Business
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Dean Biersch Brewery executive This Gordon Biersch Brewing Company co-founder has taken his love of beer to wine country with his latest venture, Hopmonk Tavern. More... |
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Barry Braverman Theme park designer Life after SF State has been an excellent adventure for this teaching-credential recipient. He was the lead designer for California Adventure, one of Disney's newest theme park. |
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Gregory Fischbach Video game executive Video games were a slam-dunk for this one-time president of RCA Records International. He went on to start Acclaim Entertainment, Inc., the company responsible for bringing the top-selling NBA Jam to market. |
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Stephen Gillett Technology and business leader This former Starbucks CIO is putting his MBA to use as president of Best Buy Digital and executive vice president of Best Buy’s Global Business Services. |
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Andreas Glocker Tech executive After graduating with a degree in computer science, he founded Bay Area ISP Sirius Connections, top-rated for three years running before he sold it and founded Fastmetrics. |
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Mohan Gyani Telecommunications executive He set out to become a petroleum engineer but found his true calling in the business world. He played a key role in the IPO of AT&T Wireless and went on to serve as president and CEO of the company's Wireless Mobility Group. He is now vice chairman of Roamware’s Board of Directors. |
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Charles Hall Inventor When his master's project idea for a Jell-O chair flopped, he came up with the idea for a water-filled vinyl mattress. Still popular today, the waterbed is an indelible icon of the '70s. |
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Kishore Kripalani Restaurateur His new MBA in hand, he opened the Bay Area's first Gaylord India Restaurant on Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. The top-rated restaurant now has locations worldwide. More... |
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Chris Larsen Chairman and CEO In 1993 this E-Loan co-founder was instrumental in passing California's strong consumer financial privacy law. Today he is CEO of another online lender, Prosper.com. |
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Paula LeDuc Business and community leader After earning a master's degree in special education, she taught cooking classes at the Living Skills Center for the Visually Impaired before launching a second career, as head of Paula LeDuc Fine Catering. More... |
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Tom Lehner Automaker executive This political science grad, once chief of staff for a U.S. senator, says diverse backgrounds and competing interests at SF State prepared him for politics and public service. Today, as Toyota's VP for Government and Industry Affairs, he's putting his skills to work in the private sector. |
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Yvonne Lembi-Detert Hotel owner This owner of Personality Hotels on Union Square shocked her marketing professor in the 1970s by inviting a major developer mentioned in her textbook to speak to her class. More... |
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Stephen Lincoln Bakery owner/fitness instructor/actor The high-protein/low-carb cookies and brownies produced at his New York-based Protein Bakery are healthful as well as tasty, say fans including Oprah Winfrey. More... |
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Gilman Louie Partner, Alsop Louie Partners He was still finishing his bachelor's degree when he founded a successful computer-game company responsible for some of the biggest games on the market. Today, as a technology venture capitalist, he is helping other promising entrepreneurs develop their ideas. More... |
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Andrew Ly CEO The head of the thriving Sugar Bowl Bakery sharpened his business acumen at SF State, where he not only got a great education, but also met his future wife, Cindy, when the two were assigned to work together on a class project. More... |
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Kermit Lynch Wine merchant Saveur magazine named this English major among its 100 favorite food-related people in the United States. His popular Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant is located in Berkeley. |
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George Marcus Real estate broker The founder of the Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Brokerage Company has remained closely connected to his alma mater. In addition to lending support to the Modern Greek Studies program, he and his family created the International Center for the Arts at SF State with a generous gift. More... |
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Manny Mashouf Clothing retailer He founded bebe Inc. clothing line, the worldwide brand associated with chic, avant garde, sophisticated women including some of the biggest names in Hollywood. More... |
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Susan RoAne Best-selling author, keynote speaker At SF State she learned from forward-thinking faculty like Dr. Hallowitz. Today she gives people of all ages the tips and techniques they need to connect and communicate in a global business world. More... |
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Jeff Sand Industrial designer In 1994, this industrial design major co-founded Switch Snowboard Bindings, the first company to sell step-in binding for snowboards. His work has since led to more than 12 utility and design patents. More... |
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Jayshree Ullal Tech executive President and CEO of Arista Networks, this electrical engineering grad was named one of the "Top Ten Executives" at 2011’s VMWorld, the global conference for virtualization and cloud computing. More... |
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Stephen M. Wolf Airline executive Businessweek credited this SF State grad with helping pull U.S. Airways out of a nosedive after he came on board as CEO in 1996. He went on to become chairman of R. R. Donnelley & Sons, a Fortune 500 commercial printing company. |
