DALLAS (SMU) – SMU Cox School of Business is pleased to announce Edward F. Ahnert as Executive-in-Residence on faculty. He is the former President of the ExxonMobil Foundation.
Ahnert teaches courses on corporate social responsibility in both the MBA and undergraduate business programs, drawing on over three decades of experience in international corporate finance and corporate philanthropy.
Ahnert retired from ExxonMobil in 2005 after almost 28 years service with the company, over fourteen as head of the ExxonMobil Foundation and contributions manager for Exxon Mobil Corporation and thirteen years in various positions in the Treasurer’s department. As manager of Exxon Mobil’s corporate philanthropy and with an annual budget of over $100 million he was responsible for the development and implementation of numerous award-winning programs in educational reform, environment and wildlife conservation, public health and arts/culture. His service in the Treasurer’s Department included assignments as the Finance Manger of the company’s interests in Australia and as Finance and Planning Manager in Hong Kong.
In addition, Ahnert was the Chief Financial Officer of a Hong Kong based regional telecommunications company and the founder and CEO of an Asian regional venture capital firm. He also was a fulltime member of the faculty of a university in Taiwan for two years.
Ahnert graduated from Rice University with a bachelor of arts degree in English literature. He earned a master’s degree in international relations from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.
Ahnert serves on the board of the Save the Tiger Fund and of the Van Cliburn Foundation.
SMU's Cox School of Business offers a full range of business education programs, from BBA and full-time MBA to Professional MBA (PMBA), Executive MBA (EMBA), Masters of Science in Accounting, and Executive Education. With educational experiences like the SMU Cox Business Leadership Center (BLC), Caruth Institute for Entrepreneurship, American Airlines Global Leadership Program (GLP), and the Associate Board Executive Mentoring Program, combined with an international alumni outreach of more than 28,000, it is no wonder SMU Cox is ranked among the top business schools nationally and internationally by major publications including BusinessWeek, Financial Times, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, and U.S. News & World Report. At SMU's Cox School of Business, what happens in the classroom is just the beginning.
