The McCombs Philadelphia, New York, and Washington, D.C. Chapters hosted an exciting event with McCombs Professor Julia Coronado. Listeners heard Professor Julia’s insightful thoughts on 2021’s economic outlook: “Is it a Light at the End of the Tunnel or a Train Heading Our Way?” Watch the recording.
Julia Coronado is founder of the economic research firm MacroPolicy Perspectives and a clinical associate professor at the McCombs School. Prior to starting MPP, Julia served as chief economist at the hedge fund Graham Capital Management and the global investment bank BNP Paribas, and as a senior economist at Barclays Capital. Julia received her BA in Economics from University of Illinois Urbana her Ph.D. from The University of Texas at Austin. After receiving her Ph.D., Julia worked as a staff economist at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in Washington, D.C. for eight years. Julia has represented the U.S. at OECD meetings on financial market issues and has testified before the US Congress on Social Security reform. She is a member of the Economic Advisory Panel of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Economic Studies Council at the Brookings Institution. Julia is also on the Board of Directors of Robert Half International and serves on the Advisory Boards of the Pension Research Council at the Wharton School and the Cleveland Fed’s Center for Inflation Research. She has previously served on the Board of the National Association of Business Economists and been president of the New York Association of Business Economists. Julia is a regular commentator in financial media, including CNBC, Bloomberg, Marketplace, and the Wall Street Journal.
In this webinar, Dr. Kumar focuses on how insights from behavioral research can help us understand phenomena we encounter in our day-to-day lives, and in doing so, serve to speak to actionable ways in which daily life can be improved. Staying socially connected is essential for achieving happiness and well-being more broadly, and this webinar helps participants leverage empirical evidence to enhance their everyday experience. Watch the recording!
More than 400 alumni registered to join our Virtual Homecoming Weekend! Hosted by the McCombs Alumni Network, the Alumni Business Conference featured 28 speakers and 6 panels discussing a variety of topics including social media, investing, women in entrepreneurship, diversity, and more all tying back to the theme of leading through disruption. See all conference sessions on YouTube. The alumni celebration concluded with a Pre-Game Interview: The Intersection of Business and Athletics, before UT kicked off against Baylor. The interview features Texas Athletics Director Chris Del Conte, Interim Dean Lillian Mills, and faculty representatives from the McCombs Center for Leadership and Ethics. See the interview on YouTube.
Alumni were also given access to a virtual tour of Rowling Hall, a state-of-the-art center for business education, containing more than 200,000 square feet of academic space with adaptable classrooms, study and breakout rooms, MBA graduate program administration offices, career services, and research centers. See the virtual tour!
Keep an eye on the alumni calendar for more opportunities to engage with the McCombs School! We have many virtual events open to all alumni.
Welcome and School Update from Interim Dean Lillian Mills Lillian F. Mills is the interim dean-designate and holds the Beverly H. and William P. O’Hara Endowed Chair in Business. She joined UT Austin in 2006 and served as graduate advisor for the accounting doctoral program during 2009-2010 and as department chair from 2010-2015.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Panel Moderator: Raji Srinivasan, Associate Dean of Diversity and Inclusion, Texas McCombs. Panelists: David Druley, BBA ’88, MBA ’03, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Cambridge Associates LLC, Arthur Mills, BBA ’96, MBA ’04, Chief Operating Officer, New Teacher Center, Victor Paredes, MBA ’16, Vice President, Creative Content Strategy, Uniworld Group, and Lynn Utter, BBA ’84, Corporate Board Member, Atlas Holdings LLC.
This year’s incidents of racial injustice and highlighted societal issues have changed organizations’ approach to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Tune in to hear what the McCombs School is doing and what alumni are doing in their organizations to address systemic change.
Welcome from UT President Jay Hartzell Jay Hartzell is the 30th president of The University of Texas at Austin. He previously served as the 12th dean of the McCombs School of Business and has been a member of the UT Austin faculty since 2001.
Sustainable Finance Panel (due to sharing restrictions, we were unable to record this session) Moderator: Meeta Kothare, Director of the Social Innovation Initiative, Texas McCombs. Panelists: Brett Biggs, Executive Vice President and CFO, Walmart Inc., Michael V. Johnson, BS ’82, Vice Chairman of Investment Banking, JPMorgan, and Parag Mehta, BA ’00 , Executive Director and Senior Vice President, Center for Inclusive Growth, Mastercard. Environmental and social issues are now a major factor in business and investment decisions. Panelists discussed how Walmart, JPMorgan, and Mastercard are navigating these considerations.
Social media did not create the phenomena of misinformation, but it has given misinformation a fertile breeding ground. Regardless of political beliefs, there are clear concerns about the impact of misinformation in many areas of our lives. Possible solutions come in the form of interventions, both behavioral and algorithmic.
Empowering Women Leaders in Entrepreneurship Panel Moderator: Mellie Price, BS ’93, MSTC ’19, Executive Director of Commercialization, Health Ecosystem Managing Director, Texas Health CoLab. Panelists: Gay Gaddis, BFA ’77, T3 Founder, Author, and Gay Gaddis LLC, Ashley Jennings, BS, ’11, BJ, ‘11, MSTC ‘20, Managing Director, Texas Innovation Center, and Marissa Tarleton, MBA ’02, President, Aceable, Inc.
Hear about Austin’s start-up history, learn how UT and our panelists are supporting women entrepreneurs, and gain insights for early-, mid-, and late-stage businesses.
FRIDAY, OCT. 23
Leading Through COVID-19 Carlos Carvalho, Professor of Statistics, the La Quinta Professor of Business, and Executive Director of the Salem Center for Policy, Texas McCombs, Orchestrating Economic Recovery, and John Griffin, Professor of Finance, Texas McCombs, Government Financial Involvement.
Profs. Carlos Carvalho and John Griffin will discuss strategies for leading through COVID-19, including orchestrating economic recovery and government financial involvement.
Keynote Panel: Investing and Operating During the Covid-19 Disruption Moderator: Philip A. Canfield, BBA ’89, CEO, Ariet Capital LLC, Chris Cartwright, BBA/MPA ’88, President and CEO, TransUnion, Bill Gurley, MBA ’93, General Partner, Benchmark, and Chip Kaye, BA ’86, CEO, Warburg Pincus.
Learn how COVID-19 has accelerated certain trends and created new opportunities from the perspective of venture capital, private equity, and CEOs. Gain insight into the drivers behind these forces and how they are likely to impact business and investing in the future.
SATURDAY, OCT. 24
Game-Day Interview: The Intersection of Business and Athletics Ethan Burris, Center for Leadership and Ethics Faculty Director, Professor and Chair of Management, Texas McCombs, Chris Del Conte, VP and Athletics Director, Texas Athletics, Kirk Goldsberry, Lecturer in Management, Associate Director of Center for Leadership and Ethics, Texas McCombs, and Lillian Mills, Interim Dean, Texas McCombs.
Chris Del Conte discusses the intersection of business and athletics with McCombs School of Business representatives. Plus, learn how UT and Texas Athletics are navigating the current climate and planning for future curriculum collaboration.
Earlier in the Summer, Interim President Jay Hartzell released a statement outlining actions that the university will take to make the 40 Acres a more diverse and welcoming campus. The McCombs School hosted this town hall as an opportunity to listen to and engage with all McCombs alumni, especially alumni of color. Listen to the recording!
Listeners learned what the McCombs School of Business is doing on issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion for the McCombs community of students, faculty, and staff. The event featured a live Q&A session and a panel discussion with McCombs leaders from various programs, including:
Professor Lillian Mills, Interim Dean McCombs School of Business, Lois and Richard Folger Dean’s Leadership Chair, The Beverly H. and William P. O’Hara Endowed Chair in Business
Professor Raji Srinivasan (she/her/hers), Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion, Sam Barshop Centennial Professor of Marketing Administration
Catenya McHenry, Communications Director
Charles Enriquez, Director, Student Affairs, Texas BBA
Jaden Felix, Senior MBA Recruiting and Admissions Officer
In this webinar, three expert panelists discuss the future of wealth management and provide listeners with key takeaways for how to apply these insights in your own work. Their conversation explores new challenges the industry faces and how the McCombs Wealth Management Center plans to address those challenges, industry insights from leaders in the field, and planning for human capital, personal legacy, and educated philanthropy. Watch the recording!
PANELISTS
Dr. Ramesh K. S. Rao – UT Austin McCombs School of Business
Russell W. Norwood, CIMA, CFP – Venturi Private Wealth
In this webinar, Sandy brings listeners up-to-speed on current events in the markets. He covers the economy, the stock market, interest rates, the labor market, the Fed, and fiscal policy. Watch the recording!
Sandy Leeds is a distinguished senior lecturer in the Finance Department at McCombs and recently finished 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.
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.
The McCombs Alumni Network hosted a four-part summer webinar series. Each session is with a different expert and focuses on a different business theme. If you missed them live, please enjoy all four webinar recordings below and keep an eye on the alumni calendar for more virtual events.
Part One: “Is Franchising Right for Me?” with Stephen Maeker Live presentation date: Wednesday, June 24, 2020, 12-1 p.m. CT In this presentation, Stephen Maeker, BBA ’90, teaches participants how to investigate getting into franchising and whether or not buying a franchise is a good potential fit for them by following a sequential approach. Key topics of discussion will included: COVID-19 current environment, a general overview of franchising, candidate motivations, the primary advantages (vs opening a business yourself) and disadvantages of franchising, Franchise Disclosure Document overview, analyzing potential income, costs, 4 quadrants of franchising, investigation process, and financing. Watch the recording!
Part Two: “Use of Logic Models to Design Programs and Obtain Funding” with James Pann Live presentation date: Tuesday, July 7, 2020, 12-1 p.m. CT James Pann, BBA ’92, walked listeners through the steps to develop a logic model, how to use logic models for brainstorming during program design and identify funding opportunities, how logic models can be used to strengthen grant applications, and more! Pann also provided a logic model template. Watch the recording!
Part Three: “Building Burnout Resistant Teams” with Dr. Aneika Simmons and Anjuan Simmons Live presentation date: Monday, July 27, 2020, 12-1 p.m. CT In this presentation, Aneika and Anjuan provide tools to help business leaders and their teams bring stress into a managed state and avoid burnout. Organizations that invest in building burnout resistant teams will see a return on that investment in terms of reliable business performance and an increased ability to respond to crises. Most importantly, they will have a workforce that is happier and more productive. Watch the recording.
Part Four: “Discovering Differentiation: What Customer Mindset Means for Strategy” with Karla Raines Live presentation date: Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020, 12-1 p.m. CT Every time a customer considers your purpose-driven organization, they ask these two questions. “Why” is the tape running in the back of their minds. Do you know their answers? You can’t afford not to. What matters most to you is what matters most to your customer. Differentiation is determined by your customer.
In this presentation, Raines discusses what customer mindset means for strategy, new ways to rethink competition when the old rules no longer apply, how to avoid the Zone of Indifference, and more. Watch the recording!
Danny Caswell, BBA ’84, and crisis recovery and value creation experts discussed how to traverse the unchartered waters and understand –step by step– the immediate actions that you must take to survive in times of crisis and to emerge a stronger company. This webinar guides you through proven business survival tactics designed to find, preserve, and manage cash. It also covers how to quickly find cash and how to preserve it; how to negotiate with banks, landlords, suppliers, creditors, and customers; how to build a recovery plan; and finally, how to emerge stronger from this crisis and bolster the long-term. Watch the webinar here!
Nina Pickell recently hosted the career webinar: “Master Your Mind and Market: Leadership, Mindfulness, and Growth in Uncertain Times.” With an MBA and BBA from UT, Nina brings insights and ideas into leading in times of disruption and change, and even achieving what she calls “meaningful and magnificent growth.” Nina speaks on key elements like strategy, leadership, extraordinary service, branding and marketing in today’s digital world — as well as dealing with topics like mindfulness, anxiety and remote work. As such, she drives home that the most impactful growth will start inside each one of us and materialize in how we act, create, treat others and master our own minds. Watch the webinar here!
Nina is a brand builder, advisor, transformational growth coach, speaker, and entrepreneur. She specializes in growing companies and brands that she believes in, handpicked because they offer something special to the world. She has a passion for working with innovative companies and entrepreneurs of all types transforming the way we work and live through technology, innovation, digital marketing, thought leadership and the arts.
Nina has decades of leadership experience in early stage ventures as well as with major global businesses like Adecco, Randstad, IBM and Monster.com. Today, she works with aspiring entrepreneurs through global organizations to build brands; launch and market new products; advise on customer and talent acquisition, digital marketing, and technology; and improve business performance and profitability. She is the CEO/Managing Consultant of her own ventures providing coaching and consulting services to corporate clients and entrepreneurs who are focused on achieving the next stage of growth.
Nina is a public speaker, regularly leading online masterminds and masterclasses as well as speaking at events and webinars about topics such as entrepreneurship, building power brands, cultivating creativity, digital marketing and transformation, employer branding, the gig economy, digital product development, high impact selling, lifestyle and influencer marketing, social media marketing, and a variety of custom topics. See ninapickell.com for more information.
