A full house of graduate students, professors, business leaders
and fans gathered to hear national celebrity Kelly Perdew speak on
his experiences on Donald Trump’s hit television show
“The Apprentice II” Wednesday at Korn Hall in the UCLA
Anderson School of Management.
Last December, after 15 weeks of arduous business challenges,
Perdew, who graduated from the Anderson School in 1996, was named
as “The Apprentice” out of 18 contestants. He described
his work with Trump on various business ventures such as
“Trump Ice,” which produces bottled water, and
“Trump Tower Tampa” in downtown Tampa, Fla., a $220
million condominium development. But Perdew declined to comment on
Trump’s hairstyle.
During the talk, Perdew encouraged the business students in the
audience to use all the tools that Anderson offers them.
Perdew was expected to “talk about his experience on
“˜The Apprentice'” as well as “what types of
skills from his MBA (he) found valuable,” explained Richard
Rodner, associate dean of the Anderson School.
Perdew especially emphasized the importance of networking to
become successful in the business community.
“When I think of Anderson, I think of team
building,” Perdew said. He told students to go out each week
and try to meet two new Anderson graduates, and by diploma time,
the students would have more than enough business contacts.
“Increase your network base,” he repeated adamantly.
By making more contacts, students may have an easier time finding a
job in today’s competitive workforce, he said.
Perdew said the classes he took at Anderson were essential
because he used them to create business plans that were critical to
his success before, during and after his 18-week job interview that
was “The Apprentice.”
He also explained that he has spent much time involved in
technology and Internet ventures, but offered a small tip to
entrepreneurs by saying that “long-term wealth comes from
real estate.”
Having a celebrity like Perdew in Los Angeles may not be
uncommon, but most celebrities cannot claim graduation from West
Point, the UCLA School of Law and the UCLA Anderson School of
Management.
In addition to being a military intelligence officer, Perdew
also claims the titles of entrepreneur, corporate executive officer
and founder and president of various companies. After graduating
from UCLA, Perdew went on to spend more than a decade absorbed in
the business arena. He worked for large businesses, started his
own, many of which were technology based, and also did consulting
work.
“I owe a significant amount of where I am to
Anderson,” he continued. “The reason I got on
“˜The Apprentice’ is because of Anderson.”