Postponed to a later date.
Three CEOs from drastically different industries discuss how they use market, channel, and product innovation strategy to move their companies forward.
Driving Directions:
The La Kretz Innovation Campus sits on one entire city block in the heart of the Los Angeles Cleantech Corridor, on the the eastern edge of Downtown Los Angeles in the Arts District.
Event Details
Gilbert de Cárdenas Jr., MBA '04 (XP-73), CEO, Cacique Inc.
Rita Ravindra, MBA '04, Founder and CEO, MiaMia Beauty LLC
Bruce Stein, MBA '78, CEO and Co-Founder, aXiomatic eSports
Speaker Profiles
Gilbert de Cárdenas Jr (Panelist)
Gilbert de Cárdenas Jr., MBA '04 (XP-73) is the CEO and serves on the Board of Cacique Inc. Since his arrival at Cacique in 2009, Gil revamped and professionalized the management team with a Vision in mind. As a result, the company has gone through a modernization process where manufacturing capacity has doubled, new ERP installed, distribution channels and related assets realigned for scalability as well as a strong commitment to marketing. The focus on technology and building teams has resulted in improved efficiency and speed. Today, Cacique is the leading brand in the $750 million Mexican style cheese, cream and sausage category and amongst the largest and most recognized Hispanic food brands in the US market. In prior roles, Gil lead capital raises, advised and partnered with Private Equity groups and acquired other companies. Gil earned an MBA from Chicago Booth in 2004.
Rita Ravindra (Panelist)
Rita Ravindra, MBA '04 is a start-up business executive with 15+ years of expertise in business development, global expansion, equity & debt fundraising, M&A, finance, business operations and general strategy. She is currently the CEO & Founder of MiaMia Beauty, a data-drive social beauty platform built to fix the fragmented digital beauty user experience for Millennials and Gen Z. MiaMia launched its first product, an iPhone app, in November 2016. Previously, Rita was the VP of Operations & Business Development at RadPad, an end-to-end residential rental marketplace. Preceding RadPad, she was VP of Operations at Wittlebee, an ecommerce start-up in children's clothing. She serves on the leadership council of the Fulfillment Fund and is an ambassador for Green Dot Public Schools. Rita earned a BA in economics from University of California, Los Angeles in 1996 and an MBA from Chicago Booth in 2004.
Bruce Stein (Panelist)
Bruce Stein, MBA '78 is the chief executive officer of aXiomatic, an esports and gaming investment platform. In September 2016, aXiomatic acquired a controlling interest in Team Liquid, one of the world's premier esports team franchises, and later made investment stakes in companies such as Gamer Sensei, Super League Gaming, Bitkraft and is actively investing in additional video game and esports businesses. Recently, The Walt Disney Company invested in aXiomatic and joins other partners Dick Clark Entertainment, Next VR, Magic Johnson Enterprises and executives from 10 major sports franchises. Bruce previously served as COO and worldwide president of Mattel, CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment (PlayStation), and president/CEO of Kenner Products. His entertainment and technology experience includes serving as CEO of Mandalay Media, CEO/founder of The Hatchery, and CEO/chairman of Radical Communication. Bruce earned a BA in psychology from Pitzer College in 1976 and an MBA from Chicago Booth in 1978.