MEDIA RESOURCES

CONTACT: communications@mail.cox.smu.edu

Dallas, Texas (SMU) – The SMU Cox School of Business and Bank of Texas Business Leaders Spotlight Series welcome Elysia Ragusa, president and chief operating officer of The Staubach Company, Wednesday, August 17, at the SMU Cox ‘s Ernst & Young Gallery. Following a 5:00 p.m. reception, the presentation will begin at 5:30.

Elysia Ragusa serves as president and chief operating officer of The Staubach Company and also chairs the Staubach Executive Committee. Ragusa oversees the company’s operations, providing strategic direction and leadership to all Staubach offices and divisions. As previous president of Staubach Southwest Corporate Services, she managed complete profit and loss responsibility for the entire Southwest Region. Ragusa has received many honors, including four Staubach Top Achiever Awards, two Staubach Symbol of Excellence Awards, Staubach Most Valuable Player and the Dallas Business Journal #1 Office Broker.

In her 21 years of experience in managing complex projects, Ragusa’s strategic thinking, as well as her strong negotiating, structuring, marketing and analytical skills have been invaluable to the entire Staubach team and clientele. She has successfully lead comprehensive projects for Kimberly-Clark, CompuCom, Ernst & Young, FINA, First Tennessee National Bank, Sterling Commerce, Sterling Software, Texaco, Texas Instruments and Transamerica Insurance Company (TIG Holdings). Prior to joining The Staubach Company, Ragusa was a financial planning consultant before launching her career with Lincoln Property Company. Serving as vice president of LPC’s investment banking division, Ragusa’s responsibilities included acquisition, disposition, market research, structuring investment offerings, marketing existing and to-be-built projects and debt and equity financing.

Graduating with honors from the University of Texas, Ragusa received her BA in English before receiving her MBA from SMU’s Cox School of Business. Currently, Ragusa serves as a board member for United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, an associate member of the Dallas Citizens Council, a member of the International Women’s Forum and the Dallas Breakfast Group. She is also a member of the board of directors of the Visiting Nurse Association and the Dallas County Community College Foundation, as well as a former member of the United Way Executive Committee, former chairman of the United Way Central Budget Committee and recipient of United Way’s 1996 Above and Beyond Award.

The Bank of Texas Business Leaders Spotlight Series welcomes today's best and brightest businessleaders to campus to share their insight, and offers participants a unique opportunity before and after presentations to exchange ideas with outstanding business leaders, alumni, faculty, students, and friends of the University. The presentations are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Ann Faison at 214-768-3030.