Board of Trustees welcomes new members

During its May board meeting, the Board of Trustees formally confirmed its new members committed to strengthening the future of the University and its mission. Ten new trustees will serve four-year terms:

 

CYNTHIA FIERRO HARVEY ’99 has served as bishop of the Texas Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church since November 2022. She previously served on the SMU Board of Trustees from 2016 to 2020 and on the University’s Student Affairs, Finance and Academic Affairs Trustee Standing committees.

 

CHRISTOPHER W. KLEINERT ’88 is the CEO of Hunt Investment Holdings LLC, CEO of Hunt Realty Investments and co-founder of the Good Foundation with his wife, Ashlee Hunt Kleinert ’88. The Kleinerts were honored with the 2024 J. Erik Jonsson Ethics Award from the SMU Maguire Center for Ethics and Public Responsibility.

 

STEVEN J. LINDLEY ’74 is the managing member and president of Johnson and Lindley LLC, the managing partner of PinHigh Capital Partners LLC and the vice president of the Willard and Ruth Johnson Charitable Foundation. He serves on the SMU Cox School of Business Executive Board and the SMU Ignited National Campaign Steering Committee.

 

KYLE D. MILLER ’01 is the founder, president and CEO of Silver Hill Energy Partners LP and president and CEO of Silver Hill Energy Holdings LLC and Silver Hill Partners LP. At SMU, his service includes the 21st Century Council (2012 to 2020) and the Mustang Club Board (2015 to 2022).

 

JAMES T. MOBLEY ’81, past CEO of multiple early-stage technology companies, is an active technology and real estate investor, the latter focused primarily in underinvested communities. In 2023, he served as a featured panelist at the SMU Black Excellence Brunch.

 

BRYAN S. SHEFFIELD ’01 is the managing partner of Austin-based Formentera Partners, the co-owner of professional soccer team Austin FC and the founder of Drop Shot Series Tennis Tournaments, aimed at assisting young athletes and giving back to the Austin community.

 

BRIAN S. TYLER is the CEO of McKesson Corporation. In the community, he is a board member for the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Wholesalers and its foundation, as well as a member of the National Academy of Medicine Action Collaborative.

 

WILLIAM H. VANDERSTRAATEN ’82 is the president and co-founder of Chief Partners LP. His many years of service to SMU include the SMU Ignited Campaign Steering Committee for the Cox School of Business, the SMU Alumni Board, several trustee standing committees and the executive boards for both Dedman College and the Cox School.

 

JOHN E. WALDRON, III has been president and COO of The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. since 2018. In his community, he serves on the Cleveland Clinic’s board of directors, the executive committee of the Institute of International Finance and the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts board of directors, among others.

 

ABIGAIL WILLIAMS ’94 is the founder and executive director of United to Learn. She has served as a member on the board of the Perot Museum of Nature and Science, the Board Alumni Council of the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum, the National Network of Schools in Partnership and SMU Cox School of Business Executive Board.

 

Additionally, Jude Lugo ’25, an undergraduate majoring in business management, and David Sedman, president of the SMU Faculty Senate and associate professor of film and media arts, will serve one-year terms as the student and faculty representatives, respectively.