“We continue to develop principled and impactful leaders and entrepreneurs, foster innovation for a data and technology driven world, and grow a global presence fueled by local synergies,” said Gareth James, John H. Harland Dean. “I’m proud of our faculty and staff – and energized about the future of our school and students.”

Impacting Business & Beyond

Faculty and staff contribute to the Goizueta and Emory community, but also have significant impact on society and the broader business world. External awards include:

Karen Sedatole, Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Accounting, was named as an editor to the Accounting Review. Sedatole was also elected to the position of president elect for the Management Accounting section of the American Accounting Association.

Emma Zhang, associate professor of information systems & operations management, was named an elected member of the International Statistical Institute. Zhang was also named an associate editor to the Journal of the American Accounting Association.

Ruomeng Cui, associate professor of information systems & operations management, was a finalist for the 2022 Management Science Best Paper Award in Operations Management for her paper, “Learning from Inventory Availability Information: Evidence from Field Experiments on Amazon.”

Panos Adamopoulos, assistant professor of information systems & operations management, was named as an associate editor at Management Science.

Giacomo Negro, professor of organization & management, was appointed as the senior editor of Organization Science and also received an honorable mention for the Robert K. Merton Award for his paper, “What’s Next? Artists’ Music After Grammy Awards.” Negro additionally served as the principal investigator for the 2022 LGBTQ Southern Survey.

Erika Hall, associate professor of organization & management, was named as an incoming associate editor at the Academy of Management Discoveries.

Dan McCarthy, assistant professor of marketing and Marina Cooley, assistant professor in the practice of marketing were recognized by Poets&Quants’.” McCarthy was also a finalist for the Weitz-Winer-O’Dell Award.

John Kim, associate professor in the practice of organization & management, was designated as one of the top instructors by Coursera for Management Consulting courses.

Vilma Todri, assistant professor of information systems & operations management, was named an associate editor to the Management Information Systems Quarterly Journal, one of the top three leading Information Systems journals.

Tonya Smalls, assistant professor in the practice of accounting, has been appointed to serve on the Inaugural Advisory Board for Make-A-Wish Georgia (MAWGA).

Leading the Future Of Emory and Goizueta

Goizueta Business School and Emory also honor academic professionals and leaders for their dedication to excellence through teaching, content development, experiential learning, scholarly inquisition, and commitment.

“We could not be prouder of our exceptional faculty and staff for their remarkable work and dedication throughout the past year,” says Anandhi Bharadwaj, who will step down as vice dean for faculty and research this summer as Professor Wei Jiang prepares to take on the role. “It has been an honor to work alongside our faculty and staff in developing the school and its programs.”

The recipients of these prestigious honors and awards are listed below:

Rajiv Garg, associate professor of information systems & operations management, was awarded the Provost’s Distinguished Teaching Award for Excellence in Graduate and Professional Education. Garg was also honored as the MSBA Distinguished Core Educator.

John Kim, associate professor in the practice of organization & management, was awarded Emory Williams Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award.

Giacomo Negro, professor of organization & management, received the Keough Faculty Award. Negro also received the Jordan Research Award.

Marvell Nesmith, associate dean of academic affairs & instructional design, received the Keough Staff Award.

Marina Cooley, assistant professor in the practice of marketing, was honored as the BBA Distinguished Educator and was also recognized for MBA Teaching Excellence (One Year).

Omar Rodríguez-Vilá, professor in the practice of marketing, was awarded the Evening MBA Distinguished Core Educator and was also recognized for MBA Teaching Excellence (Two Year).

Charles Goetz, associate professor in the Practice of organization & management, was awarded Evening MBA Distinguished Elective Educator.

Ray Hill, associate professor in the practice of finance, was recognized for MBA Teaching Excellence (Classic Faculty).

Alvin Lim and David Sackin were awarded MSBA Distinguished Elective Educators.

Rob Kazanjian, Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Organization & Management, was awarded Executive MBA Distinguished Educator (Core).

Kevin Crowley, associate professor in the practice of finance and Narasimhan Jegadeesh, Dean’s Distinguished Chair of Finance, were awarded MAF Distinguished Educators. Crowley was also awarded Executive MBA Distinguished Educator (Elective).

Giacomo Negro, Melissa Williams and Panos Adamopoulos received Goizueta research awards at the levels of full, associate, and assistant professor, respectively.

Goizueta Business School is proud to present the accomplishments of these and other faculty members within our institution. To learn more about the teaching, specialized research, and core interests of each faculty member, check out our faculty profiles and their related publications. 

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The theme of this year’s event was “The Rise of Generative AI: Business and Ethical Considerations.” Generative artificial intelligence—think ChatGPT—produces text, images, and other media. The theme was a deliberate choice in light of the popularity of this type of AI. Speakers addressed the fear that students could use the software to complete assignments and raised awareness of how businesses are using the technology, explains Ramnath Chellappa, academic director and associate dean of the MSBA program.

We wanted our audience to directly hear how technology firms, such as Microsoft, are building this AI tool into their products, while at the same time, how clients of such technology are being innovative-though-careful in incorporating it into their technology platforms and business processes.

Ramnath Chellappa, academic director & associate dean of the MSBA program

Business and Ethical Considerations: Experts Weigh In

The event included a guest speaker session about business and ethical considerations of generative artificial intelligence. The two guest speakers were Roger Roberts, partner at McKinsey & Company, and Leandro Santos, senior partner at McKinsey & Company.

“I’m particularly pleased that we discussed generative AI. This technology is fundamentally transforming every walk of life,” said Dean Gareth James during his welcome speech.

At the core of this technology is data and algorithms – something our students are experts on.

Gareth James, John H. Harland Dean of Goizueta Business School

A panel discussion covered how this technology will impact and transform business. Panelists included Andrea Huels, head of global growth and strategy of Radius AI; Bharathi Rajan, vice president of enterprise data and applications at Swire Coca-Cola; and Stephen Helwig, director of data platform and analytics strategy, global customer success, at Microsoft.

Student Summit Presentations

As the culmination of the MSBA program, students participate in a semester-long practicum, during which they become consultants, meeting weekly with a client company and leveraging the knowledge they’ve gained throughout their studies. Groups of students design a solution to a real problem their client is facing, which means students gain access to the business’ data and can directly apply the skills they’ve learned to a real-world scenario.

The practicum project serves as the pinnacle of our students’ academic journey, allowing them to leverage their expertise in data science, managing big data, machine learning, and data visualization to develop innovative solutions tailored to the specific needs of our sponsor firms.

Scott Radcliffe, managing director, MSBA program

Project teams presenting this year included NCR, FOCUS Brands, and Best Buy. NCR sponsors were Kun Zhu, executive director of data science; Yingying Cai, industrial engineer manager; and Michael Tang, data scientist. FOCUS Brands’ sponsor was Russ Bramblett, director of data science. Best Buy’s sponsor was Will Armstrong, associate director of data science research and development.

At the Summit, sponsors joined the students on stage, as each team delivered a 15-minute presentation about their project.

“The experience of presenting at the summit is unparalleled,” says Zayn Sui 23MBSA.

It made me proud of all the work we did throughout the semester. After our presentation, some people reached out to us to provide feedback, and I genuinely appreciated their comments.

Zayn Sui 23MBSA

Sui plans to pursue a career in data analytics in the food services industry, so the experience of developing code for FOCUS Brands was beneficial. The group provided insights into the company’s customer churn data, which told FOCUS when they needed to engage with particular customers in order to retain them.

For Shandlie Jean-Baptiste 23MSBA, meeting with her client was a “valuable mentorship experience,” and presenting with her team was extremely rewarding. She was a member of the NCR group, which had to determine the optimal quantity—or “sweet spot”—of customer engineers for each of NCR’s territories to meet the best service level.

In addition to assigning challenging and relevant projects, the MSBA program also emphasized the importance of being bold and engaging, which helped me develop my communication and business skills.

Shandlie Jean-Baptiste 23MSBA

Sui also enjoyed hearing about his peers’ projects and the innovative solutions they designed, especially the Best Buy group, who got to work with text data from the company’s call center. The students used a natural language processing approach, in conjunction with the complex data, explains Radcliffe.

“The practicum project mirrors every aspect of a consulting relationship, a thoroughly professional engagement with deliverables that include code, cleaned-up data, and a dashboard,” says Chellappa. “The summit offers a great opportunity to showcase the students’ professional engagement in addition to their technical and modeling skills.”

Meeting of the Minds

The MSBA program also held its inaugural advisory board meeting in conjunction with the summit, marking a significant milestone for the program. The advisory board, comprised of industry leaders, gathered to provide thought leadership on the use of data and algorithms to solve business problems and help shape the future direction of the MSBA program.

Attendees included Kurt Kendall, chief operations and analytics officer at Heuro Health, and Kun Zhu, chief data scientist of digital connected services at NCR. Their expertise in leveraging analytics within the healthcare and digital services sectors, respectively, adds tremendous value to the program’s curriculum development.

The meeting also welcomed Uday Kumar; Saurabh Parikh, chief data and innovation officer at CONA Services; Shobana Radhakrishnan, senior director of engineering at Google TV; and Raymond Heatherly, senior manager of consumer machine learning at Realtor.com. All contributed unique perspectives and insights from their respective fields.

“The advisory board’s contributions are instrumental in ensuring that our MSBA program remains at the forefront of industry trends and demands,” says Radcliffe. “The collaboration with these esteemed leaders will further empower our students to excel in applying data-driven solutions to complex business challenges.”

Goizueta Business School’s Master’s in Business Analytics program produces business data scientists skilled at serving in any function, organization, or field. Interested candidates can pursue the full-time MSBA, including an AI in Business track, or xMSBA geared toward working professionals. Learn more about Goizueta’s academic offerings.

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Gareth James, John H. Harland Dean of Goizueta Business School, commended the 2023 class for resilience in the face of an ever-changing world filled with new challenges and opportunities. “As I look at our graduating class today, I am filled with pride, gratitude, and optimism.”

In addition to the university’s BBA ceremony on Monday, May 8, Goizueta held diploma ceremonies for students in its Evening MBA, Executive MBA, One-Year MBA, Two-Year MBA, and Master’s in Business Analytics program. The Goizueta community also celebrated the inaugural graduating class of the Master of Analytical Finance program.

During the ceremony, Dean James shared stories and experiences about the ways he has pushed himself in career and life. “All my biggest successes have come from taking risks, many of which didn’t necessarily appear logical at the time.” He recounted leaving home in New Zealand for graduate school in the United States, serving as interim dean of University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business during the first year of the pandemic, and taking the opportunity to lead Goizueta as Dean last summer.

In fact, my biggest regrets are not the inevitable failures along the way, but rather the chances that I passed on. I urge you to dive in whenever opportunity comes knocking, especially if it makes you feel a little uncomfortable.

John H. Harland Dean Gareth James

Justice Advocate Anthony Ray Hinton Delivers Keynote Address at University Commencement

Activist, writer and justice advocate Anthony Ray Hinton delivered the keynote address at Emory University’s 178th Commencement ceremony on the Emory Quadrangle.

Author of The New York Times 2018 bestselling book “The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row,” Hinton entered Death Row in Alabama for crimes he did not commit On Dec. 17, 1986. He spent the next 30 years in custody until the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) secured his freedom. Hinton now serves as an EJI community educator and a tireless and powerful advocate for the abolition of the death penalty. He also works with LifeLines, which supports prisoners on Death Row through letter writing.

“By transforming unfathomable tragedy into positive advocacy and action, Anthony Ray Hinton has sent a powerful message of hope,” shared Emory University President Gregory L. Fenves. “His freedom was unjustly denied for nearly 30 years, yet he found peace and forgiveness and has dedicated himself to spreading truth and light in the world.” During the ceremony, Emory presented Hinton with an honorary Doctor of Letters degree.

“I’m so honored to serve as Emory’s commencement speaker this year,” says Hinton.

I always value the opportunity to share what I’ve learned with young people getting ready to embark on their own journeys. I want to make sure young people know that even on the nights where there are tears (and there will be those nights), the sun will shine again.

Anthony Ray Hinton

Commending the Class of 2023

As faculty, staff, students, parents, and loved ones cheered on the Class of 2023, they celebrated the graduates’ resilience and bright futures ahead.

“During your time at our school, we’ve watched you support each other through triumph and challenge; adapt, pivot, and innovate; push yourself to what you thought were your limits—and then push even further,” shared Dean James. “We thank you for letting us take part in your journey and can’t wait to see the ways you excel in your career and beyond.”

For more Emory Commencement stories, updates, photos and videos, and celebration details, visit commencement.emory.edu.

Read more on the Emory News Center.

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Angie Chen 23MSBA wanted a big city for her graduate school experience—and one in America. With friends already halfway across the world, going to school at Emory University, Chen was lured to Goizueta Business School from her home in China.

“In my previous role as an internet product manager, I sought to increase collaboration with the technology and data departments of the company,” says Chen, who was living in Shanghai at the time. “I believed a master’s in business analytics would bring me more hands-on exploration of the data and prepare me well for my next aimed role as a data scientist or analyst.”

Chen says it was the capstone project experience and small class sizes at Goizueta that set the MSBA program apart from other schools, in addition to graduates’ high job placement.

Since her undergraduate background was in biological engineering—not data science—Chen is grateful for the opportunity to work with real data from big companies. Her group is working with Truist’s Wealth Department, and they’re presenting solutions to a real problem the company is facing, rather than spending time on make-believe scenarios.

“This experience will add much more value to my resume and provide greater credibility to my professional abilities during job interviews,” says Chen.

I am confident that I can apply my technical and analytical skills to draw meaningful insights and inform business decisions as a data scientist or analyst after graduation.

Angie Chen 23MSBA

Chen was able to flex her new skills in experiences like attending the Southern Data Conference, winning “Best in Class” for a machine-learning final project with her classmates, and teaming up with fellow MSBA students to hold a SQL-programming workshop for Goizueta’s MBA students.

Chen has also valued the time, dedication, and support of the MSBA program’s coordinators. The chance to unwind after a difficult project and connect with classmates outside of a rigorous academic setting offered exciting chances to not only explore her new temporary home in a different country, but bond with her cohort. The group bowled, played basketball, and even attended a jazz night at the High Museum.

“Bonding with my classmates outside of the classroom has been enriching,” reflects Chen. “Through extracurricular activities and social events, I’ve developed meaningful friendships that have made this journey more enjoyable. These connections have also made working on group projects easier. I’m grateful for these bonds as they have enabled me to grow not just as an intellectual, but also as a team player, a friend, and a person.”

Congratulations to our Goizueta graduates! Learn more about the celebration and register for Goizueta’s Commencement activities.

Interested in pursuing a business degree? Learn more about the unique programs Goizueta has to offer.

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