About the Jindal School of Management

Robert Kientz, BS’04

Senior Security Analyst, Verizon Wireless

In his role with Verizon, Kientz performs risk assessment of information security vulnerabilities and system security policy compliance.

Will McIntosh, EMBA’06

Senior Manager, Advisory Services, Ernst & Young LLP

McIntosh, a senior manager in Advisory Services at Ernst and Young’s Dallas office, measures his success by the quality relationships he has developed with clients and coworkers throughout his 15 years in the management consulting and financial services industries. He assists leading banks and lenders in solving various management problems and improving their operations in order to better serve customers and meet the demands of other key stakeholders.

Brad Perkinson, BS’08, MS’09

Founder,CEO and Brewer, Firewheel Brewing Co., LLC

This Naveen Jindal School of Management grad took the opportunity of getting laid off to pursue a dream of starting what is now known as FireWheel Brewery in Rowlett.

Mark Fuqua, BS’79

Exec Vice President And Manager, Energy Banking Comerica Bank

Fuqua completed his BS/Business Administration degree with a finance concentration at UT Dallas when undergrads had been on the UTD campus a mere four years.

Glenn Egelman, MD, FACP, MS’08

Medical Director, Tricare; Defense Health Agency Headquarters

An unanticipated, unpredictable, traumatic healthcare issue has significantly reshaped my professional life.

Joshua Levy, MBA’11

Program Manager, Pearson Education

Joshua Levy combined his lifelong love of teaching with the Jindal School’s project management program to map his future as a leader for Pearson Education, the world’s largest education company and book publisher. A few years into his career there, he noticed that many of his colleagues who were going places had graduate degrees.

Brett Philips, BS’05, MS’09

Founding Partner, Shifflett & Philips

Philips, and his friend Nick Shifflett, started Shifflett & Philips accounting firm in 2014 in Frisco. Philips, a CPA, had worked at other accountancies for more than nine years before going out on his own. His practice now primarily focuses on the performance of federal and state tax compliance and consulting with individuals, estates, partnerships and closely held corporations. Philips holds two Jindal School degrees – a bachelor’s in Business Administration, which he completed in 2005, and an MS/Accounting which he completed in 2009.

Shahzil (Shaz) Amin, BS’11

Founder & CEO, Blue Track Media; Managing Partner, Karlani Capital; Founder, Plugged Labs, Inc.

Amin followed a path to entrepreneurship many have trod – he had no choice but to be successful.

Chanel Ebanks-Texada, BS’16

Watson Customer Engagement Account Executive, IBM

Ebanks-Texada has launched her career at IBM, where she is prospecting and generating business in the public sector.

Chris Spartz, MBA’11

Senior Associate – Risk Consulting, Contract Compliance KPMG

At KPMG, Spartz serves in multiple roles including reviewing contracts between his clients and their third party service providers to identify risks within the agreement and help his clients to ensure compliance with contracts, standards, policies and regulatory requirements. “I also collect, manipulate, analyze and interpret large data sets, and use results to develop recommendations for corrective and preventative actions for identified risks,” Spartz says.

Abrahm “Abe” Turner, MBA’08

Performance Improvement Consultant; Insperity

I enjoy being part of the change continuum. I am often the catalyst for change in many of the groups I support.

Phil Neighorn, BA’95, MBA’01

Managing Director, Central Zone Surety Practice, Leadermarsh USA

Phil Neighorn has more than 16 years of experience as an insurance professional and balances his time between working for Marsh USA, a global leader in insurance broking and risk management, and mentoring Jindal School students. He is committed to helping both audiences develop business strategies to successfully reach goals. Whether he is assisting an international client or providing advice to a promising student, he regularly shares his extensive industry knowledge. He also routinely uses the skills he developed while earning his undergraduate degree and an MBA from the Jindal School.

Abhishek Sharma, Class of ’21

Finance Manager at Amazon

My background experience was a mix of technical qualifications as a software engineer and work experience as a futures trader and Sales Finance Manager. Even though I had worked in the finance domain in different capacities, I didn’t have experience of academic finance and when looking for options for my graduate level education my priority was to complement both my previous education and work experience. The MS Finance program at JSOM not only fulfilled all the criteria but also boasted of world class faculty and a very enhanced learning program and facilities.

Scott Birnbaum, BS’84

Founder And President, Reclaimed Textiles Co.

Scott Birnbaum, a former CPA, founded a business that recycles items otherwise destined for the garbage heap. He established Reclaimed Textiles Co. (RTCM), which repurposes discarded textiles for new use. As president, he is active in all aspects of the company and constantly relies on skills learned while a student at the Jindal School. In addition to his 18 years in textile recycling, he has experience in defense manufacturing, transportation and publishing. Scott established RTCM based on his values regarding quality, innovation and customer focus, and he is committed to developing new means to repurpose used goods in the U.S. and in developing countries.

Turning Adversity into Achievement: Abinav Bayya’s Academic Transformation

Abinav Bayya came to the Naveen Jindal School of Management to pursue his Master of Science in Supply Chain Management. After a turbulent first semester, Bayya found himself on academic probation.

Craig Weigel, MBA’03

Human Resources Director, PepsiCo

Weigel, an HR professional for more than 18 years, has worked for multiple Fortune 100 global companies in various roles, including recruiting, mergers and acquisitions, compensation, and business partnership. He is most proud of his short-term projects in Asia and Europe, which broadened his cultural awareness and global business knowledge.

David Wedemeier, BS’02, MBA’05

Founder, Sales And Business Development Director, Martin House Brewing Company

David Wedemeier took a risk and left a management position at Nokia to start his own business. He put his own advice into practice, stepping outside his comfort zone and into a business-development role in a brand new venture. Wedemeier, along with two close friends, co-founded Martin House Brewing Company in Fort Worth. As a new-business owner and entrepreneur, he relies upon the skills and knowledge he accrued while pursuing his undergraduate and graduate degrees at the Jindal School.

J. Michelle (Abuda) Maraj, BS’14, MS’15

Financial Systems Analyst, Lyft

J. Michelle (Abuda) Maraj, now living in San Jose, California, powered through her master’s degree in business analytics just a year after she earned her BS in what is now information technology and systems. In 2014, she was selected to give the commencement address for her Jindal School class, where she pointed out it took her a few semesters to settle on majoring in what is now known as information technology and systems. Thanks to the Jindal School’s Career Management Center, she held an internship each summer during her college years. She also is a past contributor to the JSOM Perspectives blog.

Susan Kassen, MBA’00

Associate, Ebby Halliday Realtors

After several years spent working in sales and marketing, Susan Kassen decided to combine her passion for real estate and love of the local community, and pursue a career in real estate. During this transition, she relied on lessons learned while earning an MBA from the Jindal School.

Abu Sadeq, BS’94, MS’99

CEO and CISO, Zartech Inc.

Sadeq earned two degrees at what is now known as Naveen Jindal School of Management. He received a BS/Business Administration and an MS/Management Information Systems. He eventually started Zartech, a Dallas-based consulting company, which helps clients with cybersecurity diagnostics and strategies and even provides experts for boards of directors facing cybersecurity questions or managing regulatory affairs.