Adrian Saide, MBA ’11, has been appointed the new Chief Financial Officer of Dallas-based Zalat Pizza.
Congratulations to Adrian! Read more here.
Tag: MBA (page 9 of 24)
Chip Pate, MBA ’11, was recently named one of Austin’s best CFOs according to the Austin Business Journal.
Excellent work, Chip! Read more here.
Guilherme Junqueira, MBA ’20, is a part of the Corporate Strategy & Development group of Bimbo Bakeries USA, the largest baking goods company in the United States. He is also the founder and current leader of our alumni chapter in Philadelphia. We spoke with Guilherme about his time at McCombs, where his career has taken him, and how the alumni network has benefited his life.
Please talk about your experience as a student here at McCombs.
I did a road trip in 2017 to visit the business schools that I was applying to, and McCombs had been the most welcoming one. Current students really made an effort to help me learn more about the MBA program, and gave me a warm reception at the Think N Drink (weekly gathering for MBA students). So, when I got an admission offer, it was an easy choice to accept it. During my time in the MBA program, I was a Fellow at the Center for Leadership & Ethics, the Treasurer of the Food & Beverage Innovation Club, a member in the McCombs Ambassador’s Committee, and a Teaching Assistant for the Finance Department. It’s hard to pick a single favorite professor, so I will provide a short list: Clemens Sialm, Laura Starks, Andres Almazan, Gregor Matvos, Ethan Burris, Raj Raghunathan, Brian White, Patrick Badolato, Julia Coronado, and Melissa Graebner.
How did your educational experience change you?
It provided me with a whole new perspective about my career, and definitely opened doors for new opportunities. Post-MBA, I made a career transition in terms of industry, function, and geography. It provided me with the opportunity to learn from some of the world’s most regarded experts in their fields, and to develop relationships that will last a lifetime.
Please provide a brief summary of your career path since graduating.
Post-MBA, I joined the Corporate Strategy & Development group of Bimbo Bakeries USA, the largest baking goods company in the United States, with brands like Sara Lee Bread, Entenmann’s, and Thomas’ English Muffins. I just completed my first year at Bimbo and have had great learning and professional growth so far.
What are you most proud of in your career so far?
I am very proud to have led projects that generated significant business impact across different sectors, chemicals and consumer packaged goods, different functions, product management and corporate strategy, and different geographies, Brazil, and United States. I am so grateful to have had amazing mentors – it would be very hard to have achieved all of this without the great mentorship I got from people such as my former bosses at Oxiteno, friends, and McCombs Professors.
Has your career played out the way you expected?
On a high-level yes, but there are always some things that don’t go as I initially expected. It’s important to constantly work on developing emotional intelligence to be prepared for those situations. McCombs also provided great help on that front throughout the Center for Leadership & Ethics and Professor Raj Raghunathan’s course on Happiness.
How have you stayed involved with the school as an alumnus?
I founded an alumni chapter in Philadelphia, which currently has over fifty members. We have organized seven local events so far. I really enjoy being connected with the McCombs network through those events, conversations with my former classmates, and with other alumni chapter leaders. I also frequently speak with former professors and with MBA admissions. I conducted MBA admissions interviews in the last couple of years and intend to continue helping on that.
How have you personally benefited from being a part of the network?
During my time in the MBA program, alumni provided invaluable advice and help. With their support, I learned more about different industries and functions, and I own them some of success in recruiting. I reached out to over 100 alumni during the MBA and had dozens of in-person and virtual conversations. The McCombs and UT Austin networks are powerful.
Any other hobbies or tidbits you’d like to share?
I like to practice sports (tennis, biking, running, skiing), travel, and taste new beers and coffees. Really enjoy road trips, and always look for the best coffee shop and local brewery in town.
Click here to learn more about the McCombs Philadelphia Alumni Chapter on LinkedIn.
Austin writer, naval historian, book editor, and literary agent James D. Hornfischer died on June 2, 2021 at age 55 after a lengthy illness.
The author of several books focusing on the U.S. Navy, Hornfischer recently had been honored with the Navy Distinguished Public Service Award for four books: The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy’s Finest Hour;
Ship of Ghosts: The Story of the USS Houston, FDR’s Legendary Lost Cruiser, and the Epic Saga of Her Survivors; Neptune’s Inferno: The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal; and The Fleet at Flood Tide: America at Total War in the Pacific, 1944-1945.
According to his official obituary, “Jim took great pride in the fact that each of his books has been placed on the Chief of Naval Operations’ Required Reading List.”
A graduate of Colgate University, Hornfischer also earned two degrees at the University of Texas at Austin: an MBA from the McCombs School of Business and a Juris Doctor degree from UT’s School of Law. Soon after law school, he and his wife Sharon opened Hornfischer Literary Management, one of Austin’s first literary agencies.
Three additional Hornfischer books will be published posthumously: Destroyer Captain: The Last Stand of Ernest Evans, written with his son David J. Hornfischer; Who Can Hold the Sea: The US Navy in the Cold War, 1945-1960, and The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: A Graphic Novel Adaptation.
His family has requested that donations in his memory be made to the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, where his archives are housed.
A recent announcement by Versant Capital Management places Matt Miller, MBA ’10, as their new senior client associate.
Congratulations to Matt! Read more here.
Devi Kumar-Nambiar, MBA ’19, has been appointed one of the new interim deputy general counsels for CPS Energy. In addition, Devi is a 2021 recipient of the San Antonio Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” award.
Congratulations to Devi! Read more about her promotion here.
Michael Saclarides, MBA ’13, has been hired on as director for Cushman & Wakefield, a commercial real estate services firm. Prior to joining Cushman & Wakefield, he spent time with Eastdil Secured in New York City and JLL in Hong Kong where he focused on Capital Markets.
Congratulations to Michael! Read more here.
Michelle McKinney Frymire, MBA ’91, has been appointed chief executive officer of CWT, the Business-to-Business-for-Employees (B2B4E) travel management platform. She was promoted to this role after serving as CWT’s President, Strategy & Transformation and Chief Financial Officer since October 2020.
Congratulations to Michelle! Read more here.
Michael Bogdan, MBA ’16, is a Forth Worth surgeon who was recently named president-elect of the executive committee for the Aesthetic Surgery Education and Research Foundation (ASERF).
Congratulations to Michael! Read more here.
Christoph Schweizer, MBA ’97, was recently named as the new CEO for the Boston Consulting Group.
Congratulations, Christoph! Read more here.
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