Four Mavericks, Four Inspiring Paths

As part of the College of Business Hall of Fame and Alumni Awards Celebration, the Alumni Awards honor individuals who are shaping their industries, supporting students and strengthening the Maverick network. While many recipients are UTA graduates, the awards also recognize non-alumni who are deeply committed to the university’s mission and success.

Unlike the Hall of Fame, which highlights lifetime achievement, the Alumni Awards focus on recent contributions that reflect leadership, service and innovation. This year’s honorees represent a range of industries and paths, but all share a drive to make an impact.

The Kelly Roberts Trailblazer Award

Named in honor of entrepreneur and UTA alumna Kelly Roberts, the Trailblazer Award is given to College of Business graduates who emulate the qualities of leadership, achievement, integrity, resiliency, innovation and community service that defines a true Trailblazer. Roberts and fellow honoree James Seller are the award’s first recipients.

Kelly Roberts
Founder & CEO, Ricochet Fuel Distributors Inc.
BBA ’80

James Sellers
Founder & CEO, Sellmark Corporation
MBA ’98

Kelly Roberts

Kelly Roberts.

“I am deeply honored and very surprised to be the namesake and very first recipient of Trailblazer Award,” Roberts said. “As a UTA College of Business graduate I had no idea how valuable the education was and how far it would take me.” 

Kelly Roberts is the founder and CEO of Ricochet Fuel Distributors, which she launched in 1988. Her company stands out in an industry where woman-owned businesses have historically been few. Early in her career with Texaco, Kelly was often the only woman in the room, an experience she turned into a strategic advantage.

“When hired at Texaco, I was the only female west of the Mississippi in the Marketing department, they didn’t even have a dress code for me. I would go to meetings with 100+ people and be the only female,” Roberts said. “Some would see this as a negative but I always thought – I will definitely be memorable!”

After leaving Texaco to launch her own business, which now operates in 36 states, Kelly had to navigate the challenges that came with founding a company and raising a family. 

“Pushing forward getting bank loans, convincing vendors I knew what I was doing and convincing customers that pregnancy would not hurt their customer service — it seemed like the battles were abundant,” she said.

Despite these challenges, she pressed on, drawing on her education to elevate Ricochet Fuel into a multimillion-dollar operation.

“My degree from UTA taught me how to think and solve problems,” she said. “Think out of the box. You need a lot of this to start and build a company from the ground up.”

Now, with more than 30 years in the industry, Kelly remains an advocate for women in business and a mentor to fellow entrepreneurs. She is especially passionate about expanding the leadership pipeline for women in male-dominated fields.

“As a female I think there are many advantages,” she said. “Especially if you are in a male-dominated business you will stand out. Use THAT to your advantage. You will be remembered.”

She also believes leadership requires grit and humility; two qualities she models for others.

“Always be respectful,” Roberts said. “I never wanted to remove men from the boardroom,  I just want a seat at the table alongside them. Remove the ‘us vs them’ approach whenever possible and you will go far.”

Kelly Roberts didn’t follow a traditional path, and she didn’t wait for permission. She built her business in a space where few women were represented and proved she belonged. The impact of her work is still unfolding, both in the industry and in the people she’s helped along the way.

Kelly Roberts smiles in front of monitors displaying the Ricochet Fuel website.

James Sellers

 James Sellers.

James Sellers has built a global business, but he credits UTA with giving him the foundation to get started.

After earning his MBA in 1998, James founded Sellmark Corporation, a company that now manufactures outdoor gear and shooting accessories for international markets. Its brands include Sightmark, Firefield and 12 Survivors, and the company’s reach has expanded as far as Bulgaria, where Sellmark opened a second operation in 2016.

“Receiving the Trailblazer Award is a tremendous honor,” Sellers said. “It's humbling to be recognized by the institution that helped shape my early professional life.”

James’ ties to UTA didn’t end after graduation. He returned to campus to teach in the College of Business as an assistant professor of practice from 2014 to 2019, and he continues to serve on the College of Business Advisory Council. He also previously served as past president of the COB Dean’s Leadership Circle.

“I believe strongly in giving back to the institutions that invest in us,” he said. “Staying involved with UTA has allowed me to contribute my time and mentorship to future generations of leaders that will shape the America that my kids and grandkids will live in.”

James said that working with students and faculty helped keep him grounded and up to date on new ideas. He sees relationship-building and cultural awareness as critical to leading in today’s business world.

“One of the most valuable lessons I took from UTA and my time teaching is the importance of understanding people,” he said. “Whether you're launching a business overseas or leading a local team, it all comes down to relationships and communication.”

That people-first mindset shapes how he leads at Sellmark and how he hopes to be remembered.

“I hope people will remember me not just for my company, but for the truly unique business culture we helped build here,” he said. “At Sellmark, we pride ourselves on innovation, teamwork and supporting the outdoor lifestyle.”

James Sellers poses in a photo with his daughter.

Maverick Award

This award recognizes individuals who, in the early stages of their professional, entrepreneurial, academic, public sector or service careers have achieved outstanding success in their field. This individual serves as a role model to our students for making great strides early in their professional career and have helped strengthen the College of Business alumni network. This year’s award winner is Jake Bailey. 

Jake Bailey
Founder, Trellis Energy Partners
MBA ’14

 Jake Bailey.

For Trellis Energy Partners founder Jake Bailey, Maverick pride runs deep. His mom, Lesa Bailey, earned her BBA in accounting from UTA in 1994, becoming the first in her family to graduate college. Jake grew up watching her balance school, work and parenting, an experience that stuck with him years later when he pursued his MBA at the College of Business. 

“This award is especially meaningful as I am a second generation UTA graduate,” he said. “My mom earned a BBA in accounting from UTA in 1994 when I was in elementary school. She was the first person in her family to earn a degree and just the second person out of about 40 people in my extended family. It left a lasting impact on me to see my mom achieve her goals, no matter what stood in the way, including not being a “traditional” college student.”

Before his MBA, Jake earned dual undergraduate degrees in accounting and psychology from the University of Georgia. By the time he arrived at UTA, he had real-world experience but was still figuring out where he wanted to go next.

“My years at UTA were probably some of the most formative years of my early career,” he said. “Being at UTA reignited my passion to be challenged and learn so much so that I was determined to maintain all A’s in the program. Achieving that goal gave me the confidence to take on new roles and challenges that seemed out of reach before.”

Jake completed his MBA while working full-time and raising his first child with his wife, later launching his own company just a few years after graduation. 

“Just like my mom, it took a lot of sacrifice and determination to finish at UTA as my wife and I had our first child during my time there,” Bailey said. “Finally, in 2019 I started my own company without any partners or coworkers, which was daunting and certainly unconventional, all while our third child was on the way.”

Today, Jake remains closely connected to UTA. He’s a member of the College of Business Advisory Council and frequently returns to speak with students during Business Week. He and his wife also created the Lesa G. Bailey Endowed Scholarship in honor of his mother, with the goal of supporting students who take less traditional paths to graduation.

“First and foremost, it was an obvious choice to honor my mom and the impact she had on my education and career. She was always very supportive even though it was not very easy at times,” he said. “Our goal is to encourage and assist other students who are taking the unconventional routes. Hopefully, her story can help inspire others as it did with me.”

When speaking to students, Jake encourages them to pursue work they enjoy and to give themselves space to grow. 

“If I could communicate one thing to them (no matter how cliché) it would be to find something you enjoy or if you’re lucky enough, something you are passionate about,” Bailey said. “I think people can make a fine career and living out of many things but I believe that the most successful people have a certain love for what they do.”

Even with a busy career, Jake makes time for learning, exploring and staying engaged in the community. He sees education as a lifelong investment, and UTA as a place that keeps that spirit alive.

“My wife and I firmly believe that education and exploration are the key to a happy life,” he said. “Staying involved with UTA has allowed me to continue to hear and see new ideas.”

Left, Lesa Bailey walks across the UTA graduation stage. Right, Jake Bailey poses for a photo with his parents after his MBA graduation.

Dean’s Service Award

This award is given to individuals or organizations who have provided the College of Business with extraordinary service and have made a positive impact on the College or it’s programs. This year’s honoree is Brian White. 

Brian White
VP Americas New Product Introduction, Ericsson

Brian White.

Brian White is vice president of Americas New Product Introduction at Ericsson, where he helps guide the rollout of complex network and software solutions across the region. With more than three decades of leadership experience in telecom and tech, Brian understands how critical it is for education to keep pace with industry. That’s one reason he’s been such a strong advocate for UTA.

Through his work with the College of Business, Brian helped launch the Executive Certificate in Business Analytics and supported the development of the Master of Science in Business Analytics program. He continues to serve on advisory boards and works closely with faculty to connect classroom learning with real-world business challenges.

“It has been a privilege to work with Dean Dombroski, Radha, Sridhar, Jay, Santoso and the business school professors to build a unique educational program to reskill Ericsson’s highly skilled people,” White said. “It has been personally rewarding to be part of the advisory board and part of the annual symposium team. Being recognized with the Dean’s Service Award means that I have made a difference and that’s what matters to me.”

Brian said UTA’s responsiveness and curiosity set it apart from other institutions.

“The professors and dean of the UTA College of Business think differently,” he said. “There is a curiosity and eagerness about what is needed in industry and a willingness to stretch to meet those needs. The diversity of the students and their enthusiasm make them stand out.”

He credited faculty members Jay Samuel and Radha Mahapatra with helping shape the company’s internal analytics ecosystem.

“We lost one of our best Ericsson employees when Jay Samuel accepted a position at UTA. That said, he has continued to deliver great value for Ericsson. Jay was a founding creator along with Radha Mahapatra of the Executive Certificate in Business Analytics and later the creation of the MSBA program,” he said. “Their leadership established an entire community of data scientists within Ericsson. We see regular contributions from the Ericsson UTA community through a new way of problem solving, a common language and a continuous improvement mentality.”

Brian believes continued education is not a luxury, it’s a necessity.

“You can’t take continued education for granted,” he said. “The half-life of knowledge gets shorter every year. Industry must partner with thought leading universities to ensure we nourish and water the minds of our most important asset – our people.”

His message to students is direct and confident: keep learning, and don’t hold back.

“Build foundational knowledge and then continually learn more,” White said. “Always be curious, inquisitive and persistent. Continuous improvement is a necessity. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t get something done.”

Brian White poses for a photo at Ericsson.