Finance News 

Each year at University Conference, Brigham Young University recognizes a number of employees for their service and influence. This year faculty and staff members at the BYU Marriott School of Business—Julie Averett, Spencer Hilton, Jenn Larson, and Scott Webb—received awards at the conference for their contributions to BYU.

First-generation college student Josh Tellez is fueled by a familial quest for opportunity. With resilience and a dream for a secure future, Tellez is forging his path in finance at the BYU Marriott School of Business, setting an example for generations.

Taylor Nadauld thanks his 25-year-old self for choosing to leave a lucrative position on Wall Street to earn a PhD. Now the department chair and a professor of finance at the BYU Marriott School of Business, Nadauld teaches the valuable lessons that he learned of faith and finances to his undergraduate and MBA students.

For Brandon Egan, faith has guided his life decisions—from choosing which college to attend to where to focus his studies. After graduating from the finance program at the BYU Marriott School of Business in 2007, Egan has continued to seek God’s hand as he navigates changes in his career.

Twenty years ago as a student, Ian Wright made connections with people that changed the course of his life. For Wright, now the finance program director and an assistant professor, these mentors helped him find career and life success and modeled the encouragement he now gives to his own students to be “awesome in everything they do.”

For the Department of Finance at the BYU Marriott School of Business, providing an education goes beyond classes and diplomas. Learning means coming together and building connections with people who care about each other’s futures and success. To continue fostering those relationships, the finance program held an alumni barbecue in September 2023 to celebrate 10 years of finance being a standalone major.

While brushing her teeth in the bathroom of the Provo Missionary Training Center, finance student and Brigham Young University track runner Kate Thomas saw a concerning lump on her neck. As Thomas confronted the unexpected cancer diagnosis that soon followed, her mission, career, and life plans were changed forever.

Jenn Larson was just 14 years old when she took over the bookkeeping for her family’s dairy farm near Firth, Idaho. She soon saw firsthand how challenging it was for her parents, who lacked any college education, to properly manage the unpredictable revenues of farming. This experience ignited a lifelong passion for finance, and it led her down an unexpected path to becoming a role model she never had.

The BYU Marriott School of Business welcomed 12 new professors this fall.

People come from all over the world to study at BYU, but that doesn’t mean it’s an easy transition, especially for students who do not belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While the culture of BYU was foreign to Omer Malik, the 2012 finance alumnus of the BYU Marriott School of Business embraced his time at BYU and now bleeds blue.

One of the most iconic marks of BYU is the slogan, "Enter to Learn; Go Forth to Serve." For Veterans Day this year, BYU's Army and Air Force ROTC programs remembered those who paid the ultimate sacrifice through military service and honored all those who exemplify this commission, including finance professor Jim Brau.

Coming to a new country and not knowing the language can be scary. Not knowing what you want to do with your life can also be scary. While Aaron Cruz Morales, a senior majoring in finance at the BYU Marriott School of Business, faced both of these challenges, he was able to overcome them with a strong work ethic and people to help him along the way.

This summer, four BYU Marriott School of Business students were paired with financial literacy startup FinLit for an internship. The partnership came about through a social impact project (SIP) at BYU Marriott’s Ballard Center for Social Impact, which provides students with opportunities to develop business and personal skills while applying social impact principles in real-world settings.

“Curiosity killed the cat” has long been a phrase that discourages inquisitiveness and one with which Ben Iverson would disagree. For Iverson, curiosity is what drives him to learn, and few things are more exciting to him than the prospect of a new discovery.

While on a business trip in Shanghai, Kurt Brown discussed business opportunities and social needs in the area with a friend. The pair recognized the potential to improve working conditions for local factory workers and realized they could start a business to help meet that need. Their idea blossomed into an impact investing venture, a topic Brown also teaches as an adjunct professor in the Ballard Center for Social Impact at the BYU Marriott School of Business.

As woman in her 40s sitting in a lecture hall full of young students, Julie Glasgow could have easily felt intimidated. However, when she entered the finance program at the BYU Marriott School of Business, Glasgow decided to focus instead on taking charge of her college experience by sharpening her personal strengths and shaping her future.

For the past few years, Amy Densley's family has enjoyed the delicious, hot-out-of-the-oven products of her breadmaking hobby. Similarly, as the assistant program director for the finance department at the BYU Marriott School of Business, Densley brings a warmth to the people around her, including alumni, current students, and her fellow staff and faculty members.

For Adam King, a senior in the finance program at the BYU Marriott School of Business, a good college education extends beyond the classroom. By pursuing internship opportunities, becoming involved in club leadership, and even starting his own business, King has truly embraced the idea of the world as his campus.

BYU Marriott School of Business dean Brigitte C. Madrian has announced Taylor Nadauld as the next chair of the Department of Finance. Nadauld took over for the previous department chair, Craig Merrill, on July 1, 2022. 

When Brian Boyer was an undergraduate finance student at BYU, a pivotal conversation with one of his professors started him on the path to his future career. Now, as an associate professor of finance at the BYU Marriott School of Business, Boyer witnesses firsthand how his roles as a mentor and teacher can positively influence the direction of his own students' careers.