College of Business to welcome Brian Billingsley as Fall Dean’s Distinguished Speaker
The College of Business at Texas A&M University-Victoria is set to welcome local business leader Brian Billingsley as part of the Fall 2025 Dean's Distinguished Speaker Series.
The event will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 18 from 6-7:30 p.m. in the University North Walker Auditorium, 3007 N. Ben Wilson St. It will open with a reception at 6 p.m., followed by Billingsley’s presentation at 6:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
“Beyond his business role, Brian is an active civic leader,” said Kaveh McAdam, College of Business director of external relations. “I invite our university alumni and community partners to join us on Nov 18. It is a great opportunity to meet and mingle with students, faculty, and local community members, and hear from our distinguished speaker.”
Billingsley brings a wealth of experience and knowledge both as a business leader and as a civic figure. As owner and president of Office Systems, a locally owned business-technology provider of managed IT services, advanced printing solutions and VoIP communication, Billingsley has worked to make his mark throughout the Texas Gulf Coast.
Other than his professional role, he also serves on numerous community boards, including the Victoria Chamber of Commerce, the Victoria College Foundation, the Texas A&M College of Business Dean’s Advisory Board, the Victoria Rotary Club, and also lends his leadership as chairman of the Parks Commission for the City of Victoria.
Born in Corpus Christi, Billingsley lived all over the United States due to his father’s career in sales. After attending Abilene Christine University to study finance and accounting, he made the pivotal decision to leave college before graduation during the economic downturn of 2009. Rather than following a prescribed path, Billingsley said he took another approach and spent a year traveling across the country, exploring and searching for the right fit.
He went on to settle in San Antonio for a time where he managed multiple business branches in the technology sector, before coming down to Victoria in 2018 to raise his children, Billingsley said.
Throughout his career in business, Billingsley has personally hired nearly 100 employees and credits networking and practical experience as the cornerstones of professional success, he said.
“What I look for more than anything, because a lot of people have the college degree at this point, is real-world experience,” Billingsley said.
It is of paramount importance that college students and aspiring young business professionals seek out internships, connect with local businesses and become involved with community organizations to set themselves apart, he said.
In his upcoming talk, Billingsley will dive into his professional background and aims to reassure students that there is not a right or wrong path in business, but the path that works for them.
“A lot of people in Victoria, they’re your nontraditional college students who didn’t necessarily come straight out of high school into college,” Billingsley said. “Just know, it’s never too late to go back and advance yourself, don’t be afraid to follow your passion.”
Texas A&M University-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 50 academic programs in the colleges of Business, Education & Health Professions, Liberal Arts & Social Sciences, and Natural & Applied Science. A&M-Victoria provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as online classes that students can take from anywhere. The university supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.