1

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, March 17

More than 100 students, alums, and friends visited the Texas McCombs tent during the inaugural networking happy hour at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Representing the Houston MBA Class of 2025 were Kim Lammers (far left), Courtney Chow (middle), and Susan Phillips (far right). They were joined by Sandeep Shah (second from left), assistant director of the Kendra Scott Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute at UT Austin, and Rebecca Gavillet, managing director of Working Professional MBA Student Affairs (second from right). During UT Night at the rodeo, football coach Steve Sarkisian attended the Tejas room reception, and on another night, singer Post Malone donned a shirt from Poncho Outdoors, a company founded by Clayton Spencer, BBA ’03. The event was sponsored by Texas McCombs Career Management and Corporate Relations, MBA at Houston Admissions, and the Working Professional MBA Program Office.

2

Business Outlook: Fintech, Feb. 19

Ethan Burris, from left, senior associate dean for academic affairs at Texas McCombs, moderated a panel on fintech in Austin during the final session of the 2025 Business Outlook Series. He was joined by Raul Rodriguez, MBA ’13, a product manager with the creative global consultancy known as Frog, part of Capgemini Invent; Ally Hoffman, an assistant vice president with the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas; and Cesare Fracassi, McCombs finance professor and director of the Blockchain Initiative at McCombs. The other two Business Outlook sessions met during February in Houston, covering the future of energy, and Dallas, discussing population booms and development, housing affordability, and trends in sustainability.

3

Mentorship Dinner, Feb. 13

Students show off their T-shirts at the 2025 Executive Mentorship Dinner in the Hall of Honors at Texas McCombs. The 12th annual event welcomed more than 160 undergraduate students and a record number of mentors. “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,” said Keri Herrin, co-chair of the Mentorship Committee.

UPCOMING ALUMNI EVENTS

Austin Alumni Chapter 

Networking breakfast with speakers, free

July 11

McCombs Homecoming Weekend 

Sept. 19-20

McCombs Alumni Chapters Summer 2025 Celebrations

New York – July 19

Arkansas – July 24

Chicago – JULY 29

Austin – Aug. 12

See more chapter events throughout the year by visiting: bit.ly/alumnicalendar25