McCombs Magazine

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…

Elizabeth Gorski-Fratus, MBA ’03
Elizabeth Gorski-Fratus, MBA ’03, has been promoted to U.S. managing director of strategy and technology at Deloitte LLP. She was…

Jorge Garduño, MBA ’01
Jorge Garduño, MBA ’01, has been named chief customer and commercial officer at the Coca‑Cola Co. He was based in…

Edward Chipman “Chip” Earle, MBA ’01
Edward Chipman “Chip” Earle, MBA ’01, has been appointed executive vice president, general counsel, chief administrative officer, chief compliance officer…

David Clifford, BBA ’00
David Clifford, BBA ’00, has been named chief operating officer of Tectonic Financial Inc., a technology-focused financial services company. He…

Kevin Hamilton, BBA ’99
Kevin Hamilton, BBA ’99, has been appointed vice president of global marketing and communications for the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council…

Matthew Chee, BBA ’99
Matthew Chee, BBA ’99, was appointed senior vice president of growth at Charge Enterprises Inc. He had been vice president…

Cullen Childress, MBA ’97
Cullen Childress, MBA ’97, wrote about “Overcoming the Push and Pull of AI: Lessons From IT Teams in Making AI…

Jorge Silva-Puras, MBA ’96
Jorge Silva-Puras, MBA ’96, was appointed interim provost at Lehman College. He is also senior vice president for academic affairs…

Khary Scott, BBA ’95
Khary Scott, BBA ’95, has been appointed senior vice president over co-brand partnership development at Atlanticus Holdings Corp., a financial…

Matt Osburn, MPA ‘95
Matt Osburn, MPA ‘95, was named one of Austin’s Top 25 Healthcare Technology Leaders for 2023. He is chief financial…

Bill Poston, MBA ’94
Bill Poston, MBA ’94, received the Raymond L. Gardner Alumnus of the Year Award from Phi Delta Theta fraternity for…

Praveen Madan, MBA ’94
Praveen Madan, MBA ’94, has been named CEO and publisher of Berrett-Koehler Publishers. He is a former chair of the…

Brett Elder, BBA ’94
Brett Elder, BBA ’94, has joined Advanced Management Operations Platform as vice president of sales. He had worked as a…

Steve Chase, MBA/MPA ’94
Steve Chase, MBA/MPA ’94, was named vice chair of the new AI and digital innovation group at KPMG US. He…

Shannon Smith, BBA ’93
Shannon Smith, BBA ’93, was named chief commercial officer of Chestnut Carbon, a carbon offset developer. She was chief growth…

Harriss Currie, MBA ’92
Harriss Currie, MBA ’92, has been named president over regenerative medicine with 3D Systems of Rock Hill, South Carolina. He…

Erin Mulligan Helgren, BBA ’91
Erin Mulligan Helgren, BBA ’91, has been appointed to the Ryman Hospitality Properties Inc. board. She is CEO of OfficeSpace…

Stewart Seeligson, BBA ’86, MBA ’94
Stewart Seeligson, BBA ’86, MBA ’94, was named a managing partner of The Agency Telluride, a Colorado franchise of the…

Diana Diaz, BBA ’85
Diana Diaz, BBA ’85, has been named the permanent chief financial officer of Direct Digital Holdings, an advertising and marketing…

Ross R. Moody, BBA ’84
Ross R. Moody, BBA ’84, received the Distinguished Alumnus Award for 2023 from Texas Exes. He is chairman and CEO…

Marcie Zlotnik, BBA ’83
Marcie Zlotnik, BBA ’83, has joined the board of NRG Energy Inc. She is the co-founder, chief operating officer, and…

Susan Sabanos, MBA ’83
Susan Sabanos, MBA ’83, has joined Opinions Ltd., a U.S. data collection and fieldwork services firm, as vice president of…

Sherron Watkins, BBA ’81
Sherron Watkins, BBA ’81, MPA ‘82, spoke about “The Courage of Your Convictions” in a business ethics address at Franklin…

James Schellhase, BBA ’80
James Schellhase, BBA ’80, MPA ‘81, has been appointed executive chairman of McCarthyFinch, a legal workflow software company. Before joining…

Gary Kelly, BBA ’77
Gary Kelly, BBA ’77, has been appointed to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas board. He is executive chairman of…

John Goff, BBA ’77
John Goff, BBA ’77, received the Distinguished Alumnus Award for 2023 from Texas Exes. He is the founder and managing…

Work with ‘companies that matter’ lands VC partner on Forbes 30 Under 30 list
Samuel D. Garcia, BBA ’16, has been named to Forbes magazine’s 30 Under 30 list for venture capital. He is…

Mixing business with pleasure: A recipe for margarita success
Chris and Elsa DeGroot hit a business milestone in 2023. Just as last year’s long, hot summer was beginning to…

Outdoor Living
How Two McCombs Entrepreneurs With a Love for Time Spent Outside Built a Company Kevin Long, MBA ’23, spent the…

Gatherings
Wall Street for McCombs Annual Reception, April 9 The annual reception for students in the Wall Street for McCombs (WSFM)…

Creative Pivot
Josh Tarplin, MPA ’24, on Finding His Passion for Auditing After a Career in Photography Accounting wasn’t on Josh Tarplin’s…

Letter from the Dean
Stepping into the Future I remember watching the moon landing on TV in 1969, and this “Star Trek” fan was…

Self-Driving Vehicles Bring the Store to You
With Autonomous Vehicles, Sellers Expand Their Reach Going Right to Their Customers Based on the Research of Junyu Cao Autonomous…