The WCB Exchange

Her students have traded a paper clip up to a car, sold Cincinnati Reds tickets, and invented an ice cream flavor that ended up in Kroger stores nationwide. Karen Eutsler, Associate Professor of Instruction in Marketing, Program Director of Xavier NEXT, and Executive Director of the Center for Women in Business and Leadership, joins host Ryan Detrick to talk about why she builds every class around real companies and real projects.

Karen shares her path from an education degree to corporate sales, marketing and client service, then back to Xavier, where she earned her MBA, to teach full time. She tells the stories behind the Paper Clip Project, the Reds ticket-sales practicum, and Unicorn Swirl, the Kroger flavor that sold more than a million tubs in its first year. She also explains Xavier NEXT, the career-skills program she launched in 2024 with tracks in Sales, Wealth Management, Project Management, Business of Biomedicine, and AI, and what students can do now to get ready to apply.

The conversation wraps with her advice for students starting their first job, especially women, and a lightning round.

Guest

Karen Eutsler, MBA — Associate Professor of Instruction, Department of Marketing; Program Director, Xavier NEXT; and Executive Director, Center for Women in Business and Leadership, Williams College of Business. Xavier MBA '06. After 15 years in corporate sales, marketing and client service, she joined the faculty full time in 2016. She was the 2018–19 WCB Professor of the Year and the 2026 Xavier Teacher of the Year.

• Karen Eutsler on LinkedIn
• Center for Women in Business and Leadership at Xavier
• Xavier NEXT

Credits

• Host: Ryan Detrick
• Guest: Karen Eutsler, MBA
• Produced by: Kim Renners, Associate Professor of Instruction, Xavier University
• Edited by: Claire Renners
• Presented by: Xavier University's Williams College of Business
• Music: Xavier Fight Song

Next time on The WCB Exchange: Delta Sigma Pi at Xavier University.

Years ago, David Croft was an intern on Tom Lieser's team at UBS in Cincinnati. Today he's a Vice President–Wealth Management at UBS in Cleveland, Tom leads the Executive Wealth Consulting Group at Stifel, and the two Xavier grads are close friends.

Host Ryan Detrick sits down with both of them to trace that story: Tom's start cold-calling at Salomon Smith Barney after the tech bubble burst, how Dave landed the internship and his first full-time role, and what it's like mentoring someone who now works at a competing firm. They also break down what a wealth manager actually does day to day, why Tom focuses on executives and Dave on multi-generational families, how the CFP® and AI are shaping the profession, and why they support Xavier's NEXT Wealth Management program.

If you're a student thinking about wealth management, this one ends with practical advice on finding a mentor — plus a rapid-fire round.

Guests

Tom Lieser, CFP® — Managing Director/Investments and Branch Manager at Stifel in Cincinnati, where he leads the Executive Wealth Consulting Group. Xavier Finance alum; member of the Board of Executive Advisors (BEA). (Office: 513-904-6500)

David Croft, CFP®, AWMA® — Vice President–Wealth Management with MML Wealth Management at UBS in Cleveland. Xavier BSBA Finance '17; member of the Junior Board of Advisors (JBA) and leader of the Cleveland alumni chapter. ([email protected])

• Tom Lieser on LinkedIn
• David Croft on LinkedIn
• Xavier NEXT Wealth Management program
• Xavier Finance Board of Executive Advisors and Junior Board of Advisors

• Host: Ryan Detrick, XU '01
• Produced by: Kim Renners, Associate Professor of Instruction, Xavier University
• Edited by: Claire Renners
• Presented by: Xavier University's Williams College of Business
• Music: Xavier Fight Song

Next time on The WCB Exchange: a conversation with a favorite Xavier faculty member.

Host Ryan Detrick talks with Xavier alum Kristen Brauer ('17, Finance), a Program Manager at Amazon in Seattle. Kristen's career has gone from the Orr Fellowship to the Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis, then Katz, Sapper & Miller, then VP of Finance at USA Brands, then an MIT master's in supply chain, and now Amazon. She explains why she kept choosing growth over the safe path, why accounting keeps showing up no matter what role you're in, and how a few words from a Xavier professor helped her make one of her biggest career decisions.

Key takeaways:

• Accounting is the language of finance and will keep coming back, so learn it deeply.
• Your 20s are the time to take the bold move, because you can recover from it.
• Only you can make the right choice for yourself. Get advice, then trust your gut.
• Build an identity outside of work.
• Don't be afraid to ask for help. You'll be able to give back later.

Connect with Kristen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristenbrauer/

If you enjoyed this episode, please like, follow, share and leave a review. It helps more people find the show.

Episode Credits:

Host: Ryan Detrick

Guest: Kristen Brauer, Program Manager, Amazon; Xavier BSBA Finance ’17; Junior Board of Advisors

Produced by: Kim Renners, Associate Professor of Instruction, Xavier University

Edited by: Claire Renners

Presented by: Xavier University’s Williams College of Business

Music: Xavier Fight Song

This episode of The WCB Exchange is a little different: no markets, majors or internships. It's a story about family, friendship and faith in action.

Host Ryan Detrick sits down with sisters Tina Metzger and Cheryl Metzger, whose family has lived with polycystic kidney disease (PKD), an inherited condition that causes cysts to grow in the kidneys until they can no longer do their job. Cheryl, Tina and their brother Daryl have all received kidney transplants. Now Tina's transplanted kidney is failing, and she needs a second one from a living donor.

In this conversation, Tina and Cheryl share:

• Their family's story with PKD, across generations

• What it's like when a transplant starts to fail, and what Tina needs right now

• How Off The List, a Cincinnati nonprofit, helps people find living kidney donors instead of waiting years on the deceased-donor list

• What the process of being tested as a living donor actually looks like

• How you can still help, even if you're not a match for Tina

• What cura personalis, care for the whole person, means to a family that has lived it

HOW TO HELP

Learn about living donation and connect with Off The List: https://getoffthelist.org

To be tested as a donor for Tina specifically: Jackie Haney, Christ Hospital, 513-585-1440

If this is for you, we hope you'll reach out. If it's not, we hope you'll share it with someone it might be.

CREDITS

Host: Ryan Detrick

Guests: Tina Metzger and Cheryl Metzger

Produced by: Kim Renners, Associate Professor of Instruction, Xavier University

Edited by: Claire Renners

Music: Xavier Fight Song

Presented by Xavier University's Williams College of Business

With gratitude to the Metzger family for sharing their story.

This episode is for informational purposes and is not medical advice. Talk with a transplant center or your doctor about living donation.

All for one, one for all — this episode goes inside the D'Artagnan Capital Fund, the $10 million student-run equity investment fund at Xavier's Williams College of Business. Host Ryan Detrick sits down with fund President Josie Jurek and CEO Luke Uhlman to talk about how the fund got started, what it's investing in today, and what's ahead as it approaches its 20th anniversary. Plus, a look at Josie and Luke's own Xavier journeys — internships, lessons learned, and what's next after graduation.

Host: Ryan Detrick

Guests: Josie Jurek, President, D'Artagnan Capital Fund;

Luke Uhlman, CEO, D'Artagnan Capital Fund

Produced by: Kim Renners, Associate Professor of Instruction, Xavier University

Edited by: Claire Renners

Presented by: Xavier University's Williams College of Business

Music: Xavier Fight Song

In our very first episode, we introduce The WCB Exchange and set the tone for what's to come — then sit down with Dean Marco Pagani for a live conversation about what's currently happening inside Xavier's Williams College of Business.

Host: Ryan Detrick

Guests: Kim Renners, Associate Professor of Instruction, Xavier University; Marco Pagani, Ph.D., Dean, Williams College of Business

Produced by: Kim Renners

Edited by: Claire Renners

Concept originated by: Tony Petretti, Founder, Olivewood Advisors

Presented by: Xavier University's Williams College of Business

Music: freesound_community-drum-roll-please and tatamusic-battle-warrior-fighting-drums via Pixabay