SMU Cox School Recognizes Distinguished Alumni
The SMU Cox School of Business recognized three 2023 Distinguished Alumni and two Outstanding Young Alumni during its Alumni Awards luncheon.
This year’s SMU Cox Distinguished Alumni Award honorees are RGT Wealth Advisors CEO Mark Griege, BBA’81; Veritex Holdings and Veritex Community Bank CEO Malcolm Holland, BBA ’82; and Bill Vanderstraaten, BBA ’82, who founded Chief Partners in the summer of 2007 in partnership with Trevor Rees-Jones.
Holland has been part of six banks until founding Veritex in 2010. Today, it is the ninth largest headquartered bank in Texas. Griege and his wife, Peggy, are the benefactors of the new lobby—to be known as the Griege Lobby—in the newly renovated Maguire Building, which is currently under construction as part of the Cox School renovation and expansion project. Vanderstraaten is a past SMU trustee and past chairman of the SMU Alumni Association. Currently, he serves on the Cox Executive Board and chairs the Advisory Board of the Folsom Institute for Real Estate.
The Cox School’s 2023 Outstanding Young Alumni honorees, also alphabetically, are Christina Goodman, BBA ‘06, the vice president for development at Baylor Scott & White Dallas Foundation, and Indu Sanka, MBA ’16, president and CEO of the design and architectural signage manufacturing and installation company Red Elephant.
Goodman has nearly two decades of experience in the non-profit sector and began her development career at ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Her time at St. Jude ignited her passion for healthcare philanthropy, which led her to Baylor Scott & White Dallas Foundation in 2014.
Under Sanka’s guidance, the company has grown tenfold over the past five years and is now listed as an INC 5000 company.
The Alumni Awards event is held every May at the start of commencement weekend on the SMU campus. Award nominations are submitted to the SMU Cox Alumni Association for consideration by a selection committee.
SMU Cox Distinguished Alumni candidates must hold an undergraduate or graduate degree from SMU and a position of distinction in the business community; demonstrate outstanding career success; be active civic leaders and community partners; and be involved with SMU and the Cox School through activities and contributions. Those recognized as SMU Cox Outstanding Young Alumni must meet the same criteria but can be no more than 40 years of age at the time of the awards luncheon.
