Gigi Johnson

Lecturer (Fall, 2011)
Ed.D., Educational Leadership and Change and Media Studies, Fielding Graduate University;
M.B.A. UCLA; B.A. Cinema-Television Production, University of Southern California
(626) 603-2420
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Gigi Johnson has taught digital marketing and branding for musicians and for music organizations in the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music since 2010. Until 2005, she was Executive Director of the Entertainment and Media Management Institute at the UCLA Anderson School of Management. She created both its Executive Media and Entertainment Program as well as its Certificate Program in Entertainment/Media Management for undergraduates. Previously she helped launch the Center for Management in the Information Economy and was Director of the school's Applied Management Research/Field Study Program.

Much of her work, both inside and outside of UCLA Anderson, focuses on technological change facing organizations. She consults and researches how leaders can positively impact technology change in their industries and within their organizations. She focuses much of her research and educational efforts around cultural industries, ranging from media to music to education. Her recent research explored narrative leadership within a non-profit educational organization: how leaders can affect technology-enhanced organizational change based on the routines and decision patterns within the organization.

Dr. Johnson continues that work through the Maremel Institute as its Executive Director. Maremel, a for-profit consulting and research firm, works with small and large media and educational organizations to help them execute new strategies, marketing partnerships, and organizational transitions. She teaches in international universities' cultural industry transformation classes, including at University of Navarra (Pamplona, Spain) and Higher Colleges of Technology (Abu Dhabi, UAE). She also runs Maremel Media, which has produced and distributed video and audio educational media content with various partners since 2004.

Dr. Johnson's corporate background includes being SVP/General Manager of two video-on-demand channels at Studio 4 Networks and SVP/Managing Director at Bank of America.  Most of a decade there was spent as a corporate banker in B of A's Entertainment/Media practice, focusing on entertainment conglomerates, movie studios, theatrical exhibition, radio and TV broadcast stations, publishing, cable television, theme parks, and wireless telecommunications. In addition, she has worked for leading advertising and public relations firms in media, as well as at a major studio in television finance.