The Dallas Foundation
Julie Diaz, President and CEO
The Dallas Foundation has selected Julie Diaz as its new president and CEO. Diaz joined The Dallas Foundation in 2019 as vice president of philanthropic partnerships and was then promoted to executive vice president in 2021. She is currently an advisory board member for the Georgia State University Harrower Summer Opera Workshop and a board member and development chair for Camp Merrie-Woode.
Education: Boston University Questrom School of Business (MBA), Salem College (BA)
TCU Neeley School of Business
Craig Crossland, John V. Roach Dean of the Neeley School of Business
TCU’s Neeley School of Business has named Craig Crossland as the school’s new dean effective June 30th. He was previously the senior associate dean for academic programs for the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame where he helped oversee five undergraduate majors and eight graduate programs. While at Notre Dame, Crossland also played a key role in ushering in the college’s first PhD in management and contributed to reconfiguring the Mendoza Executive MBA program into a Global EMBA.
Education: Penn State University (PhD), University College Dublin (MBA)
Stream Realty Partners
Kate Lengyel, Chief Human Resources Officer
Commercial real estate firm Stream Realty Partners has appointed Kate Lengyel as chief human resources officer. Lengyel has almost 30 years of experience in HR, having previously served as a HR consultant for Corporate Connections. She was the CHRO for automotive company Canoo prior to joining Stream and worked for technology company Aventiv Technologies for 13 years.
Education: Vanderbilt University (MEd, BS)
Frost Brown Todd
Peter McKenzie, Managing Director
Law firm Frost Brown Todd has named Peter Mackenzie as a managing director. McKenzie has more than 30 years of experience in operations and corporate strategy. He previously worked as the managing director of corporate finance for business consulting firm FTI Consulting.
Education: The University of Texas at Austin (BBA)
Texans Credit Union
Mike McWethy, Executive Vice President
Texans Credit Union has promoted Mike McWethy to executive vice president. McWethy was previously chief experience officer of the credit union and has more than 15 years of experience in the financial services industry. Prior to joining Texans Credit Union, he served in various positions at First Service Credit Union for 14 years.
Education: University of Phoenix (BBA)
Southern Methodist University
Joshua Taylor, Managing Director of William S. Spears Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership
Joshua Taylor has joined SMU’s Cox School of business as the Managing Director of the school’s William S. Spears Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership. Taylor has two decades of experience in senior leadership roles in strategy consulting. In 2021, Taylor joined SMU Cox as a mentor for SMU’s “Unbridled Ventures” MBA program and as an adjunct instructor for the EMBA program.
Education: Stanford University (MBA)
HKS
Zack Lamp, Principal
Zack Lamp, who has been with HKS for 15 years, is part of a flurry of promotions at HKS. Now a principal, Lamp is a studio practice leader for commercial and mixed-use developments. He is also a business development leader in the hospitality practice for the firm’s central region.
Education: The University of Texas at Arlington (MArch), Texas Tech University (BS)
Shelley Locke, Principal
Shelley Locke has also been promoted to principal. The senior manager, advisory at HKS has more than 20 years of experience in strategic planning and design. She previously served as a senior healthcare planner for design services company HDR. From 2009 to 2012 Locke was the associate vice president of Cannon Design before moving into the role of healthcare designer and planner until 2016.
Education: The University of Texas at Arlington (MArch), The University of Texas at Austin (BA)
Ryan Schutt, Principal
Ryan Schutt, also promoted to principal, is currently a studio design leader at HKS with a focus on commercial and mixed-use developments. He joined HKS in 2022 after previously serving as an architect and designer for Merriman Associates/Architects for 12 years.
Education: The University of Texas at Arlington (MArch), Texas A&M University (BS)
Board Appointments
Wilkinson Center
Nonprofit organization Wilkinson Center has announced the election of its 2024 board of directors, including three new directors and four returning board officers.
Kathryn Brennan
Brennan currently serves as the project manager and digital manager for global manufacturing company Celanese. She previously worked as a marketing communications associate for the company from 2021 to 2023.
Education: Texas Christian University (MS, BBA)
Kent Cummings
Cummings is currently an executive director for PGIM Real Estate. He has worked for the company for more than six years and previously served as the vice president for six years. Prior to joining PGIM, he worked for Prudential Mortgage Capital Company for more than 12 years.
Education: Texas A&M University (MS), Baylor University (BBA)
Susan Johnson
Johnson is currently the senior vice president and division operations executive for Bank of America. She has worked for the company for more than 30 years, beginning as a human resources executive in 1989.
Education: DePaul University (MA), St. Louis University (BA)
Tech Titans
Tech Titans has appointed five new members to its board of directors. Joining the leadership team for 2024 are:
Lissette Mendez
Mendez has served as the vice president of finance and Latin American controller for AT&T since 2021. She has worked for AT&T for 27 years, beginning in 1997 as the director of financial operations. She is also a board member for Texas Women’s Foundation and an advisory board chair for the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship.
Education: Seton Hall University (MBA)
Ben Kazora
Kazora serves as the business development manager for logisitcs services company SMS InfoComm. He also has worked as global strategy consultant for Ben Kazora Consulting since 2015. He additionally serves as a board member for the African Leadership Council, DFW International Association, Humanitarian Hands, and is the president of the Eastern African Business Council.
Education: University of Texas at Dallas (MS), Texas A&M Commerce University (MS), Purdue University (BS)
Riyaz Muhammad
Muhammad works as a senior manager for corporate tech and innovations for electronic manufacturing company Murata Electronic. With 30 years of experience in the semiconductor, software, and hardware industries, Muhammad has worked for Murata Electronic since 2016.
Education: The University of Texas at Austin, Mahatma Gandhi University
Arek Skuza
Arek Skuza is a US consulting and principal AI strategist for Future Processing. With more than 17 years of experience working in the complex technology industry, he also currently serves as a faculty member of Poznań University of Economics and Business in Poland.
Education: Poznań University of Economics and Business (MBA), University of Oxford, Northwestern University
Vikesh Gumpalli
Vikesh Gumpalli is the M&A transformation and strategic initiatives leader for IT and business services company NTT Data. Gumpalli has worked for NTT Data since 2019 and has served in several positions, including president of corporate development and vice president of global sales strategy and operations. He served as a chief resource officer for software development company Vendavo for three years beginning in 2020.
Education: Purdue University (MBA)
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