McCombs Alumni Network News

How did your educational experience change you?
I never had to study in high school, but that changed in college. The students around me were very bright, and I definitely had to study and be competitive. I think that changed my outlook on the future and gave me a stronger work ethic.

Out of the classroom, being part of Alpha Kappa Psi, the business fraternity, was one of the best experiences of college. To this day my best friends are from that group. They stood in my wedding party, and I am godfather to one of their children. It also prepared me for the professional world very well, which I didn’t necessarily realize at the time. We went on a lot of company visits and conducted our meetings very professionally, so that helped me in the job world.

I would say coming here also gave me a desire to always learn and feed my brain.

What career path did you take after graduation?
I started in public accounting with Arthur Andersen in Dallas and then Maxwell, Locke & Ritter in Austin. Getting back to Austin felt like getting back to my natural self, more relaxed. I eventually moved to the industry side and went to work at Dell as a financial analyst. But I started to get burned out and wanted to devote time to something I was more passionate about—employee retention. So I started my own event management  company called Eventerprise that focused on special events to help companies retain employees. It was going really well for a couple of years, until the dotcom bust, when budgets dried up for special events.

I then joined Applied Materials and shifted my focus to process improvement and inventory control. This gave me the chance to do what I had liked most about doing audits: understanding business operations and how that affects the numbers. After that I worked in business development and also served as director of operations for two smaller firms. My wife and I recently had a baby and moved to San Antonio, so now, after figuring out what I do and don’t want in a position, I’m taking some time to find just the right job.

What’s the most rewarding part of your work? The most challenging?
The most rewarding is seeing people that I manage grow and develop, get promoted. Even after working for different companies I’m in touch with them. The most challenging is learning how to work with a lot of different leadership styles while developing my own style. I’ve worked for so many different people, and it takes time to understand them, learn what makes them click. You have to find that equilibrium of when to stand up for something and when to follow while not losing yourself or your values.

What are you most proud of in your career so far?
When I was running Eventerprise, I organized an event at the Erwin Center that brought together people of different Christian faiths to celebrate the year 2000. We had to raise all the money for the event from churches of different denominations, which can be difficult. It was entirely volunteer-based, so I had to organize and recruit volunteers. Some people started raising church vs. state issues, since the event was taking place on state property. And then there was an ice storm on the night of the event! But in the end, we had 5,000 people from many different denominations attend and experience how other people worship and impact the community. It was very rewarding. For me, owning that company all led to that event.

Who do you look to as a business role model?
Earl Maxwell, the retired managing partner of Maxwell, Locke & Ritter. He really valued family, community and work-life balance. He even wrote a book on work-life balance while running a firm. I’ve always gone to him. I asked him for advice on serving the community, and he connected me with the Big Brothers Big Sisters Board of Directors, on which I served for three years. And I’m still a Big Brother today.
How have you stayed involved with the school as an alumnus?
I’ve always come back to McCombs to recruit interns and participate in mock interviews. I’ve spoken at PPA events. I joined the Alumni Network advisory board because I was on campus so often and decided I wanted to be involved more formally. When you look at alumni involvement in great business schools, we’re behind, so I’d like to change that, whether that means giving or mentoring. When a student or young alumni needs advice, I want the first thing they think of to be the McCombs Alumni Network.

I’m very proud to be a McCombs Longhorn grad because whenever you run into other McCombs grads, they’re always very well educated, accomplished and also respectful of other schools. I’m proud to hang my diploma on the wall wherever I’m working because I attribute my success to that degree.