Giving to JSOM

Bate Bate, MBA’03

Vice President And Senior Petroleum Engineer, Union Bank

Bate, vice president and senior petroleum engineer at Union Bank is experienced in the oil field and the corporate office. With more than 12 years in the oil and gas industry, Bate has a solid grasp on reserve estimation and reporting as well as field operations. He credits his time at the Jindal School as refining his understanding of organizational behavior and management, lessons he continues to utilize today.

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.

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.

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.

Randall Tan, BS’13

Key Account Manager at Softlayer, An IBM Company

Randall Tan had plenty of success before launching his academic career at The University of Texas at Dallas. Prior to coming to UT Dallas, he earned the Gold Individual Physical Proficiency Test while serving with the Singapore armed forces.

Mindy Tiu, BS’14

GE, Commercial Leadership Program

Mindy Tiu, now living in Stamford, Conn, fully embraced her time at UT Dallas by taking part in a broad range of campus activities.

Randy Black, CFP, CDFA, BS’06

Financial Planner, Spectrum Financial Group

Black, a certified financial planner, is certain that a successful leader will go above and beyond what is expected when helping others. This value is evident in his work helping numerous clients reach their financial goals. Since his May 2006 graduation from the Jindal School, Black has exceeded several industry standards even though he has not yet reached his 10-year mark in the professional world.

Doug Hermann, BS’14

Broker Associate, The Weitzman Group

Hermann double-majored while at Jindal School, graduating with a degree in Finance and a degree in Business Administration.

Heidi Rasmussen, BS’92

Co-Founder and COO, Freshbenies

Heidi Rasmussen, a former retail executive, and her husband, Reid Rasmussen, a former health insurance company manager, knew health benefits were complicated for employers and their workers.

Chris Petrawski, MS’17

Director Of Digital, Bedford Advertising

As head of digital strategy for Bedford Advertising, Petrawski is tasked with growing the digital division of the company as well as maximizing the digital impact of its clients. Petrawski earned his master’s in marketing at the Jindal School, which, he said, helped him grow in confidence and decision making. “They gave me the tools to succeed in the marketing roles I’ve had throughout my career,” he said. “This is very beneficial because I work with a multitude of clients across various industries. Understanding the role of marketing in business helps me focus our client’s efforts on activities that maximize the value for their dollar.”

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.

Glenn D. Lovelace, BS’81

CEO, Peñasco Valley Telephone Cooperative, Inc.

Lovelace graduated from what was then the School of Management with a marketing degree and minors in computer science and finance.

Ron Dugan, MS’91

Portfolio Manager, AmeriTrust

Dugan, who recently joined AmeriTrust in Tulsa, manages client portfolios in order to meet their individual investment objectives. “My time at UTD was integral in building upon my educational foundation,” he said. “The flexibility of the degree program gave me the opportunity to focus more of my studies in finance, which helped me at my job at that time and prepared me for larger roles going forward.” Dugan, who earned his grad degree in Management and Administrative Sciences, with a heavy concentration in finance (before Jindal School offered a master’s degree in finance) had earned his undergraduate accounting degree at Texas A&M University. He is both a CPA and a Certified Financial Analyst. He has broad experience in the financial industry, including time at the Meadows Foundation in Dallas and Russell Investments in Tacoma, WA.

Vik Thapar, BS’00

Principal, Cypress Growth Capital

Thapar, a Dallas resident, was born and grew up just a few miles from the UT Dallas campus in Richardson.

Gaurav Sethi, BS’20

Investment Bank Risk Analyst, JP Morgan

Sethi works at JP Morgan as a specialist in counterparty credit risk calculations, doing the heavy analysis that most don’t even know exists – he investigates and explains derivative exposure variances and changes. Sethi earned both finance and actuarial science undergrad degrees. (Actuarial science is in the UT Dallas School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.) Notably, Sethi was awarded the prestigious $15,000 Mitchell Family Foundation Scholar Award from the Texas Business Hall of Fame Foundation, based on his work with CampusOven, a service that connects university employees and students with caterers who are focused on healthy eating options.

Ankit Takallapaly, MS’15

Software Development Manager, Amazon

At Amazon, Takallapaly manages a team of software engineers who are responsible for building data-driven solutions to support hiring needs for Amazon globally. “The information technology and management program at Jindal School helped me gain deep knowledge in data analytics, program management and people management,” Takallapaly says. “Looking back, these skills were an integral part of my career in the initial days. In my current role, I actually rely on all three of them equally to execute my responsibilities and deliver results.”

Jonathan “J.J.” Jones, BS’12, MS’14, MBA’16

Senior Property Manager, Crescent Property Services, LLC

In his current position, Jones manages a Class A commercial real estate portfolio for Crescent, which acquires, develops and operates high-end properties alongside an exclusive group of investors and high-net-worth clients. Crescent currently has $3.5 billion in assets in its portfolio. Jones said his education at Jindal School has opened a lot of doors for him. “I don’t think I’m smarter than I was, but it helped me in my ability to creatively problem solve, navigate multiple fields of expertise and remain confident in a rapidly evolving business environment,” he said. He earned three degrees at the Jindal School – a BS in Business Administration, an MS in Supply Chain Management and an MBA.

Joseph James, MBA’10

Entrepreneur

James, who completed his Executive MBA degree in 2010, manages two startup businesses. At 2020 Commercial, he provides commercial real estate sales, leasing and development services. At Mango Farms Digital Marketing, he and his staff provide web and mobile application development and manage digital marketing for clients.

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.

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.