Advanced Negotiation Skills: Power and Influence

Jim Olson serves as Lecturer at UC Davis Graduate School of Management while leading WestShore Management Group, which he founded in 2007 to provide executive consulting services. After earning his BSEE from UC Davis and MSEE/MBA from Santa Clara University, he built an extraordinary career in technology leadership spanning over three decades. As CEO of SkyStream Networks for nine years, he led the company to a profitable leadership position in IP video head-end equipment, raising capital from top venture firms and ultimately orchestrating its successful acquisition by Tandberg Television. His earlier career included 22 years at Hewlett-Packard, where he transformed the Stanford Park Division into the Video Communications Division, and senior leadership at 3Com Corporation. At UC Davis, he serves as a distinguished lecturer teaching Negotiations, Teams and Technology, and Technology Management, earning Teacher of the Year honors in 2016. His leadership success has been featured in multiple business management books and media outlets, while his expertise extends to guest lecturing at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business on leadership and entrepreneurship. As the 2013 Robert A. Fox Executive-in-Residence at UC Davis, he continues to bridge practical business leadership with academic excellence while maintaining an active role as an angel investor in technology ventures.