Mays Impacts

COLLEGE STATION, TX, Nov. 17 — On Friday, November 11, four second-year students in Texas A&M’s Master of Science in Human Resource Management program took first place in the 2022 Purdue HR Case Competition hosted on Purdue’s campus in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Students Abbey Dethloff, Joanna Moran, Abby Patterson, and Bailey Wilkins worked in advance of the competition to present a potential solution for PepsiCo’s desire to attract and retain more females in front-line roles at several sites in their NorthCentral region.

The team had one week to collaborate and submit their recommendations, which included: external and internal marketing efforts as well as creating talent pipeline partnerships with local community colleges and high schools.

“When brainstorming possible solutions for the assigned case, it immediately became clear to our team what a robust collection of HR tools we have garnered over the past three semesters. The way we think, and approach problems analytically has fundamentally changed because of the program’s comprehensive and well-rounded curriculum,” explained Dethloff. “We were able to draw on knowledge from a variety of courses and approached the case from the multiple lenses of employment law, organizational behavior, marketing, and financial analysis, to name a few. The MSHRM program molds business professionals who are well-equipped for the increasingly strategic role of today’s HR Business Partner.”

The formal case presentation was given by the team on Friday to a panel of judges. In a competition of eight teams from elite HR programs from across the country, including Purdue University, Cornell University, Indiana University, BYU, University of Illinois, and the University of Minnesota.

“The MSHRM program equipped us with the analytical skills and industry knowledge necessary to propose innovative yet practical solutions. Thanks to our internships with MSHRM partner companies this summer, we gave PepsiCo recommendations informed by our professional experiences at Fortune 500 firms. We entered this competition feeling confident in our understanding of HR trends and legal issues thanks to the courses we have taken during our time in the program,” said Moran.

The MSHRM program is strategically designed to equip Mays students with the skills and tools to build a strong foundation in a range of HR competencies with a heavy influence of increased business-acumen knowledge.

“The most memorable moment from winning the competition was celebrating with our program, who flooded our phones with messages of how proud they were of us,” said Patterson. It truly feels like a family to come home and have a whole room of classmates and professors waiting for you with cake (4 different cakes to be exact!) ready to celebrate with us. This program shaped a team of students who care for each other like a family and I could not be more honored to represent my program at this competition and every day.”

Dethloff, Moran, Patterson, and Wilkins were chosen to represent Texas A&M at this contest based on their winning performance in the Spring 2022 Texas A&M Center for HRM Case Competition hosted by Chevron. They will each graduate with their MS Human Resource Management degrees in December and shortly after beginning full-time HR positions.

Dr. Matthew Call joined a growing list of faculty members from Texas A&M University’s Mays Business School who are featured in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the world’s preeminent business publication with a circulation of almost 3 million subscribers. Call authored a column entitled “How Companies Can Turn Former Employees into Faithful Alumni,” which was published Sept. 23, 2022.

The publication of Call’s column in the prestigious industry publication adds to Mays’ already sterling reputation. The school has 11 faculty members who rank in the top 2% of scholars worldwide. Additionally, Mays is among the Top 20 public business schools in the United States

A Network of Connections

Call was recommended to the WSJ by Dr. Anthony Klotz, a former Mays faculty member who contributes similar columns for the publication. After discussing his research with a WSJ editor, Call was invited to author the column on alumni networks.

The development of alumni networks helps companies engage with a mobile workforce that no longer remains with a company for most of their career. Call believes that part of the reason for this mobility may be because employee loyalty has not been reciprocated by companies over the years. “There’s this reshaping of the employer-employee relationship over the past 20-30 years that has led companies to realize that people are not seeing their jobs as a lifelong relationship now,” Call explained. “They’re leaving–and in the past, companies just thought the employees were gone for good.”

Some companies purposefully have a model that doesn’t encourage employee retention and tenure. For example, some firms like Goldman Sachs hire young elite professionals, knowing they will work for the company for a short period of time. “There’s actually research that shows that people are willing to take a pay cut to start at a high-status firm because of what it does for their resume going forward,” Call said. “All of this is wrapped in the idea that once you have this experience, you take that with you.”

However, Call sees companies increasingly trying to capitalize on employee mobility by creating relationships with employees after they leave the firm. “Having goodwill from employees leads to a host of benefits,” he said. “As a company, we can draw upon that identity that you take with you, so you can continue to refer to us, come back and work for us, or be a resource in general.”

Many employees go on to work for the company’s client firms, so maintaining an alumni relationship can be very beneficial. “A lot of these initial companies start to develop these alumni networks to formalize the relationship and to stay in touch with former employees as a competitive advantage,” he said. “When companies have alums working in their client firms, they will get first dibs (on projects) and can (further) develop that relationship.”

Additionally, companies can benefit by staying in touch because some former employees may return in the future. “In many industries, boomerang employees are up to 10-20% of new hires,” Call said.

Alumni networks also can help influence prospective employees through Glassdoor and social media. “If ex-employees are saying it was a great experience, prospective employees are more likely to go to that place,” Call said. “Leaders are seeing that this branding is important, and alumni have a big place in that.”

Challenges of Networks

However, the Mays assistant professor also noted that valid concerns exist related to companies celebrating employees leaving. “There is some hesitation around it because there are these perceived and actual costs associated with high-fiving people on the way out,” he said, pointing out that this approach may set the stage culturally for very higher turnover and the associated costs of finding and onboarding new talent.

Additionally, some employees who leave may be opportunistic and use the company’s alumni network to gain knowledge of best practices without reciprocating in the knowledge sharing. “When they are not a formal employee, you don’t have monitoring systems in place to say, ‘You’re not allowed to act opportunistically,’” Call explained.

Despite these potential downsides, the management professor believes that companies will continue to turn to corporate alumni networks. “I think with the current job market, these alumni networks will be increasingly happening,” he said. “It’s important to help managers understand that these employees still have value as a human and still can add value as alumni, so we need to attenuate managers’ sense of betrayal. It’s about being part of an extended family.”

Growing Mays Network

Similarly, Call’s burgeoning relationship with the WSJ continues to build an important network that supports Mays’ momentum to become the nation’s public preeminent business school. The publication previously tapped Mays’ expertise from Dr. Leonard Barry and Dr. Mike Shaub—and WSJ editors have commissioned Call to write another column about high-performing star employees’ impact on their peers, which is expected to be published in November.

These types of opportunities support Mays’ efforts to become the nation’s preeminent public business school. “It helps by both getting our name in front of larger audiences and by demonstrating the expertise that resides in our faculty,” Mays Interim Dean Ricky Griffin said. “We’re fortunate to have outstanding faculty members like Dr. Call who are doing translational research that provides relevant insights to help business leaders strategically position their companies for success.”

One hundred Aggie-owned or -led companies selected for the 2022 Aggie 100 following the second highest number of applications in program history.

COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS, November 4, 2022 – The McFerrin Center for Entrepreneurship hosted its 18th annual Aggie 100 awards in the Hall of Champions at Kyle Field, with nearly 650 in attendance for the celebration.

Although companies are notified in advance that they were selected for the Aggie 100, the official rankings aren’t revealed until the in-person event, with the surprise announcements made by current Texas A&M students selected by the McFerrin Center.

This year’s #1 company, LeasePoint Funding Group, based in Austin and founded by Jeff Markim ’12, was honored with an impressive growth rate of 379.291% from 2019-2021.

“I was shocked, certainly happy, thrilled, to be in the Aggie 100, and then to get the call that we were #1 this year… I would never have thought that. I really am honored, as a lifelong Aggie, to get this award, from this school,” Jeff remarked. “My wife is an Aggie. My business partner is an Aggie. Our top investors are Aggies. A lot of the people who have influenced my life are from this university, and it means a lot to receive this kind of recognition.”

The top 10 from the 2022 Aggie 100 company list, including their location, Aggie leadership and growth rate, are:

1. LeasePoint Funding Group | Austin, TX | Jeff Markim ’12 & Daniel Totah ’06 | 379.291%
2. Blackbuck Resources | Houston, TX | Samuel Oliver ’10 | 130.668%
3. Education Advanced, Inc. | Tyler, TX | J. Eli Crow, Ph.D. ’01 | 122.652%
4. Centerline Engineering & Consulting, LLC | Lubbock, TX | Daniel Wetzel ’06 | 122.059%
5. Albers Aerospace | McKinney, TX | John Albers ’90 | 114.589%
6. C-LARs, LLC | Bryan, TX | Edwin Adam Janac ’06 | 107.711%
7. RMJK Enterprises Inc. | Kansas City, KS | Rob Patterson ’09 | 107.576%
8. Specialty Fleet Sales & Rentals | Lindale, TX | Justin Bateman ’08 | 102.402%
9. Oak Prairie Oil & Gas LLC | Shenandoah, TX | Chuck Meloy ’82 & Grady Meloy ’13 | 102.330%
10. Underground Support Services, LLC | Dallas, TX | Stephanie Teetes ’94 | 101.990%

“Now in its 18th year, the Aggie 100 continues to re-set the standard for recognizing and celebrating the best of our Aggie entrepreneurs across the globe. These 100 companies and their Aggie founders and leaders have proven their determination for success, and we’re excited to welcome them to the Aggie 100 family. This year saw our second-highest number of applications ever, indicating just how competitive these rankings have become. This 18th class of the Aggie 100 represents the cream that has truly risen to the top, and we’re honored to be a part of their company’s story and success,” said Blake Petty ‘98, executive director of the McFerrin Center for Entrepreneurship.

Launched in 2005 by the McFerrin Center for Entrepreneurship, the Aggie 100 honors the 100 fastest-growing Aggie-owned or -led businesses in the world. While there are many ways to define business success, Aggie 100 uses growth rate as an indicator as it reflects a venture’s capacity for job creation, product acceptance and entrepreneurial vision. Nominated companies are ranked by percentage of compound annual growth in sales or revenues (net of returns), over a three-year period (2019-2021 for this year’s class). Nominees are required to provide detailed company information to PKF Texas who then evaluate and rank the nominees based on these requirements.

In addition to growth and leadership criteria, companies named to the Aggie 100 must operate in a manner consistent with the Aggie Code of Honor and the values of Texas A&M University.

Aggie 100 has grown significantly since its inception in 2005 and is now being emulated by a number of other top universities, including several SEC schools. More than 850 different companies and nearly 1,200 Aggie leaders have been honored over the past 18 years.

A complete list of the 2022 Aggie 100 companies, including past years, can be found at aggie100.com.

About McFerrin Center for Entrepreneurship

The McFerrin Center for Entrepreneurship serves as the hub for entrepreneurship at Texas A&M University. The McFerrin Center’s goal is to enhance entrepreneurial education by providing training, networking and assistance to enterprising students, faculty and former students.

The McFerrin Center enables the startup and growth of countless businesses and provides competitive opportunities, professional development and financial support to aspiring entrepreneurs in the Aggie community through the support of a robust volunteer mentor network, corporate supporters, faculty and staff.

The McFerrin Center defines entrepreneurship as an attitude that acts on opportunity. In this spirit, the McFerrin Center strives to deliver programs and events that are inspiring, engaging, motivating and life-changing. This philosophy has resulted in the McFerrin Center for Entrepreneurship offering more than 30 unique programs each year that positively impact the lives of thousands of students, veterans and other professionals seeking to blaze their own trail as an entrepreneur.

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Media Contact: Lara Robertson, communications manager, McFerrin Center for Entrepreneurship, lrobertson@tamu.edu

ATLANTA, GA – CLC, the nation’s leading collegiate licensing company, and IMG, the operator of New York Fashion Week: The Shows, partnered to deliver the ninth installment of their successful UofNYFW, a one-of-a-kind education experience for 23 students from 15 universities, including two students from Texas A&M’s Mays Business School, at this September’s New York Fashion Week. This unique academic enrichment program, which is an extension of CLC’s continued efforts to support innovative education initiatives for its partner institutions, provides future fashion leaders a behind-the-scenes look at the industry, including entry into select runway shows, panel discussions, and networking opportunities with industry leaders.

The students were treated to a runway show with top Korean designer Son Jung Wan, as well as a show presented by NewLeaper, the unique incubator for new designers and fashion business start-ups. The students also attended a NYFW: The Talks session on “Mindfulness in Fashion” with Model Hilary Rhoda; Singer, Songwriter Bianca Quiñones; Wellness Professional Christa Janine; and others to discuss mental health in the fashion industry. Additionally, students participated in a Q&A with representatives from IMG, as well as a backstage tour of the production and execution of a fashion show at Spring Studios, the central hub of New York Fashion Week: The Shows.

“There are so many resources and people to support your passions and interests in the fashion industry,” shared Rachel Anderson. “I realized that I had a very different background from many of the students and professionals, but that is what makes me unique as I prepare to enter the workforce.”

“It is always exciting to provide a group of bright college students the chance to interact and learn from some of the best designers and experts in the world of fashion at NYFW: The Shows,” said Leslie Russo, President of IMG’s Fashion Events and Properties. “This collaboration with CLC and the participating universities aligns with our mission to deliver opportunities for future leaders in the industry and support the development of new perspectives in the ever-evolving fashion business.”

In addition to the unique New York Fashion Week experiences, the students spent the day at top athletic fashion brand and collegiate licensee Champion where they had the opportunity to learn firsthand how a clothing line is developed and merchandised.

“In every part of this trip, the students are prioritized,” shared Maggie Cooley. “From behind the scenes tours of the Spring Studios, to getting to personalize our own merchandise at the Champion Flagship store, UofNYFW was created for students to learn from the industry’s biggest fashion names, as well as World renowned brands.”

“Our goal for the UofNYFW college program is to deliver innovative experiences and once-in-a-lifetime learning opportunities to students at our partner institutions, which adds tremendous value to the participating universities beyond our traditional role of brand licensing,” said Cory Moss, CEO of CLC. “Since the inception of this unique program, we have been honored to help inspire and influence many talented students on their path to a career in the fashion industry.”

The collegiate Fashion Week program delivered unique academic enrichment opportunities for the students with expenses covered by their universities. Institutions that participated in the collegiate enrichment program at NYFW: The Shows included Arizona State University, Baylor University, NC State, Syracuse University, TCU, Texas A&M University, The University of Texas at Austin, University of Arizona, University of Colorado, University of Delaware, University of Pittsburgh, University of South Carolina, Washington State University, West Virginia University, and Western Michigan University

Participating students chronicled their experiences through social media using #UofNYFW and were asked to share their learnings with other students upon their return to campus.

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About IMG

IMG is a global leader in sports, fashion, events and media. The company manages some of the world’s greatest athletes and fashion icons; owns and operates hundreds of live events annually; and is a leading independent producer and distributor of sports and entertainment media. IMG also specializes in licensing, sports training and league development. IMG is a subsidiary of Endeavor, a global entertainment, sports and content company.

About CLC

CLC is the nation’s leading collegiate trademark licensing company with a mission to elevate college brands through insight and innovation. The company is uniquely positioned to deliver consumer connections and brand visibility for institutions through data-based, customized solutions that include impactful licensed merchandise strategies and innovative marketing platforms to navigate the ever-evolving consumer and retail marketplace. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, CLC is guided by values to serve others, build trust, lead well, innovate often, and be passionate. Founded in 1981, CLC is a part of LEARFIELD, the leading media and technology services company in intercollegiate athletics.

For more information, please contact:

Tammy Purves, CLC, tammy.purves@clc.com or 770-799-3275