1940s
Donald H. Flanders, Sr., BBA ’47, was inducted posthumously into the American Home Furnishings Hall of Fame in Greensboro, North Carolina. He rescued a bankrupt outdoor furniture manufacturer and turned it into an internationally known producer of wicker casual indoor/outdoor furnishings. Hall of fame members represent “the most outstanding leaders of the industry, based on enduring excellence, superior accomplishments, innovation and creativity and philanthropic generosity.”
1950s
George McNiel, BBA ’52, passed away after a successful life and career. McNiel began his career as a CPA at Arthur Anderson before moving to the Texas auditor’s office as a staff auditor. He worked his way up until he became the state auditor in 1968. After 17 years in that capacity, he became the chancellor’s financial associate at the University of Texas. His wife, three sons and six grandchildren survive him.
Gene Williams, BBA ’57, was appointed to lead Cushman & Wakefield’s valuation and advisory data center team. Based in Silicon Valley, Cushman & Wakefield is the market leader in the valuation of data center facilities. Williams is the author of several seminars recognized for continuing education credits by the State of California Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers and the Appraisal Institute. He is a designated member of the Appraisal Institute and a certified general real estate appraiser in the state of California.
1960s
Bob Ricks, BBA ’67, former Edmond, Oklahoma, police chief, was honored with the Salt & Light Award, presented each year by the Christian Business Men’s Connection of Oklahoma City to honor a man whose life reflects the “salt and light” that Christ asked believers to be in Matthew 5:13-16. He spent a large part of his career in the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In the FBI, he rose from the position of special agent to special agent-in-charge of the FBI for Oklahoma. During his time with the FBI, he was detailed to the Drug Enforcement Administration where he served as chief counsel and senior inspector. As deputy assistant director, he was responsible for all FBI investigations of domestic and international terrorists. In 1995, Ricks was appointed Commissioner of the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety and Cabinet Secretary for Safety and Security. In 2002, he was appointed the first director of Homeland Security for Oklahoma by then-Gov. Frank Keating, following the events of 9/11. Following eight years of service with the Department of Public Safety, Ricks was hired as the chief of police for the City of Edmond in October 2003. He retired from the police department in February after 13 years.
Steve Bartels, BBA ’69, recently retired from Procter & Gamble. He and his wife of 47 years continue to live in Overland Park, Kansas.
1970s
Richard Schuetz, BBA ’70, has been named interim director of the University of New Mexico (UNM) Press. A 30-year Air Force veteran, he has served as associate director for business operations for UNM Press for 15 years. Schuetz has served as associate director for business operations for 15 years and is responsible for its day-to-day operations, including business, customer service, shipping and receiving, and information technology. He oversees development and execution of the Press’s annual budget, financial analysis and reporting; warehousing, order fulfillment and inventory management; and networking, system administration and database management.
D. M. Edwards, BBA ’76, contributed a seventh endowed scholarship for Baylor. Edwards was recently honored with the Major Donor Award for the Rotary Foundation and the Patron of the Year Award for the Texas Association of Symphony Orchestra. He was re-elected for a second three-year term to the Texas Baptist Missions Foundation and for a seventh three-year term to East Texas Baptist University Board of Trustees. Other recent achievements include: he was re-elected president of the East Texas Symphony Orchestra Foundation; selected as chair of the University of Texas at Tyler Development Board; elected president of the Literacy Council of Tyler; and completed a $100,000 endowed scholarship.
Wiley Stem III, BBA ’76, has been named by the Waco City Council as the next city manager. Stem started his career with the City of Waco, Texas, 41 years ago. He’s been a part of the city his whole life. His grandfather, Wiley Stem, was the lead detective at the Waco Police Department, and his father, Wiley Stem, Jr., was the Waco city attorney.
Dan Ramey, BBA ’78, is president of Houston Financial Forensics, a professional services firm that focuses on risk assessments for fraud and cyber security, fraud investigations and remediation, managing third-party risk, internal audit, forensic accounting and valuations. Ramey is also an adjunct professor at the University of Houston teaching fraud examination and enterprise risk management.
1980s
Jeff Fletcher, BBA ’82, was elected and now serves as state district judge of the 402nd District Court in Wood County, Texas.
Gary Brinkley, BBA ’85, is the new city manager of the city of Arkadelphia, Arkansas. His primary goal as new city manager is to move the city of Arkadelphia forward.
John Kay, BBA ’86, graduated from the University of Texas at Dallas with a PhD in arts and technology in August. He serves as the pastor of Kavanaugh United Methodist Church in downtown Greenville, Texas.
Erik Randles, BBA ’86, was appointed the new vice president of business development at Cloudhealth Technologies. Based out of the San Francisco, California, office, Randles plays a pivotal part in spearheading the company’s global expansion. His focus areas will include driving business opportunities, forging new original equipment manufacturer (OEM) relationships and overseeing the development of the company’s partner ecosystem. His previous accomplishments include enabling successful exits and triple-digit growth at both private and public technology companies, most recently as vice president of business development and alliances at SimpliVity, which was recently acquired by Hewlett-Packard Enterprise. Prior to his time at SimpliVity, he led global business development at Violin Memory, where he helped develop new partnerships and revenue streams, leading to an initial public offering (IPO) in 2013. He has also held leadership positions at Symantec, Veritas, BEA Systems, KPMG and Capgemini.
C. Runcie Clements IV, BBA ’87, has been named executive vice president and general counsel of Nashville, Tennessee-based independent corporate trust services provider Cumberland Trust. Previously, Clements was the charitable giving counsel for the American Cancer Society.
Robert “Bob” Honeycutt, BBA ’88, has been named the chief executive officer of Ennis Regional Medical Center and Parkview Regional Hospital, which are part of LifePoint Health. He joins Ennis and Parkview from Dignity Health Arizona General Hospital, where he served as president and chief executive officer for the past three years.
Don Willett, BBA ’88, Texas Supreme Court Justice, has been nominated by President Trump to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. He was cited by Trump as a potential U.S. Supreme Court pick during his presidential campaign. Justice Willett is a prolific Twitter user who is known for his wit, with more than 96,000 followers and the title of Texas “Tweeter Laureate.”
Brett Haugh, BBA ’89, has been named executive vice president of Lockton Dunning Benefits, the largest benefits consulting agency in the country. Haugh will serve in the Houston, Texas, office. Haugh joins Lockton Dunning Benefits from Ascende-EPIC and was formerly with Towers Watson as a senior consultant. He has also worked for Coopers & Lybrand in the actuarial, benefit and compensation practice. Haugh divides his time and skills between his family and a variety of philanthropic responsibilities. He currently serves on many boards, is a member of the Louisiana Health Care Association’s advisory commission on managed care health plans and the Paul “Bear” Bryant Awards Leadership Committee for the American Heart Association.
1990s
Kevin Kastor, BBA ’90, was named as a new board member of Leadership Montgomery County, a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing and enhancing current and future leaders of Montgomery County, Texas.
Chris Hudson, BBA ’92, has been appointed managing director of professional services firm Dacarba LLC. Hudson has more than 20 years of leadership experience across multiple industries, including healthcare, insurance, manufacturing and telecommunications. Based in Houston, Texas, Hudson will focus on supporting clients in performance improvement and cost reduction strategies. Prior to joining Dacarba LLC, Hudson was the healthcare leader of the South division at Slalom Consulting. At BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, he led transformational change management activities for the urgent care division as president. Previously, he was a principal at KMPG LLP, serving as the national healthcare technology advisory leader.
Holli C. Ladhani, BBA ’92, has been elected to the board of directors of Noble Energy Inc. Ladhani is chairman, president and chief executive officer of Rockwater Energy Solutions Inc., a leading provider of comprehensive water management solutions to the unconventional oil and gas industry.
Rob Springer, BA (Business Administration) ’92, has joined Tyler Junior College (TJC) as director of annual giving. Springer oversees the TJC President’s Circle, the TJC Foundation golf tournament, the college’s employee campaign, annual scholarships and various other giving initiatives, all of which raise awareness and funds for TJC scholarships and programs. He comes to TJC with more than 21 years of experience in operations, sales, project management and marketing, with the last seven years focusing on relationship building, strategic planning, grant writing, community/business development, property management and fundraising.
Corwin Harper, MHA ’93, has been named as Kaiser Permanente’s new senior vice president and area manager for the Central Valley in California. His career with Kaiser started in September 1996, working as a medical group administrator in Fresno, California.
John Rainey, BBA ’93, MBA ’95, was elected to the Nasdaq board of directors. Rainey is executive vice president and chief financial officer of PayPal Holdings, Inc. and previously held the same title at United Continental Holdings, Inc.’s United Airlines.
Tony Smith, BBA ’93, has been hired as vice president of finance for Warfel Construction in East Petersburg, Pennsylvania. Most recently, Smith was chief financial officer and executive vice president at Sight & Sound Theatres.
Temple Weiss, BBA ’94, has been named chief administrative officer of Learfield, where he will lead the company’s finance and accounting, information technology, human resources and engineering departments. Weiss has an extensive background in finance, strategy, acquisitions, and business support and development, which has included roles with public companies and private equity portfolio companies in real estate, financial services, lodging, entertainment and restaurants.
Matt DeLorenzo, BBA ’95, has been appointed vice president of strategic accounts and workforce solutions for MDI Group, a national information technology staffing and recruiting firm.
Katie (Sarantakes) Scallan, BBA ’95, was recently named director of marketing and corporate communications for The Friedkin Group, where she oversees marketing, corporate branding and communications for the company and its portfolio of companies across the automotive, entertainment, luxury hospitality and golf industries. These organizations include: Gulf States Toyota, Imperative Entertainment, Auberge Resorts Collection, Diamond Creek Golf Club and Congaree Golf Club. Prior to The Friedkin Group, Scallan was senior manager of engagement marketing and public relations for Gulf States Toyota, one of the world’s largest independent distributors of Toyota vehicles and parts.
Aaron Barfoot, BS (Economics) ’98, has been named chief financial officer of Continuum Analytics, the creator and driving force behind Anaconda, the leading open data science platform powered by Python. He is a cloud hosting industry veteran and former executive at ClearDATA and Rackspace.
Raquel Fox, BBA ’98, MTax ’99, has been named to the executive staff of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Jay Clayton. Fox will serve as senior advisor on matters involving the Division of Corporation Finance and Office of International Affairs and will assist on enforcement matters. She joined the SEC in 2011, previously serving as a senior special counsel to the director of the Division of Corporation Finance and an attorney fellow in the offices of Capital Markets Trends and Rulemaking.
Chip Gaines, BBA ’98, known for his HGTV television show “Fixer Upper,” was named as the honorary pace car driver for the AAA Texas 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoff race Nov. 5 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Irene Sung, BBA ’98, has been promoted to partner by Ernst & Young LLP as part of its EY advisory practice in San Francisco, California.
Katherine Noll, BBA ’99, shareholder in the San Antonio, Texas, office of Chamberlain Hrdlicka, was named one of four 2017 “Women in Law” in the July/August issue of San Antonio Woman magazine. Noll also was named as one of “San Antonio’s Best Lawyers” by SA Scene magazine in 2016. She has broad federal and state tax expertise, with a focus on a diverse range of complex tax issues, including tax planning, business transactions and representing clients before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Scott Thomas, MTax ’99, joined Winston & Strawn LLP as a partner in the Dallas, Texas, office. Thomas has experience in commercial litigation, securities litigation and shareholder disputes in federal and state courts in Texas, New York and California. Thomas joins Winston after leaving Fish & Richardson. Prior to his legal career, he worked at international accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Terry Welty, MBA ’99, has joined PatientPop, maker of all-in-one practice growth software for healthcare providers, as senior vice president of marketing. Welty brings more than 20 years of experience leading high-performance marketing teams to drive aggressive revenue growth. He comes to PatientPop from Quorom, where he acted as chief marketing officer. His résumé includes executive roles at Smarsh, DuoSecurity and Quark, as well as five successful exits.
2000s
Brandon Jones, MBA ’00, has joined Winstead’s taxation, employee benefits and private business practice group as a shareholder in the Fort Worth, Texas, office. Jones has more than 15 years of experience counseling clients across a variety of industries, including energy, entertainment, healthcare, hospitality, insurance, retail and waste recycling.
Tucker Worster, BBA ’00, co-founded AuDStandard, LLC, which provides product discounts and practice management services to audiologists, hearing aid dispensers and ear nose and throat physicians. Prior to AuDStandard, he managed the group purchasing division of the world’s largest provider of hearing healthcare Sonova, LLC. In addition to co-founder and partner, Worster currently serves as the managing director of AuDStandard, LLC.
Jeffery P. Chamberlain, MBA ’01, U.S. Army Lt. Col., has been named commander of the defense logistics agency distribution center at Red River Army Depot near Texarkana, Texas.
Jason Ellis, BBA ’02, was hired as the new president of the Worthington National Bank in its downtown Fort Worth, Texas, location. His focus will be on commercial lending and managing customer relationships. Ellis has served 11 years in the banking industry, specifically in commercial lending and relationship management. He is active in the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club of Fort Worth, Junior Achievement of the Chisholm Trail, Trinity Habitat for Humanity and several other community organizations in the area.
Daniel O’Donnell, BBA ’02, has been named managing director of sales and trading at Mission Capital. Prior to joining Mission Capital, O’Donnell was a managing director with Holiday, Fenoglio, Fowler L.P. (HFF) in the firm’s national loan sales group. He was also formerly vice president of U.S. acquisitions for FirstCity Financial Corporation.
Darren Irons, MBA ’04, was named global product manager for Webex Precision Rolls. Previously, he was the global product manager for Fife Guiding Solutions.
Garren Taylor, BBA ’04, has been named vice president of finance for Oseco, based in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, where he will oversee accounting and internet technology operations. He was recently chief financial officer for RL Hudson, a custom molded rubber and plastics manufacturer.
Bryan Tilson, BBA ’04, was named to the Campaign Asia-Pacific (APAC) “40 under 40” list. Based in Shanghai, China, he is the youngest person ever to take up a managing director role in Wieden + Kennedy offices. Recently, he has spearheaded two programs in China, The Kennedys and WKLY.
David Argueta, MBA ’05, has been named chief administrative officer for Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City. Argueta previously served as president of three Catholic Health Initiative hospitals in Texas. Prior to that, he worked as chief operating officer of CHI St. Luke’s Hospital, which has multiple campuses in Texas, and as vice president of operations at Baylor Scott & White – Hillcrest in Waco, Texas.
Kary Lalani, BBA ’05, was recently named as president and chief operating officer of Lalani Lodging, Inc., a Waco, Texas-based hospitality company that focuses on the development and management of hotel assets for affiliated entities. Prior to joining the family business in 2009, Lalani served as an assistant vice president in the commercial real estate group with Guaranty Bank in Dallas, Texas. Lalani is the past chairman of the Baylor Waco Foundation, serves on the board of directors for the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce, Board of the Waco Business League and is a committee member of the Heart of Texas Young Life Chapter.
Colin Carney, BBA ’06, MTax ’06, was appointed to an open position on the Humble Independent School District school board. Carney, a certified public accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers, will serve his term through May 2019.
Will Courington, BBA ’06, has joined Gollob Morgan Peddy, Certified Public Accountants, in Tyler, Texas.
Andrew Hejtmanek, BBA ’07, MAcc ’07, has been promoted to director of BKD CPAs & Advisors. Hejtmanek, a member of BKD National Health Care Group, has more than 10 years of experience in his field, providing audit and assurance services to healthcare providers.
Hannah (Westby) Moore, BBA ’08, was named as one of Investment News “40 under 40” in 2017. Moore owns a boutique wealth management firm in Dallas, Texas, called Guiding Wealth Management. She also produces a series of podcasts called “You’re a Financial Planner, Now What?,” which are aimed at providing support and inspiration for newly minted advisors. The Financial Planning Association (FPA) co-produces, co-markets and co-brands the podcast. In addition to her podcasts, Moore has played a direct role in growing and promoting the community of younger advisors, helping to establish a Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, branch of the FPA NexGen program and working to directly mentor young planners.
2010s
Chris Lang, MBA ’10, has been named vice president of the investment banking energy team based in Houston, Texas, for Imperial Capital Group LLC. Before Imperial, Lang was an associate at Wunderlich, where he advised on a wide range of transactions, including debt financings, mergers and acquisitions, and equity capital raises while also serving as an engineer in the A&D Group.
Colin Smith, BBA ’11, has been elected assistant vice president and loan officer of Citizens National Bank in Hillsboro, Texas, Hill County’s oldest independent bank charter. The Hill County native comes from The Independent Bankers Bank in Dallas, Texas, where he has worked as a credit underwriter. Prior to entering the banking industry, Smith was a marketing manager for a public safety distributor in Houston, Texas. His family has been associated with the banking organization since 1896.
Ryan Blackmon, MBA ’12, was promoted to associate director at tax consultancy firm alliantgroup. Blackmon joined the firm in 2013. He was promoted from senior associate to associate director-on alliantgroup’s research and development tax credit implementation team. Blackmon has led his team to provide thorough, top-quality research and development studies and excellent client service.
John David Beard, BBA ’14, and fellow Baylor alumnus Dylan Washington opened Pinewood Coffee Bar on Austin Avenue in Waco, Texas, which they hope will serve as a community hub and live music venue for the neighborhood. They offer coffee roasted on-site, pastries in the morning and farm-to-table options for lunch.
Baylor Business Review, Spring 2018