a group of students holding up orange shirts

Undergraduate business students attending the 12th Annual Mentorship Dinner show off their SWAG.

The 2025 Executive Mentorship Dinner welcomed more than 160 undergraduate students and a record number of mentors to its 12th annual event held on February 13, in the Hall of Honors at McCombs School of Business.

A private reception welcoming all 20 volunteer mentors kicked off the event in the Legacy Room above the Hall of Honors. Industry leaders from marketing to tech to finance flocked to the space many of them remember passing through when they were students themselves.  Keri Herron, BBA Advisory Board member and co-chair for the Mentorship Committee remarked that an event like this is what brings alumni back to the school that helped give them their start

“It brings back alumni and connects them with the future leaders from McCombs,” she said. “Students get to have one-on-one interactions with people who are out in the industry and so they get to build their community and their network.”

During a time when the employment landscape is competitive, that alone can give students an edge, she said.

Students like Derrick Armstrong, BBA marketing major, who was attending the dinner for the third time. “It gives me a chance to meet different alumni,” he said. “It’s been a great experience every year.”

Mentor Ed Tonkon, BBA ’78, has returned year after year since he hosted a table at the very first mentorship event. When he saw the impact on students, he established an endowment to ensure the program could continue.

Each mentor is selected by students who are interested in their professional fields. During the dinner portion of the event, mentors sit with students who chose them from the list of other illustrious alumni in attendance. From there, students are able to discuss everything from the mentor’s McCombs experiences, career trajectory, strategies for obtaining a position after graduation, and other important topics.

“This event continues to be a highlight for our students and our alumni,” said Dan Cournoyer, Associate Director for Development and External Relations. “The mentors say they get just as much if not more out of the experience than the students.”

This year’s event maxed out its numbers, which is something Cournoyer and the rest of the Development team hope to see continue well into the future.

Click here to see photos of the event

 

McCombs is deeply grateful to all the mentors who attended this year’s event:

  • Katherine Allen, BA, Plan II, ’19, Co-founder and CEO, Flo Recruit
  • Prescott Cabellero, BA ’95, JD ’98, MBA ’01, Chief Information Officer, Goldcrest Capital
  • Antonio Camberos Baeza, BBA ’12, Managing Director, Grupo PASA
  • Boyd Faust, BBA ’84, Chief Strategy Officer, Gohealth Urgent Care
  • Sarah Hawkins, CBHP ’07, CEO – East Region, Hines
  • Jared Johnson, MBA ’02, Vice President of Marketing, PepsiCo, Frito Lay
  • Kent McNeil, BBA ’98, Principal, Highside Real Estate
  • Rob Pierce, BBA ’90, Head of Investment Banking, TD Securities
  • Amy Porter, BS ’99, Founder, Former CEO and Executive Chairman, AffiniPay
  • Jimmy Schatte, BBA ’99, Vice President, CGI
  • Loretta Soffe, Co-founder, L&J Consulting
  • Clayton Spencer, BBA ’03, CEO, Poncho
  • Sean Tackett, Regional Business Manager, Shell
  • Garry Tanner, MBA ’97, Partner, Quantum Energy Partners
  • Ed Tokin, BBA ’78, President, Zebra Retail Solutions
  • John Turner, BBA ’94, MBA ’01, President and CFO, Atlas Energy Solutions, Inc.
  • Mark Walker, BA ’98, Co-founder, Chairman and CEO, Direct Digital Holdings
  • Heather Zynczak, BBA ’93, CMO, AlphaSense