Award-winning CEO with NASA and Fortune 100 experience, Dr. Santor Nishizaki returned to the CBE in 2013 as a professor.
Santor graduated from Cal State LA with a degree in Business and an option in Marketing. He went on to earn his MBA from Woodbury with a focus in entrepreneurship and a doctorate from Pepperdine University in Organizational Leadership where he wrote his dissertation on millennial work environment preferences.
Before returning to the CBE, Santor made a few stops along the way – from JPL to Walt Disney Imagineering and more. He told us, “I’ve sat on the board of a couple of nonprofits. I presented in a leadership conference in Australia. While living in China for a year and a half, I helped open Disneyland in Shanghai. I helped start a global leadership conference in Belize, which was a lot of fun.” With a wealth of knowledge and insights gathered from his experiences, he knew he had to share it by giving back to the very college that gave so much to him.
“I’ve always wanted to give back to the students and try to translate my experiences and my career into the classroom. I’m an alumnus of Cal State LA’s Marketing Department so Cal State LA definitely has a special place to me.”
He continued, “Seeing the students accomplish their goals, seeing how hard they work and watching them succeed is the most rewarding aspect of being a professor.”
Having been mentored by Dr. Jackson, Santor was inspired to pay it forward and is elated to be able to play a role in the students’ journeys.
Santor is also currently starting a podcast for first-time leaders and writing his own book. Stay tuned!