The CMC Way: Entrepreneurship, Creativity, and Following Your Own Path
Matt Pyken ’83 moved to Washington, D.C. after graduation from Claremont McKenna College to begin what he thought would be a long career as a political consultant, White House speechwriter, and campaign manager.
He soon returned to Los Angeles, to co-found a software company, where he co-created the hit video games “National Lampoon’s Blind Date,” and “Fox Hunt,” and after adapting the latter into a television pilot, Matt began a 30-year career in television as a writer and executive producer on a wide range of TV dramas—from the groundbreaking “Queer as Folk,” to the Emmy-winning Fox hit, “Empire,” to the critically acclaimed Golden Globe winning “Mr. Robot,” for which he also won the Writers Guild Award in 2016.
Datta Dave ’02 is the co-founder of Tulsea, a strategic talent and content management company which represents and advises India's leading content creators. Tulsea's clients work across platforms including motion pictures, television, new media, and publishing. The company is dedicated to identifying emerging creative talent that will be tomorrow's premier storytellers.
Tulsea's approach to its advisory services and talent management focuses on ensuring stakeholders across the value chain benefit equitably. Dave works with individual talent and corporate clients from a strategic perspective. He has deep relationships within the Indian and global entertainment industries, and advises several media and entertainment companies during various stages of their growth.
Prior to starting Tulsea, Dave was business manager to international filmmaker Shekhar Kapur. Previously, Dave was also a management and sales strategy consultant to various domestic and international corporations.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics-Accounting from Claremont McKenna College.
Matt Pyken and Datta Dave's Athenaeum event is co-sponsored by the Gould Center for Humanistic Studies at CMC.