Mays Impacts

A firm believer in giving back, Alan Mitchell ’85 recently visited with Mays Business Honors students as part of the Mays 2017 Transformational Leader Speaker Series to provide them with not only career advice, but also advice on school and life.

“Be comfortable hearing your own voice in a room of people,” is guidance he would offer to junior members of his team. “If you don’t speak up early in a discussion, people will think of you as being irrelevant,” he added.

Additionally, while recalling how he evaluated opportunities presented during his first job out of college with KPMG, he said “If there is opportunity out there, take it, even if it presents challenges. You will always grow and expand and it will generally make you a more important part of your company and make you make you worldlier.”

Mitchell retired from investment banking in 2017 after a 23-year career at Wells Fargo Securities and Citigroup. He left Wells Fargo as the head of the telecom investment banking within the Technology, Media, and Telecom group. Mitchell earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Texas A&M and his MBA in finance and international business from Columbia Business School, where he graduated with honors.

The students found value in Mitchell sharing his story of advancing himself by going back to business school to pursue his MBA after being in the workforce for seven years. For him, his MBA was a game changer because of the influence it carried. It also taught him that “you need to like what you’re doing in your specific career.”

Mitchell’s talk then turned to the topic of “building the resume of your life,” which starts with college and continues with everything a person does thereafter. He emphasized that students need to “make sure every subsequent step on one’s resume is additive to their prior experiences and makes them more interesting and unique.”

Business Honors student Payton Fanning ’20 said Mitchell cautioned that the ability to have relevant experiences diminishes with each passing day. “He encouraged us to make every one of our actions meaningful, and to make sure every job/opportunity we seize is something we will be proud to see on our resume,” Fanning said.

As the students continued to ask questions about resumes, Mitchell said their resumes should “demonstrate a desire for experience,” and showcase a level of commitment to their undertakings. Mitchell advised the students to set goals for pursuing their next opportunities. He said a good rule of thumb is three to five years at a job before you re-evaluate where you are with each job.

Mitchell closed with his last piece of advice when he stated, “Remember, first choices in life won’t be your last choices in life. Identify and reach for every opportunity presented to you, as it can be life-changing.”

The impact of his words was felt by all of the students attending. “I left with a gratitude for Aggies like Alan Mitchell who seek to provide opportunities to younger Aggies in high-profile fields,” said Adam Warnke ’17, a Business Honors & Accounting-PPA student.

Russell Cardon, far right, was on the 3rd-place team with MBA students from SMU, TCU, and the University of Maryland

Mays Business School Full-Time MBA student Russell Cardon ’19 and his team won third place and $3,000 in the 2017 PepsiCo MBA Invitational Business Case Competition at Texas Christian University on Oct. 27-28.

Full-Time MBA Program Director Shannon Deer said, “The PepsiCo case competition is an excellent way for first-year MBA students to practice the problem solving, teamwork, presentation, and technical skills our faculty and staff work so hard to deliver.”

MBA students from 14 universities received a first-hand look from PepsiCo executives, who awarded $15,000 to winning students. The MBA students were assigned to eight mixed teams, each team member from a different school. The teams received the case from PepsiCo in the morning, worked quickly with their teammates, and then presented their solutions to PepsiCo executives the same afternoon.

“By placing MBA students on teams from other MBA programs, the competition replicates professional situations where colleagues with different skills work together to create the best solution for the company,” said Kim Austin, director of the Career Management Center at Mays Business School.

Second place and $5,000 was awarded to Andrew Kay from Texas Christian University/Neeley School of Business; Kelsey Zhou from University of Washington/Foster School of Business; Kate Trimper from Southern Methodist University Cox School of Business; and Austin Gilbertson from University of Notre Dame/Mendoza College of Business.

The first-place team won $7,000. Team members were Patrick Smith from the University of Maryland/Smith School of Business; Sara Hartley from the University of Illinois College of Business, Jade Manternach from University of Iowa/Tippie College of Business; and Ony Mgbeahurike from Washington University in St. Louis/Olin Business School.

Judging the competition were PepsiCo executives: Ralph Goedderz, vice president finance; Jim Hathaway, vice president planning; Richard Blazevich, senior director marketing; Dave Boissevain, senior director sales strategy; and Riccardo Barrenechea, senior director finance.

The third annual MBA business case competition is made possible by a partnership between TCU Neeley and PepsiCo. Participating schools for the 2017 competition included:

• Columbia University, Columbia Business School
• Rice University, Jones Graduate School of Business
• Ohio State University, Fisher College of Business
• Southern Methodist University, Cox School of Business
• Texas A&M University, Mays School of Business
• Texas Christian University, Neeley School of Business
• University of Illinois, College of Business
• University of Iowa, Tippie College of Business
• University of Maryland, Smith School of Business
• University of Notre Dame, Mendoza College of Business
• University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Business
• University of Washington, Foster School of Business
• Vanderbilt University, Owen Graduate School of Management
• Washington University in St. Louis, Olin Business School

The Mays Full-Time MBA program was recently ranked in the top 10 among U.S. public programs at 7th among U.S. public schools and 20th overall in the 2017 Forbes “Best Business Schools” ranking.

The fastest-growing Aggie-owned or Aggie-led businesses were recognized Friday night at the 13th Annual Aggie 100 at a dinner hosted by the Texas A&M Mays Business School’s McFerrin Center for Entrepreneurship. Members of the exclusive club were honored by about 700 attendees at a dinner at the Hall of Champions at Texas A&M University’s Kyle Field.

The company with the highest growth was Lonquist Field Services (Canada), which reported a growth of 223.287 percent. It is owned by Richard R. Lonquist ’87, Roy W. Duff ’85 and Robert S. Crews ’90.

The complete Aggie 100 list may be found at www.aggie100.com.

To be considered for the Aggie 100, companies (corporations, partnerships, sole proprietorships) must operate in a manner consistent with the Aggie Code of Honor and in keeping with the values and image of Texas A&M University, and must meet specific criteria.

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Students in Professor Henry Musoma’s Survey of Management course had the opportunity to hear from Robert Carter, a psychologist working in Student Counseling Services at Texas A&M University and a dear friend of Musoma’s.

The topic of the day was “Managing Interpersonal Relations and Communications,” so the main point of the discussion was simple. In Carter’s words, “the key to management is communication. You have to reach and connect with people in ways that truly allow for communication to happen.”

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Aggie TenX12 Start-Up Showcase (left to right) Andy Ellwood ’04, McCalley Cunningham ’18, Juan Zermeno ’17, Saurav Agarwal ’16, and Madison Nicole Robinson ’20

Texas A&M University’s Center for Retailing Studies (CRS) hosted its annual Retailing Summit on Oct. 12-13 at the Westin Galleria Dallas. CRS is part of Mays Business School.

This year’s conference featured executives from Crayola, Dollar General, GPO, Johnson & Johnson, Nature Nate’s, Poo-Pourri, Root, Signet Jewelers, Walgreens, and Zoës Kitchen. A new addition to the Summit included a session with founders of four start-up companies launched by current and former Texas A&M students.

Major themes emphasized throughout the Retailing Summit included:

• Customer experience as a key to competing with Amazon
• Investing in people as assets and differentiators
• The need for companies to be purpose-driven in order to draw attention from Millennials, who want to be part of something bigger

Impact

“Through the proceeds from the Retailing Summit, we are proud to support leadership programs and curriculum for our retailing students,” says Kelli Hollinger, Director of the Center for Retailing Studies at Mays Business School. “This conference embodies Mays strategic commitment to developing transformational leaders, students, and executives, who constantly innovate and challenge the status quo.”  …Read more

Mays Business School hosted the 9^th annual Texas A&M Collegiate Sales Competition, where 17 sponsored companies brought in $36,000 to judge student competitors in a role-play selling situation. The 60 students came from four colleges within Texas A&M University to compete on Oct. 20-21.

Altria Group Distribution Company gave the competitors a case in which they were told to put together a sales pitch for Coffee Craze. Each participant was responsible for calling on EZ Stop N Save Convenience Stores to find business-building opportunities that would benefit both of their businesses.

A total of $6,500 in scholarships was awarded to the top four competitors. Marketing major Kendall Carter finished in 1^st place, earning a $2,000 scholarship; industrial distribution major Heath Kristek placed 2^nd ; marketing major Renee Richardson placed 3^rd; and marketing major placed Madelyne Dunn placed 4^th.

Andrew Loring, the assistant director of the Professional Selling Initiative, called it another successful year. “The sales competition is an incredible experiential learning opportunity to not only gain sales experience, but also receive valuable feedback and job offers from participating companies,” he said.

The Executive MBA program at Texas A&M University’s Mays Business School maintains its place among the top 10 programs offered exclusively by U.S. public universities in the U.S., according to the 2017 rankings released Monday by Financial Times.

“We are proud to be ranked as a top public Executive MBA Program in the state of Texas and a Top 10 public program in the nation,” said Eli Jones, dean of Mays Business School. “This significant achievement reflects the strength and dedication of the Mays Business School faculty and staff to create visionary leaders. Mays is making a positive impact on the communities we serve through the strong accomplishments of our seasoned executives.”

This year’s rankings are based on feedback from the Class of 2014. The Mays Executive MBA Program ranked 10th among public schools located exclusively in the U.S and in the Top 25 among all public/private schools in the U.S.

In addition, the Mays program ranked 1st in work experience among U.S. public institutions (2nd among public/private). It has developed a reputation for attracting seasoned talent as well as high performers identified by their organizations.

Mays fared well in the 2017 Financial Times rankings in other areas as well. Based on the research productivity in the top journals in business, Mays faculty ranked 7th among U.S. public schools and 14th among U.S. public/private.

For nearly 20 years, Mays has offered its top-ranked Executive MBA in Houston. The two-year program meets on alternating weekends in Houston – leaving students time for important work-life balance. In class, students learn from faculty experts at Mays who are renowned for their research and passionate about teaching.

“We are proud to be the only school in Houston to be ranked by Financial Times. Through our program, students become better decision makers and gain the confidence for top leadership positions,” says Julie Orzabal, program director.

Attributing his current success to what he learned during his time at Texas A&M University, Tim Meyer was ready to share some of that knowledge when he recently visited with Mays Business Honors students as part of the Mays 2017 Transformational Leader Speaker Series.

“Stay disciplined in this field” seemed to be the common theme Meyer conveyed throughout the duration of the session. Meyer is a co-founder and managing partner at Angeles Equity Partners, and is responsible for overseeing all aspects for the firm’s investment activities. He received his Bachelor’s degree in finance from Texas A&M and an MBA with a concentration in entrepreneurial finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Meyer knew the value in sharing his decision to return to school to pursue his MBA, enlightening the students on how he went back to school without being sponsored by the firm he had been working for at the time. He then gave students a rule of thumb for planning when he said, “if you get into a top 5 school for your MBA, go, regardless of money. If it’s not a top 5 B-school, try to see if you get sponsored by your company/firm first.”

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Texas A&M University’s Mays Business School recognized two graduates – Kathleen Seiders ’95 and Wei Shen ’99 – with the Outstanding Doctoral Alumni Award. This award highlights former students who have achieved significant distinction in their academic field. The pair were honored during an awards presentation and reception on September 29.

“Kathleen and Wei are indicative of the high quality of individuals enrolled in our doctoral programs as well as the commitment that our faculty makes to help our students succeed,” said Mays Dean Eli Jones ’82, who received the honor in 2009. “Our doctoral candidates graduate with a deep knowledge of their subject area, a desire to expand the understanding in their field of research, and a commitment to educating future generations of students.”

Criteria for Mays’ Outstanding Doctoral Alumni include: sustained research productivity and visibility in the field; service to the profession as editor of a major scholarly journal; recipient of major awards for excellence in research, teaching and/or service; academic and administrative leadership; successful career progression at a peer or aspirational school; and holder of an endowed position. …Read more

Health and well-being company Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) and Mays Business School at Texas A&M University are launching the first healthcare analytics case competition at the university’s campus to showcase students’ analytical abilities to solve a real-world business problem. The case competition is open to all accredited colleges in the United States.

Students enrolled full-time in accredited Master of Science, Master of Arts, Master of Information Systems, Master of Public Health or Master of Business Administration programs at an educational institution based in the United States are eligible to enter. Students are invited to join in groups of two to three students—from the same school—to tackle a real-world case that will be announced in October.

The deadline for participants to submit their completed analyses will be Oct. 27 by 11:59 p.m. CT. Five finalists will then present their analyses to an executive panel at Texas A&M’s Mays Business School on Nov. 9, with the winner being selected immediately afterward.

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