Seasoned executives Bets Lillo and Corey Hutchison are shaping tomorrow’s business leaders and bringing in new community connections through the growing TCU Neeley Executive in Residence program.
June 14, 2022
By Nicholas Ferrandino
The TCU Neeley School of Business launched the Executive in Residence program in 2021, providing students with the chance to interact with new faculty in supplemental roles who deliver from a recent practical experience perspective. Their insight complements traditional faculty insights to prepare tomorrow’s Horned Frog leaders to succeed with exceptionally well-rounded knowledge in today’s ever-evolving marketplace. The program brings high-profile, innovative executives from varied industries to the business school for an entire semester, providing them a platform to share their expertise with students and also expand TCU Neeley’s profile and network in North Texas and beyond.
Since its launch, the program’s current Executives in Residence — Bets Lillo, a Fortune 100 executive now advising several technology companies, and Corey Hutchison, vice president for Americas Sales at HashiCorp — have made a splash.
Along with his lecture/lab course on consultative selling, Hutchison is working with TCU Neeley faculty to fund and build the TCU Sales Center, a community hub where sales students can go to connect with professors, industry resources and community leaders. Meanwhile Lillo, who teaches both an undergraduate business ethics class as well as a graduate-level global supply chain course, has been working outside the classroom to connect students with fresh mentors and business professionals from across the country.
Through their connections in the business world, Hutchison and Lillo have connected new, influential presenters, donors, and sponsors from corporate and civic connections, expanding TCU Neeley’s already wide network and supporting cultivation of fresh resources for both the students and faculty in the fast-growing Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.
“My students asked, ‘What does a sales leader look for in a candidate?’ To answer the question, I reached out to my network. The next day I had eight sales leaders in a virtual meeting with my class, offering timely insight about what they look for when interviewing prospective sales candidates,” Hutchison said.
As they continue teaching, supporting new programs at TCU, and expanding the Neeley School’s network, Hutchison and Lillo also remain active in their respective fields of business. By keeping a pulse on new industry developments, they have adapted curriculum quickly to ensure students are equipped with the skills necessary to remain competitive in an ever-changing ecosystem.
“Exposure to practitioners and executives in residence within business education is part of the Neeley experience because it encourages current/modern topics,” said Hutchison.
Lillo added, “Visiting executives appreciate the perspective of the next generation of leaders, and students benefit from real-time, real-world insights. In connecting the two, we explore concepts and business cases with context.”
With one foot in the classroom and the other in the boardroom, an Executive in Residence provides the unique perspective to impart their own current lessons of application, including some non-traditional lesson structures.
Emboldened by the program’s success and supported by positive student feedback, TCU Neeley will continue to bring innovative business leaders to campus as part of the Executive in Residence program.
Learn more about the TCU Neeley Executive in Residence program here.
