Hall of Fame

George R. Ackert is a senior managing director in Evercore’s investment banking business in New York City. He is an internationally- recognized advisor to companies in the transportation and infrastructure space, as well as to leasing/rental and business services companies. George also heads Evercore’s sports advisory practice.

Ackert began his career as an associate attorney in Mergers & Acquisitions and Structured Finance at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. George moved to investment banking in 1997 and joined Merrill Lynch as an associate, rising to global head of Transportation & Infrastructure, before joining Evercore in 2009. He holds a JD with Honors from The University of Texas School of Law, an MBA from Baylor University, as well as a BBA with High Honors from The University of Texas at Austin.

He is a former chairman and a founding member of the New York for McCombs Board. He is also former chairman for the Advisory Council of the McCombs School of Business for the 2018-19 school year. He is also a member of the UT Longhorn Foundation Advisory Council, The UT Development Board, the UT System Chancellor’s Executive Council, and serves on the Board of the Steve Hicks School of Social Work at UT.

Kevin P. Eltife, Tyler, Texas, was appointed to a six-year term on The University of Texas System Board of Regents by Governor Greg Abbott in January 2017 and was confirmed by the Texas Senate on February 7, 2017.

On December 20, 2018, he was elected chairman of the Board of Regents. Eltife chairs the System Review and Structure Task Force. He previously served on the Academic Affairs Committee; the Audit, Compliance, and Risk Management Committee; the Facilities Planning and Construction Committee; the Finance and Planning Committee; and the Board for Lease of University Lands.

He formerly served as senator for Texas Senate District 1 from 2004-2017, as the mayor of Tyler, and on the Tyler City Council. He was also appointed in December 1996 by Governor George W. Bush to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and served until July 2003. 

Mr. Eltife is the owner of Eltife Properties, Ltd. He is a director for Citizens 1st Bank and serves on The University of Texas at Austin Development Board and The University of Texas at Tyler Development Board.

Mr. Eltife earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from The University of Texas at Austin. He resides in Tyler with his wife and two children.

In 1989, Gay W. Gaddis cashed in a $16,000 IRA to create a new breed of agency, T3 (The Think Tank), that rose to national prominence for innovation under her leadership for more than 30 years.

Today, Gay is focusing her always-on energy to empower entrepreneurs and the next generation of business leaders to take big leaps in their careers and lives. She is an active speaker on women’s leadership, company culture and entrepreneurship. Her book, "Cowgirl Power: How to Kick Ass in Business and Life", released in January 2018, shares insights and examples for women to develop personal power and lead like fearless cowgirls.

Gay is the first female chairman of the Texas Business Leadership Council and is former chairman of The Committee of 200 (C200), a top women’s business organization that advances women’s leadership in business, and is on the Board of Directors of the Texas Cultural Trust. She was also an immediate past board member for Monotype Imaging Holdings, Inc.

Gay is deeply involved with The University of Texas. She is on the board of Texas Exes, the official alumni association of The University of Texas, is part of the Dean’s Advisory Council to The University of Texas McCombs School of Business, and is an advisor for both the College of Fine Arts and the Moody College of Communication.

Gay and her husband, Lee, own the historic Double Heart Ranch in the Texas Hill Country, home of Fossil Ridge Creative Center, a retreat venue for thinking, creativity and collaboration. Fossil Ridge blends Hill Country nature with inspiring architecture and state-of-the-art facilities to spark imagination, serving as a venue for non-profit events, corporate retreats and creative workshops.

Fossil Ridge is also the home of Gay’s private art studio. Her bold and vibrant paintings have been shown in several prestigious galleries around the country including the gallery at Fossil Ridge and New York City, earning her a distinction by Texas Monthly magazine as one of the “Top Ten Artists to Collect Now.”

An active spokesperson, artist, and writer, Gaddis is the celebrated author of "Cowgirl Power: How to Kick Ass in Business & Life" and is a regular contributor to Forbes and part of Fortune’s Powerful Women Insider Network. She is an active speaker with corporate and student groups. Over her career, Gaddis has received numerous awards and honors including Fast Company’s “Top 25 Women Business Builders,” Inc. Magazine’s “Top 10 Entrepreneurs of the Year” and C200’s Luminary Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence.

Before becoming the chief executive officer of JLL Capital Markets, Americas, as part of the HFF acquisition, Mark was a founding partner of HFF LP, having joined HFF’s predecessor firm, Holliday Fenoglio, & Company, in 1984.

Mark became a director and vice chairman of HFF, Inc. in November 2006, before the company’s IPO in 2007. On April 1, 2014, he became its CEO. Beginning in 2003, Mark was an executive managing director at HFF, and served as a member of both HFF’s executive and operating committees from 1993 and 2010, respectively, until the present time.

Mr. Gibson has been involved in real estate financing, joint ventures, entity recapitalization, and asset sales for major corporate, institutional, and entrepreneurial owners, both nationally and internationally. His long-standing history with HFF allowed him to bring to the board of directors a deep knowledge of the Company's and the Operating Partnerships' development and operations. His experience with various real estate industry professional associations and role within the Operating Partnerships provides the board with valuable insight into the issues and market developments facing the real estate industry as a whole.

Gibson was born in Fort Payne, Alabama., and was 2 years old when his mother, who was single, moved to Houston for a job. He played football at the University of Texas at Austin and was the first person in his family to attend college. His 35-year career in real estate began in 1981 when he earned a BBA in Finance degree in business administration at The University of Texas at Austin and joined Holliday Fenoglio in 1984. Mark provides guidance and leadership at several organizations. He’s an executive committee member at the UT Real Estate Finance and Investment Center and an advisory council member at the McCombs School of Business.

Outside of his UT involvement, Mr. Gibson is also an executive committee member and former board member of AFIRE, Executive Committee Member for Urban Land Institute, and a Trustee for ICSC. He currently sits on the Board for UT Southwestern University Hospital, and previously sat on the Board of Advisors of Baylor Health Care System Foundation.

He has been married to Jane Holland Gibson since August 1987. They have two children, Matthew and Jordan. Both are in the real estate industry. In his spare time, Mark enjoys spending time with his family, traveling, and fly fishing.

Since graduation, Jessica M. Lopez has grown from a staff accountant to a controller, receiving her certified public accountant designation, and now has the privilege of helping others progress in their careers. She is currently the corporate controller for ID Experts. Previously, she was the director of finance and controller for All Web Leads Inc. Her extensive participation with the Texas Society of CPAs (TXCPA) has included serving as treasurer-elect and serving on its Membership Committee and Leaders Emerging in Accounting Profession Committee. Her contributions to the community and the accounting profession have also been recognized by the TXCPA, being awarded the Young CPA of the Year (2018 and 2019) award by the Austin Chapter and at the state level as a TXCPA Rising Star (2019).

Michael C. Smith holds a BBA in information systems from the University of Oklahoma as well as an MBA in finance from The University of Texas at Austin. He began his career with ExxonMobil as a summer intern while completing his MBA. The following summer, he joined the company as a controller’s analyst in ExxonMobil’s global services company. There he led the coordination process for securing project endorsements and participated in monthly business analysis activities. He went on to complete assignments in ExxonMobil’s treasurer’s organization where he managed ExxonMobil’s financial guarantee portfolio for the upstream businesses, which involved negotiating financial instruments with foreign and domestic banks and later provided financial support for world-scale engineering and construction projects. Since then, he has spent time in a variety of controller’s financial roles, including leading a team with financial reporting responsibility for oil and gas exploration activities in the Asia Pacific and Middle East regions. Currently, Michael works in a global coordination group where he provides support for ExxonMobil’s upstream financial stewardship.

April D. Underwood is a product leader and angel investor who has created category-defining businesses over the past decade.

She is a venture partner with Obvious Ventures. She is also a founding partner of the angel investing collective #Angels and a member of the board of directors for Zillow Group. Until 2019, April was chief product officer at Slack. Prior to joining Slack, April was director of product at Twitter from 2010 to 2015.

Previously, April has held product, partnerships, and engineering roles at Google, Travelocity, and Intel. April holds a BBA in management information systems and business honors from The University of Texas at Austin and an MBA from the University of California at Berkeley. April has received numerous honors, including Fast Company's "Most Creative People", Fortune's "40 Under 40", and the highest alumni honor for professional achievement from The University of Texas at Austin, the "Outstanding Young Texas Ex Award".

April was born and raised in Texas and is a 5th generation Texan -- or she was, until she moved west. April and her family reside in California.