SMU Cox Class Notes, Spring 2026

Class of 1967

 

David North, MBA ’67, earned his degree while working at Texas Instruments. He says his MBA was important to his career and served him well—first in being promoted to department manager at TI, then in serving as administrator for the electrical and computer engineering department at Rice University. He then became director of camping for the New Mexico Conference of the United Methodist Church, followed by a stint as director of Chapman University’s satellite campus in Albuquerque and as president and CEO of Volunteers of America Texas before retiring in 2004. Now 86, David and his wife of 65 years live in Hicksville, Ohio, and attend a local church where their third son is a pastor. David says it has been “a good, productive career and life” in no small part due to his MBA from SMU.

 

Class of 1970

 

Allen Clark, MBA ’70, graduated from the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, in 1963 and volunteered for service in Vietnam in 1966. He served in the U.S. Army Special Forces as an undercover infantry officer. Allen was wounded by mortar shrapnel in an attack on June 17, 1967, and had both legs amputated below the knees. Following 15 months of rehab and a long struggle with post-traumatic stress, he became special assistant of administration to Texas Gov. Bill Clements in 1978. Allen served in President George H.W. Bush’s administration from 1989 to 1993 as assistant secretary for veterans liaison. He was also director of the National Cemetery System and selected the site for the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery. He retired in 2005 and is the author of three books.

 

Dan Dooely, B.B.A. ’70, celebrated 55 years as an SMU alumni and 55 years of marriage to Jane Dooely (née Miers) in 2025. Following a career in insurance and reinsurance, Dan retired as a vice president with General Reinsurance in Kansas City. He worked another 10 years for a national nonprofit that provides scholarships for high school seniors around the country. He still lives in Kansas City, where his three children and six grandchildren also reside.

 

 

Class of 1971 

John Roots, B.B.A. ’71, J.D. ’75, served as a captain and helicopter pilot in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1964 to 1969. After leaving active duty, John remained in the Marine Corps Reserves before retiring with 32 years of service. In his last year of law school, John was hired by Atlantic Richfield Co. (ARCO) in the land department. He later spent 10 years lobbying for ARCO in Washington, D.C., during which time he worked with the White House assisting President Ronald Reagan with official visits as a volunteer advanceman. In 1995, John joined the staff of U.S. Senator Ted Stevens as a legislative attorney and, in 1998, became a partner in the government relations firm Chambers, Conlon and Hartwell. In 2010, John retired to his home in Great Falls, Virginia. He married Lynne Waddell (’65) in 1968, and they have two grown children, Joshua and Abigail, as well as a granddaughter and grandson, Hope and John Luis. In his retirement, John says he enjoys family, golf, RV travels and reading. “Life has been good.”  

Class of 1974

William Brueckmann, B.B.A. ’74, retired from a long career with DuPont, Remington Arms and Syngenta, is happily married and is currently working as a railroad mechanic and licensed locomotive engineer.

Class of 1976

 

Alan Oppenheimer, MBA ’76, says his success story is the publication of his book Classroom to Career, which offers practical insights and advice for navigating workplace challenges, gathered from professionals across a range of careers.

 

Class of 1980

 

David Marlow, B.B.A. ’80, EMBA ’90, says returning to SMU Cox for his EMBA was one of the best personal and professional decisions he has ever made. He immediately applied what he learned from his EMBA studies to his family’s business by incorporating what he learned into a business plan specifically aimed at commercial and consumer markets. Four years later, he says, they achieved revenues equal to one-third of their overall business. Later on, David says his father trusted him to take a lead role in selling their company. “My degree at Cox gave me the confidence necessary for this task,” he says. “I owe the Cox School of Business and the EMBA experience so much. Thank you, Cox!”  

 

Class of 1987

Kristen Beckman, business minor ’87, completed a two-year master’s in international studies at George Washington University after graduating from SMU. She took her first job in sales for Christian Dior Perfumes and went on to lead a successful career working for companies such as Revlon, Estée Lauder and Boucheron. Kristen says her business minor from SMU Cox, in addition to her liberal arts degree, allowed her to enter and excel in multiple positions with a solid understanding of business disciplines.

Missy Brown Bender, B.B.A. ’87, serves as executive director of the Texas School Coalition, where she leads statewide advocacy for a public school finance system that sustains both state and local investments in public education. Before transitioning to public education advocacy, Missy built a successful career in management consulting with IBM, where she specialized in strategic planning and technology solutions and earned the prestigious Golden Circle award. She was the first in her family to graduate from college; her mother was the second‚ graduating just two years later. Missy recently celebrated 38 years of marriage with her college sweetheart, Doug. Their daughter, a fellow SMU graduate, married her high school sweetheart, who also graduated from SMU, continuing the family’s legacy of strong ties and shared milestones.

 

Lucie Frost, B.B.A./B.A. ’87, retired from her career as an employment lawyer in 2019. Since then, she has turned to writing. In August 2025, she released her first book, How the Hell Did I Not Know That?, a humorous midlife memoir. She is currently working on her second book.

 

Class of 1988

 

Douglas Greenberg, B.B.A. ’88, has retired from a successful career in the consumer products industry and now dabbles in real estate investment and management.

William “Bill” McLeod, Jr., B.B.A. ’88, has transitioned to a second career as a CFO in the biotech industry at Empirico Inc. in San Diego, after nearly 30 years in investment banking.  

 

Class of 1989

Kim Keating, B.B.A. ’89, says her time at SMU Cox shaped every chapter of her life and career. After earning her B.B.A. in finance, she began her career on Wall Street as a financial analyst at Morgan Stanley and became the first CFO of Teach for America. She founded Keating Advisors, an HR strategy firm focused on compensation strategy and organizational effectiveness, leading it for 18 years before its acquisition in 2022. Thirty-five years later, the formative lessons of excellence, community and creativity that SMU helped her cultivate continue to guide her as an advisor, mother and community leader.

Jay McCormack, EMBA ’89, recently accepted an appointment to teach in the finance department at the Neeley School of Business at Texas Christian University. From 2010 to 2024, he served as department chair of finance and assistant professor of business at Schreiner University in Kerrville. During his time there, he also mentored Sumners Foundation Scholars and taught for 11 summers in Schreiner’s monthlong study abroad program in Florence, Italy. Jay has received several awards, including Schreiner’s highest faculty honor‚ the 2020 Margaret Hosler Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Todd Sink, B.B.A. ’89, has been with global business and technology consulting firm Slalom for nearly 20 years. Over the past five years, he led the go-to-market teams in the United Kingdom and managed the London business, gaining valuable international experience. In May 2025, he relocated to Philadelphia, where he is focused on expanding Slalom’s business in Pennsylvania. He and his wife are acclimating to their new home and adapting once again to life in the United States.

 

 

Class of 1994

Dyan Carbine, PTMBA ’94, has moved to the Wood Smith Henning Berman law firm.

Eric Everett, MBA ’94, is vice president of acquisitions and divestitures with Hilcorp Energy Company, the largest privately held upstream oil and gas company in the United States. Since he joined the company in 2023, the team has done more than $4 billion in acquisitions, covering Alaska, Texas and New Mexico.

Class of 1995

Ashley Conlon, B.B.A. ’95, is the president of Century 21 Judge Fite Company, where she leads brokerage operations across Texas and Oklahoma. Her role spans oversight of regional offices, commercial services, training, relocation and recruiting. Beyond her professional accomplishments, Ashley is deeply committed to her family and community. She and husband Bryan have two daughters, Clara and Taylor, both of whom are currently pursuing graduate degrees. Ashley actively supports local education and civic initiatives, including serving as a trustee for Weatherford ISD.

Class of 1996

Kerri Delaney, B.B.A. ’96, is in her 26th year of teaching and is the chair of the Career and Technology Department at Dr. Ralph H. Poteet High School in Mesquite. Looking back at her time at Cox, she says she realizes how much her professors influenced her in the classroom. She is proud to lead young people toward a path in business and is even more ecstatic when they choose SMU for their postsecondary education.

Class of 1997

 

Pete Chilian, B.B.A. ’97, became president and chief investment officer at Tolleson Wealth Management earlier this year after more than two decades at J.P. Morgan.

 

John Drennan, MBA ’97, is global head of corporate development at Cumming Group, the largest independent construction project management and cost management firm in North America. John, his wife, Alyson, and their two children live in Highland Park.

 

Robert Mock, MBA ’97, started his post-SMU Cox career selling equity and interest rate derivatives at JPMorganChase’s capital markets group. More than 15 years later, he left to start Ocean’s Halo, an all-organic brand of Asian-inspired products, with a co-founder from Seoul, South Korea.

 

Class of 1998

   

 

Benjamin Lavine, B.B.A. ’98, is co-owner of family-owned custom homebuilder Stone Acorn Builders, which is expanding to Dallas after nearly three decades of crafting high-quality custom homes in Houston and Austin. Benjamin was also selected to serve a three-year term on the SMU Alumni Board in April 2025.

 

Jamie Singer, B.B.A. ’98, is the founder of Crown Control Homes, which preserves and flips homes in Park Cities.

Class of 2001

 

Emmy Langford Pino, B.B.A. ’01, PMBA ’08, has been appointed vice president of finance and transformation for PepsiCo Foods United States. Over her 21-year career with PepsiCo, she has advanced from marketing analyst to executive leadership, most recently serving as CFO of PepsiCo Foods Canada.

Marsha Wulff, EMBA ’01, is a private equity social impact investor with a focus on African business development via joint ventures, global trade, private financings and grant funding. She is frequently interviewed on podcasts and recently published a book, African Ngenuity: An Investor’s Guide to a Vital Tech Ecosystem.

 

 

Class of 2002 

Rafael Guevara, B.B.A. ’02, MBA ’07, has been involved in data analytics for the last 15 years, building his career around data, storytelling and community impact. He currently serves as vice president of data visualization at JPMorganChase and recently began teaching a continuing education course in partnership with SMU, in which he helps professionals strengthen their foundations in Tableau and data storytelling. He was recently named a 2025 Tableau Ambassador for his continued contributions to the Tableau online community. Rafael regularly offers one-on-one mentorship chats with Mustang students who are interested in starting a career in data analytics or making the switch into the field. Outside of work, he finds inspiration in his family. His wife, Sandra, is a healthcare leader and nurse practitioner providing pediatric care for children with Medicaid. Their daughter will graduate from Arlington ISD in May.

 

 

Kirby Jackson, B.B.A. ’02, worked in corporate planning and financial analysis at Bell before deciding to transition to investment banking. He earned his MBA from UT’s McCombs School of Business before taking on oil and gas investment banking roles at J.P. Morgan, Scotia Waterous and Goldman Sachs. In 2017, he joined Southwestern Energy (SWN) to help reform its corporate development team at a time when the company was under financial duress. He helped lead a ~$1.9 billion divestiture, originate a growth strategy, and evaluate multiple basins and acquisition opportunities over the following two years. He became SWN’s treasurer in 2020 and helped lead an effective transformation of the company’s asset portfolio and balance sheet to reposition SWN as the second-largest natural gas producer with an investment-grade credit profile. After a rewarding seven-year run at SWN, Kirby is networking until he finds his next growth opportunity. Now in his fifth career transition since graduation, he says SMU Cox provided the toolkit he needs to navigate the path forward.

 

Class of 2003

 

Jennifer Kirksey, B.B.A. ’03, MBA ’23, says the education and mentorship she received at SMU gave her the confidence to take risks, the discipline to push through challenges and the perspective to see opportunities where others might see roadblocks. After graduation, she began her career in wealth management as an analyst, working her way up to deputy chief operating officer at Tolleson Wealth Management and becoming the first employee in the firm’s history to rise from analyst to the C-suite. After a 20-year break from higher education, she challenged herself to earn her MBA from SMU Cox—a decision she says pushed her limits, reignited her love of learning, equipped her with new tools to lead at a higher level and gave her the confidence to take the next step in her career. Today, Jennifer serves as COO of Versant Capital Management, a multifamily office with more than $1.5 billion under management. She lives in Dallas with her husband and two sons and says she is “profoundly grateful” to SMU Cox for being the starting point of her journey. “The lessons I learned and the relationships I built there continue to shape who I am as a leader, parent and community member.”

 

Class of 2004

 

 

Lacie Thorne, B.B.A. ’04, is a sustainability entrepreneur, educator and author with more than 15 years of experience in the global fashion industry. After launching celebrity brands for Jennifer Lopez, Nicki Minaj and Adam Levine under the leadership of Tommy Hilfiger in New York, she continued her fashion career in Hong Kong as the creative director for luxury advertising campaigns throughout the Asia-Pacific area. Upon repatriating to the United States, Lacie earned her MBA in sustainability from Yale School of Management and founded Threadline, a cleantech fashion resale technology company. She teaches fashion entrepreneurship and portfolio development at Belmont University’s O’More School of Design, where she prepares the next generation of creative leaders. Her forthcoming second-edition textbook, Sustainability and Social Change in Fashion, will be published by Bloomsbury in 2026. She is the co-founder of the Tennessee Fashion Council and lives with her two children, Pierce (11) and Bohen (8), in Nashville, Tennessee, where she leads a Girl Scouts troop and can often be found on the sidelines of soccer practices.

 

Class of 2005

 

 

James Loomstein, MBA ’05, returned to SMU Cox in 2010 as a guest speaker for Jerry White’s class and joined the adjunct faculty in 2015. This year marks his 11th teaching social media and digital marketing for entrepreneurship in the MBA program. He says the school’s growth has been remarkable to watch. “If you had told me in 2015 what SMU would look like in 2025, I wouldn’t have believed it. With the new Cox School of Business buildings and SMU’s move to the ACC, the momentum on campus has been nothing short of a rocket ship. It’s a privilege to be part of that momentum as both an alum and a member of the faculty.”

 

 

Class of 2006

 

Barry Bell, MBA ’06, founded Echelon Analytics, an economic and financial analysis firm focused on providing expert witness services in intellectual property and other complex commercial litigation, in 2010. He’s excited to announce that in September 2025, Echelon officially joined HKA, a leading global consultancy in risk mitigation, dispute resolution, expert witness and litigation support services, to support their clients with even greater strength and scale.

Class of 2007

 

Jason Carter, B.B.A. ’07, M.A. ’10, MBA ’19, is currently the head of finance for the dermatology department at UT Southwestern Medical School. After earning his MBA from SMU Cox, he worked for VMG Health as a senior financial analyst and then at Children’s Health in Dallas as the director of managed care analytics.

 

Class of 2008

 

Tommy Poynter, B.B.A. ’08, M.S.A. ’09, was a high school coach and teacher for 14 years and pivoted to become a CPA in Texas in less than 12 months. He is now working for a mid-market firm in downtown Dallas. He says he is thankful for his degrees from SMU.

 

Class of 2011

 

 

Jack Benage, B.B.A. ’11, M.S.A. ’13, was recently promoted to partner at RubinBrown, a fast-growing full-service accounting firm. He has recently hired other SMU graduates and hopes to continue to expand. He says it’s great to connect with SMU alumni in St. Louis, where he returned after starting his career in Dallas.

Kevin Bogenreif, B.B.A. ’11, recently reached his one-year anniversary as CFO for Amber Wave, North America's largest manufacturer/producer of wheat protein ingredients. Kevin previously served on the board of the company and was investment lead within its private equity parent company.

Conor Butts, M.S. ’11, transitioned from telecommunications and software sales to healthcare after graduating with his M.S. in entrepreneurship from SMU Cox. Partnering with a classmate from the program, he co-founded a disruptive medical services platform that expanded from sleep diagnostics into remote patient monitoring. The company quickly scaled into a national platform, operating in more than 50 markets across 30-plus states. Their growth was recognized with five consecutive Inc. 5000 rankings, and Conor was honored as a finalist for EY’s Entrepreneur of the Year in 2016. Today he leads hōm neuro, a nextgeneration platform advancing in-home EEG diagnostics through AI-enabled technology, which is supported by investment from the SMU Impact Lab.

 

Class of 2012

  

 

Angela Hall, M.S. ’12, says she entered the M.S. program in entrepreneurship at SMU Cox with the goal of developing a business plan for an event venue—a goal she reached by graduation. After entering the world of commercial real estate marketing, she later moved to healthcare and then to technology consulting as a marketing leader. A surprise layoff offered her the opportunity to serve as vice president of marketing, events and communications with the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce. In this role, she uses both her undergraduate marketing degree and her entrepreneurship degree, and she says she looks forward to continuing to impact and support small businesses in Fort Worth.

 

Class of 2013

 

Lewis Wang, FTMBA ’13, recently launched an AI startup in M&A and humanoid robotics with teams in Silicon Valley and Philadelphia. At the same time, he helps the SMU network invest in Stanford/Silicon Valley startups via Mustangs.vc.

 

Class of 2014 

Chad Cummings, B.B.A. ’13, M.S. ’14, founded Cummings & Cummings Law in Naples, Florida, in 2022 and recently welcomed a second attorney to the firm. Their work focuses on a range of business, tax and commercial law matters, and the firm is in the process of opening offices in Dallas and Austin. Looking back on the past three years, Chad says the practice has grown in ways he could not have anticipated, in large part thanks to his SMU Cox friends and mentors.

Trenton Owens, B.B.A. ’14, has been named a Top Next-Generation Wealth Advisor by Forbes six times, most recently in 2025. He says success in the industry is about trust, relationships, and the ability to help clients navigate life’s complexities with clarity and confidence—and that much of that foundation was laid at SMU Cox, where he learned that business is ultimately about people. As a wealth advisor with Merrill Lynch, he’s had the privilege of helping individuals and families align their wealth with their values and aspirations.

 

 

Sean Tremblay, FTMBA ’14, leads strategic sourcing and procurement for Redwood Services, a Memphis-based, private equity–backed consolidator of residential HVAC, plumbing and electrical services companies that recently celebrated an equity partnership with Toronto-based Altas Partners. He and his wife, Allison (M.Ed. ’15), welcomed their sixth child (girl No. 3) in December 2025.

 

Class of 2015

 

Gerard Atkinson, M.A./ MBA ’15, briefly worked in consulting in the United States after graduation before returning to Australia to lead the evaluation team at the Australia Council for the Arts. He returned to consulting in 2018, joining ARTD Consultants and establishing a presence as one of the top policy and program evaluation experts in Australia. In 2025, he left ARTD to found Iris Ethics, a privately operated human research ethics committee serving the market research, social research and program evaluation sectors. Outside of Iris Ethics, he is a long-standing member of the Australasian Autism Research Council and a director of the Social Impact Measurement Network Australia, the peak body in the industry.

Marlissa Collier, MBA ’15, is excited to share that she has been awarded a 2025 fellowship with the RIAS Berlin Commission, a binational organization that fosters German-American understanding in broadcast journalism. Outside of her day-to-day work as an infrastructure tech and policy content consultant with Procore Technologies, she has continued to pursue her passions for foreign affairs and global policy. After graduating from SMU Cox, she began her career in the AT&T Leadership Development Program, where she gained valuable experience in operations and corporate communications. During her time at AT&T, she was honored to receive both the 2018 German Marshall Fund Marshall Memorial Fellowship and the International Black Women’s Public Policy Institute Fellowship, and she traveled to cover the 2019 Ukrainian presidential election. In addition to her consulting work, she is the co-founder and publisher of The Dallas Nomad, a culture magazine that localizes global news, and the producer and co-host of Uncivilized, a late-night news and politics show blending content, comedy and context. She remains grateful for the foundation she built at SMU Cox, which continues to shape the way she approaches leadership, strategy and cross-cultural engagement.

Joel Fletcher, PMBA ’15, was able to pivot his career from marketing to real estate finance through the SMU Cox PMBA program. With the guidance of Joseph Cahoon, director of the Folsom Institute for Real Estate, he made an interim move via a real estate research firm into real estate equity investing at L&B Realty Advisors and ultimately to Goldman Sachs, where he led the senior housing portfolio for nearly eight years. Assisting other young professionals with navigating their careers is a side passion of his, so he says it’s been a pleasure to be a part of the SMU advisors program since the pandemic. “There’s so much talent at SMU that it’s simply a joy to give back,” he says. This year, he made the move from Goldman Sachs to Rosewood Property Company to be the senior vice president of asset management, working with and for Rick Perdue, an adjunct professor at SMU Cox.

James Jillson, M.A./MBA ’15, was appointed vice president of marketing and guest services at the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in February 2025. In this role, he oversees the DSO’s efforts to expand audiences and grow earned revenue streams.

Lisa Nelson, EMBA ’15, is COO and chief human resources officer at Vela Wood, a boutique venture law firm in Dallas. One of the most rewarding parts of her role is creating structure and clarity where it hasn’t always existed in traditional firms, whether that’s by developing attorney salary bands, career progression ladders or bonus structures tied to measurable goals. She says SMU Cox prepared her to lead with both strategy and empathy—skills she uses daily, whether she is refining compensation models, implementing new systems or helping attorneys navigate their careers.

 

 

Class of 2016

Jessica Jan, B.B.A. ’16, is the founder of jewelry brand Tres J. Originally from Texas, she began her career in fashion at Moda Operandi before moving to Net-a-Porter and Mr Porter. Working with a craftsman in Hong Kong, Jessica designed her signature initial necklace line, The OG Chain.

 

Luz Joseph, FTMBA ’16, began her marketing career in brand management at Nestlé in Los Angeles before returning to Texas and pivoting into the automotive industry, taking on marketing and product roles at Toyota and Nissan. It was during her time at SMU that she met her husband, Mark, who pursued a concentration in real estate. Earlier this year, the couple took a leap of faith‚ leaving their corporate careers to focus full-time on their entrepreneurial ventures. Together they renovate luxury homes in the Park Cities neighborhoods and have acquired their first business: Dogtopia at The Shops at Park Lane, a premier doggy daycare and boarding franchise. Balancing both ventures has been an exciting challenge, but the leadership, analytical and strategic skills they gained at SMU have been invaluable every step of the way.  

 

Class of 2017

 

Patrick Mackey, MBA ’17, was promoted to CFO of Compatriot Capital, a $6 billion-plus real estate investment platform, in 2024, where he leads all financial operations and aligns strategy with the firm’s long-term growth objectives. He started his career at Ernst & Young before moving to Invesco, where he advanced through accounting and portfolio management roles. At Granite Properties, he led a 20-person accounting team, managed more than $1.5 billion in transactions, and spearheaded initiatives in data governance and treasury. After joining Compatriot in 2023, he directed portfolio management before being elevated to CFO within a year. 

 

Class of 2018

  

 

 

Ashok Kafle, M.S. ’17, says that when he enrolled in the SMU Cox M.S. in business analytics program, he wasn’t just looking to sharpen his technical skills; he was seeking a launchpad for a multidimensional career, and SMU Cox delivered exactly that. It gave him the analytical tools to drive change, the strategic mindset to scale businesses and the confidence to blend data with purpose. Today he works as a healthcare analytics consultant, helping hospital networks and consulting firms make smarter decisions through predictive modeling, scenario analysis and data visualization. Whether it’s optimizing patient flow or guiding multimillion-dollar planning initiatives, he says he uses what he learned at SMU Cox every day to turn complexity into clarity.

 

Class of 2019

Elissa Campos, MBA ’19, says that although earning her MBA from SMU Cox wasn’t easy as a single mom balancing coursework, a full-time career, parenting and life’s inevitable curveballs, fighting for it taught her grit, resilience and the power of faith. Today, she reaps the rewards of her hard work. After graduation, she married her now-husband and is growing their already blended family. Professionally, she launched her own real estate brokerage, Elissa Campos Real Estate LLC, where she has made her mark on the Uptown Dallas condo market—one of the most competitive areas in the city. Her goal is to build a faith-based, female-driven brokerage that empowers women to thrive in business while staying true to their values. She says SMU Cox gave her the foundation to make that dream a reality.

Michael Cogan, FTMBA ’19, reached his three-year anniversary working at Agoda in Bangkok, Thailand, as a senior project manager.

Trevor Thompson, B.B.A. ’19, MBA ’22, recently joined the Partners Family Office at Goldman Sachs Private Wealth Management. He has a 1-year-old daughter named Skylar.

Class of 2021

Ryan Banko, PMBA ’21, recently joined Constructable, a design-build industrial construction firm based out of The Woodlands, Texas, as the vice president of revenue and growth overseeing sales, marketing and estimating.

Corrie Harris, PMBA ’21, accepted a role as executive director for the Fort Worth field office of the American Heart Association in 2023. After serving two years in that role, she is now the chief development officer for the Center for Transforming Lives, a nonprofit serving Tarrant County’s most vulnerable: moms with children age 5 and younger, who are often breaking the chains of generational poverty and/or coming out of homelessness, trafficking or a relationship with an abusive intimate partner. Through the center’s partnerships, upward of 80% of their clients remain housed. The center is pushing for a 30% increase of their $22 million budget with the grand opening of their new Riverside campus. Corrie says her MBA changed the way she approaches problem solving and helps her serve their amazing clients every day.

Dom Haskett, MBA ’21, says the Cox School was foundational to his career and a true springboard for someone with global aspirations. After spending his undergraduate years in the United States Navy, his graduate journey at SMU offered the opportunity to fully immerse himself in a school community and take advantage of everything Cox had to offer. Since leaving business school, he’s been selected for the Dallas Regional Chamber’s 50th Leadership Dallas class, serves on the City of Dallas Veterans Affairs Commission and contributes as a board member of the Dallas County Historical Foundation. He also served as president of the Dallas Business Club, the largest MBA alumni organization in North Texas. He says his experience at SMU helped set the stage for his journey in all these capacities. Today, he works at Farol Asset Management, a private equity firm in New York. Looking back, he can confidently say that business school is not just about academics; it’s about leaning into your community, taking advantage of every opportunity and allowing the experience to shape the leader you will become. He says that, for him, SMU Cox was the perfect training ground as a transitioning veteran, and it continues to pay dividends in his career and civic life.

Joe Santelli, MBA ’21, joined the PMBA program in 2019 to further enrich his career in commercial real estate and enhance his network in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. He gives credit to both the education he received and the program’s incredible network for helping propel his career to the next level. In addition to the resources he gained access to, he says that alumni associations have provided rewarding opportunities to contribute back to the program, such as joining the Folsom Institute Board and the Cox Mentorship Academy. He says SMU Cox has not only provided him with a top-tier education but also opened several doors via the robust, well-established community within the commercial real estate industry.

Natesa Vaidya, B.B.A. ’21, MBA ’21, has moved to Las Colinas after graduating with her MBA (with her sweetheart, whom she met in the program) and started a digital strategy role at Jacobs, working with clients to integrate digital solutions into their portfolios.

Class of 2023

Kenli Chen, business administration minor ’23, founded the brand Arti Pickleball with the mission of making pickleball gear that excites people to play and builds community around the sport. Since launching, ARTI has grown from an idea into a company trusted by players, clubs and retailers. Kenli says it’s been a challenging but rewarding journey—one that reminds her daily why she took the leap right after graduation. Looking back, she says she’s grateful for the foundation her college years gave her, and she’s excited to continue building ARTI into a brand that represents innovation, community and passion for the game.

Taylor Frank, OMBA ’23, became president of Eiseman Jewels NorthPark Center, Dallas’ premier family-owned jewelry store, in 2023 after serving as managing director for five years. As only the fourth president of Eiseman Jewels in its 62 years and the second from outside the Eiseman family, he has led the business through a period of transformation‚ doubling sales since 2018; overseeing a major renovation; and strengthening global partnerships with Rolex, Tudor and other premier brands.

Caleb Messer, EMBA ’23, was promoted from vice president of business development at GME Supply to president and ultimately to CEO during his time in the EMBA program at SMU Cox. During his last semester, he also led a recapitalization and helped the company’s original private equity investors realize a significant return while ushering in a new capital sponsor. He’s also had the privilege of joining the Board for Affiliated Distributors, an organization with more than $30 billion in aggregated member revenue.

Donald Prentiss, MBA ’23, has continued to build momentum as the founder and CEO of Qualthera Health Corporation, a national platform focused on acquiring and scaling high-quality compounding pharmacies. Qualthera closed a second acquisition, Georgia’s Columbus Custom Rx, in June 2025, expanding the company’s geographic reach beyond Texas and deepening its capabilities in nonsterile compounding. They also recently completed construction of a third pharmacy location in the Dallas area. Donald says this continued growth reflects not only the strength of the company vision but also the strategic foundation built during his time at SMU Cox.

Class of 2024

John Bowers, III, MBA Direct ’24, is proud to be one of the youngest elected officials in Texas and the first Black man elected to the Rowlett City Council, a community he has called home since age 2. He earned degrees in economics and political science from Morehouse College, where he served as the 88th student body president, before completing his MBA in strategy at SMU Cox. Professionally, John is a vice president in finance, leading global workforce cybersecurity awareness to ensure risk mitigation for his firm. He has also served as a professor at Spelman College, a volunteer with Braven and a Dana Juett Resident with Social Venture Partners Dallas. His community work includes leading a food banking initiative that delivered more than 7,000 meals to families in need. As a councilman, John focuses on strengthening public trust, investing in safety and infrastructure, and ensuring Rowlett thrives for generations to come.

Cristina Salas, EMBA ’24, was promoted from Eiseman Jewels’ director of marketing and branding to its first chief marketing officer upon completion of her Executive MBA. As CMO, she has helped shape the 62-year-old, family-owned luxury jeweler’s overall marketing direction to drive growth and ensure alignment with business objectives. She was also an integral part of the store’s renovation and driving brand alignment while creating a new, modernized Eiseman Jewels.

Zidan Thomas, MSBA ’24, says he had a great experience at SMU Cox and learned a lot from the professors, the Career Management Center, the networking events and the professionals who spoke to the students. The class size was small and intimate, and he is still in touch with many of his classmates today.

Class of 2025

Camryn Maginel, B.B.A. ’25, recently completed the finance development program at Dell Technologies, a rotational program designed to build financial expertise and leadership capabilities. During the program, she traveled to Boston for a one-week trip that allowed her to connect with fellow program participants and gain exposure to Dell’s corporate environment. She also attended a finance conference in Penang, Malaysia, where she engaged with global finance professionals and learned about strategic initiatives across the company. One of the most impactful parts of her experience was participating in Dell’s investor relations immersion program, where she gained hands-on experience with the earnings cycle process. She is grateful for the foundation SMU Cox provided in preparing her to thrive in a dynamic, global business environment.