faculty

UCLA Anderson School of Management
Certificate Program in Sports Entertainment
and Media Management

July 21 - August 15, 2008

UCLA Sports Business, Marketing, and Management Faculty

Faculty

This program is designed and taught by Nelson Gayton, Executive Director and Lecturer, Entertainment and Media Management Institute, UCLA Anderson School of Management:

Nelson began his career with Electronic Data Systems, Inc. (EDS). Based in London, he was responsible for business development, including the execution of over $25 million in strategic alliances and acquisitions. Nelson later moved to New York to pursue a career as a merchant banker with the Hong Kong Shanghai Corporation. There, he managed a corporate finance team, originating and executing over $125 million of transactions in Latin American emerging markets. Nelson went on to establish Microtime Media, a UK-based sales and promotion agency dedicated to interactive advertising in the video game industry. Microtime was soon featured in the Wall Street Journal as one of the fastest growing, boutique advertising agencies in Europe. Nelson eventually sold his interest and took an ownership position in PolyMedia Communications – a producer of interactive multimedia entertainment software. Funded with venture capital and Los Angeles-based Philips Interactive Media of America, PolyMedia produced a number of software titles, including Megamaze and Bridge Baron - two of the most successful titles on the Compact Disc-Interactive platform; these titles were later migrated to CD-ROM and Macintosh platforms where they enjoyed comparable success.

Following a passion for the entertainment industry, Nelson was awarded an MPAA scholarship and went on to write and produce a number of award-winning short films and screenplays, including serving as Assistant to the CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment on the development and marketing of feature films like Last Action Hero, Legends of the Fall, and Wolf to name a few. In his role as Special Assistant to the Chairman and CEO, he was also responsible for exploring divisional synergy opportunities in filmed entertainment, television, music and computer and sports entertainment. Nelson's experience in the entertainment industry eventually led him to establish Crayon Venture Partners - a venture management firm with interests in entertainment, sports, technology and education. Today, he also serves as a faculty member of The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he teaches Media, Sports and Entertainment Marketing, as well as serving as a Founder and Managing Director of the School's Media & Entertainment Initiative. In addition, his consulting engagements and investments have included a host of blue-chip media, sports and entertainment related organizations, including Fox Sports, College Sports Television, the Field Generals, the Philadelphia Eagles, America Online and National Geographic.

Nelson holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School, an MFA in Film Production and Digital Media from UCLA Graduate School of Film & Television, and a BSM from Tulane University’s A.B. Freeman School of Business.