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Graziadio School Celebrates Winter 2012 Graduation
The Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine will celebrate its graduating students Saturday, Dec. 8, with a commencement ceremony beginning at 10:30 a.m. in Firestone Fieldhouse, Malibu.
Honorary Doctorate of Laws recipient William McMorrow, chair and CEO of Kennedy Wilson, will present the commencement address and graduating Executive MBA student Linda LoRe will present the student address. Paramount Pictures Corporation vice president of human resources Britta Wilson ('92) will be presented with the Distinguished Alumni Award.
For more information, visit the Graziadio School Web site.
William McMorrow will receive the Honorary Doctorate of Laws honor at commencement ceremonies. He is chairman and chief executive officer of Kennedy Wilson, which he purchased in 1988 as a real estate auction company. McMorrow is the architect of the company's expansion into an international firm offering a comprehensive array of real estate investments and services, with 24 offices in the U.S., U.K., Ireland, and Japan as well as more than 300 employees. Kennedy Wilson has assets under management of approximately $12 billion, including over 50 million sq. ft. of office, retail and industrial properties in addition to more than 14,000 apartment units throughout the U.S, Europe and Japan.
In November of 2009, the company went public and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. McMorrow rang the opening bell in celebration of this event on April 14, 2010. Kennedy Wilson Japan went public in 2002 and is currently listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Since 2010, Kennedy Wilson has raised over $6.0 billion of equity for the parent company and its joint ventures to pursue its investment program. Additionally, Kennedy Wilson has acquired $7 billion of real estate investment assets since the beginning of 2010. In 2011, Kennedy Wilson Europe was established and now has offices in Dublin, London and Madrid, employing a team of 30 professionals. In December of 2011, the company completed the purchase of a $2.2 billion UK-based loan portfolio, the largest European loan portfolio acquisition in the current cycle. Kennedy Wilson currently has $4 billion of assets under management in Europe.
McMorrow received his bachelor of science degree in business and a master of business administration degree from the University of Southern California. He serves on the Executive Board of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate and is involved in numerous Southern California charities, including Chrysalis, which honored him with the Spirit of Chrysalis Award in 2005, the Rape Treatment Center, the Village School, and Loyola High School, which honored him with the Cahalan Award for Distinguished Alumni in 2010. Additionally, he is a member of the Loyola High School Board of Regents.
McMorrow was a personal friend and colleague of George Graziadio and honored his memory in remarks at the 2012 George Awards earlier this year as the keynote speaker.
Paramount Pictures Corporation executive Britta Wilson will receive the Distinguished Alumni Award at commencement ceremonies. The Executive MBA graduate serves as vice president of human resources at Paramount. She and her team support Motion Picture Distribution, Consumer Products & Recreation, Digital Entertainment, Worldwide TV Distribution and Business Affairs & Legal.
By virtue of her diverse background, which includes HR, consulting and general management, she is often called upon to handle complex issues including organizational leadership development, acquisitions and large scale change initiatives.
Prior to joining Paramount, Wilson served in several key leadership roles with Fremont Investment & Loan, Hewitt Associates, Pepsi/YUM! Brands and the Walt Disney Company. In addition to her corporate experience, she successfully ran the Human Capital Practice for Premier Management Alliance, LLC., a boutique consulting firm specializing in business strategy and HR alignment and served as president of HRCS where she guided the firms' revenue growth from $1.3M to $6.1M in thirteen months and opened four regional offices to serve its Fortune 500 clients, including MTV, Guess, Pepsi/Taco Bell, Morgan Stanley, etc.
In addition to her Executive MBA from Pepperdine, Wilson holds a BA from UCLA. She has received several professional and civic awards including the Governor's Award for Female Business Owners. She is an active member of the National Black MBA Association. She volunteers for a number of advisory groups and has held board positions with The Goodwill of Orange County and Cornelia Connelly High School. She is also a member of the Board of Visitors at the Graziadio School.
As a Pepperdine student completing her Presidents and Key Executives (PKE) MBA degree this fall, Linda LoRe will deliver the graduating student speech at the commencement ceremony for the Graziadio School of Business and Management. For each of three graduations hosted during the year, the faculty and graduating class nominate a student who has demonstrated "outstanding academic performance and represents the school's mission and values both inside and outside of the classroom in exemplar fashion."
"Ms. LoRe is a dynamic and compassionate leader with skills honed by years of experience as a senior executive at well-known companies," said PKE MBA program faculty lead William Smith regarding the selection. "She is now devoting much of her time to helping the less fortunate in our society and is having a meaningful impact in these efforts. She epitomizes Pepperdine's motto: Freely ye received, freely give."
With a 21-year-career as a CEO of world-renowned brands, LoRe is widely recognized as a leading brand advocate. Her extensive experience includes building consumer companies from the ground up, revitalizing storied brands and breathing new life into consumer favorites. She has the distinct honor of having also received a 2012 George Award for Outstanding Presidents and Key Executives MBA Student.
LoRe became president and CEO of Frederick's of Hollywood in August 1999 and immediately set upon revitalizing and relaunching the iconic Frederick's of Hollywood brand. In August 2011, she left the corporate world to pursue her degree at Pepperdine University and devote much of her time to Youth Mentoring Connection, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping "at risk" youth from our inner cities graduate from school and learn skills to become productive members of society. Her Capstone is a plan dedicated to building a campus called "URBAN OASIS" in the Inner City for these kids.
Her latest venture, The Engagement Principle, is a social enterprise devised to help turn the workplace back to an engaged and profitable place of business. The company's non-profit component introduces the Future Generations Fund, giving an opportunity for at-risk youth to cultivate their talents and ultimately find a career path.
LoRe is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2003 Woman of Accomplishment for Bnai Zion, 2002 NAWBO (National Association of Women Business Owners) Hall of Fame Award, 1997 Woman of the Year Award from the Museum of Science and Industry, and 1997 Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising award of Excellence and recipient of the Spirit of Life award and The Beautiful Apple award.
