Rachel Ybarra, BBA & MBA ’93, says McCombs changed her life.

Originally from San Antonio, Rachel Ybarra began her journey at McCombs while pursuing her accounting degree. From there, she went on to work for AT&T, where she excelled into a senior leadership role before launching Embrace Any Future, a boutique financial strategy and consulting firm. Her enthusiasm for helping people reach their financial goals is matched only for her love of McCombs, where she sits on the Dean’s Advisory Council.

“It is an honor to serve and support the future of our great university for the next generation of leaders,” she says of her work on the Dean’s AC.

We asked Rachel about her experience with McCombs, how it shaped her future, and what she sees for the next cohort of students.

Q: Tell us about where you are from. 

A: I am originally from San Antonio, TX, home of the Alamo and the Riverwalk. If you have not visited San Antonio, consider making a trip this holiday season. The downtown lights and parade are stunning, with the twinkling lights reflecting on the dark river water. A cool, breezy night makes it all look ever so magical.

Q: What brought you to UT Austin?

A: UT Austin has an exceptional Accounting Program, number one in the nation. To attend the program was such a privilege. At that time, the PPA program started with the 150-hour requirement. I was in the second graduating class at the time. This was well before the 150-hour requirement was instituted for candidates to sit for the CPA exam. UT’s accounting program has always been a trendsetter. Thirty years later, I still see the business school striving to new heights.

Q: Tell us what an impact being a McCombs grad has had on your life?

A: My life has completely changed. Going to a great school and prestigious program opened many doors and my education and the rigor of the accounting program made the transition to a highly competitive Fortune 20 company feel natural.

I absolutely loved my time at UT.  Attending an institution that has a deep respect for research was perfect for me. There was so much information right at our fingertips. More now than ever before. My financial future changed because of my education, and now I get to do what I love.

Q: Share a lasting memory of your time at McCombs.

A: I had wonderful professors who genuinely cared and lived the values of independent thinking and going beyond what was expected. They may not have told me that directly, but they encouraged me when I did those things, and it reinforced the beauty and importance of independent thinking and going in search of bigger and broader solutions. Their encouragement had a lasting impact.

Q: Tell us how you continue to be involved with McCombs, and why is that important to you?

A: I was recently appointed to the McCombs School of Business Dean’s Advisory Council. Advisory members provide counsel to the dean, faculty, and staff on strategy and issues affecting the future of the school, curricula, programs, and external affairs. They also engage in and support the fundraising efforts of the school.

Q: We recently welcomed new students to our campus. Do you have any advice you would like to share with them as they embark on their college careers?

A: Welcome to this wonderful university! You will gain so much both personally and academically. Soak in all the memories you can and live in the moment –it goes by quickly.

Professionally, I would say determine how you naturally strive, or your cognitive abilities. For me, deep research was something I enjoyed when I was at UT; it served me well in my entire professional and investment career.

Also, as you look at companies to join during your internship or upon graduating, I would say pay close attention to and understand the financial health and growth prospects of the companies you interview. It is a perfect time to use those UT Finance Class skills and determine which environments will help you grow and flourish the most.

We only have one life to live; we should see how far we can go, not just for ourselves but for our families and society.

Q: What are you doing now with your career?

A: I am creating a new life that is filled with those I love and doing things I genuinely enjoy doing, supporting, and serving. I spend my time working with determined women in the workplace as they advance their economic opportunities. We do this through work in our firm.

Also, I volunteer as a fiduciary board member and advisor for a few institutions and organizations.

And last but certainly not least, I keep working on my personal practices that are mentally challenging and fun, too.

My time at UT helped me build this new life. Things compound over time, including relationships, experiences, learnings, and opportunities. Thanks, UT, for helping me start on the path!

Q: Share your life and career ambitions and how McCombs has prepared you to achieve them.

A: I dreamed of a life that was free from certain worries and moving toward peace and abundance. Being a business owner, investor, and guide, helping others expand and advance their own economic empowerment has been a joy. Markets are not easy, but nothing worth learning or doing is ever easy. Yet, it is still something that brings me fulfillment.

A terrific education from a wonderful and stellar university allows me to be surrounded by kindred spirits who also believe that education opens doors and helps others rise above their circumstances. Getting to serve with exceptional business leaders who are volunteers as well is an unexpected gift.

In the next 50 years, I would like to see how far I can go. And hopefully, one day my older self will look back at my time and be proud that younger me took care of her, our family, and our community.

Erin George, MBA ’06, is helping pave the way for women in the consulting industry.

When Erin George, MBA ’06, Managing Director and Senior Partner at Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Dallas, began pursuing an MBA at McCombs, one thing stuck out to her immediately: how few women were in the program. While the landscape has changed since her time at The University of Texas at Austin, she has made part of her mission as an industry leader to pave the way for more women to reach their earning potential.

“I was used to seeing the rate of women in these programs at around 50 percent,” Erin, who grew up in Los Angeles, said. “Then I come to McCombs and the rate of females pursuing MBAs was around 20 percent. That was a shocker.”

She grew up attending an all-girls school in California, where women held all the leadership roles, something that was later mirrored in her sorority as an undergraduate at the University of Southern California. Her father, a USC professor, also encouraged his daughters to pursue leadership positions.

“Nothing was off-limits,” Erin, who received her Bachelor of Science in Business Marketing from USC, said. “There were no boundaries for us growing up.”

As the recipient of the Forté Foundation scholarship, which enabled her to pursue an MBA at McCombs, Erin was inspired to give back herself. Forté Foundation’s mission, in part, includes a “commitment to advancing women in business.” To date, the organization has awarded $400 million to women earning their MBAs. Erin’s commitment to furthering women in business deepened after she started her first consulting internship.

“I looked around and realized I was [one of ] the only female MBA[s] in the whole program,” she said. “That was also shocking. I said to myself then, ‘I’m going to prove I can do this and then I’m going to help other women do this, too.’”

Today, the rate of female McCombs full-time MBA candidates is 35%.

As she continued to forge deep relationships with her MBA cohort, Erin’s eye remained on the prize – carving out a larger space for women in the business consulting field.  After graduation, she began working for BCG, where she quickly rose in the ranks, blazing a trail as the first female partner, and the first to get elected to managing director in the BCG Dallas office. Today, she leads the company’s Southwest Region.

“Now Dallas has the highest percentage of female directors in the company,” she said. “That’s something I care very passionately about.”

That passion has spilled over into philanthropic pursuits, including her stint as a member of the board of directors for Girls, Inc. of Metropolitan Dallas, which helps guide female students out of poverty and into leadership roles through mentorship and other programs. More recently, Erin established the Erin and Ken George Endowment for Future Female Leaders at McCombs. Erin hopes the endowment will inspire even more women to pursue an MBA, maybe even one of the Girls, Inc. students.

“I had such a large scholarship to business school; it was one of the reasons I went to McCombs, where I had such a great experience,” Erin said. “I always knew I wanted to give back when I could. It was a no-brainer. I want the Girls, Inc. girls to go to college. Maybe one of them will choose business school and maybe they will [benefit from the endowment].”

Looking back on it now, Erin sees that McCombs gave her way more than an opportunity to earn her MBA. It provided deep friendships she still enjoys to this day, along with the entrepreneurial spirit that has helped her pave the way for so many other women.

“The ethos of McCombs is you can do hard things. When there are challenges, you can think your way around them. That’s a big part of the role I’m in now,” she said. “Twenty years ago, there was only one model of success for women. Now, there are multiple paths to success, and I want to keep showing women that.”

Sebastian (Julio) Barriga, BBA ’00, started his own Venture Capital Fund focused on investing in diverse teams out of academic innovation hubs, building scalable and defensible startups with proprietary AI systems, models and data. This after a break to go back to school and 9 years after co-running a fund for The Carlyle Group in Peru.

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.

Stephen Jaquess, MPA ’14, was announced earlier this year as a new Partner at BVA Group. Stephen oversees a wide range of engagements relating to economic damages, securities analyses, antitrust, restructuring, insolvency, financial markets, and valuation disputes. Stephen is a trusted advisor to clients and his leadership and contributions towards the firm’s recruiting efforts and analyst program have been instrumental in the continued growth of the firm.

Congratulations to Stephen!

Kevin Johnson, MBA ’14 has recently accepted a promotion to partnership at Capstreet, a private equity firm in Houston.  Kevin previously served on the board of HungerRush, and further garnered his experience with Brentwood Associates in Morgan Stanley’s investment banking division. Congratulations to Kevin!

Read more here.

Dan Albaum’s (MBA ’87) latest book, The Impact Makers, highlights 82 market leaders’ tips for success.

When Dan Albaum (MBA ’87) graduated from Texas McCombs, he left with a new perspective on just what leadership in business means. He’s sharing that and other insights in his new book, The Impact Makers (Market Impact Press, 2022).

In it, he interviews 82 leaders from around the world who share their wisdom about what makes someone an effective “impact maker.” For Dan, he learned what he needed to know from his parents and McCombs.

“Growing up my parents instilled in me that helping others was paramount,” he said. “My McCombs experience took that a step further. Being there helped me realize that it’s about making a positive impact every day.”

The book, which is an extension of Albaum’s podcast, Market Impact Insights, takes an inside look at what inspires and drives impactful leaders. After it was all said and done, Albaum has boiled exceptional leadership down to six “universal truths,” he said.

“Through my conversations on my podcast and in writing this book, I’ve discovered that to be an effective leader, you must build vibrant cultures of innovation; develop authentic, trusted relationships; embrace diversity; leverage emerging data for better decision making; demonstrate leadership behaviors that generate exceptional results; and have an optimistic mindset,” he said. “And all of these can be developed for enhancing performance in small or large markets.”

The Impact Makers is available on Amazon and other online retailer sites.

But there is one key attribute that Albaum sees as key for future market leaders: a passion for servant leadership. This is the area, he says, that can make the largest impact for generations to come.

“Unlocking the greatest potential for leadership,” he says, “is about sharing power and removing obstacles for others to contribute even more to the organization.”

Throughout his career, however, it’s the enduring power of deep friendships and collaboration first experienced at McCombs that he says continues to impact his life. Learning from a diverse group of inspirational thinkers helped him see the world differently than when he first arrived.

“I developed life-long relationships while I was at McCombs,” he said. “I definitely benefitted from them and continue to do so.”

The Impact Makers is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other online retailers. You can stream his podcast on Apple Podcasts.