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The Business School Honors Corporate and Political Leaders at Graduation Ceremony
The Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University will honor its graduating students with a Saturday, Aug. 8 commencement ceremony. The ceremony begins at 10:30 a.m. at Firestone Fieldhouse on the Malibu campus.
The time-honored tradition of celebrating and recognizing the significant achievements of those who have successfully completed their degrees will feature the remarks of Robert A. Eckert, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Mattel, Inc. Eckert will accept an honorary doctorate of law in recognition of his career accomplishments which include stewardship of the worldwide leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of toys with approximately $6 billion in annual sales.
Fiona Ma (MBA '00), representative for the people of California's 12th Assembly District, will also speak at the event and be honored by her alma mater with a Distinguished Alumnae Award for her dedication to public service and values-centered leadership in the Pepperdine tradition.
For information about GSBM programs and commencement ceremonies, visit the Graziadio School of Business and Management Web site.
Commencement celebrations will be preceded by a luncheon for full time program graduates on Friday, Aug. 7, from 12 noon to 2 p.m. The lunch will be held at the Graziadio Executive Center on the Drescher Graduate Campus, Malibu. For information about the lunch, contact Diane Singel at (310) 506-4100.
Robert Eckert
Robert Eckert
Eckert joined Mattel in May 2000 from Kraft Foods, Inc., the largest U.S.-based packaged food company in the world. A 23-year veteran of Kraft, he most recently served as its president and chief executive officer, a position he had held since October 1997. In that role, he was responsible for overseeing all of Kraft's business units and for leading the company's policy decision-making board, the Operating Committee.
Eckert serves on the McDonald's Corporation Board of Directors, is a member of the Board of Visitors at The Anderson School at UCLA, the J. L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management Advisory Board at Northwestern University and the Board of the Los Angeles World Affairs Council. He also serves on The Trilateral Commission and is a member of The Business Council, the American Society of Corporate Executives, the World Presidents' Organization in Los Angeles, the Asia Society and Town Hall Los Angeles.
He received the School of American Ballet "Corporate Leadership Award" and the University of Arizona, Eller College "Lifetime Achievement Award." In 2002, Business Week named Eckert in its "Top Twenty-Five Managers of the Year" issue.
He received a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from the University of Arizona in 1976 and an M.B.A. in marketing and finance from Northwestern University in 1977.
Eckert was a distinguished speaker at the Graziadio School for the 2007-2008 Dean's Executive Leadership Series and recorded an interview with Dean Linda A. Livingstone that is available for download.
Fiona Ma
Fiona Ma
As a former elected member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, Assemblywoman Ma hit the ground running in Sacramento. The Speaker appointed Assemblywoman Ma as the Majority Whip, where she is responsible for ensuring the passage of crucial legislation to improve public education, expand healthcare access and protect our environment. At the start of her second term, Assemblywoman Ma was appointed to key committees including Higher Education, Revenue and Taxation, Housing, Agriculture, Labor, and Public Safety.
Assemblywoman Ma serves as the Chair of the Assembly Select Committee on Domestic Violence where she has worked on legislation to protect victims of domestic violence. She has authored groundbreaking legislation to protect young children from dangerous chemicals, help California's working families pay the bills, prevent the spread of Hepatitis B, increase access to quality healthcare, and provide equal rights for all Californians.
During her first year in office, landmark legislation was chaptered into law By Governor Schwarzenegger. Assembly Bill 1108 was a first in the nation law that banned the use of toxic chemicals, known as phthalates, in baby products. Her bill was later used as a model in Federal legislation that went into effect in February, 2009.
In 1995, Assemblywoman Ma was a delegate to the White House Conference on Small Business under President Bill Clinton. Her tireless advocacy for women and minority business owners has led to responsible public contracting in San Francisco.
Assemblywoman Ma received her B.S. from the Rochester Institute of Technology (NY), her M.S. in Taxation from Golden Gate University (SF), and an MBA from the Executive MBA program at Pepperdine University. She is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in California.
