MBA Students Win Stoddard Prize

PROVO, Utah – May 07, 2013 – Seventeen Brigham Young University MBA finance students were awarded the George E. Stoddard Prize and $3,000 in a significant return on their educational investment. This year 11 second-year and six first-year students received the honor.

“The Stoddard Prize recognizes and rewards outstanding finance majors in the Marriott School’s MBA program,” says Grant McQueen, a finance professor who oversees the awards. “The finance faculty consider these prizes a vote of confidence in the students, their professional potential and their role as representatives of the BYU MBA program around the globe.”

The second-year 2013 MBA Stoddard Scholars are Brent Absher, from Grand Island, Neb.; Brandon Ayache, from Cypress, Calif.; Chris Bunker, from Fairfax, Va.; Trevor Flint from Ogden, Utah; Spencer Hafen, from Kaysville, Utah; Ryan Mehner, from Edmond, Okla.; Brian Nielsen from Spanish Fork, Utah; Gregg Pickett, from Tremonton, Utah; Bryce Rindlesbach, from Salt Lake City; Rob Sherwood, from Calgary, Canada; and Brian Wayment, from Burley, Idaho.

The first-year MBA 2013 Stoddard Scholars include Mark Brems, from Phoenix; Ben Brown, from Pendleton, Ore.; Carl Christensen, from Bountiful, Utah; Thomas Graham, from Salt Lake City; Adam Nebeker, from Liberty Lake, Wash.; and Brad Peterson, from North Ogden, Utah.

Second-year recipients were selected by a faculty committee based on academic performance and their commitment to the finance program. Selection of first-year students was based on registration in the finance major and academic performance.

Recipients of the awards are grateful for the award and what it stands for.

“I am honored to receive the Stoddard award,” Mehner says. “The Marriott School’s program has helped me reach my personal and professional goals and the blending of secular and spiritual learning has prepared me to make a difference both professionally and in the communities where I will live.”  

The Stoddard Prize was established in 1985 by 1937 BYU alum George E. Stoddard. His numerous credentials include acting as senior managing director of the W.P. Carey & Co., a leading global real estate investment firm in New York. He was a pioneer in the use of real estate transactions known as sale-leasebacks to provide financing to companies struggling to gain access to traditional sources of capital. Before joining W.P. Carey & Company, Stoddard was also head of the multi-billion dollar Direct Placement Department of the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States.

The Marriott School is located at Brigham Young University, the largest privately owned, church-sponsored university in the United States. The school has nationally recognized programs in accounting, business management, public management, information systems and entrepreneurship. The school’s mission is to prepare men and women of faith, character and professional ability for positions of leadership throughout the world. Approximately 3,000 students are enrolled in the Marriott School’s graduate and undergraduate programs.

Stoddard Scholars Bios

Second-Year MBAs

Last year Brent Absher was able to live his dream as a financial planning intern for U.S. Airways. His love of aviation, coupled with his experience as a graduate assistant in the finance program, is leading him to return to the airline after graduation as a financial planning analyst. Absher is also a recipient of the MBA Dean’s Scholarship and recently became a licensed certified public accountant in North Carolina.

Brandon Ayache is a former teaching and research assistant as well as a Sherpa to nine finance MBAs. Outside of school Ayache has worked as a notebook analyst for HP, an analyst for Boeing and a leadership program intern for Celanese Corporation. He will be returning to Celanese in their general management leadership program in Houston when he graduates. He credits the MBA program with helping him transition from a financial analyst to a well-rounded general management candidate.

Reading his father’s BusinessWeek magazines inspired Christopher Bunker to graduate in business from Virginia Tech in 2002. Following graduation Bunker became a CPA in California. During the MBA program, Bunker co-founded the MBA Energy Club. Previously a financial analyst at an oil trading firm, an accountant for a produce import company and a senior auditor at a regional public accounting firm in Los Angeles, he will be moving to Orange County, Calif., this summer to work as a senior financial analyst for Danaher biotech subsidiary Beckman Coulter.

Trevor Flint graduated from Weber State University and went on to work as a senior financial analyst at Intermountain Healthcare for six years. While there he developed new procedural cost systems for the healthcare giant. As an MBA student, Flint worked as a teaching and research assistant and as an equity team captain for the Silver Fund. He worked last summer at HP and will return this summer to continue his work as a senior financial analyst in the worldwide software group.

BYU Silver Fund president Spencer Hafen is a previous Stoddard Scholar and recipient of several scholarships, including the W.R. Hotchkiss Foundation Scholarship. Previously he worked at Intermountain Healthcare as a financial analyst and as a project consultant. In addition to enjoying golf and fly-fishing this summer, Hafen will join Symantec as a senior financial specialist.

During his time in the MBA program, Ryan Mehner served on the leadership team of the Graduate Finance Association and as vice president of finance for the China Business Club. Mehner worked for more than five years at FTI Consulting, most recently as director, advising Fortune 500 companies on strategic financial issues. As a student he interned as a financial analyst at Ford Motor Company and will be joining the company’s finance career foundation program this summer in Buffalo, N.Y.

After graduating from BYU in 2008 with a degree in Korean, Brian Nielsen went on to pursue his MBA. Nielsen served as a Silver Fund team captain for the Zions Bank fixed income portfolio, volunteered as vice president of communications for the graduate finance association and worked as a display marketing manager at One on One Marketing. He will be working as a senior financial analyst at Dell FP&A group.

Greg Pickett has spent lots of time helping others as the lead of the MBA’s Sherpa program for finance, the vice president of activities for the graduate finance association, and a finance teaching assistant. Previously he worked with Wells Fargo Financial and Thermo Fisher Scientific. This summer he will move to Houston to work for HP as a senior financial analyst in the enterprise services group.

Bryce Rindlesbach always knew he wanted to get his MBA. He entered the Marriott School and quickly became involved, serving as the Marriott MBA Today president, the Real Estate Club vice president and the Graduate Finance Association treasurer. Rindlesbach worked at Property Management Systems for three years as a property accountant and as a department supervisor. He is hoping to find a job in real estate development or corporate finance after graduation.        

With a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Calgary, Robert Sherwood has become a skilled business professional. He served as vice president of both the Graduate Finance Association and the Strategy and Consulting Club, as well as working as the director of Cougar Capital. Sherwood was the owner of Shinemaster Window Cleaning and has since worked as a professional engineer for Fluor Corporation and as a global marketing intern for ExxonMobil Chemicals Corporation. This summer he will join IBM as a senior consultant for its global business services.

Having received his undergraduate degree in philosophy, Brian Wayment went to work to alleviate poverty as the Americorps VISTA leader in Utah. He also served as a Meals-on-Wheels volunteer and group coordinator before beginning his MBA. As a student, he worked as the business relations manager and Angel Tree program director for United Way of Utah County and as an intern at Intermountain Healthcare. This summer he will be working for the Ensign Group running a home health and hospice agency in Washington.

First-Year MBAs

After earning a degree in public health from the University of Arizona, Mark Brems came to the Marriott School to learn how to become a problem solver in the healthcare industry. Before attending the Marriott School he served as the program manager for the transition to medical records at Tucson Pediatric Ophthalmology and worked as a quality improvement data analyst for the University of Arizona Health Network.

After working with Adobe’s advertising product consulting group before starting the BYU MBA program, Ben Brown will return to the company this summer as a product manager for Adobe’s analytics platform. Brown graduated from BYU with an undergraduate degree in Spanish. Brown has joined a number of business school organizations including Cougar Capital. He has also served as president of the MBA Tech Society.

One of Carl Christensen’s proudest moments was winning his local pinewood derby race in 1992 and 1993. Since then he graduated from the University of Utah and worked for two and a half years as an analyst at Goldman Sachs. This year he became president of the Graduate Finance Association and the director of portfolio investments for Cougar Capital. He will be doing consulting with Deloitte this summer.

Spurred by a desire to gain broader experience, Thomas Graham moved to Boston prior to pursuing his MBA. While there he worked as a product support analyst for Redi2 Technologies. As a student he has served as the MBA section president for first-year MBAs. This summer he will work as a BYU research assistant and as an intern at Torchlight Investors, a real estate investment company.

After graduating from BYU in 2002, Adam Nebeker received his JD from William and Mary in 2005. He co-founded the Spokane Shock arena football team and served as its general manager and team president, guiding the team to three national championships. He also serves as a member of the Arena Football League board of directors. This summer Nebeker will intern with Celanese, a chemical company in Dallas.   

After playing semi-professional ultimate Frisbee and dancing on BYU’s ballroom dance team, Brad Peterson went to work as the controller, financial analyst and customer service manager for Power Innovations International in Lindon, Utah. As an MBA student he found time to serve as the vice president of external relations for the Graduate Finance Association and as an academic affairs representative. This summer he will be participating in Target’s finance leadership development program.