Bruin Business and Leadership Summit: Building Community and Legacy

Doug Pak ’96:

Doug Pak is the Founder, Owner, and Chief Executive Officer of BLD Ventures, a family-owned holding company with investments across restaurants, franchise operations, real estate, entertainment, and technology. Founded in 2005 with no outside capital, BLD Ventures began as a food and beverage startup and grew under Doug’s leadership from zero to more than $200 million in annual revenue and over 5,000 employees within eight years. That growth earned him the Franchise Times MVP Award for Mega Growth Leadership.

Throughout his career, Doug has built, acquired, operated, and invested in businesses ranging from emerging ventures to established global restaurant brands – Papa John’s, Carl’s Jr./Hardee’s, Spaghetti Warehouse, Stir Crazy, and Flat Top Grill. He recently launched his own brand, Warehouse 72 Modern Restaurant & Bar and his latest venture is a new partnership with NFL star Maxx Crosby of the Las Vegas Raiders as well as investing in independent films.  

Doug also brings deep experience in corporate finance, capital formation, joint ventures, and lower-middle-market mergers and acquisitions. He has directly led transactions ranging from $10 million to $100 million in value. Earlier in his career, he co-founded a technology company backed by angel investment and research and development funding from the National Research Council of Canada.

A 1996 graduate of UCLA with a degree in Business and Economics, Doug has remained deeply connected to the university. He currently serves on two UCLA advisory boards and is a member of the UCLA Second Century Council. In 2022, he delivered the commencement address for the UCLA Department of Economics (www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MG1uv4_juw). That commitment to education and giving back is also reflected in the Pak Family Endowed Speaker Series at UCLA, scheduled to launch in 2027, as well as his broader support of educational institutions, charities, and nonprofit organizations. Before expanding his service at UCLA, Doug served on the Pepperdine University board for seven years. Doug is also a founding member of a Vistage CEO Advisory Chapter in Orange County and has served on the boards of several private companies and nonprofit organizations.

Doug lives in Newport Beach, California, with his wife and two children. Outside of business and philanthropy, he enjoys golf, travel, professional football, and journaling.

Meyer Luskin ’49:

Meyer Luskin, a visionary philanthropist and business leader, has served as the President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of Scope Industries since 1961, pioneering the recycling and repurposing of food waste products into animal feed. Under his leadership, the company became a model of sustainability.  He currently serves at the Treasurer for The California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy.

Beyond business, Mr. Luskin is celebrated for his philanthropy at UCLA. In 2011, he and his wife Renee donated $100 million to establish the Meyer and Renee Luskin School of Public Affairs, of which he serves as a Director, and the Luskin Conference Center. They have also supported initiatives in history, public policy and urban innovation. He was formerly chairman of the board of the Santa Monica – UCLA Medical Center and Orthopedic Hospital, Chairman of the Board of the Orthopedic Institute for Children (previously known as the Los Angeles Orthopedic Hospital, which is now the Luskin Orthopedic Institute for Children), a Director of the UCLA Foundation, and a Director of the Alliance for College-Ready Public Schools. Mr. Luskin is also the Founder of the Goodman/Luskin Center for Microbiome Research at UCLA. 

Mr. Luskin also serves as a Director of OSI Systems, Inc., a vertically integrated designer and manufacturer of specialized electronic systems and components for critical applications in homeland security, healthcare, defense and aerospace.

Mr. Luskin holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, and an MBA from Stanford University. 

Alice Kao ’01:

Alice Kao is the co-founder and CEO of Sender One Climbing. Sender One was founded in 2012 with a straightforward mission—to create inspiring spaces where people can discover themselves and connect with others…through climbing. Prior to joining the climbing industry, Alice had a successful career as an international sales and marketing executive for four separate toy companies and, prior to that, as an investment banker. She discovered climbing in 2008 while living and selling toys in London. Climbing guided her through tough personal times and sparked her closest friendships.

Alice graduated from UCLA in 2001 with a degree in International Economics. She is a member of the Entrepreneur Organization (EO) and Young Presidents Organization (YPO). She served on the board of USA Climbing, the National Governing Body of Climbing from 2023-24, and has been an advisory board member for Start Up UCLA since 2018. Alice resides in Torrance, CA with her husband Wes and their two daughters, Sydney and Adelaide.

Belinda Lau, EMBA ’20:

Belinda Lau is Co-Founder and CEO at ELIMS Oral Care, a WBENC-certified, women-founded sustainable oral care brand she built alongside her husband, Dr. Casey Lau, DDS (also a proud Bruin). She holds dual bachelor’s degrees in Biomedical Engineering and Materials Science Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University (’04) and an MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management (’20).

Before launching ELIMS, Belinda spent over 15 years at Medtronic, working across its spinal surgery and diabetes-adjacent businesses, and holds five U.S. patents from her engineering career. In 2026, she was named a Tory Burch Foundation Fellow in recognition of her work as a founder.

Of Chinese and Burmese descent, Belinda is an immigrant to the United States who grew up in Vancouver, Canada and Burma, before pursuing her education and career in the U.S. That multicultural upbringing continues to inform how she approaches product development and entrepreneurship.

John Kobara ’78:

John is the wildest American dream of his immigrant grandparents who came to this country with nothing.

John is a social entrepreneur, an author, a provocateur and a facilitator of change. An activist who still is trying to change the world and not grow up.

He headed to Los Angeles to earn degrees from UCLA, USC, Occidental College and a post-graduate Coro fellowship, igniting his 50-year love affair with the imperfect paradise of the City of Angels. Since graduating from UCLA, he had 18 jobs traversing every sector. His asymmetrical career taught him the great lessons of reflection, self-regulation, and re-generation that he shares with others.

John was EVP/COO of the California Community Foundation. Founding President of OnlineLearning.net, one of the earliest start-ups of online continuing higher education. President/CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles, CEO of the CK12 Foundation, Executive Director of the UCLA Alumni Association, Vice Chancellor of External Affairs at UCLA, and Vice President and General Manager of Falcon Cable Television.

His real development as a human being emerged from his philanthropic and volunteer work.

He is a prolific writer with more than 1000 blog posts. His popular Your Weekly Ass Kicker, and his new book Quest: 121 questions of liberation from the prison of self-domestication help leaders reflect on their self-development and moral alignment.

He is happily married with three amazing children and a grandson.

Misa Chien ’08:

Misa Chien is a UCLA alumna, serial entrepreneur, speaker, executive mindset coach, and Founder and CEO of The Authentic Asian, a global community for Asian female leaders.

Misa began her entrepreneurial journey as co-founder of Nom Nom Truck, an early leader in the gourmet food truck movement. The company competed in the inaugural season of Food Network’s The Great Food Truck Race, won every challenge except the finale, and earned Misa a place on Inc.’s 2011 30 Under 30 list. She later founded Autopilot Reviews, a customer feedback and employee training technology company.

Drawing on more than 15 years of experience building businesses and communities, Misa now helps founders and executives lead with greater authenticity, overcome the internal barriers that limit their growth, and build influence without losing themselves in the process. Through The Authentic Asian, she has created a trusted community where Asian female leaders can build meaningful relationships, navigate the realities of leadership, and feel less alone at the top.

Her work has been featured in Forbes, Inc., Bloomberg, and The New York Times, and she has spoken at TEDx and business events nationwide.

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