Rice Business has partnered with Service to School (S2S), a national nonprofit that helps veterans and service members access higher education, adding a new admissions and outreach partner to the school’s growing ecosystem of support for military-affiliated students.
Avery Ruxer Franklin
New partnership joins Rice Business’ ecosystem of support for military-affiliated students
Rice Business has partnered with Service to School (S2S), a national nonprofit that helps veterans and service members access higher education, adding a new admissions and outreach partner to the school’s growing ecosystem of support for military-affiliated students.
While veterans and service members bring exceptional leadership experience into the classroom as well as a proven ability to perform under pressure, military careers often follow nontraditional paths that can make the graduate admissions process more difficult to navigate. S2S helps bridge that gap through free application counseling, mentorship and peer-to-peer support.
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“Students connected to the military bring exceptional leadership, resilience and real-world experience to the classroom,” said Jeff Fleming, interim dean of Rice Business.
Through its VetLink network, S2S connects prospective students with admissions representatives at partner institutions to help these military-affiliated applicants identify programs that align with their goals and successfully present their experiences to admissions teams. The partnership also creates new opportunities for Rice Business to connect with military-affiliated applicants through S2S’s national volunteer network, events and outreach programs.
The S2S partnership will serve as a new entry point into Rice Business’ broader network of support for military-affiliated students, which includes:
Veterans Business Battle — One of the nation’s premier startup competitions for military veterans. Held annually, the Veterans Business Battle provides participants with access to funding, mentorship, investor connections and a national network of veteran entrepreneurs.
Military education benefits and financial support — Helps veterans, active-duty service members and their families access GI Bill, Yellow Ribbon and other military education benefits to reduce financial barriers to graduate education.
Rice Business Veterans Association — Connects military-affiliated students through mentorship, professional development, networking opportunities and community-building activities.
Together, these programs support veterans and service members from admissions through graduation and beyond, creating a strong foundation for academic, professional and personal success.
Underpinning these efforts is a belief that military-affiliated students bring distinctive strengths to the Rice Business community. “Students connected to the military bring exceptional leadership, resilience and real-world experience to the classroom,” said Jeff Fleming, interim dean of Rice Business. “Those qualities enrich the learning experience for everyone around them, but the path from military service to graduate education is not always straightforward. Through our partnership with Service to School, we’re helping ensure talented veterans and service members have the guidance, resources and support they need to thrive.”
Rice Business has partnered with Service to School (S2S), a national nonprofit that helps veterans and service members access higher education, adding a new admissions and outreach partner to the school’s growing ecosystem of support for military-affiliated students.
Research by Rice Business professor Tommy Pan Fang shows that two main factors determine the location of hyperscale data centers: access to energy infrastructure and access to low-cost real estate.
Pablo shares why more physicians need business fluency and what it means to look beyond the exam room to the health of an entire community.
Owl Have You Know
When Pablo Coello began his medical training, he noticed a persistent gap in healthcare: clinicians and administrators often weren’t speaking the same language, and the result was inefficiency that directly affected patient care. That realization ultimately led him to pursue a dual MD/MBA through Baylor College of Medicine and Rice Business.
Now an orthopedic surgery resident at UC Health, Pablo brings a dual perspective to medicine — one grounded in clinical practice and another shaped by business training. That combination allows him to think not only about individual patient outcomes, but also about system-wide decisions that affect hospitals and communities.
In this episode of Owl Have You Know, hosted by Maya Pomroy '22, Pablo shares why more physicians need business fluency, how teamwork at Rice reshaped the way he practices medicine and what it means to look beyond the exam room to the health of an entire community.
[00:01]Maya Pomroy: Welcome to Owl Have You Know, a podcast from Rice Business. This episode is part of our Flight Path series, where guests share their career journeys and stories of the Rice connections that got them where they are. I'm your host, Maya Pomroy. Today's guest is Pablo Coello, MD, and Rice MBA from the Class of 2025. Welcome, Pablo.
[00:25]Pablo Coello: Thank you. Thank you very much for having me. Excited to be here.
[00:28]Maya Pomroy: Well, we're thrilled to have you. You're a graduate of the dual program degree that's offered at Rice Business in partnership with the Baylor College of Medicine, the MD/MBA program, but I’d rather call it the MBA/MD program, right? MBA should start first.
[00:41]Pablo Coello: That's very fair, yeah.
[00:44]Maya Pomroy: And you're currently an orthopaedic surgery resident at UC Health in Cincinnati. You earned your undergraduate degree in biochemistry at The University of Texas at Austin. I know people say University of Texas, but it's The University of Texas at Austin.
[00:57]Pablo Coello: Uh-huh, right.
[00:58]Maya Pomroy: Your background spans clinical medicine research, which you conducted at Harvard Medical School, and now business. And I'm sure that you probably have a unique perspective on the future of not only healthcare, but the business of healthcare.
[01:13]Pablo Coello: Yeah, maybe. So, the entire purpose of me getting the MBA, and it's a question I get asked all the time, because a lot of people wind up scratching their heads as to, you know, why you would possibly, A, delay graduating med school an extra year, and B, get an MBA in the first place. It's not something typically a physician will get as part of their training.
And I totally agree, it's unusual. But the thing is, at least in my medical school training, we did most of our training at Ben Taub Hospital, which is a major county hospital, downtown, as well as some other training at, like, St. Luke's and Children's, both of which are private and have access to a lot more resources and money, et cetera. But seeing, kind of, how those environments, you know, operate as like a business of healthcare side of things rather than just from a clinical perspective, realize there's, like, 1,001 inefficiencies that affect both the clinical and non-clinical side of the hospital.
The clinical, at least for me, obviously being the most important. And there's a lot of ways that physicians, at least my own mentors, you know, in my training, were frustrated and had solutions that they felt would be adequate for different problems that they saw day to day, but didn't have the means to communicate that in, like, a business language, if you will, or in a way that comes across in a useful and actionable way to like an actual administrator with the power to make, like, a big change.
So, I figured it was like, well, I’m going to be stuck in the same position, you know, 10, 20, 30 years from now if I don't get myself either the credibility, at least, with the correct, you know, right three letters after my name, and...
[02:41]Maya Pomroy: Five.
[02:42]Pablo Coello: Five, like, well, but look, I needed to add the MBA portion, so that people take me a little more seriously. But I also wanted to understand things more than just at a superficial level. And even, like, not necessarily, like, you know, general big concept things, but, like, if I were to see a problem, and were to be able to see the numbers behind that problem and see, kind of, why the hospital is stuck in whatever position it's stuck in.
I think as a clinician with business training, rather than a businessman, I'll have a unique perspective on how maybe we could come to a solution that is best for the hospital at the end of the day, which is what the administrators want, but also best for our patients and the community, overall.
[03:22]Maya Pomroy: But a lot of people figure this out much later, right? Like, not in the middle of getting their MD. Did you always want to be a doctor?
[03:30]Pablo Coello: Yeah. I mean, as long as I can remember anyway, figured it out, at least as far as my family and I are concerned, sometime around maybe 12 or 13 years old is when the idea started, kind of, really taking shape. I did, like, a career fair or something like that in sixth grade for it, and then in middle school I started volunteering and doing some other things, and that obviously snowballed into eventually getting into Baylor at, you know, downtown Houston, and, you know, now I'm a resident. So, as long as I can remember, it's always been the goal.
[03:59]Maya Pomroy: Medicine. Always wanted to do medicine. And that's what led you to biochem and then to Harvard and to do some research there. So, you did a lot of undergraduate research at Harvard Medical School. Can you tell me a little bit about that experience that you had?
[04:11]Pablo Coello: Yeah. I'd be happy to. So, part of the application process into medical school, which is hard, to put it simply. It's very, very comprehensive. You have to have grades, research, volunteering, clinical experience. You have to do a lot of things, and you know, college, at least looking at it now, was not as hard as I had thought about it then, but in the moment, you know, you just started out, you just left home. It can be very overwhelming.
So, as a freshman, I started looking for research opportunities, eventually found this one at Harvard, which required, like, an application process, et cetera. I was fortunate enough to get a spot. The whole point of that summer was to develop a... Not to get super nerdy here, but we, like, created, like, a genetic construct to test different genes. We could basically, like, take a gene that we want, insert it into this mechanism, activate it, and then, kind of, see what that gene does.
[05:04]Maya Pomroy: So, like gene therapy, sort of?
[05:06]Pablo Coello: Kind of. It's more so like gene understanding, if you will. Just, like, wanted to see the effects inside cells, like human cells, of what these genes do, and the entire purpose was to, like, characterize or understand the pathophysiologic background of atherosclerosis.
So, in other words, like, why do we get plaque in our arteries. And it's a very, very complicated, physical problem in terms of, like, fluid dynamics, et cetera, as well as actual genetic transcription stuff, so I was studying the genetic side of things. And I did that for two summers, and it was great. It was... It really opened my eyes, and I was convinced I was going to be a cardiologist.
[05:40]Maya Pomroy: You had some time at the Texas Heart Institute, at THI, didn't you?
[05:44]Pablo Coello: I did. I did spend some time over there while I was at Rice, which was great. But yeah, I mean, it was, it was really just more getting my feet wet and getting strong research experience. That was the entire purpose of getting the position in the first place. Once I got there and made the project my own, I really took a lot more pride in it, and it became very near and dear to me.
And it has to this day, like, informed how I approach, study design, and things like that. That's really the main purpose of that experience is, like, learning how to do research as, you know, an undergrad student, a medical student, and now as a resident, eventually as a full-time clinician, as an attending, because science is the foundation of medicine, that at the end of the day was the main purpose of that experience, and I think it absolutely achieved that.
[06:26]Maya Pomroy: Wow. So, you did that, and then you did decide to go to medical school and applied. You were saying that while you were in medical school, you had some great mentors that really, sort of, drove you to think about, you know, adding an MBA while you were getting an MD. Can you tell me about that?
[06:45]Pablo Coello: Yeah, sure. So, I won't say that any particular mentor, like, directly said, "Oh, I wish I had an MBA," or, "Oh, Pablo, you should get an MBA." Like, those words never came out of anyone's mouth. The thing is, I think most of my mentors... These were all orthopaedic surgeons, they're extremely talented surgeons, but they're surgeons. Generally, most of them don't have other interests in administrative things, as is the case for most clinicians, I would argue.
But they were still extremely frustrated about various problems, the most significant of which were all based out of inefficiencies in the OR. Like, how much stuff we waste, basically, because the systems in place to prepare the necessary supplies for the OR are not perfect. And they will never be perfect, but they were so imperfect to the point that we were throwing away thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars' worth of medical equipment because it was stuff that was single-use, opened, could not be recycled-
[07:42]Maya Pomroy: Used again. Yeah.
[07:43]Pablo Coello: ... or reprocessed or reused, right? And some of that is unavoidable. You know, medical equipment is extremely expensive. Like, you know, there's certain pieces of plastic that are key for certain joint surgeries that just those pieces are thousands of dollars, right?
[07:58]Maya Pomroy: Yes.
[07:58]Pablo Coello: And you would never guess that. Along with other things, right? And turnover time, et cetera, between cases. The list goes on. But the message was always the same, no matter which hospital I was in. It's like, "I can't believe we're throwing this away. Oh, my gosh, like, we're in the middle of the surgery, and we're not ready." We're like, "Now the case is going to be delayed," and every minute in the OR costs, like, 150 something dollars.
So, like, all these things eventually add up, and the echoes were the same, regardless of having a lot of resources or not, like, over at Ben Taub, or the VA, or St. Luke's, like, the problems were always the same. There was no effort made to make any change. It was just, "Ugh, I'm frustrated with this. I can't believe this. This is unacceptable, blah, blah, blah." And then the next day it was the same thing, and then the same thing, and the same thing.
And that's not their fault. Their biggest concern is in making sure that a patient has excellent healthcare. Like, you know, that we deliver the highest quality possible care, which is great. But at the same time, because the supportive structures around the OR and other clinical aspects are simply not where they should be, we are failing the patient.
And we are doing that over and over and over and over again. It's affecting, like, the overall health of the community. It's affecting the overall, like, opinion of the community on the healthcare system, and it's costing the hospital, whatever hospital, thousands of dollars a day, like, every day for eternity.
So, I'm not going to sit here and tell you that, you know, "I got this MBA because I wanted to be, like, this knight in shining armor, and I was going to solve all the problems," because I'm not. That's unrealistic, and I get it. But I want to be part of the solution, if you will. So, that's why. Like, my mentors didn't really tell me, like, "Oh, Pablo, I really think most clinicians should have an MBA."
[09:38]Maya Pomroy: Well, because I mean, getting your MD is, kind of, a time-consuming, you know, endeavor.
[09:44]Pablo Coello: Yeah. Totally, totally. But it's not just me. I graduated with 13 other MD/MBAs. We all came to the same conclusion eventually, and we all decided to delay graduation by an extra year and got this additional training, and I would bet all the money in the world, which I don't have much, but all of it, that not a single one of them regrets spending that year at Rice, and myself included. I don't regret it. I think it was 100% the right decision.
[10:10]Maya Pomroy: So, it was seeing the same problem over and over, and it, sort of, was banging you upside the head of, like, "This is ridiculous." Like, "We need to... This... We're better than this." And that was your drive to come to Rice. And so, you know, I had in my Executive MBA program, multiple orthopaedic surgeons.
[10:30]Pablo Coello: Did you really?
[10:31]Maya Pomroy: I did. I did. That, that I've kept in touch with. And so they saw the same problem and... But they chose to take the leap a little bit later, not while they were in med school, but once they were already, you know, practicing physicians and were like, "Okay, this is crazy." You know, the fact that you decided to take this on says a lot about the preparation that you knew that you needed in order to be a better doctor, all at the same time. That's something that is really unique about your story.
So, tell me about your time at Rice, and you said that there were a couple of you that decided to do this together. Is that right?
[11:06]Pablo Coello: Yeah. It was 14 MD/MBAs.
[11:08]Maya Pomroy: Wow.
[11:09]Pablo Coello: Which, from what I gather, is a very unusual number. Most of the time it's only a couple. But it's been growing steadily, and our goal was to, like, keep it that way, because like we alluded to earlier, clinicians should understand business. It's just part of our job and something we ignore often.
But anyway, as far... The first class was the strategy course that we all take on, like, basically just being able to understand how different corporations in different spaces, like, position themselves competitively, you know, for, like, long-term success, if you will. That transition into business, having finished all of my primary, like, core clinical rotations, was weird.
It, like, just to put it briefly, like I definitely felt like I was a fish out of water, if you will. But I...
[11:59]Maya Pomroy: I think we all do. We all do. It doesn't matter what your background is.
[12:01]Pablo Coello: Yeah, I've been told... Yeah, which is... Was an... It was reassuring in a way because I looked at... I remember looking around, and it's like everybody looked as clueless as I felt. So, I was like, "All right, we're all on the same page. It's great. We're all going to be fine." And it was exciting too. I remember thinking, like, "Okay, like, this is exactly what I signed up for." I wanted to learn something new and expand whatever skills, or just get new ones, because quite simply, I had no previous business coursework of any kind.
I did, again, like, a business minor in undergrad through McCombs at UT, but like I didn't remember any of that. It was all, like, my first three semesters, I think it was. So, jumping into that course was a rude awakening, but in, like, a very, very good way, I would say. Kind of really jolted me awake, if you will, and prepped me for the rest of the year, and challenged me to grow and think in different ways that I didn't really expect. But that was the whole goal, so, yeah.
[12:59]Maya Pomroy: None of us expect that, right? Like, that's what I'm saying. It's in those DNA that you were talking about. The... It's... You have one perception of the way that it's going to be, and then you show up, and you're like, "Oh no, that's not the way it's going to be." And it's like 100 times better, and then it does, it sort of seeps into who you are, and then you can't see... You can't unsee things anymore, right?
[13:19]Pablo Coello: Right.
[13:19]Maya Pomroy: Like, you're like, "That's inefficient," and "Wow, that's amazing," and "They figured that out." And so, like, your whole vision of the world changes, you know?
[13:28]Pablo Coello: Mm-hmm.
[13:28]Maya Pomroy: So, tell me about what are the most valuable lessons that you got from your MBA while you were at Rice?
[13:34]Pablo Coello: Well, honestly, the first one that comes to mind was the, I guess, forced teamwork that we were all, like, put into, right?
[13:41]Maya Pomroy: Yes, the teams.
[13:44]Pablo Coello: Yeah. And that's, I think, a defining aspect of Rice and the MBA that we all have. But that I think was the biggest lesson, if you will, was, kind of, learning how to navigate things in an environment filled with people that talk a different language than I do, almost.
Because, you know, medicine is a team sport. You hear that all the time because we interact with other teams all day, every day. You know, as an orthopaedic surgery resident, our field is very specialized. So, as a result, we get called by a lot of people, and we have to also call a lot of other people to help us manage things that we simply don't know how to manage.
And I think, having learned what I learned in the MBA helped a lot in terms of, like, managing a lot of different things at once, different voices, if you will, in, like, the clinical setting, which I didn't really expect, to tell you the truth. But it helped, because I learned, also, to not rely on myself as much. My team is excellent. They're extremely skilled at what they do, and I could just relax a little bit and focus on my own tasks and things. That's probably the biggest takeaway. Obviously, there's the coursework itself.
The conversations we had about finance and, like, looking at things long term, helped me, like, really understand the bottom line when looking through important financial information, which, at the end of the day, explains why big organizations, be them corporations or hospitals, make the decisions that they do.
And that was one of my main goals was to understand that and try to figure out why things are going in a certain direction, and maybe see if I can try and steer the ship in another direction, that I might think is better, or promote my own possible solutions using those numbers, right? And then there's marketing, etc.
[15:26]Maya Pomroy: Data. More of that data, right?
[15:27]Pablo Coello: Right. Exactly.
[15:27]Maya Pomroy: The more data you have, the better.
[15:28]Pablo Coello: Exactly. So, it absolutely, I think, expanded my... I keep going back to the word understanding, because, like, I guess at the end of the day that's really what it is, of just how things really work behind the scenes. Because I was so used to just, like, patient B, patient C, patient B, et cetera, and that was just rinse and repeat, right?
[15:47]Maya Pomroy: Yeah.
[15:48]Pablo Coello: Whereas these organizations don't function without this entire, you know, conglomerate functioning behind the scenes.
[15:55]Maya Pomroy: Well, and it's also, it's also very siloed, right? So, you've got like the folks that, you know, the CEOs of whatever hospital, and, you know, you've got like all of those people, and then you've got the doctors, and very rarely do you have someone that has the expertise in both, right? And like you said, it's broadening your understanding because healthcare, whichever way you want to slice it, is a business.
[16:17]Pablo Coello: Yeah.
[16:18]Maya Pomroy: You need to be able to be efficient and successful and all of those things in terms of the financial data, in order to be a top hospital and provide quality of care, all at the same time. And so, like the quality of care should be the very, very top, but in a lot of places, it's what kind of turnover do you have, you know, in terms of, what are those financial statements? What... How much money are you really generating, right? And then the more you generate, the higher quality of doctors can you hire and retain.
[16:49]Pablo Coello: Right. Yeah. It's a positive feedback loop at the end of the day, which is obvious now, but it wasn't then. It just wasn't. So, it's one of the big, I guess, learning points recently.
[17:00]Maya Pomroy: What would you tell a current, you know, med student of, like, why they should go to Rice and get this MBA and go and do this?
[17:10]Pablo Coello: Yeah, absolutely. I think that's a great question, and it's a question I've been asked by med students before. Like, "I'm thinking about doing this. What... Do you think it's worth it?" And the answer is absolutely. The thing is, it's hard for me to tell someone, "Here's why you should do it," unless they've, kind of, seen these same issues play out. Like, if you had told me when I was a first-year med student, "Hey, would you consider an MBA?"
[17:34]Maya Pomroy: You'd be like, "No."
[17:36]Pablo Coello: I would look at you like you had four eyes. Like, there's just no way. Why would I possibly delay graduating med school an extra year, delay having a real job for a year, when all I really want to do is be a doctor? And what I would tell myself back then is, medicine is so much more than just what you do in a clinic, in the OR, in the hospital in general. A hospital is an entity in a community. It's not just a place you go. Like, I've noticed this even especially now that I'm actively practicing and training, there are people that, like, actively need your help.
And if you broaden your skills, eventually your level of impact is not just going to be on a patient-to-patient basis. It's on a community as a whole. That's why I got my MBA, and that's why I would argue as any med student in the Houston area, any med student in general that has access to a business school, especially one as good as Rice, in their backyard or anywhere close, should ideally, if it's financially possible and the timeline works out, get an MBA, so that they can have that impact in their community eventually.
A lot of people are going to think, "Oh, I don't really need that," and it's true. I mean, you don't need it. You don't need it.
[18:48]Maya Pomroy: No, but it's a competitive advantage, and it makes you a better doctor.
[18:51]Pablo Coello: But absolutely. Absolutely. And I will tell you now, like that was the single most asked question I got when I was applying to residency. It's like, "Why did you do this?" And I answered the exact same way I just answered you, and it worked. Like, everybody was like, "Yeah, I see the value in that. It makes total sense why you would do that," and then oftentimes it's like, "I actually think, I'm thinking about getting an MBA myself." But it's like, "Well, great." And then we talk about that, and then, you know...
There is so much opportunity for you to do good that I myself haven't even really been able to utilize. Like there... I haven't been able to take advantage of all these opportunities because I'm so early on. Like I have with the chairman of my department, who I, like, look up to and admire, like, a lot. I can't even describe how much. This guy is, like, extremely professional and well put together both physician and also administrator. He is an MD/MBA. He's the chairman of the department, also the CEO of the physicians group at University of Cincinnati Hospital.
And that guy drives the ship like I've never seen anyone else do. The level of respect he commands and, like, the change he can enact is like he, like, snaps his fingers and things change, but I think, at least in my case, a good first step in order to have that level of impact eventually was to get the MBA early so that I'm poised to take advantage of opportunities later when they show up rather than having to backtrack and get my MBA when it's a less opportune time.
And on top of that, Rice was very generous with, like, a good scholarship, which helped a lot too. Because, at least in my case, I pay for everything myself, so that also was a very important factor.
[20:32]Maya Pomroy: Well, and I mean, Rice is in the medical center, right?
[20:35]Pablo Coello: Right.
[20:35]Maya Pomroy: I mean, it's the med center, like you said, it's a... That's in your backyard. So, you have this opportunity to really take advantage of both at the same time, which is, you know, why I think that Rice Business is such a phenomenal place for physicians, specifically.
Because it really does strengthen the industry and the profession, and the whole point is to take care of people as best you can. And if you have all of that knowledge and perspective and understanding and everything else, then it makes you the best doctor that you can possibly be and to run the best hospital that you can possibly run, right?
[21:10]Pablo Coello: Yeah, I think so. Now I'm not saying I'm going to be the CEO of a hospital one day. I'm not even-
[21:14]Maya Pomroy: No?
[21:15]Pablo Coello: ... I'm not even sure that's a goal of mine. Genuinely...
[21:16]Maya Pomroy: Why not? It should be.
[21:19]Pablo Coello: Maybe it is. Maybe that's an opportunity that will come my way one day. But right now, I can't see more than a month ahead of me. My number one goal since the age of 12 was to become the best possible physician that I could be. Anything administrative will come hopefully many years down the line after I've developed my craft, if you will, as much as I can.
I'd never intend on stepping away from practice, because it's what I love. I love this. I would hope that maybe the administrative things will be, like, another aspect of what I do in any day life. I think if I were to become a head hospital administrator at the level of, like, C-suite, it would probably mean stepping away from practice, and that maybe that's a decision I make eventually.
I'm not sure. We'll see where God takes me, where life takes me, and I'll decide eventually. But for now, I'm not even going to think about that because my number one goal is just becoming a good doctor.
[22:15]Maya Pomroy: Well, so I guess I should ask you this question because I... You just said, "I don't know," but I'm going to ask it anyway. And then, and so what does success look like for you in, like, 10 years?
[22:24]Pablo Coello: Sure, yeah. Well, so I guess 10 years is maybe too short of a timeframe, because residency for orthopaedic surgery is five years.
[22:31]Maya Pomroy: It's true. Sorry. So, 20 years from now.
[22:34]Pablo Coello: Yeah. 20 is maybe better, yeah. So, I'll finish residency, I guess in 2031, because that'll include five years of residency plus one year of fellowship, which I don't technically have to get. Fellowship is just like a subspecialty. So, like sports or pediatrics, trauma, hand, spine, et cetera. Regardless of what I end up doing with that, that leaves, I guess, 14 more years of actual practice. At that point, I don't know. I mean, obviously, I'll be an attending. I would hope to be at a major academic center, as opposed to, like, private practice. You know, if I decided...
[23:07]Maya Pomroy: In Houston, right? Back in Houston?
[23:09]Pablo Coello: That would be awesome. Yeah. There is a major hospital being built in Austin, that I think the Dell family just donated, like, I don't even know how many hundreds of millions of dollars. I think it was maybe 600 or 700 to help kickstart. My fiancée's a pediatrician, so we're both maybe hoping to make our way back to Austin eventually. She also graduated from The University of Texas.
[23:31]Maya Pomroy: The University of Texas. Okay. But she did not get the MBA from Rice Business, just saying.
[23:37]Pablo Coello: No, she did not. Yeah. So, I will always...
[23:39]Maya Pomroy: Maybe she should consider that, too.
[23:40]Pablo Coello: Maybe she should. Maybe she should. I'll... I don't know. I'm working on it. But as far as, like, success goes, ideally an established attending, at that point, I won't be a senior attending by any means. I'll still be relatively young. But established for sure. And I'd like to be involved as much as possible in the actual administrative side of, like, the running the hospital, whether that be in subcommittees, committees, or chairing something else, or maybe holding an actual position on top of my clinical duty. My chairman is currently, like, an active surgeon but is also the CEO, right?
So, I'm not sure I have the bandwidth to do what he does, maybe eventually. So, if I can somehow model my career to look a little bit like his, I think that would be, you know, an absolute slam dunk. Because on top of doing all these things, both clinically and administratively, he's a very family-centered guy as well, spends a lot of time with his family.
So, I don't know how he finds time to do all this. I truly don't. But if I can manage to do that and stay balanced and happy with my life, that being, I guess, the key aspect is, like, "Do I enjoy what's going on day to day?" That would be success, I think. But who knows? You'd asked me that same question 10 years ago, I would've said that, "Oh, well, I'll be an orthopaedic surgery resident somewhere."
[24:56]Maya Pomroy: Well, that's, that's the beauty of life, you know?
[24:59]Pablo Coello: Yeah.
[25:00]Maya Pomroy: It's... What I tell my children is, you know, the only thing that is constant in life is change, and that the person that you are, you know, five years ago is going to be a completely different person five years from now.
[25:12]Pablo Coello: Yeah, 100%. I mean, I just think about the, like, who, who I was, like, before, as med school was starting, which was, I guess, six years ago now, I was a totally different person back then than I am now, so...
[25:24]Maya Pomroy: Well, yeah, because you went to Rice.
[25:26]Pablo Coello: That's true. Yeah, I had... Exactly, yeah. That was the big factor there. And nothing changed until I stepped foot on campus, and then everything changed.
[25:33]Maya Pomroy: I mean, same with me. That's the beauty of Rice, and we are, we're so grateful that someone like you and your cohort that were also MDs, decided to go and pursue this because it really will make, you know, as cliché as it sounds, it's going to make the world a better place for all, and a healthier world.
[25:51]Pablo Coello: Yeah. I think that's what all of our goals would be. Like, I still keep in touch with most of these guys, and they're all in their training. And that's the goal I think that everybody shares is to, you know, have a positive impact on their community. It's the foundation of medicine in general. I think we're heading in the right direction for all. [inaudible 00:26:08].
[26:08]Maya Pomroy: You're heading in the right direction.
[26:10]Pablo Coello: place. Yeah.
[26:10]Maya Pomroy: And yes, making the world a better place and a healthier place and, you know, taking those risks, because getting a dual degree like this, that's a risk and that you were willing to take. So, that's the definition of a Rice Business and Baylor College of Medicine student, is that these are... You know, you're... It's people that are willing to take the risks, to dive in, and to try.
[26:36]Pablo Coello: Yeah, absolutely. I couldn't agree more.
[26:39]Maya Pomroy: Well, Pablo, it's been a pleasure talking with you, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what your future holds. And we will definitely keep in touch.
[26:47]Pablo Coello: Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me.
[26:54]Maya Pomroy: Thanks for listening. This has been Owl Have You Know, a production of Rice Business. You can find more information about our guests, hosts, and announcements on our website, business.rice.edu. Please subscribe and leave a rating wherever you find your favorite podcast. We'd love to hear what you think. The hosts of Owl Have You Know are myself, Maya Pomroy and Brian Jackson.
Meet Brandon Nimmers, Chaundra Frank and Josh Obregon — three Rice Online MBAs who are helping ensure the 2026 FIFA World Cup runs smoothly in Dallas, TX.
Helen Huneycutt
The FIFA World Cup is the largest global sports tournament. Since 1930, the games have been hosted in locations around the world, this year marking the first World Cup to take place across three host countries.
Houston and Dallas are just two of 16 cities across the United States, Canada and Mexico awaiting crowds of tourists and players from teams like England, Jordan, Argentina, Portugal and Uzbekistan — and the stakes are high. The 2026 FIFA World Cup is expected to generate $41 billion to global GDP, with a revenue upwards of $17 billion projected for the U.S.
A success like FIFA doesn’t happen overnight — so who’s working the late shifts?
Meet Brandon Nimmers, Chaundra Frank and Josh Obregon, three Rice Online MBAs who are helping ensure the 2026 FIFA World Cup runs smoothly. In this conversation, they shared what goes on behind the scenes, how they landed roles with one of the world’s largest sporting organizations, and advice for prospective students who are aiming just as high.
How Brandon Nimmers Scored a Role with FIFA
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Brandon Nimmers at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup in Charlotte, NC.
By the time Brandon Nimmers ’27 was 24 years old, he had already gained experience working with multiple NBA organizations, colleges, and even a youth sports program as the director of operations. He even pursued an M.Ed. in Sports Management.
Yet he didn’t always receive the recognition he worked for, and he found himself stuck behind the perception of being “too young” or “not experienced enough” in his career. For Brandon Nimmers pursuing an Online MBA at Rice Business was a deliberate step toward breaking those barriers.
“Despite my experiences, I often felt limited by perceptions around my age and identity,” Brandon reflects. “A Rice MBA would both strengthen my credibility within sports while expanding my overall business knowledge and also open doors if I ever decided to pivot beyond sports.”
Out of all the highly ranked programs he looked at, Rice stood out for a heartwarming reason: it felt like home.
“During the application process, the support and engagement from the Rice Business admissions team felt personal and intentional,” Brandon says. “That made a lasting impression.”
That culture stuck with him. When Brandon landed his role as a venue logistics manager for FIFA, he found himself tasked with overseeing logistics across roughly 40 venues and keeping 80 different operational areas moving in harmony.
He quickly realized he needed a team he could trust and instinctively turned to his network of Rice Owls.
Chaundra Frank, a Houston native who attended Rice for her undergraduate degree, began her career in finance before entering operations and leadership roles for local sports organizations. After posting a job listing on LinkedIn, Brandon saw her profile and reached out to encourage her to apply.
“The MBA@Rice network is what made the opportunity visible to me,” Chaundra says. “It cracked the door open, and my resume walked through it.”
Around the same time, Josh Obregon discovered a job opening through conversations within the Rice network. As a U.S. Navy veteran with deep expertise in operations, logistics, and an ability to execute under pressure, Josh felt more than prepared to take on a new challenge with the world’s largest sporting event.
“Soccer was my first passion,” says Josh. “This role allows me to reconnect with that — contributing behind the scenes to an event that once defined my personal goals.”
For Brandon, bringing Chaundra and Josh on board was an easy decision based on experience, discipline and trust. It also certainly didn’t hurt that they were both fellow Rice MBA students. “There’s an unspoken connection between Rice MBAs, because you understand the sacrifice, discipline and hard work it takes to complete the program,” says Brandon.
It’s a full-circle opportunity to apply my Rice foundation to a global stage and be part of something that brings the world together.
Chaundra Frank
MBA@Rice Alumna
Inside the Playbook
To the average fan, stadium logistics are invisible. For Brandon, Chaundra and Josh, it means translating grand plans into comfort, both ahead of time and the second before kickoff.
Chaundra and Josh serve as deputy venue logistics managers supporting world cup operations at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, TX — which is set to host nine matches, including a semi-final.
“Fans see the match, the atmosphere and the final product on television, but they don’t see the thousands of operational details,” Brandon says. “No one thinks about the 4,000 folding chairs that have to be delivered and placed throughout a stadium, or delivery schedules planned down to the minute.”
“One thing most people don’t realize is how tight the margins are,” says Chaundra. “We’re managing more than 350 pallets of equipment and coordinating 18 trucks during a short build window — navigating within limited storage space and strict security protocols. There’s no room for delays.”
At this scale, logistics is less about movement and more about sequencing, communication and execution discipline under pressure.
Josh Obregon
MBA@Rice Alumnus
From an MBA Classroom to a FIFA Stadium
How does a top-ranked graduate business education prepare you to handle millions of eyes and billions of dollars in infrastructure? For this team, the answer lies in the analytical rigor and executive presence built into the Rice MBA curriculum.
Here are three more lessons Brandon, Chaundra and Josh learned in the Rice MBA program.
Operational Modeling
Brandon credits foundational courses like Process Management and Quality Improvement for his ability to handle chaotic variables. “It helped me better understand how to break down operational challenges into measurable systems and identify where improvements can be made,” he explains.
“The program has also expanded my network and confidence as a leader through roles with the Consulting Club and the Rice Entertainment, Sports & Media Association.”
Strategic Versatility
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The FIFA Club World Cup in 2025.
For Josh, the Rice MBA helped bridge and adapt his military experience for roles in operational leadership, large-scale execution and measurable impact.
“Rice strengthened my ability to think strategically, communicate effectively and connect operational decisions to broader business outcomes. The program helped elevate my perspective from execution-focused to enterprise-focused.”
Bold Authenticity
On top of entering a tight-knit support network, Chaundra found that the online nature of the MBA@Rice prepared her for a global, modern corporate environment. “This role actually started in a fully virtual environment, so a big part of my experience was learning how to build relationships, communicate effectively and establish trust remotely. Rice helped me be bold, be authentic, and trust that I have the skills to succeed.”
Confidently Driving the Play Forward
As the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off, the Rice community can look at the pitch with an extra layer of pride, knowing that Rice Owls like Brandon, Chaundra and Frank are bringing the field to life.
Meet Brandon Nimmers, Chaundra Frank and Josh Obregon — three Rice Online MBAs who are helping ensure the 2026 FIFA World Cup runs smoothly in Dallas, TX.
If you’re looking to sharpen your leadership skills, business acumen and network without putting your career on pause, a Rice MBA for working professionals might be just what you need.
For Bodie Gilbert ’26 and team, the Rice Global Field Experience (GFE) project culminated in a go-to-market strategy so impactful it helped land the client in the pages of Forbes Brasil.
Meet Brandon Nimmers ’27, a Rice Online MBA student who is serving as a venue logistics manager supporting the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Dallas, TX.
Meet Brandon Nimmers ’27, a Rice Online MBA student who is serving as a venue logistics manager supporting the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Dallas, TX.
We chatted with Brandon to find out how his years of experience in sports management led him to a role with the world's largest sporting event, why he pursued an MBA at Rice Business, and how he scored a lineup of fellow Rice Owls on his team.
Program: MBA@Rice, Class of 2027
Education: M.Ed., Sports Management from National University; B.A. in Psychology from University of California, Santa Cruz
Why did you choose the MBA@Rice?
I chose to pursue an Online MBA at Rice for several reasons, one of the biggest being the opportunity for growth and long-term career mobility. I’ve worked in sports at nearly every level, from youth athletics and college sports to the NBA and now the FIFA World Cup. Despite those experiences, I often felt limited by perceptions around my age and identity.
By the age of 24, I had already worked for two NBA organizations, two colleges, served as the director of operations for a youth sports program and earned an M.Ed. in Sports Management. Yet I still encountered barriers tied to being viewed as “too young” or “not experienced enough.” The reality is that I’ve been working in sports since I was 16 years old, consistently taking on responsibilities beyond my age because I believed in myself, loved the industry and always found ways to deliver results.
The MBA represented two opportunities for me: to strengthen my credibility within sports while expanding my overall business knowledge and to create optionality if I ever decided to pivot beyond sports.
Rice stood out because it genuinely felt like they wanted me here. During the application process, I spoke with several highly ranked programs, and some interactions felt transactional. At Rice, the communication, support and engagement from the admissions team felt personal and intentional. I never felt like just another application. That made a lasting impression on me.
What is your role supporting the FIFA World Cup?
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I am a venue logistics manager supporting FIFA World Cup operations across the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. My role centers around coordinating logistics across approximately 40 venues and supporting alignment between more than 80 functional areas within the FIFA ecosystem. Day-to-day responsibilities range from delivery scheduling and venue timing coordination to furniture, infrastructure and operational planning. A major part of the role is ensuring that all moving pieces across departments, vendors and venue stakeholders remain aligned so operations can run efficiently at scale.
At an event of this size, logistics touches almost everything, and success often comes down to planning, communication and execution behind the scenes.
How did this opportunity come about for you?
At the time, I was working for the Los Angeles Lakers as a team attendant and visiting team liaison, while also serving as the assistant athletic facilities and operations manager at Caltech.
I initially applied for the FIFA role almost jokingly, because the posting listed Miami, FL, as the base location, and I knew I wasn’t planning to relocate there. But I later learned that the role would remain remote until tournament operations began, with work ultimately centered in Dallas, TX, and Charlotte, NC. Once I realized the opportunity was realistic, I was incredibly excited. The chance to work on the biggest sporting event in the world, one that reaches billions of people globally, was something I couldn’t pass up.
What’s a behind-the-scenes challenge that highlights the complexity of World Cup operations and logistics?
I think most people underestimate the complexity of events at this scale. Fans see the match, the atmosphere, and the final product on television, but they don’t see the thousands of operational details that make those moments possible.
No one thinks about the 4,000 folding chairs that have to be delivered and placed throughout a stadium, the delivery schedules planned down to the minute, or the teams working onsite spending weeks away from home to manage vendors, solve problems and constantly adapt in real time.
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The moment that really put it into perspective for me was the first match in Charlotte last year. When 73,000 fans erupted as the players walked onto the pitch, it all clicked. Every late night, every adjustment, every operational detail mattered. Being away from my wife while she was seven months pregnant was difficult, but hearing that crowd and watching the first whistle happen made me realize that all of the behind-the-scenes work had contributed to something special.
How has the MBA@Rice prepared you for this role?
The MBA@Rice experience has strengthened the way I think about operations, leadership and problem-solving. Courses like Process Management and Quality Improvement helped me better understand how to break down operational challenges into measurable systems and identify where improvements can be made. In a role like mine, where there are constant moving parts and high-pressure timelines, that kind of analytical thinking is extremely valuable.
Beyond academics, the program has also expanded my network and confidence as a leader. I’ve become much more involved during this MBA experience than I was in my first master’s program, and that involvement has made me genuinely proud to be part of the Rice community.
I currently serve as the vice president of partnerships for the Rice Entertainment, Sports & Media Association, where I’ve had the opportunity to build relationships across industries I’m passionate about. I’m also involved in the consulting club, which led to competing in and winning a recent consulting competition. Experiences like that reinforced how collaborative and driven the Rice community is.
What made Chaundra Frank and Josh Obregon stand out as strong candidates for their roles on your team?
Chaundra Frank stood out particularly because of her experience running a youth sports organization. Having worked in youth sports myself, I know that those environments require strong operational leadership. She also demonstrated persistence and initiative, which showed genuine passion and determination.
Josh Obregon’s operational mindset immediately stood out. He is extremely detail-oriented, disciplined and focused on execution. His military background also brought a strong team-first mentality and professionalism that fit well within the demands of this role.
I needed a team I could trust to take ownership and execute at a high level, and Chaundra and Josh proved that they were capable. It also certainly didn’t hurt that they were both fellow Rice MBA students. Being able to bring other Owls into this experience felt meaningful to me. There’s an unspoken connection within the Rice network because everyone understands the sacrifice, discipline and hard work it takes to complete the MBA program.
Do you have any advice on how to identify talent or uncover opportunities through the Rice network?
Be bold and reach out. The worst thing that can happen is someone doesn’t respond. But the best thing that can happen is that you create a meaningful connection with someone who genuinely wants to help a fellow Owl succeed.
I also think it’s important for alumni and professionals within the network to respond when they can. You never know how valuable those relationships may become later in your career.
What guidance would you offer prospective students who are considering the MBA@Rice program?
Do it. This program is intentionally designed to create both professional and personal growth. The job market can be challenging, and immediate outcomes may look different for everyone, but the long-term value of the network, experiences and education here is real.
The MBA@Rice experience will impact your career and the way you think long after graduation.
Briefly, what has this experience meant to you personally and professionally?
This experience is something I’ll carry with me forever. If you had told 10-year-old me that one day I would help shape operations for the biggest sporting event in the world, I probably would have cried.
Brandon Nimmers is a student in the MBA@Rice Class of 2027.
If you’re looking to sharpen your leadership skills, business acumen and network without putting your career on pause, a Rice MBA for working professionals might be just what you need.
Learn from Rice Business how a part-time MBA fits a full-time career, along with tips for typical weekly workload ranges and practical planning strategies.
Meet Josh Obregon, a Rice Online MBA alumnus who is now a deputy venue logistics manager supporting the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Dallas, TX.
Meet Josh Obregon, a Rice Online MBA alumnus who is now a deputy venue logistics manager for AT&T Stadium in Dallas, TX, supporting the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
We caught up with Josh to discuss his path from the U.S. Navy to the Rice MBA, how he's assisting FIFA World Cup operations in Dallas, and what he's carrying forward from the MBA@Rice.
Program: MBA@Rice, Class of 2023
Education: B.S. in Kinesiology and Exercise Science from California Polytechnic State University–San Luis Obispo
What is your role supporting the FIFA World Cup?
I serve as a Dallas deputy venue logistics manager supporting the 2026 FIFA World Cup operations at AT&T Stadium. My role focuses on translating planning into execution across venue logistics, material movement, vendor coordination, site readiness and operational communication. Day to day, I work cross-functionally with FIFA teams, venue stakeholders and logistics partners to ensure resources are deployed effectively and operations remain aligned. The role requires structure, urgency and adaptability in a fast-moving, high-visibility environment.
What’s a behind-the-scenes challenge that highlights the complexity of World Cup logistics?
Much of the complexity happens before anything is visible to fans. Even straightforward tasks like equipment delivery require coordination across access points, security protocols, timing windows and multiple stakeholders. At this scale, logistics is less about movement and more about sequencing, communication and execution discipline under pressure.
How did this opportunity come about?
This opportunity came through a combination of relationship-building and alignment with my background in large-scale operations. Through conversations within the Rice network and beyond, I identified a strong fit between my experience, particularly leading national deployment efforts at my previous employer and the needs of FIFA’s logistics operations. The role ultimately came together due to my ability to operate in ambiguity, align stakeholders and execute at scale.
What role did the MBA@Rice network play?
The MBA@Rice network played a meaningful role by creating both access and credibility. It opened doors to key conversations and provided a foundation of trust. More importantly, Rice Business prepared me to engage those opportunities with a strategic mindset, strong communication skills and executive presence.
What do you think made you a strong candidate for this role?
I believe my combination of military discipline, MBA-level business training and hands-on operational leadership differentiated me. My experience spans mission-critical environments in the U.S. Navy, technical operations in semiconductor manufacturing and enterprise-scale deployment in the emerging Bluetooth IoT niche within the technology industry. That blend allowed me to bring both structure and adaptability to a highly complex environment.
My background sits at the intersection of operations, logistics and execution under pressure. I have led teams, built scalable processes and executed across varying environments. I am comfortable working in ambiguity and translating strategy into actionable plans, which are capabilities that are critical in an environment like the FIFA World Cup.
How did your MBA@Rice experience prepare you for this opportunity?
Rice strengthened my ability to think strategically, communicate effectively and connect operational decisions to broader business outcomes. The program helped elevate my perspective from execution-focused to enterprise-focused, particularly through coursework in strategy, finance and leadership, as well as my consulting experience working with senior executives.
What advice would you give current students?
Build relationships before you need them and approach the network with authenticity. Be clear on your story and the value you bring. The Rice network is powerful, but it works best when built on genuine connection and consistent engagement.
Briefly, what has this experience meant to you?
Supporting the 2026 FIFA World Cup represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to apply my military foundation, operational leadership experience, and MBA training to one of the most complex and globally significant events in the world. As the largest sporting event globally, it offers a unique platform to contribute meaningfully to the execution and overall success of the tournament at scale.
On a personal level, this opportunity carries additional significance. I competed as an NCAA Division I wrestler at Cal Poly, but soccer was my true first passion. At the age of 11, I had the opportunity to live abroad in East London, where I trained and competed across Europe with aspirations of one day playing in the World Cup. While my path ultimately evolved, this role allows me to reconnect with that early ambition in a meaningful way by contributing behind the scenes to an event that once defined my personal goals.
Anything else you would like to add?
I am grateful for the role Rice Business has played in my journey. Each chapter of my career has built on the last, and this opportunity reflects the power of preparation, relationships and staying open to non-linear paths. Long term, I aim to continue building a career in operational leadership and large-scale execution, driving measurable impact and value across organizations.
Josh Obregon is an alumnus of the MBA@Rice Class of 2023.
Discover how to pay for a part-time MBA with employer assistance, scholarships, loans and tax strategies. Explore your funding options with Rice Business.
If you’re looking to sharpen your leadership skills, business acumen and network without putting your career on pause, a Rice MBA for working professionals might be just what you need.
Meet Chaundra Frank, a Rice Online MBA who is now a deputy venue logistics manager for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Dallas, TX.
Meet Chaundra Frank, a Rice Online MBA who is now a deputy venue logistics manager for AT&T Stadium in Dallas, TX, for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
We caught up with Chaundra to discuss how she scored this opportunity, what her day-to-day responsibilities look like, and what she's carrying forward from the MBA@Rice.
Program: MBA@Rice
Education: B.A. in Economics, Business/Sports Management and Policy Studies from Rice University
What is your role supporting the FIFA World Cup?
I’m a deputy venue logistics manager for the Dallas Stadium, which will host nine matches, including a semi-final. Day-to-day, my role is to make sure everything the stadium needs to operate is delivered, stored and in the right place at the right time.
That ranges from coordinating truck deliveries and managing hundreds of pallets of equipment to supporting multiple functional areas like broadcast, media, hospitality and competition. It’s a mix of planning and real-time problem solving — making sure operations stay on track in a very fast-paced environment.
What’s a behind-the-scenes moment that most people watching the World Cup would never realize?
One thing most people don’t realize is how tight the margins are. For example, we’re managing more than 350 pallets of equipment and coordinating roughly 18 trucks during a short build window, all within limited storage space and strict security protocols.
There’s no room for delays. If one delivery is late or misplaced, it can impact multiple teams at once. A big part of our job is constantly adjusting in real time to keep everything moving, even when conditions change. That level of coordination is what really keeps the tournament running smoothly behind the scenes.
How did this opportunity come about?
It came together in a pretty organic way. Brandon was building out the team and reviewing a large pool of candidates. I ended up connecting with him directly on LinkedIn.
Josh Obregon (my fellow Owl and coworker) and I joined Brandon’s team through different channels, but both had similar experience in operations and large-scale environments. From there, it was about demonstrating that we could handle the pace, complexity and responsibility that comes with an event like the FIFA World Cup.
What role did the MBA@Rice network play?
The MBA@Rice network is what made the opportunity visible to me. Brandon Nimmers, a current MBA@Rice student and FIFA logistics manager, posted about the opening on LinkedIn. Because we share a network, that post surfaced on my timeline — I reached out to him directly and he encouraged me to apply.
My Rice connection didn’t come up in the interview process, nor did it need to. What got me the role was my background: years of youth sports operations running a grassroots basketball program, my leadership in Houston’s sports community as membership chair for WISE Houston, and direct prior engagement with FIFA World Cup 26™ — including moderating a panel in 2022 that featured the president of the Houston 2026 World Cup Bid Committee, the CEO of the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority and FIFA’s own chief strategy and planning Officer. I had been immersed in the operational and strategic conversation around this tournament years before the posting appeared.
The network cracked the door open. My resume walked through it.
What do you think made you a strong candidate for this role?
My background sits at the intersection of finance, operations and large-scale event execution — and this role required all three. As vice president of finance and operations at the Houston Botanic Garden, I didn’t just oversee the business side, I ran our major on-site events, managing the full operational complexity that comes with producing high-attendance, high-visibility programming. That, combined with planning and executing large golf tournaments and running a grassroots basketball program, gave me a proven track record in event logistics that translated directly to what FIFA needed at the venue level.
And having already been in the FIFA World Cup 26™ operational conversation years before this job opened, I didn’t just look good on paper — I came in with context most candidates wouldn’t have.
How did your MBA@Rice experience prepare you for this opportunity?
My MBA@Rice experience really gave me the confidence to step into opportunities like this. It reinforced the importance of leveraging your network and not being afraid to try something new…even if it feels like a pivot.
Like the MBA, this role started in a fully virtual environment, so a big part of my experience was learning how to build relationships, communicate effectively and establish trust remotely. That foundation made a huge difference once we transitioned on-site.
Now that we’re working together in person, there’s a level of independence and efficiency because we’ve already built that trust and understanding, which allowed us to get up and running quickly.
Ultimately, Rice helped me be bold, be authentic, and trust that I have the skills and background to succeed in high-pressure environments like the FIFA World Cup.
What advice would you give current students?
I would say stay open to opportunities, even if they don’t look like a traditional path. Roles like this often come from being willing to apply your skills in new environments.
Also, the Rice network is incredibly valuable. Don’t hesitate to reach out, build relationships and have conversations. That’s how doors open. And finally, focus on developing strong problem-solving skills, because that’s what really sets you apart in high-pressure roles.
In one sentence, what has this experience meant to you?
It’s a full-circle opportunity to apply my Rice foundation on a global stage and be part of something that brings the world together.
Anything else you would like to add?
One of the things that makes this experience really special is the Rice connection across our team. To have a group of people with that shared background working together in such a high-stakes environment is pretty unique.
And knowing that Rice is also playing a role in the tournament locally makes it even more meaningful. It’s a great example of how the university shows up at multiple levels of something as global as the FIFA World Cup.
Chaundra Frank is an alumna of the MBA@Rice program.
If you’re looking to sharpen your leadership skills, business acumen and network without putting your career on pause, a Rice MBA for working professionals might be just what you need.
Learn from Rice Business how a part-time MBA fits a full-time career, along with tips for typical weekly workload ranges and practical planning strategies.
Research by Rice Business professor Tommy Pan Fang shows that two main factors determine the location of hyperscale data centers: access to energy infrastructure and access to low-cost real estate.
What happens when you combine biosciences insight with finance strategy? You get a national-award-winning healthcare startup.
Find out how Rice undergrad Adhira Tippur is ending front-desk burnout and improving patient access with Kairos Health.
Co-founder Adhira Tippur witnessed the administrative overload and patient access challenges at her mom's dental office in a medically underserved region. This experience led her to create Kairos Health, an end-to-end patient intake platform that uses automation to effectively "double staff" and free front desk teams from burnout.
We caught up with Adhira to hear how she launched this national-award-winning healthcare startup, and how the resources at Rice helped her scale it.
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Adhira Tippur, Co-Founder of Kairos Health
What is Kairos Health?
Kairos Health is an end-to-end patient intake platform for dental clinics. We help practices automate inbound calls, scheduling, insurance intake and patient communication so front desk teams can spend less time buried in administrative work and more time supporting patients.
What inspired you to launch this venture?
Kairos began with something I watched for most of my childhood. I grew up in the Rio Grande Valley, a medically underserved region where getting care is hard enough before you even reach a clinic. Every day after school, I went to my mom’s dental office and helped wherever I could, whether that meant answering phones, checking patients in, translating for Spanish-speaking families, or just stepping in wherever things felt busiest. What I remember most is that everyone was always doing ten things at once, and the front desk carried the heaviest load of all.
Back then I thought that was just how a busy clinic worked. As I got older and spent more time in healthcare, technology and operations-focused roles, I started to see it differently. The same breakdowns I had watched at my mom’s front desk were happening everywhere, which told me this was a widespread systems problem across healthcare, and one that drives both provider burnout and lost patient access.
What is your total funding to date?
To date, we’ve secured roughly $70,000 in non-dilutive funding in the past few months alone, which has been incredibly meaningful as student founders because it’s allowed us to keep building quickly without immediately needing outside equity financing.
Our milestones so far include:
America’s Startup (America’s Top 250): A national competition where we won $25,000
Napier Rice Launch Challenge (NRLC): Third place overall out of 120 teams, plus the Audience Choice Award and the Undergraduate Business Award, for a combined $22,000
For us, these milestones have certainly been validating, but even more valuable has been the access they’ve created to mentors, investors and healthcare leaders who have helped us think more strategically about growth, product development and long-term execution.
Your team took home three major awards at the Napier Rice Launch Challenge (NRLC). What did that recognition mean to you?
NRLC felt like a full-circle moment. Rice played a huge role in getting Kairos off the ground, so presenting a company that started in my mom’s clinic and watching it connect with the Rice community was deeply rewarding. The Audience Choice Award stood out the most, because those votes came from people who genuinely understood the problem we were solving. Taking home the Undergraduate Business Award as a student founder reminded me that the work was resonating. Startups feel uncertain most of the time, and moments like that carry you through the harder stretches. The momentum we left with mattered more than the prize money.
Kairos Health Presenting at NRLC
NRLC winners
Tell us more about your most recent win at America's Startup.
America’s Startup was probably one of the most intense and exciting experiences we’ve had so far. It was a highly competitive national startup competition, and what made it especially surreal was pitching in front of people such as Rosie Rios (former U.S. Treasurer), Sarah Friar (CFO of OpenAI), Chris Larsen (co-founder of Ripple), and other major investors and operators. It was incredibly energizing.
What stood out most was seeing that a company born from a very local healthcare operations problem in South Texas could resonate on a national stage. Winning was obviously exciting, but the bigger takeaway was validation that the problem we’re solving is real, scalable and worth building toward aggressively.
I later shared more of that story in the Washington Examiner, where I talked about how much the broader American startup ecosystem makes it possible for student founders to turn a personal problem into a real company.
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Kairos Health Co-Founders with Former U.S. Treasurer & America250 Chair Rosie Rios
Looking back at your journey so far, what do you consider your biggest accomplishment?
I think my biggest accomplishment so far has been turning lived experience into something tangible that’s actually helping real clinics. Competitions are exciting, but the moments that matter most to me are hearing a practice manager say something like, “It feels like we doubled our staff.”
As someone interested in both medicine and healthcare systems, that’s been especially meaningful. It’s one thing to study healthcare problems academically, but it’s another to build something that actually reduces friction for providers and improves access for patients.
As a student majoring in both biosciences and finance, how have those two distinct academic paths helped you build this company?
Studying biosciences and finance gave me two different ways of seeing the same problem, and Kairos lives at the intersection of them.
The biosciences side shapes how I think about healthcare delivery, clinical workflows, compliance and what actually holds up inside a real practice. My interest in computational drug discovery taught me to look for patterns inside biological systems, and that same instinct helps me map out where a clinic’s intake process tends to fail. The finance and strategy side taught me to translate all of that into a business. It pushed me to ask the questions that decide whether a company survives. Is this problem painful enough to pay for? How do we price it? How do we scale responsibly without breaking the trust a clinic places in us?
One lesson from the Rice Business side has stayed with me above the rest: A great idea is only the starting point, and execution and market understanding decide everything after that.
How has Rice supported your entrepreneurial journey?
Rice is one of the biggest reasons Kairos grew as fast as it did. The Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship has been a true support system, especially mentors like Kyle Judah and Tony Cordova, who have been generous with their time, their advice and their networks. As student founders, access is everything, and Rice made experienced operators, investors and mentors feel reachable
More broadly, Rice builds an environment where moving across disciplines is encouraged. Kairos exists because I was able to work between healthcare, technology and business without feeling boxed into one lane, and the people at Rice kept opening the next door right when I needed it.
What is your long-term vision for Kairos?
Our long-term vision is to become the operating layer that dental practices run on. Today we are focused on intake, scheduling, communication and administrative automation, but the larger opportunity is much bigger. Dental practices still depend on fragmented, outdated tools that create friction for staff and patients alike. We want to build the infrastructure that makes a practice dramatically more efficient while making the patient experience feel effortless.
In the coming year, what excites me most is scaling from early pilots into broader adoption, refining the product with real clinic feedback, and proving that this can become foundational infrastructure rather than just another point solution.
Advice for other student founders?
Start closer to a real problem than to an idea. A lot of student founders fall in love with building something clever before confirming that the problem actually hurts enough for anyone to pay for a fix. Kairos started because I had years of exposure to a problem I could not ignore.
The biggest advantage students have is proximity. You are surrounded by research labs, clinics, campus operations, communities and professors, and every one of those is a window into a recurring frustration worth solving. Pay attention to the things that keep going wrong around you. Then start before you feel ready, because you will learn more from ten honest conversations with real users than from months spent perfecting an idea alone.
Adhira Tippur is an undergraduate student in the Class of 2028.
Hosted by the Analytics, Consulting and Technology (ACT) club, the competition united undergraduate students for a week-long, high-stakes business challenge in partnership with Bain & Company.
Ivan Diaz is a full time student studying business at Rice University and the owner of Oasis, a concept that offers acai bowls and smoothies in the Lyrics market. “I don’t think age really defines what you can and cannot do,” he says.
A new study suggests regions trying to attract venture capital may need to start with commercializable university innovation.
Based on research by Yael V. Hochberg (Rice Business), Daniel C. Fehder (University of Southern California), and Naomi Hausman (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem)
Key takeaways:
Venture capital does not simply flow to regions with money or ambition. It follows commercializable innovation, including research discoveries made accessible through universities.
After the landmark Bayh-Dole Act (1980) gave universities stronger incentives to patent and license federally funded discoveries, VC investment increased in the regions and industries most closely tied to local university research strengths.
For regions trying to build startup ecosystems, supporting university research and technology transfer may matter as much as trying to attract investors directly.
Nearly every region wants the same thing: a local economy where new companies can form, grow and attract private investment. But venture capital is stubbornly clustered. In 2019, Silicon Valley firms received 39% of all U.S. VC allocations, while the top three cities received 60% and the top five received 69%.
For places outside those dominant markets, the question that matters is simple: What makes a place worth investing in?
Many policymakers have tried to solve the problem by bringing in capital directly. They offer tax breaks for early-stage investors, create seed funds or back local venture funds, hoping investment will take root and startups will follow. But new research suggests that this approach may begin one step too late. Venture capital first needs somewhere to go, and something credible to fund.
The harder question is where those credible opportunities come from, and a 2025 study co-authored by Rice Business professor Yael V. Hochberg points to a promising answer: publicly funded university research.
Published in the Journal of Financial Economics, the study examines the major policy shift created by the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980, which gave universities stronger incentives to patent and license discoveries from federally funded research. The law gave Hochberg and her colleagues a way to study whether venture capital follows the supply of university innovation it can help bring to market.
How university research became easier to commercialize
Before the Patent and Trademark Law Amendments Act (1980), sponsored by U.S. Sens. Birch Bayh and Bob Dole, many federally funded university discoveries faced a chokepoint on commercialization. Inventions and related intellectual property from that research were typically assigned to the federal government, and much of it was never patented or marketed. Universities could produce boundary-breaking research, but the incentives and infrastructure for moving those discoveries into industry were weaker.
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Birch Bayh and Bob Dole, Washington D.C., on July 22, 1985. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
The law changed those incentives. Allowing universities to hold property rights to federally funded discoveries encouraged more patenting, licensing and technology transfer. It wasn’t that university research suddenly become more valuable, but industry and investors were more easily able to see and assess it.
“Venture capital is often treated as the scarce ingredient in a startup ecosystem,” Hochberg says. “But investors need credible opportunities — meaning, research that has moved far enough from the lab to be evaluated, funded and developed. Without that, adding venture capital funds does very little.”
Around this same time as the new law, regulation changes increased how much money VC firms had available. The timing of all this gave Hochberg and her co-authors a useful way to test where private capital flowed once more university research could move toward commercial use.
Regions that develop the research base, technology transfer infrastructure and local capacity to turn discoveries into investable opportunities will naturally see venture investment capital flow to them.
How university strengths shape regional investment
The key insight of Hochberg’s study lies in the pattern of movement. After Bayh-Dole, venture capital flowed toward the regions around universities, especially into industries connected to the preexisting research strengths of those universities.
To test that pattern, Hochberg and her co-authors compared industries within the same local area. Consider the contrast they use between the University of Texas at Austin and Johns Hopkins University. Before Bayh-Dole, UT Austin had a strong electrical and computer engineering department, while Johns Hopkins was especially strong in biosciences. If university innovation helped attract venture capital, the researchers expected to see different patterns in each region: in Austin, more VC flowing into electronics and computer-related industries; in Baltimore, into pharmaceutical and bioscience.
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University patenting, 1970–1990. Annual number of patents produced by research universities and hospitals, by year, from the NBER Patent Database.
And indeed, that’s what they found. The average university county saw a $23.4 million increase in VC funding over the 20 years surrounding Bayh-Dole and related regulatory changes. The post-1980 increase in venture capital was strongest in the local industries most closely tied to each university’s research strengths. That pattern held even after the researchers accounted for broader industry trends and preexisting distributions of venture capital.
What the study adds to innovation policy
The study clarifies a chicken-or-egg conundrum: whether innovation attracts capital, or capital creates innovation. By using Bayh-Dole as a policy shock, Hochberg’s work shows that an increase in commercializable university innovation helped draw research-relevant funding into nearby regions.
“Capital is important,” Hochberg says, “but capital without something to fund doesn’t help create entrepreneurial ecosystems. Regions that develop the research base, technology transfer infrastructure and local capacity to turn discoveries into investable opportunities will naturally see venture investment capital flow to them.”
The study focuses on a specific historical shift, and venture capital is only one pathway from university research to economic activity. So, future research could examine how other forms of capital, other policy settings or non-VC commercialization channels shape the same process.
Still, the central lesson holds: Private funding follows innovation — and public research can help create it.
Head of Rice Entrepreneurship Initiative and Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Ralph S. O’Connor Professor in Entrepreneurship – Finance
