The event will include a flag ceremony with Emory veterans and ROTC cadets. The guest speaker this year is Max Hilsman, a U.S. Army veteran who is the executive director and private wealth management regional manager at Morgan Stanley. Hilsman, who also leads veteran recruiting for Morgan Stanley in Atlanta, has a history of mentoring veterans during the transition from soldier to civilian.  

Jeff Rosensweig, associate professor of finance and director of The Robson Program for Business, Public Policy, and Government, will return for the fifth year as master of ceremonies. The program will start with a salute to the flag during the national anthem. Then, at 11:11 a.m. there will be a moment of silence for Armistice Day, which marks the end of World War I hostilities at the 11th minute of the 11th hour of the 11th month. The ceremony will close with the “Armed Forces Medley” followed by refreshments.  

“For me, [Veterans Day is a day] to reflect upon my service, but more importantly all those who I have had the privilege to serve with,” says Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Ken Keen, associate dean of leadership development and senior lecturer of Organization & Management.  

Keen came to Emory in 2013 after 38 years of service in the U.S. Army. He has given his time to veteran support initiatives on campus and beyond. 

“Emory University and Goizueta Business School have been instrumental in my transition to civilian life,” notes Keen, who also advises the Goizueta Veterans Association. “Most impactful for me has been the opportunity to continue to serve others and especially work with young people aspiring to lead and create a positive impact on business and society.” 

One of those leaders is Isaac Olsen 22MBA, who served as an Army officer for 10 years. Olsen, who grew up near the Canadian border in Presque Isle, Maine, joined the military after graduating from Liberty University in Virginia. He enrolled in the MBA program last year and says he found a place to belong in the Goizueta Veterans Association, where he’s currently president.  

“We’re making a hard transition from a somewhat insulated world, and the Veterans Association establishes support and community,” says Olsen, who also serves as the Veterans Day ceremony coordinator. “Having people I can connect with as I grow and evolve is important to me.”  

Isaac Olsen 22MBA

Emory’s Support for Veterans 

Through the Yellow Ribbon program, Emory provides funding to help post-9/11 veterans pay for educational expenses beyond what is covered by the GI Bill.  

Undergraduate students planning military careers can participate in Army or Air Force ROTC through a cross-enrollment agreement with Georgia Tech. Students complete their undergraduate degrees at Emory and military training at Tech. 

The Emory Healthcare Veterans Program, part of the Emory Brain Health Center, provides expert, collaborative care for post-9/11 veterans and service members dealing with a variety of mental health concerns, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury, military sexual trauma, depression and anxiety. Treatment options include outpatient and intensive outpatient programs which integrate care in multiple areas including psychiatry, neurology, sleep, rehabilitative medicine, wellness, and family support. 

Emory is one of 18 nursing schools nationwide selected for the elite Veteran Affairs Nursing Academic Partnership (VANAP) through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Undergraduate and graduate nursing students selected for the program gain valuable training in providing quality care for our nation’s veterans. 

The Emory Law Volunteer Clinic for Veterans provides pro bono legal services for veterans, assisting them and their families with legal issues including disability claims before the Veterans Administration and subsequent appellate proceedings, estate work and discharge upgrades before the Department of Defense. 

For more information on how Goizueta supports veterans and to learn more about the Goizueta Veterans Association, visit here.   

This article was written by Kelundra Smith for the Emory News Center.

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David Nour 00EMBA, CEO of The Nour Group, cringes a bit when people refer to relationship building as a soft skill. A relationship economics advisor, executive coach, and author of 11 books, Nour has spent the last 20 years researching relationships and their effect on business outcomes. During that time, he’s helped his clients create enterprise value by building sustainable, strategic relationships that go beyond the transactional. His latest book, “Curve Benders,” takes a closer look at “those transformational relationships that don’t just help us accomplish or meet our short-term goals and objectives,” he explained. “Curve-benders have a profound impact in shaping who we become.”

Like a young Roberto Goizueta, who fled Cuba and came to the U.S. during the Cuban Revolution, a teenage Nour found his life re-routed by the Iranian Revolution. In May 1981, Nour, who spoke no English, flew from Iran to the U.S. to live with his aunt and uncle in suburban Atlanta. In order for Nour to remain in the U.S., they had to adopt him. Nour’s parents, who still live in Iran and are retired college professors, instilled in Nour a deep belief in the power of education.

Nour earned his BBA from Georgia State University, and subsequently began a career in technology sales and marketing. He noticed that many of the people doing what he was doing in his twenties were twice his age.

“I wanted more,” he said. Nour decided to get his EMBA at Goizueta, after which he went into consulting, managed a startup in New York, and then worked for a private equity firm. He founded the Nour Group in 2002.

Nour credits Goizueta with sharpening his intellectual curiosity and teaching him how to communicate comfortably with executives and leaders across industries. The school also offered Nour a core foundation of relationships. Of the approximately 50 members in his cohort, Nour said he is “proactively in touch with at least 20 of them.”

In an effort to give back and to stay in touch with the school, Nour keeps in touch with several of his former professors, including George S. Craft Professor in Information Systems & Operations Management Benn Konsynski and Associate Professor of Finance and The Robson Program for Business, Public Policy, and Government’s Director Jeffrey Rosensweig.

Nour now teaches a strategy visualization seminar in Goizueta’s EMBA program. The pandemic has disrupted higher education, but Nour sees possibilities for lasting change in the post-COVID era, describing this time period as “a phenomenal opportunity to re-imagine, rethink, reinvigorate, and renew education,” he said.

As a Father’s Day gift 10 years ago, Nour’s wife bought him a Vespa scooter. It jump-started a love for motorcycles. “Riding is my happy place,” said Nour. This summer, Nour and his 17-year old son plan to venture across the Continental Divide from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Helena, Montana. (Nour’s 19-year old daughter also rides.) A few summers ago, Nour, whose motorcycle of choice is a Ducati, rode through Tuscany, Italy and stopped to tour the Ducati headquarters. On weekends, Nour and his family can often be found riding along the back roads from their home in Atlanta through the north Georgia mountains, over to Asheville, NC and back.

“It’s never just about the destination,” he explained. “It’s the journey.”

David Nour is an affiliate faculty member in the Executive Education program, where he teaches a course in Strategy Visualization.

Goizueta MBA students engage with faculty and professionals through experiential learning throughout their program. Do you know which MBA program might be right for your professional journey and lifestyle? Find out which approach suits you best.

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“Readers now expect much more choice in their books, including diverse author voices. We are dedicated to delivering this change because we believe these diverse voices are a huge part of spreading empathy. Beyond this, we can have some fun, bend genres, bring forward accessible stories, and help more people fall in love with reading.”

Sir Salman Rushdie, a University Distinguished Professor and Writer-in-Residence at Emory from 2007-2012, once said, “A book is a version of the world. If you do not like it, ignore it; or offer your own version in return.” With more than 45,000 authors in the United States alone, Three to Five Publishing in Atlanta has emerged to showcase under-represented voices with vibrant stories to share.

For the founder and CEO of Three to Five Publishing, Marcus Siwemuke 14MBA, stories can indeed be transformative. With his wife and co-founder, Julie Siwemuke 13MBA, who also serves as the CMO and editor-in-chief for the publishing company, the duo launched their venture in 2019 to embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion through the written word. “It is vital that our society recognizes and values the perspectives of many cultures,” Marcus says. “To alleviate bias and heal our differences, we will showcase authors with an inclusive world view.”

“There has been a growing movement to bring awareness and understanding to unconscious biases,” Julie adds. “We want to complement that by sharing content that counters those biases, spotlights the possibilities, and allows all people to see themselves and be seen as the heroes of the story.”

Once centered in New York City and London, “Traditional book publishing has been disrupted and redefined in recent years,” Marcus says. “Like many industries, one of the key disruptors is the gig economy, which opens the door for independent publishers and authors to shake things up. Readers now expect much more choice in their books, including diverse author voices.”

“We are dedicated to delivering this change because we believe these diverse voices are a huge part of spreading empathy. Beyond this, we can have some fun, bend genres, bring forward accessible stories, and help more people fall in love with reading.” 

– Marcus Siwemuke

The team created the company with this mission and released its first novel in early 2020. “From there, we have been learning as much as we can about publishing from the first novels and refining our business model both for now and as the company grows,” says Marcus.

Before the company launch, Marcus spent 15 years in strategy, sales, and operations across an array of industries including B2B software, energy, nonprofit, and global fintech. His time in the Peace Corps, aiding in creating sustainable small business ventures in Costa Rica, sparked much of his passion for entrepreneurship. Julie has 15 years of experience in strategy, branding and marketing, the last seven of which have been with The Coca-Cola Company, where she most recently led the creation and launch of a new beverage brand, AHA Sparkling Water.

“Our time at Goizueta reinforced our desire to start our own business. The classes, of course, strengthened hard skills we knew were necessary. But just as impactful were experiences like a roundtable with a billionaire, thanks to [Associate Professor of Finance; Director, The Robson Program for Business, Public Policy, and Government] Jeffrey Rosensweig, and having access to accomplished leadership like [Associate Dean, Full-Time MBA] Brian Mitchell. Under-represented people need to have role models and teachers who are where they aspire to be. Goizueta gave us that,” says Marcus. “We took some time after that to round out our skills, while finding the right passion project for us both.”

Julie adds, “Not only are our professional experiences complementary, but we both love reading. For Marcus, an avid fan of non-fiction, books present boundless knowledge. For me, fictional novels have been a favorite pastime for as long as I can remember. So, what better venture could we choose than this?”

A Cultural Awakening through Books Featuring “People Like Me”

“Books have been a liberating force in my life,” says Marcus. “When I was young, I had little interest in reading because a lot of what I saw didn’t seem accessible to me. Now I realize what power books can have, and I don’t want other people to feel like I did. The more I read, the more I see, and the more I learn. I want that for as many people as possible.”  

The company’s debut speculative fiction author, Alexander Mukte, unveiled his first two books in The Rewired Series, which were geared towards adults of all ages. At the core of his complex mystery stories, the author explores societal norms and features diverse characters that challenge stereotypes. “Not only is it important for readers to see protagonists who are women and people of color as leaders in their fields, but we also want readers to question why certain things are the way they are and what changes could make their world better on any scale.” Marcus notes, “Some of the most rewarding feedback we have received so far has been from people who previously weren’t big readers or fans of fiction but loved The Recruiter and are excited to read Deeply Rooted Dreams. To us, that’s a big success.”

“These first two books offer mind-opening and entertaining stories that are accessible for all people who appreciate diverse perspectives,” says Julie. Moving forward, Three to Five will expand on cultural representation through its literature. Julie shares, “Just as Goizueta has elevated its commitment to exploring all facets of diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism, we provide positive stories with representation. We will continue to share messages around hope and the ability for each of us to make an impact.”

Sir Salman Rushdie’s archives may be reviewed at the Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library. Read more about Goizueta’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

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President Gregory L. Fenves opened the event by thanking all who have served in the U.S. military, past and present. He shared that his father is an Army veteran and gave credit to his father for much of what he has come to know of veterans himself – including their courage, commitment, character and patriotism.

After his military service, Fenves’ father attended college on the GI Bill and went on to a long career as an engineering professor. “That benefit changed his life and my family forever,” Fenves said.

“Emory understands the value of the GI Bill to our veterans, and our work continues to make sure this is an institution where veterans are known, and where they are welcomed and validated,” he explained.

Following Fenves’ remarks, viewers watched video from a ceremony previously recorded on Emory’s Quadrangle with student-veterans Capt. Grant Tucek (Army), Capt. Thomas Egge (Army), Lt. Matthew Mastriforte (Navy) and 1st Lt. Brennan Mancil (Army) as the national anthem played.

Lt. Gen. (Ret.) P. K. (Ken) Keen, associate dean of leadership development and a faculty member of Emory’s Goizueta Business School, then reflected on the history of Veterans Day. He invited participants to observe a moment of silence to mark when the armistice ending World War I took effect “at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month” in 1918. 

Lessons from Emory and the military

In lieu of the keynote address traditionally given during Emory’s Veterans Day ceremony, four alumni service members shared their perspectives on leading through crisis. Jeff Rosensweig, Goizueta Business School associate professor of finance and founding faculty sponsor for the Emory Veterans Association, moderated the discussion.

Rosensweig shared how some students at Goizueta approached him more than 20 years ago about a veterans organization. “We formed a Veterans Association so that students who were veterans would be able to work together and inform the student body about the value of being veterans,” he said. “To have veterans in our classes is a great opportunity for Emory – I think the students are very eager to learn from our veterans.”

The veteran panelists included:

• Jon Keen 11 MBA, interim chief operating officer for the City of Atlanta
• Carlissa Carson 08 L, Lt. Col., Air Force Reserve (Air National Guard), and manager of the Emory Law Volunteer Clinic for Veterans
• Raye Perez 20 MBA, senior manager of strategic initiatives, 75th Ranger Regiment
• Felicia Warren 99 Ox 01 C 08 MPH, Lt. Cmdr., U.S. Public Health Service, and team lead for the Operational Policy and Training Team at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Center for Global Health 

All four said lessons learned during their times at Emory and in the military prepared them to cope with challenges, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The military gave me the confidence to deal with a crisis and lead from a place of optimism even in very stressful situations,” Keen said. “My time at Emory strengthened my confidence in leading in varied circumstances and put quite a few new tools in my toolkit that were very important to adapting the city’s operations, like clarity in communication – something we certainly got a lot of practice in.”

Warren was deployed to the CDC’s Newark, N.J., quarantine station in early February as part of the country’s first line of defense to mitigate the importation and spread of COVID-19.

“As a public health professional, seeing this pandemic unfold while you’re deployed to help prevent that very pandemic was incredibly challenging,” she said. “I credit my training as a public health service officer in equipping me with a lot of those skills necessary to combat public health threats, but also my foundational knowledge from Oxford and Emory College and then my public health training at Rollins School of Public Health. It has uniquely equipped and prepared me throughout my career.”

Perez added, “In the military we use the words ‘limitations breed creativity.’ At the same time, chaos will expose priorities. The way the military prepared me was really about mindset. I have always appreciated that you make a choice on how you enter a system. Emory helped me focus on actually creating value in that – the ability to systematically inspire people and motivate them to find problems and … develop the solution.”

Building successful leaders

Diverse leaders from all walks of life are developed through the military. When Rosensweig asked about the most important leadership lesson panelists learned during their military service, Carson was quick to pinpoint empathy.

“The most important leadership trait – human trait – is empathy, the ability to understand the emotions and needs of others,” she said. “Putting yourself in their shoes, especially while leading during a crisis, is important to establishing trust. Empathy is a hallmark of effective leadership.”

“One of my most important takeaways from the military is the power of perspective,” Carson continued. “Without proper perspective sometimes we can magnify mistakes made, minimize our ability to add value or perhaps lose sight of a desired end state. With the proper perspective you can remain calm and collected. I believe this ultimately leads to better decision making, particularly in times of crisis.”

Keen added that setting expectations is another important takeaway. “The military is so successful in developing leaders because they provide very extensive, very deliberate training and they expect leaders to always continue to be growing and learning,” he said. “Each individual has the choice to take advantage of resources to continue to train and grow. They expect you to seize those opportunities. They expect people to step into challenging situations and lead.”

Moving forward

Rosensweig closed the discussion by asking panelists how civilians can apply those lessons from the military to their own lives and their suggestions for civilians who want to show their support for veterans.

“Create systems and environments that continue to challenge the individual,” Perez said. “Look for continued purpose in life.”

“Take the time to listen to their stories and understand where they came from and the sacrifices they made,” Warren added. “It’s a small but very tangible thing to do for veterans.”

Emory will continue serving veterans as students, alumni, faculty and staff, as well as through resources like the Emory Healthcare Veterans Program, which marked its fifth anniversary on Veterans Day by announcing the expansion of its virtual telemedicine services to include 13 states across the country. Since launching in 2015, the program has treated more than 2,300 warriors with a variety of mental health concerns, including post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD, traumatic brain injury, military sexual trauma, depression and anxiety.

“Serving military veterans speaks to the heart of our mission to educate and serve humanity,” Fenves said. “I want to say thank you to today’s panel participants who truly exemplify what it means to lead a service-driven life. And thank you to all of our veterans not only for their service, but for setting an example and embodying the character and commitment we all hope to attain in our own lives.”

View the webinar here: Leading through Crisis: Veterans Day Webinar Panel Discussion

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Early in 2020, Jim Lanzone 98JD/MBA was taking a bit of a break. After more than eight years serving as the president and CEO of CBS Interactive, and four of those years as the company’s first Chief Digital Officer, Lanzone left CBS after it merged with Viacom at the end of 2019. He was acting as a strategic advisor for the newly formed ViacomCBS, and he’d signed on as an executive-in-residence at Benchmark Capital, but these roles weren’t for the long-term. He was thinking about what he’d do next.

Then COVID-19 hit.

Lanzone, who lives in San Francisco, spent the bulk of his spring hanging out with his family and mountain biking at Lake Tahoe. Then Tinder called.

Tinder, which launched in 2012, is the world’s most popular dating app. Available in 190 countries and in more than 40 languages, Tinder is also the world’s highest grossing non-gaming app, bringing in nearly $1.2 billion in revenue in 2019. The company was looking for a new CEO. Was Lanzone interested? Yes.

Lanzone became Tinder’s CEO in August 2020 and recounted his journey as part of “Learning & Leading: Goizueta Distinguished Speaker Series,” a virtual chat between himself and Jeffrey Rosensweig, associate professor of finance and director of The Robson Program for Business, Public Policy, and Government. The event was themed “Reinventing yourself in a world of disruption” — a topic Lanzone is well versed in.

Taking advantage of the hand you’re dealt

In some ways, taking the helm at Tinder brought Lanzone full circle. In the late 1990s, he was earning dual degrees at Goizueta and Emory Law when he took a summer internship at InformationAmerica, an Atlanta-based internet company. With no experience, he was asked to create an online presence for the firm, which he built, learning on the fly. Lanzone then joined Roger Barnette 98MBA and Richard Carrano 98MBA in starting eTour, an early web discovery site. It became a top-50 website and was poised to go public when the market crashed in 2000. Ask.com (then known as Ask Jeeves) acquired eTour in 2001, and Lanzone went along for the ride. He found a mentor at Ask.com and was tapped to lead product management.

At Ask.com, Lanzone took a “Jenga” approach to product improvement. He started “poking at the blocks and seeing what might move,” he said. At the time, he found an old “ask us” product on the Ask Jeeve’s web page that rarely saw traffic because it didn’t work well. He replaced it with a regular search engine, and user growth skyrocketed. “There’s always an answer on the page,” he explained. That single change resulted in twice as many user searches—and a doubling of revenue. Lanzone would rise up the ranks to CEO at Ask.com. “I got really lucky,” he said.

In 2005, Ask.com was sold to IAC/InterActiveCorp and Lanzone followed. Founded by Barry Diller, IAC helps build great brands and oversees a portfolio of companies that includes Match Group, which houses several online dating brands, Tinder among them.

Making difficult choices

Lanzone’s next stop was entrepreneur-in-residence at Redpoint Ventures. It was quickly followed by a “soul-searching moment,” he told Rosensweig. He received two offers: take a CEO role at a public company or go back to his start-up roots. By 2008, he had a wife, Shannon, whom he’d met on his first day of law school at Emory, three kids, and a mortgage.

Lanzone reminded those on the call that the vast majority of start-ups don’t work out. But entrepreneurs, in spite of the odds stacked against them, just “got to do it,” Lanzone said. “You have to feel it—and I imagine this is the same [feeling] if you’re going to quit your job and go to Hollywood or quit your job to go join a band. You don’t want to die with your music still in you, right?”

He chose to found and run the start-up Clicker Media Inc., a company that cataloged all broadcast programming available online. Less than two years later, in 2011, Lanzone sold Clicker to CBS, joining the broadcaster as head of Interactive. Accustomed to the scrappy flexibility of start-ups, the corporate climate of CBS had its challenges. For instance, while CBS.com existed, visitors couldn’t yet stream content.

“It took us three years to actually get [CBS All Access] approved, built and launched, and then another three years to get our first original show, which was Star Trek Discovery,” Lanzone said. “But we got things started.” As of October 2020, CBS All Access/Showtime is the fifth largest streaming platform after Netflix, Amazon, Hulu and Disney+.

Bringing something new to the table

Shortly after Tinder approached him, Lanzone knew he’d take the job. “At the end of the day, it’s probably one of the 20 best brands in the history of the internet. Everybody knows Tinder,” he said.

Lanzone believes he brings something to the table that Tinder hasn’t had before—a product person with an eye for new surface areas. For instance, this past September, Tinder held its second annual “Swipe Night” event, a U.S.-only event in 2019 that went global this year. A first-person, interactive event, Tinder members move the story forward by swiping at key points in the experience. Each choice not only dictates the story, but it impacts who they’ll match with later. The response to Swipe Night was overwhelming and validated Lanzone’s vision of what Tinder could be. In a press release announcing Swipe Night, Lanzone said: “We’re committed to driving innovation on Tinder that creates more ways to bring our members together, entertain them and help them meet and get to know new people.”

Lanzone, who turns 50 in January, admitted he’s not Tinder’s target audience but recognizes that he doesn’t have to be. “Twenty-three years of managing consumer internet products of all different kinds has been extremely valuable,” he said.

For instance, when user experience data suggested the Tinder app didn’t work as well for women as it did for men, Lanzone personally tested the site by posing both as a male and female “in a non-catfishing way,” he told Rosensweig. “To know how to make better products, you have to use them,” he said. “The experience for women is absolutely just eye-poppingly different.” In his first month as CEO, Lanzone increased the makeup of Tinder’s executive team from 30 percent female to 60 percent female. “There were a lot of good-hearted men trying to solve that problem for women,” he said. “It’s not the same thing.”

When and why to make a move

Rosensweig asked Lanzone when he thought was the best time to make a career move. It comes down to the moment, explained Lanzone. “I would argue that you regret the acts of omission much more in life that you regret the acts of commission,” he said, adding, it’s important to follow your instincts.

“The better the company is, the less turnover they have in the executive ranks,” said Lanzone. “You may just get blocked.” If that’s the case, you might have to go somewhere else to grow, he added. “You’ve got to think five, ten years down the road or you’ll wind up getting stuck.”

As for his time at Goizueta, Lanzone says he is still close with several of his classmates, including a couple whom he considers some of his best friends, Scott Bowman 98MBA, CFO, Phylos Bioscience, and Zander Lurie 99JD/MBA, CEO, SurveyMonkey. “I joined the MBA program, and it was like seeing in color for me,” Lanzone said. “Over the years, whether it’s Emory or Silicon Valley, my network has been a huge part of making my way in the world.”

The “Learning & Leading: Goizueta Distinguished Speaker Series” was created to inspire connections between students, alumni, faculty, staff and the broader business community.

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Michael Graetz 66BBA knows firsthand how to work hard to achieve a goal. As an Emory University student, he lived at home and worked up to 30 hours a week to pay for his undergraduate education. “Along with the important understanding of business issues and economics, which have stood me in good stead, a college writing seminar most affected what became my life’s work,” he said. His latest book, co-authored with Ian Shapiro, professor of political science at Yale University, is called The Wolf at the Door: The Menace of Economic Insecurity and How to Fight It, and he discusses this important topic here with Jeff Rosensweig, international finance professor and director of the Robson Program for Business, Public Policy, and Government at Emory’s Goizueta Business School.

“The coronavirus pandemic has plunged the United States economy into a tailspin with record business closures, the highest unemployment rate in 90 years, and American workers and families facing much more hardship than they had before the virus struck,” said Graetz, a Columbia University professor of law and Yale University emeritus professor of law.

“According to data in the Federal Reserve Report on Economic Preparedness and Emergency Savings, 44 percent of American workers can’t pay off a $400 emergency by the end of the month without borrowing money or having to sell something,” Graetz pointed out. “Now, the number of families facing emergencies of more than $400 is enormous. Economic insecurity is the heart of the matter. Middle- and low-income families have shockingly few resources to fall back on, with millions just one emergency away from economic disaster,” Graetz continued. The Wolf at the Door “is about feasible—indeed vital—ways of addressing that insecurity. We ignore that challenge at our peril.”

As the pandemic has dug in its teeth, for millions of Americans, career stability has been precarious at best. Graetz has foresight in terms of thinking about economic insecurity as a key issue of our times and probing for solutions. “Inequality, though large and increasing, is not the only problem faced by the United States economy. Even the middle-class fears losing position,” said Rosensweig. “The pandemic highlights a deeper issue that the authors have been probing for solutions.”

Career stability and the global economy

Before the pandemic, only seven percent of workers had the flexibility to work from home, according to an April CNBC story. The virus, however, has added millions more. It’s too early to know whether this transformation will stick and, if so, whether workers and their employers will embrace it. However, a recent New York Times and Morning Consult survey reportedthat 86 percent of respondents were satisfied with working from home.

“The Wolf at the Door provides insight into the challenges of working from home, which many readers of this article are now doing or have done, but this option is not available to major swaths of the United States labor force,” said Rosensweig. “Essential workers often take personal health risks at the same time they are facing great economic insecurity. These same workers are at greatest risk for replacement by automation. Their insecurity existed before COVID-19 and will exist long after it has subsided.”

Graetz says that the “increased demand for online services for shopping, teaching, conferencing, telemedicine and entertainment has ignited the creative energies of software designers and entrepreneurs to produce better online services. The transformation of work is on a one-way conveyer belt,” said Graetz and Shapiro.

Given the drastic shift in the United States’ economic output as of late, “Technology now allows companies headquartered in Seattle, Peoria or San Jose to monitor production of their products anywhere in the world, enabling them to vary output in response to worldwide fluctuations in demand,” Graetz explained.

He continued, “Political leaders like to talk about reviving and expanding United States manufacturing, but the public would be better served by ensuring that service jobs produce a living wage. Returning to the postwar era is not an option. The clock doesn’t run backwards. Jobs are less secure than ever. Artificial intelligence and automation, including robotics, pose new threats to American workers.”

Rosensweig agrees with Graetz and Shapiro that Americans will face continued challenges maintaining their jobs in a global economy. “Along with the points that the authors make about automation leading to job insecurity, global competition benefits some while increasing fear of job loss for others,” Rosensweig said. “As a professor of international business, I generally favor free trade. However, we need business and government to work together to find ways to enhance the prospects and security of those who do lose their jobs to automation or foreign competition.”

Convening business groups for national economic stability

The book is garnering the attention of many high-profile individuals. William G. Gale, chair of federal economic policy at the Brookings Institute, wrote that the book’s chapter on the role of businesses in the policy process “was eye-opening to me. This topic is routinely ignored in policy discussions.”

Indeed, Graetz said that “businesses need to use political sway to help move Congress and state legislatures to take seriously and respond to the real economic anxieties and insecurities of American families. Now more than ever,” he added, “businesses must responsively revise their corporate purpose through business roundtables. Holding the welfare of individuals in high regard is paramount to future economic stability.”

Rosensweig points out that business must be far-sighted. “Traditionally, the mission of business has been to maximize the wealth of its shareholders, but this may be too myopic in an insecure world,” he said. “Ultimately, if workers in the United States are not able to earn a decent living and feel confident that they will continue to be economically secure, underconsumption of goods and services will occur. Since consumption expenditures are slightly over two-thirds of the United States’ Gross Domestic Product, it behooves businesses to find ways to spread prosperity and security much more widely than under present trends.”

With historical analysis of governmental and private sector practices that have both worked and failed, authors Graetz and Shapiro propose solutions for businesses to consider. “A better approach for corporate leaders would be to convene business groups to build support for the kind of legislative initiatives outlined in this book. Indeed, given our emphasis on the critical role that coalitions—rather than median voters—play in the legislative arena, mustering business support is essential,” Graetz said.

True support, say the authors, would create programs that emphasize:

• Creating jobs through infrastructure improvements.
• Increasing take-home pay of low- and moderate-income workers with children.
• Providing universal adjustment assistance (unemployment to reemployment).
• Medicare from the bottom up.
• Childcare and education.

As Rosensweig stated, “This excellent book needs to be read by anyone willing to work toward a better future. The book is rare in its portrayal of real-world problems while proposing creative sustainable solutions. The Wolf at the Door offers a road map for navigating our way out of the current climate of fear and insecurity and into a better future.”

Graetz concluded, “Many will insist that we are crying wolf. Others will contend, to the contrary, that nothing less than the destruction of existing economic and political arrangements, and perhaps of capitalism itself, will suffice. To them, the changes we call for here will seem the least we can do. They might be: the wolf is at the door.”

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The winners of this year’s Roberto C. Goizueta Award for Leadership are Michael Battat 20BBA and Major Jason “J” Waidzulis 20MBA. Nominated by a member of the Goizueta community (faculty, staff or a fellow student), the award recognizes one graduating BBA student and one graduating MBA student who embody the values and leadership qualities exhibited by Roberto Goizueta. Nominations are reviewed by a selection committee composed of BBA and MBA program deans and several professors, and the winners are chosen with six leadership criteria in mind: love of learning; inspirational leadership; creative thinking; courage and commitment; transparency and trust; excellence and integrity.

Established in the fall of 2018 and endowed by The Goizueta Foundation, each student receives $25,000 as part of the award. Student recipients also identify the faculty member most influential in shaping their time at Goizueta. Battat selected Jeff Rosensweig, associate professor of finance and director of The Robson Program for Business, Public Policy, and Government.

Waidzulis identified Ken Keen, senior lecturer in organization & management and associate dean for leadership. Rosensweig and Keen will each receive a $5,000 honorarium.

“It’s an honor to be recognized for leading in a way that reflects the legacy of Roberto Goizueta,” said Waidzulis. “It’s also extremely meaningful because selection required nomination and support from a community of world-class faculty, staff and colleagues at the Goizueta Business School. They have inspired me over the past two years, and it makes me feel good knowing that I have been able to pay it forward by impacting the lives of others.”

For more details about the award recipients, visit emory.biz/leadershipaward.

Faculty accolades

Karen Ton, assistant professor of accounting, received the Emory Crystal Apple for Excellence in Undergraduate Business Education in February. Sponsored by the Residence Hall Association, the Crystal Apple Awards honor faculty members who go above and beyond in their search for knowledge and involvement in the Emory community. Students provide the nominations, and this year the committee received more than 200 nominations.

In March, Emory’s Office of Technology Transfer recognized Daniel McCarthy, assistant professor of marketing, and David Schweidel, professor of marketing, at their 14th Annual Celebration of Technology & Innovation. The pair were highlighted for their 2019 technology innovation—a software that can derive brand insights from mobile location data.

While mobile location analytics software has existed for a while, McCarthy and Schweidel have developed a privacy-preserving methodology to infer a brand’s customer base size and share of wallet within a category by separately identifying customers’ location and time-invariant preferences both for brands and specific stores.

Ruomeng Cui, assistant professor of information systems & operations management, was awarded a 2019 Alibaba Innovative Research Award for her proposal entitled “Causal Inference and Optimization: Dynamic Treatment Strategies in Coupon and Pricing Applications.” The awards are given annually by the Alibaba Innovative Research (AIR) program, a bridge that connects the Alibaba Group with researchers from top universities and research institutes around the world. AIR provides research funding, real-life business scenarios and other necessary support to successful applicants.

Vilma Todri, assistant professor of information systems & operations management, is this year’s recipient of the Emory Williams Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award. The award recognizes faculty with a record of excellence in teaching and was established by Emory Williams, a 1932 Emory College alumnus and long-time trustee.

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Nominated by a member of the Goizueta community (faculty, staff or a fellow student), the award recognizes one graduating BBA student and one graduating MBA student who embody the values and leadership qualities exhibited by Roberto C. Goizueta. All nominations were reviewed by a selection committee comprised of BBA and MBA program deans, as well as faculty. The winner was chosen with six leadership criteria in mind:

• Love of learning
• Inspirational Leadership
• Creative Thinking
• Courage and Commitment
• Transparency and Trust
• Excellence and Integrity

“It’s an honor to be recognized for leading in a way that reflects the legacy of Roberto Goizueta,” said Major Waidzulis. “It’s also extremely meaningful because selection required nomination and support from a community of world-class faculty, staff, and colleagues at the Goizueta Business School who have inspired me over the past two years. I further believe the credit really belongs to the servant leaders that have influenced me over the years, and it makes me feel good knowing that I have been able to pay it forward by impacting the lives of others.”

Battat is humbled to be recognized in honor of the school’s namesake. “More than anything, this award is validation of the belief that we can all achieve more when we help one another,” Battat said. “While technically I may be the recipient, this award also recognizes the selflessness and support of my parents and peers, as well as Goizueta faculty, staff and alumni. Everything I did at Goizueta was an attempt to pay forward the support I received from those who helped me — and I probably fell short.”

A member of the IMPACT 360 Leadership Board, Major Waidzulis is one of only five full- time MBA students in the class of 2020 to complete each of the elective leadership courses offered at Goizueta (the Leader’s Reaction Course, the Leadership Coaching Fellows Course, Goizueta Advanced Leadership Academy course, and the Advanced Leadership Course), and the only student to serve as president of a student club (the Goizueta Veterans Club) at the same time. As a result, Major Waidzulis also received the MBA Certificate of Advanced Leadership.

Major Waidzulis joined the Army in 2008 and has led soldiers, paratroopers, and rangers in over 300 combat operations. While at Goizueta, he took a leadership role in mentoring and teaching Emory University ROTC cadets. Major Waidzulis also volunteered in veteran support organizations, like Bunker Labs Atlanta, to further the interests of Atlanta-based veteran entrepreneurs. He was also one of only two students selected to serve on the Emory University Veteran Task Force, created to address the issues facing veterans across the university, seek opportunities for them, and enhance the recruitment effort of undergraduate veteran students.

“When the Admissions team seeks an eloquent and passionate spokesperson for the MBA, J Waidzulis immediately comes to mind,” wrote Kate Piasecki, senior associate director of MBA Admissions Waidzulis’ nomination. Piasecki was one of four faculty and staff members to nominate Waidzulis. “J exhibits a love of learning at all levels and is always willing to share his personal story with candidates,” she added. “His personalized engagement serves to increase their understanding of why continued education is so important for transitioning military and non-military to enhance their careers.”

Nominated by Jan Barton, associate professor of accounting, and a fellow 20BBA classmate, Battat has served Goizueta’s finance community well. Battat led both the Goizueta Finance Group (GFG) and the Goizueta Investment Management Group (GIMG). While president of the GIMG, Battat increased female membership from 11 percent to 37 percent and enhanced community outreach by inviting several classes from nearby Druid Hills High School to campus to attend an introductory finance lecture. Battat’s love of finance began in high school, where he began to contribute, along with investors and industry experts, to SeekingAlpha.com, a crowd-sourced website that covers financial markets. Battat also created an online profile for the GIMG, expanding the club’s reach and exposure.

“He is also highly intuitive, introspective, and just plain delightful and a wonderful human being,” wrote Barton in Battat’s nomination. “He has the intelligence, skills, and perseverance to have succeeded academically and professionally in our BBA program. He also has the personal integrity and sense of humor necessary to be a valued classmate and colleague.”

As part of the award, the student recipients identified the faculty member most influential in shaping their time at Goizueta. Battat selected Jeff Rosensweig, associate professor of finance; director, the Robson Program for Business, Public Policy, and Government. and Waidzulis recognized Ken Keen, senior lecturer in organization & management and associate dean for leadership. Battat was the first undergraduate to serve as Rosensweig’s teaching assistant, and he was thankful that the professor took a chance on him. “I have been taught by many fantastic professors while at Goizueta, but never before has one taken such a selfless and invested interest in my personal success,” said Battat. “He has shared with me invitations to engage with over a dozen leaders across numerous disciplines, allowing me to build broad connections and to explore potential areas of interests. These unique opportunities are among the highlights of my time at Goizueta.”

Waidzulis credits Keen’s mentorship with helping him navigate career challenges and working with Waidzulis to “be more vulnerable with colleagues and faculty which led to more meaningful relationships and the ability to have a more positive impact in and out of the classroom,” Waidzulis explained. “He has enriched my life in more ways than I could every hope to give in return. My hope is that he understands that his legacy of leadership has become a part of who I am and will become a part of those I touch as a leader going forward.”

Rosensweig and Keen will each receive a $5000 honorarium.

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“I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention my wife, Laura,” Smith said. “She couldn’t be here today… The families of our veterans are often underrepresented.”

So, on this day designated for thanking current and former servicemembers, Smith, a brigade commander of approximately 4,500 Georgia National Guard Troops, asked audience members to take time to recognize the sacrifices of wives and children of servicemen and women. He also encouraged veterans in attendance to go home and let their families know when “they get thanked.”

This has been the routine for Smith as he often travels the state visiting National Guard installations and interacting with the public. His unit was deployed to Afghanistan last fall.

Other key figures at the event including Emory University President Claire Sterk, Professor Jeff Rosensweig, long-time faculty advisor of the school’s veteran’s association, and Matt Freeman, a Marine Corps veteran and current MBA/juris master candidate who serves as the Emory Veteran’s Association president.

According to Sterk, the university currently boasts its largest group of ROTC cadets and has 190 GI Bill recipients enrolled. Goizueta Business School is part of the Yellow Ribbon program and offers many other benefits to veteran applicants. The program is a provision of the Post 9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 (aka Chapter 33) and allows voluntary partner institutions to enter into an agreement with the Veteran’s Administration to fund tuition expenses for eligible veterans.

According to Rosensweig, Emory has had student-led associations for veterans for 30 years. Efforts were recently expanded out of the business school to encompass veterans across the university.

Smith frequently returns to campus. Recently, he and his wife Laura Balser were among the 100 GoizuetaBeyond.com honorees at the schools’ centennial celebration.

“Matt is a humble, confident leader of character who epitomizes a leader that is highly respected by his subordinates, peers, and superiors alike,” said Lt. Gen. Ret. Ken Keen, Associate Dean for Leadership at Goizueta. “Beyond his service to our nation, Matt has given back to his community and to Goizueta Business School to help mentor and develop others. Matt was instrumental in assisting me in developing and implementing one of our premier experiential leadership development programs at Goizueta, the Leader’s Reaction Course.”

Smith also spoke more directly to veterans in the room about how war and economics play large roles in shaping culture around the world. For instance, more open economic policies facilitated the reconstruction of Vietnam, decades after the war in the region. Smith sees some similarities in Afghanistan and Iraq from his various deployments, the first of which came approximately 18 months after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

“One day in Afghanistan we were moving around in our area and saw some of our guys were up ahead,” he said, “So we radioed up and went to meet them. We get out of the truck, walked up and there is a sergeant in charge.”

The sergeant explained to Smith the detachment came upon an open-air market and had recently moved their trucks and other equipment at the request of many vendors concerned it would impede business.

“That’s economics,” Smith said. “That is what makes it different. It’s getting that deeper connection that’s going to win the day.”

Additional Veterans Day Coverage from Emory University: 

• Emory pays tribute to veterans
• Serving students who served

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The civil rights icon met with Dean Erika James, then spoke to an MBA class comprising of 150 students, faculty and administrative leaders. Later in the day, Young was interviewed by CNN anchor Natalie Allen during Rosensweig’s BBA class of 65 undergraduates. In addition to the class sessions, Ambassador Young had lunch with several BBA and MBA student leaders, including members of the Black MBA Association.

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