Every year, we select alumni who have made a marked difference in their industry or community. These illustrious individuals exemplify the McCombs spirit through their innovation, drive, and determination. We congratulate this year’s inductees on receiving this prestigious honor.
Howard M. Berk
BBA Finance, ’87; MBA, Harvard Business School ’91
Advisory Partner, BDT & MSD Partners
Howard M. Berk is an advisory partner to BDT & MSD Partners and former vice chair of MSD Partners. He joined MSD Capital in 2002 as a partner, overseeing public and private equity investments for Michael Dell, his family, and select aligned investors. He also serves as co-managing partner of ABFA, which oversees investment strategy for a large family foundation.
Prior to MSD, Berk was managing director of TG Capital, a single-family investment office. He also worked at Stenbeck Group, acquiring and managing businesses in multiple countries, and spent several years at Goldman Sachs in Private Equity and Mergers & Acquisitions in New York. Berk also worked in Hong Kong and Singapore, where he co-founded Goldman’s non-Japan Asia private equity business.
Berk is on the board of directors of UTIMCO, chairing the Investment Risk Committee and serving on the Compensation and Policy committees. He is the past chair of the McCombs Dean’s Advisory Council and a member of the UT Development Board, and previously served on the board’s executive committee. He is a founding member, past chair, and current member of the Executive Leadership Team for New York for McCombs.
He also serves on the boards of Humane World for Animals, White Plains Hospital, and Dine Brands Global.
Berk holds a BBA in finance from The University of Texas and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He and wife Wendy have three daughters and split their time between New York and Austin, where Chelsea and Jake, Emily and Grayson, and Amanda and Brad reside.
R. Scott Dennis
BBA Real Estate, ’81
CEO, Invesco Private Markets and Invesco Real Estate
R. Scott Dennis, BBA ’81, is the chief executive officer of Invesco Private Markets and a founder of Invesco Real Estate. He is responsible for the strategy execution, and management of the $140 billion global private markets business.
Dennis has been with Invesco Real Estate, the real estate investment business of Invesco Ltd., for more than 32 years. He has served as CEO of IRE since March 2008 and as CEO of Invesco Private Markets since July 2019. Dennis has served as board chair for Invesco Real Estate Income Trust and Invesco Commercial Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. since December 2022. Before becoming IRE CEO, he served as co-head of Invesco Real Estate’s North American group and as head of its U.S. acquisitions team from 1992 to 2008. Before joining Invesco, he worked in the investment banking group at Bankers Trust Co. and with Trammell Crow Co., investing on behalf of the company’s opportunistic funds. During his career, Dennis has been directly involved in over $150 billion real estate investments.
Dennis earned a BBA in finance and real estate from The University of Texas at Austin. He has been active and served on the boards in several industry and charitable organizations, including the Dean’s Advisory Council and Silver Spurs Advisory Council. He and his wife, Melissa, live in Dallas and have three children and seven grandchildren.
Kent Ferguson
BBA Finance, ’80
CEO, Healthcare Facilities Development Corp.
Kent Ferguson, BBA ’80, is founder, president, and CEO of Healthcare Facilities Development (HCFD), a privately owned commercial real estate company that provides comprehensive services to the health care industry.
During the company’s 40-year existence, its trade area has grown to include Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana. HCFD’s accolades include national rankings in trade journals and consistently high ratings in the annual Kingsley & Associates tenant satisfaction survey. Prior to founding HCFD he served as vice president of Western Bank in Houston.
Ferguson is involved in a variety of civic, educational, philanthropic, and charitable endeavors. He currently serves on the McCombs School of Business Advisory Council, the UT Chancellor’s Council Executive Committee, the McCombs Real Estate Center Advisory Council, and the UT Development Board.
He is a past chairman of the board of trustees of the McCombs School of Business Foundation, past board chair of the American Heart Association of Central Texas, and past board member of the MS Society of Texas. He and his wife, Melissa, continue to show their support to the University through the Ferguson Excellence in Real Estate Endowment, UT Chancellor’s Endowments, and Mulva Hall gifts.
Ferguson graduated from UT with a degree in finance. He lives in Austin with his wife. They have three adult children and three grandchildren.
Sue Gove
BBA Accounting, ’78
Corporate Board Director; President, Excelsior Advisors LLC
Sue Gove, BBA ’78, is an international retail senior executive who began her career with Zale Corp. During her 25 years there, she served as vice president of operations, senior vice president of strategic planning, treasurer, CFO, and COO.
In 2008, she joined Golfsmith International as COO and served as CEO from 2012 to 2014. Gove went on to found Excelsior Advisors LLC in 2014 and also served as a senior adviser with Alvarez & Marsal. From 2022 to 2023, she was president and CEO of Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. During the past 20 years, she has been a public company independent director for 11 companies.
In addition, Gove serves on the board of the McCombs School of Business Foundation, the Dean’s Advisory Council, the Executive Committee for the Chancellor’s Council, and the UT President’s Council. She is the chair of the Internal Audit Committee for The University of Texas System. Gove is also an active supporter of Sky Ranch, a Christian camp for children.
She has four children, three daughters-in-law, and five granddaughters, and she enjoys Longhorn sports, travel, and entertaining with her friends and family. Gove graduated from UT with a degree in accounting.
James “Jimmy” Neissa
BBA Accounting, ’85; MBA, Harvard Business School ’90
Chairman, Rothschild & Co. North America
James “Jimmy” Neissa is chairman of Paris-based investment bank Rothschild & Co. North America, where he was chief executive of the firm’s operations through 2023.
A native of Boston, Neissa enlisted in the U.S. Army after high school. After his military service, he pursued a BBA in accounting at The University of Texas at Austin. While at UT, he was the grateful recipient of several academic scholarships that enabled his academic career and left him with a deep appreciation of educational philanthropy. He began his career in Houston at Arthur Andersen & Co. and continued to Harvard Business School, where he received an MBA. He went on to a career in the financial sector with Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette in New York, and UBS Securities.
He and his wife, Janet, have endowed several scholarship and professorship funds at Texas McCombs, UT, and the UTNY campus. Neissa has served on the McCombs Advisory Council and is a member of the University of Texas Development Board and Longhorn Foundation Advisory Council. He is also an executive member of the New York for McCombs Council. He and his wife have three sons and split their time between Boston and Austin.