Kevin Johnson, MBA ’14 has recently accepted a promotion to partnership at Capstreet, a private equity firm in Houston. Kevin previously served on the board of HungerRush, and further garnered his experience with Brentwood Associates in Morgan Stanley’s investment banking division. Congratulations to Kevin!
Read more here.
Nick Long, MBA ’13 has recently accepted the position of Senior Vice President of the Employee Benefits Group at Alliant Insurance Services. Additionally, Nick serves as the Mayor of League City and is a member of the University of Texas Chancellor’s Committee. Congratulations to Nick!
Read more here.
Knowledge To Go: A Market Update with Sandy Leeds (Jan. 13, 2023)
Sandy discusses current events in the markets. He talks about the economy, the stock market, interest rates, the labor market, the Fed, and fiscal policy. It is a fast-moving discussion designed to get you up-to-speed with current events.
You can view the recording of this talk here, and the slides presented here.
Sandy Leeds is a professor of instruction in the Finance Department at McCombs and served a thirteen year term as president of The MBA Investment Fund, L.L.C. He teaches both graduate and undergraduate level courses, including Corporate Finance, Advanced Corporate Finance, Public Policy (Long-Term Issues in the Markets), Investments, Portfolio Management / Security Analysis, Money and Capital Markets, and Macroeconomics.
Please note: Alumni Network webinars must be viewed live to receive CPE credit. Watching the recording does not qualify for CPE credit.
Pierre V. Joseph, MPA 1994, was recently promoted to Global Head of Tax at Kenvue, part of the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies. He has been with Johnson & Johnson for over twenty years, where he previously worked as Vice President of Global Tax Reporting.
James Schellhase, MPA 81 has recently written an article featured in CPO Magazine. James has found success through multiple entrepreneurial pursuits and in his current venture, founding Breakthrough Solutions, which has also been included in the Fortune 50. Congratulations to James!
Read more here.
Jordan Waldrep, MBA ’04 has recently been appointed as the Chief Investment Officer, Trust and Wealth. Jordan accepted his position after a long standing history of success in the Finance sector, being a CFA charterholder with over 20 years of experience in the investment arena. Congratulations to Jordan!
Read more here.
Following a longstanding family tradition of excellence, Keith J. Asmussen, BBA 21, MPA ’22, post graduation has made a career pivot into becoming a jockey in the professional horse racing circuit. Keith holds a strong statistic of 7 wins from 65 career mounts and is made his Oaklawn Park debut this past December. Congratulations to Keith!
Read more here.
Dan Albaum’s (MBA ’87) latest book, The Impact Makers, highlights 82 market leaders’ tips for success.
When Dan Albaum (MBA ’87) graduated from Texas McCombs, he left with a new perspective on just what leadership in business means. He’s sharing that and other insights in his new book, The Impact Makers (Market Impact Press, 2022).
In it, he interviews 82 leaders from around the world who share their wisdom about what makes someone an effective “impact maker.” For Dan, he learned what he needed to know from his parents and McCombs.
“Growing up my parents instilled in me that helping others was paramount,” he said. “My McCombs experience took that a step further. Being there helped me realize that it’s about making a positive impact every day.”
The book, which is an extension of Albaum’s podcast, Market Impact Insights, takes an inside look at what inspires and drives impactful leaders. After it was all said and done, Albaum has boiled exceptional leadership down to six “universal truths,” he said.
“Through my conversations on my podcast and in writing this book, I’ve discovered that to be an effective leader, you must build vibrant cultures of innovation; develop authentic, trusted relationships; embrace diversity; leverage emerging data for better decision making; demonstrate leadership behaviors that generate exceptional results; and have an optimistic mindset,” he said. “And all of these can be developed for enhancing performance in small or large markets.”
The Impact Makers is available on Amazon and other online retailer sites.
But there is one key attribute that Albaum sees as key for future market leaders: a passion for servant leadership. This is the area, he says, that can make the largest impact for generations to come.
“Unlocking the greatest potential for leadership,” he says, “is about sharing power and removing obstacles for others to contribute even more to the organization.”
Throughout his career, however, it’s the enduring power of deep friendships and collaboration first experienced at McCombs that he says continues to impact his life. Learning from a diverse group of inspirational thinkers helped him see the world differently than when he first arrived.
“I developed life-long relationships while I was at McCombs,” he said. “I definitely benefitted from them and continue to do so.”
The Impact Makers is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other online retailers. You can stream his podcast on Apple Podcasts.
The Herb Kelleher Center hosts Entrepreneurship Live moderated by Dr. Luis Martins in Rowling Hall on October 3, 2019. Photo by Lauren Gerson.
What does a student do with a great idea when they lack the means or knowledge to take it to the next level? That’s the problem the Herb Kelleher Entrepreneurship Center (HKEC) sought to solve when it launched in 2001. Through its Forty Acres Founders Program, HKEC has connected students with the needed resources, mentorship, and guidance to see big ideas become reality.
Named for visionary Herb Kelleher, co-founder of Southwest Airlines, HKEC provides avenues for students to pitch and refine ideas meant to shape the future of the world. Through the Forty Acres Founders Program, undergraduates and graduates are given unprecedented access behind the curtain where they can study potential customers, improve their product and better position it for success in the marketplace
Madeleine Montgomery, Forty Acres Founders Scholar and 2022 pitch competition winner.
“The Forty Acres Founders Program has allowed me to build my academic background in entrepreneurship, talk to a variety of entrepreneurs, receive feedback on my startup’s progress, and find a strong community of fellow student entrepreneurs,” said Madeleine Montgomery, Forty Acres Founders Scholar and 2022 pitch competition winner.
Each Forty Acres Founders cohort is made up of 20 students from different colleges and schools across The University. A large part of the program’s success is the relationship between students and mentors. Over a ten-week period, mentors volunteer one hour per week to two student Founders offering guidance as students develop their ideas.
David Willson, Forty Acres Founders cohort ’22.
“Coaching up the skills and adding a fundamental backbone to the way we see the world of entrepreneurship is something that [the Forty Acres Founders Program] did for all of us. It was very important and imperative to our skillset,” said David Willson, Forty Acres Founders cohort ’22.
Each spring, Founders vie for an opportunity to pitch their ideas during the final pitch competition hoping to win up to $20,000 in grant funding.
“This program has such an open and inclusive environment. We all truly feel supported by our peers, mentors, and professor,” said Montgomery. “I feel much more confident to continue forward with my venture post-graduation after my participation in the Forty Acres Founders Program.”
To learn more about the Forty Acres Founders program’s engagement opportunities, please visit their website or contact Ali Arnold, Communications Specialist, for more information.
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