Dillon Cecil, BBA ’14, has recently been appointed as an Executive Vice President and Board Member of Liberty National Bank. In his new role, he will handle consumer and commercial loans, residential home loans, and contribute to overall bank operations. Before joining Liberty National Bank, Cecil spent the last nine years working at a larger bank in Dallas, where he progressed from a credit analyst to Senior Vice President.

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Howard Berk, BBA ’87, has been appointed as a new external director to The University of Texas/Texas A&M Investment Management Company board by The UT System Board of Regents. With significant leadership experience in both public and private equity investments, Berk brings valuable expertise to the role. Currently serving as a Senior Advisor to BDT & MSD Partners, he previously held the position of vice chairman at MSD Partners.

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Carrie Douglas, BBA ’01, a former partner at Holland & Knight LLP after its merger with Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis LLP, has recently become a partner in the healthcare and life sciences practice at Bracewell LLP’s San Antonio office. Carrie’s extensive experience, particularly in the managed care field, will greatly benefit Bracewell’s expanding healthcare team.

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Billy Freed, BBA ’81, and his family have generously donated $1 million to the Herb Kelleher Entrepreneurship Center at the McCombs School of Business. Freed’s gift to the McCombs School of Business will support student entrepreneurship by establishing the Freed Family Entrepreneurship Excellence Fund and endowing the Freed Family Pitch Competition. The fund will enable various initiatives at the Kelleher Center, fostering the development of business ideas and providing collaborative opportunities for student founders. McCombs and The Kelleher Center express deep gratitude to Billy Freed and his family for their generous support in the UT community.

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We are deeply saddened to share the news that Jacob Mayfield, BBA ’18, passed away suddenly on October 10, 2022. He was 27 years old and he will be terribly missed.

Jacob attended Kingwood High School, where became the president of the speech and debate team. He and his debate partner were second in the state of Texas and Jacob was named a National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) All-American. He finished high school a year early and enrolled in Lone Star College at the Kingwood and North Harris County campuses to take business classes and join Lone Star’s debate team, earning numerous state and national honors.

Jacob earned a degree in finance in 2018 from the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin, where he was also a member of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity and a silver spur. After college Jacob secured a position as an investment banker with the energy team at Guggenheim Securities. It is said that Jacob enjoyed the work involved in finding solutions to complex problems and the people he worked with. His hard work led him to accepting a role of increasing responsibility with another investment banking advisory firm, Cantor Fitzgerald, and he was excited to begin this next chapter with high school sweetheart and fellow Longhorn, Rachel Duncan, BA ’19.

In lieu of customary remembrances, Jacob’s family and friends have established The Jacob Mayfield Scholarship at the Lone Star College Foundation, which will allow for the full cost of tuition for students aspiring to study business and finance, with the goal of advancing to a four-year university, but need the benefit of Lone Star College to start their post high school educational journey.

To read more about Jacob’s life and about how to contribute to the scholarship established in his name, view his full obituary. To view and share more memories of Jacob, visit this page.

James C. “Rad” Weaver, BBA ’98, has been reappointed to The University of Texas System Board of Regents by Governor Greg Abbott. Since February 2017, James C. “Rad” Weaver, has been an active member of The University of Texas System Board of Regents, assuming the position of vice chairman. Prior to this, Governor Abbott appointed him as the presiding officer of the Alamo Regional Mobility Authority.

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