Ryan Breuckner (BBA ’07 and MBA ’13) is COO of Exodus Intelligence.
Ryan Brueckner (BBA ’07 and MBA ’13), COO of Exodus Intelligence, is using all the skills he learned as a student in his current career, saying that McCombs honed his leadership and storytelling abilities. As commencement approaches, he reflects on his time as a student, a memorable conversation with Red McCombs, advice for the next generation of Longhorns, and plans for his upcoming 10-year MBA reunion.
Q: Where are you originally from?
RB: I was born and raised in Scottsdale, AZ aka “The Most Livable City.”
Q: What brought you to UT Austin?
RB: When looking for colleges my criteria was pretty simple. I wanted to go out of state, maintain a warm climate (having family from the Midwest will do that to you), go to a school with great athletics and academics (specifically a well-recognized business school), and have what I can only describe as a ‘college feel’. Texas checked all those boxes and more.
When the time came to explore MBA programs, my criteria had shifted a bit. I wanted to attend a program that had opportunity geared towards Venture Capital / Entrepreneurships, a program with well-regarded career services, job opportunities I would otherwise not have exposure to, and an incredible business school alumni base.
Q: Tell us what an impact being a McCombs grad has had on your life?
RB: Carrying the McCombs alumni designation has been absolutely incredible. I have had job opportunities and interviews with people I would have otherwise never had. Following my MBA, I was fortunate to spend nearly nine years at Deloitte Consulting, which is a huge employer of McCombs graduates.
The alumni connection at the firm instantaneously provided a support group to lean on and learn from throughout my career. Many of the clients I also served walked the halls of the McCombs School of Business, and having that simple connection worked wonders in terms of relationship building and camaraderie. I was also fortunate to lead Texas MBA recruiting for a number of years at Deloitte, allowing me to reconnect with students and faculty.
On a more personal note, McCombs does an exceptional job recruiting really well-rounded students. (They tend to be) smart with a strong work ethic, collaborative, and, do I dare say, social. This reputation naturally attracts opportunities, and I feel as though McCombs did a great job helping me build on these strengths.
Q: Share a lasting memory of your time at McCombs.
RB: During my time as an MBA student at McCombs I served as class president for the class of 2013. One of my initiatives was to launch an alumni speaker series with notable alums that have risen to great achievement and are filled with advice and wisdom that can be shared with current students.
When selecting who our first ‘fireside chat’ would be with, Red McCombs was a natural choice. For nearly two hours, I interviewed Mr. McCombs one-on-one in front of a group of students. The next day, Red called me, thanked me for inviting him to interview, and extended an offer to reach out to him at any point for anything at all. It’s not every day you get to interview and have a follow up call with the person whose name happens to be on your diploma. That has to rank at the top of my McCombs lasting memory list.
Q: Your 10-year MBA reunion is coming up. Tell us about the plans you are making to commemorate this incredible event.
RB: Yes! Our reunion will take place Sept 29 – 30. The program office has been wonderful in coordinating an alumni conference and reception on Friday, followed by a Saturday tailgate prior to the game on Saturday. People are certainly busy with life, but our class seems enthusiastic about attending and possibly hosting a small get together downtown at some point during the weekend.
Q: Commencement is right around the corner. What advice would you give the upcoming graduating class about being a McCombs alumnus?
RB: Determine what you are truly passionate about. Time is our most precious commodity, and even if you don’t find the exact answer, having a direction is better than none at all. Once you find it (or think you’ve found it), never be bashful reaching out to alumni for help.
You quickly realize that all of us, regardless of graduating class, are constantly evolving and changing the ways we think, our interests, AND our passions. You are one interaction away from finding someone who either has been in your shoes, is in your shoes, or knows someone in your shoes. Our network is vast, and I feel like I just started to truly appreciate how thoughtful our alumni group is.
Q: What are you doing now with your career?
RB: I now serve as the Chief Operating Officer at an Austin-based company called Exodus Intelligence. Exodus provides Government and Enterprise with the unique ability to understand, prepare, and defend against the ever-changing landscape of Cyber Security. By providing customers with actionable vulnerability intelligence, including deep vulnerability analysis, detection and mitigation guidance, and tooling to test defenses, Exodus customers receive leading-edge insights to harden their network and/or achieve mission success.
Exodus has been around for 11 years and is a perfect fit for me at this stage of my career. I can bring learnings from my management consultant days, my background in entrepreneurship and Venture Capital, my patriotism for the United States, and my desire to dive deep in a rapidly growing industry. After years on the road, calling Austin home is certainly a plus as well.
Q: Share your life and career ambitions and how McCombs has prepared you to achieve them.
Ryan met his wife while a student at UT.
RB: It should be noted first and foremost that my wife and I met and were classmates at McCombs. She would argue I wouldn’t be where I am today without her copious note-taking skills as an undergraduate – and she’d be correct. We have two beautiful children and currently reside in Lakeway just outside of Austin.
From a career perspective, I have tried to find myself in leadership positions to influence direction and strategy, plain and simple. In my McCombs undergraduate days, I served as Sig Ep president which actually turned out to be a great crash course in the early days of what ‘leadership’ is.
In business school, I was part of the Venture Fellow community and was placed at a VC fund in town, again, helping to influence decisions and strategy. I leveraged career services in a meaningful way, and interned at Intel and then found my way to Deloitte. I always joke with people that consultants are professional storytellers backed by information and data, and to be a good storyteller, you have to have the proper skills. McCombs gave me that.
While on campus, McCombs gave me endless opportunities to interview, intern, present, debate, and refine my story and messaging. Off campus, I have put these fundamentals into action and are constantly improving upon them each day.
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