McCombs Made

Alana Williams is the founder and Chief Financial Officer of Founding Principals. Previously, she worked in investment banking and business development at companies like Apple, Evercore, and Whole Foods.

After receiving her JD from the University of Baltimore, she joined McCombs to attain her MBA in 2018. In this conversation, host Firdous Khezrian spoke with Alana about her personal and professional career, the wisdom she's gained...

 Marissa Jarratt is currently the chief marketing and sustainability officer at 7-Eleven. She's also a two-time graduate from the McCombs School of Business, obtaining both a BBA in Finance and an MBA in Marketing. She also received a BA in Spanish.  

Among her many accolades and roles, she is currently a member of the Dean's Advisory Council for the McCombs School of Business. She is also a member of the Executive Committee for t...

In this episode, hear from Arthur Mills IV, who graduated from the McCombs School of Business with his BBA in 1996 and his MBA in 2004, before graduating from the Yale School of Management in 2012. His passion for giving back has led him to serve on the McCombs Advisory Board, for which he serves as Chair Emeritus. Arthur talks about his many different career pathways, the importance of education and how he is paving the path for o...

Gay Gaddis is a proud Longhorn who received her Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in commercial and advertising art in 1978 at the University of Texas at Austin.

After graduating from UT, she founded the Think Tank, also known as T3, a digital marketing agency which she grew for 30 years, leading it to be the largest independent female-owned agency in the United States. Among her many titles and accomplishments, Gay is the author of the ins...

For the first episode of season two of "McCombs Made," hear from Neal Golden. He's a University of Texas alumnus who continues to be a guiding force at McCombs. Mr. Golden is a very active Texas Ex and holds leadership roles with the McCombs BBA Board and Dean's Advisory Board. In this episode, Mr. Golden discusses how his parents helped shape his career, his latest foray into the beverage business and the importance of giving back...

April Underwood has worked at Google, Apple, Twitter, and Slack. She’s the co-founder of #ANGELS, the investment collective focused on restructuring the ways in which we look at gender inequality, not just in wage gaps, but in financial equity. Most recently, she co-founded the venture capital firm, Adverb Ventures. In this conversation, you’ll hear about the ways in which communication and relationships play a role in successful w...

David Druley received his BBA and MBA from McCombs and currently serves as chief executive officer of Cambridge Associates. He interned as an investment analyst at the Teacher Retirement System of Texas and started his own investment management firm, Druley Investment Management, which he operated for 9 years. In this episode, host Firdous Khezrian spoke with Druley about risk management and tolerance in business and life, the trai...

Cindy Lo is the founder, CEO, and chief event strategist of Red Velvet, a renowned full-service and independent event planning agency. She’s also a 1998 McCombs graduate. In this conversation, hear about her unexpected path to a career in event planning, her approach to planning her personal and professional life, and the ways in which she has carried herself throughout her career. 

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Billy Freed has been investing in entrepreneurial innovation for years. In 2023, Mr. Freed generously donated $1 million dollars to the Herb Kelleher Entrepreneurship Center at McCombs. As a result, the pitch competition was renamed the Freed Family Pitch Competition. In this conversation, you'll hear about the lessons he's learned about entrepreneurship, the role that family has played in his career, and the most impo...

In 2018, Phil Canfield, BBA Finance ’90, generously donated $20 million to the Business Honors Program at the McCombs School of Business, and subsequently the program was renamed after him. In this episode, hear about his career as an investor, his time as a student at McCombs, his connection to the city of Austin, and why inspiring the next crop of business honors students is so important to him.

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Kendra Scott founded her namesake jewelry company in Austin, Texas, in 2002. In the more than two decades since, the jewelry brand has grown into a household name. In 2019, Scott created a $13.25 million endowment to start the Kendra Scott Women's Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute, which is now part of the McCombs School of Business. In this conversation, you’ll hear about the lessons she’s learned from her career a...

New York for McCombs is a leadership program designed to strengthen the business school’s network, increase student career opportunities, and encourage alumni engagement. In 2023, the program marked its tenth anniversary. In this special bonus episode, host Firdous Khezrian sits down with Paul Aaron and Dean Tom Gilligan, two founding members of the New York for McCombs council. Tom Gilligan is a former dean and clinical professor ...

Tiffany and Leon Chen started their groundbreaking cookie business, Tiff’s Treats, when they were just 19-year-old sophomores at the University of Texas at Austin. In this episode, Tiffany and Leon speak about the drive they’ve carried throughout their careers, the pillars of partnership and the value of kindness in community-based businesses. 

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