MBA alumni and students in the Houston area gathered for a weekend of activities in celebration of the first graduating class of 2007 from the Houston program, including 5- and 10-year reunion groups (classes of 2008 and 2012/2013). The weekend kicked off with a Friday welcome reception and continued on Saturday with a breakfast and faculty presentations by Maytal Saar-Tsechansky and Christopher Meakin who discussed business and ethical implications surrounding Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. See the Flickr photo gallery.
Category: Network News (page 7 of 7)
MBA alumni Brent Looby, Judson Kauffman, and Ryan Campbell (pictured left to right) started Desert Door, which distills sotol, a desert plant spirit first fermented by Native Americans in Texas over 7,000 years ago. The business builds on the tradition of West Texans making the spirit for the last 250 years.
The idea for the company was developed in an MBA entrepreneurship course. Kauffman, Campbell, and Looby came together for a group project and realized their business idea had real-world potential. In addition to their MBA experience, the trio credits their military experience as helping their business venture.
“The military spends a lot of resources teaching things like time management, stress tolerance, organization, and discipline — all of these are critical for any entrepreneur to be successful,” says Kauffman. “We are certain that without our military experience Desert Door would not be what it is today.” Kauffman was a Navy SEAL, Ryan Campbell was in the U.S. Army, and Brent Looby was in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Desert Door has a distillery in Driftwood, which is the first distillery outside of Mexico to make the liquor from sotol since Prohibition. “We’ve been very fortunate to be able to show our business and offer some guidance to aspiring veteran entrepreneurs,” Kauffman says. “We believe that we’re resurrecting something that Texas history almost forgot.” Read the full story in CultureMap.
More than 100 alumni gathered at the Penn Club in New York City to meet the new Executive Director of the Texas Exes, Chuck Harris (BBA ’86) and hear university updates from President Gregory Fenves. In addition to connecting with one another, alumni also learned about membership opportunities at the Penn Club that included a tour of the facilities. See the photo gallery.
For the first time, UT alumni can now become affiliate members of the Penn Club. Whether living in New York City or only visiting for a few days, the Penn Club is a world-class club offering numerous benefits and amenities to its members including two restaurants, a fitness center, 39 overnight guest rooms, various meeting and banquet spaces, and a business center.
If you’d like to visit the Clubhouse for a tour or want to learn about benefits of joining, please contact their membership team at 212-403-6627 or membership@pennclubny.org. You may also view the application form.
The Herb Kelleher Center hosted “Texas Spirit” in Rowling Hall on April 13, 2018 for students, alumni, and the Austin business community.
Speakers showcased the unique spirit and success of entrepreneurship and innovation within the Texas spirits and craft beverage industries. Keynote panelists included Chad Auler (BA ’92, MBA ’03), co-founder of Deep Eddy Vodka and president and co-founder of Milestone Brands, David Jabour (BBA ’85), president of Twin Liquors, and Rad Weaver (BBA ’98), CEO of McCombs Partners.
Founders, CEOs, and executives shared stories of homegrown brands like Austin Beerworks, Austin Cocktails, BeatBox Beverages, Deep Eddy Vodka, Desert Door Sotol, Double Horn Brewing Company, Fall Creek Vineyards, Garrison Brothers Distillery, Live Oak Brewing Company, Mesa Vineyards/Ste Genevieve Wines, Mighty Swell, Nine Banded Whiskey, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, and more. See the reception photo gallery.
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