McCombs Alumni Network News

Tony Award-winner John Rando, BA ’83 and 2004 Outstanding Young Texas Ex, directs the hit New York musical comedy, The Toxic Avenger, with Producer Jean Cheever, MBA ’87. Rando and Cheever have brought the hilarious story of Toxie to life in New York City with fellow Texas alumnus, Fight Director David DeBesse, BA ’83.

The Toxic Avenger is a charming love story and laugh-out-loud musical that has it all — an unlikely hero, his beautiful girlfriend, a corrupt New Jersey mayor and two guys who play… well, everyone else. The New York Post says The Toxic Avenger is “hysterically funny!” and the New York Daily News says it has “all the laughs you want.”

The Toxic Avenger features music and lyrics by David Bryan (keyboardist and founding member of Bon Jovi) and book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro (I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change). Read More…

From Consultant, Coach and Speaker, Jonathan Sprinkles, BBA ’99

I almost lost it today.

Have you ever been so mad, you’re ready to go off on anyone, regardless of the consequences? That was me today.

Actually, this was the capstone in a couple weeks of really frustrating occurrences.

• I left my phone charger at home (again) and only had my car charger so I had to come outside and sit in the parking lot for two hours every time I needed to charge my phone.
• I’m not adjusting well to switching to a Blackberry (you’ve probably read my rants on Facebook).
• Several of my talks have been flat. I’ve gotten great reviews but I personally know I can do so much better. I take this very personally.
• Every time I try to sit down to get some work done, I fall asleep because I’m so tired from flying, driving or speaking every day.

In his book, The 7 Habits of Highly-Effective People, Stephen Covey talks about the concept of having an emotional bank account. Mine was on Insufficient Funds. Even the slightest thing was liable to set me off.

Read More…

The McCombs School of Business inducted three alumni into the Hall of Fame on Friday, Nov. 6: James R. Huffines, BBA ’73 (below left), Joel V. Staff, BBA ’67 (below middle) and Elizabeth Henke Yant, BBA ’77, MPA ’78 (below right). The highest honor bestowed by the school, the Hall of Fame Award recognizes individuals who have made outstanding professional contributions to the business community and who, by their exemplary civic, philanthropic and educational activities, have advanced humanity. Read more.

Along with the three Hall of Fame inductees, the school acknowledged two alumni with the Rising Star Award: M. Christina Clayton, BBA ’02 (below left) and Gregory H. Johnson, MBA ’05 (below right). This award is presented to alumni no further than ten years from graduation who have been successful professionally and have helped strengthen the McCombs Alumni Network. Read more.

  

Visit the McCombs Job Board to search, post and apply for these and other jobs.

• Associate Brand Manager, Dr Pepper Snapple Group – Plano, TX
• Accounting Supervisor, UT Health Science Center at Houston – Houston, TX
• Accounting -Mgmt./Planning, ICAP North America – Jersey City,  NJ

If you need your UT EID to access the Job Board, please contact the alumni office. If you have forgotten your password but know your UT EID, visit the UT EID Self-Service Tools and click “Find/Reset My Password,” or you may contact the ITS Help Desk at (512) 475-9400.

“Energized lectures” and discussions, led by master storyteller, business history enthusiast, and founder of Hoover’s Business Information service,

Gary Hoover
Entrepreneur-in-Residence, the Herb Kelleher Center

Upcoming Presentations:
5:30PM - complimentary appetizers and cash bar
6:00PM - lecture followed by discussion

Wednesday, December 2
Big Screen: How a handful of immigrants created the movie industry.

Wednesday, January 27
Flying High: The creation and development of the modern airline industry by visionary pioneers. Read More…

McCombs VIP Speaker Series - Michael  S. Dell, Chairman of the Board and CEO, Dell
When: November 11, 5:00-6:00 p.m.
Where: AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center, Ballroom

Click here to RSVP.

Each semester Dean Tom Gilligan hosts an informal conversation with 3-4 keynote “C-Level” speakers from major U.S. corporations. Guest speakers discuss their background, career, corporation, and give advice to students to help them succeed in their future careers. The event consists of an informal interview session followed by an open floor question and answer. The average audience is 200-400 students, primarily undergraduate business students. This event is open to all University of Texas at Austin students and staff, as well as the general public. The series is organized and sponsored by the Undergraduate Business Council.

Click here for more information on Michael Dell and save the date for future VIP speakers:

• Doug Ulman, President, Lance Armstrong Foundation, February 4
• Roy Spence Founder, GSD&M Idea City, February 23

Click here for additional details and information on upcoming speakers.

Lance Loeffler, MBA ’04 is a director at UBS Investment Bank in Houston. Since graduation he has remained very involved with the McCombs Alumni Network; he is co-president of his graduating class and served on the five-year reunion planning committee.

In addition to his work with McCombs, Loeffler is also a member of the 1883 Council and the Cockrell School of Engineering Development Board. The 1883 Council works with the development office to develop future generations of alumni leaders through education and involvement.

 
Who were your favorite teachers at McCombs?

Some of my best memories are from the core finance class with Jay Hartzell. Also, particularly for what I do today in investment banking Andres Almazan was one of the teachers that really stuck out. The topics that he covered in advanced corporate are some of what we do day-in and day-out in investment banking.

Read More…

From McCombs Director of Communications David Wenger and ID University

Professor Herb Miller invited Eddie Lucio III to McCombs this week to talk to his Foundations of Marketing class, and students were treated to a slice of Texas politics, the realities of launching a new clothing line, and some straight talk on getting ahead in life. They should have been taking careful notes, as Lucio was on a roll.

Eddie Lucio III is a member of the Texas House of Representatives (38th District) and a business school graduate from the McCombs School (’01). He also received his law degree at UT Austin (’05). Eddie’s father, Eddie Lucio Jr. is a member of the Texas Senate.

Miller opened the session by noting that the topic of the class was promotion, and how to market yourself to be successful. “You learn to get to know people and engage with people to be successful,” he said. “Promoting, marketing and networking for the common good with people who can help you. Building a relationship, networking not to get anything, but to give. And the more you give the more you get.”

Lucio began by recounting his early years growing up with politics.

“I grew up with politics in my family and I hated it,” he said. “Dad was away a lot, and Mom had to raise the kids. It was tough. But while I was at UT law school there was an issue regarding tuition deregulation. I got involved in that, got a taste for advocacy and got it in my system.”

Read More…

By Gregory Rutzen, Office of Institutional Advancement

While Congress spent another day immersed in debates on healthcare reform, leaders in the Texas Medical Center participated in a panel discussion, sharing their visions for healthcare coverage and how to pay for it.

The Nov. 3 event at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston was presented in conjunction with The University of Texas McCombs School of Business. Kevin Dillon, M.B.A., UT Health Science Center at Houston executive vice president and chief operating and financial officer, moderated the panel discussion at the Beth Robertson Auditorium of The Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine for the Prevention of Human Diseases (IMM).

Panelists were Thomas R. Cole, Ph.D., The John P. McGovern, M.D. Center for Health, Humanities and the Human Spirit at UT Medical School at Houston; Leon J. Leach, M.B.A., The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center; Osama Mikhail, Ph.D., The University of Texas School of Public Health at Houston; and Pauline Vaillancourt Rosenau, Ph.D., UT School of Public Health.

Read More…

From McCombs Today

“A felony is forever. That’s not a legacy to leave to anybody.”

Harvin C. Moore III (right) gave a speech on ethics Nov. 4 to Urton Anderson and Janet Dukerich’s undergraduate studies class, Organizational Corruption and Organizational Control.

At first glance, Moore looks like the picture of success. He earned a law degree from UT Austin and went to work for a law firm in Houston, where he had a “Midas touch” for putting together lucrative business deals. His real estate developments were valued at $250 million and he co-owned a savings and loan business with more than $400 million in assets.

It wasn’t until Moore took off his jacket and put on the prison badge he wore during his 2-year sentence in federal prison that students realized that this wasn’t going to be like any ethics speech they had heard before.

Moore was in business during the collapse of both the oil and gas industry and the real estate market in the four oil and gas states - Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma and Louisiana. That collapse caused all of his personal business to fail and left him with only the savings and loan institution, which he believed to be in excellent health. Read More…