Baylor Business Review | Fall 2026 Issue
Friday, Nov. 6
5-7 p.m.
Paul. L Foster Campus for Business and Innovation
Paul and Jane Meyer Conference Center, Room 250
Join us for the annual HSB Homecoming Reception and enjoy live jazz and heavy hors d’oeurves!
For more information about Baylor Homecoming, visit baylor.edu/homecoming
Warner Croft, BBA ’67, MBA ’73, retired as a partner from Accenture PLC and was previously employed with Arthur Anderson. Croft believes the world needs ethical people to use their skills and biblical values to impact the world for Christ. He spends most of his free time working on his ranch.
Michael Andrews, BBA ’81, was hired as president and general manager of Springs Hill Special Utility District in Seguin, Texas. With 30 employees, Springs Hill provides drinking water for more than 12,000 customers in the area.
John Beall, BBA ’85, recently joined Riverbend Sandler Pools as Group CFO and is responsible for accounting and finance teams across all brands under the parent company.
Jay Voncannon, BBA ’87, was appointed as CEO of Family Business Capital, LLC, an invitation-only private equity syndicate focused on offering bespoke, curated direct investments.
Michael D’Angelo, BBA ’88, has retired from the Enforcement Division of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, celebrating the culmination of a 26-year career marked by integrity, impact and unwavering commitment to public service.
Paul McCown, BBA ’89, published his first book, Longing to Breathe, a reflective work inviting readers to examine their personal stories to pursue deeper freedom and purpose. The book was shaped by his experience as a double lung transplant survivor, which deepened his reflections on life, faith and authenticity.
Kelly Johnson, BBA ’90, was promoted to principal investment officer and global sector lead for chemicals and fertilizers with the International Finance Corporation, the emerging market and private sector investment arm of the World Bank Group based in Washington, D.C.
Ross Curtis, BBA ’92, was promoted to president of BV Capital in Dallas and the national sales manager of BV Securities. Curtis had spent the past two years as the vice president of sales.
Kristina Keller, BBA ’93, MBA ’95, authored her debut book, Touch Your Ta-Tas!: My Story of Faith, Hope, and Healing Through Stage 4 Breast Cancer, which became an Amazon Bestseller. Through her writing, she aims to inspire others to be an advocate for their own health, trust their faith and never underestimate the power of prayer.
Julee Hawk Goeser, MBA ’94, started MidWest Bone Health Screening, the first Echolight REMS bone assessment site in Kansas.
Cameron Heathcott, BBA ’04, joined Edward Jones after graduating Baylor and is now a partner at Heathcott-Hineman Wealth Management Group. In 2025, the team earned recognition on the Forbes“Best-In-State Wealth Management Teams” list, reflecting its collaborative culture and dedication to serving clients and families.
Grant Nowell, BBA ’05, was promoted to vice president and treasurer at Trinity Industries, Inc.
Felix Loc, BBA ’06, and wife Jessica, BA ’08, welcomed their daughter, Dorothy Isabella, on Aug. 11, 2025.
Sarah Miller, BBA ’09, now serves in Marketing and Donor Development at LIFE International School in Madrid, Spain. In the role, Miller helps cultivate the stories of what God is doing at the school.
Medhanit Abayneh, BBA ’11, started Omega Investments and Consulting LLC as a partner and solutions architect.
Kathryn Sprengel, BBA ’11, earned her master’s in Clinical Psychology from Pepperdine University.
Benjamin Foote, BBA ’16, leads Noogs, a growing CPG sports nutrition company, with his wife. They’ve launched three energy products proudly made in Texas, with more on the way.
Davin Denk, MBA ’19, opened Organization is Magic to provide purposeful products that simplify the everyday experience.
Connor Blum, BBA ’20, was promoted to investment banking associate at Raymond James.
Demitra Carter, BBA ’20, stepped into the director of influence role at Popfly, marking a significant milestone in the next chapter of her career. She had previously earned her Master of Science in Sport Marketing from Baylor in 2022.
Wolfgang Draving, MBA ’20, completed five years as a member of the Board of Advocates for the Baylor University School of Music.
Jessica Dougharty, BBA ’20, is now a senior accountant at a regional accounting firm.
Joshua Baldobinos, MBA ’22, is now the chief operating officer at Advocate South Suburban Hospital in Hazel Crest, Illinois.
Stacey Gilbert, MBA ’22, joined Washington, D.C.,-based ADVI Health as their director of precision medicine.
Christopher Wainerdi, MBA ’22, accepted a role with the corporate operations finance team at United Surgical Partners International. He supports the forecasting, budgeting, financial planning and operational efficiency of the country’s largest ambulatory surgical center network.
Tatum Wray, BBA ’22, started an online needlepoint design business in February 2025. In 2026, she shifted wholesale and was featured in various brick and mortar stores.
Carl Faraon, MBA ’23, is now the head of Brand Partnership & Athlete Engagement at State & Liberty Clothing Company. The role blends his sports background with what he learned through his MBA program.
Emily Beard, BBA ’25, began working at Hewlett Packard Enterprise in Spring, Texas, as a presales architect, designing and presenting computer solutions tailored to clients’ business needs.
Thomas M. Kindle, MBA ’25, serves as the vice president and business unit leader for HITT Contracting. He oversees operations in the Southwest Region including offices in Phoenix and Albuquerque.
Tara Mitchell, MBA ’25, started an AI consulting business this year. In June, she was offered two new roles – one with a Fintech company and the other with the largest revenue-driving state agency.
Regina Natari Yesaki Hinojosa, BBA ’25, began her role as international business development manager at Carpenter Bus Sales in Waco. She works with clients in Spanish-speaking communities, building relationships and supporting their transportation needs, while helping the company explore and grow in new markets.
Patricio Perusquia, BBA ’25, is a full-time financial representative at Northwestern Mutual.
As the Hankamer School of Business prepares for another exciting academic year, faculty and staff are celebrating the Baylor Family’s continued support of the Business School’s mission and vision. With philanthropic support reaching an extraordinary $22.58 million during the 2026 fiscal year, HSB recognizes the alumni, parents and friends who share in a commitment to preparing future generations of Christian business leaders.
“It continues to humble us as our team works with the alumni, parents, friends and corporate partners who give intentionally and generously to advance the Hankamer School of Business’s mission and vision,” said Trey Hagins, Hankamer managing director of development. “So many of our alumni believe in our mission, believe in paying forward the generosity and support they experienced during their time at Baylor, and the result is an intentional philanthropy that has shaped the experiences of our students – and will continue to shape those experiences for generations to come.”
Intentionality has long been central to the Hankamer experience. Through the core values of community, humility, excellence and stewardship, faculty and staff challenge students not only to become exceptional business professionals, but also faithful leaders whose decisions are rooted in Christian values. In classrooms, mentoring relationships, internships and co-curricular experiences, students learn that business can become a platform – a conduit – through which they may share their faith and impact lives.
Donors play a vital role in bringing this vision to life. Whether establishing scholarships that make the Hankamer experience accessible, investing in faculty and academic excellence, or supporting programs that expand students’ global and professional experiences, the Baylor Family intentionally comes alongside the Business School’s mission in meaningful ways.
Our Baylor family also gives back through their engagement. We invite alumni and their organizations to deepen their engagement with the Hankamer School of Business in ways that align with their passions and priorities. Opportunities abound – from mentoring students and providing internships to sponsoring programs, supporting strategic initiatives or making philanthropic investments in areas that matter most to them.
To support these growing partnerships, HSB’s Advancement team is pleased to welcome two new members: Cheryl VanAllen as senior director of development, and Robert Gear as assistant director of development. Cheryl and Robert have both served Baylor University’s development efforts in previous roles within the Honors College and Baylor Athletics, respectively, and they both bring valuable experience and a deep understanding and commitment to Baylor’s mission. Their leadership will strengthen relationships with alumni, parents and friends while expanding opportunities for meaningful engagement within the Business School.
As we begin a new academic year, we know that Hankamer’s future is, indeed, bright, and we look forward to another year of shared purpose, shared impact and exciting growth for the students, faculty and staff of the Hankamer School of Business.
Update your contact information in the Baylor Alumni Network Directory
baylor.edu/keepintouch
Connect directly with the Hankamer School of Business
bbr.baylor.edu/submit-alumni-news
by Justin Walker
Great business schools do more than prepare students for today’s challenges. They help shape the future through research that expands knowledge, informs practice and serves society. At the Hankamer School of Business, that commitment to discovery also strengthens the student learning experience, as today’s research becomes tomorrow’s teaching.
HSB faculty members pursue scholarship that addresses some of the most pressing questions facing organizations, consumers and communities. Their discoveries influence business practice and enrich the classroom, ensuring students learn from leading-edge research that is current, relevant and immediately applicable. This year’s research award recipients are helping organizations make better decisions, improving lives and equipping the next generation of business leaders with knowledge grounded in both academic excellence and real-world relevance.
“Outstanding research is essential to the mission of a leading business school because it advances knowledge and transform the student experience,” said Dr. Chris Pullig, associate dean for faculty excellence at HSB. “Our faculty’s scholarship expands knowledge, informs business practice and continually enriches what happens in the classroom. These award recipients are advancing their fields while ensuring our students learn from research that is shaping the future of business.”
Assistant Professor; Marketing
Habicht Early Career Research Award (Tenure-track)
One of my main goals is to do work that can help or protect consumers, or at least improve our understanding of how companies sometimes deceive consumers and how these unethical practices can be avoided. The work I am most proud of highlights either the benefits of ethical marketing practices or the harms caused by unethical tactics.
Working at a place like Baylor that prioritizes research ensures our teaching and knowledge stay current, relevant and grounded in real-world problems rather than relying on outdated and static knowledge. It creates an environment where research shapes teaching and vice versa.
Randall W. and Sandra Ferguson Endowed Professor and Chair; Information Systems and Business Analytics
Brent Clum Outstanding Research Award (Tenured)
One of my current working projects examines whether and how physicians’ AI usage improves healthcare quality and cost efficiency. Using clinical data covering more than 80,000 admissions over 13 months in a major hospital, we found that physicians’ AI adoption is likely to affect healthcare performance in ways shaped by the structure of clinical work, particularly work interdependence, and transmitted through practice variation.
I believe a research-focused business school empowers faculty to tackle complex, real-world challenges, drive innovation and influence industry practices through the creation of rigorous and actionable knowledge.
Associate Professor, Management
Robert and Robin Nitsche Outstanding Research Award (Tenured)
My research focuses on supply networks and how firms’ relationships with suppliers and customers shape strategic decisions and performance. I study two main areas: first, how a company’s interconnected relationships with both suppliers and customers influences decisions such as mergers and acquisitions target selection, innovation, sustainability and competitive behavior; and second, how supply and demand networks evolve over time in response to major events such as mergers, acquisitions and to technological and institutional changes.
It is important for me to work at a university and a business school that supports and promotes research because research allows us to pursue truth, generate knowledge that helps us better understand God’s creation and the design of the world, and serve society in meaningful ways. It also equips students to address complex challenges thoughtfully, responsibly and with a strong sense of stewardship. At Baylor, I value being part of a community where faith and rigorous scholarship come together to support both academic excellence and the formation of wise and responsible leaders.
Godfrey Sullivan Professor; Information Systems and Business Analytics
Research Advancement Award
I am interested in how to promote innovation with AI and emerging technologies while also putting up guardrails to limit the negative impacts of the massive changes associated with AI. I am very proud of my recent appointment to the AI Council for the State of Texas – appointed by the lieutenant governor. The council is an advisory council that advises the state on how to promote innovation with AI but also put in protections.
I have been doing extensive research with a team at Baylor on the impact of intelligent technologies on knowledge work. It is important for society that faculty have time to research new areas and share insights with business and policy leaders so they can act on it. This is especially important as everything is changing right now with the convergence of AI, biotech and sensors.
by Justin Walker
At the Hankamer School of Business, teaching is more than the transfer of knowledge. It is a commitment to shaping lives, developing leaders and preparing students to make a meaningful impact in the world. This year’s teaching award recipients represent the very best of that commitment. Their approaches may differ, but each shares a common passion for investing in students and creating transformative learning experiences that extend far beyond the classroom. Together, they reflect the culture of excellence, innovation and care that defines teaching at HSB.
“Exceptional teaching sits at the heart of our mission as a Christian business school,” said Dr. David M. Szymanski, the William E. Crenshaw Endowed Dean of HSB. “What makes these faculty members so deserving of recognition is not only their mastery of their disciplines, but also their deep commitment to helping students grow as professionals, leaders and individuals. They exemplify the kind of transformational educational experience that distinguishes the Hankamer School of Business.”
Professor, Marketing
Teaching Excellence Award (Tenured)
There are two things that drive my passion for teaching. First, for many of my students, this is the only formal Marketing course they will take. As they move into senior roles, they will be responsible for evaluating strategy, allocating resources and making decisions that shape growth. I take that responsibility seriously – this course needs to give them a clear, durable foundation for how to think about marketing at a strategic level.
Second, I care deeply about what marketing can do. Too often, marketing is framed as persuasion or tactics. I approach it differently – as a discipline centered on creating value in people’s lives while meeting organizational goals. That framing changes how students evaluate decisions, from messaging to resource allocation to long-term strategy.
Teaching Professor, Accounting and Business Law
Teaching Excellence Award (Clinical/Lecturer)
I strive to make every class engaging, effective and ultimately transformational for my students. When students are actively engaged, learning becomes more and more memorable.
That starts with the everyday moments. Rather than relying solely on lecture, I ask open-ended questions that encourage students to think critically and participate in the conversation. I also use real-world and hypothetical scenarios that connect accounting concepts to situations they can envision themselves facing in their careers.
I also look for creative ways to bring learning to life. In one lesson, students use virtual reality headsets and a 360-degree manufacturing plant tour to experience product costing in an immersive, hands-on environment. Experiences like these help students see why the material matters, not just how it works.
My courses are constantly evolving because I’m always searching for better ways to present material, earn student buy-in and help students understand the value of what they’re learning.
Assistant Professor, Accounting and Business Law
Robin and Mark Howard Early Career Teaching Award (Tenure-Track)
What I love most are the students themselves. We talk about tax, of course, but also about identity, purpose and the real challenges they’re navigating. Baylor creates a safe environment for those conversations. When I ask students to commit to something, they rarely push back because there’s a strong sense of trust. Our community is built on caring for one another, learning together and showing up for each other. It’s amazing to watch what happens when people grow.
I make it a priority to get to know my students. People engage more deeply when they feel seen, and the class becomes more meaningful when it connects to who they are and what they care about. I even keep a little collection of student autographs.
Clinical Associate Professor, Entrepreneurship and Corporate Innovation
Robin and Mark Howard Early Career Teaching Award (Clinical/Lecturer)
I intentionally design my courses around experiential learning, investing time and energy into creating opportunities for students to actively apply new concepts. For example, in New Venture Finance, students practice concepts in class, giving them the space to experiment, make mistakes and learn in real time. These lessons are then reinforced through real-world case studies, often presented live by the business owners themselves.
In my Introduction to Entrepreneurship course, students learn to validate their ideas through a computer simulation that challenges them to ask customers the “right questions.” They then take this learning beyond the classroom – engaging directly with potential customers to test, refine and strengthen their own product or service ideas.
by Anna Mitchael
Dr. Steve Green didn’t set out to teach. Looking back at the arc of his 40-year career as an Economics professor at the Hankamer School of Business, along with the number of students who have been profoundly changed by time in his classroom, it’s hard to fathom an alternate choice. But he very clearly recalls the fork in the road that came after a year working outside academia at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
“I wasn’t sure how many lives I would be able to affect in that role,” Dr. Green said. “Then I thought, if I teach, I probably can make at least one life better each year.”
Dr. Green recognizes that, far too often, people lose sight of the power of that metric – to change a life and better one person’s path. Once decided, Steve didn’t waver from his choice. As he stepped into the classroom at Baylor and then continued deepening his impact as years went on, his guiding principle remained: Stay focused on how you can improve a student’s journey. How can you help form character as this next generation is preparing to launch into the world?
Dr. Green’s first pursuit in his own undergraduate work had been mathematics. Fairly quickly he found himself drawn to economics as a discipline that applied analytics to real-world thinking. What began as a practical shift became his lifelong intellectual pursuit. Economics, he notes, often reveals truths that are not immediately obvious.
“The study offers ways to look at the world that challenge initial assumptions and invite deeper inquiry,” he said.
That curiosity has never ebbed, and it has become the thread he most wants to pass on to students: teaching them to see the world in ways that go beyond assumption or stereotype, then use that reasoning to make a positive change. In the classroom, Dr. Green focuses less on the accumulation of knowledge and more on the development of perspective. He emphasizes ideas that extend beyond economics into leadership, decision-making and everyday life.
“If, 20 years from now, a student comes back and says the most important thing they learned is that incentives matter,” he said, “then my life is complete.”
For Dr. Green, the simplicity is the point: when students carry that principle forward, they have a new framework for understanding the world. This serves them well in business, but its reach is also broader, shaping decisions and behavior far beyond the workplace.
The Distinguished Professor Award offers a moment to reflect on the legacy of students he has impacted. Dr. Green is quick to deflect attention from his own accomplishments.
“What it ultimately represents,” he said, “is the possibility that my work has made a difference – something confirmed not by an award, but when students come back and say they still remember and use something from class.”
After decades of teaching, Dr. Green’s influence continues in precisely the way it began. Not confined to a soundbite or reflected in accolades. His metric is in lives affected, student character formed and lessons carried forward. It’s the slow and steady amassing of people who can look back and point to the difference a lecture made.
“It’s a really good career,” Dr. Green said, with the same humility he’s carried throughout his tenure. “I’m grateful.”
