2024 Honoree

William “Bill” Marko received his BSE in mechanical engineering from Tulane University in 1981. As he began his career, he continued on at night at the university, receiving his MEng in petroleum engineering in 1983. Marta Marko received her BS in computer science from the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now University of Louisiana at Lafayette) in 1981. In 2020, she was named an honorary alumna of Tulane University.

Bill Marko is a special advisor at Jefferies LLC in the Energy Investment Banking Group, where he specializes in applying technical energy knowledge to investment banking. He joined Jefferies in 2005 when it purchased boutique energy asset-transaction firm Randall & Dewey Inc., where he had served as managing director. With nearly forty-four years in the oil and gas industry, including eighteen at Mobil Oil, Bill has evaluated worldwide acquisition, divestment, and new business development energy opportunities in 101 countries.

After receiving her degree in computer science, Marta Marko joined McDermott, where she worked with their team designing and programming accounting systems.  She later moved on to planning, developing, and maintaining systems for Philips and later Raytheon, before retiring in 2001. In the past decade, she has been extremely involved with being the care giver for her parents.

The Markos have been committed service leaders at Tulane, sharing generously of their time and talent. They are regional co-chairs for the Houston National Campaign Council for Always the Audacious. Additionally, Bill is a current member of the Board of Tulane and chair of its endowment committee, the School of Science and Engineering Board of Advisors, the Murphy Foundation Board of Directors and is a former member and chair of the President’s Council. He also co-chaired his 35^th and 40^th reunions.

Ardent Tulane supporters who are passionate about finding treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, the Markos are foundational supporters of the Tulane Brain Institute. Through their commitment, they created crucial momentum for the launch of the Brain Institute and have been generous supporters of research, scholarships and faculty as well as endowing the second floor of Flower Hall, home of the Brain Institute, and the Deck for Interdisciplinary Research on the second floor of the brand new Steven and Jann Paul Hall.

The Markos are members of the university’s prestigious Paul Tulane Society, which honors the institution’s most forward-thinking partners. In 2017, Bill was awarded the School of Science and Engineering’s Outstanding Service Alumnus Award.

The Markos are also active supporters for Share Our Strength – No Kid Hungry, a national organization focused on providing breakfast and meeting other nutritional needs for children in school and during the summer months.