Kelly Gupta, MBA ’15 was recently appointed to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Cotton Board. She is a sustainable product director at PVH Corp. Read more here.
Month: December 2023
Alex Gupta, MBA ’16 founded Break Point Energy to help companies buy clean energy tax credits. He previously worked as a renewable energy project investor at Bank of America.
KTG Webinar Recap | Employee Promotions: The Good, Bad, and Ugly, with Assistant Professor Eric Chan
In this webinar, Professor Chan drew on the latest research based on psychology and economics to answer important questions related to employee promotions at the workplace: How do managers decide whom to promote? How can employees increase their chances of being promoted? What happens when employees are passed over for promotion? And more.
Eric Chan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Accounting. He received his Ph.D. in Accounting from the University of Pittsburgh, and B.S. degrees in Accounting and Finance from the University of Maryland, College Park. Prior to pursuing his Ph.D., he worked as a senior auditor for Ernst & Young in Washington, D.C. Professor Chan currently teaches the Fundamentals of Managerial Accounting in the Canfield Business Honors Program and the Behavioral Research in Accounting doctoral seminar. His research focuses on using experimental methods to examine issues related to incentive contracting, performance measurement and evaluation, and managerial decision-making.
View the webinar recording here and download the slides here.
Blinds.com Founder Jay Steinfeld. © 2021 Robert Seale/All rights reserved.
Jay Steinfeld, BBA ’76, knows a good thing when he sees it. Such as when he saw the potential of the internet as an online retail space when the technology was still in its infancy. He knew that, despite his disdain for accounting, it would be the key to his future success. Even before it was named for Red McCombs, Jay also knew that the business school at The University of Texas at Austin was a special place.
Jay’s success story is one of legend. After working alongside his late wife, Naomi, in the retail blinds business, he became interested in a new platform called the World Wide Web.
“It was this new thing that nobody really understood yet,” he said. “But then I started thinking that maybe it could be used for selling blinds and draperies online. So, we tried it.”
With just $3,000 of start-up money, Jay and Naomi launched a rudimentary website in 1993. From there, he launched another site, Blinds.com, with revenue reaching over $100 million (and eventually over $1 billion) before being acquired by The Home Depot.
“Everything in life is an experiment,” he said. “The point is to continue to get better and help the people around me get better, too. That’s how I live my life.”
It’s also the motto behind how he gives: Philanthropy is an experiment. Investing time and money in causes he believes in, Jay has developed a diverse giving portfolio. He serves on several boards for organizations, such as Hand-in-Hand, which supports schools in Israel.
Never one to leave his Longhorn roots behind, Jay recently endowed a student seat in the Herb Kelleher Entrepreneurship Center’s Forty Acres Founders Pre-Accelerator Program, which enables students to learn how to start a business from the ground up, including securing seed funding for their company. He has also generously included McCombs in his estate.
“If it weren’t for UT, I wouldn’t have gotten my first job, which was at one of the big eight accounting firms,” he said. “It was my first step toward becoming an entrepreneur, and it made all the difference.”
He also credits his time at the business school with teaching him how to prioritize the important things over distractions.
“At the time [I attended UT], I didn’t know anything about core values. While I was there, I realized there was so much opportunity, so many choices, good and bad,” he said. “It necessitated learning how to prioritize so I could be productive.
That lesson clearly paid off. In 2013 he was ranked globally as one of the Top 60 CEOs on social media, and he regularly churns out insightful articles on effective leadership for Inc. Magazine and CBS Market Watch under the moniker Chief Effective Officer. As far as giving back is concerned, that is just a byproduct of his philosophy that “you are never going to be as good as you can be.”
“I ask myself, ‘How good can I be? What effect can I have at UT?’ and I try to fulfill that,” he said. “By giving an endowment or scholarship, you are actually investing in a whole set of people who just might change the world. How do you not do that?”
To learn more about how to create an endowment or scholarship at Texas McCombs, contact us at donorrelations@mccombs.utexas.edu.
Dean Lillian Mills and President Jay Hartzell helped honor the 2023 Hall of Fame Inductees.
On November 2, 2023, notable alumni and friends convened at the AT&T Conference Center for the annual McCombs School of Business Hall of Fame celebration to induct exemplary alumni into its ranks. This year’s Hall of Fame inductees included Connie Duckworth, BBA ’76, Phil Green, BBA ’77, Bill Gurley, MBA ’93, Kyle Hranicky, BBA ’91, and Paul Knopp, MBA ’83. McCombs Dean Lillian Mills also recognized 2023 Rising Stars Amy Bell, BBA and MPA ’03, Zach Petrone, BBA ’05, and Chirag H. Shah, BBA ’98, MBA ’06.
The McCombs School of Business established the Hall of Fame in 1983 as part of The University of Texas at Austin’s centennial celebration. The Hall of Fame honors individuals who have made outstanding professional contributions to the business community and who, by their exemplary civic, philanthropic, and educational activities have advanced humanity. The Hall of Fame award is the highest honor given by the McCombs School of Business. Recipients are chosen by a selection committee.
In addition, McCombs also recognizes young alumni with the Rising Star Award, established in 2004. This award is presented to younger alumni who have experienced professional success and have shown exemplary service to the McCombs Alumni Network. These are graduates who have presented themselves as consummate professionals and dedicated businesspeople. Dean Mills and the McCombs BBA and MBA Advisory Boards choose Rising Star Award recipients.
Video vignettes showcased Hall of Fame inductees before taking to the podium to share words of appreciation. Learn more about each of their personal and professional stories by viewing the videos below.
2023 Hall of Fame Inductees
Connie Kadrovach Duckworth
B.A. ’76, Plan II
Retired Partner and Managing Director
Goldman Sachs
Founder, Chairman and CEO
ARSU, Inc.
Connie K. Duckworth retired in 2001 from Goldman Sachs following a 20-year career. She was named the first woman sales and trading partner in the firm’s history in 1990 and held leadership roles in the Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York offices.
Deeply committed to women’s economic empowerment, Ms. Duckworth founded ARZU, a social enterprise employing destitute women rug weavers in rural Afghanistan, and served pro bono as chairman and CEO from 2002 until its merger with U.K. charity Turquoise Mountain in 2019. She remains engaged with the plight of Afghan women, serving on The George W. Bush Institute’s Women’s Policy Advisory Council in Dallas and as a founding member of the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council in Washington, D.C.
Ms. Duckworth currently chairs the UT International Board of Advisors and is a former McCombs Dean’s Advisory Council member. She is also a director of Steelcase Inc. (SCS) in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and MP Materials (MP) in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The recipient of numerous awards for leadership, social impact, and innovation, Ms. Duckworth holds an MBA in finance and accounting from the Wharton School and graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from The University of Texas at Austin with a B.A. in Plan II. She has been married to husband Tom for 37 years and is the mother of four millennials.
Philip D. Green
BBA ’77
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc./ Frost Bankers Inc. and Frost Bank
Phil Green serves as chairman and chief executive officer of Cullen/Frost Bankers Inc. and Frost Bank. Mr. Green joined the Cullen/Frost organization in July 1980 and served in a number of managerial positions in the company’s financial division before being named chief financial officer in 1995, a position he held until 2015 when he was named president of Cullen/Frost. He became chairman and CEO in 2016.
During Mr. Green’s tenure at Frost, the company has become one of the nation’s 50 largest banks and has increased its common stock dividend for 30 consecutive years. At the same time, Frost has won numerous accolades for excellence and customer service, receiving the highest ranking in customer satisfaction in Texas in the J.D. Power U.S.
Retail Banking Satisfaction Study for 14 consecutive years, and earning the most Greenwich Excellence Awards for service to business clients among banks nationwide for seven consecutive years. Mr. Green graduated with honors from The University of Texas at Austin in 1977, earning a bachelor’s degree in accounting. Prior to joining Frost, he spent three years in public accounting with Ernst & Ernst. Phil and his wife, Sandy, have been married for 47 years and have six grown children.
Bill Gurley
MBA ‘93
General Partner
Benchmark
Bill Gurley is a prominent venture capitalist and general partner at Benchmark, a leading venture capital firm in Silicon Valley. Born in 1966 in Dickinson, Texas, Mr. Gurley earned a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science from the University of Florida and later received an MBA from The University of Texas at Austin. Prior to his career in venture capital, Mr. Gurley spent four years in investment banking, where he had the opportunity to work on the Amazon IPO. Prior to that, he worked as a computer engineer at Compaq in Houston. He has played a crucial role in investing and guiding several successful startups, including Uber, Zillow, Nextdoor, Stitch Fix, Grubhub, and OpenTable. Mr. Gurley is also well known for his insightful blog, “Above the Crowd,” where he shares his thoughts on technology, investing, and business strategy.
Kyle Hranicky
BBA ‘91
Senior Executive Vice President
CEO of Commercial Banking
Wells Fargo & Company
Kyle Hranicky is the CEO of Commercial Banking at Wells Fargo, where he oversees teams dedicated to providing comprehensive solutions that meet the diverse needs of emerging middle market, middle market, mid-corporate businesses and government, institutional, and not-for-profit clients. Mr. Hranicky serves on Wells Fargo’s Operating Committee.
Mr. Hranicky began his current role in September 2021. Prior to that, he was head of Middle Market Banking, where he led the integration of three businesses to more effectively apply the capabilities and expertise of those businesses to better serve the financial needs of clients. He has held numerous other leadership roles at Wells Fargo, including head of Corporate Banking group, head of the Energy Group, and regional manager of the Loan Syndication group.
Mr. Hranicky earned his B.A. in business administration from The University of Texas at Austin and his MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management in Arizona.
He lives in Houston with his wife, Kim. They have three children, two recent college graduates, and one currently attending college. He serves on the Advisory Council for the McCombs Business School at The University of Texas and is an executive sponsor of Wells Fargo’s Native American Connection employee resource network.
Paul Knopp
BBA ’82, MBA ’83
Chair and CEO
KPMG LLP
Paul Knopp is chair and CEO at KPMG LLP – one of the world’s leading professional services firms, providing innovative business solutions and audit, tax, and advisory services to many of the world’s largest and most prestigious organizations. He also serves as chair of the Americas region and is a member of both KPMG’s Global Board and Executive Committee.
Knopp is further strengthening KPMG’s inclusive and values-driven culture. He has extensive experience serving large, multinational clients in complex industries and is recognized for his commitment to excellence and quality and for leading KPMG teams with ethics and integrity.
Prior to becoming chair and CEO, Knopp focused on serving leading global companies in the manufacturing, life sciences, transportation, professional services, and technology industries.
Knopp has received numerous accolades including Accounting Today’s Top 100 Most Influential People, the National Association of Corporate Directors’ 100 most influential leaders in the boardroom, and Glassdoor’s list of Top CEOs. He is a governing board member of the Center for Audit Quality and a board member of Catalyst, Partnership for New York City and Project Healthy Minds.
He holds BBA and MBA degrees from The University of Texas at Austin.
Rising Star Recipients
Amy Bell
BBA and MPA ‘03
CFO
The Cook’s Nook
Amy Bell has spent the better part of her career demonstrating how business and capital markets can be designed to better the communities in which they operate while growing profitably and sustainably. She brings that experience and passion to The Cook’s Nook as CFO and board director, where she guides strategy and leads finance. Bell’s work at the intersect of business and societal good started at JPMorgan Chase, where she grew the firm’s emerging impact investing business into a market leader, while managing a $100 million portfolio of investments in early stage businesses benefiting low-income and underserved populations across the world. From there, her passion for food and agriculture drove her to advise sustainable agriculture businesses in Latin America and then investing in the high-growth entrepreneurs and trends that drive the supply chain at Whole Foods Market. Bell began her career in consulting and investment banking.
Outside of her work, Bell sits on the boards of the Sustainable Food Center and WaterEquity (an affiliate of Water.org) and remains an active thought leader and adviser in impact investing nationwide. She is a proud graduate of The University of Texas at Austin and always has something cooking in her own kitchen.
Zack Petrone
BBA ‘05
Chief Investment Officer
Highside Capital
Zach Petrone was raised in Euless, Texas, and attended Euless Trinity High School. He graduated from McCombs in 2005 with a BBA in finance (high honors). After college, he spent four years in New York as an M&A analyst at Greenhill & Co. and as a private equity associate at Providence Equity Partners, the largest global PE firm focused on telecom, media, and technology investments.
Mr. Petrone moved back to Texas in 2009 to join Highside Capital, a $2.5B long/short equity hedge fund where he advanced from analyst to senior analyst to managing director over 2.5 years. In 2016, Mr. Petrone launched a long/short equity fund called Highside Global Management (HGM) focusing on small and mid-cap investments in high-quality companies globally. HGM peaked at $330M of assets with investments from leading endowments, foundations, and family offices across the U.S.
In 2023, Mr. Petrone returned external capital to focus on personal investments. He recently rejoined his former partner at the Highside Capital single family office in Dallas, where he serves as chief investment officer, allocating capital across public equity, credit, and private investments with a long-term orientation.
Outside of investing (and rooting for Longhorn sports!), Mr. Petrone enjoys spending time with his high school sweetheart, Rebecca, and their four young kids.
Chirag H. Shah
BBA ’98, MBA ‘06
Senior Portfolio Manager,
Private Equity
Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation
Chirag H. Shah is an Austin-based senior private equity professional with over 18 years of industry experience. He is a senior portfolio manager in private equity at Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation, a ~$80B sovereign endowment, leading investments across buyouts, growth equity and venture globally. Shah previously held private equity roles at Deutsche Bank and GE. He started his career in investment banking at Citi/Salomon Smith Barney in New York and Singapore, focusing on M&A and financings.
He is an active UT alumus, serving on the New York for McCombs Council; as an advisory board member for the Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst Center for Private Equity Finance; and as a frequent guest lecturer on career building topics.
Shah also serves on the Limited Partner Advisory Council for the Sponsors for Educational Opportunity’s Alternatives Investments program and the U.S. Advisory Council for the American India Foundation, a leading India-focused nonprofit whose Boston chapter he co-founded.
See more pictures from the event here.
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