Bullet train

Speeding on the training consolidation track is Knowledge Universe, a lot o f companies related to learning that have been hitched together like boxcar s. It was formed in 1996 by Mike Milken, his brother Lowell, and Oracle's L arry Ellison. This train is the express. Galagan talked with Tom Kalinske, former president of Mattel Toys (and revi ver of the Barbie brand) and now president of Knowledge Universe. For years , Kalinske and Milken contributed to each other's favorite children's chari ties and talked about doing something in education and interactive entertai nment. Finally, they got serious: They identified a bunch of potential mark et segments, picked some, and began acquiring companies. Ensconced in a Silicon Valley office park with light planes constantly land ing at the nearby regional airport, KU has been undertaking what Kalinske t erms "fairly rapid expansion." KU's vision is to be a provider of learning from cradle to grave. It hopes that if a customer has a positive experience with one of its companies, he or she will turn to another KU company for o ther products or services. One elemental subsidiary is KU's Interactive Stu dio. It's focusing on learning and technology, with the goal to create "an effective learning experience." Another project in the wings is an online u niversity. Galagan also talked with Wall Street analysts. One characterizes the concep t of tying together a number of disparate companies as "about 20 years ahea d of its time." But he also says that if the strong U.S. economy holds and consolidation among training suppliers and technology companies continues, the training industry will coalesce around a few key players. But if the ec onomy falters and consolidation comes to a halt, training via technology wo n't be very good.