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JSOM Alumni

Welcome home, Jindal School alumni!

The JSOM Alumni Relations team is dedicated to keeping you connected to your alma mater and helping you support your university! To reach us directly, visit the JSOM Alumni Contact page or email us at jsomalumni@utdallas.edu.

students posing next to OWLIE against a UTD cutout

Students walking down the line while getting food

Two JSOM Alumni against a background that has a JSOM balloon arc

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Share Your Special Moments

Share Your Special Moments with Us!

Are you reaching a big moment or milestone in your life or closing or starting a new chapter?

Whether it’s a new job, marriage, welcoming a baby, teaching your children or grandchildren your favorite hobby or moving across the country, we want to hear from you!

Featured News

Collage photo of Mark Thouin (top left) and Gaurav Shekhar (bottom right)

Key Promotions Made in Strategic Move to Advance Jindal School Graduate Programs

Hasan Pirkul The recent retirement of Dr. Monica Powell, graduate dean of the Naveen Jindal School of Management since 2009 and the senior associate dean since 2015, created both challenges and opportunities for Dr. Hasan Pirkul, Caruth Chair and Jindal School dean, to maintain the high level of service that the school has always provided […]

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Frequently Asked Questions

The simplest way to join is to go to jindalconnect.com and, using your LinkedIn profile, import your personal information. Take a few more moments to personalize your profile by using drop-down menus to indicate your interest in helping other students or alums with advice or mentoring. Joining will take you 90 seconds or less.

JindalConnect is different because it allows you to identify UT Dallas people who have intentionally indicated they want to help. And if you do initially show your willingness to mentor, offer advice or greet new Comets in your city, and then for whatever reason, you change your mind, a simple click on your personal JindalConnect profile takes you off the “Willing to Help” list.

Go to the Directory tab in the drop-down menu in the lefthand column of the JindalConnect homepage. On the right side are filters you can set for class year, degree, industry and more.

Yes. The “Say hello, ask for help, or just post what’s new on your mind” box in the center column under the photo at the top of the JindalConnect homepage offers a way to ask (and answer) questions. You also can “write a comment” under individual posts in the center column.

No.

Periodically, you will receive an email newsletter from JindalConnect that will highlight one story, two upcoming events and some other information. It’s all on one page. If you want to read additional information, links will take you to individual stories.

Alumni Spotlight

Kate Reagan, BS’15

Assistant Vice President, Business Development, Texas Capital Bank

In Reagan’s role at Texas Capital Bank, she leans on both degrees she earned at Jindal School – a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a bachelor’s degree in marketing. “I connect with business leaders in the Dallas community to hear their stories and see if Texas Capital Bank can help them achieve their company’s goals,” she says. “In school, I had no idea how accounting and marketing would fit together and if I could even find a role that would allow me to utilize both my degrees.

Gerald Youngblood, MBA’10

Director, North America Marketing Advanced Micro Devices

Gerald Youngblood, a graduate of the Professional MBA Online program, credits the Jindal School with preparing him to progress beyond the traditional business environment and into the wireless workplace. He now manages marketing and strategy development at Advanced Micro Devices, a multinational technology company that designs and integrates technology for intelligent devices, such as personal computers, tablets, game consoles and cloud servers.

Harrison Coney, BS’12

Information Security Officer, Cognosante

I enjoy the fact that every day I come to work, it is an opportunity for me to experience and learn something new. It is an ever-change profession.

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.

Frank Martinez, MBA’07, MS’14

Supervisor, Project Management Office; Federal Reserve Bank Of Dallas

Martinez, who started working at The Fed in 2011, keeps returning to UT Dallas and Jindal School to upgrade his skills.

Walter L. Sutton, Jr. , PhD’89

Adjunct Faculty, Consultant

Dr. Sutton, who earned his PhD in Business Policy and Strategy when Jindal School was just 14 years old, now serves on the school’s adjunct faculty, teaching Business Law. He’s had a far-ranging career that includes staff legal positions with oil and gas companies as well as Walmart; with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (in Dallas) and a presidential appointment to the Federal Highway Administration (in Washington, D.C.); and as chief of staff at UT Dallas.

Eugene Gicheru, MD, MBA, FACEP, MBA’16

Chief Executive Officer, Careculture Health Partners

Several physician colleagues along with myself founded CareCulture Health Partners, where I serve as CEO.

The Lanes

Giulia Ippolito Lane and Robert Lane

When Rob entered UT Dallas, he already held an undergraduate degree from University of Southern California. He eventually earned four additional degrees at UT Dallas.

Priya Singh, BS’15

Analyst, Goldman Sachs

Singh, who earned her finance degree at Jindal School, now is a Warehouse Asset Manager at Goldman Sachs and works as part of the Realty Management Division in Dallas. “My current job consists of working with consumer and student loan facilities to ensure loan management and assist with the lending business,” she says. She also assists the trading desk and bankers in New York City. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Singh worked for two years with GE Capital in its Commercial Leadership Program in Chicago and Wisconsin.

Paulina Jesionek, BS’13, MS’15, MBA’15

Marketing Program Specialist, UT Southwestern Medical Center

Jesionek graduated cum laude in Fall 2013 with two undergraduate degrees – Global Business and Marketing. She delivered the commencement address that year.

Andrew Joseph Limas, BS’19

Assistant Language Teacher, RCS Japan

After graduating from Jindal School with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Limas signed up with RCS Corporation Japan, a staffing company based in Tokyo that finds English teachers for local schools. The company placed him in a job in Tokyo, where Limas now works as an assistant language teacher. In his role, he shares language skills with his students along with information about American culture and traditions. He credits opportunities to work on start-up business ideas at the Jindal School with expanding his understanding about how businesses work.

Brian Livingston, MBA’01 MS’02

President and COO, Firebird Restaurant Group

Livingston holds two degrees from the Jindal School, his MBA and his master’s degree in accounting. His undergrad degree in finance is from UT Austin. He is now with Firebird Restaurant Group, LLC, the parent company of El Fenix Mexican Restaurants, Snuffers Restaurant & Bar, Meso Maya, Village Burger Bar, Taqueria La Ventana and Tortaco, where he oversees the daily operations of 54 restaurants, a food manufacturing company and related companies.

Aubrey Meyers, BS’05, MBA’06

SVP and Deputy General Counsel, Caliber Home Loans, Inc

After Meyers received her BSBA and MBA at UT Dallas, she went to University of Illinois College of Law, graduating in 2009 with a law degree. She returned to the North Texas area, working for a couple law firms before moving to Caliber Home Loans.

Sejal Desai, MBA’99

Program Director, Entrepreneurs for North Texas

Establishing the Desai Family Fellowship at Naveen Jindal School of Management is just one thing Desai has done to improve the lives of others.

Sarah Hagan, EMBA’11

CFO, Omnitracs

Hagan, a Dallas resident, joined Omnitracs, LLC, in April 2016, after a successful 11 years at Sabre Corp., where she held senior leadership positions in accounting and finance.

Jason Ellison, BS’03 MBA’06

Entrepreneur

While Ellison began his professional career at KPMG in audit, he now is on his second (or third) career, as owner of Ellison Business Consulting in Allen.

Pat McCown, BS’91

Partner, State and Local Tax, Grant Thornton LLP

Pat McCown has combined hard work and an entrepreneurial spirit in an accounting career that spans more than 20 years and includes a major merger and two partner positions. He is credited with creating and introducing new ideas into the accounting profession, generating dramatic increases in revenue and developing constructive client relationships. Pat earned a degree in from the Jindal School and says his coursework helped him develop his work ethic and commitment to excellence.

Matthew A. Thompson, BS’12

Automation Marketing Manager, StructuredWeb

Matthew A. Thompson, who majored in marketing, moved to New York City soon after graduation. Once there, he landed a job at ALM, a specialized business news and information company largely focused on the legal community.

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.

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.

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