Geoff ’08 and Jessica ’09 Wescott spoke at the 2023 Todd A Williams Executive-in-Residence panel discussion on October 10, emphasizing leadership and how Austin College trains students to successfully “manage up.” The panel was moderated by Marion Jones ’20, assistant director of Center for Career Development and internship coordinator.
“A good leader will keep you moving forward and not look backwards,” Geoff said. “So, be focused on who is leading you and understanding their operations so you can control your responses better.”
Jessica concurred, saying, “That’s one thing Austin College teaches through the accessibility to your professors and the number of conversations that are encouraged and open thought. Those are skills you are learning today to use as you think about managing up, working with your superiors, and developing your own leadership style. Anything you can do to be more intentional about putting yourself in those situations will pay dividends in your future.”
Geoff graduated with honors from Austin College with a degree in Business Administration and Economics. In early 2023, Geoff founded Brockett Street Capital which targets opportunistic commercial real estate opportunities that are undervalued from a lack of competitive buyers either due to market conditions, capital structures, or re-positioning needs. Geoff named his new company, Brockett St Capital, after the very same Brockett Street that runs along the south side of Austin College. He said that he knew when he started his own shop, he wanted to include a nod to Austin College in the name.
Jessica graduated with honors in Economics and currently serves as the CFO and COO of Stellar Service Brands based in Dallas, Texas. In her role at Stellar, she leads strategy and planning, data analysis, technology, digital marketing, finance, and legal teams. Stellar’s mission is to promote and grow the American Dream through small business ownership in the home-service franchising industry.
The program, begun in fall 2007, is funded by gifts from Todd and Abby Williams of Dallas. Todd Williams, a 1982 summa cum laude graduate of Austin College who earned an MBA (with distinction) from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, retired as a managing director at Goldman Sachs.