Texas McCombs Alumni News

Month: August 2020

Class Note: Frank Garza, BBA/MPA ’03

August 28, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Vamos Marketing President Frank Garza, BBA/MPA ’03, earned industry certifications administered by the Promotional Products International Association (PPAI), the largest international not-for-profit association for more than 16,000 members of the $24-plus billion promotional products industry.

Frank Garza obtained the Certified Advertising Specialist (CAS) and the Master Advertising Specialist (MAS) certifications and is currently working towards the Master Advertising Specialist Plus (MAS+) certification.

PPAI certification demonstrates a commitment to both business excellence and continued professional growth. A relatively small percentage of professionals hold these certifications and are often the industry’s innovators and leaders. The MAS certification is only obtained by about one percent of industry professionals.

Read more here: PR – Certifications

Class Note: Karen Starns, BBA ’89

August 27, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Karen Starns,  BBA ’89 and Chief Marketing Officer of OJO Labs, has been named HousingWire’s 2020 HW Woman of Influence.

Congratulations to Karen! Read more here.

Class Note: Kevin Reichle, BBA ’00, MBA ’08

August 26, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Apogee, inc. has appointed Kevin Reichle, BBA ’00 and MBA ’08, as Chief Operations Officer. In this role, he will oversee daily business operations as well as drive strategy and strategic initiatives to ensure Apogee has the right operations, processes, teams, and resources to meet customer needs today and into the future.

Congratulations to Kevin! Read more here.

Class Note: Andrea Petro, MBA ’93

August 25, 2020 / / 0 Comments

BlackRock TCP Capital Corp. has appointed Andrea Petro, MBA ’93, as an independent director to its Board. She will also serve on the Audit Committee, Governance and Compensation Committee, and Joint Transactions Committee.

Congratulations to Andrea! Read more here.

Class Note: Jake Heffelfinger, MBA ’14

August 24, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Casoro Group, an award-winning multifamily-focused real estate investment firm with a mission to provide better homes for better lives, has named Jake Heffelfinger, MBA ’14, Vice President of Asset Management for the firm.

Congratulations Jake! Read more here.

The McCombs School of Business Announces New BBA Advisory Board Members and Executive Committee Leadership for Fall 2020

August 17, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Fall 2019 BBA Board Meeting

The McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin is pleased to announce the appointment of the following members to its BBA Advisory Board and 2020-21 BBA Executive Committee.

Veshal Arul Prakash, BBA ’20
New-Grad Product Manager, Dropbox
Seattle, WA

Devin Fletcher, BBA/MPA ’07
Chief Academic Officer, Tulsa Public Schools
Tulsa, OK

Kovid Gupta, BBA ’10
Head of Development, Vinod Chopra Films
Los Angeles, CA

James Jackson, BBA ’14
Senior Consultant, Deloitte Consulting
New York, NY

Cindy Lo, BBA ’98
CEO, Red Velvet Events, Inc.
Austin, TX

Scott Packman, BBA ’90, MBA ’91
EVP and General Counsel, Madison Square Garden Entertainment
New York, NY

Neha Patel, BBA/MPA ’03
Partner-in-Charge, IT Advisory Services, Weaver
Dallas, TX

Jennifer Wenzel, BBA ’04
Senior Investment Manager, Teacher Retirement System of Texas
Austin, TX

George Wommack, BBA ’06
President and CEO, Fortress Holdings
San Antonio, TX

The 2020-21 BBA Executive Committee:

Cameron Chandler, Chair
BBA ’83, Owner and President, Chandler Energy Resources, Dallas, TX

Terese Everson, Vice Chair
BBA ’96, Director, Focus Strategies, Austin, TX

Maria Garate, Past Chair
BBA ’98, HR Business Partner, HollyFrontier Corporation, Plano, TX

Mandy Price, Values Ambassador Chair
BBA ’03, JD ’06, Founder and CEO, Kanarys, Inc., Dallas, TX

The McCombs School would like to thank our new members and leaders for their service! We would like to especially recognize outgoing Chair Maria Garate, BBA ’98, for her leadership and our Past Chair John Briscoe, BBA ’81, for serving on the executive committee.

Additionally, the following members have been appointed for a second active term:

  • Brian Chou, BBA/MPA ’12
  • Amy Enrione, BBA ’16
  • Neal Golden, BA ’86
  • Whitney Mack, BBA ’08
  • Irene Puhala, BBA/MPA ’92
  • Ashley Smith (formerly Loney), BBA ’06

Phoebe Lin has been appointed for her first three-year term having served the previous year as the Rising Star representative.

View the full membership.

Lastly, we would like to thank our board members who are rolling off the board this year. Thank you for your time and service to the McCombs School!

  • Jim Allred, BBA ’86
  • David Hesser, BBA ’92
  • Michael Pappert, BBA ’79
  • Betty Salanic, BBA/BS ’08
  • Chuck Turet, BBA ’98, JD ’71

About the board:
The McCombs School of Business BBA Advisory Board was formed in 2008 to assist the dean, associate dean of undergraduate programs, faculty, and staff of the McCombs School of Business in achieving and maintaining “best of class” status for the BBA programs. This diverse group of individuals ensures the integrity of the BBA Advisory Board mission by supporting the strategy planning, curricula, external affairs, alumni engagement, fundraising efforts, and student placement. The Executive Committee receives rolling applications throughout the year with consideration for membership in the spring. The new members of the BBA Advisory Board begin their three-year terms the following September.

Career Webinar Recap: “The Interconnected Impact of Covid-19 on Real Estate and Energy”

August 6, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Covid-19 has impacted every aspect of society but energy and real estate are particularly interesting. For example, if businesses shift the location and footprint of their operations to accommodate work-from-home employees, will demand for commercial real estate decline? Will employees prefer to move to the suburbs to access more personal space for their families post-Covid? If employees are not commuting to work, will demand for gasoline decline but demand for diesel fuel to support deliveries remain stable? Together, employer and employee decisions on commuting or a flight to the suburbs may drastically shift economic activity and related property tax and sales tax dollars across (or from) specific municipalities and business districts. What would these demand shocks do to the profitability and business strategies of energy companies?

This panel covers these and other issues associated with the inter-connected impacts on energy and real estate as we transition to a post Covid-19 world. View the webinar recording!

Webinar Presenters:

Peter Ray – Vice President, Natural Gas Partners
Jesse Thompson – Senior Business Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Houston Branch
Brian Muecke – Partner, Intrinsic LP & Mayor, City of Hedwig Village, TX
Scott Krikorian – Senior Managing Director, Trammell Crow Company
Josh Sherman – Partner, Opportune LLP (Moderator)

This webinar was co-sponsored by the McCombs Energy Initiative and the McCombs Alumni Network.

Alumni Week 2020

Texas McCombs Virtual Alumni Week Recap

August 3, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Alumni Week 2020 offered alumni and the entire McCombs community many opportunities to engage online through webinars, chapter meet-ups on Zoom, and fun chances to win prizes. Over 1,000+ alumni registered for the week! Below you will find a recap of the week, including recordings of each session.

Alumni Orientation – watch the recording! 
Live presentation date: Monday, July 20, 2020
In this webinar, Texas McCombs Alumni Director Christine Burdell walks listeners through their benefits as graduates of the McCombs School. During her presentation, you will find helpful career sources on our website and LinkedIn as well as many places to connect with us online via social media and UT’s newest virtual community, HookedIn. She also explains engagement opportunities and walks viewers through events that are hosted for alumni by the school, both in person and online. Make sure you’re getting the most out of your degree by taking advantage of what is available to you as a Texas McCombs alumnus!

Atlanta Chapter Meet-Up – watch the recording!
Live presentation date: Tuesday, July 21, 6-7 p.m., ET
Speakers: Chapter Co-President George Connell, MBA ’01, Chapter Co-President Larry Patrick, MBA ’98, and MBA Advisory Board Member Peter Almond, MBA ’03. Moderated by McCombs Alumni Director Christine Burdell.

Austin Chapter Meet-Up – watch the recording!
Live presentation date: Thursday, July 23, 12-1 p.m., CT
Speakers: Chapter President Joey Martin, MBA ’18, and MBA Advisory Board Member Jim McMullan, MBA ’96. Moderated by McCombs Alumni Director Christine Burdell.

Brazil Chapter Meet-Up – watch the recording!
Live presentation date: Friday, July 24, 5-6 p.m., Brasilia (3 p.m., CT)
Speaker: Chapter President Mark Pinheiro, MSTC ’97, Luiz Eduardo Viotti, MBA ’99, and Jorge Leonel, MBA ’99.

Chicago Chapter Meet-Up – watch the recording!
Live presentation date: Wednesday, July 22, 6-7 p.m., CT
Speakers: Chapter President Kelsey Creed, MSF ’14, and Ryan Dean, MBA ’15. Moderated by McCombs Alumni Assistant Director Dan Cournoyer.

Dallas Chapter Meet-Up – watch the recording!
Live presentation date: Thursday, July 23, 5:30-6:30 p.m., CT
Speakers: Chapter President Laura Gram, MBA ’17, Travis Hemphill, MBA ’17, Eric Wang, MBA ’16, and Kaitlin Elledge, MBA ’16.

Denver Chapter Meet-Up – watch the recording!
Live presentation date: Wednesday, July 22, 7-8 p.m., MT
Speaker: Chapter Co-President Eric Fehr MBA ’12, Chapter Co-President Shiju Thomas, BBA ’07, Carlos Hill, MBA ’13.

Houston Chapter Meet-Up – watch the recording!
Live presentation date: Wednesday, July 22, 12-1 p.m., CT
Speakers: Chapter Co-President Laura Thomson, BBA ’08, and Chapter Co-President John Nash, BBA ’82, Chapter Co-president, and John Briscoe, BBA ’81. Moderated by McCombs Alumni Director Christine Burdell.

London Chapter Meet-Up – watch the recording!
Live presentation date: Tuesday, July 21, 6-7 p.m., UK (12 p.m., CT)
Speakers: MBA Advisory Board Member Varsha Dadlani, MBA ’13. Moderated by Chapter President Tom Li, BBA ’05.

Los Angeles Chapter Meet-Up – watch the recording!
Live presentation date: Thursday, July 23, 5-6 p.m., PDT
Speaker: BBA Advisory Board Member Danny Zoller, BBA ’90. Moderated by Chapter Co-President Rohith Ramesh, BBA ’95.

New York City Chapter Meet-Up – watch the recording! 
Live presentation date: Wednesday, July 22, 7:30-8:30 p.m., ET
Speakers: Chapter President James Jackson, BBA ’14, and Jake Foley, MPA ’88.

Philadelphia Chapter Meet-Up – watch the recording!
Live presentation date: Thursday, July 23, 6-7 p.m., ET
Speakers: Chapter President Guilherme Junqueira, MBA ’20. Moderated by McCombs Alumni Director Christine Burdell.

San Francisco Chapter Meet-Up – watch the recording!
Live presentation date: Tuesday, July 21, 4-5 p.m., PDT
Speakers: Chapter Co-President Egan Brown, MBA ’15, Ramya Ravi, MBA ’15, Claire Arthurs MBA ’15, David Marrero, MBA ’16, and MBA Advisory Board Member Ken Parekh, MBA ’87.

Washington, D.C. Chapter Meet-Up – watch the recording!
Live presentation date: Wednesday, July 22, 4-5 p.m., ET
Speakers: Chapter President Jeff Marusak, MBA ’08, and Sumeet Sharma, BBA ’16.

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