The SMU Cox School of Business honored four alumni at its annual Distinguished Alumni Awards Luncheon on April 5 in the Collins Executive Center on the SMU campus. The school presented two Distinguished Alumni Awards and two Outstanding Young Alumni Awards. Nominations are submitted to the SMU Cox Alumni Association for consideration by a selection committee. Award winners are presented by award.

Left to right: Cox School Dean Matt Myers, 2024 Outstanding Young Alumna Brittany Dewan Frazier, 2024 Distinguished Alumnus Peter Lodwick, 2024 Distinguished Alumna Connie O’Neill, 2024 Outstanding Young Alumnus Chip Hiemenz and SMU President R. Gerald Turner.

SMU Cox Distinguished Alumni 2024

Peter Lodwick, BBA ’77
Peter Lodwick received a BBA degree magna cum laude in finance from SMU in 1977. He went on to earn his JD degree cum laude from the SMU Dedman School of Law. Talented in academics, Lodwick also excelled as an athlete. He was captain of the Mustang basketball team; a two-time Academic All-American; and a winner of the University’s “M” Award, the highest recognition bestowed upon SMU students, faculty, staff and administrators.

The day before the awards luncheon, Lodwick received yet another honor: SMU was informed that an anonymous donor has established the Peter A. Lodwick Endowed Scholarship at the Cox School of Business because of his service to the community and to SMU.

Lodwick was a partner at the law firm of Thompson & Knight LLP for 29 years. He later served as vice president and general counsel at The Container Store. In 2016, he became managing director and general counsel for RGT Wealth Advisors. In 2020, he assisted in the sale of RGT to CI Private Wealth (later Corient), a national independent wealth management firm, from which he retired as managing director just last year.

He is an SMU Cox Executive Board member and an alumnus with a strong family connection to SMU: His mother earned her master’s degree and taught speech pathology at SMU; his sister Sarah and brother Tim earned SMU undergraduate degrees; and one of his three children, Matthew, earned an MS degree in finance from the Cox School.

Connie O’Neill, BBA ’77
Civic and philanthropic leader Connie O’Neill, another member of the SMU Cox Class of 1977, graduated summa cum laude with her BBA, with an emphasis on accounting. Before graduating, she was heavily involved in campus organizations, including Mortar Board (a national honor society) and the SMU Student Foundation. She also served as president of Chi Omega. O’Neill was honored in her senior year as the Cox School’s Outstanding Business Student.

After graduation, O’Neill accepted a position with Ernst & Young, where she was a CPA and became a senior manager of the audit and tax department until 1985. That year, she also became president of the SMU Young Alumni. Her involvement and responsibilities grew, and she eventually became president of the SMU Alumni Association in 2007. She joined the Cox School’s and the Simmons School’s Executive Boards in 2010 and remains active in both.

O’Neill has been or is currently active with several nonprofit organizations, including serving on the Boards of Directors for Children’s Medical Center, Children’s Health Services of Texas, Southwestern Medical Foundation, the Susan G. Komen Foundation, St. Mark’s School of Texas and the Communities Foundation of Texas, where she is presently vice chair.

SMU Cox Outstanding Young Alumni 2024

Brittany Dewan Frazier, BBA ’08, BA ’08, MSA ’09
Brittany Dewan Frazier earned two SMU degrees in 2008: a BBA in accounting and a BA in Spanish. In 2009, she earned an SMU Cox Master of Science in accounting. She began her career in New York City, working with PricewaterhouseCoopers; later she moved to the company’s Dallas office as a senior associate. In 2013, Frazier joined Cain, Watters and Associates. She is a certified public accountant and an investment advisor representative.

An advocate of early-in-life financial literacy education, Frazier is involved with the 3-to-1 Foundation, which is dedicated to teaching financial literacy to DISD students and the community. In 2020, she founded the Women in Financial Planning Group at Cain Watters & Associates, establishing mentorship programs and productive meetings to develop and support women to advance their leadership careers.

Frazier and her husband are the parents of three children. She serves on the board of directors of The Family Place, a not-for-profit that empowers and advocates for survivors of family violence by providing housing.

She stays connected with SMU and serves on the SMU Cox Alumni Board, where she enjoys focusing on how to connect and engage with SMU and SMU Cox alumni.

Chip Hiemenz, BBA ’06
Chip Hiemenz was grateful then and remains grateful now for the scholarships that allowed him to earn a BBA with a marketing concentration from SMU Cox in 2006. He received a scholarship as a University Scholar and received the Comiskey BBA Leadership Scholarship.

Outside of the classroom, Hiemenz served as student body president and the student representative on the SMU Board of Trustees. He was captain of the SMU Lacrosse team all four years and was named SMU homecoming king his senior year. Hiemenz, like 2024 Distinguished Alumnus Pete Lodwick, was also a recipient of the “M” Award.

After graduation, Hiemenz worked for SMU in Development and External Affairs with a focus on Young Alumni. He was instrumental in establishing the Class Giving program. During his tenure, Young Alumni giving increased by 98%.

After returning to his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri, Hiemenz earned his MBA at Washington University’s Olin Business School. He was recruited by Hunter Engineering Company, where he currently serves as vice president, responsible for managing key accounts.

Hiemenz and his wife, SMU Cox alumna Alexis Millenbaugh Heimenz, BBA ’11, MS ’12, have two children. He is involved with many nonprofit organizations in St. Louis and remains active with the Cox Alumni Board.