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BUSINESS NEWS UCLA PROFESSOR OF MECHANICAL AND AEROSPACE ENGINEERING GUNNED DOWN BY FORMER STUDENT The gunman who killed a UCLA professor before committing suicide on campus Wednesday [June 1] left behind a “kill list” and is suspected in the shooting death of a woman in Minnesota, authorities said. Mainak Sarkar, 38, a former doctoral student and Minnesota resident, left a list at his home in that state that included the names of the woman, UCLA professor William S. Klug and a second professor who is safe, LAPD Chief

Charlie Beck said Thursday [June 2]. Sarkar shot Klug multiple times in a small office in UCLA Engineering Building 4 before taking his own life, authorities said. Sarkar had accused Klug of stealing his computer code and giving it to someone else, according to police. Authorities declined to name the woman in Minnesota or a possible motive. On Thursday [June 2], police in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, strung crime scene tape around

a gray split-level home at 2457 Pearson Parkway. Public records listed the resident there as Ashley Hasti. When detectives arrived at Klug’s office on Wednesday [June 1] morning and found both bodies, they also found a note from Sarkar listing his home address in Minnesota and asking someone to “check on my cat.” “Immediately we were highly suspicious,” Beck told The Times . “That made me uneasy about what we would find when we got to Minnesota.” — Los Angeles Times

and better able to make sound business decisions. One critical requirement for any diversification opportunity is that it strengthens the foundation we built. To meet that requirement, we: ❚ ❚ Stick to what we do best. This means surveying and engi- neering, our core services. Though we are multi-disciplined, our specialty services complement our core services. Aerial mapping and LiDAR, GIS mapping, electrical engineering, transportation and traffic, and water resources are surveying and engineering specialties that expand our capabilities and add significant value to our projects. Specialty services like land planning or environmental services increase our oppor- tunities to bring in new clients and additional surveying and engineering services. ❚ ❚ Serve only those who we can provide the most value. The markets we enter are those that need what we do best. It seems like a no-brainer, however, when market opportunities run low and companies get into survival mode, it is easy to be reactive, chase shiny objects, and get into markets where we don’t really belong. We’ve learned this from experience and know that the investment of time and money often exceeds the return. “We focus on our greatest opportunity to best serve our clients, while developing our people and growing our business.” Westwood continues to diversify with expansion into regions that are aligned with our markets and services and enables us to provide a more stable working environment for our staff. We focus on our greatest opportunity to best serve our clients, while developing our people and growing our business. PAUL GREENHAGEN is president and CEO of Westwood Professional Services. Contact him at paul.greenhagen@westwoodps.com. “We strive for a diverse skill-set in our staff. A diverse skill-set enables scalability. When work slows, we can keep our people busy if they can easily shift from one market to another.”

PAUL GREENHAGEN, from page 9

and, most importantly, fit our business model, may be worth a deeper look; especially if the market is one that fills a void. Back in 2006, when residential and commercial development began its decline, wind energy really took off. Westwood en- tered wind energy back in 1997, so we were well positioned to benefit from wind’s upward swing. Diversification into wind and other markets were key to surviving the decrease in land development during this extended period. ❚ ❚ We focus on steady workload throughout the year. Westwood was born in a climate where cold weather could greatly impact workload. By diversifying into new geographic markets, our growing national clientele presents project op- portunities year round. Now, when it is 20 below zero in Min- nesota and construction comes to a halt, steady workload can be found on projects around the country. National expansion has also attracted top talent to our team, which is the root of Westwood’s success; better people, better results. “Westwood continues to diversify with expansion into regions that are aligned with our markets and services and enables us to provide a more stable working environment for our staff.” ❚ ❚ We strive for a diverse skill-set in our staff. A diverse skill-set enables scalability. When work slows, we can keep our people busy if they can easily shift from one market to another. Many of our surveyors, engineers, and other profes- sional staff have been trained and are experienced working in multiple markets that we serve. We invest in, and prepare staff for, economic downturns by providing opportunities for cross-training. As a result, our people are highly skilled, can easily transition, and feel more secure. As for Westwood, we retain more staff, enhance our workplace, and deliver better results. Having shared this insight, I should note that we first made sure we had a foundation to build on before implementing our diversification strategy. Without strategic alignment of our staff, a clear corporate vision, and a solid understanding of why we are in business in the first place, we would not have been successful. Westwood first established much needed boundaries, guiding principles, and clear strategies that help keep us focused

THE ZWEIG LETTER June 20, 2016, ISSUE 1157

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