Emory Business is pleased to share the following inspiring books written by Goizueta faculty.

Wine Markets: Genres and Identities by Giacomo Negro, professor of Organization & Management and professor of sociology (by courtesy).

The Global Rule of Three: Competing with Conscious Strategy by Jagdish Sheth, Charles H. Kellstadt Chaired Professor of Marketing.

Options are Power: Career Strategies for High Performers Who Want a Life by Donna Peters, award-winning career coach and Goizueta adjunct lecturer.

The Author vs. Editor Dilemma: The Leadership Secret to Unlocking Your Team, Your Time, and Your Impact by Brandon M. Smith, adjunct faculty in the practice of management communication.

Great books like these are featured in the Goizueta Business Library, which houses business intelligence resources for Goizueta students, alumni, faculty, and staff.

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For Graham Jaenicke 14MBA, the newly honed skills developed in his Two-Year MBA program imbued him with the confidence to leave the familiar entertainment sector behind and plunge into the world of strategic leadership.

Considering a Career or Industry Change?

Jaenicke shares these top tips and encourages people to remember the lessons he learned at Goizueta.

Be intellectually curious. “Every day is an opportunity to learn from those around you. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and look dumb.”

Know what is important to you. “Be honest about what it is you want to solve for in your pivot. Choose three things–not 30–and intimately understand why.”

Recognize risks. “Understand the challenges and risks that come with big decisions, and adhere to your comfort level.”

Leverage your network. “Whether it’s Goizueta’s 23,000 alumni or the stellar faculty and staff, recognize the remarkable group of people who would be excited to help you.”

Grow through challenge. “You learn very little from what you already know.”

After his own career pivot, Jaenicke is now the strategy lead and the CEO’s chief of staff at Snap One, a smart home technology firm. In addition, he serves as the Goizueta Alumni Board president and volunteers for many Goizueta initiatives, such as alumni mentoring.

Goizueta’s Two-Year MBA degree is all about impact. In the end, you’ll be ready for any challenge the business world throws at you.

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Diversity: Often representational, related to demography. “It’s a complex interplay of social identities and issues,” says Ampadu-Fofie. “There are varied aspects of differences, such as race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or other ideologies, global locations, and cultures.”

Equity: Fairness and equality of resources for all.

Inclusion: The degree of diversity in a situation or group where everyone is visible, heard, and considered.

Belonging: “Diversity typically means proportionate representation, and inclusion means everyone is visible, heard, considered, and included,” explains Ampadu-Fofie. “However, belonging is the feeling of being treated fairly and like a full, thriving member of the larger community.”

Microaggression: A comment or action that unconsciously or unintentionally expresses a prejudiced action. “Over time, these microaggressions can isolate and alienate those on the receiving end and affect their health and wellbeing,” says Ampadu-Fofie.

Learn more about Goizueta’s ongoing commitment to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.

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The pilot for the Fellows program, made possible through investment by James Reilly 12C, recognizes graduate business school students who demonstrate both a deep interest in and commitment to building a more climate-smart world. Those selected as fellows will have access to hands-on education, exposure, and experiences to develop their capabilities as principled climate-smart leaders, whether full-time immediately after graduation or later in their careers.

As part of the fellowship, students will attend the ClimateCAP Summit in February 2023 in Austin, Texas, joining hundreds of leading students and professionals from across the country.

In a recent Goizueta Effect episode, Goizueta faculty and student experts discussed the climate crisis, greenwashing, and how climate-smart decisions can drive measurable growth.

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In reality, a new kind of leader is rising to the top of the finance field in some of the world’s largest firms with trillions of dollars in assets under management: Goizueta women graduates.

Through innovative degrees, focused forums, networking groups, and its newly launched Finance Lab, Goizueta Business School is actively preparing women to advance in the industry.

Within the United States, arguably the world’s largest economy, the financial services industry accounts for approximately $4.8 trillion in annual revenue.

Across the country, close to one million businesses actively serve the finance and insurance industries. At Goizueta, nearly 23 percent of Full-Time MBA graduates accept employment in financial services businesses, with more than 32 percent taking roles in finance and accounting.

Though finance employment openings for women have increased since the early days of their entry into the workforce, advancement opportunities still lag those for men. Consider this fact about the financial services industry shared in Deloitte’s “Leadership, representation, and gender equity in financial services:” By mid-year 2021, women held only six percent of CEO roles within the S&P 500 companies.

Statistics show that parity, equity, and equality for women in finance may have improved slightly in recent decades. According to the newly released Crist|Kolder Associates “Volatility Report 2022,” the percentage of female C-suite has increased for the fourth consecutive year, with the number of female CFOs nearly doubling over the last ten years.

The industry is eager to see better representation, and there are really no barriers anymore. There has never been a better time for women to enter the field of finance.

Allison Dukes 06EMBA, chief financial officer at Invesco Ltd., a financial services firm with approximately $1.5 trillion in assets under management.

Finance Leaders Need Influence and Skills

As Dukes notes, “Finance is a broad field, and there are so many paths one can take. Fundamental finance skills are obviously necessary to master in a finance career.” She adds, “To lead, one must have the ability to influence decision making and strategy. A successful finance leader doesn’t just keep score, rather they seek to create more value for a company.”

Still, rising to leadership requires knowledge, technical skills, and charisma. In the historically male-dominated financial leadership community, “There is some progress, but it’s far too slow given the number of talented people from underrepresented groups I’ve come across during my career in finance,” says Kirsten Travers-Uyham, Goizueta associate professor in the practice of finance and academic director for the newly launched Master of Analytical Finance degree program. Travers-Uyham has deep experience in senior roles for the investment banking and hedge fund industry.

In addition to technical finance skills, we want our students in our Master of Analytical Finance program to learn the soft skills necessary to thrive and grow in the modern finance workplace. These skills will help open doors for our students, including the women in our first cohort who comprise 46 percent of the class.

Kirsten Travers-Uyham

Goizueta is intentionally focused on recruiting a more gender-balanced class for this degree, partnering, for example, with Spelman College to recruit their female graduates into the program. In addition, Goizueta partnered with MBAchic to sponsor the event “Breaking into the Field of Fintech,” for which Mari Kikaleishvili 21MBA, product manager at Fiserv, served as a panelist.

For students Lauren O’Banion 23MAF and Minjeong Seok 22C 23MAF, the Master of Analytical Finance degree will merge their love of finance with the technical, hands-on, practical experience needed to embrace opportunity within the industry. O’Banion builds on her recent internship with Regions Bank where she was a business capital analyst for Regions Business Capital. Seok comes to the program with internship experience as a performance and insights intern for The Coca-Cola Company. Both women gained invaluable industry knowledge in data analysis and project management as well as time management, critical thinking, and teamwork.

Drawn to the unique composition of this new degree program, O’Banion shares, “This internship-style graduate program allows us to gain more real-world experience than a typical master’s program. There are four different rotations: global markets, asset portfolios, investment strategies, and a final ‘in practice’ rotation on a global leadership team.”

In Goizueta’s newly constructed Finance Lab, students gain an immersive experience. O’Banion continues, “We’ll be learning from the best of the best and have access to state-of-the-art tools, real-time market data, and trading platforms to model, trade, and collaborate on real-world consultancy projects with industry clients.”

Seok, too, was captivated by “the program’s classroom setting–a feature I’m familiar with–and preparation for the industry–a challenge I would face to advance my future.”

Mentors Matter

Forging a path from business school to the C-suite includes many milestones. Rebecca Ginzburg 94BBA, president and chief operating officer of Junto Capital Management, a $5 billion long/short equity fund with 50 team members, collaborated to build her firm almost a decade ago. As president she leads the firm and works closely with team members, representing the firm to external partners and driving the strategic direction of the firm in conjunction with the CEO.

Ginzburg exemplifies leadership and shares her core values. “It is unfathomable to me that anything outside of my own performance would impede my success,” she says. She encourages women who aspire to grow. “We need to have a mindset that we control our own destiny and that we own our outcomes.”

“Mentors are critical and have shaped who I am as a person–wife, mother, friend–and who I am professionally and how I affect my role at Junto. I credit my relationship with my parents for recognizing early that I had a lot to learn, and that forging relationships founded on trust was critical,” she says. “I have incredible mentors, both men and women, and they are extremely important to me. Mentors are the ones who tell you what you may not be able to see on your own, who expose your blind spots, who provide you with constructive feedback to understand where you are falling short, and who give you the confidence and reassurance to get back on track.”

“No one can succeed without having failed. Take the time to evaluate mistakes and failures and to learn from them,” Ginzburg says. “Turn to your mentors in those dark moments–they want to see you succeed.”

As history has shown time and again, women help women along the rise to the peak of their careers. Networking and mentoring are critical to success in the finance world, and nonprofit organizations and social groups such as Women of Wall Street, 100 Women in Finance, CEO Circle, and Girls Who Invest offer industry educational opportunities for women, supporting career growth at all stages, from pre-career through C-level and beyond.

Paying It Forward

In Finance circles, talk surrounds a concept known as the “multiplier effect.” The theory is that for every one woman who advances to a C-level or board position, three more will be promoted to senior level roles.

Clifton Green, Goizueta’s John W. McIntyre Professor of Finance, elaborates. “The multiplier effect describes the important influence of role models,” he says. “Studies have shown that women teachers and leaders can have significant effects on the choices that young women make.”

Goizueta offers women access to powerful personal and professional development opportunities. The Goizueta LeadHership Program was designed to nurture female business students and provide a series of workshops throughout the year that address topics such as communicating your personal brand, executive presence and leadership style, managing career and family obligations, and cultivating advocates. Goizueta also partners with The Forté Foundation to further women’s advancement in business leadership.

BBA students are invited to join Goizueta Women in Finance, a forum that focuses on the unique challenges and opportunities that exist for women in the finance industry. At the graduate level, and for those BBA students with professional experience, Executive Women of Goizueta and Graduate Women in Business help women encourage each other to remove barriers, promote diversity, and develop into stronger leaders. Both groups offer interactive events, seminars, and speaker series featuring business and academic leaders to explore roles beyond Wall Street in corporate finance, budgeting, lending, credit, and risk management, among other specialties. Students are also invited to participate in the Goizueta Alumni Mentor Program for practical insights, professional coaching, and industry-experienced guidance.

As Goizueta women finance leaders agree, intentionality in career choice is vital. Ginzburg points out, “You must consider their interests and their talents, and hopefully find an industry and company that enables you to leverage both. There needs to be a balance of searching for growth while working hard to be elite in your current role.”

Don’t let being a woman get into your psyche about what you are or are not capable of doing, of what you may be limited by.

Rebecca Ginzburg 94BBA

She continues. “A career is a journey. One step needs to be sturdy and successful before the next can be taken. This does not mean that you should not take calculated risks and push yourself to do more–this is critical,” says Ginzburg. “Of great importance is aligning yourself within a firm and team that you believe in, where you share values and ethics, where you believe in the culture. When this comes together, and you have trust, you are off to the races!”

Learn more about Goizueta’s Master of Analytical Finance degree program.

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Proof of their commitment: the circled capital “B” belonging to companies that are Certified B Corps, more than 5,300 now and rising globally. The designation means that a company values people and the planet alongside profits, and B Corps range from solopreneurs to familiar brands such as Patagonia, Method, and Ben & Jerry’s. Similar to LEED certification for a building, B Corp status must be earned through a rigorous third-party certification process overseen by B Lab. For Khonso, that was a huge endeavor.

Enter Goizueta Business School students, who authored Khonso’s employee handbook and drew up a road map to assess and measure data points and policy across five areas: community, customers, environment, governance, and workers. “We are committed to quality, community, inclusivity, and sustainability, which includes fair wages, sustainable energy and water investments, and buying products from businesses with sustainable practices,” says Khonso Chief Marketing Officer William Teasley.

Because of the students at Goizueta, we’re not going to ‘get back to it in a couple of years.’ We’re doing something about it now.

William Teasley

The timely partnership unfolded through B Corp Learning Lab, a directed study elective through Goizueta’s Business & Society Institute for undergraduates, MBAs, and students across Emory. “We are educating students about B Corps by taking part in the movement,” says B Corp Learning Lab instructor Brian Goebel 09MBA, managing director of the Business & Society Institute. “It’s a win-win all around.”

Through B Lab, Khonso and other local businesses connected with MBA and BBA students and others from Emory Law and Emory Master’s in Development Practice (MDP). The campus-wide interest doesn’t surprise Wes Longhofer, executive academic director of the Business & Society Institute, because students are clamoring for any chance to learn about issues related to environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG).

“But the market is also changing quickly,” Longhofer adds. “Companies are looking to develop capabilities in this space as they respond to growing pressure from investors, consumers, and their own employees.”

The B Corp certification is a powerful and transparent way for companies to verify their social and environmental commitments. And because the assessment process is so tangible, students get hands-on experience on how companies can both measure their impact and set meaningful targets and goals. It also fits the educational mission of our Institute of putting theory into practice.

Wes Longhofer

Basis for a Better Business

The B Corp Learning Lab and a growing number of other social and environmental impact activities (such as the Start:ME accelerator program, Net Impact Club, Peachtree Minority Venture Fund, and Grounds for Empowerment) demonstrate Goizueta’s strategic belief that business and society together can deliver a more equitable and sustainable world. When businesses and business education shift, other stakeholders benefit, too.

In the investment community, “We see a greater awareness in society and financial markets of the dangers of too much focus on short-term shareholder value. Further, there exists too much of a bias by many that B Corps do not seek profitability,” says Professor in the Practice of Finance JB Kurish, who teaches social entrepreneurship and impact investing. “They do seek profitability. In fact, by focusing on stakeholders that include shareholders, customers, employees, and communities, it well could be that B Corps are doing a better job at long-term profitability. This, in turn, results in better long-term returns for shareholders.”

With a rapidly changing employment landscape, “In a moment that is so difficult to attract and keep talent, we have not had that problem,” says Maggie Kulyk 96MDiv, founder of Chicory Wealth, a B Corp financial services firm. “I want my company to be 100 percent employee-owned by the time I retire, and the B Corps movement inspired me to think about legacy, equity, justice, and engagement.”

It’s the right thing to do and incredibly good for attracting young, talented people who want to work in a situation that has meaning. The B Corps demonstrates that altruism can be beneficial for you, too.

Maggie Kulyk

Clout, Credibility, and Collaboration

Operating as Team Khonso, the students in the B Corp Learning Lab assigned to the brewery learned that B Corps are more likely to collaborate, even with competitors. Team Khonso turned to Creature Comforts, a B Corp brewery in Athens cofounded by Adam Beauchamp, a former Emory graduate student in genetics and molecular biology. Creature Comforts’ Community Impact Manager Ally Hellenga eagerly assisted the team.

“As an industry, craft breweries are community-centric, sustainable, and conscious businesses in our respective communities,” she says. “B Corp certification is our best tool to measure progress and put us all on a path to be even better for our people, our communities, and our planet. I was impressed by [Team Khonso’s] professionalism and mastery of the B Impact Assessment–especially in such a short amount of time.”

In the B Corp Learning Lab, Goizueta students became part of a growing academic community in Georgia providing brainpower to organizations large and small. B Corp Learning Lab students learned from guest lecturers Kelly Carter, an Atlanta business analyst who worked with B Lab and who now works with a sustainability-focused organization, and Nathan A. Stuck, co-founder and chair of B Local Georgia, an organization aimed at growing the B Corps movement.

“The B Corp Learning Lab brought a lot of really passionate people together, and I’m hoping that they’ll be able to take what they learned from the experience and apply it wherever they end up working or with their own startups,” Carter says. “The B Corp Learning Lab helps the students understand how social and environmental impact can be created through business operations and the business model.”

“Emory brings the Atlanta clout to B Corps,” Stuck says. “It helps give the B Corps movement more credibility.”

Goizueta students traveled to Athens for a Creature Comforts event in Fall 2021 to rally support for local B Corps.

“It is important to get our students off campus to see that this is part of a bigger movement of folks doing the work, to show that a more equitable and sustainable form of capitalism is possible,” Longhofer notes. “The event was held at one of the best breweries in the country that has decided to pair their excellence in craft beer with a commitment to people and planet. What could be more fun than that?”

Real-World Experience for Students

Another satisfied B Corp Learning Lab company was Roots Down Georgia, a sustainable landscaping enterprise. “The students delivered an easy-to-follow package of what Roots Down needs to do to get certified in 2023,” says Chief Marketing Officer Tres Crow. “It was one of the best consulting experiences I’ve had.”

Crow’s point of contact was Eric Rusiecki 10OX 13C 22EvMBA, who sought MBA training to transition to a purpose-driven company “doing more than selling widgets.” His target soon became B Corps, and Roots Down taught him “to connect the dots of leadership, profit, and efficiency with tough questions to help guide leaders on their journey in the workforce. B Lab gives a roadmap of how to be profitable and successful while still focusing on how to treat your employees, community, and environment well. These learnings will continue on the forefront of my mind in all my decisions in the workplace.”

Jasmine Burton 22MBA enrolled in B Corp Learning Lab as part of a larger goal to gain business acumen and lead more effectively in global, nonprofit sanitation efforts.

Her takeaway from the class: “Businesses can be held accountable to triple bottom line outcomes in a way that is rigorously validated and continuously monitored every three years. It is a movement away from virtue signaling and greenwashing and into large scale change.”

In a world that seems to be increasingly prioritizing stakeholder capitalism, the value proposition of certified B Corps is credible and clear on a global scale. I seek to use these learnings to join and grow truly values-based organizations.

Jasmine Burton 22MBA

Through B Corp Learning Lab, Jakob Perryman 17C 22MBA found an exciting career niche that aligns with his value in creating a more sustainable earth. Perryman sought his Goizueta MBA after working as an environmental consultant for companies that generally wanted the least expensive, minimal solutions to meet environmental regulations. He is joining PwC as a senior consultant in mergers and acquisitions, to help B Corps weather ownership changes.

“When a B Corps gets acquired, the bigger company might not care about the B Corps status or know how to navigate the recertification every three years, so a lot of B Corps lose status,” Perryman explains. “There’s a lot more I need to learn, but the B Corp Learning Lab class was a great introduction.”

B-ing Proactive in a Global Economy

What does it take to become a certified B Corp? The first step is to understand a few more of the Bs.

B Corp: A B Lab-certified and verified company that demonstrates high social and environmental performance, legally commits to changing corporate governance to benefit all stakeholders and exhibits performance transparency against B Lab standards.

B Corp Certification: With a B Impact Assessment score of 80 or higher and a stated focus on maintaining certain standards and visibility, a company may attain certification.

B Impact Assessment: A digital tool used by companies to achieve certification by measuring, managing, and improving positive impact performance for the environment and stakeholders. The assessment allows companies to evaluate their current status, compare their impact, and enable improvements.

B Interdependent: A standalone resource produced by B Lab for companies responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and the global uprising against racism.

B Lab: The international nonprofit network that developed a stakeholder-driven model that “creates standards, policies, tools, and programs that shift behavior, culture, and structural underpinnings of capitalism,” they write on their website. Their goal? To “support our collective vision of an inclusive, equitable, and regenerative economy.”

As Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeline Albright said, “I often wonder to what extent business can help society in its goals and alleviate poverty, preserve ecosystems, and build strong communities and institutions. B Lab has proven that there is a way.” For more information on B Corps, visit bcorporation.net

Goizueta’s Business and Society Institute pursues academic discovery and action to build a more equitable, prosperous, and sustainable world. Learn more about their programs, research, and events.

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Creativity may come naturally for some, but everyone has the capacity to develop a creative skillset. When we think of creativity, we think of artistic expression. In the workplace, we think of breakthroughs in technology, but some of the most important creativity has to do with problem solving. In today’s flexible workspace, creativity is rewarded and encouraged.

Each new idea takes a bumpy journey as it evolves, often cycling back and forth as novelty wears, obstacles arise, and risks become clear. Though circumstances may be different, each idea journey shares distinct phases.

In the generation phase, innovators need inspiration. Sharing ideas with strangers rather than friends can be beneficial and can facilitate open-mindedness.

During the elaboration phase, creators need support and encouragement to develop their ideas. Deeply analyzing the idea with one or two other people as opposed to sharing it with a larger collective is most valuable.

While in the promotion phase, influence and reach are critical due to the risk associated with the idea and its lack of precedent. This is the time for resource gathering and professional networking.

For the implementation phase, shared vision and trust are needed. At this point, a cohesive team with a shared north star can drive success.

So how can a business facilitate workplace creativity? Perry-Smith recommends the following:

• Encourage creativity and innovation in your workplace. Make simple changes to the way your organization and teams operate, and always ask for more problem-solving alternatives. More alternatives lead to variety and creative solutions.
• Be collaboratively flexible and reduce conformity. Think of teams as a tool that is helpful when necessary.
• Always consider novel approaches. Don’t overlook the “creative nuggets” that arise from the idea journey.

Listen to “The Journey of an Idea” podcast on Goizueta Effect.

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Kuhnert has created a way to virtually unite students with the best minds in their respective fields. The technology is called Tacit Object Modeler, or TOM for short, and Kuhnert is using it in the classroom to teach business ethics. TOM replicates the decision made by an expert by sampling how they respond to different scenarios. Based on their responses, TOM learns how the expert uses “tacit knowledge” to make critical decisions.

Kuhnert advised the creation of the AI technology TOM by Merlynn Intelligence Technologies. He says the idea behind TOM is to duplicate decisions that experts make, from which non-experts can extract value. Nonexperts can input data–the circumstances of a given scenario–and TOM will render a decision intended to be used by the non-expert as a second opinion.

“For example, some physicians make better diagnoses than others,” Kuhnert says. “The idea with TOM is to digitize the very best physician making that particular diagnosis and share that with the world.”

When digitizing an expert, Kuhnert says the AI identifies the variables that contribute to a given expert’s decision about a given situation. The software collects this data–the different variables for different situations–and builds an algorithm. The expert can then test to ensure that the algorithm accurately replicates their decisions.

Jesse Bockstedt, professor of Information Systems & Operations Management, defines artificial intelligence models like TOM as technologies that use data to create statistical models that make predictions or complete human cognitive tasks to improve business performance and drive value.

Bockstedt explains that AI applications in business range from robotics used in manufacturing procedures, such as moving inventory around in a warehouse or scanning packages for defective items, to customer service chatbots and algorithms that recommend products to customers.

The benefits AI offers its user are expediency, efficiency, and the facilitation of personalization, which, in turn, allow businesses to cut costs and improve profits.

We might think of AI and machine learning as futuristic things, but they are not future technologies. They’re current technologies. In every industry and every facet of an organization, there are opportunities for finding value with AI and machine learning.

“Awareness of these applications in business is key, and understanding AI and machine learning is essential,” Bockstedt says.

Bockstedt says the prevalence of AI and machine learning in the past decade can be attributed to several factors, such as the accessibility and abundance of data that came with the .com boom, rise of e-commerce, and advancement of smartphones. Other reasons include the increase in computing power and research and development within the deep learning space, which allow for technologies like automated tracking, speech recognition, and image recognition.

Introducing AI into Medical Care

Kuhnert says it is difficult to introduce AI technologies into the medical field because the standard of care is so high. Christopher Awad 23MBA 23MD is collaborating with Kuhnert on TOM to explore just how the software could be implemented in medicine.

For TOM specifically, Kuhnert says AI derived from data or models of experts will present a great deal of problems if it deviates from certain standards of care. Misconceptions surrounding what AI technologies are and how they work present another issue.

To combat these misconceptions and investigate how to apply TOM, Awad and Kuhnert surveyed healthcare professionals on their impressions of technologies like TOM and what they believe the role of advanced technologies should be in hospitals.

Among advanced technologies intended for medical use are models like BoXHED, a software that allows scientists to render real-time predictions for when something is at a high risk of occurring.

Donald Lee, associate professor of Information Systems & Operations Management at Goizueta and of biostatistics and bioinformatics at Rollins School of Public Health, is one of the creators behind BoXHED. He developed the algorithm for BoXHED to extract predictive signals from high-frequency health data, such as those logged by wearable devices.

“An Apple Watch can monitor a number of vital signs and provides a streaming data set of health information, minute by minute as long as you’re wearing your watch,” Lee says. “BoXHED can take that data and try to identify time-varying interactions among them that are indicative of an event happening, such as stroke. If your watch is monitoring 50 signals, maybe only 12 matter. BoXHED distills these into a single number called the hazard rate, which is the probability of experiencing a stroke in the next instance in time.”

Lee says BoXHED works like other machine learning models, in that it extracts information meaningful to humans from noisy data.

“The human mind simply cannot deal with high dimensional data sets that change constantly, so you need a way to summarize them intelligently,” Lee notes. “All machine learning models essentially use a branch of mathematics called approximation theory to recover some salient quantity from the data, for example the hazard rate of stroke.”

Presenting the Ethical Dilemma

Like all things, the wonders of AI don’t come without costs. The most prevalent, Bockstedt says, is the presence of biases in AI models, which make their way into algorithms when the data used to create them are biased. These biases can have serious implications.

“We have to think about not just the first order effects of using AI and machine learning, but the second, third, and fourth order effects,” Bockstedt says.

For instance, when using AI to render sentences for criminal cases, he shares, “The first effect of using a sentencing guideline software system is that we’re able to speed up the sentencing process. But the second order effect is that we realize, over time, that there’s bias, and we’re treating certain people more strictly than we are other people. The third order effect is that after this happens for long enough, we start to see impact on society directly–we see certain types of people being locked up more than others.”

The interaction between AI technologies and population diversity is a focus Awad has committed his work to. In addition to collaborating on TOM, Awad is also exploring diversity issues in the medical sphere. He is conducting research at Morehouse School of Medicine, where he is developing a data science curriculum for healthcare professionals that will explore health disparities use cases for investigation.

“The role of advanced technologies is meant to increase our agency, preserve our ethical beliefs, and promote equity in the dispensation of health care and health equity to everyone,” Awad says.

Bockstedt says regardless of the field of application, it is the responsibility of technology creators to be aware of these biases, use high quality data when building these technologies, and to use explainable AI so that users can understand how predictions are made.

One way to address these ethical considerations is to diversify who is in the room when building and using new technologies. Emory has set out to do just that through its AI.Humanity initiative. The initiative includes hiring new faculty across departments, placing AI and machine learning experts across campus, and facilitating the exchange of ideas relating to advanced technologies.

These are also considerations Kuhnert has when using TOM. He says issues of bias in AI must be at the forefront of applications in any industry.

“There is always the potential of getting biased data, which creates biased algorithms and produces biased decisions,” Kuhnert says.

Artificial intelligence is a tool, and like any other tool, it can be used for good or for bad. Our hope is that we’re not giving this to people who have evil intentions and wish to duplicate the decision-making of someone who’s not ethical.

Karl Kuhnert

Bockstedt says as things progressively become more automated, he foresees an increase in explainable AI and AI ethics. Although we may expect to see a reduction of the workforce, we can also look forward to the creation of new jobs, such as an AI trainer, and a period of coexistence where technology, like TOM, will help workers perform better instead of replacing them.

“Some people see AI as an exciting future, while others feel it is part of a dystopian society,” Kuhnert says. “I don’t really hold either belief. It’s completely in our hands what we want to do here. We can use this technology to unburden the world. We have to decide together how we want to use this technology.”

Learn more about Emory Executive Education’s AI and Machine Learning for Business.

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The revised curriculum enhances our ability to equip our BBA students for an increasingly data-driven world in which the outcomes of business decisions are multifaceted and far-reaching. It simultaneously helps us build our student competencies and address their desire to create individualized and customized academic experiences.

Andrea Hershatter, senior associate dean of undergraduate education and senior lecturer of Organization & Management

The curriculum was developed by a faculty task force utilizing a design thinking process. In fact, both Hershatter and Jan Barton, associate professor of Accounting and a member of the curricular task force, previously attended a faculty bootcamp at Stanford University to learn more about the design thinking process, which is an empathetic, constituent-based approach to innovation focused on the needs of the end user.

While the process was faculty led, the curricular review tapped into the best resources for this information: current and former BBA students. They also spoke with corporate recruiters. The planning process, which began with a review of the existing program and ended with implementation this January, spanned five years from conception through anticipated implementation.

“Working on these updates was the best experience I’ve had at Goizueta in my 25 years here,” says Barton. “As a committee, we worked very well together, partly because we trusted the process we were using. Design thinking is very effective in assuring an outcome that meets the needs of those you’re designing for—in our case, our students, of course, but also their employers, our faculty, and our staff. Our new BBA program draws on all of our resources to ensure that we educate our students for lifelong learning.”

The faculty committee consisted of co-chairs Jesse Bockstedt, professor of Information Systems & Operations Management, and Hershatter, along with a faculty representative from each of Goizueta’s five academic areas and Marvell Nesmith, director of academic affairs and instructional design.

The overall approach and the individual components were all guided by the BBA mission statement: “To help our students grow, intellectually, personally, and professionally so that they feel enabled, empowered, and motivated to make significant positive contributions to the organizations they serve and to society as a whole.”

A Greater Emphasis on Flexibility, Customization, and Technology

Curricular updates strengthen analytics, provide more flexibility for building integrated interdisciplinary expertise, augment community engagement, and ensure that Goizueta BBA graduates are prepared for their initial job—as well as their subsequent careers.

With a new entry point that allows for enrollment as early as the beginning of sophomore year, students can balance their Goizueta courses with their Emory College electives, explains Bockstedt.

“It used to be more of a separate experience between Emory College and Goizueta Business School, and although we’re not changing the number of required credits, students will have the opportunity to take more of their college classes as a business student. The idea is that hopefully what they take can support their business learning and vice versa,” says Bockstedt.

The new curriculum also provides students with a strong foundation in data analytics; mini bootcamps to gain specific technology skills; an immersive, experiential capstone; and new interdisciplinary options in choosing areas in which to concentrate.

“I’m particularly excited about the new personal development seminar that includes pathway explorations. This will give students more exposure to different career options. They will get to hear from recent graduates about what their lives are like and what they wish they had known when they were undergraduates,” says Emily Bianchi, committee member and Goizueta Foundation Term Associate Professor of Organization & Management. “I’m also really excited that the new curriculum gives students the flexibility to build an academic experience that best meets their needs while still ensuring that they have the foundation necessary to succeed in any career.”

Students will move through a series of touchstone modules, including personal and professional development and a new BBA Boardroom experience. (Think Goizueta-equivalent of the classic high school homerooms.)

We’re being pretty innovative. The boardrooms are going to be a great way to build community, relationships, and network. They will really encourage cross-age mentoring.

Jesse Bockstedt

As part of the curriculum adjustments, the core requirements for students have changed. The academic core will consist of one course from each functional area of business, several of which have been completely revised. Students will then select two out of five flex core courses based on their specific interests.

In conjunction with the timing of the BBA rollout, Goizueta will offer a business minor to Emory College students who are passionate about the liberal arts. The minor will be comprised of the foundations core and will provide introductory knowledge in each of the five functional fields of business.

“Goizueta offers an exceptional undergraduate experience with extraordinary outcomes for our students. Our goal is to make the best of Emory accessible to all of Emory,” says Ravi V. Bellamkonda, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. “I also applaud Goizueta’s laying out transparent criteria for entering its BBA program, so all students and families have a clear understanding of how to access the school’s outstanding offerings.”

Goizueta undergraduate students are prepared, motivated, and empowered to make meaningful contributions to the organizations they serve—and to society. Learn more about our top-ranked BBA program.

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“I could have gone anywhere, but the U.S. is at the forefront of the data analytics and data science revolution,” says the Fulbright Scholar. Enter the MSBA program at Goizueta. “I needed graduate school to build upon my basic knowledge. I felt like there was a missing piece that I needed to feel more confident and call myself an expert.”

Even after working for a year as a data analyst before beginning his master’s degree, Sanaan still expresses wonder and excitement at the prospect of what’s to come in the field of data science and all that the industry has to offer him, particularly the ability to work in a variety of sectors, such as healthcare or sports marketing.

“This field is tailor-made for me. I love how simple numbers can tell a story and inform us about the future by making predictions based on the past. But the most amazing thing is that this work is meaningful. I can see actual results being generated by using something as ordinary as numbers.”

Why the Goizueta MSBA at Emory?

Accelerated degree timeline: “The MSBA program is fast-paced and develops all the skill sets and areas where I’m looking to build my expertise in a shorter amount of time than other schools.”

Located in Atlanta, one of the “most tech-oriented cities in the world.”

Emphasis on professional development, which is a unique characteristic for a STEM-related degree.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion: “Diversity is always a strength. I want to learn as much as possible from as many people as possible,” says Sanaan, who grew up in a region with seven spoken languages. “Emory’s strategic initiative of DEI really attracted me.”

Goizueta’s Master’s in Business Analytics program hosts events each month for prospective students, including opportunities to hear from MSBA students. Browse upcoming events and register for one today.

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Professional tools, data, and trading platforms include Bloomberg, FactSet, Thompson, Python, R Studio, Barra, and MATLAB. Primary student users for the lab are those enrolled in the new Master of Analytical Finance program, a unique degree designed to shape leaders for the future of finance.

Led by Academic Director Kirsten Travers-Uyham, associate professor in the practice of finance, the program draws strength from an advisory board that includes senior leaders from top companies including Invesco, Rubicon Crypto, J.P. Morgan, Palladium Equity Partners, and Cantor Fitzgerald LP. Designed by professionals with a data-driven STEM curriculum, the program explores financial markets through analytics and expert insights.

Drawing on course and lab work, Fridays “On the Job” immerse students in experiential learning through four rotations of a Wall Street firm. Following completion of the financial data and business statistics bootcamps, career-building rotations include global markets, asset portfolios, strategies, and in practice.

Goizueta is proud to share that the first cohort of students has 46 percent women and 76 percent of students earned their bachelor’s degrees in the U.S.

Looking to take your skills to the next level? Goizueta’s 10-month, action-based Master of Analytical Finance program is for versatile thinkers ready for next gen finance careers. Learn more.

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I expect the program to not only sharpen my technical skills in finance, but also improve my networking skills. After connecting and talking to the degree faculty, I immediately decided to apply to this program.

Wang says, praising faculty experience and connections

Originally from Taiwan, Wang’s talent for analysis and growth is complemented by recognized prowess in classical piano performance. While earning her BBA from Goizueta, she also earned a degree in music from Emory College of Arts and Sciences. Earlier this year, Wang was honored with the Sudler Award for graduating seniors who have demonstrated remarkable promise in the performing or creative arts.

Always challenge-ready, Wang also entered and won Best Emory Spirit in 2022 for an image she created using an AI design software, which she submitted in a competition to be featured as the cover for Emory Magazine.

Both business-savvy and inspired, Wang credits the community around her for creating a supportive educational environment in which she could flourish.

“The solid education Goizueta provides ensures my technical skills in being a future financial analyst,” she shares, citing continuous reinforcement of student integrity and work ethics. “The diversity of Emory students gives me an open mindset, allowing me to be more accepting of others’ opinions and encouraging me to think in different perspectives.”

Goizueta’s new Master of Analytical Finance degree program is designed to prepare the next generation of finance careers. Learn more about this accelerated, internship-style 10-month STEM degree.

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