Marketing whiz Jim Stengel has always been a Bruin at heart.
“When I was a small kid growing up in Philadelphia, I used to watch UCLA sports on TV whenever they were on,” Stengel said. “Back then, the UCLA brand was so iconic.”
Stengel, who worked at Proctor and Gamble for 25 years and served as the company’s global marketing officer for the last seven years, knows brands better than most.
Now an incoming adjunct professor at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, he will work with UCLA Communications to strengthen the university’s public image.
“(Stengel) is considered the premier branding expert in the world, having led an $8 billion dollar marketing organization,” said Judy Olian, the dean of the Anderson School. “I’m very excited that we were able to attract him among all the leading business schools in the country that frankly wanted him.”
This fall, Stengel will also teach a course on branding and marketing, alongside associate professor Sanjay Sood.
The course will blend traditional academic theories with Stengel’s personal knowledge and experience from his time at Proctor and Gamble, Sood said.
Sood said he believes Stengel’s ability to communicate with others and lead from experience will make him a great teacher.
“When (Stengel) was managing teams at Proctor and Gamble, he turned around the fortunes of several brands, and it’s because people were inspired in him as a person,” he said.
Stengel said he decided to leave the corporate world for an academic position out of a desire to teach and inspire.
“It’s all about the students,” he said. “Brands and marketing need some new ideas and new leadership. I hope I can have a positive influence on the next generation of business leaders.”
That Stengel will be focusing his efforts on teaching UCLA students is no coincidence, he said. Bruin pride runs in the family.
His wife is a UCLA alumna, and his daughter is currently beginning her fourth year as an undergraduate student at UCLA.
“My son is a sophomore at Ohio State, and even he is a huge Bruin fan,” Stengel said.
Considering a position at the University of Southern California, which has a well-recognized business school, was out of the question.
“I would have been divorced if I had chosen USC,” he said, jokingly.
As a mentor, Stengel plans to challenge his students to think critically and ask questions, a strategy he said helped him rise up the ladder at Proctor and Gamble.
Despite the unstable economic climate, students should absolutely consider a career in business, he said.
“This is a time when people are open to new ideas and are willing to ask different questions,” he said.
For Stengel, the key to corporate success lies in restoring consumer confidence.
The most successful brands, he said, are those that connect with their customers and seek to have a larger, positive impact on the communities they serve.
Describing himself as a competitive person, Stengel said he has been engaged in a number of pursuits since leaving Proctor and Gamble.
Along with accepting a position at UCLA, he is writing a book about effective brand management. He sits on the board of the directors for Motorola and is also working as an outside consultant.
Despite the workload, Stengel said he finds time to follow through with other interests.
“I’m a real outdoors person. I love bicycling and tennis and skiing,” he said. “I rode a 100k bike race last weekend ““ the first one I’ve done.”
A huge tennis fan, Stengel said he plays as much as he can.
“We’ve had Roger Federer over for dinner,” he said.
He added, “But I haven’t played him. I wouldn’t last ten minutes against him.”