McCombs Magazine

Business Activism Brings Benefits and Blowback
Corporations may start choosing their battles more carefully

A Community of Success for McCombs Scholars
Business School Program Builds the Bonds and Offers the Support that Help Students Reach their Goals

Entrepreneurial Surge
Summer Program Sees 4X Growth in Fellowship Applications

Dobie Demolished, Mulva Hall Underway
Mulva Hall, the future center for undergraduate education at McCombs, took a big step forward during the fall

McCombs by the Numbers
The latest numbers from McCombs

Securities Watchdogs Bark More, Bite Less
SEC files more cases in September, right before a reporting deadline to Congress

A New Tack for Slack: Motivate Workers
Managers can boost everyone’s productivity by praising successful workers in company-wide messaging

Gatherings
2024 Summer Celebrations and more

Business Executive Pays it Forward by Teaching Children the Power of Coding
Nikole Vaughn, BBA ’96, MSTC ’04, was fresh out of college and working for Andersen Consulting, which later became Accenture

Brumley Texas Venture Labs To Help Small Businesses Grow
The Jon Brumley Texas Venture Labs (TVL) at The University of Texas at Austin launched the TVL Small Business Impact Program during August.

Butler, Kozmetsky Selected for Austin Tech Hall of Fame
During June, the Austin Technology Council named George Kozmetsky, a former dean of the McCombs School of Business, and John Sibley Butler, a McCombs professor emeritus, to its first class for the Austin Tech Hall of Fame

Marketing Professor Receives Best Paper Award for 2023
The Society for Marketing Science has awarded the 2023 Frank M. Bass Dissertation Paper Award to Kathleen T. Li, an assistant professor of marketing at Texas McCombs

Texas Exes Honor BGS Instructor With Top 10 Teaching Award
David Quintanilla, an associate professor of instruction in the Department of Business, Government & Society, has been named one of the top 10 teachers for 2024

Student-Athlete Named To Academic All-America Team
Eliot Spizzirri, BBA ’24, was selected by the College Sports Communicators for the Academic All-America Men’s Tennis Team for his performance on the court and in the classroom

Poets & Quants Features Best & Brightest Executive MBA
In her interview with Poets & Quants magazine, Ashley Bruno, MBA ’24, says the McCombs School of Business was the natural choice when she decided to go back to school

MBA Student Helps Represent UT at Urban Land CONTEST
McCombs MBA student Ryan White was part of the team that finished in the top four in the 2024 Urban Land Institute (ULI) Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Competition in Seattle

BBA Advisory Board Honors Senior With Rising Star Award
Daniela Aizenman, BBA ’24, was presented with the Student Rising Star Award by the McCombs BBA Advisory Board during the spring

Football’s Jake Majors in Final Season With Longhorns
Jake Majors, BBA ’23, is in his fifth season with the Texas football program and had 41 consecutive starts going into the 2024 schedule of games

When Should Humans Override AI?
Asking AI to explain its reasons does not always help humans make better decisions

Dive into Change: MBA Alum Shares Career-Switch Advice After Launching Pool Service Business
The year was 2021, and the COVID-19 pandemic was making it hard for Leslie Elliott, MBA ’07, to get reliable service for her backyard swimming pool

Steady, Knowable Investing
Jeff Rosenbaum, BBA ’00, shares his insights on the future of energy and powerful investing

Driving Conversation
How Jefferson Fisher, BBA ’11, became the communications whisperer for 10 million people from the front seat of his SUV

What Is Your Next Move?
Whether you’re looking for a promotion, moving to a new job, or reinventing your career, take that next step

Finding A Lifesaving Purpose
Bianca Rhodes, BBA ’81, Found A Career In Finance, But Talent And Business Savvy Landed Her On The Front Lines Of The Aerospace Industry

McCombs by Your Side
Letter from the Dean

Winning in Business
A New Executive Education Course Teaches Executives About Adapting to a Fast-Changing Workplace by Mary Ann Roser An unlikely classroom…

Investing in People
Making a $25 Million Gift, Rozanne and Billy Rosenthal Also Give Department of Management their Name For Rozanne Rosenthal, B.S.…

Worth the Wait?
A Desire for Closure Influences People’s Choices: A Q&A with Annabelle Roberts, Assistant Professor of Marketing by Suzi Morales One…

McCombs by the Numbers
Read MoreMcCombs by the Numbers
Startups Spur Other Companies To Innovate
Fledgling companies outdo established businesses when it comes to accelerating the development of new technologies. What They Studied To examine…

Champions for McCombs
With Endowment and Gift, Former Teammates Aim to Help Others on Paths to Success Chris Cartwright, BBA/MPA ’88, and Tom…

Keith Asmussen, BBA ’21, MPA ‘22
Keith Asmussen, BBA ’21, MPA ‘22, recorded his 64th career victory as a jockey in December, passing the total registered…

Alex Gupta, MBA ’16
Alex Gupta, MBA ’16, founded Break Point Energy to help companies buy clean energy tax credits. He had worked as…

Michael Hanigan, BBA ’15
Michael Hanigan, BBA ’15, has been promoted to partner at Gamut Capital Management, a middle-market private equity firm. He joined…

Dalton J. Potts, BBA ’14
Dalton J. Potts, BBA ’14, has been appointed vice president of the private equity firm 3 Rivers Capital. He was…

Alejandro Flores, BBA ’14
Alejandro Flores, BBA ’14, was a producer on the documentary film “The In Between,” which was an official selection for…

Michael Saclarides, MBA ’13
Michael Saclarides, MBA ’13, has joined Walker & Dunlop Inc. as a managing director focused on multifamily institutional brokerage activities…

Edna Wong, BBA ’11, MPA ‘12
Edna Wong, BBA ’11, MPA ‘12, received KPMG’s national Award of Distinction. Wong is an audit senior manager on rotation…

Kovid Gupta, BBA ’10
Kovid Gupta, BBA ’10, received the Outstanding Young Texas Ex Award for 2023 from Texas Exes. He is a film…

Rouzheen Myrick, BBA/MPA ’08
Rouzheen Myrick, BBA/MPA ’08, was named director of consulting services for the new Dallas office of Palm Tree, a Los…

Jeena Lee, BBA ’08
Jeena Lee, BBA ’08, was recognized as one of the Tri-Valley 20 Under 40ish honorees by the Innovation Tri-Valley Leadership…

John Lilly, MBA ’07
John Lilly, MBA ’07, was named chief product officer at CarNow, a dealership technology vendor. He was president of Integrated…

William DeCourcy, MBA ’07
William DeCourcy, MBA ’07, has been appointed chief lead generation officer for AmeriLife Group. He had been senior vice president…

Charles York, MBA ’06
Charles York, MBA ’06, was named one of Austin’s Top 25 Healthcare Technology Leaders for 2023. He is chief operating…

Grant Sullivan, BBA ’05
Grant Sullivan, BBA ’05, was named a judge on the Colorado Court of Appeals by the governor. Sullivan had served…

Burt Chao, BBA ’05
Burt Chao, BBA ’05, was named chief financial officer of Pushpay, a payments and engagement solutions provider. He previously worked…

Zach Rippstein, BBA ’04, MBA ‘17
Zach Rippstein, BBA ’04, MBA ‘17 , has been named chief marketing officer of ZenBusiness, a platform for starting and…

Mandy Price, BBA ’03
Mandy Price, BBA ’03, has joined the Dallas Zoo board. She is co-founder and CEO of Kanarys, a technology company…