Oceanside Chat: L.I.T.E. Beyond Generations

Pursuing a B.S. in Business Psychology at UC San Diego, Andre Lokuszta is a Gen Z founder, strategist, and creative thinker who brings deep expertise in performance marketing, AI-enabled acquisition, and short-form content growth. He founded Netcast Marketing at 17 and continues to lead the company as CEO, building modern marketing infrastructure that delivers predictable, qualified appointments and strong ROI, generating over $7 m...

Tom Linton is a globally recognized supply chain leader with decades of experience, with 20 years at IBM and as co-founder of E2Open. Linton has served as chief procurement officer at major companies including Agere Systems, Freescale Semiconductor, and LG Electronics Shipman Gold Medal. A frequent contributor to leading publications and co-author of multiple books—including Flow and The Living Supply Chain Linton holds several sup...

Rich Hua is a technology strategist and innovation evangelist, and he currently serves as the Worldwide Head of EPIC Leadership at AWS. His mission is to upskill leaders in emotional intelligence and interpersonal dynamics, enabling them to lead with greater Empathy, Purpose, Inspiration, and Connection (EPIC). Rich has spent decades training and mentoring people in leadership and interpersonal skills—from CEOs to aspiring managers...

Abhay Gangadharan is a People Operations Executive and Future of Work Leader with over 25 years of experience across Fortune 100 companies and high-growth startups, including 14 years at Google. His career spans the U.S., India, and Japan, where he has led initiatives across strategic workforce planning, organizational design, talent management, and HR service delivery. His background additionally includes experience in online adve...

For more than 45 years, Dr. Douglas Gross has been a Professor of Anatomy and Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, teaching both undergraduates and medical students at UC Davis. A practicing pediatrician at the UC Davis Medical Center, Dr. Gross also serves as Medical Director of the RIVER mobile pediatric clinic, bringing care to underserved communities. He is a member of CA-11, California’s federal Disaster Medical Assistance Team, ...

Dan Bartel is SVP and Chief Procurement Officer at American Airlines. In this role, he leads all corporate procurement teams, processes and strategy for American.Dan’s career spans nearly 30 years leading procurement, sourcing and supply chain management systems across several industries. Most recently, he served as Chief Procurement Officer of Schneider Electric, and, prior to that, he held various leadership roles at ABB Ltd., le...

Sai Zhou, Ph.D. is a researcher and entrepreneur specializing in next-generation wearable ultrasound technologies. His work has been widely published in Nature, and featured by many diverse major media outlets. Sai is the founder and CEO of CircuCare, a MedTech startup focused on commercializing wearable ultrasound innovations. Recognized for his impact at the intersection of biomedical engineering, healthcare, and entrepreneurship...

Tyler Mincey is a Co-founder and General Partner at Baukunst, a venture capital firm focused on investing at the intersection of technology and design. Previously a key member of the iPhone and iPod teams at Apple, a Partner at the digital product studio Fictive Kin, and part of the founding team at Pearl Automation, Mincey brings a seasoned career in product innovation and entrepreneurship. His experience building and scaling prod...

Michael Kubba is an executive leader in engineering, with over 15 years of experience driving innovation and operational projects across diverse industries. As COO at Fellow, he leads global engineering and operations teams overseeing supply chain, quality, and customer experience. Previously, Kubba was COO at Shaper Tools, and his career has spanned influential roles at companies like Google, Tesla, Apple, and Rockwell Collins. Cu...

Dr. Rose Yu is an Associate Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at UC San Diego. Her research focuses on machine learning for large-scale spatiotemporal data, with a strong interest in utilizing artificial intelligence for scientific discovery. She has received numerous honors, including the PECASE, DARPA Young Faculty Award, ECASE Award, NSF CAREER Award, Hellman Fellowship, as well as faculty awards from major tech comp...

In this week's LITE Talk, Tom Linton, former Chief Supply Chain Officer at Flex and co-author of “How Generative AI Improves Supply Chain Management,” published by Harvard Business Review, discusses how AI is transforming our supply chain industries!

Tom Linton is a globally respected supply chain and procurement expert, former Chief Supply Chain Officer at Flex, and co-author of insightful books: "Flow – How the Best Suppl...

Jimmy Anklesaria is a seasoned business leader and expert in supply chain cost management. He is the founder of Anklesaria Group, Inc., Salutec Holdings, and Anklesaria Solutions, Inc. Over his career, he has consulted for major companies such as Hewlett Packard, IBM, Shell Oil, and LG Electronics. He has taught finance and supply chain management at the University of San Diego and University of California, San Diego - Rady School ...

Dr. Damon N. Herr, a California native, has been a General Surgeon at Kaiser Permanente's Sacramento Medical Center since 2001, with a focus on breast surgery. He earned his Bachelor's in Psychology from San Jose State University and his M.D. from Howard University, followed by a General Surgery residency at Loma Linda University. He serves as Chair of the Multidisciplinary Breast Cancer Tumor Board and plays a key role in ...

Sean McCrary shared an insightful and grounded perspective on how generative AI is being applied to real business problems today. Blending humor, personal experience, and technical exploration, he emphasized the importance of context, collaboration, and specialization in deploying AI solutions. His presentation highlighted a pragmatic path forward using multi-agent systems, home-grown AI tools like Gene.AI, and even nature-inspired...

At a recent panel discussion, top experts from UC San Diego’s School of Global Policy and Strategy tackled one of the most urgent issues facing global business today: How do China, Mexico, and India fit into the evolving reshoring landscape amid geopolitical tension and economic uncertainty?

With Helen Wang as the moderator, the panel included Dr. Barry Naughton, Professor and So Kwan Lok Chair of Chinese International Affairs, reno...

In this video, Helen breaks down the key components of Emotional Intelligence with real-world examples and actionable frameworks, demonstrating how the integration of EQ into organizational culture can lead to even greater personal and professional success. As she wisely explains, "You can’t manage others if you can’t manage yourself." This talk is a powerful reminder that soft skills are indeed the necessary human skills...

In this timely and thought-provoking conversation, Tom Derry, CEO of the Institute for Supply Management, sits down with Caroline Freund, Dean of the School of Global Policy and Strategy at UC San Diego, to unpack the complex forces shaping today’s global economy.

From trade wars and tariff uncertainty to the rise of reshoring and the role of the U.S. dollar, this conversation covers it all. Dean Freund brings decades of experie...

Benjamin Lyon brings over 20 years of senior engineering experience spanning technology development, product commercialization, and large-scale program execution at leading global companies. He recently joined Archer to lead Engineering and Operations.

Prior to Archer, Benjamin served as Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Aptiv, where he led the global engineering organization of over 19,000 technologists across 1...