Group of people smile at camera

McCombs hosted its 10th Annual Mentorship Dinner in February

Nothing beats a person-to-person connection, and that is never truer than in an academic setting. That is just one of the reasons McCombs prioritizes its annual Executive Mentorship Dinner. Creating opportunities for students to intersect with experts in their fields is just one way McCombs provides accessible and interactive experiences.

“We are always so excited for this event,” said Christine Burdell, Director of Alumni Relations. “We look forward to seeing how eager the students are to meet these incredible industry leaders. It’s a great opportunity for them.”

This year, the event took place on Thursday, February 16, and included one mentor paired with nine students each. They had open discussions with each group during dinner, where many students offered up questions and scenarios to their mentor.

As the event drew to a close, students and mentors alike were all smiles as they shared group photos, often exchanging information to continue the conversation.

“Our job is to provide as many value-add opportunities for students as possible,” said Christine. “And I think our mentors get just as much out of it as the students do.”

McCombs is grateful to the following executive mentors for attending this year’s event:

Elaine Agather, MBA 1979, Chairman, Dallas Region, JPMorgan & Chase Co.

Abid Ansari, BBA 2003, Director of Cybersecurity, Converse

Amy Chen Davis, MBA 2010, Vice President, Lake Charles LNG, Energy Transfer

Bill Cunningham, Dean, College of Business 1983-1985; President and Chancellor, UT

John Graff, BS 1987, Interim-CMO/Lecturer, McCombs School of Business; Former Executive, National Instruments

Lamar Johnson, BBA 1970, Executive Director, Center for Customer Insight & Marketing Solutions, Professional Sales & Business Development Corporate Relations Manager, McCombs School of Business

Daniel Longoria, JD-Law 2006, Chief Executive Officer, Innovative Integrated Health, Inc.

Kelly Merryman, BBA 1998, Former Senior Executive, Netflix and YouTube

Sital Mody, BBA 1991, President, Natural Gas Pipelines, Kinder Morgan

Kelly Steckelberg, BBA and MPA 1991, CFO, Zoom

Ed Tonkon, BBA 1978, President, Zebra Retail Solutions

Ana Villegas, CMO, Affinipay

Senator Judith Zaffirini, BS 1967, MA 1970, PhD 1978, Owner, Zaffirini Communications; President, Alexander Foundation, Investments, and Development

Cris Zertuche Wong, BS 1991, Managing Director and COO, US Real Estate, Goldman Sachs

Cybil Zhang, BBA 2014, Chief of Staff, Found

View photos from the evening here.