This year, the UCF College of Business celebrates 25 years of its Hall of Fame, honoring outstanding inductees past and present. The Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony — set for Friday, March 7, from 6-9 p.m. at Rosen Shingle Creek — promises an evening that combines the prestige of the Heisman Trophy ceremony with the high-energy excitement of College GameDay.
UCF Professor Jim Combs ’86 ’90MBA, the Della Phillips Martha Schenck Chair of American Private Enterprise; Michael Okaty ’96 ’97, a UCF trustee and former managing partner of Foley & Lardner LLP’s Orlando office; and Charece Williams ’05MBA, former vice president of NA Sports, Entertainment & Influencer Marketing and Partnerships at Coca-Cola, will be inducted into the Hall of Fame. The night will also honor 2019 Hall of Fame inductee Jessica Blume ’80 with the Legendary Knight Award and recognize Darden Restaurants as the Corporate Partner of the Year, alongside a great lineup of standout alumni, rising stars and successful entrepreneurs. More than 700 College of Business alumni, faculty, students, corporate partners and friends of UCF are expected to attend what has become Central Florida’s networking night of the year.
2025 UCF Business Hall of Fame Inductees
The UCF College of Business Hall of Fame recognizes alumni who have demonstrated exceptional professional success in their field. This is the highest honor given to business graduates. It is typically awarded to those who have been in the industry for 15-20 years and have brought recognition to the university through their professional achievements.
Jim Combs ’86 ’90MBA is the Della Phillips Martha Schenck Chair of American Private Enterprise at UCF. His research on family business, franchising, research synthesis and corporate governance is featured in top management journals, including the Academy of Management Journal and the Journal of Management. The two-time Knight earned both a bachelor’s in hospitality management and a master’s in business administration at UCF before completing a doctoral degree at Louisiana State University. Combs, who returned to UCF in 2015, ranks among the top 2% of all management scholars for scholarly citations. He also was the 2020 recipient of the Southern Management Association’s Hunt Sustained Outstanding Service Award and 2021 Rosenberg Center International Society of Franchising Eminent Franchising Scholar Award. He’s a 21st Century Entrepreneurship Fellow and a fellow of the Southern Academy of Management.
Michael Okaty ’96 ’97 is a member of the UCF Board of Trustees and a business lawyer and former managing partner of Foley & Lardner LLP’s Orlando office. His practice spans a wide variety of corporate transactions, governance and counseling, and he also serves as an advisor and trustee to high-net-worth individuals and families. He’s been recognized by a variety of publications including The Best Lawyers in America and Orlando Business Journal’s 40 Under 40. Okaty remains engaged on campus through the UCF Alumni Association, Golden Knights Club and Foundation, and WMFE. Working on the initial financing for the on-campus stadium and serving as a trustee, including selecting current President Alexander N. Cartwright and making the board motion to move UCF into the Big 12 Conference, were a few of his proudest moments as an alumnus, he says. The two-time Knight holds bachelor’s degrees in accounting and financefrom UCF where he graduated magna cum laude. He also holds juris doctor and master of laws degrees from New York University School of Law.
Charece Williams ’05MBA is a sports and entertainment marketing executive who most recently served as vice president of Sports, Entertainment & Influencer Marketing for The Coca-Cola Company. A graduate of UCF’s DeVos sport business management program, she has held senior leadership positions at Disney, PepsiCo and Under Armour. Her work has helped reshape how brands engage with female talent, creating new opportunities in sports marketing. She transformed the NBA/WNBA three-point competition into the MTN DEW Three-Point Contest, landed industry-shifting name, image and likeness (NIL) partnerships, and secured high-profile endorsements for WNBA stars A’ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum, track star Sha’Carri Richardson and others. She also played a critical role in advocating for former WNBA players’ inclusion in the National Basketball Retired Players Association. Her efforts have earned her recognition as one of Sports Illustrated’s Top 100 Black Women in Sports and as an ACC Unite honoree as a former student-athlete and Division I volleyball player at North Carolina State University. A sought-after speaker, she stays connected to UCF by hosting the DeVos cohort during its annual trip to New York City, speaking on campus and mentoring students.
Partnership Award
The Partnership Award recognizes organizations that have initiated a successful partnership with, or on behalf of, the UCF College of Business, resulting in the achievement of the college’s academic offerings or public outreach. These organizations embody the spirit of collaboration and are recognized for their initiative, leadership and involvement in the betterment of business education.
Headquartered in Orlando, Darden Restaurants is a premier full-service dining company employing 195,000 team members across more than 2,100 restaurants. A longtime partner of the College of Business and UCF, Darden is led by Hall of Fame business alum Rick Cardenas ’92, who became president and CEO of the restaurant giant in 2022. Cardenas has been a keynote speaker at UCF commencement and Welcome to the Majors, an orientation event for more than 1,000 incoming Business Knights. He also recently joined the UCF Board of Trustees.
Darden employs many Business Knights, including Willis Mui ’05, director of human resources, who holds accounting and finance degrees from UCF. The company recruits within the college each semester, and during Darden Day, students can hear from their marketing, finance and accounting teams about internship and career opportunities. Darden also regularly participates in The Invitational, the college’s invite-only career fair exclusively for business students.
Legendary Knight Award
The Legendary Knight Award recognizes outstanding contributions that will transform teaching, research and learning through extraordinary philanthropy and commitment to the College of Business. This award is open to the entire College of Business community, including alumni, friends and corporate and foundation partners.
Jessica Blume ’80 is the retired vice chair of Deloitte, where she served as a leadership partner in the U.S. firm and was a member of the Deloitte U.S. Executive Committee and the U.S. Board of Directors. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Publix Super Markets Inc., a Fortune 100 company, and on the Board of Centene Corporation, a Fortune 50 company and leading multi-national healthcare enterprise. A graduate of the Kenneth G. Dixon School of Accounting, Blume was inducted into the UCF Business Hall of Fame in 2019. She is a dedicated philanthropist with a history of outstanding board service at UCF. In 2016, she joined the Integrated Business Advisory Board and began making significant contributions to the Integrated Business program, which is one of the fastest growing programs at UCF. She now serves on the UCF Foundation Board and chairs the Audit Committee. In 2021, Blume and her husband, Ken, established a scholarship program for business students who are the first in their families to attend college. It was the largest single gift in the history of UCF Day of Giving.
Entrepreneurial Alumni Awards
The Entrepreneurial Alumni Awards honor UCF business alumni from any discipline who exemplify commitment, vision, calculated risk-taking and growth potential. In their professional career, this person demonstrates perseverance in the face of adversity and overcomes obstacles.
Sam Baker ’23 is the founder and CEO of WriggleBrew, an environmentally friendly and organic worm tea fertilizer he launched with a group of friends while studying at UCF. As an economics student, he had a passion for science, gardening and sustainability. He helped lead WriggleBrew to the top prize at the Joust New Venture Competition, UCF’s version of the TV show Shark Tank, taking home $15,000 along with over $50,000 in essential business services. Baker continues to work as a researcher, with his team’s projects funded by the City of Orlando, the USDA and the U.S. National Science Foundation to help keep Florida clean and green. WriggleBrew is now sold to major farms throughout the Midwest. Baker often returns to campus to share his journey with business students and aspiring entrepreneurs.
Mills Bender ’17 is a Fractional CFO, providing executive-level leadership to companies on a part-time basis, and CEO of Mills Knows Bills, a company dedicated to helping business owners thrive financially. An accomplished speaker and author, she earned her bachelor’s in finance at UCF, and drew inspiration from her own financial struggles as a student to launch her company. As an alumna, she returns to campus to share her insights with business students through The Exchange speaker sessions hosted by the College of Business. Since founding Mills Knows Bills, Bender has published a book, appeared on NBC6 and provided more than 20,000 households with essential financial literacy tools and resources. Through her philanthropic initiative, Mills Mission, she has donated financial literacy programs to underserved communities, believing that every business owner deserves the knowledge and confidence to manage their finances effectively.
Tim O’Reilly ’10 ’14MBA is the CEO at Guild Garage Group, the largest, non-franchise, garage door service company in America, with companies in more than 20 states. A certified public accountant and a chartered global management accountant, O’Reilly was the founding CEO of Frontier Service Partners, an HVAC, plumbing and electrical home services platform in the Midwest. During his tenure, he led the investment through a successful exit in early 2024. He also was the CFO for one of the leading privately held HVAC businesses in the state of Florida, Del-Air Heating & Air Conditioning. The second-generation Knight earned his bachelor’s in accounting and a master’s in business administration at UCF. He met his wife, Andrea, on campus during move-in day freshman year. He regularly returns to campus to speak to business students at The Exchange, sharing his insights and experiences.
Honorable Knight Awards
The Honorable Knight Awards recognize alumni with more than 10 years of experience who have displayed excellence in their respective career paths.
Marissa Caravelis ’02 is founder and human resources director at PACT (People And Culture Transformation) Love. Before going out on her own, she spent seven years in various human resource roles at A. Duda & Sons Inc., a privately owned land company, including director of talent development and human resources administration, and 13 years at Lockheed Martin in various finance and strategy related roles. While at Lockheed Martin, she earned the Excellence Award for Innovation in both 2013 and 2015. Her passion for developing people extends to her volunteer work. For 10 years, she volunteered at Outreach Love Inc., where she tutored and mentored at-risk elementary students. She also is secretary of the board of directors for Innovation Montessori Ocoee. Caravelis graduated summa cum laude from UCF with a bachelor’s in business and finance in 2002, and she has a master’s degree from Rollins College.
Micah Mackubin ’10 ’11 CPA is a partner at Strombeck Consulting, one of Orlando’s top certified public accountant firms, where he focuses on building scalable systems and empowering business owners to make informed decisions. Previously, he served as the controller for uBreakiFix, the largest electronics repair franchising company, which was founded by fellow UCF accounting alum and College of Business Hall of Famer Justin Wetherill ’07. Mackubin also was controller for one of Subway’s top franchisees. A two-time Knight, Mackubin earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting at UCF.
Maritza Martinez-Guerrero ’11EMBA is vice president of external affairs and philanthropy for the NBA’s Orlando Magic. She joined the Magic after serving in various roles at UCF for 22 years, most recently as associate vice president for the division of government and community relations, and director at the office of community relations and economic development. She is extremely active in the Central Florida community and serves on a number of boards, including Heart of Florida United Way, United Arts and Winter Park Health Foundation. Martinez-Guerrero has been recognized for her community work and impact with honors including Orange Appeal’s Woman of the Year, Onyx Magazine’s Woman on the Move, Vision Magazine’s Most Influential Hispanic and Orlando Business Journal’s Woman to Watch. The three-time Knight has a bachelor’s degree in general studies, a master’s in both higher education and business administration all from UCF. Cheering on the Knights is a family affair with her youngest daughter now a Business Knight Student Ambassador and studying accounting.
Ryan Sleeper ’07 ’09MBA is the founder of Playfair Data, a consulting agency specializing in visual analytics. After earning bachelor’s degrees in psychology and marketing from UCF, Sleeper earned his MBA and MSBM from UCF’s DeVos Sport Business Management program. He gained recognition as a Tableau Zen Master, Global Iron Viz Champion and earned the Tableau Public Visualization of the Year award. In 2017, he launched Playfair Data, which has worked on high-profile projects such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions, evaluating diversity and inclusion in the NFL and tackling the drug overdose epidemic. With Playfair offices in Kansas City and Lake Nona, he remains active on campus sponsoring the annual UCF Big Data Analytics Symposium and hosting visual analytics training events at the UCF Downtown campus and for DeVos Sport Business Management cohorts.
Notable Knight Awards
The Notable Knight Awards recognize alumni who have displayed promise and excellence early in their career paths and have less than 10 years of experience.
Isabel Power ’21PMSM is the founder and director of Power Entertainment Productions, which delivers high-quality entertainment to Florida events. After completing her undergraduate studies at Point Park University in Pittsburgh, where she graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s in dance performance, Power pursued a diverse career in performance, including roles at Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and Universal Studios Orlando. An accomplished dance instructor and choreographer, she earned a professional master’s in management degree at UCF and continues to give back to the UCF community as a coach at the Blackstone LaunchPad and a mentor through the Business Knights Network.
Anthony Surico ’15 is a commercial middle market banker at KeyBank, specializing in acquisition financing, asset-based loans and working capital lines of credit for companies with annual revenue sizes from $50 million to $1 billion. Prior to KeyBank, Surico spent six years at Citibank working on large public syndicated credit relationships and had international assignments in Costa Rica, Ireland and Mexico. He earned degrees in accounting and finance and served as a student ambassador for the College of Business. He also held officer positions in the Financial Management Association and Alpha Kappa Psi. He regularly meets with college leadership and finance students when they travel to New York City, and is often seen at UCF football home games supporting the Knights.
