Category Archives: Alumni Spotlights

Jeremy Utley

Interviewed by Alan Sanchez
Written by Benjamin Camacho

Topics of Interest: Design Thinking, Creativity, Idea Generation, Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford, IdeaFactory

For more about Jeremy Utley, idea generation, creative and design thinking, check out his awesome blog at jeremyutley.design. Looking for ways to get your creative thinking or ideaflow going? Subscribe and listen to Jeremy’s podcast, Paint and Pipette, for “inspiring stories behind the most innovative ventures changing the world today”, also available on Spotify. Jeremy will also be honored as this year’s Green Honors Chair at TCU – an event that brings scholars and artists of national and international stature to campus for short residencies to stimulate new ideas, enrich intellectual exchange, and nurture relations with surrounding communities.

Visit ideafactory.tcu.edu for more information or register online here to attend the event. Readers can also check out the event flyer below.

TCU Ideafactory Event Flyer Continue reading

Brad Wolff

Interviewed by Alan Sanchez
Written by Benjamin Camacho

Topics of Interest: E15, Sports Entertainment, Data Analytics, Business Strategy, Consulting, Internships

When he was ten years old, Brad Wolff bought a University of Texas cap at a sporting goods store. “I’m not exactly sure what drew me to it since I was born and raised in New York,” Wolff said. Nonetheless, this is where he says his connection to UT first started, and what eventually led him to be a distinguished alumnus from the Canfield Business Honors Program.

Wolff graduated from Canfield BHP in 2018, and since then has been working with E15, a business strategy and analytics consultancy focused on food & beverage and retail. Immediately after graduating from McCombs and Canfield BHP, Wolff began working with the Brooklyn Nets basketball team through E15, tasked with enhancing overall offerings at Barclays Center. Then this past August, Wolff moved down to St. Petersburg, Florida where he shifted clients and began working with the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team. “I have definitely enjoyed the warmer winter temperatures”, Wolff said about moving to Florida.

Wolff’s main focus in his career thus far has been on sports & entertainment. From an early age, Wolff has been cultivating his passion for the sports world, going as far as starting his own sports blog as a teen. As his blog took off, Wolff began to build up a network of athletes and sports business leaders to interview. Continue reading

Maddy Kulkarni

Topics of Interest: Social impact marketing, sustainability, The Dallas Heroes Project, PepsiCo, corporate social responsibility, volunteering, nonprofits

Canfield BHP students grow up to become the change-makers of the world, pursuing causes bigger than themselves to make the world a better place. Whether in the office or the field, our students graduate with the knowledge and experience to make a difference no matter where they go.

Canfield BHP alum, Maddy Kulkarni, graduated with her CBHP honors degrees in finance and marketing in 2004. She later earned her MBA at the Stern School of Business at NYU. A passionate advocate, Maddy has spent her career in marketing moving the needle forward on social impact, sustainability, and corporate social responsibility initiatives. Maddy’s work as the Global Marketing Director of Sustainability and Purpose at PepsiCo is helping brands within the PepsiCo portfolio take up sustainability and many important causes to engage consumers and help make the world a better place.

“Sustainability used to be this thing off to the side that companies did for “CSR” – corporate social responsibility”, she said. “But now that consumers want to know if brands are made sustainably, with proper human rights practices, and good labor practices, it’s our job as marketers to help them understand what’s happening.”

We sat down with Maddy to talk about her work at PepsiCo and what drives her passion for volunteering, social impact, and sustainability. You’ll also read about her nonprofit, The Dallas Heroes Project, and her new textbook, Social Impact Marketing: The Essential Guide for Changemakers, a step-by-step guide on how to market any idea a student has that they believe can positively change the world. Read on for more about Maddy Kulkarni! Continue reading

Deval Sanghavi

Topics of Interest: Social impact in India, philanthropy, nonprofits, development

Let’s talk about the impact you can make on the world after graduating from Canfield BHP. Our grads start their journey on the forty acres not always knowing what they want to do in their business careers – and that’s okay. Some take the finance route while others take the management path – all noble pursuits. Then, there are those bold enough to forge their own path, who dare to challenge the status quo, and dream of leaving their mark in the world.

Modeling several (if not all) of these traits is Canfield BHP alum and Sugar Land native, Deval Sanghavi (‘97), founder of Dasra – a nonprofit whose core principles place the lives of communities in India at the forefront of all their work. Dasra began as a venture philanthropy fund to invest in early-stage nonprofit organizations in India. Now, they’re one of the most widely recognized names in Indian strategic philanthropy. With Deval at the helm, Dasra has worked with some outstanding change makers who have made huge impacts throughout the world like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Hewlett Foundation, to name a few.

As of today, Dasra has engaged with more than 800 organizations and has impacted a staggering 20 million lives in India. Presently, Dasra is one of the leading nonprofits on the frontlines battling the COVID-19 pandemic across communities in India.

We got the opportunity to speak with Deval and learned more about his career path, working at Dasra, what his experience thus far has been over the last 20 years, and received some sage advice along the way. Read on. Continue reading