The University of Houston and Rice University are once again celebrating top spots on the 18th annual Top Schools for Entrepreneurship Studies lists released by The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine on Nov. 7.
For the fifth consecutive year, Rice University's Jones Graduate School of Business has been ranked No. 1 for graduate entrepreneurship programs by Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine.
For the fifth consecutive year, Rice University's Jones Graduate School of Business has been ranked No. 1 for graduate entrepreneurship programs by Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine.
Announced today, the list identifies 50 undergraduate and 50 graduate schools that offer the best programs in entrepreneurship studies from Princeton Review’s survey of more than 300 institutions. The rankings are based on academic offerings, experiential learning opportunities and career outcomes.
The MBA entrepreneurship program was also recently ranked No. 3 globally by Poets&Quants and No. 5 by Bloomberg Businessweek.
Rice Business is one of the few MBA programs in the country with a dedicated entrepreneurship concentration, and entrepreneurship students have the opportunity to engage with an array of industries in novel ways. In courses like the Technology Commercialization Lab, Rice Business students gain first-hand entrepreneurship experience by collaborating with Rice scientists to create commercialization plans for new technologies developed in university research labs.
The Rice entrepreneurship ecosystem combines academic courses and co-curricular programs led by the Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Lilie) with regional, national programs and co-curricular programs led by the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship.
“Our students are learning about entrepreneurship at every step of their Rice Business journey,” Yael Hochberg, head of the Rice University Entrepreneurship Initiative and Ralph S. O’Connor Professor in Entrepreneurship – Finance said. “Innovation is embedded in coursework and ideas are valued and supported financially through a network of innovative thinkers and business plan competitions.”
Rice Business not only offers multiple programs, competitions and startup accelerators, but depends on a solid relationship with the business community of Houston.
“Our close ties to Houston as well as national startup ecosystems give our students unique opportunities to pitch to and connect with angel investors, venture capitalists and corporations,” Brad Burke, managing director of the Rice Alliance said. “These connections allow for mentorship, as well as launch points for new ideas, not only for our students but also for the city and surrounding communities.”
Rice Business has doubled its student population in the past five years, but maintained a small student-faculty ratio to ensure entrepreneurial business students receive hands-on programming and instruction. All courses are taught by leading professors and practitioners — 89% of Rice’s entrepreneurship faculty have started, bought or run a business.
“Our students are able to learn inside and outside of the classroom with Rice Business thanks to our connections in Houston and beyond,” Rice Business Dean Peter Rodriguez said. “Our class sizes are small, and our programs are tailored to guarantee students leave with both the skillset and mindset not only to pursue new ideas but to navigate the rapidly changing world of business.”
Learn more about Rice Business’ entrepreneurship mindset here.
"Rice was the only school I seriously considered. As a Houstonian, I wanted to root myself locally while still learning from one of the best programs in the country. Rice’s reputation, combined with its values and community, made it the clear choice."
Rice Business reveals how having a “promotion focus” can mean the difference between fostering innovation and letting it slip by.
On April 14, Rice made history by hosting its inaugural Rice Day at the Capitol. More than 50 students, faculty and staff traveled to Austin for a full day of advocacy, education and celebration. The event served as a showcase of the university’s statewide impact in areas ranging from innovation to the arts and sciences.
The 12th annual Texas Life Science Forum takes place Nov. 7 at Rice University and will bring together 600 attendees for keynote speakers, panels and pitches from life science technologies.
The 12th annual Texas Life Science Forum takes place Nov. 7 at Rice University and will bring together 600 attendees for keynote speakers, panels and pitches from life science technologies. The Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship and BioHouston host the premier life science and health tech event in Texas each year to bring together members from industry, emerging life science companies, academics and investors.
The conference is an opportunity to learn about the latest technology innovations from 45 early-stage therapeutic, diagnostic, medical device and digital health companies. Attendees can meet the leaders from the Houston life science entrepreneurial ecosystem, learn about the Texas Medical Center’s new multibillion-dollar research campus and innovation hub, the new Rice BioTech Launch Pad and more.
What: 12th annual Texas Life Science Forum
When: Nov. 7, 8 a.m.-6 p.m.
Where: Rice University’s McNair Hall. Register here.
Media who would like to attend free of charge should contact Avery Franklin, media relations specialist at Rice, at averyrf@rice.edu or 713-348-6327.
"Rice was the only school I seriously considered. As a Houstonian, I wanted to root myself locally while still learning from one of the best programs in the country. Rice’s reputation, combined with its values and community, made it the clear choice."
Rice Business reveals how having a “promotion focus” can mean the difference between fostering innovation and letting it slip by.
On April 14, Rice made history by hosting its inaugural Rice Day at the Capitol. More than 50 students, faculty and staff traveled to Austin for a full day of advocacy, education and celebration. The event served as a showcase of the university’s statewide impact in areas ranging from innovation to the arts and sciences.
Bud Light’s sales are on ice. Their troubles are attributed to an influencer marketing controversy. But, in fact, their decline stems from product issues and management blunders.
By Vikas Mittal, originally published in The Hill on Oct. 21, 2023.
Opinion by Professor Vikas Mittal
Many ascribe Bud Light’s sales decline to a conservative response to an incident with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
They are wrong. Nike, for example, saw its stock increase 5 percent after its 2018 campaign supporting Colin Kaepernick.
The Mulvaney incident was merely a triggering event. Bud Light’s sales decline was years in the making due to what many see as a mediocre product, below-average customer satisfaction, and egocentric management decisions.
In April, Bud Light sent Mulvaney beer cans with her face imprinted on them. Conservative customers, feeling betrayed, fled to competitor brands and called for a boycott. Liberals criticized Bud Light for not supporting Mulvaney who faced transphobia and felt bullied.
CEO Brendan Whitworth’s June apology was widely panned as insincere. By that month, Bud Light’s parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev lost $27 billion in market value. In July, the company announced it would lay off 350 employees. Frustrated, Billy Busch, heir to the Busch Family offered to buy back the Bud Light brand from InBev. By August, Bud Light’s sales had declined 26.8 percent while rival Modelo’s sales grew 15.9 percent. On Oct. 9, Bud Light’s stock closed at its lowest since the April triggering event.
Companies can withstand a triggering event such as Johnson and Johnson’s Tylenol tampering in 1982 or Nike supporting Kaepernick in 2018. If they succumb to one, they do so for three reasons.
A Mediocre Offering, Undifferentiated from Competitors: A 2022 blind taste test ranked Bud Light sixth among the eight beers tested, another 2022 test ranked it seventh out of 10 and a 2023 test ranked it 22nd out of 28. Stefano Puntoni, a Wharton marketing professor called America’s light beers “the blandest, least distinctive beers on the whole planet.” He added: “In a blind test, it’s impossible to tell Bud Light apart from other light beers. Switching to another brand is the easiest of changes for consumers.”
Research shows that advertising only helps brands with above-average quality. Advertising cannot compensate for mediocre or sub-par quality to build customer loyalty, as was the case with Bud Light.
Because of this perception of its quality, Bud Light’s outsized advertising only garnered higher awareness but not necessarily higher customer loyalty. In 2022, more customers were aware of Bud Light than Modelo (88 percent versus 78 percent). Yet, both brands had identical customer loyalty (78 percent) among users.
Bud Light’s management conflated high customer awareness with high customer loyalty. Yet, its below-average product provided no meaningful differentiation from competitors and eroded customer loyalty. Customers switched when Bud Light transgressed.
Below Average Customer Satisfaction: My research shows that customers remain loyal to a company that has consistently high customer satisfaction ratings.
Toyota is one example. In 2009, it recalled 8 million vehicles due to defects associated with 52 fatalities. In 2010, when the recall was in progress, I and my colleagues surveyed owners of Toyota and non-Toyota automobiles. Surprisingly, Toyota owners agreed more strongly that it was a reliable vehicle and were more willing to buy a Toyota in the future, than non-Toyota owners. Consistently high customer satisfaction had insulated Toyota from the recall, a triggering event.
Unlike Toyota, customer satisfaction with Bud Light’s parent company InBev has steadily declined from a score of 84 in 2019 to 80 in 2020, 78 in 2021 and 79 in 2022 — lower than the 2022 industry average of 80 percent. Because of below-average satisfaction ratings, Bud Light’s customers were less loyal and less forgiving and switched to competitors when they felt it transgressed.
Decision-Making That Underestimated Customer Diversity: Many senior executives make egocentric decisions thinking their belief is more widely prevalent among customers and employees than it really is. Unfortunately, their belief may be based on gut feelings or salient information from a small group of like-minded individuals.
When Bud Light’s vice president of marketing, Alissa Heinerscheid, sent Mulvaney the cans of beer, she seemed to believe that “Bud Light had been kind of a brand of fratty, kind of out-of-touch humor, ” saying “it was really important that we had another approach.” There is no evidence that senior executives at Bud Light conducted any research to ascertain the prevalence of their belief among its customers or to estimate the pros and cons of the gambit based on those results.
Contrary to Bud Light’s gambit, peer-reviewed research unequivocally shows that large companies erode brand value, decrease sales and harm stock prices when they engage in political activism. Since they have a diverse customer base comprised of conservatives and liberals, appealing to one faction alienates the other. After a triggering event, further attempts to mollify one group earn the ire of all.
Bud Light faced a similar fate. Initially, conservatives were dissatisfied and switched. Attempts to mollify them enervated liberals. Eventually, both were dissatisfied and switched.
Regaining Its Crown — Competing on Customer Value: In an October Gallup survey, 59 percent of U.S. adults stated businesses should not take a political stance. Bud Light should listen and compete on customer value rather than on political activism. Bud Light’s customers value a product that is readily available at a competitive price and has a distinctive taste.
By excelling on these three customer value drivers, Bud Light can regain, retain and grow its customer base. Otherwise, the brand will continue being at risk of losing customers to competitors.
Vikas Mittal is the J. Hugh Liedtke Professor of Marketing at the Jones Graduate School of Business, Rice University. He has co-authored two books and over 100 articles on customer-based strategy.
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The Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University ranks third globally for its entrepreneurship program, according to Poets&Quants’ fifth annual ranking of such programs announced today.
The Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University ranks third globally for its entrepreneurship program, according to Poets&Quants’ fifth annual ranking of such programs announced today.
Just 5.66 total points separated the top five finishers in the 2024 MBA entrepreneurship ranking, according to Poet&Quants’ news release.
“MBA programs are increasingly sought after in today’s environment, and our focus on entrepreneurship sets us apart,” Rice Business Dean Peter Rodriguez said. “The entrepreneurship classes emphasize a combination of mindset and skill set and focus on multiple stages of the entrepreneurial process, preparing our students for any industry and climate.”
Rice entrepreneurship students have the opportunity to engage with an array of industries through hands-on work. For example, the class Healthcare Entrepreneurship and Innovation allows Rice Business students to join Rice graduate bioengineering students and physicians from Baylor College of Medicine to work at the intersection of their fields. All classes at Rice Business are accompanied by co-curricular resources for entrepreneurs, including workshops, lectures, mentor office hours and special events to cultivate connections between Rice entrepreneurs locally and nationally.
Rice Business has been consistently ranked among the top 10 graduate entrepreneurship programs in the nation, reflective of the depth and breadth of resources for entrepreneurs during their time at Rice and beyond, school officials said. The school is the top-ranked graduate entrepreneurship program for four years running by Princeton Review and Entrepreneur Magazine.
Poets&Quants’ rankings capture a wide range of criteria about U.S. and global business schools, including a school’s accelerator space, venture funds available and core classes dedicated to entrepreneurship with the methodology designed to measure how resources are allocated to individual students.
"Rice was the only school I seriously considered. As a Houstonian, I wanted to root myself locally while still learning from one of the best programs in the country. Rice’s reputation, combined with its values and community, made it the clear choice."
Rice Business reveals how having a “promotion focus” can mean the difference between fostering innovation and letting it slip by.
On April 14, Rice made history by hosting its inaugural Rice Day at the Capitol. More than 50 students, faculty and staff traveled to Austin for a full day of advocacy, education and celebration. The event served as a showcase of the university’s statewide impact in areas ranging from innovation to the arts and sciences.
Prominent entrepreneurs and business leaders have committed to invest in Houston’s innovation landscape as part of the inaugural cohort of the Rice University Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Lilie)’s Leadership Council.
Prominent entrepreneurs and business leaders have committed to invest in Houston’s innovation landscape as part of the inaugural cohort of the Rice University Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Lilie)’s Leadership Council.
The 2023 Lilie Leadership Council (LLC) members have pledged time and financial contributions to directly fund and support Rice’s most promising entrepreneurial programs for students, research staff and faculty.
The Liu Idea Lab was endowed in 2015 by the Frank and Cindy Liu Family Foundation. The Liu family believes Houston has the talent and resources to be a leader in innovation and views the Liu Idea Lab at Rice as a key driver in the future growth of Houston’s startup ecosystem, which they hope will further diversify and strengthen the city’s economy. Having seen the impact that the Liu Idea Lab has had both at Rice and within the city of Houston thus far, Frank Liu, a Rice alumnus and business community leader, has now recruited others through the LLC to further support existing and expanded programming. The LLC has garnered interest from other successful Houstonians who themselves have benefitted from the vibrancy of the city’s economy and therefore want to invest in Houston’s next generation of leaders and its future.
Inaugural LLC members include:
Frank Liu is the co-founder and co-owner of Lovett Industrial and the founder and owner of Lovett Commercial, Lovett Homes and InTown Homes. He has overseen over $5 billion in development projects.
Earl Hesterberg, who now calls Houston home, served as the former CEO of Group 1 Automotive. Prior, Hesterberg was at Ford Motor Company working as the group vice president of North America marketing, sales and service. Earlier in his career he served the same role at Ford of Europe as well as stints as CEO of Gulf States Toyota, Vice President of Sales for Nissan Europe and General Manager of Nissan Division for Nissan U.S.A. In retirement, he is chairing the capital campaign at Kids Meal Inc., a nonprofit that is feeding the 50,000 food-insecure preschool-aged children of Houston.
Sandy P. Aron is the president of Hunington Properties and has been in the real estate industry for over 40 years. Founded in 1984, Hunington Properties offers a range of third-party real estate services to tenants, owners and investors across commercial, multi-family, industrial and land sectors in the Greater Houston Area. Aron is active in the Houston community where he served on the boards of the St. Francis Episcopal Day School of Houston, Congregation Beth Israel of Houston, and Jones Partnership at Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business.
John Chao is Vice President and Managing Director of Westlake Innovations, a subsidiary of Westlake Corporation, and also serves as a board member of Westlake Corporation. His previous roles include Chief Operating Officer of New York Public Radio and Partner in the strategy and finance practice at McKinsey & Company. Mr. Chao received a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Rice University and an M.B.A. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Lorin Gu is the founding partner of Recharge Capital. The investment fund focuses on critical sectors such as women’s healthcare, clean biotech, semiconductor enablement and fintech democratization. Prior to Recharge, Gu supported Cyrus Capital, a US $4B hedge fund, as well as Blackstone Group. He is the Founding Chair of the Global Future Council at the Peterson Institute of International Economics.
Annise Parker was Houston’s 61st mayor and the only person in Houston that has held the offices of council member, controller and mayor. She has been named by Time magazine as one of the most 100 influential people in the world. She is currently the president and CEO of the Victory Fund, a nonprofit devoted to electing pro-equality, pro-choice LGBTQ+ leaders to public office at every level. She also sits on the Policy and Global Affairs Committee of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine and the boards of Houston Botanic Garden, Houston BARC Foundation, Patient Care Intervention Council and the Climate Disclosure Project.
Gary Stein is the CEO of Triple-S Steel Holdings. Under Gary's leadership, Triple-S Steel has grown from a single location to one of the largest steel service centers in the industry, with over 53 locations, more than 2,000 colleagues, and branches across 17 states, Canada, Dubai, and Colombia. What started as a small new and used steel distribution yard over 60 years ago has become one of North America's largest distributors of structural steel. Mr. Stein serves on the American Institute of Steel Construction Board and the MD Anderson Cancer Center Board of Visitors.
Charlie Meyer formed Lovett Industrial in 2020 in partnership with Frank Liu and is currently the CEO. Lovett Industrial has more than $2B of projects complete or actively under construction and has developed or acquired more than 20 million square feet of industrial real estate. He formerly served as managing director at Hines Interests in Houston as well as director of construction and development for NewQuest Properties. He is currently serving on the board of directors for both Generation One and NAIOP Houston.
Shoukat Dhanani is CEO of Dhanani Group Inc, a family owned and operated business conglomerate, headquartered in Sugar Land, Texas. He also serves as Head of Dhanani Family of Companies, with more than 40 years of experience in creating and managing successful businesses. The family business interest includes restaurant franchising, real estate, convenience stores, and fuel distribution. Today Dhanani family owns and operate more than 2000 Fast Foods restaurant as well as several different business verticals, and now it is the second-largest quick-service restaurant franchisee group in the U.S.
Robert T. Ladd is the chairman of the board of directors and chief executive of Stellus Capital Investment Corporation (NYSE:SCM). He is also the managing partner and chief investment officer of Stellus Capital Management. His professional career includes leadership positions with the D.E. Shaw Group, Duke Energy, Arthur Andersen and First City Bancorporation of Texas. Mr. Ladd is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Rice University. He is also a member of the advisory council of the McGovern Medical School in Houston.
Hong Ogle is the president of Bank of America Houston. In addition to her role as Houston President, Hong is the Southeast/Southwest Division Executive for Bank of America Private Bank. She started her financial services career in the early 90’s and has since then received many awards including Houston’s Most Admired CEO’s Award by the Houston Business Journal and Most Powerful Women in Banking and Finance: Top Team in Banking by American Bankers. She serves on the board of Greater Houston Partnership (GHP) and Central Houston Inc. and chairs the Bank of America Charitable Foundation in Houston. She is also a member of the Bank of America Global Diversity and Inclusion Council.
"I owe much of my entrepreneurial success to opportunities I had while at Rice University,” says Liu. “I can't imagine the heights students today can achieve with the resources that now exist through Lilie. Over the last several years, as the #1 ranked Graduate Entrepreneurship program in the country, we have seen exponential growth in student engagement, and we have witnessed the life-changing technologies—tackling big problems in industries like energy and healthcare—bred within Lilie classes and programs. I am thankful for the commitment of Lilie's Leadership Council for propelling these founders from the classroom to the community and building the next generation of Houston's economy.”
Lilie will leverage the financial contributions and network of the LLC to enrich the current entrepreneurial offerings for students and faculty at Rice — a program currently ranked as the No. 1 U.S. graduate entrepreneurship program by Entrepreneur Magazine and the Princeton Review. The Liu Idea Lab administers experiential courses for undergraduate and graduate students each academic year, as well as competitions and accelerators to help student, faculty and alumni founders move from idea to impact. Lilie’s state-of-the-art working space aggregates the Rice entrepreneurship community into one convenient location, while its experiential courses, co-curricular programs, equity-free funding and personalized mentorship provide an array of resources for every stage of the entrepreneurial journey.
“Entrepreneurship and the innovative ideas that create new industries are critical to Houston and the state’s prosperity and quality of life,” said Rice Business Dean Peter Rodriguez. “I am deeply grateful to Lilie’s leadership council for their commitment to supporting and rapidly advancing our students and their start-ups at Rice Business.”
"Rice was the only school I seriously considered. As a Houstonian, I wanted to root myself locally while still learning from one of the best programs in the country. Rice’s reputation, combined with its values and community, made it the clear choice."
Rice Business reveals how having a “promotion focus” can mean the difference between fostering innovation and letting it slip by.
On April 14, Rice made history by hosting its inaugural Rice Day at the Capitol. More than 50 students, faculty and staff traveled to Austin for a full day of advocacy, education and celebration. The event served as a showcase of the university’s statewide impact in areas ranging from innovation to the arts and sciences.
User Solutions has recently been working with Rice Business and Florida International University on capstone projects featuring manufacturing software launching and appropriate social media programs.
Leaders from Rice University and Mexico’s Anáhuac University will unveil a new international executive education program Nov. 6 at a signing ceremony at Rice. A second ceremony will take place Nov. 16 in Mexico City.
Leaders from Rice University and Mexico’s Anáhuac University will unveil a new international executive education program Nov. 6 at a signing ceremony at Rice. A second ceremony will take place Nov. 16 in Mexico City.
Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business is partnering with Anáhuac to launch the two-week international program for bilingual executives, which also marks the official launch of Anáhuac’s executive education institute.
The joint global program for executives is set to launch in spring 2024 with one week taking place at Rice and one week at Anáhuac’s campus. All participants will go through an application process and must speak both English and Spanish.
This collaborative effort was led by Peter Rodriguez, dean of Rice Business; Michael Koenig, Rice Business’ associate dean for innovative initiatives and executive director of executive education; and Jorge Miguel Fabre Mendoza, director of the Anáhuac senior management institute.
What: Signing ceremony for Rice University and Anáhuac University international executive education partnership
When: Monday, Nov. 6, 4-5:30 p.m.
Where: Gibbs Gallery, Jones Graduate School of Business, Rice’s McNair Hall. The parking garage entrance is just north of McNair.
Media who want to attend must RSVP to Avery Franklin, media relations specialist at Rice, at averyrf@rice.edu or 713-348-6327.
"Rice was the only school I seriously considered. As a Houstonian, I wanted to root myself locally while still learning from one of the best programs in the country. Rice’s reputation, combined with its values and community, made it the clear choice."
Rice Business reveals how having a “promotion focus” can mean the difference between fostering innovation and letting it slip by.
On April 14, Rice made history by hosting its inaugural Rice Day at the Capitol. More than 50 students, faculty and staff traveled to Austin for a full day of advocacy, education and celebration. The event served as a showcase of the university’s statewide impact in areas ranging from innovation to the arts and sciences.
Season 4, Episode 2
From "oil brat" to wealth advisor: Scott Gale ’19 and Crystal discuss her successful 20-year career at UBS Financial Services, advice for aspiring wealth managers and passion for the Houston Rodeo.
From "oil brat" to wealth advisor: Crystal Maxwell ’03 was born in Texas but raised in Saudi Arabia as the daughter of Aramco employees. She eventually came back to the U.S., where she earned a degree in hotel and restaurant management before transitioning to wealth management after earning a Rice MBA.
Join host Scott Gale ’19 and Crystal as they discuss her successful 20-year career as a wealth advisor at UBS Financial Services, advice for aspiring wealth managers and passion for the Houston Rodeo.
Subscribe to Owl Have You Know on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Youtube or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.
[00:00] Intro: 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.
[00:16] Scott: On today's episode of Owl Have You Know, I'm joined by Crystal Maxwell, 2003 graduate from the Full-Time program at Rice Business. Crystal shares her journey from growing up amongst the expat community in Saudi Arabia to an early career in hospitality, and then through a Rice MBA that led to a 20-year career as a wealth advisor with UBS Financial Services. Let's jump right in.
Crystal, welcome to the show.
[00:41] Crystal: Oh, well, thank you so much for having me.
[00:43] Scott: Really excited to get to know you a bit more here. One of the, sort of, topics on the Owl Have You Know podcast is around pivots and stories where you're on a particular career path and living life's journey, and then you go and do a Rice MBA and things change. And so, I thought it'd be helpful maybe just to start, if you could, sort of, bring us up in your timeline to the decision of going and getting a Rice MBA. What were you doing before? What was life like? And we'll just, sort of, explore that space for a bit.
[01:18] Crystal: Absolutely. I did my undergrad at the University of Houston, and I majored in hotel and restaurant management. And using that fantastic degree, I worked in event planning for American Golf. So, I was working at country clubs, doing the event planning — so, you know, weddings, golf tournaments, corporate meetings, Christmas parties, that sort of thing. And I worked my way up in that corporation, American Golf. At the time at least had about six private clubs in the Houston area and over 200 nationwide. After being solely in one club, then I was over the region. And then, eventually, I was nationwide over all of the event planning departments across the country. And I enjoyed my work, but I was 25 years old and I was at the top of my career path. So, I thought, "Well, this just isn't going to work. I'm going to have to find something else to do."
I wasn't really interested in getting into club management. And I was actually having a conversation with one of the vice presidents of the company, and he was talking about his MBA at Kellogg. And we were chatting. And I think, at that moment, I decided, "Well, I think an MBA is the path, and that's where I'm going to go."
I did my applications and got into Rice. I was so happy I didn't have to move. I applied to, to a few others as well, but very happy in Houston and wanted to stay here. And then, when I started at Rice, I was thinking that I would go into corporate finance. I'd always liked the number part of things. I also... I love to travel. So, I thought, "Well, I'm going to go into corporate finance for Continental Airlines. This was before it merged with United.
[02:57] Scott: Sure.
[02:58] Crystal: So, that was my thought process. And then, I started B-school and a couple weeks in was 9/11. And then, a couple months in, Enron collapsed. And so, the whole environment of, one, you know, going to work for United was probably not going to happen because, you know, airlines completely crashed, and, "We're not hiring," et cetera. But not only that, the entire MBA market, kind of, crashed, too, with Enron collapsing and going into just all the aftermath of 2001.
So, I actually ended up getting my internship with Continental Airlines, and they paid me in tickets. I didn't get any cash, but I got some, some good flights out of that. But I found that working in this very strict corporate structure, I found it stifling. And I hadn't realized how entrepreneurial my career path up until then through the country club company had been. And so, I went back to my second year of my MBA and realized, "Well, I'm probably not going to get a job at Continental because they're still not hiring. And even if I did, I don't think it's a good fit, just because I just didn't feel like I would have the autonomy that I was so accustomed to and felt like I needed."
So, I started looking again at, "Well, what are other, other types of MBA jobs that I could do that are more finance-oriented?" And my second-year mentor my whole first year had suggested financial advising and said, "No, you would be great." And kept... and I kept thinking, "No, I don't want to do that. That doesn't sound good." At the beginning of my second year, I stumbled across the Merrill Lynch website, their recruiting website, and, kind of, went through. There was a list of all these characteristics of successful financial advisors. And I was going down the list, and they were all checking off. I'm, like, "Yeah, I'm that, I'm that, I'm that, I'm that." I'm like, "Oh, well, maybe I should take a look at this."
I ended up interviewing. I can't remember if I interviewed with Merrill Lynch or not, but I did interview with UBS and a few others. And here I am at UBS, 20 years later, successful and happy. And everything just worked out with a little bow on it. So, things, kind of, all fall into place.
[05:21] Scott: That's awesome. Super cool. So, you have described, kind of, a part of the story where you're anchored in Houston. That wasn't always the case in your life. And so, I wanted to maybe zoom out and take us through some of the places where you've been around the world. And I wanted to just, sort of, ask a bit of your experience and perspective that, sort of, contributes to how you do your job today that came from living in some unique places around the world.
[05:50] Crystal: Sure. So, while I've always been a Texan and have claimed this, I wasn't born or raised in Houston, but I grew up in Saudi Arabia. My parents both worked for Saudi Aramco, a big oil company. And Dhahran was home. And I moved to Dhahran when I was four years old. And my parents were there full-time until I was 24 years old, so I called it home for 20 years. Lived there full-time through ninth grade where they don't have American schools past ninth grade, or at least they didn't then. So, went to boarding school here in the States. And during boarding school, I would go back for Christmas and spring break and then all of summer. And then, when I was in college, I would just go back for Christmas and summer. But still, Saudi Arabia was definitely home. I remember, you know, when I lived in Saudi Arabia, Texas was home, even though I'd never really lived here, except for when I was a baby. And when I went to boarding school, there were a fair amount of people from Aramco. Because we all had to go to boarding school, so, there were all, there was always a few of us. And so, when I lived in... at boarding school, Saudi Arabia was home.
But then, when I moved to Texas for college and people would ask me, "Well, where's home," I didn't know what to say because I couldn't say Houston because then they would ask me, well, where I went to high school, and I didn't go to high school here. I certainly wasn't going to say Colorado, where my boarding school was, because I didn't have any roots there. I didn't want to say Saudi Arabia because that always was just a huge conversation. And sometimes, you just didn't want that giant conversation. And so, I remember, for those years in college, it was just really weird to say, "Well, where are you from?" It was a hard question for me.
But I think, growing up overseas, they required, any non-Saudis, you had to leave the country for a minimum of four weeks out of the year. We were forced to go on vacation. And sometimes, we would come back to the States via Europe. Sometimes we would come back to the states via Asia. So, I grew up traveling. And I had been to lots of countries, you know, by the time I was 20, and lots of continents by the time I was 20. And that just became part of my world.
And I wasn't unique. Everybody at... that, that I was growing up with was doing this, too. We were all traveling quite a bit. So, we were this little microcosm of kids that I was growing up with who were all world-travelers, living in a culture that was not our base, our home culture. And I know lots of schools are diverse these days, but, you know, my best friend, one, was from Lebanon, one was from India. We had kids who, you know, were from all over Europe and from Canada and Argentina. And so, I grew up with this appreciation for other cultures and, specifically, the Middle East. So, you know, instead of taking American history, we took Middle Eastern studies. Instead of taking Spanish, I took Arabic. I know a lot about Islam and the Middle East. And that was impactful during 9/11 when there was such a backlash against the Middle East and Islam. But, you know, I think that is one of the things that made me want to go to work for an airline, so that I could continue to do this, all the travel that I was so accustomed to.
[09:00] Scott: Fantastic. It's reminding me of one of my, sort of, favorite quotes, which is, travel not to see a foreign land, but to see your own country as a foreign land. And I'd be curious to know if there are some things that you, sort of, reach back and draw on from that experience, from almost being a bit lost about where that home country is and being, sort of, a better global citizen, if you will. You mentioned that, you know, you draw some connections to the advice that you give, but are there, maybe, some specific experiences or things that you, sort of, reflect back on from that big global view?
[09:41] Crystal: I think it would be easier for me to talk about the oil industry, just because, living in Dhahran, yes, it was... we were in the Middle East and I learned all about, you know, Middle Eastern customs and that sort of thing. Everybody that I grew up with was working for the same oil company. So, all of the students, everybody's parents worked for Aramco. We were in the Aramco compound, going to the Aramco School. On the weekends, we were part of the Aramco brownie troop and the Aramco swim team. And whether your parent was an engineer and actually in the oil business or your parent was a teacher or a doctor or any other type of career path that is required to run a mini city, they were all still working for this oil company.
My dad was an engineer and he worked on Shaybah. So, Shaybah is the biggest refinery. So, it's in the middle of the desert in Saudi Arabia. And it's where huge oil and gas reserves are. So, my dad was one of the four project managers that built this big complex in Shaybah. I remember getting to go out there. You know, my mom actually worked at the aviation department, Aramco's aviation department. So, we would sometimes get to go on Aramco flights. And we went out to Shaybah. And, you know, you're just flying, and it's just sand dunes, nothing but sand dunes for as far as you can see. And then, all of a sudden, here's this complex that my dad built. And it was pretty cool.
[11:13] Scott: Love that. There's something distinctive about, sort of, the scale of the energy industry. And to be able to, sort of, see it in action just creates a different kind of perspective about what it takes to bring reliable, affordable energy to humanity and all of the things that it does to, sort of, improve quality of life. Awesome. Thank you for sharing. I want to jump back into the Rice experience, generally. And you've done a backdrop on, sort of, what was happening at the time and, sort of, the thinking and the approach. Are there experiences from your Rice MBA that you reflect back on and that, sort of, contribute to your ethos and purpose for being?
[11:55] Crystal: So, you know, it's been 20 years now, so it's been a while. But, absolutely, the knowledge that I gained there, certainly, catapulted me into my career where I am now. I remember during my first year, I don't recall what class it was, but I remember thinking, "I'm learning about stuff that I didn't even know this subject existed, and now I know all these details about this subject. I know stuff that I didn't even know I didn't know." So, it was so much more broad than I thought it would be. I knew there would, you know, be finance and accounting, which I had been exposed to in some marketing, et cetera. Some of the classes that I was taking that were just beyond what I thought I was getting into was exciting.
Of course, all of your wonderful core classes, you know, my applied finance, I think back to applied finance all the time, I continued to use the model that we built in that class into my first years of, of being a financial advisor more to, kind of, back test what UBS was providing me and saying, "Well, you know, this is our target, our price target, on a certain stock." And so, I would play with my own stock pricing model that I had built and applied finance to see, "Well, what are they using as their inputs? Let me see if I can get to this price target, too, to see what the analysts were thinking."
So, that was so helpful for me to just be able to understand and know. I know in lots of industries, the amount of information that comes out is quite a bit, but in finance in particular, you've got so much information that comes out every single day. And if you want to be an expert in any one sector, not even stock, but a sector, you could read analysis all day long. You could really spend all of your time doing that, which nobody can do. You know, as a financial advisor, I can't spend my whole entire day just reading about different companies. As much as I would enjoy that, I've got to be able to synthesize all that information and then know how to apply it and how it's going to affect my clients.
[13:58] Scott: Awesome. Crystal, a follow-up question is just, as there are students now that are at Rice, they're heading into the fall, they're thinking about maybe starting a career in wealth management, you've spent 20 years in that industry now, can you share some advice that you would give to people that are thinking about that and what they might consider?
[14:23] Crystal: Yeah, I would share two things. First is that, really build your network. So, wealth management is all about the relationships. And you're building relationships with your clients. You're trying to make their lives better. You're helping them in all aspects of anything that has to do with money. And you're not going to be able to do that alone. You need the relationships, both... You know, I've relied on people from my Rice network, but also within my firm to bring the right expertise and, you know, synthesize the right information and be able to deliver that to my clients. You know, I don't discount that Rice network. I've gotten... been introduced to some of my best clients through, and some of my best colleagues, actually, through my Rice network. So, you never know where your next client is going to come from. And so, you always have to be out there, meeting people and helping people and learning new things.
So, that's one thing. The other thing I would say about wealth management is, that I don't think a lot of people understand, is how entrepreneurial it is. So, you know, whereas corporate finance, you're, you're definitely, you're in the structure, you're working for the company, you're talking about the company's goals. In wealth management, it's all about the individuals. So, you know, I've got a number of clients. And each one of them is unique. Each one of them has their own needs and goals and their own things that they worry about and their own things that they're planning for. And so, I get to bring the parts of my firm to each client in a different way. You know, some things are appropriate for one client and they're not appropriate for another client. And so, I really get to build my business. I can choose which clients I want to work with and which clients I don't want to work with. I can decide if I want to, you know, meet with them earlier, later, on the weekends, or... I have so much control on my day-to-day life and activity. And the harder I work, the more successful I am, and all of those, kind of, lifestyle things that you associate with an entrepreneur. So, even though I'm a W2 employee, it has a lot of that same feel as somebody who's starting their own business. So, if that appeals to you at all, I think wealth management is a great fit.
[16:39] Scott: Oh, super cool. I love that perspective. Are there sort of... you had, kind of, mentioned the, like, a Merrill Lynch website with maybe some characteristics or things. If I were to do, sort of, a self-analysis and, you know, am I a fit for that kind of career, what are some of the characteristics that stood out to you and that has, sort of, been reinforced for people that are successful?
[16:59] Crystal: Yeah. Someone who can take very complex thoughts and ideas and research and synthesize it down into very easily understandable bites of information, I think that's the biggest thing that I do. Finances can be complicated. Especially, the more assets you have, it tends to be, the more complicated things get. And often, people don't have a lot of background in investments or in financial planning and how everything works together. And so, if you can, if you understand the finance part of it and feel like you can talk to somebody and, and explain it in a way that they would understand, I think that's the number one key.
The other thing is you've got to have empathy. I mean, this job is about helping people. It's helping people reach their goals, helping people be able to pay for college for their kids and retire and go on vacation all at the same time. And then, on the other flip side or further down the road, it's people wanting to make an impact with their assets. You know, they've spent a lifetime creating this wealth and now they want to do something important with that. And helping them be able to, you know, navigate those types of, of situations to the best of their ability.
[18:10] Scott: What are some of the, the most exciting parts of it? What keeps you coming back?
[18:15] Crystal: Being able to see clients really realize the things that they've worked so hard for. So, 20 years in, I have several families where I'm now working on the third generation, where I, you know, I had the parents and then I got their adult children. And now, the grandkids are finally in their early 20s, and I'm helping them. I just had one reach out. She just had a baby. So, gosh, now, now that might be in the fourth generation, you know. And I'm talking to her about, you know, 529 plans and opening up a minor's account for the baby. And that I'm still talking to the grandparent about, "Well, you know, what's the best way to, you know, do your, your charitable giving. And what are you thinking about, as far as trust planning and, and legacy planning?" So, it's exciting to see these families or, you know, that original generation that I was working with and how they've been able to instill these values into multiple generations under them. It's so exciting.
[19:15] Scott: Super cool. I love that. So, I've got a note in here about the Houston Rodeo. There's, like, no more, like, iconic Houston event that happens. My family and I have lived here for over a decade. Love the rodeo. And would just love to ask if you'd be willing to share a bit about your involvement with the rodeo and what that is and how that got started.
[19:37] Crystal: Absolutely. So, I've been a member of the Houston Rodeo since the last millennium. I joined in 1999. And I know everybody in Houston knows about the rodeo, but not everybody is fully aware that it's really a volunteer-run organization. There's 35,000 volunteers in the rodeo. And just about everybody you see out there working with their gold badge around their neck is a volunteer. I think the rodeo only has about 100 employees and 35,000 volunteers.
So, I have been volunteering for, like I said, many, many years, decades. There are so many aspects of the rodeo. So, you, you know about the concerts and you know about the rodeo, you might know about the barbecue cookoff, but one of the committees that I'm on is the trailblazer committee. And we promote literacy throughout the Houston area. We collect books year-round, and then we have little book fairs for at-risk schools so that kids have books to take home with them. Over the summers, we partner with Books Between Kids to do that. We do little read-alongs during the actual rodeo. So, if you go by the milking parlor twice a day on the weekend, we... there's our volunteers there reading stories to people who are, you know, there visiting the rodeo and need a second to sit down.
And then, we also host a writing competition for fourth graders. And so, this last year, we had 1,000 entries of fourth graders. And our prompt was, "If I had a pony…" And we got some great entries and had a wonderful competition. And we awarded the winners with their very own belt buckle.
So, that's one. That's my trailblazer committee. I'm also on the Western art committee, and the Western art committee collects art and memorabilia from the rodeos and from just Western art, in general, and displays them, not only around the NRG complex, but also around the city. So, we now have displays in both of the airports. We have displays at the Heritage Society downtown. And just, again, just really promoting Western heritage and all the good things that the rodeo does.
Just to put a number on the good things that the rodeo does, this last year, 22 million, $22 million goes back into the education of Texas kids. So, just, they make such a huge impact.
[21:54] Scott: Amazing. The rodeo is really doing incredible things. I mean, you've put it into perspective, 35,000 volunteers. I guess I'm just curious, like, for people that are out there that maybe want to raise their hand and say, "You know, I want to get involved with the rodeo," what's, kind of, the process?
[22:10] Crystal: Yeah. So, first you have to be a member. During the rodeo, it's really easy to sign up to be a member. There's booths all over, and you can just sign up. Other parts of the year, you can probably just reach out to the rodeo and find out how to become a member. And then, once you're a member, you just log into the member site online. And there is a list of, of all the committees that are looking for new volunteers each year. And the rodeo fiscal year starts May 1st. So, every May, there's a new list of the committees. There's over 100 committees that you can serve on. Not all of them are looking for new volunteers every year, but you can absolutely take a look and put your name in the hat for those.
Some of them are very difficult to get on. Some committees are a lot easier to get on. And there's committees where you do all of your hours and volunteer work during the rodeo. And then, there's the ones that are working year-round. So, I prefer those because I want to enjoy the rodeo. I don't want to have to be working my shift during the rodeo. So, I choose to get my hours done through the rest of the year.
[23:10] Scott: That's awesome. Thank you for sharing. It really is just, sort of, like a cultural phenomenon. There's so many aspects of it that, sort of, go unappreciated.
Crystal, this has been amazing. Thank you so much for coming on the Owl Have You Know podcast to share a bit more about your story. Anything that you want to promote or raise awareness around?
[23:30] Crystal: You know, I think I already did that with the, the rodeo and, you know, just in my career, save early and save often.
[23:39] Scott: Perfect. Sound advice. Thank you again for being on.
[23:42] Crystal: Well, thanks so much, Scott. It was good to be here.
[23:46] Outro: 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 podcasts. We'd love to hear what you think. The hosts of Owl Have You Know are myself, Maya Pomroy, and Scott Gale.
Season 5, Episode 10
Hear about Ramon’s career journey from his grandfather’s general store in Mexico to the C-suite of some of the biggest global retailers, as well as why he decided to pursue an MBA at Rice Business.
Season 5, Episode 9
Corey chats about her pivots from pre-med to English to her current role as an EdTech executive — as well as the importance of supporting AI literacy and how she's helping transform the education system.
Season 5, Episode 8
A seasoned entrepreneur, investor and mentor, Ben discusses his incredible career journey, approach to mentoring entrepreneurs, and the many lessons he's learned over the past 50 years.
In an opinion piece in The Hill, Rice Business marketing professor Vikas Mittal says that Bud Light's sales fell due to product quality, low customer satisfaction, and management errors, not just one incident.
