Christian Duncan ’03 did not learn his first math lessons in a classroom; it was at a hotel.
“My grandmother was one of the first Black women to own and operate a hotel near Union Square,” Duncan said. “An early childhood memory was ‘helping’ her balance the books every month — it was a great introduction to numbers and math.”
Duncan grew up in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, where his mother worked as an executive assistant at IBM and computers were part of everyday life at home. Then, a sixth-grade visit to relatives in Tennessee led him to NASA’s Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama. The experience sparked a lasting interest.
“My visit to Space Camp fueled my fascination with all things space, rockets and physical science,” Duncan said.
By eighth grade, Duncan had won $300 in a math competition sponsored by the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), introducing him to engineering as a discipline and a professional community that supported it.
The connection deepened in high school, when Duncan participated in a NASA summer apprenticeship program at Ames Research Center in the Bay Area. There, he worked on circuit diagrams and programmable logic controllers for wind vanes in the world’s largest wind tunnel. Among those mentoring him was Reginald King, an African American engineer who left a lasting impression.
When it came time for college, Duncan chose UCLA, drawn by the strength of its engineering program, in-state affordability and scholarship support, including the UCLA Ralph J. Bunche Alumni Scholarship and the UC Regents Scholarship. Just as important, he found community.
“I really felt like the students I met in the Center for Engineering Excellence in Diversity were like a tight-knit family,” he said. “They helped support one another’s success while also providing a safe space to grow as a college student of color.”
The curriculum was demanding, and one course in particular — Microwave and Wireless Design — left a lasting impression.
“This class really brought together some of the most challenging classes from electrical engineering in a very practical and theoretical way,” he said. “It taught me how to bring my intellect and creativity together.”
After graduating from UCLA in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, Duncan joined Verizon as a network engineer and planner, working first on maintaining wireline systems across Northern and Central California before helping roll out the company’s FiOS fiber-optic network. He later relocated to Verizon’s New Jersey headquarters, where he became a senior network planner and contributed to the company’s expansion into television services.
As his responsibilities grew, so did his curiosity about the decisions shaping the technologies he worked on.
“Studying electrical engineering at UCLA shaped the way I approach complex problems by instilling a high level of perseverance, ability to problem solve in a structured way and the cognizance that there are usually multiple ways to solve a problem,” said Christian Duncan.
“I was always asking ‘Why?’” he said. “‘Why are we launching fiber optics in this area versus that one?’ or ‘Why are we going with this vendor or technology for our next-generation switches versus another one?’”
Those questions echoed an earlier leadership experience at UCLA. During his senior year, Duncan held a national executive position with NSBE as chair of its western region, which encompassed chapters across 13 states. He said the role helped him understand the importance of business, strategy and leadership.
After attending a NSBE convention in Boston, Duncan visited a former UCLA classmate at Harvard Business School and sat in on an MBA lecture. Encouraged by the experience and other peers from UCLA engineering programs pursuing advanced degrees, he applied to and was accepted by Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management. He earned his MBA with the support of the Roy H. Park Leadership Program, a two-year, full-tuition fellowship.
Following Cornell, Duncan joined Accenture’s management consulting practice, specializing in strategy for communications, media and technology clients. What he initially expected to be a short stint turned into a near decadelong career, working with clients that included Disney and Comcast.
In 2018, Duncan returned to Verizon 15 years after his first job there. This time, he served as a director of strategic initiatives in the company’s corporate strategy office, where he helped shape enterprise-level decisions, working closely with senior leadership.
His engineering background has continued to inform how he approached strategy.
“Studying electrical engineering at UCLA shaped the way I approach complex problems by instilling a high level of perseverance, ability to problem solve in a structured way and the cognizance that there are usually multiple ways to solve a problem,” he said.
Exposure to emerging areas such as edge computing and fixed wireless access eventually pushed him toward cloud data, machine learning and artificial intelligence.
In May 2023, Duncan joined Teradata, a software company that provides cloud database and analytics-related software and services, as vice president of strategy. Based in Encino, Los Angeles, he leads a team focused on corporate strategy, performance metrics and customer insights that inform product and service development.
“I have a front seat to the AI revolution,” he said. “And I’m loving the opportunity to be involved in how that technology shapes the future for generations.”
Outside of work, Duncan’s life centers on family and community — as a husband, a father of three daughters, and an active member of his fraternity and church.
“I balance the demands of my role by having a strong team, setting clear boundaries and high expectations for myself, and keeping my faith,” he said.
Asked what is often overlooked in discussions of career success, Duncan pointed to timing and recognition.
“Career and life can’t just be about the end destinations,” he said. “It also has to be about the journey and who you bring along with you for the ride.”
The lessons Duncan describes trace back to his earliest experiences — sitting beside his grandmother as she balanced the books, and learning how numbers, responsibility and community work together to shape what’s possible.
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