in every issue Letters & News 3 Dean’s Welcome 33 Rankings and Recognition
Our mission We excel in developing principled, innovative thought leaders in global communities.
Robert Sterling Robert Sterling Remembered
Robert Sterling, the founding dean of the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business, died June 29, 2010. He was 79. A veteran of the Korean Conflict, Sterling took advantage of the GI Bill and became the first in his family to attend college. He earned a BS and MBA at the University of Denver and continued on to the University of Florida for his PhD in Economics. He joined the faculty at Rice in 1974 as the first Jesse H. Jones Professor of Management and chairman of the accounting department. In 1976, following an extensive international search, Sterling was selected as the founding dean for the newly endowed Jones School. “Dean Sterling conceptualized and defined distinctive, rigorous goals for the school,” current dean of the Jones School Bill Glick said.
Prior to serving as dean, Sterling held research and teaching positions at the State University of New York at Binghamton, Yale University and the University of Kansas. Following his service at the Jones School, he stayed at Rice until 1981 and then left to take appointments at the University of Alberta and the University of Utah. In recognition of his distinguished career, he was inducted into the Accounting Hall of Fame in 2006. He is survived by his wife, Shirley; son, Robert Raymond Jr.; daughter, Kimberly Ann; and two grandchildren, Robert Sterling III and Michael Travis.
In 1976, following an extensive international search, Sterling was selected as the founding dean for the newly endowed Jones School.
Rice University
Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business
Fall 2010
Features
14 Creativity in the Workplace
Dr. Jing Zhou is leading transformational business research
by Jason Witmer
18 Control Issues
What makes people tick and what makes organizations click keeps things interesting for Dr. Sally Widener
by Ann S. Boor
22 Business Excellence:
A Seismic Shift
From Jones Scholar to Vice President and Treasurer of ConocoPhillips, Fran Vallejo ’96 leads by example
by Jan Hester
26 Excellence in Leadership
Four-time cancer survivor and a champion for women in global leadership roles, Subha Barry ’85 reflects on excellence in leadership
by Sarah Gajkowski-Hill
Alumni 32 Alumni President’s Letter 34 Class Notes 36 Resources, Events, and Ways to Get Involved
Dean’s Welcome
Dean + H. Joe Nelson III Professor of Management Bill Glick EXECUTIVE EDITOR + DIRECTOR OF ALUMNI AND CORPORATE RELATIONS SHAHEEN LADHANI SENIOR EDITOR Weezie Mackey DIRECTOR OF MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS LAURA HUBBARD CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Ann S. Boor SARAH GAJKOWSKI-HILL MICHAEL GROJEAN JAN HESTER ANNIE HUNNEL BRENT SMITH JASON WITMER ART DIRECTION + DESIGN FRANK R. JONES CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Justin Calhoun Troy Fields Allan Kramer Tommy Lavergne Nathan Lindstrom Marisol Zamorano
Around the School 4 Graduate Certificate in Health Care Management
More Than Lifelong Learning
PRINTING Western Lithograph
11 New Faculty Appointments In Finance and Accounting
12 Rice Business Plan Competition
6 National Association of
Ten Years Rich in Rewards
From GWIB to NAWMBA to Now
30 Giving to Jones
Women MBAs
8 Career Road Maps
Alumni Professional Development Series
8 Sneak Peek
Women’s Preview Weekend
9 Executive Education Series
Good Intentions—Toxic Outcomes, Part Two
10 MBAs, Faculty and Alumni Ring the Closing Bell
NYSE CEO Visits the Jones School
11 Society for Human Resource
Jones Fund Scholarship recipient; Investing in Innovative Partnerships–ConocoPhillips; Jones Partners: Sponsorship Opportunities; A Legacy of Philanthropy
35 Investiture 2009 Honors, prizes, and awards
The Jones Journal is published semiannually for alumni and friends by the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business. Current and back issues of the magazine are available online at issuu.com/ricemba.
Change of Address? New job? Update the online directory with your new contact information, or send us your class notes at: JonesAlumni.com. Comments or Questions? We’d love to hear your thoughts about the Jones Journal. Send an e-mail to Shaheen Ladhani, Director of Alumni and Corporate Relations, at shaheen@rice.edu.
Management (SHRM)
New Student-Run Club business.rice.edu
Our legacy of leadership is explored in every edition of the Jones Journal. This fall we examine the role women have played at the Jones School as thought leaders in the business world, classroom, research publications and halls of McNair Hall, along with the legacy they’ve built over the last three decades At the start of every academic year we carry with us a bright outlook and ambitious attitude. This issue adopts that position with four vibrant feature stories — two extraordinary alumnae, Subha Barry and Fran Vallejo; and two innovative, insightful professors, Jing Zhou and Sally Widener — along with many other female alumnae, faculty and staff who are making strides as thought leaders, mentors, collaborators and trailblazers. It is vital to the school’s growth that we measure excellence in all that we do. Beyond rankings and recruiting statistics, one way to do this is to discover and highlight the people and programs that define the experience of attending, teaching, representing, and giving to the Jones Graduate School of Business. This issue of the Jones Journal fondly remembers Robert Sterling, the founding dean of the Jones School, who passed away in June. Bob was an innovative and influential scholar, teacher, administrator and friend. He came to Rice in 1974, served the Jones School from 1976-1979, and left Houston and Rice for Alberta, Canada, in 1981. We also cover the tenth anniversary of the Rice Business Plan Competition and its more than $1 million in prizes, the ringing of the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange here on campus, the history and future of NAWMBA, and another installment in the Toxic Leadership series from Executive Education, among other articles. We pride ourselves in fulfilling the mission of developing principled, innovative thought leaders in global communities. A critical element to the school’s success is aligning our students, programs, faculty and alumni to the standard set by Rice University’s reputation for excellence with no upper limit. I think you’ll find that the Jones Journal is no exception. Please join me in paging through this issue of the journal and sharing in the excellence that is the Jones Graduate School of Business.
Bill Glick Dean H. Joe Nelson III Professor of Management Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business Rice University 713-348-5928 Bill.Glick@rice.edu
Around the School
Around the School
Graduate Certificate in Health Care Management More Than Lifelong Learning
I
t almost sounds like the opening of a joke — what do a nurse, a dentist, a psychologist and a physician have in common? But the punch line is no laughing matter and it may hold insights into some of today’s most relevant health care industry issues. What do these four health care professionals have in common? A need for business training. Once a month over a six-month period, the nurse, dentist, psychologist and physician along with 19 colleagues from private practice and top hospitals attended the same Rice University Executive Education course, learned core business skills they could immediately apply at work, and walked away with a Graduate Certificate in Health Care Management and a network of new connections.
Licensed to learn
Participant Dr. Karin Price accepts her graduate certificate from program co-director, Dr. Stephen Spann. business.rice.edu
The nurse, Shannon McCord, has more letters after her name than in it: MS, RN, CPNP, CNS, WOCN. But they all mean the same thing to her — taking care of children. With 25 years of pediatric nursing experience and two children of her own, her job is more than work. It’s a life’s mission. Approaching 20 years at Texas Children’s Hospital, Shannon was recently named Director of Patient Care Services for their new West Campus.
The dentist, Nielo Chow, worked as an associate in private practice before she decided to strike out on her own. “I was thinking about my own business way back in dental school. I came upon the certificate program at Rice as I was looking for something that would help me transition from a clinician to a business owner.” Before she put together a business plan for a wellness center, she wanted to be certain to draw from sound principles. The psychologist, Karin Price, intended to go to law school as an undergrad at Cornell. “I wanted to be an advocate for children. But then I took some classes in human development, and I realized I could be involved at an individual level rather than a policy level. That’s when my focus changed.” As a clinical psychologist and clinic chief at Texas Children’s Hospital, she focuses on both the art and business sides of providing psychological services. The physician, Jayshri Chasmawala, was born knowing what she wanted to do. “When I was eight, my dad was diagnosed with cancer. At the hospital, nobody talked to us. We didn’t understand. That’s when I decided to be a doctor who explained things and talked to people.” A physician of osteopathic medicine with a master of public health, she opened Pure Health Family Practice Clinic in Dallas three years ago.
Why it’s relevant Somewhere after their degrees and amidst the actual work, Shannon, Nielo, Karin and Jayshri realized the
Shannon McCord, participant and new director of patient care services for Texas Children’s West Campus, oversees construction of the new facility (far left). Participants at the farewell dinner: Dr. Nielo Chow, Dr. Jayshri Chasmawala, Dr. Nandita Gupta with her daughter Sukul, and Dr. Cedela Abdulla.
importance of non-clinical skills to their jobs. And they took action. Despite being at different places in their careers and personal lives, they were at the same place when assessing their professional development. They wanted to expand their skills in order to perform better in the workplace. While facilitating the successful opening of Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus, Shannon explained, “In leadership positions within health care management, daily responsibilities include financial management, strategic planning, marketing, and leading and developing others. All of these topics were included in the program. Providing didactic business content to nursing and medical school curricula, at least at an introductory level, is crucial.” Nielo added, “As a scientific-minded person, I approached my career practically. But at the same time I had this nagging feeling that working as a clinician wouldn’t be fulfilling. When I gave in to my desire to provide others more coordinated and personal care in the form of a wellness center, I found this course to help me build a strong foundation, allowing for an expanded way of thinking.” Over the past year Karin experienced tremendous change in the Psychology Section
at Baylor College of Medicine. With new leaders in place, including her appointment as clinic chief, she needed a way to bring a business lens to the department. “Business — strategy, marketing, finance, negotiations — is not taught in graduate school for psychology students; nor, from what I gathered from my classmates at Rice, is it taught in medical school. Yet, leaders in the health care field must bring these skills to the table every day.” After opening her private practice Jayshri admitted, “I was struggling. I didn’t have a concept of business.” She contemplated taking a class on general management and learned about the certificate course from her brother, Dipesh Shroff ’09, who had just graduated from the Rice MBA program. Once she made the commitment to enroll, Jayshri had to arrange the commute from Dallas and from her practice. “In each month’s class, I’d learn more about achieving the type of practice I want while continuing to increase my profits.”
ent connections that result. During the certificate program, beyond learning leadership and negotiations, strategy, financial analysis, and balancing management alongside clinical skills, the participants share their experiences and weave together the universal threads of friendship and network. On hand to raise that discussion to a higher level are the Jones School faculty who teach the modules. Their deep insights into the business aspects of the curriculum as it relates to health care bring an expansive viewpoint that helps participants find the relevance of applying certain business principles to their jobs and ultimately their patient outcomes. The Graduate Certificate in Health Care Management answers a pressing need for the introduction of business skills to the administrators, physicians, nurses and other health care professionals in the trenches, particularly those leaders contributing to the national dialogue on health care.
Assets and liabilities One of the greatest benefits of putting highly-qualified practicing professionals from the same industry in the same room is the inher-
about the Graduate Certificate in Health Care Management, visit business.rice.edu/healthcare Jones Journal FALL 2010 5
Around the School
Around the School
National Association of Women MBAs From GWIB to NAWMBA to Now A NAWMBA Briefing NAWMBA is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to propelling women into positions of leadership in corporate America. The student chapter at the Jones School was founded in 2001 and has grown to a membership of 200. Chapter members organize networking events with alumni, professional women and other local NAWMBA chapter members. The Houston Professional Chapter was founded in 2009 and has quickly grown into one of the largest and most active city chapters in the nation. Each professional chapter has approximately 100 members.
How to be involved Join or start: Student chapter (101 across the country, all housed in business schools) Professional chapter (with plans for five more in 2010-2011 school year): Oregon, San Francisco, Los Angeles, MinneapolisSt. Paul, Mid-Atlantic (DC and greater DC area), Boston, Greater New York, Houston Become a national board member (eight, including Executive Director Tonya Olpin ’08) or a national student leadership board member (eight) If anyone is interested in starting a student chapter at their school or a professional chapter in their city, please contact Tonya Olpin, Executive Director, at director@mbawomen.org
business.rice.edu
I
n 1984, with few women enrolled in MBA programs, few female role models highlighted in class discussions, few female professors and virtually no businesswomen invited to participate in lecture programs, the women at Wharton School of Business decided to make a change. That year they founded the National Network of Graduate Business School Women, sometimes referred to as Graduate Women in Business or GWIB, an organization dedicated to the education and promotion of women in business and issues with which they dealt. Over 50 MBA programs were contacted and asked to send representatives to a meeting in Philadelphia. Since that time, national conferences were held annually around the country and the organization eventually required permanent, central administrative leadership. The University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business chapter hosted the 1994 national conference and proposed that the national headquarters move to Charlottesville, where it stayed until May of 2002. In the spring of that year, with the announcement that proposals were being accepted for a new home, second-year Rice MBA student Lisa Kudchadker ’02 and the one-year-old Jones School chapter of GWIB were enthusiastic about taking on the challenge. They wrote and presented their winning proposal at the national conference at Duke that spring. And the headquarters moved to Rice.
Owning the Challenge Housed in McNair Hall, NAWMBA has experienced a robust eight years, especially during the leadership of Tonya Olpin ’08, who was appointed executive director in December of 2007, a semester before she graduated. Since assuming office, Olpin has increased student chapters from 74 to 101 and officially launched the professional chapters in cities throughout the U.S., with a goal to grow that membership to include at least one chapter in every state. She has been instrumental in increasing not only attendance at the national conference from 900 to 1800 but also elevating the level of development topics and a professional track as well. “I love my job,” she said. “I do well while I do good. I’m proud of that.” Along with doing well, Olpin is making sure NAWMBA is relevant. Programming has been enhanced by the addition of monthly Webinars; a Leadership Retreat, now in its third year; and a Summit for Emerging Executives, which will be held for the first time
NAWMBA Timeline 1984 1994 Founded at Wharton
Moved to Darden
May 18-20, 2011 at the Coronado Springs Resort in Disney World. She’s also planning to make NAWMBA an international organization in the future. “The idea is to deliver appropriate programming so that members take away what they want and need,” Olpin said.
Doing Well While Doing Good Second-year MBA candidate Jessica Berger worked in human resources at Frost Bank when she decided to look into business school. A coworker invited her to Women’s Preview Weekend at the Jones School and it was there she first heard of NAWMBA. “Listening to current students, alumnae, professors, and faculty speak about the importance of female leaders at the Jones School, I realized that Rice was the place for me. When I learned that NAWMBA was headquartered here, that students could get incredible opportunities at Rice that they couldn’t get at any other school, and the Executive Director, Tonya Olpin, is herself an alumna, it sealed the deal. I’d found the business school for me.” Jessica now serves as national student director on NAWMBA’s National Student Leadership Team. Her main goal this year is to maintain a constant flow of communication and ideas between local chapters and the National Student Leadership Team. In addition to reaching ambitious attendance
2001
Rice Chapter Established
2002 National
2004
Headquarters moved to Rice
Name changed to NAWMBA
goals for the national conference in October, she would like to see “participation in and knowledge of important NAWMBA programs, such as the Shideezhí Mentorship Project, grow significantly this year.”
Summit for Emerging Executives
The Shideezhí Mentorship Project has partnered with NAWMBA to give members all over the U.S. the opportunity to pair up with girls from the Navajo Nation. The word shideezhí means ‘my younger sister’ in the Navajo language. Through hands-on mentoring, NAWMBA members inspire and motivate these girls to graduate from high school, pursue higher education and enter the workforce as productive members of society and the tribe.
Summit for Emerging Executives Helping Businesswomen Navigate the Climb
Future Plans NAWMBA continues to evolve. With academic sponsors Rice University and Ohio State University joining the league of corporate sponsors — Humana, Brown Foreman, Yum Brands, McDonalds, Disney World, and American Airlines — NAWMBA has the muscle to attract more extraordinary members and chapters. “We’ve always been a grassroots organization,” Olpin said. “Because of this, we can tailor programs and events to the real and changing needs of our membership so that NAWMBA plays a significant role during the MBA education and throughout their entire career.”
Join the National Association of Women MBAs for their inaugural
What We Do Matters: Linking Strategic Thought to Action For information and registration: www.mbawomen.org
2010 National Conference and Career Fair Join us for the
2010 National Conference and Career Fair “Global Economy, Global Leadership” October 1- 2 Louisville, Kentucky
about the National Conference and Career Fair or NAWMBA, visit www.mbawomen.org.
Jones Journal FALL 2010 7
Around the School
Around the School
Executive Education Series
Sneak Peek
Good Intentions – Toxic Outcomes Part Two
Women’s Preview Weekend
A
s the leading business school in Houston, the Jones School must reflect the city’s diverse business community. Women’s Preview Weekend is a two-day event that offers prospective students a detailed look at the Rice MBA programs, including an alumni and student panel, a case simulation, socializing, networking and interviewing. “Women’s Preview weekend is what sold me on Rice. I had already applied and been accepted, and was struggling with that last step. It was a panel of alumni who were all discussing what an MBA had done for their lives that clinched it for me. Hearing the women talk about balancing work and family, or choosing to focus on family and re-entering the workforce later, helped clear up my mind. I put my deposit in the mail that Sunday.” Laura Hunter ’10
Category Manager Transportation and Distribution Total Petrochemicals, USA
“Women’s Preview Weekend gave me realistic exposure to a day in the life of a female MBA student at Rice. The highlight for me was getting to mix and mingle with fellow applicants, eight of whom became classmates.” Sarah Ofner ’10
Senior Associate, Business Advisory Group Ernst & Young
“Over the Women’s Preview Weekend I discovered that Rice respected my need for flexibility, balance, and excellence and would provide me and my classmates the freedom and support to be leaders, entrepreneurs, and everything we aspire to be.” Eno Ukpong ’10
Benefits Transactions Specialist Schlumberger
business.rice.edu
CMC Director Deanna Fuehne speaks to participants at the Re-entering the Workforce Professional Development Series workshop.
Career Road Maps Alumni Professional Development Series
O
n a chilly morning last January, twelve strangers gathered for a workshop at the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business with one common goal: to better prepare themselves for the future. New year, new decade, new job The workshop, Re-entering the Workforce, focused on non-linear careers — the kind that have interruptions — and was part of the Alumni Professional Development Series (also known as PDS) hosted by the school’s Alumni Relations department and Career Management Center (CMC). It is one workshop of many that occurs throughout the year and targets the Rice community. “The CMC is committed to providing lifelong professional development opportunities for alumni from all programs,” said Deanna Fuehne, director of the CMC. “The vast majority of MBAs switch jobs multiple times during their careers. Sometimes these breaks are planned; more often they aren’t.” The participants of the two-part re-entry workshop came equipped with a variety of impressive degrees and experiences. Not all, however, were looking for jobs or returning to work after a break. Some already had jobs but wanted a leg up in their transition to different careers.
Answering the call Although the Texas unemployment rate hovers around eight percent and is lower than the national unemployment average, there remain casualties in the Houston job market. The CMC stays relevant by answering the call of important topics and trends. The Princeton Review ranking survey recently posed the question: does your business school have a career reentry initiative designed to reach women who are looking to re-enter the workforce after an extended absence? And though Re-entering the Workforce was not exclusively tailored to women — there were three men in the workshop — the answer is a resounding: yes. Betsy Bagley of NLC Strategies guided the workshop. She is a noted expert in educating companies on diverse workforces and supporting people at various stages in their careers. Bagley concentrated on skills the participants already had, helped them develop new ones, and dissected how to assemble a network. A comprehensive and professional self-branding opportunity, the workshop also included resumé writing skills, where participants turned in resumés for review by Fuehne and her associate directors; interviewing prep from Lindsey Coffman, a recruiter with Ernst & Young; and tricks of the trade from executive coach Neena Newberry.
In our first installment we provided a brief description of the toxic leader — a leader who can exact a heavy toll, both culturally and economically, through the eventual loss of valuable human capital. In their single-minded pursuit of advancement or task accomplishment, toxic leaders neglect the most fundamental aspect of leadership — building and maintaining the motivation and engagement of their employees.
A
s toxic leaders fight a series of short-term results-oriented battles, they often sacrifice their people and their organization’s long-term objectives. Toxicity is prevalent in many organizations, even those that claim a sophisticated view of human resources. During the last 10 years, we have worked with dozens of companies and their CEOs on executive programs, individual coaching, and consulting projects focused on designing or redesigning performance management and talent development systems. CEOs set explicit performance targets across all levels of the organization and increase individual accountability for results — all actions with good intentions. Unfortunately, this typically creates an environment in which toxic leaders thrive. Take the case of a newly promoted vice president of an energy services company. We will call her Mary. By all accounts, Mary was a toxic leader. She was excessively demanding, dictatorial, inflexible, abrasive, and a bit egotistical. She had very little interest in the perspectives of her employees, demanded loyalty and blind, unquestioning obedience to her mandates, and drove her people into the ground. The company she worked for loved her. Why? Because she had consistently achieved remarkable results in every position she filled and the company was “performance-
Contributed by:
D. Brent Smith, PhD, Associate Dean of Executive Education and Associate Professor of Management and Psychology Michael Grojean, PhD, Director of Custom Programs and Professor in the Practice of Management
oriented.” Mary was deemed a high potential and promoted quickly. With each splash, she garnered more recognition and made it to vice president in about half the time most require. Until her superiors started to notice the toll she was exacting on the organization — in this case the loss of valuable people. Turnover rates in Mary’s department were extremely high. People did not want to work for her and many became disenchanted with the organization for rewarding her behavior with rapid promotion. For them, the values the company espoused — the importance of people — were certainly not those enacted. As people who were themselves high-potentials chose to leave the company, Mary’s superiors expanded their definition of results to include the loss of valuable human capital. To her shock, Mary received her first marginal performance review. The case of Mary tells of three important things about the conditions that create toxicity and their outcome. First, rewarding people for results without regard to how those results are achieved promotes bad behavior and leadership styles that are at odds with company values. Second, promoting toxic leaders sends a very clear message to peers and employees that toxicity is tolerated and valued. Finally, holding toxic leaders accountable after many years of bad behavior and rewards for achieving results comes across as hypocritical. The most frequent response we hear is why are they just telling me this now? The likelihood of rehabilitation is not high and the damage done as they exit the organization can be great.
By the Numbers
Rice MBA Full Time Class of 2012
672
GMAT average is highest ever
15 12
US States
countries represented
Rice MBA for Professionals Class of 2012
16
percent
of professionals students have advanced degrees
70
companies represented
Rice MBA for Executives Class of 2012
42
percent
of executives students have advanced degrees
PhD in Finance
217
applications for four positions Jones Journal FALL 2010 9
Around the School
Around the School
New Faculty Appointments Alan Crane
Assistant Professor of Finance
In July Dr. Alan Crane became the newest member of the award-winning finance group as assistant professor at the Jones School. He was recipient of the Fred Moore Assistant Instructor Award for Teaching Excellence in finance from McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned his PhD.
MBAs, Faculty and Alumni Ring Closing Bell
I
business.rice.edu
n March 2010, business leaders and up-andcomers from across Texas gathered at the Jones Graduate School of Business to discuss the future of capital markets with Duncan Niederauer, the CEO of NYSE Euronext.
Rice University and Houston present an ideal platform for the public, private and academic sectors to join together to share perspectives on the economy, regulation and markets that impact our lives today and in the future.”
Niederauer and Dean Bill Glick hosted a panel discussion on the economic crisis, regulation, a changing shareholder base and the future of the global economy with CEOs of NYSE-listed companies in Texas and the Dallas Federal Reserve Board chairman.
Later in the day, students and faculty from Rice’s Jones School were tapped to ring the NYSE closing bell remotely from campus. Rice is only the second university to have this honor; the first was Emory University in 2009, Niederauer’s alma mater.
“NYSE Euronext is proud to partner with Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business in hosting an open forum on the future of capital markets companies,” Niederauer said. “As we work to rebuild public trust and confidence in the economy and markets, it is important to exchange thoughts and ideas with communities and constituents across America.
Panelists included James Hackett, chairman and CEO of Anadarko Petroleum and chairman of the Dallas Federal Reserve Board of Directors; Lanham Napier, president and CEO of Rackspace Hosting Inc.; James Turley, global chairman and CEO of Ernst & Young; and John Carrig, president and chief operating officer of ConocoPhillips.
Teaching across all programs this fall, Dr. Crane’s courses for full-time, professionals and executives students are Corporate Financial Policy and Corporate Investment Policy. His research interests include the study of behavioral biases within corporations using a Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT) model and the study of the use of financial policy by a firm facing litigation claims. Previously Dr. Crane worked in Houston as senior consultant at Protiviti Independent Risk Consulting and an analyst at Lukens Energy Group. Along with his PhD from the University of Texas at Austin, he attended Trinity University where he earned a B.A. in economics and a B.S. in business administration, both cum laude.
K. Ramesh
Professor of Accounting Winner of many accolades for his teaching excellence, including a mention in the BusinessWeek Guide to Best Business Schools as an outstanding faculty member at the University of Rochester, Dr. Ramesh comes to the Jones School from Michigan State University’s Broad College of Business where he was Plante & Moran Faculty Fellow. He was recently voted president-elect of the Financial Accounting and Reporting Section (FARS) of the American Accounting Association (AAA). During his tenure as vice president at two leading economic consulting firms, Dr. Ramesh worked with leading law firms, Big-4 audit firms, major corporations and governmental agencies. He was an academic fellow at the Office of the Chief Accountant, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission during 2007-8. His current research examines the extent of voluntary disclosure of corporate accounting information, the information content of financial reports mandated by securities regulators, the role of newswires and data aggregators in disseminating corporate accounting information to different investors, and the interplay between mandatory regulation and voluntary disclosures. He earned his PhD from Michigan State University, his Master of Accounting from Washington State University, and his Bachelor of Commerce from University of Madras.
Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)
W
ith growing interest in the field of human resources, the Jones Graduate School of Business announces the official recognition of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) student chapter. This student-run club is a perfect platform for MBAs interested in pursuing the strategy of business and human resources. After meeting all national requirements, the affiliation was approved and students “interested in exploring human resources as a career will now have a better footing and more credence with the Houston chapter,” said Nicole Van Den Heuvel, Associate Director, Career Management Center. “With an established student chapter, we have the opportunity to get creative in the ways in which we engage students and recruiters in human resource management.”
By the Numbers
The Career Management Center
5th
globally
The Career Management Center is ranked No. 5 globally in Student Assessment of Career Services, The Economist (2009)
Jones Journal FALL 2010 11
Around the School
Rice Alliance
Rice Alliance
Around the School
Grand Prize The competition’s Grand Prize was valued at over $385,000 and included a $285,000 equity investment, $20,000 cash and over $80,000 of business services including office space, marketing support, and business mentoring. All 42 teams that took part in this year’s Rice Business Plan Competition received cash prizes.
Rice Business Plan Competition
Remarkable Recognition at Rice
Ten Years Rich in Rewards
infantAIR from Rice University
The Rice Business Plan Competition, the world’s richest and largest, celebrated its tenth year with record-breaking numbers in prize money, applicants, judges, categories and sponsors. Hosted by the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship and Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business, the competition awarded more than $1 million in prizes to aid startup businesses. Based on their executive summaries, 42 graduate-level teams were chosen from across the globe to deliver their new technology business plans in six different categories: life sciences, information technology, energy, green tech, social, and other technologies. All teams presented 15-minute business plans, competed in the elevator pitch competition, and posted a 140-character tweet to promote their business in the new TwitPitch Competition.
The Winner’s Circle
In all, more than $240,000 in additional investment and cash prizes were added this year, including the $100,000 Waste Management “Think Green”® Investment Prize, the $50,000 “Game Changer” Space Commercialization Award sponsored by NASA Johnson Space Center, another $15,000 Space Commercialization Award sponsored by the Heinlein Prize Trust, a $10,000 Courageous Women Entrepreneur Award sponsored by nCourage Entrepreneurs Investment Group, and the $65,000 OWL Investment Prize offered by a group of individual Houston angel investors.
Outstanding Numbers
business.rice.edu
Chosen from an impressive field of competitors, the University of Arkansas’s BiologicsMD, LLC won the 2010 grand prize valued at over $385,000. The team developed OsteoFlor™, a new medication that builds better bones. The product binds directly to bone, nearly tripling new bone growth, and requires less frequent dosing with few expected, if any, side effects.
In the competition’s ten years, it has grown from nine teams competing for $10,000 in prize money in 2001, to 42 teams from around the world competing for more than $1 million in cash and prizes. In 2010, applications increased to 420 teams from around the world, up from 340 the previous year. More than 120 corporate and private sponsors support the business plan competition. Over 250 venture capitalists and other investors from around the country volunteer their time to judge the competi-
tion, with more than half of the judges coming from the investment sector. More than 97 past competitors have gone on to successfully launch their businesses and are in business today, including 33 of the 42 teams from the 2009 competition. In total, past competitors have raised more than $223 million in funding. Since inception, the Rice Alliance has assisted in the launch of more than 250 start-ups which have raised more than half-a-billion dollars in early-stage capital. More than 750 companies have presented at the 115+ programs hosted by the Rice Alliance. The Rice Alliance is Rice University’s nationally-recognized initiative devoted to the support of technology commercialization, entrepreneurship education, and the launch of technology companies. It was formed as a strategic alliance of three schools: the George R. Brown School of Engineering, the Wiess School of Natural Sciences and the Jones Graduate School of Business.
infantAIR is developing a continuous positive airway pressure system (CPAP) called Baby Bubbles. Baby Bubbles is a safe and affordable system designed to save infants’ lives by gently keeping their lungs inflated and increasing oxygenation. The team won the $10,000 Social Venture Award and fourth place in the elevator pitch and fifth place in the Semi-final Round for a total of $28,750 in cash and prizes. Team members: Cynthia Hu ‘10, Will Pike ‘10, Jocelyn Brown (Rice BioEngineering undergraduate), David Tipps ‘10, Martha Vega ’10
Blue Revolution Sea Farms from the University of Miami and Rice University Blue Revolution Sea Farms is a U.S.based open-ocean aquaculture company focused on the production and sale of cobia, a white-fleshed fish that can be used in sushi. The team won $1,000 first place in the Shark Tank round and $2,500 Best Written Business Plan Competition.
Rebellion Photonics from Rice University Rebellion Photonics is a patent-pending technology that allows a high-resolution, large format, hyper-spectral image to be taken instantaneously. The compact, portable device provides for real-time, onsite, optical chemical detection. The team won second place overall for $15,000, plus the $100,000 Technology Prize from Opportunity HoustonSM and Greater Houston Partnership awarded. In addition they won the Fish & Richardson $15,000 IP Powerhouse Award and team leader, Allison Lami, wowed the judges with her elevator pitch, sweeping the elevator pitch competitions. The team took home a total of $163,600 and has licensed the product with Rice’s Office of Technology Transfer. Team members: Robert Kester PhD, Allison Lami ’10, Tadzia GrandPré ’11, Frances Parker ‘10 and Anne Robin ‘10 www.rebellionphotonics.com
• $125,000 Investment Prize from The GOOSE Society of TexasTM, (the “Grand Order of Successful Entrepreneurs”) comprised of Bob Brockman, Rod Canion, Nancy Chang, M.D., Arthur A. Ciocca, Terry M. Giles, Jack M. Gill, PhD, Michael Holthouse, Bill Montelleon, Jr. and Leo Linbeck, III. • $100,000 Life Science Award from Opportunity HoustonSM and Greater Houston Partnership • $65,000 OWL Investment Prize • $20,000 grand prize cash award provided by Kenda Capital and Shell • Office space and facility services provided by the Houston Technology Center and 1-Service • Marketing and design services provided by BrandExtract and The Padgett Group • Treasury services provided by Bank of America • Business mentoring provided by the Silver Fox Advisors • Roundtrip airline tickets on Continental Airlines • The development of a company website and hosting services for one year provided by ContentActive • Microsoft Office and Windows Server software package provided by Microsoft • Business Plan Pro Premier software provided by Palo Alto Software
Team members: Aaron Welch, Sean Surcouf ‘10, John Stieglitz, Ronald Hoenig, and Preston Carr about the Rice Business Plan Competition or how to get involved with the Rice Alliance, visit alliance.rice.edu.
• Automatic entry into the 2010 MOOT CORP competition • A feature story in FORTUNE magazine • Opportunity to ring the closing bell at the NASDAQ Stock Market in New York Jones Journal FALL 2010 13
C
Creativity in the Workplace Dr. Jing Zhou is leading transformational business research A young girl growing up in China was told she must give up her paintbrush in favor of preparing for college entrance exams. Years later, Jing Zhou found a way to combine her creative interests with her scientific schooling — by researching creativity in the workplace.
In the process, after much hard work, she has also become a professor at Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business and a leader in bridging international business communities. Her journey has been riddled with hurdles but she has managed to achieve her goals through passion and determination. “Life is like a long tennis match,” she said. “If you lose a point, don’t dwell on it; focus on the next point. In the end, success has little to do with how smart you are. It’s passion and perseverance.”
by Jason Witmer
Zhou has been a professor at Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business since 2003. She now holds the title of Houston Endowment Professor of Management and Director for Asian Management Research and Education. She has taught organizational behavior, managing for creativity and innovation, leadership, global leadership, and negotiation.
Z
“
Employee creativity is key for companies’ survival and growth. If American companies don’t use scientifically-proven approaches to enhance their employees’ creativity and translate creative ideas into profitable and socially responsible products, services, processes, and business models, they’re going to lose their competitive edge.
Facing Challenges
Zhou’s accomplishments are impressive, given the obstacles she has overcome. As a female in a country known for favoring boys over girls, career success wasn’t easy. Many of her female classmates didn’t attain the status males did, she said. She attributes her success in part to the fact that her parents encouraged her and her brother equally. She never thought about the fact that the playing field wasn’t equal; she just kept following her passion and pursuing her interests.
When Zhou immigrated to the United States for graduate school at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, she faced another challenge — culture and language. A professor told her if she wanted to succeed, she must socialize with Americans so she could learn the culture and converse more fluently. She began going to “happy hours,” but found herself unable to keep up with the conversation. “Happy hours were my most unhappy time because I didn’t know what anyone was talking about,” she said. She began preparing for these happy hours much as she would for a class. Instead of reading textbooks, she read the sports sections of newspapers and went to movies. Soon, she was discussing baseball and Indiana Jones. The language fluency she gained through these interactions proved critical to her success. Like many women, Zhou has also confronted the need to balance career and family. When she moved to the U.S. she had to live apart from her husband, who stayed in China because of his job as an engineering professor. He supported her decision to pursue her interests and moved here when he finally could. They lived in different cities for years, however, and had to commute long distances to see each other. After these personal sacrifices, they now live happily together in Houston, proud parents of their six-year-old son.
16
Accomplishments and accolades Zhou’s passion and perseverance in the face of adversity has paid handsome dividends. After publishing numerous journal articles and editing the Handbook of Organizational Creativity, she has become known as a leader in her field. Timothy Judge, the Matherly-McKethan Eminent Scholar in Management at the University of Florida, called her one of the “premier experts on creativity in the organizational sciences.” She is also an associate editor of Journal of Applied Psychology, a top scholarly journal in the field of management, and has served as a consultant to organizations on issues related to her research and expertise. In her research, contrary to the assumption that individual differences such as personality traits determine employees’ creativity, Zhou and coauthors found that work environment plays a key role in facilitating or inhibiting employees’ creativity. First, managers may promote creativity directly by practicing transformational leadership. For example, team diversity itself does not automatically lead to team creativity; diverse teams only show high levels of creativity when their managers are transformational leaders. Second, managers may promote creativity indirectly by structuring a work environment that is conducive to creativity. Even employees with relatively few creative personalities can actually become creative when creative coworkers are present, and when their supervisors are not controlling.
Another important line of inquiry suggests that under certain conditions, negative events may become an impetus for creativity in the workplace. For example, job dissatisfaction may actually be beneficial — when employees have to stay in their companies because of lack of alternatives, and when they perceive their organizations support creativity, higher job dissatisfaction leads to greater creativity. Their research suggests that when employees interpreted mergers and acquisition as an opportunity, not a threat, they engage in creativity. “I love this field,” Zhou said. “Employee creativity is key for companies’ survival and growth. If American companies don’t use scientifically-proven approaches to enhance their employees’ creativity and translate creative ideas into profitable and socially responsible products, services, processes, and business models, they’re going to lose their competitive edge.” Although visionary leaders have started to use interventions to nurture creativity that are advised by scientific findings, Zhou and her coauthors’ research suggest that plenty of managers still kill creativity every day.
Culture and creativity Zhou has also studied creativity in businesses in China and found interesting differences. While American employees respond well to freedom in their work environments, Chinese employees tend to generate more ideas when they are given clear direction from superiors. This is just one of the important differences between the two cultures. Another is that Chinese business leaders tend to think holistically while Americans think more analytically. These differ-
”
ences can show up in business negotiations, and understanding them can prove crucial to constructing a deal that is mutually beneficial. She shares these insights and many other unique cases collected via her research with students in the negotiation course that she teaches. With China’s growing international business presence, understanding both ways of thinking is becoming more important. “People in China function and think very differently from the majority of business people in the U.S.,” she said. “Those who are able to understand both ways of thinking and doing things are going to be tomorrow’s leaders.” This is one of the reasons Zhou has worked to bridge the two business communities. She has helped build connections between the Jones School and five top business schools in China. There are now faculty and student exchange programs between these schools. Zhou also travels to China for research. She works hard to bring the most recent research to her class, much of it so new that it is yet to be published. This, coupled with her background, gives her unique insight into the Chinese business community, which she can share with her students. As a professor, she seeks to instill in her students what has worked for her — to pursue dreams, to not dwell on inequality, and to dedicate themselves to learning. She sets high standards in the classroom, and though she knows some might see her as being too tough, she is focused on helping students grow. “I love what I do,” she said. “Enjoying one’s work is a key to success.”
After her first two years of college, financial pressures caused Sally Widener to put her formal education on hold. She took an hourly job at a 7-Eleven to earn some needed cash. Two rapid promotions later, Widener was a certified store manager responsible for hiring, purchasing, inventory, scheduling, presenting financial results to executives, and managing a large team. One of her most trusted employees was a shift supervisor. Widener could depend on him for just about every task. Until she learned he was stealing from the store.
Sally K. Widener is Associate Professor of Accounting at Rice. She holds a PhD in Business Administration from the University of Colorado at Boulder, a Master of Science in Accounting from Colorado State University, and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from the University of Houston. She serves on the editorial boards of Journal of Management Accounting Research and Behavioral Research in Accounting, among others. She is a Certified Public Accountant, Certified Internal Auditor, and served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Women MBAs.
“I took that very personally; it went way beyond a work experience,” said Widener. “I was very young at the time, 20, and I had to confront and fire him. That experience never left me.”
Control Issues by Ann S. Boor
business.rice.edu
What makes people tick
and what makes organizations click keeps things interesting for Dr. Sally Widener
Although she didn’t realize it at the time, that experience also served to teach Widener an important lesson about management controls. “If you’re in an industry where there is little congruence between the goals of the employees and the goals of the organization, you’re going to place great stress on the management and internal control systems.”
Widener has always been fascinated by the interplay between human behavior and controls. Growing up in a family of modest means with a clearly defined set of core values, she believes that these values guided her personal behavior and also put her on the path towards her eventual research pursuits. After a few turns in the road, Widener did complete her bachelor’s degree and joined Price Waterhouse where she worked as an external auditor. There she came to realize the importance internal control systems had on audit engagements. After that, she helped develop an internal audit department at a Fortune 500 company where she conducted operational and fraud audits. In addition, Widener held various operational controllership positions at the same company. All of this further spurred her interest in the big questions about control and behavior. “It kind of followed me from my home environment and throughout my career,” said Widener. “Why do people act the way they do? What incentives drive behavior? What controls can business put in place to align individual objectives with organizational objectives?”
Transition to Teaching As much as Widener enjoyed her work in private industry accounting, she felt there was a component missing and set out to find it. “I trained employees at 7-Eleven and
taught training programs at Price Waterhouse and always enjoyed that aspect of it,” said Widener. “I felt teaching would bring me a little closer to the feeling that I’m making some sort of a difference.” Widener joined Rice in 2001. Her research in performance measurement and management control systems brings real life situations and outcomes into the classroom. In a recently published study she coauthored, Widener surveyed employees about their organization’s incentive matrix system, a performance system tied to their bonus structure. She was interested in how the characteristics of the system influenced behaviors and in how the perception of those characteristics influenced the employees’ perception of justice. Do employees think the rewards they receive are fair in return for their efforts, and how does this affect their performance? “I enjoy bringing research into my classes,” said Widener. “This is how we help develop thought leaders, by passing on the knowledge. It’s a cycle.”
Widener generates a lot of conversation with the findings of her research, from the unintended consequences of incentives — and she said there will always be unintended consequences — to understanding the importance of complementary control systems. “No single control system stands alone; the key is to surround it with other effective systems,” said Widener. “These are the things students need to be thinking about when they’re the CFO.” Through her visiting position at Nyenrode Universiteit in The Netherlands, Widener partnered with colleagues there as well as in Australia, adding global insight to her research around management control systems and bringing it back into the classroom.
Merging Passions Widener’s most recent research has taken her interest in management controls into new territory. Her mother’s diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease heightened Widener’s interest in the health care arena. Widener recently concluded a comparative look at two health care clinics. “I usually do quantitative research, but this is more of a qualitative study,” said Widener. “It looks at Lean Delivery Systems.” The Lean Delivery System is a kind of philosophy that an organization commits to by changing and shaping the culture and practices around doing the right things. It focuses on valued-added activities and drives out inefficiencies and waste in the process.
“No single control system stands alone; the key is to surround it with other effective systems. These are the things students need to be thinking about when they’re the CFO.”
Widener explained that while Lean is actually an operations technique, it is of great interest to management control people because it includes all kinds of
social controls, such as peer pressure and employee empowerment. “It also impacts performance measurement systems because it really shifts from traditional measures to non-traditional ones, and it influences standard operating procedures. This has real impact.” Only one of the two health care organizations in Widener’s study used the Lean approach. The researchers focused on how changes in management controls affected outcomes. “We learned that when management uses social controls to really persuade employees to become goal congruent with the organization’s objective to be Lean, it is very effective,” said Widener. Especially impactful was the visualization of all the accounting and performance measures. Colorful charts on the walls, pictures, and other visually-oriented materials were very valuable in mobilizing employees to come on board at the Lean clinic. The overarching goals of Lean were to increase the quality of care for patients and the quality of life for employees. When Widener and her colleagues compared the metrics across both clinics, it was very clear that the Lean clinic had outperformed the other. As a follow-up to this study, a team of five researchers and two practitioners from the health care industry are working on a National Institute of Health grant that studies the outcomes of Lean Delivery initiatives on health care. Widener is excited about merging health care with management controls, a new blending with potential benefits for society. “Innovative combinations, that’s how we move things forward. We’ll see where this takes us.”
B
orn and raised in Pueblo, Colorado, Fran Vallejo is the third of four children and the only girl. Those kinds of odds prepared her well for a career in the energy industry — although her success may surprise Mrs. Poole, Vallejo’s kindergarten teacher. “She told my parents I was the shyest student she ever taught.” That quiet, shy kindergartener blossomed in school and excelled in academics and music, playing the piano and marimba through twelfth grade. Between her junior and senior year in high school, this carefully tended trajectory led her to the Summer Minority Engineering Training program at Colorado School of Mines and set her future course. “The SUMMET experience solidified my interest in math and science.” And her interest in the college. In 1987 she graduated from Colorado School of Mines with a degree in engineering
Business Excellence:
A SEISMIC SHIFT mathematics with a geophysics option, one of only two people in her class to get a full-time job in geophysics with an integrated oil and gas company. Vallejo joined Phillips Petroleum Company in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, that same year as a geophysicist and has been with the company — now ConocoPhillips — ever since.
business.rice.edu
By Jan M. Hester
From Jones Scholar to Vice President and Treasurer of ConocoPhillips, Fran Vallejo ’96 leads by example
“I believe it’s important to teach children key values: hard work pays off, do the most with your God-given talents, help those less fortunate, and be honest and truthful in interactions with others.”
With two generations of educators behind her — both her father and her father’s mother were superintendents of Colorado schools — Vallejo appreciated and understood the importance of a formal education but never expected the degree to change her career the way it did. As an engineer with no conventional accounting or finance background, she wanted to go beyond the geophysics and engineering and learn something more expansive. That early love of math drew her to finance. “The finance professors were my favorites, especially Barbara Ostdiek and Jeff Fleming. I was so impressed by their knowledge of and enthusiasm for the subject.”
Transforming a career After six years in geophysics, Vallejo felt she had more to offer than her expert technical capabilities. “The physical working environment was different back then. Geoscientists had to sit in cold, dark computer rooms doing seismic interpretation. There was little interaction with other people.”
business.rice.edu
Recognizing her career with Phillips had a lifetime of development opportunities but that perhaps she needed to get out of the cold, dark computer rooms, Vallejo began entertaining the idea of business school and brought up the subject with her husband, also a geophysicist. “I always knew I wanted to go back to school, and he was
completely supportive of that. We’re driving down the Southwest Freeway trying to figure out the logistics and he said, ‘Just quit your job.’ And that was that.” The couple lived in Houston by then and Vallejo wanted to attend the best school she could without uprooting her family. “Rice was the obvious choice.” Forging ahead, she enrolled in the full-time program and arranged an educational leave of absence with no promise of a job after earning her degree. However, one senior executive “made a special point of telling me how valuable the experience would be for me and the company. That meant a lot.”
Barb Ostdiek, Associate Professor of Finance, remembered that “without a doubt, Fran ranks among the best students with whom I have had the privilege of working. She was thoughtful and hardworking, always pushing for the next layer of understanding — for the ‘why’ rather than the ‘what.’ And Fran was always — is always — quick to identify the crux of an issue, the drivers in any scenario. I am sure these skills have served her well in her rise up the corporate ranks.”
Meteoric rise After earning her MBA in 1996, Vallejo’s professional advancement was dazzling. From finance associate in treasury to manager of strategic
Fran Vallejo transactions to assistant treasurer by 2001, she then served the company as vice president, upstream planning and portfolio management; general manager, corporate planning and budgets; and today, vice president and treasurer. Her extraordinary success in business was rewarded last year when Vallejo was named 2009 Female Senior Executive of the Year by the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. “Energy is such a dynamic and exciting business, and companies are embracing diversity. It’s a global industry with geopolitical ramifications, so what happens in the energy business impacts every person on the planet.” That enthusiasm for the industry contributes to Vallejo’s success, but it is her enduring commitment to hard work, strong values and open communication that make her a true leader. To those who supported her throughout her career by teaching her the ropes and helping her understand her worth, personally and professionally, she is truly grateful. And determined to return the favor. “I try to be a role model. I believe in the fundamental principles of working hard, treating others with honesty and respect, and giving everyone an opportunity for growth and development. I never experienced a situation where I wasn’t welcome to contribute, so I make sure that happens within my scope.” Although she has seen an increase in the number of women in leadership
positions throughout the business community over the last ten years, she believes “we need a pipeline for women to grow and develop into leadership positions.” And she knows she can be a part of that mentoring. “I’m always willing to visit with people about career development,” said the mother of three. “Being a dual-career couple with a young family is very difficult. I can relate to the challenges. I’ve been there. I’m also proof that the balance is achievable.”
Giving Back Setting a good example for her son and two daughters is as important to Vallejo and her husband as it was to her parents. “I believe it’s important to teach children key values: hard work pays off, do the most with your God-given talents, help those less fortunate, and be honest and truthful in interactions with others.” Vallejo also brings her guiding principles to community service. As executive sponsor of ConocoPhillips’ Hispanic employee network, she gives strategic steer and honest feedback to the organization, which promotes employee development activities and cultural awareness through community service. The organization has been in existence for more than 20 years. “Aside from a cultural awareness event every year during Hispanic Heritage Month, the Hispanic employee network also raises money to donate to Houston’s Casa de Esperanza, a safe place for children in crisis due to abuse, neglect or the effects of HIV. We’re also associated with the nation-
al organization called HACE, Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement, and participate in its annual Houston conference.”
A new regional board member of Teach for America, Vallejo also plays an active role in several JGSB programs and activities. In 2009 she served as a panelist for the Rice Energy Finance Summit and has been involved with the Rice Summer Business Institute for several years. Professor Ostdiek noted, “I greatly appreciate Fran’s role as an alumna and am particularly thankful for her early, crucial support of the Rice Summer Business Institute.” That support continued over the summer with her group at ConocoPhillips hosting a high school student as a summer intern. Vallejo is also involved in the ConocoPhillips Rice Elementary Model Science Lab. The program hosts elementary school science teachers in weekly sessions for a school year, providing them with a professional development curriculum focused on science content knowledge, best teaching practices and teacher leadership. Not one to toot her own horn, the reserved girl from Pueblo, Colorado, has quietly made good through living life on her own terms. “Be confident in yourself and your abilities,” she advised. “Be patient, because good things really do come to those who wait. Be humble and let your performance speak for itself.”
25
QA &
with
Subha Barry ‘85 by Sarah Gajkowski-Hill
Four-time cancer survivor and a champion for women in global leadership roles, Subha Barry reflects on excellence in leadership
Excellence
Leadership
in
An unstoppable force in the business world, Subha Barry holds a litany of corporate accomplishments and a twenty-year tenure at Merrill Lynch to her credit. Her speaking engagements, mentoring skills, board memberships and advisory positions at various organizations such as the National Council for Research on Women and the World Economic Forum all vie for 100 percent of her attention and expertise. The former Managing Director and Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion at Merrill Lynch champions women in leadership roles and, specifically, how they can reinvent themselves and their careers in this tumultuous economic business climate.
The New Jersey and New York-based Barry is a Rice alumna with a Master of Business and Public Management and a Master of Accounting, and her daughter joined the ranks of Rice alumna after graduating this May. The four-time cancer survivor sits on the Board of The Cancer Institute of New Jersey, an organization that promotes a multi-pronged approach to fighting cancer — through treatment, research, clinical trials and education. Additionally, her non-profit work is aimed at providing women in the global arena with access to education. Always the great equalizer, she feels that better-educated women worldwide will bring their own unique gifts and strengths to the business world of the future.
QA &
with
Subha Barry
A View to Diversity
What is the key to emphasizing your particular diversity within a company?
Given today’s business demographic, can women really be considered minorities anymore?
Remember, the most important attribute to being successful is to have your skill set match what your role in the company demands. If you can do this while retaining those attributes that make you uniquely you; whether it’s your gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation or race, you will have succeeded in integrating all of the elements that can create success in the workplace. We don’t need more diversity talk from human resources departments. If business managers embed diversity into their core business strategy because they see the business case for diversity and inclusivity, companies will quickly become a microcosm of the populations that they work among and serve. It’s important that there be more than just a representation of diverse populations; there must be representation at all levels, especially among the leaders.
No, women are no longer minorities in the workforce. The numbers show that women and men are equally represented — nearly fifty-fifty. However, they are underrepresented in leadership roles. This lack of representation in leadership roles for women in business can be viewed as the last frontier of women’s equality. Pay equity will surely follow.
During the recent financial crisis, as one would expect, money is normally diverted away from diversity efforts and employers tend to reward those who work longer hours and take on added responsibilities. While this would seem to suggest that women, who often bear the brunt of family responsibilities, would not be likely candidates for employers to keep on, the opposite seems to be true. However, women continue to do what they’ve always done — put their heads down and work hard. As a result, more women than men stay employed during times of crisis.
So women are not considered minorities as investors either? Unfortunately, women are still a minority as far as having my industry focus on their investment needs. That’s basically how I built my career. Early in my tenure at Merrill Lynch, I realized there was a huge, untapped opportunity in serving the investment needs of minority populations — not just women, but the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender community, people with disabilities and other ethnic minorities — the industry simply did not focus on them. Women investors often seem to have different financial priorities as compared to their male counterparts. They spend and save their money in different ways. Other industries, such as the automobile industry, market specifically to women. They have recognized the opportunity and capitalized on it. The financial industry has not yet done that.
28
Confident Renegotiation Most people are just happy to have a job in the first place during economic upset. Isn’t this good news for women, who are more apt to retain their jobs? Not exactly. Women may retain their jobs more often during times of strife, but are these the jobs they retain? Women are not using this opportunity to negotiate for bigger roles, more compensation in the future, etc. Women come from the mindset, “If I do a great job, they will reward me; I don’t have to ask for it.” While women may be adept at negotiating all sorts of things, they are simply not very good at doing it in the workplace and for themselves. In the beginning, they think life will be fair. They don’t realize that if they are appreciated and their hard work is being noted,
...Women are no longer minorities in the workforce. The numbers show that women and men are equally represented – nearly fifty-fifty. they are in the perfect position to negotiate for a better salary, a bigger title, or more benefits. This is exactly the time to hone your negotiation skills.
What is your advice for women who want to renegotiate pay or responsibilities? It sounds obvious but one of the first things to do is to win the battle inside of your own head; be passionate and go after what you want. Men, for the most part, never think, “I wonder if I offended my boss? I wonder if I pushed too hard?” Women are often worried and anxious after asking for a raise or a promotion. When I am coaching women or when I give presentations on the subject, I always say, if you’re nervous about asking for what you deserve, pretend you’re not. Act as though you are supremely confident that you will get a yes answer to your request. Use your superior social skills and pretend as though you’re not intimidated in the least. This’ll at least be a good exercise in confidence and might just end in securing a raise as well.
How have you seen the business climate change in regards to women in the workplace over the past twenty years? I’ll speak from having worked in New York for most of my career; women here tend to have a much more active social life when it comes to going out with girlfriends. “Sex and the City” isn’t all fiction — at least the part about rendezvousing with female friends to socialize and network. More and more, as women climb their way to the leadership ranks within their companies, they realize what can be accomplished with the help of their female networks during “social” time. Women are finding that instead of meeting just for emotional support, the acumen of a well-coordinated cocktail hour or dinner date with a like-minded female in a leadership role is a great way to get a leg up. Why not play the way the boys have for years — informal mentoring and, depending on your sphere of influence, promoting female friends and colleagues to bigger and better positions? Let’s create the good old girls’ networks.
Everyone Wins What is the main mistake you see women make when presenting their credentials during a negotiation in pay? When compiling accomplishments for an interview or resume, women are much less likely to count group accomplishments as personal accomplishments. If you did 10 percent of the work and it is hard, good work you are proud of, you should be able to claim the credit for the whole job as a team member. Another common challenge is about how direct to be in asking for that raise; Rather than a straight forward presentation of the facts — here were my goals, here is what I accomplished, here is how I helped the team win, here is what I hope to do over the course of the next year, next three years. Women often speak of fairness, what they deserve, etc. Just keep it simple.
What advice would you give parents who desire their daughters to be the leaders of tomorrow? Oddly enough, encourage girls to play sports. Encourage them to take risks; tell them to aspire to leadership roles. I’ve often noticed in the workplace that men have never had a problem claiming victory even when only a part of the work has been theirs. This comes easy to men because of the influence of team sports. Ingrained in young boys has been the notion that a win for the team is a win for everyone on the team. You don’t have to make the winning shot or get the winning hit to call yourself a winner. Now that more girls play team sports, I truly believe this will become a skill that will be ingrained in our young women of the next generation. In the workplace, the ability to have your talent shine through while being a consummate team player is an essential leadership quality.
29
Giving to Jones
Giving to Jones
A Legacy of Philanthropy:
The Jones Partners is a committed group of business leaders working to open doors and build ties between the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business and the Houston business community.
A graduate of the Rice MBA for Executives program, Cooke’s loyalty and dedication to the school is evident. Along with serving as a member and committee leader of the Jones Partners for the last five years, she serves on the national board of NAWMBA, the National Association of Women MBAs, and participates in and sponsors the Rice Alliance. As the president and founder of RoundTableau, LLC, a strategy and leadership development consultancy, Rebecca knows the benefit of effective and consistent implementation. “The Jones Partners facilitates authentic conversations about compelling business issues, while creating ways to further support our business leaders,” says Cooke. “Additionally, the Partners enable me to be engaged in furthering the goals of the school, while building meaningful working relationships with like-minded professionals.” Central to its mission, the Jones School relies on the continued collaboration and support of companies and their professionals. The Jones Partners supports the school’s initiatives and encourages you to join in this effort to educate and develop global business leaders. Log on to business.rice.edu/jones partners.aspx to find out more.
on giving to the Jones School, visit business.rice.edu/give.
What does Jones Fund support?
Rice MBA Full Time Class of 2010 achieves 100 percent participation
Investing in Innovative Partnerships
A
corporate investor since 2001, ConocoPhillips generously supports excellence at the Jones School through programs such as the National Association of Women MBAs (NAWMBA), the Rice Summer Business Institute, and the ConocoPhillips Endowed Scholarship, established in 2005. ConocoPhillips’ financial and intellectual commitment is central to the Jones School’s ability to achieve its mission: to develop principled, innovative thought leaders in global communities. The third-largest integrated energy company in the U.S., ConocoPhillips gains a strategic competitive advantage with access to students, faculty and a network of executives; insight into leading management research; and the affiliations to build strong corporate identity with the thought leaders of today and tomorrow. The Jones Corporate Investors provide corporations with many ways to become involved with the Jones Graduate School of Business, tailoring each contribution to be the most productive and mutually rewarding for both the school and the investor. For more information business.rice.edu/Corporate_Investors.
T
he Jones School 2010 class gift campaign demonstrates the deep commitment recent graduates feel toward their alma mater. One hundred percent of full-time students contributed, and overall participation by all three programs reached an impressive 95 percent. “Our class was a close-knit team,” said full-time graduate William Pike ’10, a consultant for Kalypso. “A personal touch was the real key to our success. We put together a group of 14 class gift ‘champions’ who contacted each student in the group. Reaching 100 percent in this job market — one of the worst job markets for a graduating class in recent history — sends the message that we care about the Jones School community.” To encourage others to contribute, students in the Full-Time and Professionals pro-
“
gram created class t-shirts as a symbol of participation in the campaign. The MBA Full-Time team wore those class t-shirts to the annual Jones School softball tournament demonstrating their class spirit. “We’re pleased that our contribution will help the Jones School attract top faculty and fund programs that provided us with a compelling experience,” said Rice MBA for Executives graduate Jeff Nyanteh, Marketing Consultant for Caterpillar’s Global Petroleum Product Support Group. “The EMBA program helped us develop lasting relationships and a set of skills that will help us achieve our career aspirations. The sense of pride that comes with belonging to such a prestigious institution inspired us to give back. Our legacy will be helping future students enjoy the things that made it such a great experience for us.”
“
As the first elected female president of the Jones Partners, Rebecca Cooke ‘01 is focused on a strategic plan to build on the legacy and current success of the group, while strengthening professional relationships through consistent and effective leadership.
Jones School student giving campaign enjoys record success
Reaching 100 percent in this job market — one of the worst job markets for a graduating class in recent history — sends the message that we care about the Jones School community.
Sponsorship Opportunities Corporate Investors at the level of Patron and above can direct their donations to a variety of sponsorship opportunities. Whether the goal of your investment is to develop future talent, increase the skills and knowledge of your employees, network with leadership in the Houston business community, access Jones School faculty and research, or to link your company’s name to one of the premier business schools in the country, you can target your investment to meet these needs.
Partial listing of Annual and LongTerm Sponsorship Opportunities: • Scholarships
• Faculty Research • Jones Partners • Rice Summer Business Institute
(for high school students from challenged schools)
• Career Management Center
recruitment events
• Diversity Weekends (women,
minorities)
• Student Managed Investment Portfolio • Student Clubs (Energy, Finance,
National Association of Women MBAs, Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Real Estate, Net Impact – community outreach, Consulting, Asian, Hispanic and other clubs)
• Rice MBA Student Participation in
Inter-Collegiate Competitions
• Rice MBA Student Participation in So-
cial Entrepreneurship Projects, includ-
ing the Global Health initiative in developing countries and domestic projects • Annual Rice Energy-Finance Summit • Annual Health Care Symposium • Selected Speaker Events and confer-
ences
• Undesignated funds will be credited
to the Dean’s Discretionary Fund to support urgent current needs
For more information, contact shaheen@rice.edu.
Hsiang-Ching “Danielle” Lee Jones Fund Scholarship recipient, Danielle Lee ‘11, was attracted to Rice after attending an MBA information session in Taiwan. “I was impressed by the friendliness of the staff and the location of the Jones School, which is home to numerous Fortune 500 companies.” After receiving an accounting degree from National Taiwan University, Lee worked in auditing and finance for four years before deciding to continue her education. The diverse student body and small class size made the Jones School a perfect fit for an international student looking to expand her business knowledge. “The Jones School represents the ideal education process by attracting the best people from all over the world, from different professions and backgrounds, putting them into the melting pot, and letting them transform one another in a positive manner,” says Lee. Programs such as the Action Learning Project, which combine integrated academic research with practical applications, are just one more reason why Lee chose the Rice MBA program. Thanks to the Jones Fund and its contributors, Lee continues to build a competitive edge that will be a benefit to her future employer. The Jones Fund is an annual fund that provides unrestricted revenue to support scholarships, program enhancement, and other operation expenses. More than 70 percent of the contributions raised in 2010 will go to support scholarships and recruitment efforts for top candidates.
Jones Journal FALL 2010 31
Jones Graduate Student Alumni Association (JGSAA) 2009-10 Officers and Board Members PRESIDENT Ted Dimitry ‘02 Account Executive Hays Companies of Texas
PRESIDENT ELECT Carolyn Galfione ‘97 Financial Advisor & CFO Linscomb and Williams
Board Members: Bo Bothe ‘05 President & Chief Creative Officer BrandExtract Phillip Brown ‘08 Manager Hewlett-Packard Company David Case ‘05 Vice President JP Morgan Chase Francisco Castro ‘02 CEO Aliant Capital S.A. de C.V. Michael Chevalier-White ‘89 Managing Director Morgan Keegan Mark Courtney ‘94 Director CIMA Energy, LTD Julie Davidson ‘04 Director Cogent Compensation Partners, Inc. Jay Hawthorn ‘05 Vice President Barclays Capital Jack Ledford ‘02 Project Manager KBR, Inc. Mike McLaughlin ‘07 Principal Analyst El Paso Corp. Dustin Olson ‘06 Marketing Manager LyondellBasell Industries Pierce Owens ‘98 Vice President CB Richard Ellis
Rankings and Recognition
Dear Fellow Alumni,
Rankings and Recognition
As a JGSAA Advisory Board member since 2007, it is with great pride that I serve as president for the 2010-11 fiscal year. Our mission is to foster the continual involvement of our alumni with our school, faculty, students and fellow alumni. I am truly committed to strengthening the Jones School’s outreach to our global community of over 4,000 alumni.
Zhang selected as 2010 SMS Emerging Scholar
On any given day, we host events ranging from discussions on the future of capital markets to patient-focused health care management. There is always something going on and some way to be involved.
Doreen Stoller ‘91 Executive Director Hermann Park Conservancy Kathryn Young ‘04 Vice President, Operations Sirius Solutions
As part of the Strategic Management faculty at the Jones School, Dr. Zhang’s research focuses on CEO succession and strategic leadership, corporate governance, foreign direct investment and global strategy, and innovation in emerging markets.
For those of you who are engaged, thank you. For those of you who want to be, let me know. We’ll find a way. The Jones School can use your help. Alumni participation in giving hit a record high this year with 22 percent, translating to 898 alumni giving a gift to the Jones School in fiscal year 2010. Alumni support is so important during these tough economic times and we greatly appreciate yours. This legacy of philanthropy continues to illustrate the nature and stature of our alumni in the tradition of Jesse H. Jones’ comment that “Success is measured by the service you render and the character of citizen you make.” I would like to acknowledge all of the hard work of the JGSAA board members who persistently seek ways to enhance the alumni programming and resources. If you have thoughts or feedback you would like to share, please feel free to contact me or my fellow board members. Our information is available on the dedicated Jones School Alumni website: www.JonesAlumni.com. In closing I would like to thank you again for your support of the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business. It truly makes a difference to the overall quality and success of the institution — and it contributes significantly to the fulfillment of the school’s mission. The 2010-11 year will include a variety of alumni programs, professional development and lifelong learning opportunities. On behalf of the Jones Graduate School Alumni Association, I invite you to take full advantage. It is an honor to serve as the Alumni Association President. Best wishes for the year ahead – and please do stay connected to this great network. Yours sincerely,
Priscilla Plumb ‘01 Director Hewlett-Packard Company Kim-Kay Randt ‘07 Director, Pricing for Branded Central ConocoPhillips
Dr. Zhang was selected for her significant record of publication and professional activities that have contributed to existing strategic management theory and practice.
Ted Dimitry ’02 JGSAA President
Yan Anthea Zhang, Jones School
Distinguished Associate Professor of Management and Associate Professor of Strategic Management, has been awarded the 2010 Strategic Management Society Emerging Scholar Award.
The SMS Emerging Scholar Award is given annually to a relatively young scholar who displays exemplary scholarship in research, education, and professional activities that enhance current strategic management practice.
Rice MBA Full-Time program
4th
Top for Finance Financial Times (2010)
9th
Top for Accountancy Financial Times (2010)
Rice MBA for Executives program
8th
Salary Increase Financial Times (2009)
Rice MBA for Professionals program - evenings/weekends
Hoskisson named as a top researcher in business and economics Times Higher Education recently recognized Robert E. Hoskisson, the George R. Brown Professor of Management at Rice University’s Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business, as one of the top 25 researchers in business and economics, globally. Dr. Hoskisson is one of the few management scholars on the list, which includes several Nobel laureates. The list ranks authors in the fields of economics, finance, and business management by the number of papers published from 1970 through 2009 that were cited 50 or more times. “To be among the most impactful business scholars in a domain with over twelve thousand business faculty is an incredible honor,” said Bill Glick, dean of the Jesse H. Jones
Rankings
8th
Overall BusinessWeek (2009)
Graduate School of Business, of Hoskisson’s years of dedication to management research. As part of the Strategic Management faculty at the Jones School, Hoskisson’s research focuses on corporate and international strategy, corporate governance, strategy in emerging economies, and corporate entrepreneurship. His most recent paper, Does Market-oriented Institutional Change in an Emerging Economy Make Business Group-affiliated Multinationals Perform Better? An Institutionbased View, will be presented at the upcoming Strategy Symposium on Emerging Markets, which will be held at the Jones Graduate School of Business.
Expansión Magazine released its 2010 ranking - The Best Global MBAs for Mexicans 2010. The MBA program at the Jones Graduate School of Business placed No. 1 in Texas and in the Southwest U.S. Overall, the school placed No. 13 in the U.S. and was ranked 25th globally. The Jones School is an international destination for many Latin Americans interested in pursuing an MBA degree. Enrollment among Latino students, especially from Mexico, has increased substantially in the past two years thanks in part to the recruiting focus placed on Mexico and other Latin American countries.
Jones Journal FALL 2010 33
Class
Notes
Update Your Contact Info! Visit JonesAlumni.com
and log in to the alumni directory.
managing director in the Public Sector Service Group and a national practice leader for the firm’s Government Practice. In the same month, Jim was also elected to the Board of Directors of Acro Energy.
5 1970s
John Dragovits ’77 was
featured in the March 26, 2010 CFO Insights segment of the Dallas Business Journal. John is CFO and Executive VP of Parkland Health and Hospital System.
Michael Tankersley ’78
moved back to Dallas after resigning his position as the first Inspector General of the ExportImport Bank of the United States last October (where the Chairman sits at Jesse Jones’s desk). He is now the EVP and General Counsel of CSG Investments, Inc., the capital markets affiliate of Beal Bank Nevada, owned by Andy Beal.
1980s
Peter Schwab ’80 is manag-
ing director and head of restructuring at Piper Jaffray & Co. He is also on the JGSB Council of Overseers.
Robert Royall ’84 was
recently a panelist on Thought Center, a pod/webcast featuring business insights from Ernst & Young where Robert recently reached 25 years of service.
1
business.rice.edu
Stephen Barrett ’84 rode
in the BP MS150 from Houston to Austin as a part of the FMC Cyclers team in April 2010.
Michael Kane ’84 became a member of the National Writing Project Board of Directors.
Mary Bourne-Marth ’87 has recently joined JGSB
as an Adjunct Professor. Mary is also Vice President of Key Account Marketing at Showtime Networks.
Michael Chevalier-White ’89 joined Morgan Keegan In-
vestment Banking as a managing director. He also now serves on the JGSAA Board.
1990s
Bernie Fields ’93 is entering
into his tenth year as President and Principal of Bernard M. Fields Management Corporation. Bernie is also outgoing President of the Jones Partners Board and is a member of Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship.
Jim Havelka ’93 joined
Alvarez & Marsal in June as a
2
Rebecca Bridges ’94 is Director of Residential Acquisition Channels at Champion Energy Services.
Lisa Derenthal ’95 was a
keynote speaker at the Enterprise Search Summit 2010. Lisa is a Director at Gimmal Group Inc.
Steven Crower ’97 manages
the energy practice for Starlight Investments, LLC in Denver, CO.
Steven Engler ’99 is District
Manager of International Sales at TMK IPSCO.
2000s
Daniel Cotlar ’00 is Chief Marketing Officer at Blinds.com where the company recently received the AMA Houston Marketer of the Year award. John Baumgartner ’00
and his wife Kim had their second child on Feb. 1, 2010. Luke Thomas Baumgartner is growing like a weed and spends his day absorbing everything his big brother Jack does.
Rodney Eads ’00 was
recently appointed to Hemiwedge Industries Advisory Board of Directors.
3
2010 Investiture
Nate Ellis ’02 has accepted
a position as Business Development Manager at Bocci Engineering, LLC, a multi-disciplinary consulting firm supplying engineering resources for all energy and emissions-related opportunities in industry, utility infrastructure, and buildings.
1 Kathryn Bragan ’03
and husband Billy welcomed the birth of second child, James Lee Bragan, on February 15, 2010. James is doing great and loves to watch his 3-year-old big brother, Stockard.
Irving Kau ’03 is CFO of Origin Seed, the Monsanto of China, and a U.S. public company (Nasdaq: SEED). Nat Kreamer ’04 and his
wife Marissa are thrilled to announce the birth of their daughter, Carolina Margalit Kreamer, on Feb. 15, 2010 in Los Angeles. Carolina was 7 lbs 13oz and 22”.
William Robertson ’05 is
on the Board of Directors for Quintana Energy Partners, L.P. He has been Managing Director of Quintana since 2005 and is a principal in that organization.
2 Alasdair Pullan ‘05
and his wife Lee welcomed a gorgeous daughter on Feb. 25, 2010. Bethan Kerry Pullan who weighed 8lb 2oz and was 21.75” long.
4
Jonathan Tilghman ’06
and Noemi Tilghman (’04) welcomed the birth of baby girl Ainsley Denise Tilghman.
3
6
Ranjeeta Bhatia ’08 gave
birth to son Ayush in April.
Sidhya Jayakumar ‘08
and her husband recently moved to Austin where her husband joined Capitol Anesthesiology Association. Sidhya transferred to the Austin office of Reliant Energy, still working in the Strategy and Business Development group.
Mark Streeter ’06 and wife
Anne welcomed the birth of baby girl Ella on Apr. 9, 2010 at 4:46 am, weighing 7 lbs 2 oz.
4 Amy Pita Good ’06
and husband Sebastian recently welcomed daughter Elsika Suriya Good on June 19, 2010.
James Perry ’06 is Vice
Trent Crow ’08 and wife Lynn welcomed the birth of daughter Penelope Crow who weighed in at 2.2 lbs.
Vijay Raghaven ’06 and
Thomas Soulas ’09 is Business Development Manager of Environmental Solutions at Dresser-Rand.
President of Energy & Power Investment Banking at Wells Fargo Securities, LLC.
his wife Nisha welcomed their second son on July 30, 2010. Dylan has a very happy big brother named Keiran.
Tracy Hooker ’09 is a Banker Associate with JPMorgan Private Wealth Management.
Robert Hager- 7 Sean Surcouf ’10 5 Clayton man ’07 and Miss Holly René Rice were joyfully united in marriage on Friday, July 23, 2010 at the historic Kay Chapel in Newport, Rhode Island. Clayton received his commission as an officer in the United States Navy Reserves in November 2007 and is currently serving on active duty orders at the Special Operations Command in Tampa, Florida.
and wife Connie welcomed son Samuel Rupert Surcouf on Mar. 30, 2010. He was 7 lbs 13 oz and 21.5”.
8
Hui Li ’10 welcomed daughter
Cara on June 29, 2010. She was 6 lbs 7 oz. and 19.5”.
HONORS, PRIZES, AND AWARDS Jones Citizenship Awards Taneshia Barton Eugene Brieck Joel Dickerson Jeffrey Frey Jan Goetgeluk Roy Johnston Matthew Lim Ann Livaudais Sharad Malhautra Brian Maul Melissa Mohr Jeffrey Nyanteh Sarah Ofner Jesus Patino Wild William Pike Benjamin Treadgold Morad Zekhnini Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business Alumni Award for Excellence in Teaching James P. Weston Rice MBA for Executives Award for Teaching Excellence H. Albert Napier Rice MBA for Professionals Award for Teaching Excellence Utpal M. Dholakia
7
Shannon (Shay) McGarr ’07 became partner of Parker
Rice Full-Time MBA Award for Teaching Excellence Prashant Kale
Dalton McGarr, LLC.
6
8
M.A. “Mike” Wright Awards Taneshia Barton Roy Johnston Miguel Alejandro De la Torre
Lorane T. Philips Award for Excellence in Writing Roy Johnston Robert E. Philips Award for Excellence in Presentation Heather Mattingly Jones Scholar Awards Sachin Agrawal Narmeen Ali Anik Amin Diana Brevard-Matzer John Christopher Champion Joel Dickerson Jan Goetgeluk Keith Guralski Derek Husser Moises Jaimes Roy Johnston Matthew Kerin Adam Kogut Olga Kostenko Jialin Li Mary-Margaret Miller Holli Nichols Hillary Patuwo Cary Ratterree Dustin Derrick Roach Cristiane Rogacheski Jaydeep Shah Katherine Hawes Sosa Smiljan Spasojevic Jared Speicher Benjamin Treadgold Otis Bennett Walton IV Oliver Warnke Tony Yiu Morad Zekhnini
Jones Journal FALL 2009 2010 35
AlumniResources
Visit JonesAlumni.com to learn more about the opportunities and resources for alumni.
Alumni Career Services
Networking Opportunities
Lifelong support for alumni throughout their careers; confidential access to job postings and other online resources, as well as avenues to recruit top caliber students at the Jones School.
Jones Graduate School Entrepreneurs Organization (JGSEO): The JGSEO provides the systems, processes and social networks to bring together and support Jones alumni with real world entrepreneurial experiences. Details are available at JGSEO.JonesAlumni.com.
Lifelong Learning
Discounts on Executive Education Open Enrollment programs; custom programs for your corporation; class audit opportunities; lecture series events; ‘Alumni College’ weekend featuring Jones School faculty lectures on hot topics.
Online Networking Resources
See JonesAlumni.com for directions to join these online networks: Jones Alumni Directory; official JGSB groups on LinkedIn and Facebook.
Save the Date! Rice Homecoming 2010
MBA Council of Houston (MBACH): The Jones School is a member institution of the MBA Council therefore all alumni are invited to Council programming events. These events provide a great opportunity to network with other MBAs in the area from member institutions that include HBS, Wharton, MIT, Texas, Tulane, Kellogg and others.
Wharton-Rice MBA Alumni Network: The Jones School is proud to enter its second year of collaboration with the Wharton Club of Houston. The Wharton-Rice MBA Alumni Network is designed to assist MBAs who are seeking employment opportunities and career advancement. All member schools of the MBA Council of Houston are invited to attend these meetings. Details available at WhartonRice.JonesAlumni.com. Jones Alumni Real Estate Club: A club for Jones alumni who are interested in building their network in the real estate community via quarterly happy hours and other events.
AlumniEvents
Rachel Parry ’09, Jonathan Parry ’09, Pedro Rodriguez ’09, Steven de la Torre ’09
OTC Networking Event
Cinco De Mayo
May 3rd, 2010
May 1st, 2010
Rice Business Network (RBN): Connect with fellow Rice alumni for a monthly networking lunch. This is a great way to share business referrals and career opportunities while broadening your network with the Rice alumni in the Houston area.
Come back to Rice on October 15-17 and reconnect with old friends and faculty. A full list of events is on JonesAlumni.com.
Zhonghuan Sun ‘12, Doug Havlik ‘00, Allison Fleming (recruiter for JP Morgan)
Kevin Cumming ’08, Kevin Voelte ’08, Kim Kehoe
AlumniGet Involved
JGSEO Happy Hour
Share your professional and life experiences with future business leaders in a variety of ways. Alumni Mentoring Program
Mentor a second-year Rice MBA student who is seeking first-hand information about prospective careers from professionals. Through the mentoring program, alumni:
• Cultivate a deeper connection with the JGSB and our students
Jones Alumni Volunteers for Admissions (JAVA)*
The Jones School is actively seeking ambassadors from around the world to represent the school in attracting top-tier candidates to the Rice MBA program. JAVA ambassadors may:
• Share professional and life experiences with future alumni and business leaders
• Interview prospective students
• Provide guidance in an ongoing relationship
• Counsel admitted students during the decisionmaking process
business.rice.edu
• Represent Rice at recruiting events
June 8th, 2010
Alumni-Student Lunches
The Alumni-Student Lunch Series is an opportunity for current students to meet with alumni. Lunches provide students an informal setting to gain insight into professional areas of interest and to engage the alumni in current happenings at the Jones School.
about alumni involvement opportunities, visit JonesAlumni.com. * Jones Alumni Volunteers for Admission (JAVA) program has almost tripled the number of ambassadors in the last year
Gretchen Penny ’90, Ken Penny ‘91, Karl Maier ‘85
For more event photos, go to the Jones School’s official Facebook page, business.rice.edu/facebook
nonprofit organization us postage
paid
permit #7549 houston, texas
Rice University P.O. Box 2932 Houston, TeXas 77252.2932
business.rice.edu