Advisory Council
COBA Advisory Council Purpose Statement
The purpose of the Sam Houston State University College of Business Administration (COBA) Advisory Council is to enable effective partnership between the business community and the College in order to ensure that:
- Our curriculum and programming reflects the current and future needs of the business community so that our graduates become significant contributors.
- Our students are exposed in meaningful ways to businesses during their course of study in the appropriate balance of theory and practice.
- The COBA provides appropriate mentoring, internship opportunities and job placement opportunities for students.
- Our faculty remain current in their fields and have opportunities to contribute to the body of knowledge in these fields through meaningful research projects.
- The COBA contributes to the competitiveness, growth and overall success of the business community.
- The COBA develops funding sources to enable investment for expansion.
The COBA Advisory Council is comprised of individuals with significant experience and expertise in a diverse set of business and professional disciplines representative of the Houston Metro Area, with a focus on the global nature of our business environment. The Advisory Council meets formally two to three times per year. In the interim, members work with the COBA, singly or in groups, based on their individual skills and interests, to achieve the above goals.
COBA Advisory Council 2024-25
| Advisory Council Members | Employer |
|---|---|
| Omar Maalouf, CEO | Momentum Glass |
| Cheryl Peschke-Benton, Senior Vice President | Raymond James & Associates |
| Jeff Powell, Co-founder | Razzoo’s Cajun Café |
| Larry Riggs, (ret.) | Uniroyal Chemical |
| Sheri Robinson, CFO | Reynolds and Reynolds |
| Brandi Sikes, Principal & Senior Advisor | SVN, J. Beard Real Estate (Greater Houston) |
| Jill S. Vaughan, Chair of Banking | Sam Houston State University |
| Bryan Brown, Partner/Attorney | Jones Day Law Firm |
| Royce Burnett, Dean | Graves School of Business and Management at Morgan State University |
| John Deveau, Owner | Deveau Realty Team |
| Gary Dudley, President | Southwest Business Corporation |
| Ronny Carroll, President (ret.) | Ronny Carroll Custom Homes (ret.) |
| Brian Hall, Manager of Corporate Supplier Diversity and Diversity & Inclusion | Shell Oil Company |
| Robert E. Hutson, Executive Vice-President-Manager (ret.) | Texas Capital Bank – Commercial Banking |
| Joe Laehu, President & General Manager - Protective, Marine & High-Performance Flooring Division | Sherwin Williams |
| Gibson D. Lewis, President | Lewis Label Products |
| Michael Rohrig, Partner | Deloitte & Touche LLP |
| Chris Sower, Senior Vice President/Chief Operations Officer | Rinchem Company, LLC |
| Brian Starr, Partner and Houston Audit Market Leader | WhitleyPenn |
| Mary M. Vitek, Chief Executive Officer | Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council |
| Dawn Wesneski, Smith-Hutson Scholarship Coordinator | Smith-Hutson Scholarship Foundation |
| Todd Zuspan, Partner (retired) | Ernst & Young, LLP |
Young Alum Advisory Council 2024-25
| Young Alum Advisory Council Members | Primary Employment |
|---|---|
| Jessica L. Campbell | Airbnb, Property Manager |
| Veronica A. Davis | Ferguson Enterprises, Accounts Payable Specialist |
| Harrison D. Foulkes | Airgas, Inc., Assistant Logistics Manager |
| Josh Ghaddar | Amegy Bank, Associate Credit Analyst |
| Nicholas K. Hendricks | The Dow Chemical Company, Associate |
| Noe A. Negrete | Cognizant, Senior Consultant |
| Megan A. Ogg | Brenntag, Supply Chain Analyst |
| Diamond R. Owens | KPMG, Manager - Order to Cash |
| J. Forrest Turner | Amegy Bank, Assistant Vice President, Relationship Manager |
| Student Members | |
| Tre'Vanni Bass | Current Student |
| Alex Crowell | Current Student |
| Hannah Dawson | Current Student (grad) |
| Ta'Kerria Gipson | Current Student |
| Cale Walden | Current Student (grad) |