Craig Ehrlich Explained

Craig Ehrlich
Birth Place:Los Angeles, California
Occupation:Private investor
Alma Mater:University of California, Los Angeles, Occidental College Coro Fellowship in Public Affairs
Boards:Chairman, Novare Technologies
Vice chairman, ISM
Lead independent director, Bharti Airtel
Board director and former chairman, GSM Association,
Business chair, UCLA Anderson School of Management Center for Global Management

Craig Ehrlich is an American private investor and entrepreneur, the former head of the GSM Association, a trade organization which represents 800 mobile operators in 220 countries. Ehrlich played a central role in the development of the Asian cable and telecom industry.[1] [2] [3]

Early life and education

Ehrlich was born in Los Angeles, to Marvin Ehrlich, a garment manufacturer, and Norma Ehrlich, a politically active community leader. Growing up with Asian friends, he became interested in Asian culture and as a student at Hamilton High School in West Los Angeles, he participated in an experimental Asian studies program and studied Japanese.[4] In 1973, Ehrlich began attending college at UCLA. In addition to his coursework, he worked full-time for Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley,[5] and served as student body president during his senior year.[6] Ehrlich graduated with a BA in political science from UCLA in 1978, and went on to earn a master's degree in urban studies at Occidental College and a postgraduate fellowship in public affairs from the Coro Foundation.[7]

Career

In 1980, Ehrlich was hired at Falcon Communications as the assistant to Falcon's founder and chairman, Marc Nathanson. He worked closely with Nathanson to build Falcon, and gained experience in key areas of the company's operation. Falcon grew from 20,000 to 600,000 subscribers over Ehrlich's tenure at the company.

Ehrlich moved to Hong Kong in 1987, after he was recruited to head Hutchison Cablevision, a subsidiary of Li Ka-shing's Hutchison Whampoa conglomerate. Hired to run the company after an expected $550 million franchise license was granted, Ehrlich was initially responsible for putting together the project's bid. While the license fell through,[8] Ehrlich's bid had included a proposal for a superstation to transmit all of Hutchison Cablevision's new programming via satellite throughout Asia. The idea gained the support of Richard Li, Li Ka-shing's son, and became the foundation for STAR TV, Asia's first satellite-delivered multi-channel television network. Ehrlich worked closely with Li as a founding member of the team that launched STAR,[9] [10] which was purchased by Rupert Murdoch for $871 million in 1993.[11] Ehrlich moved from Hutchison Cable to the telecom arm of the Hutchison Group in 1991; as group operations director, he was responsible for the company's operations in 10 countries in Europe and Asia.[12]

Ehrlich left the Hutchison Group in 1994 to become a private investor. Later that year, he started Cavite Cable, which became the first fiber optic cable company in the Philippines. Ehrlich sold the company in 1996, and shortly thereafter was recruited to develop and launch a new Hong Kong mobile phone service, SUNDAY. Described by The Economist as "one of Hong Kong's most innovative cellular providers",[13] the company went public in 2000, and was listed on NASDAQ and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.[14] Ehrlich retired from SUNDAY in 2003, and returned to private investment and entrepreneurship. Focused on software, media, and telecom, he invested in and/or served on boards for companies in the Philippines, India, Taiwan, and China. In 2005, he founded Novare Technologies, an onshoring and outsourcing software development company based in Hong Kong and the Philippines.

From 2002, when there were less than 1,000,000 mobile subscribers, through 2008, when there more than 4 billion, Ehrlich served as the chairman of the GSM Association. He is credited with restructuring GSMA from a Euro-centric standards body to a powerful global trade association. In a 2008 interview, Ehrlich said: "I wanted to change it to a proper world-class trade association that focuses on commercialization and strategy, rather than some Athenian democracy getting into the nitty-gritty of the technology."[15] [16]

Ehrlich is the board chair of UCLA Anderson's Center for Global Management, and is a member of UCLA/Peking University's Board of Directors. Ehrlich served as the chairman of the UCLA Foundation beginning in July 2020. The foundation oversees the endowments of more than $3.8 billion.[17]

Philanthropy

Ehrlich created the Norma J. Ehrlich Scholarship in honor of his mother; as of 2000, the scholarship had provided support for 80 women. Awarded annually, the scholarship recognizes women who were educated in the public school system of California and have been actively involved in their communities.[18] Additionally, he established the Craig Ehrlich Fellowship at the UCLA Anderson School for Management, which is awarded annually to two MBA candidates from mainland China, Hong Kong, or Taiwan. The scholarships are granted to students who are likely to utilize their UCLA education as well as their experience of American culture in their country of origin.[19] Since 2015, Ehrlich has been on the Executive Committee of the UCLA Foundation.

Personal

Ehrlich has lived in Hong Kong since 1987. He has a daughter, Leah, who was born in 2005.[20]

Ehrlich and also maintain homes in Manila and Santa Monica, California. The Santa Monica house, built in 2005, is noted for its sustainability.[21]

Advisory boards and affiliations

Organization Title Date
Novare Technologies
Hong Kong and Philippines
Chairman 2005–present
Bharti Airtel Limited
New Delhi, India
Board of director 2009–2021
GTI
Beijing
Chairman 2010–present
GSMA
London
Board of director 2002–2012
ISM
Manila, Philippines
Vice chairman 2002–2018
UCLA Anderson School of Management
Center for Global Management
UCLA Anderson School of Management
Los Angeles
Board chair
Board member
2010–2020
2021-present
ValuAccess Asia Limited
Hong Kong
Board of director 2013–2016
UCLA/Peking University
Beijing
Board of director 2010–2020
Carmel Ventures Asia
Hong Kong
Chairman 2009-2013
ITU Telecom
Geneva, Switzerland
Board of director 2009-2012
PhilWeb Corporation
Manila, Philippines
Chairman 2003-2013
kbro
Taiwan
Chairman 2003-2008
ECI Telecom
Tel Aviv
Board of director 2003-2008
GSMA
London
Chairman 2002-2008
Roamware
San Jose, CA
Board of director 2001-2008
UCLA Foundation
Los Angeles
Executive committee 2015–present
UCLA Foundation
Los Angeles
Chairman 2020–present
Lumos Global
Tel Aviv
Board of director 2017–2021

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Rao, Madanmohan and. Lunita Mendoza. Asia Unplugged: The Wireless and Mobile Media Boom in the Asia-Pacific (The Asia-Pacific Internet Handbook). February 1, 2005. SAGE Publications Pvt. Ltd. 978-0761932727. a comprehensive, detailed and insightful look at the wireless scenario in the Asia-Pacific. It charts the growth of the wireless ecosystem across the region, highlights the valuable lessons learned by the pioneers, and contextualises these themes with developments in other parts of the world..
  2. Web site: Ehrlich appointed Chairman of the GSM Association's CEO Interim Board. CNET. 1 September 2014. January 2, 2003.
  3. News: John. Van. Do multiple wireless systems cause chaos or create neutrality?. 1 September 2014. Chicago Tribune. September 17, 2007.
  4. News: Weber. Jonathan. THE Pacific: Wiring Hong Kong With a Bit of L.A.: Former UCLA Student Waits to See If He'll Run What Could Be World's Largest Cable System. 24 August 2014. Los Angeles Times. July 31, 1989.
  5. News: Cable Television. 118. 23 . 17–25 . Cable Television Business. 1986.
  6. News: Teller. Christina. Center of attention. 24 August 2014. Daily Bruin. May 10, 2000.
  7. News: Kwok, Ben and. Cui, Vivien. Sunday seems so far away for Ehrlich. 24 August 2014. South China Morning Post. January 20, 2003.
  8. News: Weber. Jonathan. Hong Kong Cable Bidding Is Upset: Group Including US West to Build World's Biggest System. 24 August 2014. Los Angeles Times. April 2, 1989.
  9. News: Yeung. Frederick. Unified standard seen linking mobile world. 24 August 2014. South China Morning Post. January 5, 2009. SCMP - gsma.
  10. The Rise and Rise of the Li Dynasty. 24 August 2014. Time. March 13, 2000.
  11. Web site: Bloomberg. Rupert Murdoch's Sons Give Investors Nepotism Anxiety. Bloomberg Businessweek. 24 August 2014.
  12. News: Ehrlich Goes Back to His Hutchison Roots. 24 August 2014. South China Morning Post. April 2004.
  13. News: From the print edition. Ring in the new. The Economist. 24 August 2014. October 7, 1999.
  14. News: Tech Guru Holds Hope for Sunday. 24 August 2014. South China Morning Post. August 20, 2000.
  15. News: Estopace. Eden. Spurring GSM growth. 24 August 2014. The Philippine Star. January 31, 2009.
  16. Web site: GSMA chief regrets roaming flap. Telecom Asia. 1 September 2014. November 20, 2008.
  17. Web site: The UCLA Foundation names new chair-elect.
  18. Web site: Helping Women Give Back To Their Communities. Norma J. Ehrlich Scholarship Fund. 25 August 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140105161045/http://www.normajehrlich.com/. 5 January 2014. dead.
  19. Web site: Named Fellowships. UCLA Anderson School of Management. 25 August 2014.
  20. News: Boone. Lisa. Santa Monica modern: Family guest house as livable sculpture. https://web.archive.org/web/20121021145755/http://articles.latimes.com/2012/sep/21/news/la-lh-john-friedman-alice-kimm-house-20120919. dead. October 21, 2012. 25 August 2014. Los Angeles Times. September 21, 2012.
  21. News: Thornburg. Barbara. Living Lightly. 25 August 2014. Los Angeles Times. September 25, 2005.