Highest Accolades

Texas McCombs bestows school’s top honor on five Hall of Fame inductees for their outstanding professional contributions to the business community

Each fall, the McCombs School of Business hosts a celebration to welcome its most distinguished alumni and friends into its Hall of Fame, and to honor exemplary early- to midcareer alumni as Rising Stars. This year’s honorees were celebrated during a ceremony and dinner Nov. 2.

This year’s Hall of Fame honorees are Connie Kadrovach Duckworth, Phillip D. Green, Bill Gurley, Kyle G. Hranicky, and Paul Knopp.

McCombs’ highest honor, the Hall of Fame was established 40 years ago to recognize alumni, faculty, and friends of the school who have made outstanding professional contributions to the business community and who, by their exemplary civic, philanthropic, and educational activities, have advanced humanity.

“Our inductees demonstrate extraordinary accomplishment and great leadership,” said McCombs Dean Lillian Mills in her induction remarks. “In all ways, they embody ‘What starts here changes the world.’”

Connie Kadrovach Duckworth

Connie Kadrovach Duckworth, B.A. ’76 Plan II, retired in 2001 after 20 years with Goldman Sachs. The first woman sales and trading partner in Goldman Sachs’ history, Duckworth now serves as a director of Steelcase Inc. and MP Materials. In 2002, she founded ARZU, a social enterprise employing destitute women rug weavers in rural Afghanistan, and she served the organization pro bono as chairman and CEO for 17 years. She sits on the George W. Bush Institute’s Women’s Policy Advisory Council in Dallas and is a founding member of the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council in Washington, D.C.

Phillip D. Green

Phil Green, BBA ’77, has served as chair and CEO of Cullen/Frost Bankers Inc. and Frost Bank since 2016. He joined the organization in 1980 and, having served in several managerial roles during his tenure, has helped guide it to become one of the nation’s 50 largest banks. Its common stock dividend has increased for 30 consecutive years, even as Frost has received top rankings for customer satisfaction from J.D. Power for 14 consecutive years and has earned the Greenwich Excellence Award for seven consecutive years.

Bill Gurley

Bill Gurley, MBA ’93, is a prominent venture capitalist and general partner at Benchmark, a leading venture capital firm in Silicon Valley. He has played a crucial role in investing and guiding several successful startups, including Uber, Zillow, Nextdoor, Stitch Fix, and OpenTable. Prior to his career in venture capital, Gurley spent four years in investment banking, where he worked on the Amazon IPO. In his insightful blog, “Above the Crowd,” he shares his thoughts on technology, investing, and business strategy. At UT, he serves on the President’s Commercialization Advisory Board.

Kyle G. Hranicky

Kyle Hranicky, BBA ’91, is the CEO of Commercial Banking at Wells Fargo and serves on the organization’s Operating Committee. After holding numerous other leadership roles for Wells Fargo, Hranicky now oversees teams dedicated to meeting the diverse needs of emerging middle market, middle market, mid-corporate businesses and government, institutional, and not-for-profit clients. He is also an executive sponsor of Wells Fargo’s Native American Connection employee resource network. Hranicky serves on Texas McCombs’ Advisory Council.

Paul J. Knopp

Paul Knopp, BBA ’82, MBA ’83, is chair and CEO at KPMG LLP, a leading professional services firm providing innovative business solutions and audit, tax, and advisory services to many of the world’s most prestigious organizations. Recognized for his commitment to excellence and ethical leadership, Knopp has been honored by Accounting Today, the National Association of Corporate Directors, and Glassdoor. He is a governing board member of the Center for Audit Quality and a board member for nonprofit organizations Catalyst, Partnership for New York City, and U.S.-India Business Council.

Rising Stars

Texas McCombs also celebrated exemplary early-to-midcareer alumni with the 2023 Rising Stars honors. This year’s honorees are:

Amy M. Bell, BBA and MPA ’03, CFO for The Cook’s Nook;

Zach Petrone, BBA ’05, chief investment officer for Highside Capital;

Chirag H. Shah, BBA ’98, MBA ’06, senior portfolio manager , Private Equity for Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation.