Aaron Butler

Aaron Butler joined the Venture Fellows program in the Fall of 2008 and is a first-year MBA student concentrating in entrepreneurship and energy finance. He began his career at NASA’s Johnson Space Center as a guidance, navigation and control specialist for the International Space Station (ISS). At NASA Aaron was certified as an Attitude Determination and Control Officer (ADCO) and was the lead ADCO specialist for Space Shuttle mission STS-113/11A. He accumulated over 2000 hours of ISS operations in Mission Control before leaving NASA in December, 2003.

Aaron continued his career in human spaceflight at the European Space Agency’s (ESA) mission control center in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany. There he acted as Mission Operations Director for Astrolab, Europe’s first long-duration to the ISS. Aaron also certified as an ISS life-support system specialist and led his team in the planning and execution of Space Shuttle mission STS-122/1E which launched ESA’s primary contribution to the ISS, the 1B € Columbus science laboratory.

Aaron holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Vanderbilt University.

1. Place of employment pre-McCombs: National Aeronautics and Space Administration and European Space Agency

Andrew Ice

Andrew joined Venture Fellows in the fall of 2008. Prior to pursuing his MBA, Andrew was a Senior Consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton, a management consulting firm. As part of the Aerospace Market Group, Andrew worked on a variety of projects centered around Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) technology, acquisition methodology, and change management for numerous clients in the aerospace community. Before his consulting career, Andrew was a US Peace Corps volunteer in Kenya.

Originally from Spokane, WA, Andrew graduated from Wake Forest University with a BS in Information Systems where he was also a distance runner on the Track and Field and Cross Country teams. At McCombs he is a member of the Entrepreneurship Society, CleanTech Group, and Net Impact. In his free time Andrew enjoys cycling, reading, and writing music.

1. Place of employment pre-McCombs: Booz Allen Hamilton

Bradfield Wright

Brad is a first year student at McCombs and is concentrating in Finance and Entrepreneurship.

He is currently enrolled in the joint JD/MBA program. Prior to coming to McCombs, Brad worked in the Global Energy and Power Group at Merrill Lynch as an investment banking analyst. He graduated from the University of Texas with degrees in Plan II and Business Honors.

At McCombs, Brad is leading a Plus Project for the IC2 Institute focused on the World Bank’s Clean Technology Fund and is a member of the Entrepreneur Society, CleanTech Group and the MBA Christian Fellowship.

1. Place of employment pre-McCombs: Merrill Lynch

David Kociuruba

David joined Venture Fellows in the Fall of 2008 and is a first year MBA student at the McCombs School of Business, concentrating in Finance. Prior to attending McCombs, he spent four years at Merrill Lynch in New York working in Investment Banking and Private Equity. David also spent two years in Strategic Planning for Citigroup Asset Management and two years with The Cambridge Group a management consulting firm. David earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance and a minor in History from the University of Richmond in 2000.

At McCombs, David is also a member of the Graduate Finance Association, Energy Finance Association, and the CleanTech Group at McCombs.

1. Place of employment pre-McCombs: Merrill Lynch

David Wedemeyer

David is an MBA 2010 candidate at the McCombs School of Business, concentrating in Finance and Entrepreneurship. He joined Venture Fellows in the fall of 2008.

Prior to attending McCombs, David worked in the Forensic and Litigation group of FTI Consulting, Inc. in both Dallas and Nashville. At FTI, David provided litigation consulting services to attorneys and their clients on many major civil litigation matters. These matters involve patent infringement, business interruption, securities litigation, business valuation, internal investigations, and compliance reviews. He has also assisted with aspects of various engagements that have involved analyzing market conditions and other economic factors. David graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and History from Vanderbilt University in 2004.

1. Place of employment pre-McCombs: FTI Consulting

Henry Chen

Henry Chen joined Venture Fellows in the Fall of 2007. He is a first year MBA student at the McCombs School of Business, concentrating in Strategic Marketing and Entrepreneurship.

Prior to coming to business school, Henry worked for Sybase as the Product Manager of Mobile Services. While there, he managed their mobile content and advertising strategy and helped launch their advertising platform for mobile messaging. Henry began his career at Sybase as a Software Engineer in the Engineering SWAT team, providing internal consulting on business critical projects.

Originally from the Bay Area, CA, Henry graduated from the University of California Berkeley with a BS in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. At McCombs, Henry is a member of the Graduate Marketing Network, Entrepreneur Society, and NetImpact.

1. Place of employment pre-McCombs: Sybase, Inc.

Kathleen Voboril

Kathleen Voboril joined the Venture Fellows program in the Fall of 2008 and is a first-year MBA student concentrating in marketing and finance. Kathleen began her career as a member of the NYC brand launch team responsible for bringing Lululemon Athletica to the East Coast before the company went public in 2007. From there, Kathleen worked in marketing and corporate communications at Warburg Pincus, a NY-based global private equity firm. Here, Kathleen coordinated the marketing efforts surrounding 15 global acquisitions and a $1.2 Billion real estate fund launch. Following this experience, Kathleen became the marketing and sales manager for My Sister’s Soup Company, an organic soup retailer and wholesaler based in her hometown of Portland, Oregon.

Kathleen is also a classically trained musical theatre actress and voice over artist. As an undergraduate, she attended Northwestern University, where she was a vocal performance major and member of the musical theatre certificate program. She has performed leading roles in national tours, off-Broadway and regional productions and national commercials. She was also a member of the USO World Troupe, the “Liberty Belles,” and performed for active duty military and veterans worldwide.

Currently, Kathleen is an MBA Journal Writer for BusinessWeek.com.

1. Place of employment pre-McCombs: My Sister's Soup Company

Mark Westerburg

Mark Westerburg joined Venture Fellows in the Fall of 2008 as a first year MBA student at the McCombs School of Business. Previously, Mark spent 4 years at JMP Securities LLC in San Francisco, most recently as an Associate in the Real Estate Investment Banking Group. Prior to JMP, Mark worked for 4 years at Key Bank in the San Francisco and Dallas offices focused on real estate lending to its middle market and institutional clients. Mark earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish from the University of Texas at Austin.

1. Place of employment pre-McCombs: JMP Securities LLC

Matthew Prickett

Matthew Prickett joined Venture Fellows in the Fall of 2008 and is a first year MBA student concentrating in entrepreneurship and finance. Prior to pursing his MBA, Matthew worked for PHI Holdings, a utility company that covered five jurisdictions along the Mid-Atlantic coast including Washington, DC and Atlantic City, NJ. While at PHI Holdings, he was responsible for forecasting company electricity sales for budgeting and regulatory purposes.

Matthew is originally from Albuquerque, NM and graduated from Westminster College in Salt Lake City with a BA in Economics and from Colorado State University with a Masters in Economics. At McCombs, he is involved with a PLUS Project for AT Kearney researching the evolution of transportation systems in the United States. He is a member of the CleanTech Group, Graduate Consulting Group, and MBA Soccer.

1. Place of employment pre-McCombs: PHI Holdings

Q Beck

Q Beck joined Venture Fellows in the Fall of 2008 and is a first-year MBA student at the McCombs School of Business concentrating in Finance and Entrepreneurship. Prior to pursing his MBA, Q spent six years working for various divisions of Viacom, including Paramount, Nickelodeon and DreamWorks, as a film development and production executive. Q is originally from Houston, TX and graduated from Columbia University in the City of New York where he studied film and English.

Q is member of the McCombs Admissions Committee, the Entrepreneurship Society and the Sports, Entertainment & Media Association.

1. Place of employment pre-McCombs: Viacom

Randall Crowder

Randall Crowder joined the Venture Fellows program in Fall 2008 and is interning this semester with the Central Texas Angels Network, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing quality early-stage investment opportunities for accredited Central Texas angel investors. He is a first-year MBA student at the McCombs School of Business, concentrating in Energy Finance.

Prior to returning to school to get his MBA, Randall was a Captain in the United States Army. Qualified as Airborne and Ranger, he served six years (two and a half deployed to Iraq). Randall earned a Bachelor of Science degree in General Management with a focus in Environmental Engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 2002.

At McCombs, Randall is also a member of the Entrepreneur Society, CleanTech Group, the Energy Finance Association and the Graduate Finance Association.

1. Place of employment pre-McCombs: United States Army

Ryan Childress

Ryan Childress joined Venture Fellows in the Fall of 2008 and is a first-year MBA student focusing on Finance and Entrepreneurship. Prior to pursuing his MBA, Ryan was an Assistant Vice President at Madison Capital Funding LLC, a Chicago-based leveraged finance firm providing senior debt and equity co-investments for private equity buyout transactions. While at Madison, Ryan’s responsibilities included deal structuring, due diligence management, and legal negotiation. Prior to joining Madison, Ryan worked at Comerica Bank as a commercial credit analyst specializing and middle-market and distressed debt financing.

Ryan holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance from the Eli Broad College of Business at Michigan State University. He is member of the McCombs Admissions Committee, the Entrepreneurship Society, CleanTech Group, and the Sports, Entertainment & Media Association.

1. Place of employment pre-McCombs: Madison Capital Funding LLC

Tate Forrester

Tate joined Venture Fellows in the fall of 2008. Prior to McCombs, Tate spent four years with Morgan Stanley in New York. Most recently, he worked for the last three years in the investment banking division’s debt restructuring/liability management group working on over 43 restructuring, recapitalization, debt exchange, tender and consent solicitation transactions. Prior to that, he worked as an associate in the firm’s Latin America Private Wealth Management group for one year as a trader.

Tate is originally from Amarillo, TX and graduated with honors from Vanderbilt University where he studied Economics, Spanish and Managerial Studies and from Woodberry Forest School in Woodberry Forest, VA. He will graduate in May 2010 from the McCombs School of Business with concentrations in Entrepreneurship and Management.

At McCombs, Tate is a member of the McCombs Admissions Committee, the Graduate Finance Association, and the Entrepreneur Society.

1. Place of employment pre-McCombs: Morgan Stanley