Rundown

Lost and Found

An MBA alum is reunited with the wedding band he lost on campus two decades ago.

Twenty years ago this spring, Upendra Marathi ’01 was taking a break during finals week on the patio of Rice’s Herring Hall (the former home of Rice Business, before it moved to McNair Hall) when his wedding band slipped off his finger. He watched as it rolled away, and, before he could catch it, slipped through a gap in the grout between the edge of a stair and the brick patio — gone forever, he thought at the time.

But Marathi, the CEO of 7 Hills Pharma, a Houston pharmaceutical company that develops immunotherapies to treat cancer and prevent infectious diseases, still lives close to campus. This fall, he walked by the scene of his heartbreaking loss and noticed that the gap was still there — and so, presumably, was his long-lost ring. He decided to reach out to the Rice’s Facilities, Engineering and Planning department to see if they’d be willing to undertake a small excavation project. He hoped to retrieve the ring as a surprise for his wife, Kala, on their 25th wedding anniversary.

Keith McKay, a brickmason with Rice FE&P, was up for the task. He and Marathi met on the patio in December and began digging up bricks. “I thought it would have rolled to the left, following the drainage, but we didn’t find anything there,” Marathi said. “So we tried going to the right, and we dug down close to eight inches, but still nothing. We were all disappointed.”

After about 40 fruitless minutes, they called it quits. Marathi went to get his bicycle and prepared to head home. Just then, his phone rang. McKay had decided to dig a little deeper, and this time, he struck gold. Marathi was reunited with his ring at last.

“It was fantastic,” he said. “I was so delighted that this odd request got accepted — and was successful. I offered to pay for the cost of the excavation, but no one would take me up on it.”

He rode straight home and showed Kala. “She doesn’t really care about jewelry or anything, but she loved the sentiment,” he said. “She started crying, she was so happy.”

Now Marathi, who has been wearing a replacement band for two decades, is wearing his original wedding ring again. “I’m surprised it still fits,” he said.

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Team Work

At the beginning of their MBA journey, after team assignments during their first week, five EMBA students met for dinner at Hotel ZaZa. During the meal, they realized something unique about their team: They were all born and raised outside the U.S. — India, Italy, Norway, Taiwan and Tanzania — and all of them spoke English as a second language.

It was a revelation. “We’re as diverse as we can possibly be, culturally and professionally,” Panthini Patel said.

“It was clear immediately — we were a team with very interesting backgrounds,” Bamrom Jonathan said. “We all had a lot to share and became very close immediately. We couldn’t wait to bring our families together.”

How teams are born

In the Rice MBA, cohorts in each program are made up of five- to six-person teams that stay together for two years. When creating teams, the student program office tries to balance the mix by gender, profession, background and age. And then the work begins. For this diverse team of EMBA students, the work included food and family.

They met for dinners in different restaurants that represented each member’s culture, so the others could try new things. Stefano Capponi chose Fresco Cafe Italiano, not far from campus, on a Saturday after class. “I’m from a big family where you have massive meals, spending hours at the table. And using the table to talk,” he said. “The idea is that Italian food is simple, laid-back and poor, but the ambiance is what creates the environment. That’s how I grew up.”

He wanted to show the richness of that life to his teammates. “Fresco is a small joint where you can’t make reservations; it’s always packed; there’s no table service, and you bring your own wine. When I brought the team, they were surprised by the environment. Like, what the hell is this place? It’s not high-end. But after the initial shock, they loved the food and the feeling. We stayed for three hours. It was great.”

Classroom conversations

The global perspective in the EMBA classrooms is deepened by its students’ career and cultural experiences.

“It’s a huge benefit to have international participation,” team member Haavard Oestensen said. “Our classroom sometimes feels like a UN meeting.”

Being surrounded by different viewpoints deepens their studies, Tsenghui (Leo) Sung added. “The team is open to discussion and sharing experiences and ideas.”

Of course, the chemistry within a team is a huge benefit to the MBA experience. And setting a tone was intentional from the beginning. Bamrom kicked it off with a pool party at his house. “We have family events with our team where we try different cuisines and share precious moments,” he said. “We’re building lifetime friendships and looking forward to what the future brings.”

Panthini and her husband made a dinner from scratch. “We met in the front yard. The kids played basketball and road bikes in the neighborhood. We made so many dishes — four to five different curries, vegetables. Even though Stefano doesn’t like spices! For me, it means so much to show them that I care about them.”

Connections to classmates are what a small program is all about: building and expanding the network that will serve you beyond the two years on campus.

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Meet the team: left to right

Stefano Capponi is from Italy and speaks Italian. Transitioning between jobs after 15 years in the oil industry.

Haavard Oestensen was born and raised in Norway and speaks Norwegian. Vice president of growth at Kongsberg Digital

Tsenghui (Leo) Sung hails from Taiwan and speaks Mandarin. Senior director of business development and program management at Foxconn Industrial Internet (Fii)

Panthini Patel was born in India and lived there until the age of 10. She grew up speaking Gujarati and Hindi. Director of global strategic accounts at Emerson

Bamrom H. Jonathan grew up in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and is fluent in Kiswahili. He moved to the U.S. for college at 17. Vice president of pharmacy strategic initiatives at Centene Corp.

“If You Believe…”

Rice Business has launched a new national ad campaign as part of our effort to continue to grow the school’s brand. In partnership with the digital advertising agency Primacy, the Rice Business marketing team built the campaign on the foundation of the school’s tagline: “You Belong Here.”

The goal of the campaign is to build national awareness and attract high-caliber prospective students to continue to build talented cohorts across Rice Business programs.

The campaign includes a series of digital animations that begin with an “If you believe…” statement that connects students to Rice Business by highlighting mutual values. For example, in Dean Rodriguez’s words: “If you believe diverse groups make the best decisions, you belong here.”

If you believe you know someone who is a good fit for Rice Business, consider recommending them to build the next MBA class at business.rice.edu/alumni/volunteer/build-class.

Back2Back2Back #1 Ranking

For the third year in a row, Rice Business was ranked the No. 1 graduate entrepreneurship program in the United States by the Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine — for 2020, 2021 and 2022.

The Rice Business entrepreneurship ecosystem combines academic courses and co-curricular entrepreneurship programs led by the Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Lilie) with community-focused efforts led by the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship.

“Our No. 1 ranking is a reflection of the work and effort of our entrepreneurship faculty and staff to continually expand our programs and impact on behalf of our student and faculty founders,” said Rice Business Dean Peter Rodriguez. “Our three-years-running spot at the top is a testament to the Rice faculty, the depth and breadth of resources that are available to entrepreneurs and innovators during their time at Rice and beyond, and the students who have capitalized on their time at Rice to learn and launch their ventures from campus to the community.”

The Rice Business entrepreneurship program also ranked No. 3 in Poets & Quants’ World’s Best MBA Programs for Entrepreneurship rankings for 2022, up from No. 15 on the 2021 list.

“The ability to be a student while working on your startup in class, under the expert guidance of our world-class faculty, gives our Rice entrepreneurs a competitive advantage over any others out there,” said Yael Hochberg, head of the Rice Entrepreneurship Initiative and academic director for the Rice Alliance.

The Princeton Review based its 2022 rankings on a survey of leaders at more than 300 schools offering entrepreneurship studies. The 60-question survey covered the schools’ commitment to entrepreneurship studies inside and outside the classroom. Topics included the percentage of students taking entrepreneurship courses, the number and reach of mentorship programs, the number of startups founded by recent alumni and the cash prizes offered at school-sponsored business plan competitions.

Top Spots

Rice Business ranked in the top 10 in five categories in The Princeton Review’s Best Business School rankings for 2022.

MBA@Rice ranked No. 4 in just its second year of eligibility — two spots higher than last year.

Other Princeton Review rankings for Rice Business include:

• Best Classroom Experience — No. 5
• Best MBA for Finance — No. 6
• Most Competitive Students — No. 7
• Best MBA for Consulting — No. 10

Fed Appoints Dean Rodriguez to Houston Branch Board

The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas appointed Rice Business Dean Peter Rodriguez to its Houston Branch board of directors for a three-year term beginning Jan. 1, 2022.

As a board member, Dean Rodriguez will provide input on regional economic conditions as part of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy functions. The Dallas Fed promotes a strong financial system and healthy economy in the Eleventh Federal Reserve District, which includes Texas, northern Louisiana and southern New Mexico. The Fed conducts economic research and works to ensure that the banking system is safe, accessible and secure. It also helps maintain a reliable supply of cash and supports digital payments.

The Houston Branch board consists of seven members, four appointed by the Dallas Fed and three appointed by the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in Washington, D.C.

For more information on the Dallas Fed, visit www.dallasfed.org.

Correction

In the fall issue, we erred in describing Barbara Ostdiek’s July 2021 promotion. Ostdiek, the senior associate dean of degree programs at Rice Business, was promoted from tenured associate professor to full professor of finance. As a faculty member here since 1994, Ostdiek has taught a variety of courses across all of the degree programs, most recently Portfolio Management and Economic Environment of Business. She has served in the dean’s office since 2013. Her research focuses on investments and asset pricing.

MBA@Rice Graduation

Rice Business recognized December graduates of the online Class of 2021 with an in-person convocation that gave MBA@Rice students an opportunity to come together and celebrate their newly appointed designation as Master of Business Administration.

The December convocation included a breakfast toast; a presentation of awards from alumna Tracy Dennis '00; and speeches from Rice Business Senior Associate Dean Barbara Ostdiek, Rice Business Associate Dean George Andrews and Rice President David Leebron. Congrats, graduates!

Faculty News

Rice University Provost Reginald DesRoches has been named the next president of Rice. The university’s board of trustees selected DesRoches, an internationally recognized structural engineer and earthquake resilience expert, after a nationwide search for an academic leader to take command of the university. DesRoches will succeed President David Leebron, who previously announced his plan to step down after the end of the current academic year. DesRoches will take office on July 1.

Under DesRoches’ leadership, Rice launched several new majors and professional master’s programs, including the new undergraduate business major at Rice Business. He also established the Rice Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, which has been instrumental in dramatically increasing the diversity of Rice’s faculty and graduate student population.

In February, DesRoches spoke at a Rice Business partio in celebration of Black History Month, hosted by the Black Business Student Association and the Jones Student Association. Rice Business graduates approximately 70 Black students each year. About 150 Black students are currently enrolled — an all-time high and nearly triple the number enrolled three years ago.

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Rice Energy Finance Summit

In November, Rice Business hosted the 13th annual Rice Energy Finance Summit, with a dual-delivery format that brought executives, investors, advisers and policymakers together to share their perspectives with students, alumni, faculty and staff. Four hundred industry professionals and students attended the 2021 conference in person, and about 150 people joined virtually to hear from keynote speakers Bobby Tudor, the chairman of Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co., and Deborah Byers, the Americas Industry Leader at Ernst & Young.

Attendees also participated in panel discussions that explored current topics in the energy industry, which finds itself at a pivotal transition, as Byers noted. “Everything regarding climate change and energy in general affects the basic human condition globally,” she said in her keynote address.

For more information, visit business.rice.edu/rice-energy-finance-summit.

Rice Business Energy and Cleantech Case Competition

The Rice Business Energy and Cleantech Case Competition (RBEC3) made its debut in November as part of the Rice Energy Finance Summit. Nine teams from five schools participated in this first annual competition. First place and $4,000 prize money went to Rice Business team Net-Zero, second place and $2,000 was awarded to Rice Business team The Hypothesizers, and Brigham Young University’s The Renewables took home third place with $1,000.

The case competition provided an opportunity for students to engage with real-world energy problems and provide impactful solutions, said Vu Nguyen, the director of innovation at Waste Management, which sponsored the competition. “These students are solving a top-of-mind problem for Waste Management executives,” Nguyen said. “We are looking across industries for solutions.”

To learn more, visit business.rice.edu/RBEC3.

Mittal Wins Financial Times Award

Professor Vikas Mittal and his co-authors were among the winners of the Financial Times’ Responsible Business Education Awards for a research paper that explored ways to improve cancer outcomes by drawing on digital and marketing expertise.

Mittal, the J. Hugh Liedtke Professor of Marketing at Rice Business, collaborated with Shrihari Sridhar at the Mays Business School of Texas A&M University and other researchers on a paper published in the Journal of Marketing that analyzed the factors behind low screening rates for liver cancer among high-risk patients. The researchers used machine-learning techniques to understand the characteristics of those who responded best to different prompts to test, such as letters, emails or personalized telephone calls. That allowed them to recommend targeted approaches that would be more likely to succeed than “one size fits all” outreach.

Their research, along with the other winning submissions, “combined intellectual originality, a focus on pressing social issues and efforts to engage organizations to bring about change,” according to the newspaper’s January award announcement.

“The FT’s Responsible Business Education Awards show that a positive social impact can be made by business school academics, through their research,” wrote Andrew Jack, the global education editor for the Financial Times. “Not only does their work tackle significant societal problems, but their findings are driving change in policy or practice.”

A Mural with Movement and Depth

A new art installation in McNair Hall, “Tricycle Red, Pelican Grey, etc., partial octagons,” by Kate Shepherd, is the latest addition to the Rice Public Art collection. The university-wide arts initiative — led by Alison Weaver, executive director of Rice’s Moody Center for the Arts — commissions public artworks, exhibitions and programs that are accessible to all and which underscore the caliber and spirit of scholarly inquiry at Rice.

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Taking the dimensions of McNair Hall’s octagonal atrium as the starting point for this composition, Shepherd created a visual connection between the surrounding architecture and her wall painting. Inspired by the rotunda’s centrality to the building and its role as a connector to other parts of the school, the artist conceived two octagonal forms with overlapping elements that are seemingly translucent. The rhythm of the intertwined planes in luminous shades of red and grey generates movement and depth on the flat surface of the long wall. The choice of red was inspired by the Rice campus and its dominant brick architecture. This work is the artist’s first permanent wall painting in a public space. The mural’s installation was overseen by Frauke Josehans at the Moody Center for the Arts.

For more information about the artwork, visit https://moody.rice.edu/art/kate-shepherd.

New Digs

As our programs and student body have grown in recent years, we’ve made some major updates to our home in McNair Hall. On your next visit to campus, visit the renovated Business Information Center on the second floor, now relocated to the opposite side of the rotunda, and, in the BIC’s former home, the updated Dean’s Suite and the Gibbs Gallery, our new “family room.” It’s a place where all are welcome to relax, meet, study or reflect, and it will double as an event venue for smaller gatherings.

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Updates to the third floor of McNair Hall, now underway, and the planned addition of a new wing will make the school a more modern, more inviting place to study, teach and work.

Previous updates include the installation of a state-of-the-art video wall on the first floor, a renovated Admissions Office, the redesign of Classroom 116 into the state-of-the-art Judy Ley Allen Innovation Classroom, and the construction of Audrey’s coffeehouse. With more students, professors and staff than ever before, the newly refreshed McNair Hall will help us stay competitive as a top 25 business school.

Reunion 2022

Don’t miss the chance to reconnect with your Rice Business family at this year’s alumni reunion! Reunion weekend is April 29-30, and we are thrilled to be hosting it in person again.

Programming at McNair Hall includes the State of the School address by Dean Peter Rodriguez; a faculty lecture by Tolga Tezcan, our new operations management professor; workshops; the Alumni Awards Luncheon; and a partio. Special milestone events for class years ending in 2 and 7, as well as 2021, including happy hours and dinner, will be held off campus.

For more info, visit business.rice.edu/reunion.

Women in Leadership Conference

The 22nd annual Women in Leadership Conference, held in person this February, focused on the tenet that the success of every woman is an inspiration for another. In panel discussions and interactive workshops, 365 attendees heard from thought leaders across different industries, who spoke about peer equity and inclusion in the workplace — and owning your seat at the table.

Ivy McGregor, author and executive director of BeyGOOD (Houston-born pop star Beyoncé Knowles-Carter’s philanthropic organization), was the opening keynote speaker. Donna Sims Wilson, the chief operating officer of Kah Capital Management and co-founder of the National Association of Securities Professionals’ Africa Financial Summit, delivered the closing keynote.

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Understanding and Managing Strategic Governance

In a new book, “Understanding and Managing Strategic Governance” (Wiley, 2021), Robert E. Hoskisson, the George R. Brown Professor Emeritus of Management at Rice Business, explores the interplay between corporate governance and a firm’s strategic decision-making. With co-author Wei Shi, an associate professor of management at Miami Herbert Business School, Hoskisson examines the influence that “governance actors,” including boards of directors, activist investors, institutional investors and securities analysts, have on important strategic decisions — and the consequences of their influence. The book also offers insights for executives on how to manage the conflicting interests of multiple governance actors and leverage the influence of these groups to make effective strategic decisions.