USC Marshall School of Business

10/19/2026

Caroline Pereira, MBA ’17, joined USC Marshall’s Executive MBA program with a goal: to gain the skills and perspective needed to lead a major healthcare organization and create meaningful change.

Through Marshall’s multidisciplinary curriculum and the strength of the Trojan Family, Pereira developed the strategic foundation to navigate increasingly complex leadership roles. Today, as president of the Hoag Hospital Foundation, she leads philanthropic efforts supporting more than two million patient visits each year and recently helped open the Hoag Hospital Irvine Sun Family Campus.

For Pereira, the work is also deeply personal — shaped by the loss of her mother to cancer and, more recently, her 19-year-old son, Spencer. “I’m here because even if it’s a tiny little difference in one family’s life through research, through getting the best care, if I could do that in his honor, then that’s what I want to do.”

Read more: https://www.marshall.usc.edu/news/doing-more-hoag-foundation-president-caroline-pereira-on-philanthropy-executive-leadership-and-purpose-driven-work

10/17/2026

Can a human connection make AI influencers more persuasive?

New research led by USC Marshall Marketing Assistant Professor Luca Cascio Rizzo finds that when AI influencers are shown interacting with real people, they are perceived as more human, engaging, and trustworthy.

“Marketing has always been about building audience confidence through credibility and brand trust,” Cascio Rizzo said. “What’s new is that we’re now learning how to build it for personalities that aren’t even real.”

Read more:

New research led by USC Marshall’s Luca Cascio Rizzo finds that showing an AI influencer interacting with a real person makes it seem more human — and more trustworthy, engaging, and persuasive.

10/16/2026

USC Marshall’s Case Team won second place in the 2026 HKUST International Case Competition amongst 12 other teams from leading universities to solve real-world business challenges.

Students traveled to Hong Kong to compete in two rounds: a five-hour case for Cathay Pacific and a 24-hour case for HSBC. After winning their division in the HSBC case, the team advanced to the finals and presented its solution to a panel of five HSBC executives.

The USC Marshall Case Team consisted of senior Nicholas Luu, junior Kacie Hu, and sophomores Jade Marotta and Liron Saedi, who also received the Best Presenter Award.

10/13/2026

What does a week in the life of a Marshall MBA student really look like?

From classrooms to career conversations, student leadership to exploring LA, there’s no typical day at Marshall. Follow along with second-year MBA Maddie Gissler ’27 as she shares a behind-the-scenes look at one week in her Marshall MBA experience.

Read the full feature: https://www.marshall.usc.edu/news/a-week-in-the-life-of-a-marshall-mba-student

10/07/2026

What if AI came with a nutrition label?

Researchers from USC Marshall’s Neely Center for Ethical Leadership and Decision Making, MIT Media Lab, UC Berkeley Haas, and the Psychology of Technology Institute have co-developed ImpactBench — an open evaluation platform designed to measure how leading AI models may affect human wellbeing.

The results are translated into AI Nutrition Labels, giving people an accessible way to understand AI’s potential effects across psychological, physical, and social dimensions.

Learn more about the research and the effort to make AI’s impact on people easier to understand:
https://www.marshall.usc.edu/news/what-if-ai-came-with-a-nutrition-label-a-new-framework-measures-ais-impact-on-human-wellbeing

10/01/2026

For USC Marshall Full-Time MBA students, learning about global business meant experiencing it firsthand in Seoul and Hong Kong.

Through the PRIME program led by Professor Scott Abrams, students collaborated on real-world consulting projects and presented their recommendations to international executives. Along the way, they gained new perspectives on leadership, communication, and conducting business across cultures.

“Working in another market pushed me to adapt, stay curious, and see my own assumptions from a new angle,” said Reagan Seiler, a second-year MBA student. “I came home a more well-rounded person and a better future leader.”

Read more: https://www.marshall.usc.edu/news/prime-trip-gives-mba-students-chance-to-explore-media-industry-in-asia

09/25/2026

Start your MBA journey at USC Marshall – here are some tips from our graduate admissions team to help guide your application process!

The Full-Time MBA Round 1 application deadline is October 15, 2026.

Visit https://www.marshall.usc.edu/programs/graduate-programs/mba-programs/full-time-mba for more information on the program and how to apply.

09/25/2026

What makes a product “cool” — and does the answer change across cultures?

Gerard Tellis, professor emeritus of marketing at USC Marshall, found that consumers define coolness in two primary ways: through a product’s usefulness or the social status it conveys. The research offers global brands insight into how they can tailor products and marketing strategies for consumers in different markets.

“One type of cool refers to what a product signals about the owner’s status, while the other refers to the product’s utility.

Read more:

Research from USC Marshall decodes how a product becomes “cool” — and why the qualities that work in Ohio may flop in Shanghai.

09/16/2026

Career growth, Trojan Family, collaborative culture — hear from our newest MBA candidates on what makes USC Marshall’s Full-Time MBA Program different. ✌️

09/12/2026

Kaes Van’t Hof ‘08 went from competing for USC and playing pro tennis to CEO of Diamondback Energy, one of America’s largest independent energy companies.

Van’t Hof credits his USC Marshall and Leventhal education for providing the foundation and skills that guided him through an unexpected career path

“I wouldn’t be where I am without USC, without the athletic department, the business school. I think it’s part of an obligation to give back to something you care about,” said Van’t Hof.

Read more: https://www.marshall.usc.edu/news/diamondback-energy-ceo-kaes-vant-hof-reflects-on-tennis-accounting-and-unexpected-opportunities