THE BRIEF
News from the UNLV
Executive MBA Program
March/April 2018
In This Issue
Student Spotlight

Christine Deem - Cohort 16
Partner & Director of Marketing, Sunbelt Development & Realty Partners

Christine Deem (Cohort 16) hadn't committed to a career in business marketing when she applied for a job as a research assistant at Sunbelt Development & Realty Partners (SDRP) 11 years ago. In fact, she was well on her way to becoming a zoologist with a passion for wildlife conservation.
 
More than a decade later, the research assistant, turned SDRP partner and marketing director, still has a love for working with wildlife, but also finds an equally challenging and satisfying interest in the real estate and land development business sectors.
 
"I've been fortunate to work for an amazing company that gave me the flexibility to explore both passions," said Deem. During her years with SDRP, Deem took time off to utilize her zoology background as an intern with the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. and then a position with the Wildlife Conservation Society at the Bronx Zoo in New York City.
 
But two insights kept tugging at Deem's heart. "I began to realize I had developed an enthusiasm for a career in business," she said. She also recognized that the zoology positions she held didn't allow her to impact conservation in a significant way. "I learned that working through business and education, I could eventually make a more meaningful impact."
 
Eventually, Deem returned to Las Vegas and SDRP, where she now serves as marketing director.   A three-time UNLV Rebel, Deem is pursuing her Executive MBA on the same campus where she earned two undergraduate degrees in biology and political science.
 
Almost immediately after starting the 18-month UNLV EMBA program, Deem says she learned how to see the big picture, enabling her to make better operational decisions.
 
"The EM BA program is a completely different experience. I thought I knew what to expect but was very pleased by the quality of learning. I'm looking at school with an entirely different perspective," Deem said. "Rather than simply consuming the information, I'm immediately applying it at work. I've gained new perspectives and solutions for real-life problems."
   
Alumni Update
 
Allison Muhl - Cohort 6
CEO/Founder, Synergistic Healthcare Solutions, LLC 
 
"The UNLV Executive MBA experience gave me the entrepreneurial muscle to start my own business," said Allison Muhl (Cohort 6), CEO and founder of Synergistic Healthcare Solutions, LLC.
 
Launched in early 2018, Synergistic Healthcare Solutions, LLC (SHS) began as a personal quest by Muhl to solve the problems she saw first-hand throughout her healthcare industry career that inevitably effect patient care.
 
At its core, SHS is a medical device distribution and consulting company, which Muhl operates in association with an Arizona-based partner. The company works with established manufacturers but has a specialty in the identification and marketing of new technologies or relatively newer products that fall outside the "mainstream" of large biopharmaceutical companies. What really distinguishes SHS from the competition, however, relates to procurement within healthcare institutions, including public and private hospitals, clinics and the healthcare community.
 
"The procurement decision-making process within hospitals for high-cost and high-quality medical devices and services is usually compartmentalized and non-collaborative, which at times leads to poor decision making for the facilities as a whole. Key decision-makers are rarely taking into consideration the details needed to create the 'best-big-picture' decision to drive desired results. Often the different specialty departments find themselves stuck because of a lack of communication and too much 'in-the-box' thinking, which results in a fragmented agenda," said Muhl.
 
"This splintered process frequently results in a lose-lose-lose for the healthcare institution's financial health; physicians' ability to provide the care they deem appropriate; and most importantly, the patient's quality of care, which is then compounded by spiking insurance costs."
 
A master negotiator with a unique ability to not only identify with the needs and aspirations of each involved party, but also gain their genuine trust, Muhl is striving to turn that losing process into a win-win-win.
 
Muhl believes that medical device procurement is one of many elements in healthcare delivery that is poised for a long overdue transformation. "Providers are looking to upend how decisions are made and need help in breaking free from engrained systems and procedures," Muhl said.
 
To that end, Muhl can bring each decision-maker to the table, feeling heard and understood, build consensus and offer solutions that benefit everyone. "It requires lots of homework, commitment and knowledge to succeed in getting a diverse group of people to walk in each other's shoes," she said.
  
Read more 
Faculty FeatureFacultyFeature 
 
John Osborn, Assistant Dean External Relations, Lee Business School
EMBA 723 - Applied Strategic Marketing 
 
Behind every immediately recognizable and trusted household brand name is a marketing pro who has spent endless hours analyzing consumer behavior data, working with product development and sales teams, guiding creative efforts, producing realistic budgets and meeting insanely tight deadlines - all the while creating the next big-idea to help drive product demand. Just another day at the office for John Osborn who currently serves as the UNLV Lee Business School assistant dean for external relations and EMBA Applied Strategic Marketing instructor.
 
You'll know Osborn's work if you've ever purchased a Healthy Choice meal, Ore-Ida potatoes, Ocean Spray drinks or Dial soap. For more than three decades, he was an industry go-to guy for consumer packaged goods marketing and branding, rising through the ranks to hold executive positions with such internationally-prestigious companies as Con Agra Foods, Dial Corporation, Ocean Spray Cranberries, and Ore-Ida Foods.
 
After relocating multiple times throughout his career, Osborn wanted to come home to Las Vegas. In 1999, he accepted a vice president of marketing position with GES Exposition Services and in 2005 became chief marketing officer with Exhibitor Magazine Group.
 
Many Las Vegans know Osborn from his nine years as chief marketing officer with the Las Vegas Metro Chamber where he contributed to the organization's tremendous growth and influence, including a re-branding of the organization, Leadership Las Vegas expansion and the development of numerous new programs. It was during this time that Brent Hathaway, dean of the Lee Business School, asked Osborn to participate on a steering committee charged with developing a strategic plan for the UNLV Lee Business School (LEE).
 
In 2015, LEE began its search for an assistant dean of external relations and Osborn applied online, along with all other candidates.
 
"After completing the strategic plan, I wanted the opportunity to actually participate in its execution. Working at LEE is a chance to not only give back to the community, but also to have a positive impact on future generations," said Osborn. "I love coming to work every day surrounded by exceptional students from diverse backgrounds who are full of hopes and dreams."
 
As the business school's assistant dean for external relations, Osborn is actively establishing new partnerships with the Las Vegas business community while launching initiatives that help heighten the school's international brand and attract faculty and students.
 
Osborn is currently teaching EMBA 723 to Cohort 16. His Applied Strategic Marketing course, which requires students to assume the role of brand manager, shows students how businesses can reach consumers on a personal level. Supplementing an outstanding textbook, Osborn combines his own experience, insights from other industry experts and experiential learning. Through case studies and brand audit exercises, the course unpacks the key areas of brand management and examines the strategic process.
 
On The Move
Alumni Updates

Nicholas Berry
Cohort 11
CEO
Origin Acoustics
Christine Deem
Cohort 16
Partner & Director of Marketing
Sunbelt Development & Realty Partners
Amanda Klein
Cohort 12
Marketing Director, Individual and Exchange Business
Anthem, Inc.
Jill Sanbrotti
Cohort 16
Guest Experience Strategy Manager
MGM Resorts International
Events Events

LEE Business School Speaker Series: Dave Stangis
April 3
2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m.
UNLV Student Union,
Philip J. Cohen Theatre

Click here for more information
Dave Stangis, Vice President- Corporate Responsibility and Chief Sustainability Officer for Campbell Soup Company, will speak on the topic of "Sustainability 3.0: The Sustainable Enterprise at the Convergence of Purpose and Technology." Free admission.


UNLVino 2018
April 14
7 p.m. - 11 p.m.
Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, 888 W. Bonneville Ave.

Click here to purchase tickets
UNLVino, Las Vegas' longest running fundraiser, returns for its 44th year. This time around, all of the elements that attendees have come to love over the years will be packed into one incredible evening featuring an all-star line-up of wineries, spirits-makers, world-class champagne, Asian flare with a refined sake list, craft beers, and award-winning chefs and restaurants.Must be 21 or older. Ticket $150 online or $175 at the door.


UNLV LEE Business School 50 Years Celebration
May 4
5 p.m. - 7 p.m.
EMBA Suite, WRI C-304 and Frank & Estella Beam Hall
Join us in celebrating the past, present & future of LEE Business School. Stop by the EMBA suite between 4:30 pm - 6:00 pm to see the recent renovations.


Cohort 17 Welcome Luncheon
June 6
12 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
UNLV Student Union,
Room 208-A
EMBA faculty and alumni are invited to join us in welcoming the newest EMBA cohort. RSVP to  carissa.marquez@unlv.edu

EMBA Smiles EMBASmiles

We enjoyed a birthday celebration for Cohort 16's Vincent Veilleux.
Gregg Benson (Cohort 16) celebrated his special day with a delicious birthday cake.

Cohort 16 enjoyed their Halfway There Party at "Marriage Can Be Murder" where they learned the winning locations for their International Seminar. They are now anxiously awaiting their trip to Dublin, Ireland and Berlin, Germany planned for November.

It was a macaroons and mustache double celebration with birthday cakes for students Christine Deem and Nate Davenport of Cohort 16.

Several Cohort 16 students were in the Irish spirit and wore the lucky color green for Saint Patrick's Day.