OF $2 TRILLION, PRIVATE CREDIT INVESTORS ARE PLAYING A KEY ROLE IN SUPPORTING CROSS-BORDER TRADE.

THE AMERICAN BANKERS ASSOCIATION, JOINED BY MORE THAN 1,200 BANKS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, HAS BEEN PROMOTING A COORDINATED CAMPAIGN TO EDUCATE CONSUMERS ABOUT HOW TO PROTECT THEMSELVES – AND THEIR BANK ACCOUNTS – FROM PHISHING SCAMS.

MOST CRYPTO INVESTORS ARE UNDER 40; TWO-FIFTHS ARE WOMEN AND/OR INVESTORS OF COLOR.

20% OF LARGE ORGANIZATIONS WILL USE DIGITAL CURRENCIES FOR PAYMENTS, STORED VALUE OR COLLATERAL BY 2024, ACCORDING TO GARTNER, INC.

WITH NEW JOBS COME BIGGER PAYCHECKS–AT LEAST SOME OF THE TIME. A NEW SURVEY REVEALS THAT NEARLY A THIRD OF WORKERS WHO LEFT THEIR JOBS DURING THE PANDEMIC ARE MAKING OVER 30% MORE IN THEIR NEW ROLES.

THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY RECENTLY PUBLISHED A STUDY ON THE FACILITATION OF MONEY LAUNDERING AND THE FINANCING OF TERRORISM THROUGH THE TRADE-IN OF HIGH-VALUE WORKS OF ART. THE SUBJECT IS NOWHERE NEAR AS OBSCURE AS MANY MAY HAVE BELIEVED.

A 2021 GARTNER SURVEY OF 200 AUDIT BUSINESS PARTNERS REVEALED THAT OVER HALF (56%) OF RESPONDENTS SAID THEY WERE FACING MORE CHANGES IN THE LAST TWO YEARS, AND A LARGE MAJORITY AGREED THESE CHANGES WERE BOTH BIGGER (81%) AND FASTER (74%).

BROADRIDGE FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS, INC., A GLOBAL FINTECH LEADER, AND THE FINANCIAL SERVICES INSTITUTE (FSI) RECENTLY RELEASED A JOINT STUDY OF OVER 400 U.S. FINANCIAL ADVISORS THAT SHEDS LIGHT ON GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES WITHIN THE WEALTH MANAGEMENT INDUSTRY..

As the principal of Abacus Financial Management Group, Belva Anakwenze serves as a virtual CFO for several creatives in Los Angeles. Her clients range from entertainers and their closely held companies to large entertainment tech companies.

Vice chairman of JD Merit & Company, Tracy Albert is recognized as one of the preeminent investment bankers on the West Coast, having advised hundreds of middle market companies and entrepreneurs over a span of several decades.

He spent most of his career in business development with a focus on Middle Market and Mid-Corporate segments in the greater Los Angeles Area.

Raul A. Anaya is president of Business Banking, one of Bank of America’s eight lines of business, and is a member of the company’s executive management team.

Andrée Blais advises public agencies in the use of innovative procurement and contracting methods for the development and delivery of major public infrastructure projects in the transportation and social infrastructure sectors.

Alexander Cappello founded Cappello Global 48 years ago and since then he and his team of principals have completed over $150 billion in transactions in more than 50 countries.

An 18-year financial industries veteran, Robin Choi has spent his career-serving customers in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, Greater Philadelphia and Delaware.

Sherry Cefali is a managing director in the Transaction Opinions practice and the head of the Los Angeles office of approximately 100 people. Furthermore, she is a member of the firm’s Fairness and Solvency Opinion Senior Review Committee.

Jacky Dilfer is a commercial and SBA lending expert—she’s a dedicated leader and trusted advisor, helping each of her clients grow their businesses, create job opportunities and better serve their communities.

Mark Steven Demos began his career in public accounting almost 20 years ago with Crowe LLP in Michigan. Crowe is the premier public accounting firm serving the financial services industry, serving more banks and bank holding companies than any other firm.

Gene Dunford has been in the banking industry for 30 years and has worked for both large and small banks.

Frances Ellington, DBA, CPA, is known for her strong industry and thought leadership, exceptional client advisory services and community involvement.

Francisco Flores is a partner and Structured Finance Practice co-chair at Winston & Strawn LLP. In this capacity, he advises clients on corporate finance and structured finance transactions, as well as various cross-border transactions in Latin America.

Danielle Garcia began her career in representing lenders 25 years ago while still in law school. She has worked at several top 100 law firms in her career and presently maintains her practice at Holland & Knight, LLP in Los Angeles where she is a...

Eric Andrew Gray has been advising high net worth families for 30 years, and focuses on values-based wealth management, estate planning services, asset allocation, discretionary investment management, concentrated stock strategies, and executive compensation.

As one of the primary transactional bankers at Objective, Channing Hamlet has personally closed over 25 sell-side transactions over the last five years and countless others throughout his career, ranging in size throughout the lower middle market from $10-250 million.

After starting his career at a brokerage firm, Greg Heller founded HCR Wealth Advisors based on core company principles that still support the company today.

Jeremy Holland is a managing partner at The Riverside Company, leading the Origination team across the various funds/strategies in North America. He has been a private equity investor in Los Angeles for 23 years.

Karan Kapoor is a managing director and co-head of the Global Technology Investment Banking group at Kroll, LLC.

Michelle Katzen has over a decade of experience in the financial services industry. Prior to joining HCR, she served as an interest rate derivatives trader at Union Bank and as a financial advisor at UBS.

Steve Kutz has been in the wealth management industry for 32 years and earned a legacy of growing businesses. Her serves as regional president, Los Angeles at BNY Mellon Wealth Management.

Jason Lawit is the president of the Los Angeles Region for Northern Trust. Lawit spends his days (and sometimes nights) growing the business and regularly participates in new business and relationship opportunities.

As Founder and Chief Executive Officer of K1 Investment Management, R. Neil Malik is responsible for managing the firm’s strategy, governance and investment activities. He is actively involved in the professional development of K1’s team as well as the management teams of K1’s portfolio companies.

Karen Miles is a managing director and leader in Houlihan Lokey’s global Corporate Valuation Advisory Services practice and co-chairs the firm’s Technical Standards Committee, which determines the appropriate methodologies for dealing with valuation issues.

Scott Minerd is chairman of investments and global chief investment officer at Guggenheim. Minerd guides the firm’s investment strategies and oversees client accounts across a broad range of fixed-income and equity securities. He manages over $305 billion in assets.

Patrick Nygren joined Union Bank in August 2018 as community banking regional president of the Greater Los Angeles & Central Coast Division (GLA), which includes Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara and the Mountain Valley Region in the Central Valley.

Steve Moon has been with Kroll, LLC for 21 years. He is a managing director and deputy head of mergers and acquisitions for Americas.

A first generation college graduate and professional, Mintz member Abigail (Abby) O’Brient has displayed her legal acumen to clients from very early in her career.

As CEO and founder of Parkview Financial, Paul Rahimian manages a national debt fund that provides construction financing to ground-up real estate development projects.

Ash Patel became the president and CEO of Commercial Bank of California in 2013 and invested in the CBC team by teaching them to lead with an entrepreneurial mindset. This approach not only inspired each person to take ownership in the bank’s success, but it transformed the business.

Trevor Saliba is the founding managing partner and global head of private equity, M&A and strategy of NMS Consulting, a global management consulting and strategic advisory firm where he leads a global team of over 250 professionals across 16 offices throughout the United States, Europe, Middle East and Asia.

As Pacific Southwest region executive of global commercial banking for Bank of America, Karen Sessions leads 250 commercial banking teammates across California, Arizona, Nevada and Utah.

Greg Seibly stepped into his role at Union Bank at the beginning of March 2020, joining Union Bank from Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, where he served as president and CEO. Seibly started at Union Bank right at the onset of the pandemic.

Kevin Shields founded Griffin Capital in 1995 and serves as the company’s chairman and chief executive officer. He is based in the firm’s headquarters in El Segundo.

While internationally recognized for the results he has achieved in crisis situations, he and his firm have also been recognized for their success in launching companies.

Rajesh Sood is a managing partner at FocalPoint Partners, a leading middle market investment bank headquartered in Los Angeles, with branch offices in Chicago, Dallas, New York, and Shanghai, and partner offices around the world.

Steven A Sugarman founded The Change Company in 2017. The Change Company is a Community Development Financial Institution certified by the United States Department of Treasury and the State of California to expand access to lending and banking to Black, Latino and low-income borrowers and communities.

For almost 20 years, John Tedford has represented debtors, creditors, trustees and receivers in bankruptcy and other insolvency matters. He represents clients in all California state and federal courts, especially bankruptcy courts. He is also a member of the bar of the U.

Paul Sweeney’s practice focuses on complex business disputes, both individual and class action lawsuits, involving unfair business practices, false advertising, consumer fraud, trade regulation, privacy violations, breach of contract, and violations of various federal and state statutes and regulations.

Michael Waxberg’s extensive background in capital markets has led him to play an integral role within Northwestern Mutual, which oversees $5 billion in assets. As a director with the firm, he is also involved in the growth and development of the Los Angeles office.

When a childhood friend introduced him to Northwestern Mutual, James Verzino discovered a place where he could truly lead and inspire people. Nearly a decade later, he has developed and influenced dozens of new financial advisors, while maintaining a successful practice.

Newly-appointed regional president for PNC Bank for the Greater Los Angeles Metropolitan Area, Todd Wilson joined the bank in Oct. 2021.

Michael Wiener is a partner in Greenberg Glusker’s Corporate, Finance & Securities Practice Group. His practice focuses on structuring real estate and corporate transactions in a tax-efficient manner.

Jonathan Zucker is a managing director and head of the Capital Markets Group at Intrepid Investment Bankers. During his more than 20-year career in finance, Zucker has been involved in a wide range of capital transactions, from IPOs to early-stage venture financings.

Angela Yim-Sullivan is Wells Fargo's Commercial Banking Los Angeles metro market executive. She leads teams focused on serving the financial needs of mid-corporate, middle market and business banking customers in central and northeast Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley.

Governments across the globe are integrating cloud technology with conventional systems. As public clouds provide cost-competitiveness to businesses, they are highly sought after in the market.

The participating schools within this special section provide information about their MBA program accreditation, tuition, application deadlines, rankings and more, plus insights into the school’s mission and learning environment.

AT PEPPERDINE GRAZIADIO, THE MISSION IS TO DEVELOP STUDENTS INTO BEST FOR THE WORLD LEADERS THROUGH EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING THAT IS ETHICAL IN FOCUS AND GLOBAL IN ORIENTATION.

DIVERSE IDEAS FOR DYNAMIC ENVIRONMENTS

FLEXIBLE AND PURPOSE-DRIVEN

PROFESSIONALS WHO WANT AN EDGE IN THE BUSINESS WORLD HAVE A VARIETY OF PROGRAMS TO CHOOSE FROM AT CALIFORNIA LUTHERAN UNIVERSITY.

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY HAS DRASTICALLY CHANGED HOW COMPANIES OPERATE AND GROW. WILL YOU BE ABLE TO KEEP UP WITH THE PACE OF CHANGE AND INNOVATION? MORE IMPORTANTLY, WILL YOU BE PREPARED TO LEAD THE WAY?

ASPIRING LEADERS MAKING A REAL-WORLD IMPACT

Loyola Marymount University’s graduate business programs develop agile, innovative and impactful leaders for a changing world.

Our students and alumni play leading roles in industries that have built and continue to drive L.A. forward – from real estate and accounting to marketing and finance to entertainment and tech.