The Rankin College of Business is holding The Executive Network on February 26 and 27, 2018. Alumni in executive positions are invited “home” to share with students their path to success. This provides real-life examples and encouragement for our students. It is an opportunity for them to begin to build their own network of successful Rankin College of Business alums to support them in their career journey.
Speakers at this year’s event include:
Jim Andrew
s, Jr. ‘86
Vice President and Chief Legal Counsel
Deltic Timber
Topic: Corporate Culture
Jim Andrews has recently concluded a seventeen-year career at Deltic Timber Corporation in El Dorado, Arkansas, where he served as Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary and was a member of the executive team that oversaw the company’s merger with Potlatch Corporation.
He is a 1987 graduate (BBA) from the College of Business at Southern Arkansas University. In the Fall of 2018, his son and daughter will begin their studies at Southern Arkansas University and will be the seventh and eighth members, and the third generation, of his family to claim the title of Mulerider. Jim also holds an MBA from Baylor University, a JD from Southern Methodist University, and attained the rank of Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve.
He has worked in a variety of positions in a variety of entities ranging from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies and was recently appointed by Governor Asa Hutchinson to serve on the Arkansas Economic Development Commission.
Jonathan Baird ‘01
Senior Advisor and Partner
Mustard Seed Wealth Management
Topic: The Future of the Financial Services Industry
Jonathan is a Partner and Wealth Manager at Mustard Seed Wealth Management. He is also Chief Financial Officer at Peoples Bank.
Jonathan attended SAU from 1998-2001 obtaining a degree in business with an emphasis in marketing. He attended Southern Seminary from 2002 to 2005 receiving his master’s degree. While in seminary he passed the CFP exam and became a CFP Professional in 2006. He returned to SAU in 2010 to finish out his degree in business with an emphasis in finance. He was named the 2013 CFO of the year for small banks by Arkansas Business, Outstanding Young Alumni for SAU in 2016 and 40 Under 40 by Arkansas Business in 2016.
Married to Emily with five children, Addie, Piper, Haddon, Josiah and Judah.
Mike Dumas ‘79
Vice President and CFO
Intermarine, LLC
Topic: Inherent Biases: Differences between reality and perception
Mike Dumas, of Houston, is a 1979 graduate of SAU’s marketing program. He is executive vice president and chief financial officer of Intermarine. During his 19-year tenure with the company, it has grown in sales from $150 million to more than $450 million in 2014, and is the largest specialty project cargo shipping company in the U.S. Dumas continues to support SAU and the Rankin College of Business in many ways, including establishing a scholarship for SAU students wishing to intern in the Houston area and visiting campus to speak at the RCB’s executive network. He and his wife, Krista Johnson, have two children – Cameron Elizabeth and Benjamin Forbes.
Dennis Joseph ‘03
Associate Director, Global Strategy & Marketing
Halyard Health
Topic: Global Healthcare – Intersection of Global Strategy and Innovation
With over 15 years of experience in healthcare Dennis’ career has ranged from optimizing existing solutions to creating new solutions and creating disruptive clinical technologies globally.
Dennis is the Associate Director of Global Strategy & Marketing for Halyard Health (formerly Kimberly-Clark). He leads a team that oversees global strategy for a portfolio of businesses worth over $750 million. He started his career at Cardinal Health (a Fortune 500 company) in the field of pharmaceutical distribution. He then went on to work for a start-up in the field of Oncology and Rheumatology focused on solutions to optimize cancer care. In 2013 Dennis joined one of the largest names in Consumer and Healthcare products, Kimberly-Clark Corporation. He has taken multiple innovations from concept to FDA approval and has launched products globally. In the pursuit of launching clinical innovations Dennis’s team oversees partnerships with Georgia Tech, US Government’s Biomedical Advanced Research, and other esteemed institutions.
Dennis has a Bachelor’s degree in Information Systems (with a minor in Mathematics) from SAU. He also has an MBA from The Ohio State University. With numerous recognitions and multiple patent disclosures Dennis who is originally from India, now lives with his wife and 2 kids in Atlanta, Georgia.
Kristina Madison ‘04
Senior Manager II, Fuel Operations
Walmart
Topic: Dare Greatly
Kristina Madison is a Senior Manager of Fuel Operations who leads Walmart Fuel Stations across 8 states in Central and Western US. She received a BS and Master’s degree in Business from Southern Arkansas University and proceeded to work in the fast paced, ever-changing oil and convenience store industry. Kris is passionate about community service and benefited by being part of the El Dorado Service League, Relay for Life, March of Dimes, Phelan-McDermid Syndrome Awareness, Women in Leadership and the Network of Executive Women in NWA. She is married to her high school sweetheart and they have four beautiful daughters.
Margaret Molleston ‘78
President and CEO
GeoSouthern Energy Partners GP, LLC and GEP Haynesville, LLC
Topic: Oil and Gas Industry and GeoSouthern
Margaret Woodward Molleston has more than thirty-four years of experience in the oil and gas industry. She currently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of GeoSouthern Energy Partners GP, LLC and GEP Haynesville, LLC, and manages the day to day operations of GeoSouthern Energy Corporation and its affiliated and subsidiary companies. Prior to joining GeoSouthern in June, 2006, Ms. Molleston held positions with Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, Union Pacific Resources Company, Weber Energy Corporation, and the Sun Oil Company, and worked with her family’s businesses in southern Arkansas.
Under Ms. Molleston’s direction, GeoSouthern discovered and developed the Black Hawk Field in DeWitt County, Texas, building the company’s total operated production from 300 barrels per day in 2006 to more than 100,000 barrels per day in 2014. In 2013, GeoSouthern was recognized as “Deal of the Year” by the Oil and Gas Investor, and for the past five years, companies under Ms. Molleston’s management have consistently been ranked in the top tier of privately held oil and gas producers in the United States by the Oil and Gas Financial Journal.
Ms. Molleston graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Southern Arkansas University and holds a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. She is an active member of the Arkansas Bar Association, the American Association of Professional Landmen, is a benefactor of the Houston Museum of Natural Science, and serves on the Business Advisory Council of Southern Arkansas University.
In addition to her leadership roles in the oil and gas industry, Ms. Molleston is active in the management and acquisition of extensive real estate holdings throughout Texas, Arkansas and Florida and is a board member of AmeriQual Group Holdings.
Ms. Molleston was born and raised in Magnolia, Arkansas and currently resides in the Houston area.
Don McDonald ‘89
Managing Director
Merrill Lynch Wealth Management
Topic: Opportunity of a Lifetime
Don began his career at Merrill Lynch in 1989 after earning a Bachelor’s of Business Administration in Finance from Southern Arkansas University. He leads the team’s client-focused efforts and focuses on developing financial strategies and portfolio construction for high net-worth clients. In 2015-2017, Don was named to Barron’s Top 1200 Advisors in the nation and was ranked first by them in the state of Arkansas in 2015. In 2014, Don was also named as one of the Top 400 Financial Advisors in the United States by The Financial Times and the Top 100 Wirehouse Advisors in 2016. Growing up on a cattle farm in Northeast Arkansas taught Don the value of hard work and the virtue of being responsible. He demonstrates those character traits today through personal integrity and straightforward advice. Don and his wife, Jennifer, met in northeast Texas and are the proud parents of three children. Outside of the office, Don enjoys traveling, hunting, fishing, and spending time with family and friends. Don is also active in the financial education ministry at his church and serves as a trustee to the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist.
Jill Temple ‘06
Executive Director
Interfaith Clinic, a service of SHARE Foundation
Topic: What are soft skills and how do I get them?
I am a 2002 Graduate of El Dorado High School and earned a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree from Southern Arkansas University in 2006 and a Master of Business Administration Degree from Harding University in 2009. I began working for SHARE Foundation in 2004 as the Public Relations Specialist, and was promoted to Administrative Manager of Life Touch Hospice, a SHARE Foundation Agency, in 2007. In September 2010, I took my current position as Executive Director of Interfaith Clinic. Interfaith is a not-for-profit medical clinic that provides primary healthcare to uninsured and under-insured patients in Union County. I am married to Garland Temple, Captain with El Dorado Fire Department, and we have one daughter, Brooklyn.
Shawana Reed ‘03
Vice President of Finance
Southern Arkansas University
Topic: The Business of Higher Education
Shawana Reed currently serves Southern Arkansas University as Vice President for Finance. Shawana began working at SAU in December 2004. She previously worked in the banking industry. Shawana holds a BBA in Accounting and a Masters of Business Administration degree, both received from SAU.
Dory Stiles ‘93
Assistant Treasurer
Koch Industries
Topic: Don’t Spare the Change – Embrace It
Dory is Assistant Treasurer for Koch Industries, Inc. and resides in Wichita, Kansas with his wife and two children. Among his primary responsibilities are debt structuring and management, capital structure strategy and optimization, and relationship oversight for banks and credit rating agencies.
Before joining Koch in 2014, Dory worked at Murphy Oil Corporation for over 20 years in a number of leadership roles both domestically and internationally including accounting, tax, investor relations, finance and administration, treasury, and insurance. He began his career as an auditor at Baird, Kurtz & Dobson.
Dory is a certified public accountant and a graduate of Southern Arkansas University where he received a B.B.A. in accounting with a minor in finance.
Beth Cameron Weldon ‘83
Vice President of Marketing
First Financial Bank
Topic: The Next Big Thing
A long time ago, in a galaxy far away, Beth Cameron Weldon stepped onto the campus of SAU. She thought she wanted to be an elementary teacher, but soon realized she couldn’t stay in the same room with 20 children all day, every day. She changed her major to Marketing and started hanging out with the “cool kids” at Peace Hall…..and the rest, as they say – is history. Earning a double major in Marketing and Economics, she graduated and began a diverse journey through several different careers before finding her niche in the marketing sector.
She spent five years as the Resource Development Director for SHARE Foundation in El Dorado – writing and implementing grants, planning and executing major fundraising events, and leading the charge for public, corporate and employee relations efforts. She had a brief stint as the Executive Director of the United Way of Union County before being wooed away from the nonprofit sector and into the challenging world of bank marketing.
For the past 10 years, she’s been the VP of Marketing for First Financial Bank in El Dorado. During that time, they’ve experienced tremendous growth – opening loan offices all over the US and new retail branches in Arkansas and Mississippi. With only a staff of 4, they produce all marketing collateral, printed materials, video, website, digital and social media efforts. They also manage all company fundraisers and community outreach projects, as well as produce the monthly employee newsletter.
A ‘jane-of-all-trades’, Beth loves the challenge of learning new things and encourages you to be a lifelong learner. She loves live music, making people laugh, and carbs. She can frequently be found trying to burn off those carbs on hiking trails around the state, with her sidekick/rescue dog Max.
She is married to Chuck Weldon from Magnolia and the proud parent of Russ, 28, and Sarah 25.
