Texas McCombs MBA Insider

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Catch Up with the Texas MBA on Social Media

July 6, 2016 / / Comments Off on Catch Up with the Texas MBA on Social Media

Want an easy way to keep up with the Texas MBA Program? Follow us on social media for program news, event information, application updates,  and all the reasons #WhyMcCombs!

 

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See What We’ve Been Up To This Summer

#TXMBA Consortium Class of 2018 #WhyMcCombs Photo by @chelleschenk

A photo posted by Texas MBA (@utexasmba) on

Photo Credit: www.launchandhustle.com

Alumni Spotlight: Justin Key, Texas MBA ’16

June 30, 2016 / / Comments Off on Alumni Spotlight: Justin Key, Texas MBA ’16

Despite having just walked the stage two months ago, recent Texas MBA graduate Justin Key is already well on his way to leaving his mark on the tech world. Prior to his time at McCombs, Justin had an idea for an app that would allow friends to compete against each other while watching Netflix by answering trivia questions pertaining to a specific show or movie. As a part of the Class of 2016, Justin was able to make Plot Guru a reality. AAEAAQAAAAAAAAR4AAAAJDRmZGE5Zjc3LWI1YjctNGViYi1hMGZhLTJmOGQ3ZjUwZmRkOAHe and the rest of the Plot Guru team launched the app in November 2015 and have already had tremendous success. In order to continue to develop his entertainment tech skills, Justin recently made the move to Seattle, WA to embark on a new exciting adventure and join the team at Amazon.

We recently caught up with him to see what he’s been up to since graduation and to learn about his reasons  #WhyMcCombs.

Why did you decide to pursue an MBA and why did you choose McCombs?

After six years in consulting I was ready for a change. I had been working on a startup idea on the side for some time, and was looking for a program where I could pursue a top-tier graduate education while also pursuing entrepreneurial endeavors. I found the experiential opportunities at McCombs to be just what I was looking for. After visiting the campus and getting a sense for the student culture I was hooked – no pun intended!

What were you doing before you came to McCombs for your MBA?

I was a strategy consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers for about six years. I spent the latter three years based in their Zurich, Switzerland office, and was based in Washington, D.C. prior to that.

What was the most valuable lesson — inside or outside of the classroom — you learned while completing your MBA?

Two things: The value of hands-on experience and the importance of networking. Both are instrumental in getting a job and succeeding once you’re there.

How has your McCombs MBA experience helped shape your success?

The MBA Program gave me the opportunity to explore new career paths, including entrepreneurship, while I was still in school. The classroom experience was important, but the opportunities that McCombs gave me outside the classroom really helped prepare me for the next stage in my career.

Tell us a little bit about Plot Guru. How did you come up with the idea for it?

Plot Guru is all about making the television-viewing experience more interactive. Our app syncs with the show you’re viewing online and sends you games and trivia in real-time based on what you’re watching on-screen. The idea for Plot Guru started during a weekly gathering of friends to watch one of our favorite shows. Before the episode started we would always compete to see who could guess what would happen next in the show. At some point my wife suggested, “What if we made a game out of this?” The rest is history.

What is your role at Amazon and what will you be working on?

AmazonVideoDirect_200I recently started a new job as a Sr. Product Manager at Amazon. I’m working on a new platform called Amazon Video Direct, which is a self-service program for content creators, such as independent film makers, to make their content available to stream online through Amazon Video. I’m really excited to use my experience in strategy, technology and entertainment to help small film producers get their content in front of millions of viewers on Amazon Video.

What else have you been up to since you graduated from McCombs, outside of work?

I’ve been pretty busy with the move up to Seattle, starting the new job and continuing to work on Plot Guru in my spare time. Besides all that, I always make time for travel. In the past couple months I’ve visited seven states and two countries!

What advice do you have for future Texas MBAs?

Figure out what you’re interested in and get as much hands-on experience in that area as possible! Take on MBA+ projects, fellowships, internships, and independent studies. You’ll never have a better chance to try out new things like you will during your time at McCombs.

The 2016 Forté MBA Women’s Leadership Conference

June 23, 2016 / / Comments Off on The 2016 Forté MBA Women’s Leadership Conference

From Stacey Kammerdiener, Senior MBA Admissions Officer 

Over 400 businesswomen descended upon Austin, Texas this past weekend for the 2016 Forté MBA Women’s Leadership Conference (WLC)! The event is orchestrated annually by the Forté Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on connecting & empowering women in business, and providing access to business opportunities and education. This year, The University of Texas at Austin had the pleasure of hosting these women in our own backyard at the AT&T Executive Hotel and Conference Center on campus.

The WLC reached a new attendance record this June, with 438 MBA students coming from almost 50 universities across the country!

The conference is geared toward incoming first year MBA students and rising second year MBA students, and gives women an opportunity to network with a plethora of top companies such as Whirlpool Corporation, Cognizant, Hines, Amazon, AT&T, Dow, Boston Consulting Group, IBM, and Wells Fargo.  Our MBA ladies took part in conference prep in the months leading up to the WLC so that they could make the most of the opportunities presented. These prep calls coached first year students on resume writing, networking with the company recruiters, and provided advice on how to follow up with leads generated at the conference.

The McCombs School of Business and the Texas MBA Program had the highest number of students in attendance (Hook ‘Em!) with 45 incoming and current MBA students from all our programs. The Class of 2018 newbies had the opportunity to meet one another before orientation in August and our incoming Forté Fellows also had the chance to meet each other at a reception on Thursday evening hosted by Dimensional Fund Advisors.  Additionally, thirteen Texas MBA alumni volunteered for panels & networking with current MBA women.

Texas MBA ’02 alumna and CMO of RetailMeNot, Marissa Tarleton, spoke on the challenges and opportunities of being a woman marketing executive. CEO of Austin-based startup Shipping Easy and Texas MBA ’94 alumna Katie May was featured on a panel about entrepreneurship. McCombs staff were also featured presenters at sessions such as “Leveraging Social Media for Your Career,” and the Texas MBA Graduate Women in Business organization (GWIB) hosted a fun happy hour on Saturday afternoon.

Join Us for Our Next Women’s Event in Austin!

Networking with and learning from so many successful and driven women is nothing short of inspirational. If you are making your plans for fall, our 2016 Women’s Forum registration is now open. Future women MBAs are strongly encouraged to attend this exclusive event to network with current students and alumni, meet McCombs faculty and staff, and attend info sessions about curriculum, career planning, experiential learning, and life in Austin, Texas.  Apply Now!

We look forward to seeing you soon. Hook ‘Em!

First-Year Texas MBA Student Wins Consulting Case Competition

April 21, 2016 / / Comments Off on First-Year Texas MBA Student Wins Consulting Case Competition

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Last month, the Texas MBA at Houston Consulting Club, the Consulting Club at the Jones Graduate School of Business, and the Consulting Club at the Texas Medical Center hosted the first annual Greater Houston Consulting Case Competition. Ten students from the Texas MBA at Houston Consulting Club represented McCombs and came together with students from the other two organizations to form six mixed teams.

Participants had 5 hours to get acquainted, analyze the case, create a slide deck, and practice their presentation. All of this preparation was then expended in a 10 minute presentation to spectators and guest judges from McKinsey, BCG and Ernst & Young. After careful deliberation, the judges announced the top-performing team, who won the $500 prize! Ashutosh Shinde (MBA ’17) from McCombs, Felipe Armaza and Paul Surpenant from Jones, and Alessandro Alabastri from the Consulting Club at the Texas Medical Center were selected as the winning team of the 1st annual competition.

The purpose of the event was to:

  • Boost awareness and interest in the consulting career track
  • Provide participants with the ability to showcase the key skills that consulting firms are looking for such as teamwork, analytical ability, communication, problem-solving, and business acumen
  • Provide a venue where individuals pursuing a career in consulting can network, both across the various consulting clubs in Houston and also with current consultants
  • Unite the local candidate pools and open the door for holding more joint events between the MBAs, PhDs, and MDs within consulting clubs
  • Demonstrate to consulting firms that Houston has an extremely attractive recruiting pool

Team 3 - Houston Case competition Alessandro Alabastri (CCTMC), Paul Surprenant (Jones), Ashutosh Shinde (McCombs), Felipe Armaza (Jones)

The case centered on the future of Apple Inc., exploring three new (actual or potential) product offerings: the watch, the television, and the car. Given the current market trends and Apple’s previous successes, the teams prepared a recommendation outlining the optimal product portfolio for Apple to focus on in the near future.

Teams were assessed on their ability to create, assemble, and present their recommendations to judges, founded thorough data-backed analysis and representing a practical and economically feasible business strategy for Apple to potentially implement. Judges additionally considered the team’s poise while answering questions, the creativity behind their analysis, and the level of professionalism demonstrated by the team members.

Congratulations to Ashutosh and the rest of the Texas MBA at Houston Consulting Club!

 

Original Source: Consulting Club at the Texas Medical Center

McCombs Career Management: Texas MBAs are in Demand!

March 23, 2016 / / Comments Off on McCombs Career Management: Texas MBAs are in Demand!

MBA Career Management at McCombs works with the most discerning employers seeking innovative talent to fill their emerging leadership roles. With a student-focused Employer Relations team, we are working to create unique recruiting opportunities at global organizations throughout the year for companies that range from multinational organizations to start-ups, across the technology, finance, consulting and consumer segments. From preparing you for a summer internship to watching you land your ideal post-MBA position, we provide career resources every step of the way.

Dow - Texas MBA Students

 

The Class of 2015 had 90% job placement after graduation! The Financial Times gave McCombs its highest Global Ranking in over a decade for 2015, calling out the strength of Job Placement Success with a rank that jumped 10 spots globally to #18, making McCombs #1 in the state of Texas. Check out our full Career Statistics Report.

Our career advisors are professionally trained to help you assess and refine your post-graduate career goals through one-on-one guidance with additional support from Peer Advisors and specialized coaching resources. We work with you throughout your McCombs experience to create a customized strategy and timeline for your recruiting journey. We work to ensure our coaching services are student-focused and relevant, providing:

  • Resources, coaching and events for students interested in entrepreneurship, startups, corporate social responsibility, and nonprofit sectors.
  • Assessment and one-on-one advising to clarify the interests, motivators, and skills to craft a career plan that combines passion with talent.
  • Recruiting and networking events that leverage our students, our brand, and our geography:
    – Major career fairs on campus in the fall and spring.
    – 1st year career treks from coast to coast (New York, Seattle, and San Francisco) and in our own backyard (Austin, Dallas and Houston).
  • McCombs Entrepreneurship Night is a bi-annual event which highlights successful McCombs entrepreneurs from the Texas MBA Program while giving students a chance to network with Texas MBAs, alumni, local entrepreneurs, and either Austin Startup Week attendees in the fall, or SXSWi attendees in the spring.

    daniel goldberg“With the broad alumni base at both Texas and the MBA program, it’s been incredibly easy to get warm introductions at firms that I previously would have had no access to. Furthermore, I find the skills I learned at school are giving me the credibility needed to jump into more senior management roles as well. Finally, with my summer internship at Adobe, I’m confident McCombs played an intricate role at helping me to achieve my future career goals.”

    –Daniel Goldberg, MBA ’16

Texas MBA Alumni @ SXSW Interactive

March 9, 2016 / / Comments Off on Texas MBA Alumni @ SXSW Interactive

SXSW Interactive and McCombs Entrepreneurship Night are quickly approaching! Several of our talented Texas MBA alumni and current student entrepreneurs will be present on March 12 from 5 p.m. – 7 p.m. to talk about their startups and network with attendees. Check out which alumni and current students will be attending below and find out more about UT Austin’s presence at SXSW with #UTatSXSW.

Company Name
 Alumni
 Grad Year
 Entrepreneurship Night?
 SXSWi Trade Show?
Bravo Tip or Pay Maria Luna 1993 Yes Sunday, March 13, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
YouRefund Omar Garza 2017 Yes Sunday, March 13,  10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Merivis Foundation Kate Perez 2015 No Sunday, March 13,
2 p.m. -6 p.m.
Renovate Simply Will Mitchell 2015 Yes Sunday, March 13,
2 p.m. – 6 p.m.
 3 Day Startup Cam Houser  2010  Yes Monday, March 14, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
 soFetch Renae Donus  2000  Yes Monday, March 14, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
TradePending Brice Englert 2004 Yes Monday, March 14,
2 p.m. – 6 p.m.
TripRiff Jeremy Sapriel 2016 Yes Monday, March 14,
2 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Cybernance Charlie Leonard 2015 No Tuesday, March 15, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Knock Knock Rebecca Tongsinoon 2008 Yes Tuesday, March 15, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Lady Epicure Gourmet Tenaj Ferguson 2017 Yes Tuesday, March 15,
2 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Ordoro Naruby Schlenker 2010 No Tuesday, March 15,
2 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Plot Guru Justin Key 2016 No Wednesday, March 16, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Skoop Martin Oberli 2006 Yes Wednesday, March 16, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
BeatBox Beverages Aimy Steadman 2013 Yes  
eyeQ Michael Garel 2012 Yes  

It’s not too late to register to attend McCombs Entrepreneurship Night! All attendees will need to RSVP below:

Register for McCombs Entrepreneurship Night
Note: Due to capacity restrictions, registration does not guarantee entry.

The Texas MBA will also have a booth at the SXSW Interactive Trade Show, Sunday, March 13 through Wednesday, March 16. If you’re attending the conference and/or Trade Show, please stop by our booth to say hello and for the chance to win some Texas MBA swag!

 

Infographic: First Year MBA Insights from Working Professionals

February 17, 2016 / / Comments Off on Infographic: First Year MBA Insights from Working Professionals

The Texas MBA at Dallas/Fort Worth and Texas MBA at Houston programs are prestigious, flexible MBA programs tailored to fit your lifestyle, allowing you to work full-time while earning an MBA from a globally-recognized brand within a network of award-winning faculty and accomplished students.

See what the Class of 2016 for the Texas MBA at Dallas/Fort Worth program had to say about their first year in the program:

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And here’s what the Class of 2016 for the Texas MBA at Houston program had to say about their first year in the program:

Hou_survey_infograph

Exploring Career Paths with Texas MBA Career Management

February 8, 2016 / / Comments Off on Exploring Career Paths with Texas MBA Career Management

From Michelle Hardy, Director of MBA Employer & Alumni Engagement

Each year, Texas MBA Career Management leads Treks to various cities to visit the main offices of different companies, giving students a great opportunity to learn more about their industry of interest and allowing them to become more familiar with the culture at these companies. Visits typically consist of presentations, Q&A sessions, and numerous opportunities for networking with alumni and executive management.

Texas MBA students at the Google corporate office during the 2015 Bay Area Trek.

Texas MBA students at the Google corporate office during the 2015 Bay Area Trek

I have been on the Texas MBA Career Management team since 2007. My first role was as a Career Advisor for the  Texas Full-Time MBA program. On my second day of work, I found myself on a plane to San Jose, California with 30 students from the Class of 2009 for a Bay Area Trek. That was one of two treks planned in that school year–the other was a fall trek to New York City for Wall Street Investment Banking and Financial Services. Fast forward to Spring 2016: I am now on the MBA Employer Relations team (formed in 2010) and we have planned 15 student Career Treks for the 2015-2016 school year.

Clearly, we have seen a lot of change in the past eight years. One of the biggest trends has been an enormous increase in student career interest in the West Coast. When I started at McCombs, 9% of our graduates landed jobs on the West Coast–we’ve nearly doubled that percentage with the class of 2014! Interest in technology companies has exploded, making it a large area of focus for our Employer Relations team.

Complementing those two trends, West Coast tech companies have been opening offices and/or growing their corporate presence in Austin i.e., Facebook, Google, Apple, Cisco Systems, eBay, PayPal, VMware and Electronic Arts just to name a few. We continue to build our relationships with these firms, as well as seeking new opportunities.

We have also seen every facet of student interest in entrepreneurship increase, from coming into the program already running a firm, or founding a company in business school, to working at a startup or fast growing company post-graduation.

Texas MBA Students at the Intel Corporate Office as part of the 2015 Bay Area Trek

Texas MBA students at the Intel corporate office during the 2015 Bay Area Trek

In response, we have created many unique opportunities for MBA students to network with and connect to the startup community. We now host a biannual McCombs Entrepreneurship Night, which showcases startups founded by McCombs MBA students and/or alumni.

That event is held in conjunction with Austin Startup Week in the fall and during SXSW Interactive in the spring. We capitalize on SXSW, hosting a student-run booth during the SXSW trade show, allowing those students access to the 400+ companies showcased during the week-long event. The contacts we make during these events are invited to our Entrepreneur Society (ES) events during the school year, such as the Pitch Party in the Fall and ES Connex in the spring, a networking night for local startups looking to hire interns or full-time candidates.

The one thing that holds true across my tenure with the Texas MBA is the importance of our alumni as the key to companies opening their doors to our students.

We created a new team last year under the MBA Employer Relations umbrella to focus on MBA alumni engagement with both current and prospective students. We have come a long way and are excited about the future employment opportunities that await our Texas MBAs!

The Texas MBA Career Treks scheduled for the 2016-2016 school year include:

Texas

Houston Energy Finance
Houston CleanTech
Houston Investment Banking (Twice!)
Houston Consulting

Dallas Marketing
Dallas Consulting
Dallas Asset Management

Austin Marketing
Austin Asset Management
Austin Startup
Austin Big Tech

New York

New York Investment Banking

California

Bay Area

Washington

Seattle

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