More than 200 students networked with 26 business executives during the May 6 Leaders Mentoring the Next Generation (LMNG) Summit on campus at the newly opened UCR School of Business Building.
“Students asked great questions and were highly engaged,” said mentor Craig Blunden ’72, non-executive chairman for Provident Bank and 1993-1994 UCR Executive Fellow.
A new program, LMNG’s stated purpose is to connect top executives with business students for high-impact mentorship, professional development, and real-world leadership insight. Many of this summit’s participating executives are UCR Executive Fellows, C-level leaders who serve a yearlong intensive mentorship term on campus with UCR Business undergraduate and graduate students.
The summit included multiple sessions for students to choose from covering a range of topics, including women in business, understanding and negotiating your worth, managing up, changing careers, the power of networking, what executives are looking for when hiring, imposter syndrome, global careers, along with many other topics, as well as opportunities for speed mentoring.
Following the summit, the executive mentors attended the Executive Fellows Installation Dinner, where UCR School of Business Dean Yunzeng Wang recognized the summit’s mentors, and said, “This summit is one of many innovative ideas we are developing to leverage the space in our new School of Business Building to provide new learning opportunities for students.”
The students at the summit were enthusiastic in their feedback. “I’d love to see summits like this more often,” stated one attendee. Another said: “Make it longer—a two-day event would be even better!”
Andrew Pramschufer ’96, ’98 MBA, CEO of HC Pacific, was enthusiastic about the sessions and student participation, he said. “Overall, an outstanding day—truly impressive!”
Business executives participating in this inaugural Leaders Mentoring the Next Generation Summit:
Beverly Bailey, CEO, Stronghold Engineering, 2017-2018 UCR Executive Fellow
Craig Blunden ’72 MBA, non-executive chairman, Provident Bank, 1993-1994 UCR Executive Fellow
Kelly Chu, CEO, Pacific Academy
Jamie Fang ’90, CEO, Orchid Affair
Michael Featheringham, vice president of IT, HM Electronics
Ben Gonzalez ’21 MBA, senior planning manager, CIRCOR Aerospace & Defense
Tim Greenleaf ’78, co-founder, Green Dot, 2014-2015 UCR Executive Fellow
David Gutierrez ’04, vice president corporate finance, Radiology Partners, 2023-2024 UCR Executive Fellow
Jason Jiang ’17, financial advisor and limited partner, Edward Jones
Jordana Katcher ’96, global vice president of kids apparel, Nike, 2025-2026 UCR Executive Fellow
Shubhra Kathuria, founder and CEO, Nova School
Ye Li, associate professor of management, UCR School of Business
Ching Liu, CEO, IERE Regional Center, 2013-2014 UCR Executive Fellow
Marshall MacDonald ’18 MBA, co-founder and CEO, Amity Health DPC
Rod McDermott, CEO, McDermott + Bull Executive Search, 2024-2025 UCR Executive Fellow
Mickey McGuire Jr. ’97, ’99 MBA, CIO and executive vice president of operations, HCN Bank, 2025-2026 UCR Executive Fellow
Renay Sehgal Mehta ’07, vice president, Chino Valley Chamber of Commerce
Bansree Parikh, president, Inland Empire Bank of America, 2023-2024 UCR Executive Fellow
Jeff Paul ’92, senior vice president and head of global sales, WS02, 2024-2025 Executive Fellow
Andrew Pramschufer ’96, ’98 MBA, CEO, HC Pacific
Tobin Sloane ’94, ’96 MBA, CFO and executive vice president, Ware Malcomb, 2015-2016 UCR Executive Fellow
Jack Stephens, CEO, Oceanview Adult Psychiatric Hospital
Mike Vanderpool, founding director, retired president, and COO, Security Bank of California, 2013-2014 UCR Executive Fellow
Patricia Watters ’93, ’95, retired financial economist and founder of Catalina Partners LLC, 2016-2017 UCR Executive Fellow
Tim Wiseman ’83, retired CEO, SKLZ, 2023-2024 UCR Executive Fellow