McCombs Made

In this episode, we hear from Dean Bradley R. Staats, who took over leadership at McCombs in July of this year. A third-generation Longhorn, he holds a bachelor's degree from UT and an MBA from Harvard Business School.  He has spent the last 17 years at the University of North Carolina both as a professor and as Dean of the Kenan-Flagler Business School.  

Join host Miranda Bradley as she talks with guests who have broken the mold and moved the mark. Like the new Dean of McCombs School of Business, Bradley Staats, Sue Gove, former CFO of Fortune 500 companies and Katherine Rowe, a U.S. Army veteran and Longhorn grad. Plus Ponchos' very own founder and CEO, Clayton Spencer joins us this season. Join us this season as we listen to and learn from some of the best in business. Right here on McCombs Made.  

After watching his brother and a friend launch Pluckers Wing Bar straight out of college, Sean Greenberg, Finance '99, decided he wanted to join the ranks himself. While attending Texas McCombs, Sean spent much of his free time handing out fliers, pushing brooms, and stocking shelves to help his brother's dream become a reality.    After earning his JD from Southern Methodist University, he decided to return to the fold, helping to cement Pluckers as the go-to spot for UT students seeking community. Hear what's in the secret sauce that makes this family run business truly legendary. 

Chad Auler has taken his McCombs MBA and reinvented the family business. Following in his father, Ed's, footsteps, Chad's love for the beverage industry grew from its beginnings at his parents Fall Creek winery into his own endeavors. After parlaying what he learned from his parents and coupling it with the business sense developed at McCombs, Chad ventured into the vodka business, co-founding Deep Eddy Vodka and eventually starting Milestone Brands, which represents a wide variety of beverage labels. He talked with McCombs Made about the journey from there to here, what he sees as his next chapter, and what it's like to continue his family's legacy.

Brian McDermott, MBA '14, president and COO of Frönen, took all he learned while studying entrepreneurship at McCombs and parlayed it into a number of business ventures. But the most daring and visionary has to be his latest – spearheading the national expansion of the non-dairy frozen dessert brand Frönen, which he and his partner, George Ho, acquired in 2024. Hear how a family medical issue inspired Brian's passion for clean ingredients and how he is using all he learned as a student on the Forty Acres to make them accessible – and delicious – for everyone.