8 minute read
Around the Water Cooler
Class of 1978 John Fogarty has retired from Deloitte after 39 years in June of 2017, so in theory he has more time now. But life is so busy, he doesn’t know how he had time to work. John married his wife, Sara, last April, and they are enjoying their lives together.
Class of 1985 John Dobelman and Professor of Entrepreneurship (Emeritus) Edward WIlliams are celebrating the new 2018 edition of their textbook “Quantitative Financial Analytics: The Path to Investment Profits,” published by World Scientific. John and Ed have been collaborating since 2004 on various projects, most recently in quantitative portfolio management. This book evolved from previous editions used in the teaching of various quantitative finance courses in the Department of Statistics at Rice University.
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Class of 1996 Douglas Yeung launched his own consulting practice, Epitelligence Consulting in Singapore. His current focus is to help startups and mid-stage companies establish and structure their finance and accounting function and also provide financial advisory to help them grow their business and raise funds. Class of 1999 Amy (Way) Anton started a cooking school three years ago out of her home in the Rice University area called Kitchen Underground. The school has recently expanded to offer classes in Austin.
Class of 2001 Upendra Marathi co-founded and lauched a new oncology company, 7 Hills Pharma, to develop drugs to treat resistant cancer. 7 Hills was started based on technology invented by Upendra and co-founders at the Texas Heart Institue.
Paul Ericsson retired from ExxonMobil July 1 after spending the last 16 years working in Russia, Spain, Italy, United Kingdom, Canada and Romania. He currently finds himself temporarily back in the U.K.
Starting in July, Julie Young Sudduth is now serving as regional president of PNC Financial Services Group Inc. and will head the local leadership team as PNC looks to establish a presence in Houston. Most recently, Julie worked as an executive vice president with Louisiana-based IberiaBank, and has previously held multiple leadership roles at Amegy Bank.
This spring, Todd Litton won the Democratic nomination for Congress for the 2nd congressional district in Texas. The district includes all of Rice and the surrounding neighborhoods, and goes through Montrose, Memorial Park, Spring Branch and all the way around to Kingwood. Remember to vote this November! Class of 2005 Andrei Stefan is managing director of b1 Engineering Solutions and, most recently, Oveit, an app he created with a friend three years ago. The app changes tickets into smart wallets in a world that’s shifting from ownership to experiences. For event planners, it links to ticketing, registration, access management and cashless payment. B2B customers use the cloud app to set up all the above features and use the smartphone mobile apps to allow access to festivals, concerts, museums, theaters, galas, spas and more.
Class of 2007 Rauli Garcia accepted a position as chief revenue officer at AcctTwo Shared Services. He is headed back into for-profit after 10 years in executive non-profit positions. AcctTwo helps organizations achieve success by transforming finance and accounting into a growth enable and change agent, helping them move from historians to data scientists by transitioning legacy ERP systems into cloud-based SaaS platforms.
After 10 years in the Texas Medical Center at Baylor Genetics in various roles ending with the senior vice president of strategic initiatives and corporate administration, Sean Kim is making a career change and stepping into the chief administrative officer role at The Harris Center located in Southwest Houston. Heidi Pozzo’s book, “Leading the High-Performing Company,” debuted on July 9. It’s a comprehensive and practical guide for business leaders to take their organization to the next level and is based on her experience, as well as recognized leaders such as Jim Hackett, former Rice Business professor and former Anadarko CEO.
Victoria (Walsh) Cooper started a new job as a financial advisor with Majors & Mondragon Wealth Management in January 2018.
Class of 2008 Acho Azuike was named Houston Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 “honorable mention.” He is COO and managing director at DC Partners, an award-winning real estate development and investment firm.
Trent Crow recently launched Real Simple Energy, a company that crunches a ton of data to make sure customers always have the cheapest electricity bill possible. Trent has taken industry knowledge trading wholesale power at JP Morgan and is applying it on a micro level to retail power.
Class of 2009 Bishr Tabbaa and his wife, Mariluna Hernandez, are delighted to share the news of the birth of their son, Samuel Alejandro Tabbaa, born on June 26, 2018.
Class of 2010 Sharmin Ashtaputre started a company, Cutelery, ergonomically-designed silverware for kids. shopcutelery.com
Aaron Davis and his wife, Amy, welcomed an addition to the family in March; a baby boy named Preston Connor Davis. The family is now four large.
Jan Goetgeluk and Erica Goetgeluk ‘12 welcomed baby James to the world.
Class of 2011 Idris Bello recently co-founded Loftyinc Afropreneurs Fund, a $60M Hybrid Fund Tech Venture Capital Fund investing in innovative African entrepreneurs who are building rapid growth, technology-enabled, sustainable social impact ventures.
Calixto Ortega Sanchez was named chairman of the board and president of Central Bank of Venezuela in June.
Class of 2012 The Wakeford Thompson family welcomed a second child, Raines Louise, on June 15th. In July, Wakeford started a new job as a vice president at EIG Global Energy Partners, a private investment firm focused mainly on credit and structured equity investments.
Class of 2015 Kelly and Brian Nolan welcomed their first child, Madeleine Elizabeth, in February. Class of 2016 Alex Chua won the 2018 Houston Chess Festival in July. He won in a field including a Grandmaster and many other masters. Since completing his MBA, work and family life have kept Alex busy. He continues to play chess competitively as he can.
Class of 2017 Kurt Hueni, Alan Henson, Tim Stephens and Edward Kroger helped teach “When Your Business is Sued,” an elective at Rice Business. The elective course was developed to expose students to the process and evaluation of business litigation cases. As part of the course, every student was deposed by practicing attorneys, and the course culminated in a mini-trial of a hypothetical case with the students as witnesses.
In June 2018, Meg Schneider won Gallup’s Rising Star Award, which is awarded to associates that excel within their first year of employment.
Following a lengthy and exhaustive job search, Ryan Stephens finally landed a new role with DCP Midstream as a commercial project coordinator. His heartfelt thanks goes out to the staff of the CDO and his classmates for their constant support throughout the process. Photos: 1. Bishr Tabbaa and Mariluna Hernandez welcome the birth of their son, Samuel Alejandro 2. Edgar Vargas and his wife, Rebecca, welcomed Tess Marie 3. Jan and Erica Goetgeluk welcome the birth of their son James
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Edgar Vargas and his wife, Rebecca, welcomed Tess Marie (5.5 lbs, 19.5 in) to the family on April 1. Tess and mom are doing great, and Edgar has already started saving for tuition.
Rice Business wrapped up this past fiscal year as one of its best yet. Alumni engagement is up, clubs are being established and fundraising records were broken thanks to corporate giving. The Rice Business Fund exceeded its annual goal and is maintaining a solid comparison against past years. The school has high hopes of continuing to build on this momentum for the next fiscal year and beyond to solidify the funding needed to make the Jones Graduate School of Business a perennial top-15 business school.
Total Fundraising Comparison: Cash and Commitments
Alumni Donor Retention vs. Average Alumni Giving: FY 2015 YTD Through FY 2018 YTD
Everyone is enjoying the first phase of renovations to McNair Hall that keep the building updated, efficient and relevant. An old conference room was transformed into the Jones Partners Innovation and Video Studio over the summer. It now delivers live and recorded messages, online course recordings, media interviews and promotions. The Executive Education classrooms followed shortly after. An updated look and expanded functionality include pre-programmable video capture, remote camera control and ceiling microphones. Finally, Anderson Family Commons, a favorite event and meeting place, debuted its face-lift after Labor Day. The Nanawall, a glass wall that folds open, replaced the solid wall and expands and lightens the space. New lighting, furniture, carpeting and paint plus laser projectors, enhanced audio, multi-camera recording and streaming capabilities complete the upgrade. Come see for yourself.
TIMING IS EVERYTHING AND IT’S TIME TO LEAD
Are you ready? Our faculty teach you the skills to tackle today’s emerging issues and drive your leadership to the next level. Take charge of your professional development. Register now! TIMING IS EVERYTHING AND IT’S TIME TO LEAD Are you ready? Our faculty teach you the skills to tackle today’s emerging issues and drive your leadership to the next level. Take charge of your professional development. Register now!
Are you ready? Our faculty teach you the skills to tackle today’s emerging issues and drive your leadership to the next level. Take charge of your professional development. Register now!
