Business – Arizona State University is positioned as a global leader in business by Arizona State University

Business Arizona State University is positioned as a global leader in business

Business Arizona State University is positioned as a global leader in business.

W. P. Carey School of Business Welcome About the W. P. Carey School of Business 1 Degrees, minors and certificates 37

Arizona impact 47 W. P. Carey Arizona impact by the numbers

In the media 51 Microelectronics, robotics and technology 111 Biomedical, wellness and business 127 Real estate, infrastructure and construction 147 Executive development 193 Business and law 221 Food and agriculture 227 Small, medium and family business 251 Sun Devil 100 261 Redesigning education 269 Philanthropy and social impact 293

National impact 331 W. P. Carey national impact by the numbers 333 Data and analytics 335 Sports and business 349 Entertainment and business 369 Leadership 387 Fashion industry 401

World impact 417 W. P. Carey World impact by the numbers 419 World programs and partners 421 Supply chain and retail 429 Finance 473 Sustainability 523 Deep into space 549

About ASU ASU’s Arizona, national and world impact 567

In the business of access and excellence W. P. Carey is in the business of what is best for our students as our world continues to change in new, dynamic and exciting ways. We are able to make things at lightning speed, think faster and solve problems more quickly, opening up new economic opportunities. We are making a transition to a new economy to benefit more Americans. We are the largest business school in the nation in terms of numbers and consistently among the highest-ranked in quality. We create new programs and new approaches by being entrepreneurs in the education space — and as big as we are, we’re the place where business is personal. We measure it in access, excellence and innovation in business knowledge. We are the best in what matters most — preparing our students to be their best when they leave us to pursue their dreams in Arizona, in the country or anywhere in the world. We are building new knowledge enterprises that affect everything — food, water, work, travel, cars, medicine, our health and more. Those industries are being impacted by new knowledge-driven technologies. We are making certain that Arizona is at the absolute leading edge of driving our nation and our world toward a brighter future. W. P. Carey is embedded across ASU’s Tempe, Polytechnic and West campuses and Online. Our graduates are founding new companies in Arizona and leading at Fortune 500 companies across the country and the world like Amazon, McKinsey & Co., Applied Materials, American Express, Walmart, Microsoft and more. We continue to grow and expand our partnerships and programs globally with universities in China, Ghana, India, South Korea, and Taiwan and we are actively seeking more to better prepare business students around the world. In the state of Arizona, W. P. Carey has the highest-ranked MBA, ahead of University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University. The best in us brings out the best in the state. We also have the largest MBA enrollment in Arizona, ahead of University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University. In this book, we reflect on the progress made in establishing the W. P. Carey School of Business as the largest, most comprehensive business school in the nation. Numbers, rankings and statistics are included of course—they provide the definitive evidence that we have made progress like no other in the nation. But the true power of this exercise lies within the stories of the people who make ASU’s progress possible. This book gives you a glimpse into the lives of our faculty, students, alumni and partners, who are garnering global media coverage and driving ASU forward. In the spirit of continuous learning and growth, Michael M. Crow President, Arizona State University michaelcrow

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Welc W. P School o Busines

come to P. Carey of ss The W. P. Carey School of Business at ASU is the largest business school in the United States with nearly 20,000 students pursuing undergraduate, master’s, and PhD degrees. Solutions for the planet mean developing problem-solvers from around the globe. From our world-renowned faculty representing six continents to thousands of outstanding students who join us every year from around the world, the W. P. Carey School welcomes diversity and encourages global thinking. We transform the world through access, excellence, and innovation in business knowledge. We are the W. P. Carey School of Business, where business is personal.

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Business Administration

Business Administration C Wing McCord Hall

On the Tempe campus next to Palm Walk, the W. P. Carey School of Business conducts research, teaching and community engagement.

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Tempe Home to major research laboratories, cutting edge science and technology, performing arts venues, the light rail line and Sun Devil Athletics, the historic Tempe campus at ASU is full of possibility. From entrepreneurial startups to medium and major sized corporate headquarters, the area is full of opportunities for degree-seeking business students across majors. Undergraduate programs: Accountancy, Business, Business (Chinese Language and Culture),Business (Communication), Business (Financial Planning),Business (Global Politics),Business (Language and Culture), Business (Law),Business (Public Service and Public Policy), Business (Sports Business), Business (Sustainability), Business (Tourism), Business Data Analytics, Business Entrepreneurship, Business Exploratory, Computer Information Systems, Economics, Finance, Management, Marketing, Marketing (Digital and Integrated Marketing Communications), Marketing (Professional Sales) and Supply Chain Management.

Graduate programs: Accountancy and Data Analytics, MACC, Accountancy, PhD, Business Administration (Business Analytics), MBA, Business Administration (Information Systems Management), MBA, Business Analytics, MS, Computer Information Systems, PhD, Economics, PhD, Finance, MS, Finance, PhD, Global Financial Management, DBA, Information Systems Management, MS, Innovation and Venture Development, MS, Management in China/Corporate, MS, Management, MS, Management, PhD, Marketing, PhD, Real Estate (Graduate Certificate), Real Estate Development, MRED, Supply Chain Management, PhD, Taxation and Data Analytics, MTax, W. P. Carey MBA - Evening Program, W. P. Carey MBA - Executive Program, W. P. Carey MBA - Fast-Track Program, W. P. Carey MBA - Full-Time Program and W. P. Carey MBA - Shanghai Program.

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Accounting for more than 50% of the global economy and employing 25% of Americans, agribusiness brings food from the farm to the global table. The Morrison School of Agribusiness within the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University will prepare you to lead in this competitive, sophisticated and global industry and will give you an advantage in understanding its unique challenges and practices.

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Polytechnic The Polytechnic campus is a close-knit community and is home to first-year students across all majors. It features a desert arboretum, hands-on learning and flight simulators. On-campus students will find a modern residential facility, a dining hall, a bike co-op program and a fitness complex.

Undergraduate programs: Applied Business and Technology Solutions, Business (Business Administration),Business (Communication),Business (Food Industry Management), Business (Global Agribusiness), Business (Human Resources), Management and Business (Technology),

Graduate programs: Agribusiness, PhD

Certificates include: Leadership in Business and Risk Management

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Joe Van Orden, a professor in supply chain management, works with a student in the Knight-Swift Logistics Lab, a center of thought leadership in the world of logistics and supply chain management. The center supports research for a global audience, furthering the dissemination of supply chain knowledge and skills to a diverse base of students, companies and professionals worldwide. The W. P. Carey School of Business is proud to partner with Knight-Swift, the industry’s largest full truckload carrier, headquartered in the Phoenix metro area.

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West

The close-knit ASU’s West campus hosts undergraduate and graduate students across majors for a blended liberal arts education. Modeled after University of Oxford architecture, visit landmarks such as the Albert Paley-designed gates, extensive public art and Fletcher Library — home to 250,000 resources for students. Surround yourself with opportunities as you discover metro Phoenix. A new school inside the college will be added to the West campus starting in the fall 2023 semester, The School of Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship. This new school will help students develop an entrepreneurial mindset and include project-based coursework and service opportunities in the West Valley. Two new bachelor’s degrees will be added — in entrepreneurial leadership and in applied business and technology solutions.

Undergraduate programs: Business (Information Security), Business (Language and Culture), Management, Business (Sports Business), Business (Statistics), Business (Sustainability), Applied Business and Technology Solutions, Business (Business Administration), Business (Communication), Entrepreneurial Leadership and Business (Health Care), Entrepreneurial Leadership and Applied Business and Technology Solutions. Business (Information Security), Business (Language and Culture), Management, Business (Sports Business), Business (Statistics), Business (Sustainability), Applied Business and Technology Solutions, Business (Business Administration), Business (Communication), Entrepreneurial Leadership and Business (Health Care)

Graduate programs: Global Logistics, MS

Certificate: Leadership in business

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With ASU Online, students have the support of our award-winning faculty, premier student services and innovative learning experiences to empower their success in and out of class.

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ASU Online Degree-seeking business students have access to a robust course catalog and can take classes 100% online. With a variety of resources available, students receive support through career services, online tutoring, and ASU Libraries — which includes research databases, electronic journals, e-books and research material. ASU Online aims to provide a framework for lasting success. Undergraduate programs: Accountancy, Business Administration, Business Data Analytics, Communication, Computer Information Systems, Corporate Accounting, Economics, Financial Planning, Food Industry Management, Global Leadership, Global Logistics Management, Information Security, Law, Management, Marketing, Retail Management, Sports Business, Supply Chain Management, Sustainability and Tourism

Graduate programs: Business Analytics (MS), MBA – Master of Business Administration, MBA/ MS – Industrial Engineering, MBA/MSE – Electrical Engineering, Supply Chain Management (MS)

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At W. P. Carey, we champion access, excellence and innovation. Every year, dozens of W. P. Carey programs and academic specialties are highly ranked by U.S. News & World Report. That’s not a coincidence; it’s a result of ASU’s dedication to pushing boundaries in our approaches to learning, in our research and in our engagements within ASU and with corporate partners worldwide. Excellence is reflected in the quality of our academic departments and faculty, who are among the very best in their fields. Very often, excellence in education can seem at odds with access. But at the W. P. Carey School, it is core to our mission to provide access to a world-class business education and to all the resources of the largest and most innovative university in the U.S., regardless of students’ backgrounds. We are committed to inclusive excellence, and to creating and realizing opportunities for all our students.

To meet the demands of our students and the marketplace, we continually evaluate and introduce degree options and flexible formats to ensure that a quality business education is within reach.

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“One of the things that most excites me about W. P. Carey is our commitment to inclusive access to world-class business education. I am excited to lead the school into emerging areas, while never losing sight of our commitment to student success and cutting-edge research.” – O H A D K A D A N , D E A N , W. P. C A R E Y D I S T I N G U I S H E D C H A I R IN BUSINESS, CHARLES J. ROBEL DEAN’S CHAIR, W. P. C A R E Y S C H O O L O F B U S I N E S S

We leverage ASU’s approach to interdisciplinary education, tapping into the expertise of schools and colleges across the New American University — engineering, law, design, sustainability, and more. Depending on the discipline, students can earn their W. P. Carey graduate degree on campus or 100% online. Online W. P. Carey students receive access to the same world-renowned faculty, resources, career support, and alumni network as our on-campus graduate students. To nurture the next generation of innovators and build on our foundation as a leading and growing business school, W. P. Carey has adapted to the demands of tomorrow — in the classroom, our service model, and our physical space. Innovations of interest to future graduate students include an entirely revamped career management program, which prepares students to navigate through uncertainty and pivot throughout their careers.

30% of W.P. Carey undergraduate students are from underrepresented or minority groups.

—OHAD K ADAN , D E AN

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Jennifer Shick, who diirects First Year Experiences for undergraduates, high fives a student in class.

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Worldclass faculty Solutions for the planet mean developing problemsolvers from around the globe. Our world-renowned faculty represents six continents and guides, mentors, and inspires thousands of students from more than 100 countries around the world, fostering our commitment to a community that encourages inclusive excellence and global thinking. Recognized as influential researchers and consultants, the W. P. Carey School of Business faculty includes National Academy of Sciences members and thought leaders in a wide range of business disciplines. They publish scholarly work in top journals, present at national conferences, consult with some of the world’s largest and most innovative companies, and above all, dedicate themselves to the success of our students. The W. P. Carey School faculty is regarded among the best in the world for research productivity, consistently ranked top 30 worldwide by the University of Texas at Dallas’ “Top 100 Business School Research Rankings.”

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Pioneer in the study of the upstream side of supply chains Thomas Choi Professorship and AT&T professorship, supply chain management; co-director, Complex Adaptive Supply Networks Research Accelerator

Dale Rogers

Thomas Choi is the AT&T professor of the W. P. Carey School of Business at ASU. As a researcher of supply chain management, he is a pioneer in the study of the upstream side of supply chains. He has published articles in renowned journals including the Academy of Management Executive and Harvard Business Review. He serves as co-director

Professor and ON Semiconductor professor of Business, Supply Chain Management

Interdisciplinary research, from AI to data analytics

Leading researcher in supply chain and logistics fields

Dale Rogers is the ON Semiconductor professor of business at the Department of Supply Chain Management at ASU. He is also the director of the Frontier Economies Logistics Lab and the director of the Internet Edge Supply Chain Lab ASU. He is the principal investigator of the $15 million CARISCA Project at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana. Rogers is the principal investigator on the Supply Chain AI Realized Future funded by a consortium of firms including Intel, Applied Materials and Chemonics International. He has won many prestigious awards including the Reverse Logistics Education Award in 2023 and the 2021 CSCMP Distinguished Service Award. He was inducted into the Supply Chain Hall of Fame.

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of the Complex Adaptive Supply Networks Research Accelerator, an international research group of scholars. He has been ranked among the “top 50 researchers by publication score,” based on SCM papers appearing in a set of seven leading journals over a 15-year period.

Pei-yu (Sharon) Chen Chair and Professor; Earl and Gladys Davis Distinguished Research Professor in Business, W. P. Carey Information Systems Chair (FSC) and Professor, Center for Cybersecurity and Trusted Foundations Affiliates Chen is the Earl and Gladys Davis Distinguished Professor and Department Chair of Information Systems. She is also the co-director of the Actionable Analytics Lab at the W. P. Carey School of Business, Arizona State University. Prior to joining ASU, she served on the faculty at Tepper School of Business, Carnegie Mellon University and Fox School of Business, Temple University. She received her PhD from Wharton School of Business at the University

of Pennsylvania. Chen’s research is interdisciplinary, spanning across information systems, economics, management and strategy, marketing and operations. Her recent research focuses on data analytics, IT-enabled strategies, crowdsourcing, open innovation and AI applications and impacts. Chen’s work has been published in leading business journals.

Advancing research in strategic management and business and public policy Amy Hillman Professor and Rusty Lyon Chair in strategy, Management and Entrepreneurship Amy Hillman is the Rusty Lyon Chair of Strategy and former Dean of the W. P. Carey School of Business at ASU. She received her PhD from Texas A&M University in strategic management and business and public policy in 1996, and was inducted Outstanding Doctoral Alumni from her alma mater in 2008. She also received the Outstanding Educator Award from the Academy

of Management in 2018. Her research includes over 30 peer-reviewed articles published in leading journals. In addition to her service to the profession through editorial roles, Amy is currently vice president elect and program chair of the Academy of Management.

Faculty excellence Recognized as influential researchers and consultants, the world-renowned W. P. Carey School of Business faculty are National Academy of Sciences members and thought leaders in a wide range of business disciplines.

Unveiling the impacts of technology on businesses, society and consumers

Global impact in public health and inclusion Jeffrey R. Wilson, PhD

Professor of Statistics and Biostatistics and Associate Dean of Research Jeffrey Wilson is a Professor of Statistics and Biostatistics and Associate Dean of Research. He is the former director of the School of Health Management and Policy and a former Chair of the Editorial Board of the American Journal of Public Health. He is presently the Statistics Associate Editor for The Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology and the Faculty Athletics Representative for Arizona State University. Wilson’s research experience includes grants as PI and co-PI from the NIH, NSF, USDA, Arizona Department of Health Services and the Arizona Disease Research Commission. He has published more than 80 articles in leading journals.

Raghu Santanam Senior associate dean for executive education, corporate partnerships and lifelong learning, McCord Chair in business and professor, Dean’s Office Senior associate dean for executive education, corporate partnerships and lifelong earning, McCord Chair in business and professor, Center for Cybersecurity and Trusted Foundations Affiliates Health solutions ambassador, College of Health Solutions

Raghu Santanam is professor and McCord Chair of business in the Information Systems Department at the W. P. Carey School of Business. He is currently directing the Department of Labor funded digital workforce initiative, AZNext at the university. Professor Santanam serves on the Phoenix Business and Workforce Development board. His research has focused on the impacts of technology and technology strategies on businesses, society and consumers.

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Notable researcher in nonprofit operations management and operations management in developing countries Mahyar Eftekhar Associate professor, Supply Chain Management Mahyar Eftekhar is an associate professor of supply chain management at the W. P. Carey School of Business. His studies focus on nonprofit operations management as well as operations management in developing countries. His research has been published in prestigious journals and he has received several awards including DARPA Young Faculty Award and DSI Outstanding Early Career Award.

Authority on innovative management practices in supply chain management Adegoke Oke Interim chair and professor, Supply Chain Management Adegoke Oke joined ASU in 2006. He holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria, an MBA from Cardiff Business School, Wales and a Ph.D. in operations management from Cranfield University’s School of Management, U.K., where he won the award for the best PhD and was also faculty for six years. He is presently a professor of supply chain management and the Hal Fearon Distinguished Fellow at the W.P. Carey School of Business, ASU.

Exploring consumer happiness and satisfaction Adriana Samper Associate professor, Marketing Professor Adriana Samper’s research explores how consumers’ assumptions and intuitions about their preferences can shape their happiness and satisfaction after consumption, as well as when consumers mispredict the choices that will make them the happiest. She examines these questions in areas of aesthetics, decision making, effort-related outcomes, experiential consumption and health. Her work has appeared in the Journal of Consumer Research, the Journal of Marketing Management and Psychological Science. Professor Samper is currently on the editorial review board for the Journal of Consumer Research.

Researching impacts on capital markets Lucile Faurel Professor, Department of Economics Seidman Research Center director and economics professor, L. William Seidman Research Institute Lucile Faurel earned her bachelor’s degree in international economics. After working in transfer pricing for Deloitte & Touche Paris, she earned her doctorate from New York University. Prior to joining the W. P. Carey School, she served on the faculty of the University of California, Irvine. Within capital markets research, her research interests include the role of social media in capital markets, the (mis) pricing of accounting information, voluntary disclosure choices, corporate innovation and insider trading.

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Spearheading solutions in global agricultural economics Ashok Mishra Professor and Kemper and Ethel Marley Foundation Chair in food management, W. P. Carey Morrison School of Agribusiness Ashok Mishra joined the W. P. Carey School of Business as a professor of agribusiness in 2015. Professor Mishra’s research interests lie in food policy and focus on the economic performance of global agribusiness due to production efficiency, mergers and acquisitions, and volatile commodity prices and farmland valuation. Mishra has published prolifically. He has 11,767 citations

in Google Scholar. REPEC ranks him in the top 5% of the 59,325 economists registered worldwide and in the top 2% of agricultural economists. He has received numerous research and teaching awards, including outstanding journal article awards in the AJAE, AFR, JAAE, Agribusiness: International and CAER. Mishra provided leadership in agricultural economics by serving on the editorial boards of many professional journals.

Focus on management and corporate governance Wei Shen Professor of Strategic Management Wei Shen is a professor of strategic management and a noted researcher on topics including strategic leadership, corporate governance, organizational search and research methodology. His research has appeared in the top-tier journals of his field, including the Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Administrative Science Quarterly and Strategic

Management Journal. He has served on the editorial boards of several premier journals, including the Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Journal of Management and Governance, Management and Organization Review and Strategic Management Journal.

Investigating consumer behavior and social psychology Andrea Morales Professor and Lonnie L. Ostrom Chair in Business Andrea Morales is the Lonnie L. Ostrom Chair in Business and professor of marketing in the W. P. Carey School of Business at ASU. Her research focuses on consumer behavior and social psychology. Professor Morales has received numerous teaching awards including The 40 Under 40 Most Outstanding MBA Professors from Poets & Quants (2016), the W. P. Carey Outstanding Teaching Award (2011, 2015) and the W. P. Carey Outstanding Doctoral Faculty Award (2013).

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A top 10 leadership researcher worldwide according to the Web of Science Investigating identity in work and workplaces Blake Ashforth Regents Professor and Horace Steele Arizona Heritage Chair, management and entrepreneurship Blake Ashforth joined the W. P. Carey School of Business in 1996. Previously, Ashforth was an associate professor of management at Concordia University. He received his bachelor’s degree in commerce and doctorate in organizational behavior from the University of Toronto, Canada. Professor Ashforth has served as an associate editor for the Academy of Management Review and Organization Science. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Organizational Behavior Division of the Academy of Management.

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David Waldman Professor and Dean’s Council Distinguished Scholar, management and entrepreneurship David A. Waldman is a professor of management in the W. P. Carey School of Business and co-executive director of the Global Center for Technology Transfer. His research interests focus largely on leadership processes and he is heralded as being one of the top 10 leadership researchers in the world according to the Web of Science.

Health sector supply chain strategy, group purchasing, distribution models and talent development Eugene Schneller Professor and Dean’s Council of 100 Distinguished Scholar, supply chain management, sociologist Eugene Schneller is a professor of supply chain management. He joined ASU in 1985, and has been a Dean’s Council of 100 Distinguished Scholar since 2007. His research and consulting focus on health sector supply chain strategy, group purchasing, distribution models and talent development. He has studied public and private health care procurement.

Innovator in the fields of macroeconomics and econometrics Dennis Hoffman Professor, Department of Economics Seidman Research Center director and economics professor, L. William Seidman Research Institute Dennis L. Hoffman is director of the L. William Seidman Research Institute at the W. P. Carey School of Business. He has published numerous academic articles and a book in the area of macroeconomics and econometrics. He is director of ASU’s Office of the University Economist and has received both teaching and research awards from ASU, including the Distinguished Faculty Research Award and designation as a Dean’s Council of 100 Distinguished Scholar.

Determining consumer behavior Carola Grebitus Associate Professor and Dean’s Council Distinguished Scholar, W. P. Carey Morrison School of Agribusiness; Associate professor, Institute for Social Science Research; Affiliated Faculty Senior Global Futures Scientist, Global Futures Scientists and Scholars Grebitus’ research is focused on modeling consumers’ food choices in general, and consumers’ decision strategies in particular. She has worked extensively on determinants of consumer behavior, purchase

decision making, and food quality from consumers’ perspective. Her current research includes consumer preferences for domestic and imported beef, and sustainable (food) products; willingness to pay for new technologies; and the influence of food labeling on purchase decisions.

Kevin Dooley Professor, supply chain management

Professor, Center for Social Dynamics and Complexity Kevin J. Dooley is a Distinguished Professor of Supply Chain Management in the W. P. Carey School of Business, chief scientist of The Sustainability

Luis Gomez-Mejia Regents Professor and Weatherup/Overby Chair in leadership, management and entrepreneurship

Tracking product sustainability issues of global retailers and manufacturers

Associate director, Complex Adaptive Supply Networks Research Accelerator

Ranks in the top 1% of researchers in economics and business worldwide

Consortium, and a senior global futures scientist in the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory. At TSC, Dooley leads a global research team that works with over 100 of the world’s largest retailers and manufacturers to develop tools that measure and track progress on critical product sustainability issues. He has published more than 100 research articles.

Luis Gomez-Mejia returned to ASU in 2016, where he taught for two decades before joining Texas A&M University and the University of Notre Dame. Prior to ASU, he taught at the University of Colorado at Boulder. A highly cited scholar, his research focuses on the relationships of international management, strategic management, executive compensation and family businesses. One of the most published authors among the “big eight” management journals, he has published more than 250 articles in the Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Strategic Management Journal, among others. In addition to serving as a consultant to IBM Corp., DuPont and Honeywell International Inc., for the past seven years he has consistently appeared in the Thomson Reuters Highly Cited Researchers list, ranking in the top 1% of researchers in economics and business worldwide.

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Topranked in teamwork The W. P. Carey MBA ranked No. 1 on teamwork and collaboration in Bloomberg Businessweek’s 2021–22 Best B-Schools survey. The annual poll surveyed 84 schools, 6,640 students, 12,462 alumni and 853 employers. Poets & Quants, a digital publisher that specializes in business education content, reported:

“The larger university is consistently ranked among the top schools for innovation and research and W. P. Carey follows in this tradition. However, it has also adopted a ‘Business is personal philosophy.’ At W. P. Carey, each student is expected to help others learn. Call it a feedback culture, where the team concept extends far beyond student teams.”

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W. P. Carey’s Forward Focus MBA curriculum addresses how business has changed, and This is a caption. prepares leaders who can deal with future uncertainty by not adhering to a template.

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Forward Focus Curriculum

Leadership, as a general concept, is covered in the curriculum of every MBA program. But how to lead through uncertainty and volatility is not a skill that can be gleaned from a textbook. New leaders need to simultaneously navigate tactical execution and emotional intelligence. They need to take a step back, assess problems from different perspectives, and ask different questions to find solutions. W. P. Carey’s Forward Focus MBA curriculum addresses how business has changed, and prepares leaders who can deal with future uncertainty by not adhering to a template. Dynamic new courses, in addition to the core disciplines of an MBA education, are key differentiators of the program. Because business doesn’t happen neatly between the clear-cut lines of graduate school courses, Intellectual Fusion Learning Labs pair MBA students with non-business ASU master’s students on action-learning projects that deliver cross-functional skills. Since business happens across all industries, disciplines, and economies, our students will be able to think cross-functionally and create value across industries. The age of “I think” has been replaced by the age of “What does the data show?” Being able to draw key findings from data, and communicate the meaning and impact of the data up and down the chain, is rapidly becoming one of the most necessary skills for emerging leaders. This course equips students with the ability to recognize patterns in data and models, recommend actions, and implement necessary organizational changes. Information. Insight. Inspiration. Executive Connections pairs W. P. Carey Full-time MBA students with a volunteer group of senior executives, who serve as coaches and mentors as students embark on new career opportunities. Our executives-in-residence are an integral part of the full‑time MBA program and a cornerstone of the W. P. Carey experience.

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Outstanding graduate Mario Liddell and colleagues recited the Carey Code at convocation and celebrated their achievement.

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The prestige of the degree keeps growing The value that comes with a W. P. Carey degree keeps growing as the school’s programs continue to ascend in the rankings. In this year’s annual U.S. News & World Report undergraduate rankings, our programs are ranked No. 23, ahead of Johns Hopkins, Purdue and the University of Arizona. Earlier in the year, U.S. News also released its online degree rankings. W. P. Carey’s online undergraduate programs took the top spot — No. 1, ahead of the University of Florida, Penn State, and Syracuse University. The school also improved in 10 undergraduate department rankings, including jumping to the No. 2 spot in the historically strong supply chain management degree. The undergraduate business analytics program made the top five, making it the top destination for business analytics in the Southwest. Other key department rankings include: • Production/operations management, No. 11 • Management information systems, No. 10 • Accounting, No. 13 • Marketing, No. 15 • Management, No. 13 • International, No. 18 • Finance, No. 19 • Entrepreneurship, No. 17 In total, U.S. News ranks 29 W. P. Carey programs and disciplines among the top 25. “We’re very proud of these new rankings, and think they represent the consistent work W. P. Carey is doing to provide students with an excellent business education that readies them for professional success,” says Vice Dean Amy Ostrom. “It is an honor to be recognized by U.S. News and our peer schools as one of the top business schools in the country.” Visit wpcarey.asu.edu/rankings to discover more top-ranked W. P. Carey degree programs.

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“The W. P. Carey Career Services Center has helped me navigate multiple full-time job offers and has prepared me to network and establish lasting connections with business professionals. This has set me up for a great future career and accepting a job offer that I am excited about. The W. P. Carey Career Services Center has also helped me to determine my worth when it comes to jobs and the power of finding a career path that is fulfilling.” — K E L LY M A N N E N B A C H , B S C O M P U T E R I N F O R M AT I O N S Y S T E M S ’ 2 3

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Events 219% annual increase in # of single-company career events offered to students

262

2018 – 2019

836

2021 – 2022

109% annual increase in unique employers hosting single-company events

109

2018 – 2019

228

2021 – 2022

Jobs A growing number of opportunities posted in the Handshake app showcases that the market for business talent remains strong. We saw open roles for students across 60+ industries in locations around the globe.

38% increase in postings (jobs and internships, focused on business)

19,158

2018 – 2019

26,346

W. P. Carey Career Services Center The W. P. Carey Foundation’s investment sparked momentum to create a new kind of career center for W. P. Carey students and employers. Moving away from an outdated transactional approach to career work, the team shifted into a transformational professional practice model rooted in strategy. The career strategy is anchored on consistent feedback from the market on their talent needs, and has shaped a new way for students to engage. Investments have been made in technology solutions, corporate engagement, programing for special student populations, curriculum development and expanding the professional practice of the entire team. As the world of work shifted, a strategic push was made to adapt to the new needs of the market and find innovative ways to engage a new generation of students. Partnership—with both students and employers —became central to our work, helping to bridge the gap between both sides of the talent pipeline journey. An expanded definition of student engagement was developed to include on-demand, self-directed and mandatory elements, focusing on providing scalable and curated content to enable students to enter the market competitively.

2021 – 2022

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Ohad Kadan’s research covers different aspects of liquidity, information, risk and incentives in financial markets.

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W. P. Carey’s Dean Kadan Grounded in mathematics, computer science and finance, ASU’s new dean of the W. P. Carey School of Business Ohad Kadan is an award-winning researcher and educator. His research covers different aspects of liquidity, information, risk and incentives in financial markets. His papers have been published in top academic journals such as Econometrica, the Journal of Finance, the Review of Financial Studies, the Journal of Financial Economics, Management Science, and the Journal of Accounting and Economics.

Since joining ASU, Kadan has been holding planning sessions with faculty and key personnel, finding new ways for innovation. We spoke to Kadan about his new and unfolding adventure.

His research has also been featured in popular media outlets such as the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. Prior to joining ASU, he spent 20 years at Washington University in St. Louis in both faculty and leadership positions, spearheading the introduction of innovative programs with an emphasis on a values, data, global orientation, and multidisciplinary collaboration. Kadan holds a doctoral degree from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Q: What else do you want our community to know about what the future holds for W. P. Carey? A: Our vision focuses on access, excellence, and innovation in business knowledge. It’s who we already are, but we will emphasize it more. Access to education is critical. We are here to provide education to those who need it. Education is not a luxury. It opens doors and creates opportunities, and we are here to provide that. That’s essential. And it’s not any education, it’s excellent education. It must be top-notch education: We need to attract top-notch faculty and amazing students so we will deliver not only on access but also on excellence. How do we offer all of that? Through innovation. We innovate, we teach innovation, and we practice innovation in everything we do.

Q: What resonated about W. P. Carey and Arizona State University while pursuing this position? A: First, I found the ASU Charter very appealing. I believe ASU is charting new territory in higher education. Second, the Phoenix metro area is a thriving region. It’s the fifth-largest city in the United States and it’s growing fast, with both migration of individuals and corporations moving in. I think that’s important for a business school or university. So, I see a lot of opportunities just being in the metro Phoenix area. The third issue that attracted me was the school itself, particularly the faculty and staff. We know the faculty at W. P. Carey has a strong reputation in teaching and research.

W . P. C A R E Y

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The ultimate orientation Camp Carey gets down to business At a forested camp in the mountains outside Prescott, Arizona, a group of incoming first-year students huddle around a pile of K’Nex pieces—the building blocks they played with as children. The exercise is fun, but at the same time they are learning about effective communication, so essential to any functioning business team.

W . P. C A R E Y

Overall undergraduate business program

#23 in the U.S. among public universities, the highest ranking program in Arizona – U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT

Nationally ranked programs by U.S. News & World Report National ranking

A S U A R I ZO N A I M PACT

Undergraduate degrees offered Accountancy BS Tempe, West 3 years, Bachelor’s + Master’s

#13 in the U.S. for undergraduate accounting programs, ahead of University of Arizona, Cornell University and UC Berkeley —

Applied Business and Technology Solutions BA Polytechnic, West, Online, ASU Local Bachelor’s + Master’s —

Business BA Polytechnic, Tempe, West Bachelor’s + Master’s

#23 for best undergraduate business program, ahead of University of Arizona, Purdue University and Boston College —

Business (Business Administration)

Business (Chinese Language and Culture) BSE Tempe Bachelor’s + Master’s BA Tempe Tempe Bachelor’s + Master’s —

Business (Communication) BA Polytechnic, Tempe, West, Havasu, Online, ASU Local, 3 years, Bachelor’s + Master’s Bachelor’s + Master’s —

Business (Corporate Accounting) BA Online, ASU Local —

Business (Financial Planning) BA Tempe, Online, ASU Local Bachelor’s + Master’s —

Business (Food Industry Management) BA Polytechnic, Online, ASU Local Bachelor’s + Master’s —

Business (Global Agribusiness) BA Polytechnic Bachelor’s + Master’s —

Business (Global Leadership) BA Online, ASU Local Bachelor’s + Master’s —

Business (Global Logistics Management) BA West, Online, ASU Local Bachelor’s + Master’s —

Business (Global Politics) BA Tempe Bachelor’s + Master’s —

Business (Health Care) BA West Bachelor’s + Master’s —

Business (Human Resources) BA Polytechnic, Online, ASU Local Bachelor’s + Master’s —

Business (Information Security) BA West, Online, ASU Local Bachelor’s + Master’s —

Business (International) BA Tempe Bachelor’s + Master’s

#18 for best undergraduate international business programs, ahead of Indiana UniversityBloomington, University of Virginia and University of Washington —

Business (Language and Culture) BA Tempe, West Bachelor’s + Master’s —

Business (Law) BA Tempe, Online, ASU Local Bachelor’s + Master’s —

BA Polytechnic, West, Havasu, The Gila Valley, Online, ASU Local Bachelor’s + Master’s BUSINESS

Undergraduate degrees (continued) Business (Public Service and Public Policy) BA Tempe Bachelor’s + Master’s —

Business (Retail Management) BA Online, ASU Local Bachelor’s + Master’s —

Business (Sports Business) BA Tempe, West, Online, ASU Local Bachelor’s + Master’s —

Business (Statistics) BA West Bachelor’s + Master’s —

Business (Sustainability) BA Polytechnic, Tempe, West, Online, ASU Local Bachelor’s + Master’s —

Business (Technology) BA Polytechnic Bachelor’s + Master’s —

Business (Tourism) BA Tempe, Online, ASU Local Bachelor’s + Master’s — 38

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Business Data Analytics

Computer Information Systems

BS Tempe, Online, ASU Local 3 years, Bachelor’s + Master’s

BS Tempe, Online, ASU Local 3 years —

#8 for best undergraduate analytics programs, ahead of University of Michigan, Indiana UniversityBloomington and Cornell University

Economics

—

Business Entrepreneurship BS Tempe 3 years, Bachelor’s + Master’s

#17 for best undergraduate entrepreneurship programs, ahead of University of Southern California, University of Arizona and Cornell University —

Business Exploratory Tempe —

BS Tempe, Online, ASU Local 3 years, Bachelor’s + Master’s —

Entrepreneurial Leadership BA West —

Finance BS Tempe 3 years, Bachelor’s + Master’s

#16 for best undergraduate finance programs, ahead of Georgetown University, University of Notre Dame and University of Southern California —

Management BS Polytechnic, Tempe, West, Online, ASU Local 3 years, Bachelor’s + Master’s

#13 for best undergraduate business management programs, ahead of Penn State, University of Southern California and The Ohio State University Management BS Polytechnic, Tempe, West, Online, ASU Local 3 years, Bachelor’s + Master’s

#10 for best undergraduate business management information systems, ahead of New York University, University of Pennsylvania and UC Berkeley —

Management BS Tempe

#11 for best undergraduate production operations management programs, ahead of Indiana UniversityBloomington, UC Berkeley and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign —

Marketing BS Tempe, Online, ASU Local 3 years, Bachelor’s + Master’s

#15 for best undergraduate business marketing programs, ahead of The Ohio State University, University of Washington and Cornell University

Marketing (Professional Sales) BS Tempe Bachelor’s + Master’s —

Supply Chain Management BS Tempe, Online, ASU Local 3 years, Bachelor’s + Master’s

#2 for best undergraduate supply chain management and logistics programs, ahead of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Penn State and University of Texas at Austin

—

Marketing (Digital and Integrated Marketing Communications) BS Tempe Bachelor’s + Master’s —

BUSINESS

Nationally ranked programs by U.S. News & World Report National ranking

A S U A R I ZO N A I M PACT

Graduate degrees offered Accountancy and Data Analytics, MACC MAcc Tempe, Los Angeles —

Accountancy, PhD

Business Analytics, MS

Business, Master’s (exluding MBA)

MS Tempe, Los Angeles, Online —

MS Online

Business Analytics, MBA

#7 for best online master’s in business programs (excluding MBA), ahead of Pennsylvania State UniversityWorld Campus and University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill

PHD Tempe —

MBA Tempe

Agribusiness, PhD

#16 for best business school business analytics MBA program, ahead of Pennsylvania State University-University Park, The University of Texas at Dallas and Cornell University

PHD Polytechnic —

Accounting, MBA MBA Tempe

#19 for best business school accounting MBA program, ahead of Duke University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Columbia University —

Business Administration (Business Analytics), MBA MBA Tempe —

Business Administration (Information Systems Management), MBA

—

Business Analytics, MBA

—

Computer Information Systems, PhD PHD Tempe —

Economics, PhD

MBA Online

PHD Tempe

#5 for best online business analytics MBA programs, ahead of University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Rice University and University of Washington

#38 for best graduate school for economics program, ahead of University of Washington, Emory University and University of Florida

—

Entrepreneurship MBA

#16 for best business school entrepreneurship MBA program, ahead of Carnegie Mellon University, Duke University and University of Chicago —

Finance, MS MS Tempe —

Finance, PhD PHD Tempe —

Finance MBA Online

#6 for best online finance MBA programs, ahead of George Washington University, Babson College and University of Utah —

Global Financial Management, DBA DBA Tempe —

MBA Tempe

BUSINESS

Graduate degrees (continued) Global Logistics, MS MS West —

Information Systems Management, MS MS Tempe —

Information Systems MBA Tempe

#9 for best business school information systems MBA program, ahead of University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, The University of Texas at Dallas and UC Berkeley Innovation and Venture Development, MS MS Tempe —

International, MBA MBA Tempe

#16 for best business school international MBA program, ahead of Duke University, Indiana University and University of California, Los Angeles 42

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—

Management in China/Corporate, MS MS Tempe —

Management, MS MS Tempe —

Management, PhD PHD Tempe

Management, MBA MBA Tempe

#16 for best business school management MBA program, ahead of Duke University, University of Chicago and Michigan State University —

Management MBA MBA Online

#3 for best online general management MBA programs, ahead of University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Carnegie Mellon and University of Southern California —

Project Management

Marketing, MBA

MBA Tempe

MBA Online

#5 for best business school project management MBA program, ASU ahead of Purdue UniversityWest Lafayette, Georgetown University and The University of Texas at Dallas

#4 for best online MBA programs in marketing, ahead of University of Southern California, University of Florida and University of Arizona

Marketing, PhD PHD Tempe —

Marketing, MBA MBA Tempe

#23 for best business school marketing MBA program, ahead of University of Southern California, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Yale University —

—

Production and Operations, MBA MBA Tempe

#10 for best business school production and operations MBA program, ahead of Pennsylvania State University-University Park, Harvard University and Cornell University —

Real Estate (Graduate Certificate) Certificate Tempe —

Real Estate Development, MRED MREDev Tempe —

Supply Chain Management (Graduate Certificate) Certificate Online —

Supply Chain Management and Engineering, MS MS Online —

Supply Chain Management, MS MS Online —

Supply Chain Management, PhD PHD Tempe —

Supply Chain Management, MBA MBA Tempe

#3 for best business school supply chain management MBA program, ahead of The Ohio State University, Carnegie Mellon University and University of TexasAustin —

Taxation and Data Analytics, MTax

W. P. Carey MBA Full-Time Program

MTax Tempe —

MBA Tempe

W. P. Carey MBA Custom Corporate Program

#35 for best business school full-time MBA program, ahead of Pennsylvania State University-University Park, University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of Arizona

MBA Mexico City —

W. P. Carey MBA Evening Program MBA Tempe —

W. P. Carey MBA Executive Program MBA Tempe

#17 for best business school executive MBA program, ahead of Georgetown University, University of Southern California and Indiana University —

W. P. Carey MBA Fast-Track Program MBA Tempe, Online —

W. P. Carey MBA Online Programs for Veterans MBA Online

#4 for best online MBA programs for veterans, ahead of Rice University, University of Maryland College Park, University of Arizona

—

W. P. Carey MBA Part-Time Program

W. P. Carey MBA Shanghai Program

MBA Tempe #33 for best business school part-time MBA program, ahead of University of Colorado-Boulder, University of Arizona and University of California, San Diego —

MBA Tempe

W. P. Carey MBA Online Program MBA Online

#7 for best online MBA programs, ahead of University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, University of Arizona and Rice University —

BUSINESS

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Undergraduate Minors and Certificates

Graduate Certificates

Applied Business Data Analytics

Professional Sales

Real Estate

Certificate Tempe

Real Estate

Supply Chain Management

Minor Tempe

Certificate

Certificate Tempe, Online

Business Minor Tempe, Online

Digital Business Innovation Certificate Tempe

Entrepreneurship and Innovation Certificate Tempe

Food Industry Management and Marketing Certificate Polytechnic

Online

Risk Management Certificate Polytechnic

Sales and Marketing Essentials Certificate Tempe

Small Business and Entrepreneurship Certificate Tempe

Sports Business Certificate Tempe

International Business Studies Certificate Tempe

Leadership in Business Certificate Polytechnic, Tempe, West

BUSINESS

A S U A R I ZO N A I M PACT

Arizona impact W. P. Carey transforms Arizona through access, excellence and innovation in business knowledge. The school sparks positive change in business and society by educating students and growing talent to enrich and lead organizations, producing groundbreaking and impactful research and engaging actively with business, government and communities. Valuing excellence, integrity, impact and community, W. P. Carey is a catalyst for economic growth and resilience for the state of Arizona.

W . P. C A R E Y

W. P. Carey Arizona positioning

We focus on building sustainable highvalue relationships among students, faculty, business and our community. We recruit top faculty from around the globe to teach, mentor and conduct research in and for Arizona. We work with corporate partners to develop and execute successful research and recruiting strategies that support their thriving businesses. 100+

years of partnership with the Arizona business community

107

Arizona- based employer partners

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Top 25

in the U.S. 29 programs and disciplines highly ranked, more than

University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University – U.S. News & World Report, 2023/2024

120 Arizona media mentions of W. P. Carey experts in 2022

Highestranked MBA in Arizona, ahead of University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University – U.S. News & World Report, 2023

Largest MBA enrollment in Arizona, ahead of University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University – U.S. News & World Report, 2023

19,814 total students, more than University of Arizona and University of Texas at Austin

38%

of students from underrepresented populations

16% of firstyear students

are the first in their family to attend college

77%

of undergraduates accepted a job offer with an average starting salary of $56,404

5,276

degrees conferred in 2022

63,500+ alumni

living in Arizona

35%

increase

of undergratuate student population in just 5 years 2017 -2022

165

National Merit Scholars

156

tenure or tenure-track faculty

850+

peer-reviewed articles published between 2018-2022

More than $16M in research expenditures in 2021

W . P. C A R E Y

A S U A R I ZO N A I M PACT

In the media W . P. C A R E Y

PUBLISHED

HousingWire, April 14, 2023

Learn more at housingwire.com/articles/opinion-who-decides-what-american-neighborhoods-look-like/ 52

A S U A R I ZO N A I M PACT

PUBLISHED

Entrepreneur, April 24, 2023

Learn more at entrepreneur.com/leadership/is-your-leadership-style-like-steve-jobs-or-elon-musk/448821 W . P. C A R E Y

A S U A R I ZO N A I M PACT

PUBLISHED

Harvard Business Review, April 11, 2023

Learn more at hbr.org/2023/04/how-your-physical-surroundings-shape-your-work-life W . P. C A R E Y

A S U A R I ZO N A I M PACT

PUBLISHED

Brookings, April 25, 2023

Learn more at brookings.edu/articles/weird-ai-understanding-what-nations-include-in-their-artificial-intelligence-plans/ W . P. C A R E Y

A S U A R I ZO N A I M PACT

PUBLISHED

Bloomberg, March 24, 2023

Learn more at bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-24/37-of-companies-monitor-workers-with-camera-feeds W . P. C A R E Y

A S U A R I ZO N A I M PACT

PUBLISHED

INSIGHT Into Diversity, March 14, 2023

Learn more at insightintodiversity.com/universities-strive-to-close-diversity-gaps-in-the-real-estate-industry/ W . P. C A R E Y

A S U A R I ZO N A I M PACT

PUBLISHED

The Wall Street Journal, May 27, 2023

Learn more at wsj.com/articles/customer-reviews-best-timing-31bfd8df?st=m5pmx45jgqohnbj&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink W . P. C A R E Y

A S U A R I ZO N A I M PACT

PUBLISHED

Harvard Business Review, February 21, 2023

Learn more at hbr.org/2023/02/when-is-the-best-time-to-ask-customers-for-a-review W . P. C A R E Y

A S U A R I ZO N A I M PACT

PUBLISHED

Harvard Business Review, October 20, 2022

Learn more at hbr.org/2022/10/dont-abandon-your-just-in-time-supply-chain-revamp-it W . P. C A R E Y

PUBLISHED

Marketplace (NPR), Sep 20, 2022

Learn more at marketplace.org/2022/09/20/partisan-gerrymandering-can-reduce-access-to-credit-study-finds/ 68

A S U A R I ZO N A I M PACT

PUBLISHED

Fast Company, August 18, 2022

Learn more at fastcompany.com/90780087/are-dollar-stores-the-villains-theyve-been-made-out-to-be W . P. C A R E Y

PUBLISHED

Newsweek, November 30, 2021

Learn more at newsweek.com/adaptation-could-reduce-damage-climate-driven-storms-third-opinion-1654210 70

A S U A R I ZO N A I M PACT

PUBLISHED

Fast Company, May 30, 2022

Learn more at fastcompany.com/90756025/product-returns-are-wasteful-for-companies-and-the-planet-heres-how-to-change-that W . P. C A R E Y

A S U A R I ZO N A I M PACT

PUBLISHED

The Wall Street Journal, September2, 2022

Learn more at wsj.com/articles/retailers-start-selling-something-new-logistics-services-11662112980 W . P. C A R E Y

A S U A R I ZO N A I M PACT

PUBLISHED

CNBC, May 19, 2022

Where Inflation Is Worst In The U.S.

Americans moved around a lot over the past two years, and those destinations also happen to have the highest inflation rates in the U.S. The relationship between migration and inflation has strengthened significantly as more people relocated from expensive coastal cities to more affordable metro areas, according to an analysis released by Redfin. Phoenix, Atlanta and Tampa are among the metro regions seeing both hot inflation and the pandemic’s surge of home buying. Watch the video to learn more about why migration impacts inflation, how the Bureau of Labor Statistics measures rising costs, the role of wages and what may be next for these hot spots. Learn more at youtube.com/watch?v=LTyH2J8G0TY

W . P. C A R E Y

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PUBLISHED

Los Angeles Times, October 6, 2022

Learn more at latimes.com/business/story/2022-10-06/halloween-costs-are-rising-will-that-frighten-away-haunt-fans W . P. C A R E Y

PUBLISHED

Quartz, July 13, 2021

Learn more at qz.com/work/2030744/what-happens-when-management-teams-lack-political-diversity 78

A S U A R I ZO N A I M PACT

PUBLISHED

Entrepreneur, August 2, 2021

Learn more at entrepreneur.com/science-technology/why-instacart-must-automate-to-survive/378694 W . P. C A R E Y

PUBLISHED

The Boston Globe, March 21, 2021

Learn more at bostonglobe.com/2021/03/21/opinion/divisive-demoralizing-bots-are-winning-so-big-tech-needs-think-bigger/ 80

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PUBLISHED

The Conversation, July 27, 2021

Learn more at theconversation.com/keeping-nonprofit-ceos-out-of-the-room-when-boards-decide-what-to-pay-them-yields-good-results-162981 W . P. C A R E Y

ABC News What the interest rate hike means for homebuyers Mark Stapp Executive Director, Master of Real Estate Development program, Fred E. Taylor Professor in Real Estate

BBC Why ‘rage quitting’ is all the rage Peter Hom Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship

Bloomberg In-house B-schools give firms MBAs with the skills they want Luiz Mesquita Associate Dean of Graduate Programs and Associate Professor Management and Entrepreneurship

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Brookings How the U.S. can dominate in the race to national AI supremacy Gregory Dawson Clinical Professor of Accountancy

CNBC How relocating Americans created new inflation hot spots Lee McPheters Research Professor of Economics

CNN Products on the shelves getting smaller? You can blame ‘shrinkflation’ Hitendra Chaturvedi Supply Chain Management Professor of Practice

PUBLISHED

Bloomberg News, BBC, ABC News, Brookings, CNBC, CNN, Harvard Business Review, Marketplace (NPR), The New York Times, Scientific American, Slate, 12News, Los Angeles Times, 2023

Harvard Business Review Monitoring employees makes them more likely to break rules David Welsh Assistant Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship

Marketplace (NPR) Why is there still a need for physical bank branches? Reynold Byers Clinical Professor of Supply Chain Management

The New York Times How to survive when stocks behave badly Hendrik Bessembinder Professor of Finance Francis J. and Mary B. Labriola Endowed Chair in Competitive Business

W. P. Carey in the news Scientific American An old-fashioned economic tool can tame pricing algorithms

12News Arizona gas prices are up 20 cents in a week. Experts explain why

Yuri Tserlukevich Associate Professor of Finance

Dennis Hoffman Director of the L. William Seidman Research Institute and Director of ASU’s Office of the University Economist

Slate The overlooked factor that’s keeping supply chains screwy Dale Rogers Professor & ON Semiconductor Professor of Business

Los Angeles Times Want to quit your job but can’t right now? How to cope while you plan next steps Blake Ashforth Regents’ Professor and Horace Steele Arizona Heritage Chair

W . P. C A R E Y

A S U A R I ZO N A I M PACT

PUBLISHED

BBC, August 31, 2021

Learn more at bbc.com/worklife/article/20210826-why-so-many-workers-have-lost-interest-in-their-jobs W . P. C A R E Y

A S U A R I ZO N A I M PACT

PUBLISHED

Bloomberg, November 10, 2021

Learn more at bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-11-10/business-schools-employers-create-own-mba-programs-to-get-workforce-they-want W . P. C A R E Y

A S U A R I ZO N A I M PACT

PUBLISHED

Los Angeles Times, November. 17, 2021

Learn more at latimes.com/business/story/2021-11-17/want-to-quit-job-but-cant-your-guide-to-surviving-great-resignation

W . P. C A R E Y

A S U A R I ZO N A I M PACT

PUBLISHED

Marketplace, November 18, 2021

Learn more at marketplace.org/2021/11/18/why-is-there-still-a-need-for-physical-bank-branches/ W . P. C A R E Y

A S U A R I ZO N A I M PACT

PUBLISHED

The New York Times, Jan. 25, 2022

Learn more at nytimes.com/2022/01/25/business/stocks-hold-or-sell.html W . P. C A R E Y

A S U A R I ZO N A I M PACT

PUBLISHED

Brookings, February 3, 2022

Learn more at brookings.edu/articles/how-the-u-s-can-dominate-in-the-race-to-national-ai-supremacy/ W . P. C A R E Y

A S U A R I ZO N A I M PACT

PUBLISHED

Slate, March 25, 2022

Learn more at slate.com/technology/2022/03/supply-chains-climate-prices-shortages-sea-level-storms-oh-my.html W . P. C A R E Y

A S U A R I ZO N A I M PACT

PUBLISHED

Scientific American, April 26, 2022

Learn more at scientificamerican.com/article/an-old-fashioned-economic-tool-can-tame-pricing-algorithms/ W . P. C A R E Y

100

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PUBLISHED

CNBC, May 19, 2022

Learn more at cnbc.com/2022/05/19/how-relocating-americans-created-new-inflation-hot-spots.html W . P. C A R E Y

101

102

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PUBLISHED

ABC News, June 17, 2022

Learn more at abcnews.go.com/Business/interest-rate-hike-means-homebuyers/story?id=85386209 W . P. C A R E Y

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104

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PUBLISHED

Harvard Business Review, June 27, 2022

Learn more at hbr.org/2022/06/monitoring-employees-makes-them-more-likely-to-break-rules W . P. C A R E Y

105

106

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PUBLISHED

CNN, July 19, 2022

“I spoke with the authority on this subject, a supply chain professor at Arizona State University. He says shrinkflation is something that companies don’t want you to notice and it is based on one basic tenet, that every company lived by, they’re in the business not just to make money, but to make more money. What we’re seeing now is manufacturers quietly shrinking the size or amount in the product but not lowering the price. ” — R E P O R T E D B Y C N N C O R R E S P O N D E N T A L I S O N KO S I K Q U OT I N G H I T E N D R A C H AT U R V E D I , P R O F E S S O R O F P R A C T I C E I N S U P P LY C H A I N M A N A G E M E N T Learn more at cnn.com/videos/business/2022/07/19/shrinkflation-products-downsize-prices-inflation-newday-vpx.cnn W . P. C A R E Y

107

108

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PUBLISHED

12News, September 27, 2022

Learn more at 12news.com/article/news/local/arizona/arizona-gas-prices-are-up-20-cents-in-a-week/75-5da2149d-558e-4de1-94b7-042e7847c77a W . P. C A R E Y

109

Microelec robo tec 110

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ctronics, otics and chnology W . P. C A R E Y

111

Last spring, two of the world’s largest chipmakers, Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), announced plans to spend a combined $32 billion building three semiconductor fabrication plants in the Phoenix region.

112

A S U A R I ZO N A I M PACT

PUBLISHED

W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2022

Silicon Valley Southwest Business and Engineering Schools partner to create a workforce powerhouse effect for growing industry Arizona is poised to be at the epicenter of the American semiconductor revolution, with ASU playing a starring role. Last spring, two of the world’s largest chipmakers, Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), announced plans to spend a combined $32 billion building three semiconductor fabrication plants in the Phoenix region. TSMC purchased enough land to possibly build five more fabs, which would invest billions of dollars more. “Every electronics manufacturing job in Arizona accounts for another five or so jobs in vendors and suppliers,” says Dennis Hoffman, a professor of economics and director of the L. William Seidman Research Institute. “It’s a valuable asset for the state’s economy.” Visit wpcarey.asu.edu/aznext to learn about W. P. Carey’s collaboration with the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering and New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, which brings together employers, workforce development networks, economic development organizations, and industry partnerships to create a workforce ecosystem to boost the talent pipeline in advanced manufacturing roles.

W . P. C A R E Y

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“We want this program to be a community resource for Arizona employers and citizens.” — R A G H U S A N TA H A M , S E N I O R A S S O C I AT E D E A N F O R E X E C U T I V E E D U C AT I O N , C O R P O R AT E PA R T N E R S H I P S , A N D L I F E L O N G L E A R N I N G , O N THE GOAL OF THE A ZNE X T PROGR AM .

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PUBLISHED

W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2022

AZ Next public-private partnerships strengthen the talent pipelines and power economic development A growing need for skilled workers in fields such as IT, cybersecurity, and advanced manufacturing has left employers scrambling in recent years. But thanks to AZNext — an innovative program launched with a grant in partnership with the W. P. Carey School, the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, the New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, and more than 50 industry partners, nonprofits, and others — help is on the way. Through boot camps, apprenticeships, certification programs, and other approaches, the schools work together to provide accelerated, practical education that leads to well-paying jobs, often for underrepresented groups. The grant will support 2,000 people over four years, says program executive director Raghu Santanam, who is also the senior

associate dean for executive education, corporate partnerships, and lifelong learning. If the program is as successful as Santanam hopes, the next four years will just be the beginning. “The idea is to make this sustainable beyond the four years of the grant,” he says. “We want this program to be a community resource for Arizona employers and citizens.”

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Research by Raghu Santanam, Professor and Chair of Information Systems (left) and Victor Benjamin, Assistant Professor of Information Systems

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W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2019

Man vs. Machines Research aims to nix bot content online People have been battling robots for decades in the movies and, with the proliferation of “bots” online, we’re now fighting them for real. Scholars estimate that as much as 8 percent of content on social media platforms comes from bots. Among Facebook’s 2.27 billion active users, that 8 percent would equal 178 million nonhuman accounts. If those code-created Facebook posters were the citizens of a nation, they would make up the fifth largest country in the world. Those 178 million bots would outnumber the populations of France, Italy, and Spain combined. Over the past two years, bot interference has earned enough media attention that users are becoming a little savvier about identifying them, says Assistant Professor of Information Systems Victor Benjamin. That’s why he teamed up with his departmental colleague Professor and Chair of Information Systems Raghu Santanam to see if users can help platform owners detect bot activity online. Using analysis based partially on user reactions to bots, the researchers uncovered an approach that holds promise for faster and more accurate bot detection. I, ROBOT What, exactly are bots? “In the Reddit space or on Facebook or Instagram, bots are virtual robots,” says Santanam. “They’re programs that are designed to react in a certain way based on the stimulus they receive, and the stimulus, in this case, would be social media interactions.” He adds that social bots have been used for multiple reasons. In politics, they may spread false news or propaganda designed to exaggerate existing biases. “They increase the polarization,” he says. Bots also have been used to sway policy. When the Federal Communications Commission invited public comment on plans to repeal net neutrality protections, bots chimed in, generally with comments in support of the repeal. Eric Schneiderman, New York’s attorney

general at the time, estimated that hundreds of thousands of stolen identities masked the bots. “There were comments being made by dead people, which is a huge tell that names were stolen to propagate fake comments,” Benjamin says. Bots also have been used in advertising campaigns to simulate interest in products or messages, falsify online “likes” and “votes,” as well as swell the ranks of followers some famous person can boast, which means advertisers may be paying more than they should for celebrity endorsements. In addition, bots are used to lure unsuspecting social media users to scams. “Often the phishing schemes we see are asking for donations to a cause, but the actual donation page is not legitimate,” Benjamin notes. “Or bots spread hyperlinks leading users to pages with malware” that empowers hackers to steal data. Or topic persistence will flag bot interference. “If there is a six-month-old account and it only posts about one topic, that’s suspicious,” he continues. Along with topic and message similarity, the researchers evaluated user comments identifying bots, as well as the confidence levels expressed by the users. “If someone says, ‘I think maybe I have found a bot,’ that’s a very different confidence level than someone saying, ‘I know for sure this post is from a bot,’” Benjamin explains. He adds that the researchers also have been trying to evaluate the influence of bots. The scholars use “thumbs up” and “thumbs down” votes on comments — what Reddit calls a posting’s karma — as one signifier. They also look at how many comments a bot posting receives. “In this study, we’re measuring how influential the bot was in generating interaction with humans,” Benjamin says. “We’re helping platform owners take full benefit of how humans react to the type of messages that bots send out,” Santanam says. “The more you are able to leverage human intelligence, the better you get at detecting bots before they create too much damage.” — Betsy Loeff W . P. C A R E Y

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The Robodevils student group collected data on the Starship food delivery robots at ASU and how they interact with humans. Student researchers are taking videos and notes to see how the robots are impacting pedestrian and vehicular traffic around the ASU Tempe campus.

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W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2022

Crossdisciplinary research fuels big ideas in robotics Collaborative robotics — the integration of robots into society — offers tantalizing possibilities in areas ranging from health care to food delivery. But turning those big ideas into reality requires more than just great tech. It also demands that tech bends to business realities. That’s where cross-disciplinary research, like that done in the Robodevils student group, can make an impact. In the group, engineering and business students work together to research topics linked to robotic food delivery and robotic cleaning systems. “It’s an effort to lower the barrier to entry into robotic development by introducing it in a business mindset,” says Kylel Scott (BS Engineering/Robotics ’21), an Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering graduate student who helped launch the group. Victor Benjamin, assistant professor of information systems, says the collaborative work of the group is both promising and distinctive. “When we look at academia, very few business schools have shifted focus to this topic. We’re one of the first.” More interdisciplinary research: W. P. Carey faculty and students also build bridges between business and colleagues across ASU and around the nation in the fields of computing, health, mathematical and statistical science, sustainability, and environmental science. Here are a few working research papers that amplify W. P. Carey’s collective efforts to address society’s most pressing problems: • “Secure Traceability in the Food Supply Chain Using Cell Phone Readable Dendritic Identifiers” • “Exploring the Scale, Scope, and New Supply Chain Linkages in the Local Food Sector” • “Integrating Experiential Learning Into a Food Systems Framework: An Application To Promote Food Deserts and Food Access Concepts Among College Students” • “Drivers of Small-Scale Urban Agriculture: Growing Produce at Home and in Community Gardens”

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“The lie is that we have to know everything and do everything for ourselves. When I’m hiring these incredible artists, it’s because they do things I can’t do.” — RAMI KALLA

Rami Kalla, BS Business Management, BA Spanish ’99

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W. P. Carey magazine, Autumn 2022

Bringing the Future to the Present: Anticipating VR applications and what’s next Ever since he saw the movie of H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine when he was a kid, ASU grad Rami Kalla (BS Business Management/BA Spanish ’99) has been into time travel. He glimpsed the future himself one day in 2016 when he was building a new home. “They give you these tiny samples of your counters and your floors and your cabinets and they say, ‘Imagine what your house is going to look like.’ I thought, why should you have to imagine it? Why can’t I see how it would look?” As founder of the Tempe, Arizona-based video production studio Point in Time, Kalla was aware of the potential of virtual reality (VR), and decided to apply it on behalf of the homebuilding industry so that customers like him could see what they were getting in advance. Unfortunately, the construction sector wasn’t ready for his future-minded idea. But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and companies were looking for virtual solutions to virtually everything, his company was well-positioned to meet the demand. “We’ve gotten to do some cool projects,” says Kalla. Since its founding 20 years ago, the company has grown steadily, serving such national and international clients as Ford, McDonald’s, and PetSmart. Plus, Point in Time enabled ASU’s Thunderbird School of Global Management’s graduation to be conducted in virtual space. “We created the entire campus in virtual reality,” says Kalla. “We then shot the whole graduation in green screen,” which allows for compositing different images and video streams in video production. In the case of the Thunderbird graduation ceremony, “We used the green screen to place the dean inside the global room where the ceremony was held, virtually.” W . P. C A R E Y

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They also beamed in keynote speakers, including ASU President Michael Crow. Students, meanwhile, were represented by robots who received the degrees on their behalf while the students’ faces appeared on the robot’s screen. Featured speakers even spoke through the robots. LIFE AND DEATH TRAINING IN VIRTUAL REALITY But the technology isn’t just for show. Kalla’s company also recently completed police training in VR for the use of the Axon taser. With VR, they were able to design experiences that put police into realistic domestic violence scenarios, which are considered some of the toughest to navigate. “They got to see the impact of their choices play out,” says Kalla. The stakes could not have been higher. “Make the right choice and no one gets hurt; make the wrong choice and someone could lose their life,” Kalla explains. “It brings home the importance of getting it right.” Kalla first got turned on to the power of technology and storytelling as a kid when his father took him to the Studio Tour at Universal Studios in Burbank, California. “They took us to a sound stage and showed us how parts of the movie Back to the Future were made,” he says. Being a fan of time travel already, Kalla was hooked. “I fell in love with filmmaking, with the magic and fantasy of it. I started making films and writing scripts, I was known in the neighborhood as the film kid.” He named his business Point in Time to emphasize the power of storytelling to capture moments in time using digital media. LEARNING TO LEAD Kalla points to a key realization he believes has driven his success. “Focus on your team. When I realized it wasn’t all about me, that’s when things started to happen,” he says. “The lie is that we have to know everything and do everything for ourselves. When I’m hiring these incredible artists, it’s because they do things I can’t do.” Kalla sees his role as enabling talented people to do great work on behalf of their clients, which is what excites him. “They give me the energy to go for more, to create a place where artists can thrive.” 122

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It was at ASU that Kalla first discovered his instinct and appetite for leadership. He joined the Golden Key National Honors Society, then ran for a position on the board and became vice president. But when the president had a car accident, Kalla had to take over. “I found out I enjoyed the leadership,” he says. “I loved being in charge and bringing people together to accomplish things.” He graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in business management and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish. and an undergraduate degree in Spanish. His Spanish studies took him to Spain one summer, where he lived in a small town called Almunecar, outside of Málaga. “It opened my eyes to the world,” says Kalla. “I was 19 at the time and I met some incredible people. Plus, it was fun watching The Dukes of Hazzard in Spanish.” (The Dukes of Hazzard is an American action-comedy television series that aired on CBS from 1979 to 1985.) Kalla also credits hands-on practical classes in business where he learned to write a business plan, including tools like SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analyses and five-year projections. “I pulled out my accounting notes multiple times when I was getting started,” he says. MAKING TIME FOR MINDFULNESS Kalla is married and has four kids between the ages of 23 and 3. He credits his wife, Lauren, who works as a cardiology radiology technician, for supporting his success. “It’s about your partner,” he says. “Pick someone who understands where you’re going.” For those seeking that elusive life balance between work and family, Kalla offers an interesting additional consideration: “Make sure to have something separate from both work and family.” For Kalla, this is Brazilian jiujitsu. “I started because I was bullied as a kid, but then I fell in love with the art.” He holds a purple belt in jiujitsu and a black belt in Chinese kenpo, a form of karate. He finds it to be an excellent source of fitness. “I’m in better shape at 44 than I was at 34.” But it’s also a break from business as usual. “When some guy is trying to choke you on the mat, it gets you out of your head quick.” Kalla also follows a morning routine that helps him set a more mindful course for the day. “Don’t just start

right in with reading your emails,” he advises. “I do yoga for 10–20 minutes, then I do a 10-minute meditation. This way I plan my day before I start my day, and I’m ready no matter what comes at me.” PICTURING THE INNOVATION AHEAD While his company is at the forefront of VR application in video production today, Kalla knows more advancement is on the way. He sees VR capabilities and immersive technologies becoming more personalized. One example of this will be Apple Glass, which will show information and video on the lens of glasses. This will free users from having to look down at their phones because the information will already be in front of their eyes. “Pretty soon your smartphone will be a dinosaur,” says Kalla. But, again, that’s just the beginning. Kalla is a big fan of the futurist Ray Kurzweil, whose book The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology, about the exponential growth of technology, has greatly influenced his thinking about the changes we’re seeing today. “Some of it can sound a little scary,” he says, “like machines that are smarter than us, but it’s exciting, too, because of what we’ll be able to do.” But the advancement of technology is undeniable. “When I started my company, you shot film,” recalls Kalla. “Or you could shoot video, which was not great in terms of quality. Then HD came out and quickly got to be affordable. Then it was 4K. Now it’s 8K. And that’s just in the past 20 years. So we are in for a wild ride.” — Joe Bardin W . P. C A R E Y

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“A robot designed with more humanlike features and mannerisms — and therefore perceived to be more like a person — would be viewed as having more warmth and competence.” — A M Y O S T R O M , D E PA R T M E N T O F M A R K E T I N G C H A I R A N D PETSMART CHAIR IN SERVICE LEADERSHIP

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W. P. Carey magazine, Autumn 2017

Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto With technology’s increasing role in daily lives, W. P. Carey Department of Marketing Chair and PetSmart Chair in Service Leadership Amy Ostrom wanted to understand how service robots might positively influence customers’ frontline experiences in the future. When Styx’s “Mr. Roboto” debuted in the early ’80s, the song hinted at a future filled with humanoid robotics. Fast forward three decades and the tune rings prophetic. At the Henn-na Hotel in Japan, robots operate the check-in desk without human assistance. At the Los Angeles Residence Inn, a robot bellhop named Wally delivers bottled water, towels, and other amenities to guests’ doors. Robot airport check-in assistants weigh luggage and carry it for travelers. Health care facilities use robots to assist with the transfer of patients from their beds. Even some Lowe’s Home Improvement stores feature the LoweBot, which helps consumers locate products while also managing shelf inventory for the retail giant. “These technologies are coming — or in some cases already are here,” says Ostrom. Business Insider states that the global market for robots functioning in consumer and office applications is estimated to grow exponentially to $1.5 billion in American dollars by 2019. “It, therefore, continues to be important for companies to think about what robotics mean to the customer,” Ostrom says. In a conceptual paper published in the Journal of Service Research, Ostrom and co-authors Jenny van Doorn, Martin Mende, Stephanie Noble, John Hulland, Dhruv Grewal, and J. Andrew Petersen analyzed existing research about technologies that employ social robotics and other interactive interfaces. The team was interested in understanding service outcomes — satisfaction, loyalty, repatronage, engagement, well-being — when customers perceive robots as having a high automated social presence, i.e. when they appear more social and human in nature. Ostrom believes that today’s daily technological interactions are paving the way for greater acceptance of humanoid robots. “Many already have this entity they’re talking to every day in their house — Alexa or Cortana or Siri — and asking questions. It is woven into their daily experience already. Taking it from there to a mobile robot you’re talking to — the leap doesn’t seem so far.” W . P. C A R E Y

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“Making decisions is so important. It could lead to a different path in caring for older people and a better quality of life.” — JEFFREY WILSON, JEFFREY WILSON, P R O F E S S O R , D E PA R T M E N T O F ECONOMICS

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W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2021

A new research model bears fruit

Jeffrey Wilson dives into statistics to uncover insights into treatment options for Alzheimer’s and other diseases Confusing research study conclusions are common, and it’s not always because subsequent studies come to different conclusions. Sometimes data from the original study could have revealed more nuanced or even totally different conclusions, but we don’t learn about them because researchers don’t examine all the variables and how they relate to one another, says Jeffrey Wilson, a professor in the Department of Economics. “In research papers in biostatistics and epidemiology, too often, people ignore correlations for the ease of calculations,” Wilson says. “When you ignore correlations, you are likely to see something as significant when it is not. You may make statements that aren’t true.” Researchers may later learn their conclusions were wrong or overstated, but in the meantime, companies may develop solutions for the wrong problems. “It creates a waste of time and money when people could be looking at some other health issue,” Wilson says. To help researchers avoid this pitfall, Wilson and a few PhD students began working on a new statistical model that analyzes multiple variables and observes how they affect one another as changes occur over time. Wilson’s Generalized Method of Moments marginal regression model has been accepted by leading academic journals. Wilson found the chance to apply his model to real results when statistics graduate student Dan Xue asked for help interpreting a study Wilson had never heard of: the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Study. The investigation began in 2005 and tracked the health of 2,000 people ages 64 and older in China for at least nine years. The study is unusually rich in data, not only because it has lasted so long but also because it includes many variables that come from two separate methods of acquiring information.

In one method, researchers measured input variables: They asked participants health-related interview questions and reported their answers. Questions ranged from the number of vegetables the participants consumed to how much they exercised, and whether they could move about without help and make decisions. In the other method, researchers measured response variables, observing participants as they performed physical tasks. Could they move about freely? Could they reach down and pick up a book from the floor? The same people were studied in these same two ways, year in and year out. That created a host of possibilities for examining the results. Each input variable could be correlated with not only all the other input variables but also each response variable. Participants’ health habits and physical abilities changed over time, and each change produced new correlations to study. Making sense of this much information would be a daunting task for most researchers. “But I have a model that can analyze it,” Wilson says. Working with Xue, now a business analyst at Equality Health, and graduate student Elsa Vazquez-Arreola, now a statistician at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health, Wilson applied his model to the Chinese study results from 2005 to 2014. They learned many things that could be useful to older adults and elder-care providers. For example, eating lots of vegetables positively affected health, but only for those who did so in the early stages of old age. Having the ability to make decisions also correlated with better health for younger seniors. Being able to move about without assistance was consistent with better health outcomes across all age groups over all time periods.

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W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2022

Coronavirus testing goes mobile in Arizona David Bocchino (MS-BA ’15) had hit rock bottom. On an early June day last year, he was ordered by his boss in Texas to close the offshoot COVID-19 testing business he had forged in Arizona and come back. The pandemic had waned, and the economics could no longer support the expansion. But Bocchino wasn’t ready to quit. He went out on his own, deciding to ditch any physical locations and bring the testing to those in need across metropolitan Phoenix. He answered every call on his cellphone, did every test, and worked 14-hour days seven days a week. Then came the Delta variant. Then, Omicron dominated. The 35-year-old hasn’t looked back. “I guess you can say that being told to shut down the business was the best thing for the business,” says Bocchino, owner and founder of RX Rapid Testing in Arizona. It wasn’t the way it was envisioned when a recently unemployed Bocchino started in the business, finding out that friends were looking for people to work at pop-up testing sites fashioned from storage units that were plunked down on roadside spots in Texas. The idea was to grab some holiday cash and move on to the “next great idea.” A few weeks later, he and another person did $10,000 in tests in a single day at a single location. “That was the moment when I thought, ‘Wow, this is a good idea,’ ” he says. Bocchino says he did so well he was offered the opportunity to go off on his own, wherever he wanted. There was never a doubt: He chose the place where he received his master’s degree, making the journey in his 2010 Acura packed with one suitcase, about 400

He says a key has been to quickly adapt to changing conditions in these times of COVID-19, following the motto in business and life to “make it as easy as possible for the other person to say yes.”

COVID-19 tests and high hopes for a profitable future. He soon landed the lease for his first testing site after contacting a commercial real estate agent with a hastily prepared proposal. A deal was struck, and he was on his way. Arizona had what his business model needed — a large population, great climate, and a large influx of travelers to attend events such as the Phoenix Open and spring training games. Not to mention Canadians with second homes in Arizona. Bocchino, who now has five employees, says he built the fledgling business from scratch, from creating Google ads to developing a clean, easy-to-use website, to branding and marketing, all while keeping a close eye on the competition. At one time, he had two locations before going to strictly mobile testing. He says a key has been to quickly adapt to changing conditions in these times of COVID-19, following the motto in business and life to “make it as easy as possible for the other person to say yes.” Good customer service is a mainstay. From the start, Bocchino’s formula for success has been about availability and speed. “People don’t have time to waste,” says Bocchino, who charges $100–$300, depending on the test. “I can book an appointment within two hours and provide an answer in 20 minutes. It’s a niche in the market that people need and seek out. “The rewarding part for me is that a year ago, I was testing in a pod for $18 an hour and now I own the company.” W . P. C A R E Y

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Homero Sosa (BS Management/Supply Chain Management ’17) and Gilberto Sosa (BS Management/Supply Chain Management ’17)

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W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2018

When brotherly love goes above and beyond They grew up together. They attended community college together and mopped floors to pay for it. They founded a charity together, transferred to ASU together, and in December 2017, identical twins Homero Sosa (BS Management/Supply Chain Management ’17) and Gilberto Sosa (BS Management/ Supply Chain Management ’17) graduated together, both of them winning the Turken Family Outstanding Senior Award. Usually, the award goes to one person, but the Sosa twins’ accomplishments are so outstanding, their lives and projects so intertwined, that it was impossible not to give the award to both.

Humble beginnings College was anything but a given for the twins when, at age 11, they moved with their parents from a small town in Chihuahua, Mexico, to Arizona. Their parents’ visas expired, but they decided to stay. Even as children, the Sosa twins knew what that meant. “It was scary to go outside. I thought the police might take one of my brothers or my family,” Gilberto says. After graduating from high school, the twins, undocumented immigrants themselves, worked under the table at odd jobs, cleaning restaurant floors and working at a bowling alley, a warehouse, a golf course — whatever they could find. After a couple of years, the twins had finally saved enough to attend community college, but every semester they struggled to pay the out-of-state tuition they owed as nonresidents. At one point, they just couldn’t do it. A school counselor noticed their plight and held community fundraisers to help them.

The Sosas never forgot it. They saw many other students in the same boat as themselves, and even in their limited circumstances, decided they had to help. While working and attending school, they founded Voices United to help struggling students with expenses, holding car washes and dances to raise money. “Every penny went to scholarships for students,” Gilberto says. The twins transferred to ASU, majoring in management and supply chain management and racking up stellar grades, while keeping up with Voices United and getting involved in volunteer work on and off campus. Homero co-founded the Biomedical 3-D Printing Club, partnering with the Rochester Institute of Technology and Google to print out nextgeneration prosthetic arms and legs for patients who had lost limbs. Gilberto worked as a night manager at an alcohol and drug rehabilitation center. Both helped support their parents with money they earned from their jobs. In an internship At Microsoft, Gilberto found a way to save $1 million in the production and distribution of laptops, while Homero worked with senior managers to develop an innovative project management tool. At Avnet, Homero helped a $17-million client improve logistics. At Abbott Laboratories, Gilberto did statistical analysis to eliminate waste in baby formula production, saving the company nearly $2 million. Though they may now live in separate cities, the twins have the same long-term agenda: Work for a few years, get an MBA, build a career, and give back to the community by doing something that has a positive impact on people’s lives. Square-Full

Homero Sosa co-founded the Biomedical 3-D Printing Club, partnering with the Rochester Institute of Technology and Google to print out next-generation prosthetic arms and legs for patients who had lost limbs.

Gilberto Sosa found a way to save $1 million at Microsoft in the production and distribution of laptops.

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Katie Cormier will graduate from the W. P. Carey School of Business with a master’s degree in business administration this spring.

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ASU News, April 24, 2023

W. P. Carey grad on the importance of talking about mental health As an Arizona native born and raised in Mesa, Katie Cormier’s roots in the city made ASU an easy choice for higher education. A passion for networking and communications inspired her to continue into the ASU Online MBA program after completing a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies. Throughout her life and an academic journey, Katie has continued to be intrigued by her interpersonal connections and influences. Whether seeking advice from professors and mentors or chatting with her siblings, she finds comfort in community and learning about others. “In my undergraduate communications course, a teacher explained the psychological reason why sitting at certain spots around a desk fostered more collaboration. I was fascinated by human behavior and the traits you could expand and develop to be an effective leader,” Cormier said. In addition to learning about leadership qualities and how psychological principles affect team-based environments, Katie is passionate about conversations regarding mental health and overall wellness. Though emotional well-being has been at the forefront of public discourse lately, but often tangible examples of practical tools and approaches are not part of that discussion. She hopes to encourage these conversations and lean into personal experiences to build connection and a safe space for ongoing discussion.To wind down

and prioritize her mental health while completing her degree, Katie enjoys painting, crochet and spending time with her two children and husband. This spring, Cormier will graduate from W. P. Carey School of Business with a Master in Business Administration, in addition to a diploma notation and Master’s Distinguished Medallion for graduating with a cumulative 4.0 GPA. In this conversation, she shares more about her academic journey and plans for the future. Question: What’s something you learned while at ASU — in the classroom or otherwise — that surprised you or changed your perspective? Answer: My ethics course expanded my view of people from different backgrounds and the experiences they encounter. Q: Why did you choose ASU? A: My older sister and I attended undergrad together at the same time. She earned her V.D. from Midwestern and now works at ASU as a clinical veterinarian in training and research. My husband is also a graduate of ASU. I hope one day my kids will graduate from ASU. Q: Which professor taught you the most important lesson while at ASU? A: Professor (Reynold) Byers taught me never to give up; this is an important concept that will help me professionally. His class was tough — I could never figure out the solution the first time. But when I stepped away or tried to look at the problem differently, I figured it out. When I couldn’t, Professor Byers was always willing to help. Q: What’s the best piece of advice you’d give to those still in school? A: My brother-in-law gave me the best advice when I started: Always do at least one thing daily for school. Even if it’s reading that one article or writing a discussion board post — if you maintain at least one thing daily, you will stay ahead of the work.

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Darian Hall, W. P. Carey BS Business Administration ’03

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W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2020

Self-care and Cool: Feeling Better About Getting Better For generations, men who’ve needed help with their mental health have been viewed as failures — too soft, too complicated, unable to cope with “real life.” All the more so for minorities, struggling to gain a foothold in American society. “In our community, there’s a lot of stigma around going to a therapist,” says Darian Hall (BS Business Administration ’03), who is African American. “Even talking about that was seen as weak. We had to put on this mask of being strong all the time, but that’s not real. We’re not strong all the time, and it’s OK to express that.” This awareness is part of what drove Hall and business partner Elisa Shankle to found HealHaus, a wellness center, café, and community gathering place in the Bedford–Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. Hall calls it a “one-stop shop for all things wellness and self-care for mind, body, and spirit.” HealHaus offers everything from yoga and meditation to psychotherapy and beyond. Its mission is to make these treatments and activities accessible to people who traditionally haven’t tapped into such resources by making it not just convenient but also comfortable and acceptable — or, as Hall puts it: “Essentially, we’re making it cool. “Most therapy offices feel clinical, like you must have something wrong with you to go there,” he says. “Our environment is warm and welcoming — there’s a café, there’s good music.” And perhaps most importantly for men in general and people of color, visitors to HealHaus see practitioners and participants who look like them, so they can see and feel that they belong. Hall started on the path toward creating HealHaus after meeting his father, whom he’d grown up without. He opened up to several friends about the experience and the emotions involved, which made him realize that he and his circle had never shared feelings of such depth and vulnerability. This made him want to create a space where people who typically didn’t deal with difficult feelings or mental health issues could feel comfortable, and welcome, to do so. Before he began investigating his concept, Hall hadn’t been a patron of yoga or meditation studios, and he said he didn’t see many men or people of color when he visited local studios during his research, either. So he asked himself, “How do I get a guy like me to feel welcome and to stay long enough to understand what’s here for him?”

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The HealHaus wellness bar serves curated teas, smoothies, and elixirs, as well as an assortment of tasty vegan and gluten-free baked goods for sale daily.

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BALANCING INNOVATION WITH EXPECTATION As an innovative brand, HealHaus must strike a balance between the new and necessary and what its audience is already acquainted with. “We’re taking what’s more familiar to people — like the café, or yoga —and building on that,” says Hall. “It’s almost like spoonfeeding people: We start you on a smoothie, and then we educate you on CBD, tinctures we offer, meditation. It shouldn’t be this thing, but it speaks to how lacking this is in our society.” As a black man, Hall believes that he’s ideally positioned to identify, understand, and address this gap in the marketplace. “I have the lens to see people are being left out. I don’t want anyone to feel excluded, because I know what it feels like. It’s natural for me to ask, ‘How do I make it more comfortable?’ — not just for black people but for anyone who has been left out of this conversation.” ‘I KNOW PEOPLE NEED WHAT WE’RE DOING’ After 18 months, business is booming at HealHaus: The 14 on-site therapists are almost entirely booked up, and the company will be adding more. Hall and Shankle are looking to open a Los Angeles location, to launch a fully digital platform, and to offer corporate wellness programs both at the office and at corporate events. It’s a lot to take in, and Hall is doing his best not to look too far ahead. “I’m trying to be as present as I can and not get overwhelmed about the potential,” he says. It helps that since founding HealHaus, Hall has taken advantage of the meditation classes and receives an occasional massage. But he says he was always in it to do something ambitious. “Coming from a corporate job in medical sales, I was making good money, life was good,” he says. “For me to leave that, to cash out my 401(k), it has to be big, or why do it?” While he helps others find some measure of peace and relaxation, Hall is driven by his sense of purpose. “I’m seeing people opening up and, wow! It’s a special thing. I didn’t realize the magnitude of the need, and I feel a certain responsibility to go as hard as possible because I know people need what we’re doing.”

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“We help busy executives find time to eat better, move more, and conquer stress without spending hours in the gym or learning how to cook elaborate meals that are good for them.” — AMY NELSON

Amy Nelson, W. P. Carey BS Accountancy ‘92, MBA ‘02

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W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2019

From Corporate Nest to Wellness Startup Amy Nelson (BS Accountancy ’92, MBA ’02) says she can thank a company colleague for a career rebirth that saw her exit the high-stress corporate world as a top-level executive for a better pursuit. Nelson, former vice president for finance at Iridium, says the long days of work and travel had begun to impact her mentally and physically. She could see the need to change staring her in the face daily, not to mention the additional 15 or so pounds that really didn’t need to be there. “When you’re working so hard and eating out of a vending machine, it all adds up,” says Nelson, whose scoliosis back pain had begun flaring. “That on top of all the stress can really mess with people. It sure did with me.” Then her friend walked into Nelson’s office proposing she try a home workout and nutrition program to better cope. She says the regime “saved my sanity” and caused her to rethink life a bit. Two years later, Nelson left the corporate nest and started an online company aimed at coaching her business brethren on how to manage stress and strike a healthier balance between life and work demands. She started slowly filling up her client roster with friends, family, and former colleagues. Nelson coached and held them accountable. She co-founded ExecLevel Wellness in 2016 with her husband, Randy, a former ASU research professor, who has a doctorate in chemistry from the university.

She says the goal is simple: the focus on nutrition and fitness and how that can make a person a better leader and age more gracefully. “We help busy executives find time to eat better, move more, and conquer stress without spending hours in the gym or learning how to cook elaborate meals that are good for them,” says Nelson, a member of the W. P. Carey Alumni Council. She acknowledges that her new career is far removed from her earlier days in school and business, where she found comfort in the black-and-white nature of numbers. Now, her world is all about people. Nelson says she and her husband have big plans for the future of the business, which she still describes as a startup. But Nelson quickly adds that any stress of building this business does not compare to what she left. Her advice to others? You might want to dip your toes in the waters of change instead of dropping in both feet at the same time. “If you have something you’re passionate about, do your research and start slow,” Nelson advises. “That way you can see if you like it and get some of the benefits without immediately changing careers completely.” And there’s another twist. She advises people to “work out of your comfort zone. It’s kind of boring if you don’t.”

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“ People must have a vision for their lives and a mission to focus on the things that bring fulfillment and satisfaction. Once clarity is achieved, a person can better decide about things that do or do not align with their life.” — ERNEST SEARS

Ernest Sears, W. P. Carey MBA ’02

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W. P. Carey magazine, Autumn 2019

Hit Reset Alum shares how to simplify life

To summon the right people, activities, and passions in life, you need to declutter — and that doesn’t mean doing the KonMari method. In this case, it means disconnecting from unhealthy relationships and quitting bad habits such as self-sabotaging behaviors and meaningless rituals, says Ernest Sears (MBA ’02), author of “Detox Your Circle, Activate Your Destiny.” Sears, a lifestyle design consultant and relationship strategy coach for SOS Consulting in Phoenix, wrote the book after reaching a turning point and crisis of meaning in his life. “It’s a process to move from inspiration to manifestation. There are pitfalls along the way that we must be able to either circumnavigate or deactivate,” says Sears, who retired from corporate leadership in 2016. “This is where I use the 13 toxic red flags to help readers stay vigilant about what might show up on the horizon at any time. It is always better to have an idea of what might be coming your way and how to prevent these negative energies from hijacking your destiny.” Published by Balboa Press this year, “Detox Your Circle” relies on the idea that people are overwhelmed and distracted by a myriad of choices. The book helps readers focus on what really matters and demonstrates how decluttering can trigger clarity and resonance. “People must have a vision for their lives and a mission to focus on the things that bring fulfillment and satisfaction,” says Sears. “Once clarity is achieved, a person can better decide about things that do or do not align with their life.” “Detox Your Circle” is similar to prescriptive nonfiction in the style of Daniel H. Pink (“When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing”), Seth Godin (“Linchpin”), and Michael Hyatt (“Your Best Year Ever”), offering practical tools for simplifying a life that has become far too complicated. “When we detox our Rolodex, our true nature and essence attract more of who we are. What ensues is a resonance that sets the tone and cosmic parameters for fulfilling destiny,” Sears says. He puts into practice what he wrote in his book, as a devoted father to two adult, college-educated daughters, Judge Elaissia Sears (BA Global Studies ’17), who’s the justice of the peace for West Mesa Justice Court; Kiersten Sears, who owns Dogs by Design grooming company in Show Low, Arizona; and life partner to Kiana Maria Storey-Sears, who works at ASU as assistant director of faith outreach. During his 22-year management career, Sears worked in C-level roles, winning numerous awards for coaching expertise and creating winning cultures.

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“Higher levels of self-efficacy mean people feel empowered in their weight-management capabilities.” — T O N G X I N Z H O U , A S S I S TA N T P R O F E S S O R O F I N F O R M AT I O N S Y S T E M S

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W. P. Carey magazine, Autumn 2022

What works with online weight-management platforms According to the Centers for Disease Control, some 42% of people in the U.S. were at an unhealthy weight in 2018. “Weight management is one of the most popular topics in many online health care communities,” says Tongxin Zhou, assistant professor of information systems. It’s also lucrative, the reason countless online platforms exist to help people who diet find information and digitally track weight-management efforts. Which activities help site users the most? Zhou and her colleagues, Lu Yan at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University and Yingfei Wang and Yong Tan at the University of Washington Foster School of Business, conducted research using data from an online weightmanagement platform and found that people who are successful at dieting do more than track what they weigh. They also pay attention to the activities that make weight management possible. “Health management involves a lot of behavior change,” Zhou says. “If you think about how people achieve weight loss, they often need to record their calorie intake and expenditures and put restrictions on their routines.” Making such changes requires self-efficacy, a belief in your ability to take the steps that shed the pounds. As Zhou and her colleagues noted in a write-up of their study, people often quit keeping that food diary and tracking exercise routines. It has been neglected by researchers, too, Zhou says. Previous studies of what works in online weight-loss platforms didn’t simultaneously examine both behaviors that affect weight management efforts: tracking weight and weight-loss activities. Zhou and her colleagues looked at both behaviors. “We found that individuals who participate in both types

of monitoring activities have higher self-efficacy levels,” she says. “Higher levels of self-efficacy mean people feel empowered in their weight-management capabilities. They are more motivated to maintain weight-loss activities.” Posting on the social media platform associated with the weight-management site also affects dieters. The research team found dieters in a high state of self-efficacy tend to stay in a good space longer when they participate in social activities online, while dieters in a low self-efficacy state may transition to a medium level more quickly. However, the study also found that social media components of online weight-loss platforms have similar pitfalls to social media in general. “On one hand, if you receive support from others, it may improve your mental well-being,” Zhou says. “On the other hand, if you observe others doing a great job and you’re not, there will be some negative feelings.” — Betsy Loeff

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Real infrast

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“We saw a need for a flexible, convenient program to provide an overview of the real estate development process for those involved in related fields and professionals who want to expand their horizons.” – M A R K S TA P P, F R E D E . TAY LO R P R O F E S S O R O F R E A L E S TAT E

Several important forward-looking political decisions have shaped the future of metro Phoenix coming out of the Great Recession and fostering billions of dollars of private investment. Two major examples include ASU’s expansion of its downtown campus and the light rail, says Mark Stapp, executive director of the Master of Real Estate Development program and the Fred E. Taylor Professor of Real Estate.

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W. P. Carey magazine, Autumn 2022

How real estate functions–across business, law, design and construction Real estate is about more than making money. It’s also about more than building things and financing or designing them. Real estate is about ethical, responsible community building. “Teaching students to be socially and environmentally responsible community builders while they learn how to make a profit and grow a community is more important than ever,” says Mark Stapp, Fred E. Taylor Professor of Real Estate. “Real estate knowledge can help solve critical affordability issues, ensure continued quality growth, and avoid another Great Recession.” The Division of Real Estate at W. P. Carey addresses the complexity of the field and its far-reaching effects on our communities and economy. The nine-month W. P. Carey Master of Real Estate Development (MRED) program offers an innovative, transdisciplinary, collaborative approach involving four ASU schools: the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, W. P. Carey, and the Del E. Webb School of Construction. Students work closely in class and on required projects. They have access to leading professional organizations and their members. They can consult with the W. P. Carey Real Estate Advisory Board and join a robust alumni network of MRED graduates working in and leading the global real estate development industry. “The real estate business is a complex web of interrelated disciplines and activities. The value in a master’s degree is learning how to manage these and equally cultivate the connections you make,” says Stapp, executive director of the MRED program. “Our faculty work on projects nationwide, and they influence major developments in one of the largest cities in the U.S., where many of our students will compete for jobs.” The graduate certificate in real estate complements non-business ASU master’s degree programs, such as architecture, construction management, and planning.

Graduates of the MRED program report a 98% satisfaction rate and have gone on to achieve significant professional success and create meaningful impact in areas including affordable housing, environment, and charter schools.

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Murphy Cheatham co-led the connection of ASU’s business school and Grambling State University in Louisiana, forming a partnership so students at GSU may join real estate development courses through ASU Sync.

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W. P. Carey magazine, Autumn 2021

Broadening opportunity in the real estate industry

Murphy Cheatham (MRED ’07) with his friend and mentor Mark Stapp (left), executive director of the Master of Real Estate Development program at ASU.

Commercial real estate broker Murphy Cheatham (MRED ’07) remembers in vivid detail the conference he attended years ago at a posh Paradise Valley, Arizona, resort when he was a master’s degree student at W. P. Carey. When he glanced around the room, he came face-to-face with a stark reality about his chosen career. “I remember looking up and it kind of put me in a weird place,” Cheatham says. “You’d think, ‘There have to be people of color here?’ But the only Black people in the room besides me were the servers.” That wouldn’t be the last time Cheatham found himself in that situation since he jumped into the real estate industry, working on development deals across Arizona, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Texas. An imposing figure at 6 foot, 6 inches, he says he has learned to overcome the subtle yet unmistakable discrimination that still looms large. Cheatham, who grew up in Oakland, California, says his interest in the real estate business started as a seventh-grader when he quizzed his father about the reasons behind where projects were located during a drive to a Golden State Warriors basketball game. He studied accounting at Grambling State University (GSU), a historically Black university in Louisiana where his parents met. Cheatham graduated in 2001, with a long list of campus activities and a paid internship at State Farm Insurance under his belt, then moved to Arizona to work at Motorola. He began his development career as a cost accountant for KB Homes, then at MODUS Development developing LEED-certified homes in the Biltmore area in central Phoenix. He also earned his real estate license and worked as a loan officer at a bank. While volunteering at the Urban Land Institute, Cheatham heard about ASU’s new Master of Real Estate Development (MRED) program and was accepted into the inaugural class. That’s where he struck up a mentoring relationship with Mark Stapp, then an advisory board member and now the program’s executive director. In March 2019, Cheatham and Stapp shared their frustrations about the lack of inclusion and opportunity within the industry. The conversations gave rise to ASU’s business school and Grambling forming a partnership that would enable students at GSU to join real estate development courses through ASU Sync, live-hosted digital classes. Cheatham, a Grambling foundation board member, helped secure the approvals at his alma mater, with Stapp working the ASU end.

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“You build a community not just of classmates but of alumni. Alumni are constantly in the classroom, and they want to give back as much as they received.” — DENISE CHRISTENSEN, MRED ’15

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W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2022

Alumni partnerships help ensure that grads thrive Denise Christensen (MRED ’15) was thrilled with her MRED experience in part because of its “beautiful partnership” with multiple schools across ASU that gives students an edge. The project manager of commercial development at University Realty, which cultivates commercial and residential real estate projects to support ASU, says the program also was valuable because alumni remain invested in it long after graduating. “You build a community not just of classmates but of alumni,” Christensen says. “Alumni are constantly in the classroom, and they want to give back as much as they received.” Christensen herself is a case in point: She participates in the MRED Alumni Chapter Board as well as ASU’s Real Estate Advisory Board. For her, it’s an easy decision to maintain that connection and support the work of the program. “As someone who has been a recipient of this mentorship,” she says, “it’s easy to want to be part of that culture and give back.”

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Sample articles fromthemoxyvoice.com, where Natasha Ozybko curates articles covering topics like leadership development, mental health, entrepreneurship, worklife balance, immigration and diversity for women in the field of infrastructure. 154

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W. P. Carey magazine, Autumn 2022

Amplifying the voices of women in infrastructure Alumna Natasha Ozybko created MOXY to inform, inspire, and empower For much of her career, Natasha Ozybko (EMBA ’22) has been one of the only women in a meeting or team. “There were so few women in my industry and leadership positions that it was difficult to navigate the corporate ladder without losing my identity,” she says. She recognized the lack of content for women in historically maledominated infrastructure sectors. “My now-business partner and I decided we were going to change that,” she says. Together with co-founder Monica Dutcher, Ozybko created MOXY: The Voice of Women in Infrastructure for women who work in sectors from highways to alternative energy, and beyond. Ozybko never planned on starting a business — especially while pursuing her Executive MBA. “My EMBA cohort and professors supported me in launching MOXY and have been with me every step of the way in creating it.” MOXY curates multilingual articles (English, Spanish, and French) covering topics such as leadership development, mental health, entrepreneurship, work-life balance, immigration, and diversity. “Our goal is to inform, empower, and inspire women in infrastructure,” Ozybko says. “We’ve been pleasantly surprised that half of our readers are men! I believe they are trying to understand our experiences, create more inclusive environments, and be better advocates.”

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Originating in Arizona, Omni Block uses age-old cinder blocks with four layers of concrete that are filled with three layers of insulation, making it energy efficient and resistant to wind, fire, sound, termites, and mold.

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W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2018

Betting on age-old cinder block

This is a caption. Denny Miller, W. P. Carey BS Management ’79

His journey to inventing a thermally efficient building system began in environments rife with open outcries, frantic hand signals, and competition. Denny Miller (BS Management ’79) played for ASU’s baseball team, and then professionally for MLB’s San Francisco Giants’ minor league before trading in the pits at the Chicago Board of Trade for more than 14 years. The focus and fast reactions he gained in these settings led him to notice something on the trading-room floor: Lumber prices tripled in six months while increasing in volatility and losing quality. The sum of these experiences led Miller to consider a material that could potentially replace wood. It had to be “easily manufactured, installed, engineered, and retain creative freedom for architectural professionals,” he explains. After multiple rounds of revisions, Miller developed an insulated concrete block, naming it Omni Block. Although Miller had a plan, a product, and the determination to get his company off the ground, he didn’t invest himself full time at first. While still employed as a trader, he commuted for 18 months between Chicago and Scottsdale, Arizona, while laying the foundation for Omni Block. “I didn’t want to move my family until I was sure the new business would succeed,” Miller says. “Most builders were interested, but all were concerned and showed resistance to change within the industry.” But those that built with Omni Block didn’t regret it. As each building using Omni Block was erected, more builders saw its potential and utility. “We have a company motto that ‘buildings beget buildings,’ meaning the more buildings that go up using Omni Block, the easier it is to show and convince others to use it,” says Miller. Today, Omni Block can be found across the U.S. in 29 states, Mexico, and Canada. Recently, the Dominican Republic and Al-Tahaluf Real Estate in Saudi Arabia partnered with Omni Block. Construction began in August 2017 on a single-family “show villa” residence in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, using Omni Block at Al-Tahaluf’s new Al Maali community. Al-Tahaluf and Omni Block also have invested in a factory to manufacture the new building system in the kingdom. This will allow Al-Tahaluf to grow its resources and assist with the creation of housing for thousands of Saudi citizens as part of the kingdom’s diversification plan, Vision 2030.

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New student-run real estate investment fund This fall, the school’s new student-run real estate investment fund will challenge participants to step into the role of portfolio manager. Students enrolled in the real estate investment trust (REIT) portfolio practicum will initially invest $500,000 of endowment funds, contributed specifically for this program. The course follows a similar format to the SIM Fund, wherein students invest throughout the academic year. However, a diversified portfolio of investments is a crucial attribute in the SIM Fund. The REIT Fund concentrates in the one industry — real estate — giving students a different understanding of analyses, buy and sell positions, and more. In September 2016, Standard & Poor’s created the 11th GICS (Global Industry Classification Standard) sector of tracked investments called Real Estate. This classification took real estate out of the Financials sector and validated it in a class of its own. Like the SIM Fund, diversification is a necessary underwriting criterion for the REIT Fund. So, students will achieve diversification as allocations are made to various real estate sectors within the fund. Working in teams, students will be mentored by Finance Instructor Blair Koblenz along with industry executives who will facilitate research and sit on the investment committee to promote a wellbalanced, diversified portfolio of REITs.

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W. P. Carey magazine, Autumn 2018

The school of stocks SIM Fund grows endowment and the students it serves

Gage Schrantz (BS Finance ’19) was a SIM Fund analyst in spring 2018. Learn more: wpcarey.asu.edu/sim-fund

Endowed funds are an important source of revenue for the long-term health of ASU’s research, teaching, and learning activities, but their returns are not just monetary. Each year, about 30 students gain rigorous, hands-on experience analyzing and managing a small percentage of the university’s endowment assets as part of the Student Investment Management Fund (SIM Fund). Each December, undergraduates and MBA candidates present their initial portfolio recommendations to investment professionals — including experts in the community, members of the ASU Enterprise Partners Investment Committee, and representatives from its outsourced chief investment officer, BlackRock Inc. “The level of sophistication students bring to security analysis and portfolio construction is phenomenal. It reflects the investment depth of the SIM Fund program,” says Suzanne Peck, head of endowments and foundations at BlackRock. The firm provides portfolio insights to students in the program as part of its partnership with ASU. Established by the W. P. Carey Department of Finance in 1996, the program has evolved to meet industry demands ever since. After returning to ASU from two years navigating the financial crisis at Dimensional Fund Advisors, SIM Fund Director and Jack D. Furst Professor of Finance Sunil Wahal recognized the need for experts who, in his words, “understand financial markets in a quantitative, sensible way, guided by science.” In the course, students learn about financial markets, asset allocation, portfolio chance, and drivers of risk and return. From there, they evaluate original, published, academic research on market anomalies. These theories, such as the use of profitability, volatility, or insider trading, have been shown to generate higher (and riskier) returns. In addition to reviewing literature, students in the program must identify and scrape their own data, transform signals into an optimized portfolio, and, ultimately, automate each step. “When you initially create an investment strategy, it is impossible to know all the problems that you will face,” says Gage Schrantz, a finance student who was a SIM Fund analyst in the spring. “Throughout the process, we learned how to adjust to certain problems and roll with the punches, like adjusting, so we could minimize our initially high portfolio turnover. This is a valuable skill because you can’t account for everything that is going to happen in the market, regardless of how good your investment strategy is.” Square-Full W . P. C A R E Y

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Billy Cundiff (MRED ’16), Managing Director of Greystar, enjoys being a part of the alumni community and establishing connections with current students — his involvement gives him the opportunity to give back to the program, and appreciate how far he’s come in his own career.

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W. P. Carey News, May 12, 2022

Master’s in real estate alumnus views MRED as favorite educational experience Billy Cundiff (MRED ’16) Managing Director of Greystar, enjoys being a part of the alumni community and establishing connections with current students — his involvement gives him the opportunity to give back to the program, and appreciate how far he’s come in his own career. The W. P. Carey School of Business interviewed Cundiff to learn more about his master’s in real estate development experience, why he chose to pursue a career in real estate development, and what’s next in the industry. Why W. P. Carey? When Cundiff received his MBA, he was in a much different place in life. “When I decided to pursue my master’s in real estate development, I had gone through a career shift,” he says. “The MRED was a conduit to get into real estate in Phoenix and develop a network and the baseline education I needed to have some success.” He discovered that real estate development isn’t linear. “There’s a lot of people involved, and you’re going to have public input,” he says. “Development is really complex, and the program encouraged me to make sure that I had more tools in my toolkit if I was going to be a developer.” Some of the key takeaways from the program surprised him. “I realized I don’t have an artistic bone in my body — my design professors were amazing. As a developer, I’m going to appreciate designers based off my experience in the MRED.” Cundiff valued the opportunity to work with faculty and classmates with different perspectives and areas of expertise. “My interactions with classmates were amazing because we had a chance

to tap into knowledge sets from completely different backgrounds,” he explains. “During our final synthesis project, we had somebody in the group with a construction background, and somebody that was a landscape architect.” Developing a work life balance while raising three kids with his wife, Nicole, was crucial to achieving success in the program. “Trying to manage my plans for after graduation was difficult,” he says. “Even though it presented a challenge, I found that I thrived in a structured environment.” Ultimately, Cundiff wants students to understand the commitment the program requires. “The MRED provides a full immersion into the real estate world. I think that’s a positive,” he says. “It’s a chance to get an education that’s going to wrap you in this environment that’s going to challenge you, and get you excited about the prospect of what your future holds.” Why real estate development? Cundiff’s participation in the CBRE rotational program during an NFL off-season helped him decide to pursue real estate development as a career. “During the rotation, I followed everybody in the company, and learned from the employees I met,” he says. He appreciated the enthusiastic environment at CBRE. “I asked myself why wouldn’t I want to be a part of this,” he says. “In the next off-season, I decided to get my real estate license.” Cundiff has benefited from networking as a student and an alumnus. “My advice to students is to take advantage of your time here by developing a network,” he says. “It’s so easy to grab coffee or lunch with people that are in the industry you want to be in.” After graduating, the benefits of networking continue. “There’s a shared bond between those who’ve shared an educational experience,” he says. “If you stay connected, it offers you a talent pool as you move up.” “You’ll know people who would be great employees and great teammates, who can deliver the kind of performance you’d expect of somebody coming from W. P. Carey.” W . P. C A R E Y

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W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2018

Startup Targets Zero-Energy Homes W. P. Carey alums are using lessons learned in the classroom to help chart their vision of the future of homebuilding, one built around neighborhoods and communities replete with zero-energy homes. Mike VanSteenkiste (MRED ’07) and Philip Beere (MRED ’07) have teamed up to launch a project that will offer net-zero home plans, powered by batteries and solar panels. These plans will be made available to small and large builders, and consumers across the country and beyond. Think of it as an Airbnb for zero-energy house plans, they say. Click on the project’s website, explore the available floor plans, and you are well on your way. Welcome to the future of zero-energy homes, easily made for the consumer. Welcome to ZEROHOUZZ. VanSteenkiste and Beere say the timing of the launch, scheduled for Earth Day 2018, could not be better in light of current market conditions. “Consumer demand is growing, energy costs are rising, and zeroenergy homes cost less to build due to project competitiveness,” says VanSteenkiste, who will be managing the project’s e-commerce. “Who wouldn’t want a zero-energy house, if it’s that easy? We are making it easy.” The website will offer plans ranging from 1,800 to 3,300 square feet, costing from $1,800 to $2,800 per plan. All would include rooftop solar panels and battery storage. “It’s a fraction of what it would cost to have an architect start from ground zero,” says Beere, who has worked on several green energy housing projects. “The real vision and passion here is to transform housing not only in the U.S. but across the world. That’s what this is all about.” The partnership between the two alumni has its roots in a second-floor W. P. Carey classroom, where VanSteenkiste says the two struck up a relationship because of a mutual interest in sports and fitness. Time spent in the program, VanSteenkiste says, taught him “the intricacies of real estate deals. That deal structure is sometimes more important than anything else.” Beere says one of the things that most affected him were community architects invited to teach in the classroom who focused on environmentally sensitive and energy-saving projects. The two kept in touch on and off following the nine-month MRED program, a transdisciplinary partnership between W. P. Carey and three other schools at ASU. After graduation, VanSteenkiste says he became involved in a number of online marketing campaigns for different products and services. Beere worked on the green and energy-efficient end of housing, including serving as a consultant for an award-winning project by Phoenix-based Mandalay Homes in Arizona.

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Philip Beere, W. P. Carey MRED ’07

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W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2017

Scaling Up Sustainable Living Philip Beere (MRED ’07) got into the business of green building 10 short years ago, but in that time his projects have gained national attention and positioned him as an authority in the field. It all started while he was working on his degree at the W. P. Carey School of Business. “G Street Inc. started while I was in the Master of Real Estate Development (MRED)program,” Beere says of the business he founded in 2007. “Back then, there were some guest speakers talking about the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system. But, at the time, they were only talking about its use in commercial buildings. I saw its potential for residential use. There are so many older homes in Phoenix with good bones and nice design that are, in many cases, lacking in energy efficiency, healthy interior design, and the careful use of materials. So I renovated a home using this rating system, and it ended up being one of the first of its kind in the country.” Specifically, it was the first residential remodel in the United States to be awarded Emerald status, the highest level of the National Green Building Standard (NGBS), and ICC 700, a program developed by

the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the International Code Council. The modest home also was the first single-family remodel in the United States awarded gold-level certification from LEED, a certification program run by the U.S. Green Building Council. “Two things were new with that first project,” Beere says. “One was doing an actual remodel, and two was making it LEED-certified, which no one had done before. The LEED rating system advocates the use of a design team, so that made the process better and probably alleviated a lot of potential pitfalls.” He teamed up with Jason Comer (BS Architectural Studies ’06, MRED ’07), Beere’s classmate at the time, as well as a landscape architect, interior designer, and mechanical designer. Built in 1958 and located in the Pierson Place Historic District in Phoenix, the 1,600-square-foot home was outfitted with new low-e windows, insulation, energy-efficient appliances, heat pump, and plumbing fixtures, all of which helped achieve a 50 percent reduction in water and energy consumption. Interior details made the small footprint more livable, and its

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“I returned to ASU as a guest lecturer for the MRED (Master of Real Estate Development) program, presenting sustainable construction practices and talking about LEED certification.” — PHILIP BEERE

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proximity to the then-new light rail allowed its residents to be less reliant on cars, a vital component of being green. “If a home’s occupant must commute great distances to and from work, then the location of the house results in higher carbon emissions,” Beere states. “A non-energy efficient home near one’s workplace is greener than a very efficient home located far from the workplace or area amenities. We see everywhere that people are gravitating back to the urban centers. It’s important to focus on placing homes in areas where people don’t have to drive as much so they can cut down on carbon emissions and spend more time doing the things they enjoy and less time in cars.” After that first remodel, Beere continued his renovation work until he “transitioned into coaching others, which includes clearing up misperceptions of what a green home is,” Beere says. “Some people might think an energy-efficient home is a green home. But a green home must address energy efficiency, water efficiency, indoor air quality, design, and material use. Energy efficiency alone does not make a home green. My focus now is on educating others on how to achieve a green remodel and, in some cases, how to build a new green home.” In 2013, Beere did just that when he was chosen by Mandalay Homes to guide them in completing 14 houses in a foreclosed subdivision in the South Mountain area of Phoenix. The homebuilder was awarded the contract by the city of Phoenix, which used federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds to support the project. The one stipulation from the city: The homes should be a “showcase” of energy efficiency. “The goal was to make it the most highly rated green subdivision in the country,” Beere says. “We were able to achieve that, and the project proved that green design is scalable.” He and his team were on hand to provide design consultation, thirdparty certification management, and marketing tools. Beere also developed an education workshop so the builder could indeed showcase the details that earned all 14 homes the United States Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Zero Energy Ready Home status. DOE defines this grade as a high-performance home that is so energy efficient, a renewable energy system can offset all or most of its annual energy consumption. Plus, all 14 Mandalay homes received NGBS gold-level certification. On this project, too, Beere partnered with a fellow ASU alum, Jesse Garcia who served as the project manager for the city of Phoenix. “I’ve always had a lifestyle oriented toward health, and I think the green home reflects that healthy way of life,” Beere says. “For me, it’s rewarding to educate, to translate the complex into simple terms, and to see projects that materialize into an improved design. If it’s possible for one or two projects to inspire or influence better construction for another project, then that feels like success to me. I’m very happy to be doing this.” — Teresa Esquivel

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Lloyd Faulkner, W. P. Carey BS Real Estate ’70

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Tiny, handmade home Lloyd Faulkner has been working in construction for decades — from measuring, cutting, and assembling high-end furniture for stars’ homes to creating doors for rental properties. Now retired, Faulkner is keeping busy building something bigger — tiny houses. After having the metal frame manufactured, Faulkner finishes the house himself, including the wiring, plumbing, insulation, roofing, and cabinets. He even milled and cut the pinewood for the interior walls from logs at a Houston, Miss., property nearby his home. The exterior of the two houses is sheltered by cypress siding. The 50-year-old metal roofs and double-paned windows add protection and peace to the tiny places. Heat, air conditioning, and ceiling fans provide the indoor comforts. “The wood for the cabinets came out of an old building in Houston that is about 125 to 150 years old,” Faulkner says. In all, the “big” tiny house is 28 feet long — including the 3 ½-foot porch — 8 feet wide, and weighs 10,250 pounds. The interior is 24 ½ feet long, 8 feet wide, and 12 ½ feet tall at its highest point for 196 square feet of living space. “The bed is a little smaller than a queen size,” he says, which is accommodated by a 6 ½-foot bedroom ceiling in which you can stand up, two built-in bedside tables, and under-bed storage. If you’re looking for a little less space, the smaller house measures seven square feet shorter than the bigger one. This gives 140 feet of living space in addition to the back porch. The bedroom includes twin-size bunk beds. Although Faulkner doesn’t live in either of the tiny homes full time, he’s taken the smaller, 7,100-pound house on a couple of road trips, including one to Oshkosh, Wis., which is more than 800 miles away from his permanent residence.

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“Invest in the real estate of corporate America” is the slogan of Fundamental Income’s NETLease Corporate Real Estate ETF (NYSE Arca: NETL), a net-lease-focused, exchangetraded fund that was honored by the New York Stock Exchange at the closing bell on Jan. 21. Fund co-founder Chris Burbach (MBA ‘05) rang the closing bell with partner and co-founder Alexi Panagiotakopoulos (BS Finance ‘11) to his left, surrounded by their team, families, and investors.

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Building Community Transactional real estate gives way to transformative development On a crisp fall weekend, The Newton in Phoenix is hopping with the kind of activity that wouldn’t have been imaginable a few years ago. Diners fill patio tables at a hip restaurant, book lovers stream in and out of the indie bookstore, and shoppers leave a local gardening store with must-have gifts. A light rail train rumbles past, the sound competing with the laughter of a group walking over from the nearby neighborhood toward this unexpected hot spot. Unexpected, given that The Newton was built at the site of an empty Phoenix restaurant that had seen better days in an area that wasn’t considered the place to be. But the redevelopment project turned assumptions upside down, and The Newton surged to destination status. Today, it’s a scene playing out in city after city across the country as the real estate development industry makes a dramatic shift in how it does business. Profitability and success are on equal footing with place-making and community engagement like never before. Being a good neighbor is becoming a vital part of a corporation’s profile. In Phoenix, the result is an adaptive reuse project that transforms a former special-occasion restaurant into an everyday hangout. In Oak Creek, Wis., it’s a new, large-scale development reminiscent of a traditional downtown complete with retail, restaurants, apartments, open spaces, and bike paths that draw people from one end to the other. In Salt Lake City, it’s the revitalization of a long-time retail and entertainment center into a social hub focused on authentic and unique experiences. “It’s live, work, and play. It’s a great mix of uses together. Communities are seeing the excitement and saying, ‘Hey, we want that, too,’” says Nate Franke (MRED ’11), development and leasing director for Zilber Property Group, which provided all master developer services for the Drexel Town Square project in Oak Creek. This evolution has been occurring over the past decade — or longer in some cities — and there is a slew of drivers, starting with the Great Recession and continuing with our changing values. Study after study bears out this desire for community and place. A neighborhood with a mix of houses, stores, and other businesses that W . P. C A R E Y

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are easy to walk to, rather than one that is navigated by cars, is favored by 60 percent of respondents in the National Association of Realtor’s 2013 Community Preference Survey. Fifty-six percent of millennials and 46 percent of baby boomers surveyed by the Regional Plan Association in 2015 said they want to live in more walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods. The days of the industry building, extracting value and then moving on to the next venture are waning, says Mark Stapp, executive director of W. P. Carey’s MRED program. The market is demanding more, and the industry is responding to meet the challenge. Transactional is giving way to transformative. “Real estate is a social science,” Stapp says. “It derives investment opportunity from the wants and needs of communities. Those wants and needs are different today. We want sustainable places, resilient places with shared values, and that sense of community.” MOVING FORWARD The real estate development industry has seen sweeping change in the past decade primarily driven by the Great Recession and the housing bubble burst. “The recession forced the need for increased creativity and thoughtfulness in how our industry was going to move forward,” says Debra Sydenham, a longtime planner and executive director of the Urban Land Institute Arizona. “The status quo wasn’t going to be successful, and it wasn’t going to work.” But the recession certainly has not been the only reason for change. Shifts in how millennials and baby boomers want to live, changes in how we work, our increasingly mobile world, the focus on sustainability, the desire for open spaces, and the need for gathering places are all playing a role in this brave new world, Sydenham says. “This all creates the perfect storm that causes people to pause and reconsider,” she says. They are seeking very different communities that allow them to work and socialize within an urban context. This is taking shape in a range of ways: the outdoor shopping center with new apartments on site; the office building within walking or biking distance to light rail; live-work lofts with common spaces for residents; and an old strip center hopping with new local restaurants and retail. To maintain profitability and longevity, it is essential that the industry rises to meet these live, work, and play priorities, says Mollie Jackson (MRED ’15), development coordinator with Jackson Commercial Real Estate. “It’s a luxury that, particularly for millennials, will be hard to give up.” As the influence of this demographic grows, another group — baby boomers — is also impacting the industry, says Randy Levin, CEO and managing director of ASU Enterprise Partners’ University Realty. Boomers are becoming empty nesters and downsizing, and not necessarily aging as 1 74

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their parents did. A suburban home with fairway views is being replaced by a high-rise condo in the middle of it all. “What is unexpected is that today’s baby boomers also are jumping on this trend, as that demographic also prefers more walkable urban contexts not only for retail experiences but also for housing alternatives,” Levin says. Technology continues to reshape our lives, impacting everything from the way we work to the way we socialize to the way we live life on the go. And while one survey shows the digital revolution mostly improves Americans’ interactions with their local communities, it also may be negatively impacting our lives. Thirty-nine percent of respondents said the growing influence of tech is diminishing their quality of life by isolating people from their neighbors and local businesses, and by weakening the sense of community in neighborhoods, according to the 2015 survey by The Allstate Corporation and National Journal. The bottom line, the survey concluded, is that we want digital in addition to human-to-human interactions, not digital instead of them. This need for community is playing out in many ways, but most prominently with a workforce that is increasingly mobile and entrepreneurial – and setting up shop outside the traditional office. “The appealing work-from-home model can create a sense of isolation that causes many also to look for supplementary, alternative, social interaction workspaces,” Levin says. The co-working market is a reliable indicator. It’s booming, according to The League of Extraordinary Coworking Spaces, with more than 11,000 co-working spaces around the world and another 26,000 expected by 2020. What’s more, the spaces are attractive to both solo entrepreneurs and larger tenants who want flexibility as they grow or a remote location for specific projects. Real estate development leaders say the industry will continue to change to meet these new demands as we work with total mobility. The market is looking for contextual, authentic, and experiential places. This means mixed-use and amenity-rich, whether an infill, adaptive reuse, or suburban project. Consider the long-time shopping mall model: An enclosed center, filled with national retailers, food as an afterthought, and zero activity after closing time. Today’s centers are designed to be gathering places that fill many needs, says David Larcher (BS Real Estate ’82), president and founding principal of Vestar, which develops and manages retail and entertainment destinations throughout the western United States. Industry leaders will continue to move in the direction of projects like these, answering the new demands and priorities of the market, says Sydenham. “They know it’s about creating a neighborhood, creating a community, not just creating a project,” she says.

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From graphic artist to real estate director MRED program helped alumnus Devin Beasley make career shift The W. P. Carey School of Business spoke with Beasley to learn more about his ASU MRED experience, what led him to a career in real estate, and what’s next for the industry. Why W. P. Carey? Prior to joining the W. P. Carey MRED program, Beasley was working as a graphic designer. He was living in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, and witnessed many new construction projects beginning. “My mindset went from graphic design to actually wanting to build something, or at least be a part of real estate,” he says. Word of mouth — and his then-girlfriend, now-wife’s desire to move to Arizona — led Beasley to W. P. Carey and the MRED program. “I heard good things about the program. So I went to apply and see if I could get in, and thankfully, Mark [Stapp, Executive Director of the MRED program] spent time with me and ultimately approved my application.” As someone who had little exposure to the real estate industry prior to enrolling at ASU, Beasley was impressed with how well-rounded the curriculum was, and how helpful and encouraging the faculty is. “They definitely work with the students there to teach them the business and to be able to compete in the real estate world,” he says. “I loved that part of it.” Why real estate? That encouragement and support from faculty encouraged Beasley to continue with the program W . P. C A R E Y

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Devin Beasley (MRED ’14), Executive Director of Self Storage at Cushman & Wakefield in Phoenix, Ariz., was inspired to pursue a new career in real estate when he observed the rapid growth and construction in his Brooklyn neighborhood.

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and build a strong foundation for his future real estate career. “One [professor who stood out] was Michael Bronska,” he says. “He was a strong teacher because he digs into you. He doesn’t let you get away with anything. “The intelligence of Michael is that he presents information in a way that you can understand it, but you know that he is far more intelligent regarding real estate than a lot of other people out there. For him, and the rest of the faculty, to be able to, for lack of a better word, dumb it down for us and then build us back up to be able to understand what they’re talking about was very good.” After graduating from the MRED program with a new breadth of knowledge, Beasley was unsure of the exact path he wanted to take. He began his real estate career as a broker, gaining valuable experience and the chance to put his MRED education to use. But he soon realized that he wanted to take his career in a very specific direction. “I really wanted to get into self-storage because it was a niche product type, and a lot of people didn’t do it,” he says. “You know, with multifamily [housing], I would just be thrown to the wolves. So I want to do something that a lot of people didn’t know or didn’t do, and it fit perfectly.” This niche did indeed fit Beasley perfectly, and has allowed him to progress to his current position as Executive Director of Self Storage at the Phoenix office of global real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield. What’s next? Though it may not be obvious to those not involved in real estate, recent industry trends — including sustainability, socially conscious planning, and ethical building — affect all areas, including Beasley’s niche of self storage. “There’s a lot of green initiatives within self storage as far as green or solar roofs, types of water used, conservation of water within the building,” he says. “[Developers] have to be conscious of their surroundings. They have to be conscious of the government and city municipalities.” As the industry continues to grow and evolve, and consumer wants and needs change, the MRED program’s emphasis on environmentally and socially responsible development projects becomes more

important than ever before. This emphasis has given alumni like Beasley opportunities to be at the forefront of this evolution. Within the current economic climate, many industries have undergone significant changes, and real estate is no exception. But change does not mean collapse, and Beasley remains realistic with his vision of the future. “Real estate is, I think, different because it is a physical asset and they’re making more of it every day, but they’re not making more of the land that they’re putting it on,” he says. “So you’re going to have your ebbs and flows: retail stores, hotels, hospitals, whatever it is, it’s going to have ups and downs. But my opinion is it’s not going to go anywhere. It’s just going to evolve to whatever people want. “It’s an evolving business model. So where is it going to go? I don’t know. But I know it’s always going to be there.”

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Kaitlyn Fondano née Mulhollan (MRED ’16), Director of Development for Specialized Real Estate Group, draws on her holistic education from W. P. Carey to help create healthy, interconnected living communities in Northwest Arkansas.

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Master’s in real estate alumna Kaitlyn Fondano uses MRED experience to build better communities Kaitlyn Fondano née Mulhollan (MRED ’16), Director of Development for Specialized Real Estate Group, draws on her holistic education from W. P. Carey to help create healthy, interconnected living communities in Northwest Arkansas. The W. P. Carey School of Business interviewed Fondano to learn more about her ASU MRED experience, what led her to a career in real estate development, and what’s next for the industry. Why W. P. Carey? Fondano began her career in construction management, which had also been the focus of her undergraduate studies at ASU. But she soon found herself drawn to real estate development and the higher-level decisions involved. “It was an opportunity to be at the head of the table and be the one responsible for influencing and informing both the design and

the project type, as opposed to otherwise being somewhat reactive to it on the construction side,” she says. The MRED degree program at W. P. Carey allowed Fondano to further her education in the area she was most passionate about. She appreciated the transdisciplinary approach of the program, which is a partnership between W. P. Carey School, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, and Del E. Webb School of Construction — all highly regarded schools within ASU. Fondano also enjoyed the structure of the nine-month immersive, applied program. “It facilitated me making a transition in my career, being able to step away and get to a point to then quickly reengage in a new field,” she says. While at W. P. Carey, the big-picture approach that initially drew Fondano to real estate development was always an emphasis, especially from Mark Stapp, Executive Director of the MRED program. “The direction and precedence that [Stapp] gave us in each of our classes was that our role as developers was to be an integrator,” Fondano says. “Our job was to bring together the right team, W . P. C A R E Y

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make the mission and objectives of each of our projects clear, and then to facilitate the execution of that vision.” Why real estate? The MRED program at W. P. Carey places a strong emphasis on ethically and socially minded development, and this aspect of the industry is a passion for Fondano. In her current role with Specialized Real Estate Group, she focuses on creating healthy homes in the communities that Specialized serves. “We build homes that are connected to the community in which they are built – our projects emphasize knowing your neighbor, access to outdoor amenities including parks, trails and conservation areas — and are served by the surrounding local businesses.” This mission for healthy and connected communities is one that Fondano and Specialized are always striving towards. She believes that keeping these values in mind is vital for all real estate development. “We feel strongly that it strengthens the fabric of the community. Infill development projects allow for our residents to have easy access to community services, workplaces, and transportation - that access and quality of life is what we’re all striving towards,” she says. “Connecting people with local businesses, with nature, and with each other is a great opportunity, and I think that’s relevant in any city in which you’re developing.” What’s next?

Despite the supply chain issues that have faced the real estate industry, and countless others, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Fondano sees a bright future for the real estate industry, especially if the emphasis on sustainability and socially minded development continues to grow. “From our perspective, we have a real opportunity to impact the communities in which we work,” she says. “Considering place, making thoughtful design choices, and the obligations we have to each of those communities and neighborhoods comes as a responsibility of ours through each development.”

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Josiah Byrnes (MRED ’10), President of Embree Capital Markets Group, credits the W. P. Carey Master of Real Estate Development (MRED) for helping him to understand and integrate elements of real estate development to achieve success while looking at projects in a more holistic and four-dimensional way.

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W. P. Carey News, May 24, 2022

Master’s in real estate led alumnus Josiah Byrnes to lifelong career connections Josiah Byrnes (MRED ’10) President of Embree Capital Markets Group, credits the W. P. Carey Master of Real Estate Development (MRED) for helping him to understand and integrate elements of real estate development to achieve success while looking at projects in a more holistic and fourdimensional way. Josiah Byrnes (MRED ’10) President of Embree Capital Markets Group, credits the W. P. Carey Master of Real Estate Development (MRED) for helping him to understand and integrate elements of real estate development to achieve success while looking at projects in a more holistic and four-dimensional way. The W. P. Carey School of Business interviewed Byrnes to learn more about his experience as a W. P. Carey graduate student, why he chose to pursue a career in real estate development, and what’s

next in the industry. Why W. P. Carey? Byrnes decided to pursue a W. P. Carey master’s in real estate development because it was the right place and time. He had looked at several schools across the country, and appreciated the manageable length of ASU’s program. “It was both affordable and approachable from a time commitment standpoint,” he says. “I didn’t know at the time how great it would be for networking and professional development, too.” W. P. Carey set the stage for Byrnes to understand himself, where he thrives, and the importance of setting achievable and fulfilling career goals. “Over the course of three different projects, our team was given a certain amount of ambiguity. We would collaborate as a group to figure it out,” he says. “We put forth an action plan, mapped out a schedule, and defined success thresholds. The skills I learned directly translate into my work today.” Mark Stapp, Executive Director of the MRED program, emphasized the importance of ethically and socially minded real estate principles. “Stapp was very holistic in his approach to real estate,” says Byrnes. “He didn’t want us to be there just for the money.” Byrnes and his classmates learned how real estate has an W . P. C A R E Y

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impact on people’s overall health and well being. “Ultimately, you’re developing spaces or building spaces for people. You’re creating their built environment,” he says. “We were challenged to look at development problems more pragmatically, and somewhat four dimensionally — attacking problems not just from a financial component, but various other components.” The program focused on a holistic approach to real estate development. “You have to think, is it physically possible to do what you’re trying to do? Is it legally permissible? Is it financially feasible? And then thinking about the potential outcomes — and how they are maximally productive or potentially profitable,” says Byrnes. Why real estate development? The MRED program offered experiences that helped Byrnes realize he was on the right path. “There were two trips — one in fall and one in spring, that gave me the opportunity to have meaningful conversations with folks who were industry practitioners and experts in their field,” he says. “Seeing how real estate is approached across different places in the United States, specifically Denver and San Francisco, and getting out of the Arizona bubble was helpful. Real estate creates the environment where we all live, work, and play. “It’s interesting to be able to positively contribute through design choices. And from a practical standpoint, we need more space, and people need roofs over their heads,” says Byrnes. “We follow demographic trends and

determine where people are going, and the needs they have.” Success in development is a lot of hard work. “You don’t have to be smarter than anyone else or have more capital,” he says. “To succeed, you have to be willing roll up your sleeves and work harder than anyone else.” What’s next? As an MRED alumni, Byrnes has kept in touch with his classmates and utilized networking opportunities. “I’ve even done business with classmates, and actually worked with many of them,” he mentions. “I even had the chance to hire one of my classmates to join my company. The degree has more than paid for itself through sheer professional networking.” Byrnes is looking forward to growing the scale of his investment and development platform. “We’ll need some additional talent to help us, and I’m excited about the future and growth prospects we have.” During his career, his firm has developed several community hospitals. “I had a classmate who was able to invest in these projects,” says Byrnes. “It was great to see the real world application of MRED principles — especially with people who were in the program with me, and with profitable outcomes.” Byrnes believes there are two big themes for the future of real estate development. “Part of it’s COVID-19 related, having to do with office spaces — the evolution of remote and hybrid work — and part of it’s the general maturation of asset classes and corresponding re-development opportunities.” W . P. C A R E Y

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Guillermo Gonzalez (MRED ’11), founder of Connecticutbased Gonzalez Advisory, began his career in architecture but wanted more experience in the business side of real estate. This desire led him to pursue a Master This is aEstate caption. of Real Development (MRED) degree from ASU.

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Education and connections open new doors to business Guillermo Gonzalez began his career in architecture but wanted more experience in the business side of real estate. This led him to pursue a Master of Real Estate Development (MRED) degree from ASU, which provided the tools to eventually start his own consulting firm. The W. P. Carey School of Business spoke with Gonzalez to learn about his journey, and how his ASU MRED experience led him to starting his own business. Why W. P. Carey? Gonzalez earned his bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of Mendoza in his home country of Argentina. After graduation, he moved to the United States, starting as an intern, then taking a position with the top architect Cesar Pelli in New Haven, Connecticut. “I worked mainly on commercial real estate projects for prominent developers,” Gonzalez says. “So, I started becoming very curious about the role of the developer and what would bring all these projects to life, from an economic standpoint.” That curiosity led Gonzalez to Arizona State University and the MRED degree program. “The main reason I had for going to W. P. Carey was because the master’s in real estate development was offered by a school of business. I was coming from an architecture background, so I had all that knowledge.

“Many other programs are offered by a school of architecture or a school of design. I wanted to learn more about the business side of real estate and how to think like someone who came from business school.” Why real estate? After graduating from the W. P. Carey MRED program, Gonzalez was equipped with a wellrounded education and began his development career in speculative multifamily investments and acquisitions in New York City. Soon after, he began working for a consultant specializing in clients who owned and developed affordable housing properties. The experience and education from W. P. Carey made it possible to find his niche and build a career there. “Everything that this program teaches is fundamental and necessary to have,” Gonzalez says. “It gives you all this flexibility, because you can be working in a smaller niche or part of a bigger area.” The experience he gained working in the affordable housing sector as a consultant, along with his “entrepreneurial nature,” helped Gonzalez get to a point where he felt comfortable and confident enough to open his own consulting firm five years ago. W . P. C A R E Y

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Gonzalez Advisory, based in New Haven, Connecticut, assists clients with the development and preservation of affordable housing, and its specialty is in repositioning properties that receive assistance from the federal government. Public housing, a program established in the 1930s as part of the New Deal, provides affordable, quality living spaces to low-income families. Gonzalez’s firm advises clients on repositioning aging public housing properties into modern, socially sustainable communities. What’s next? The MRED program emphasizes environmentally and socially minded real estate development, and this concept has always had its place in Gonzalez’s work. “Affordable housing is rewarding to work in,” he says. “It’s a ‘positively impactful’ part of real estate, also like building environmentally friendly buildings. During the MRED program, we were also reminded the success of a project doesn’t depend just on the project itself, but it also depends on how it integrates with the community.” One of the areas of the industry that Gonzalez sees future improvement in is the environmental impact of development and construction. He called out the Inflation Reduction Act passed in 2022, which features sustained investments in clean and renewable energy. He believes this will help accelerate the changes that had already begun in real estate development, but were previously moving slowly. Gonzalez also foresees a potential shake-up in who the major names of the industry will be. “When the game changes, it means that other people will have opportunities. Everything gets corporate, and then you end up with the same three or five players that dominate the market,” he says.“When something disturbs the market, there is more opportunity for those who adapt to the changes quickly, but also for new players.”

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Amy Hillman’s areas of interest include corporate political strategies, boards of directors and corporate strategy. Her research includes more than 30 peerreviewed articles published in leading journals.

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W. P. Carey News, May 28, 2019

W. P. Carey Dean Amy Hillman named vice president-elect of the Academy of Management Amy Hillman, dean of the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, has been elected by the membership of the Academy of Management (AOM) to serve as their vice presidentelect/program chair-elect Hillman, who is also a professor of management and the Charles J. Robel Dean’s Chair, joins AOM for the 2019-20 term as an executive officer for a five-year cycle. She will serve as vice president-elect and program chair-elect of the Academy of Management beginning at the close of the 2021 meeting and will hold that position for the year. The Academy of Management is the premier international organization for faculty of management with more than 20,000 members. “I am honored to have been elected by my peers within the academy for this leadership role,” said Hillman. “As an active member of AOM for over 20 years, I have served in a variety of roles within the organization, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to impact the profession in this way. I truly look forward to the next five years.” Hillman received her doctorate from Texas A&M University in strategic management and business and public policy in 1996 and was named outstanding doctoral alumni by her alma mater in 2008. Her areas of interest include corporate political

strategies, boards of directors and corporate strategy. Her research includes more than 30 peer-reviewed articles published in leading journals such as Academy of Management Review, Academy of Management Journal, Strategic Management Journal, Organization Science and Administrative Science Quarterly. She was elected a fellow of the Academy of Management in 2014 and is a founding fellow of the International Corporate Governance Society. Hillman joined ASU in 2001. An award-winning undergraduate, MBA and doctoral teacher, she previously taught at the Ivey Business School at the University of Western Ontario, the Broad Business School at Michigan State University and the Mays College of Business at Texas A&M University. In addition, she has spent several summers as a guest professor at the Institute for International Management at Johannes Kepler University in Linz, Austria, and taught during her doctoral program at her undergraduate alma mater Trinity University. She has also published seven teaching cases used in classrooms around the world. Prior to joining academia, Hillman was general manager of a retailing and manufacturing organization in the Southwest United States. Today, she serves on the board of publicly traded CDK Global, on the independent governance committee of U-Haul International, and on the nonprofit boards of AACSB and the ASU Research Park.

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“You have to believe in what you’re doing, even when others might not see the value yet. And then you balance that belief by engaging with the rejection and asking yourself, ‘How can I make this research better?’ Then, you try again.” — L U I S G O M E Z- M E J I A , W . P. C A R E Y P R O F E S S O R OF MANAGEMENT AND ENTREPRENEU RSHIP

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W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2020

Citing failure W. P. Carey Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship Luis Gomez-Mejia has enjoyed a lot of success: He’s an ASU Regents Professor and a member of the Academy of Management’s Hall of Fame, and has again been named a highly cited researcher by Web of Science — a recognition he has now received for eight straight years.

Luis Gomez-Mejia Regents Professor and Weatherup/Overby Chair in Leadership, W. P. Carey Management and Entrepreneurship

With its designation, Web of Science honors the world’s most influential researchers who have produced multiple highly cited papers over the previous decade — those that rank in the top 1% by citations for field and year. As 2019 concluded, Gomez-Mejia had accumulated about 36,000 citations to his research, a feat that few members of the Academy of Management (the main academic association of the field of management) have been able to match. Yet when asked about these impressive accolades, Gomez-Mejia is quick to point out the failures that led to such success: He estimates that of his 260 published journal articles, there have probably been 600 rejections. One paper was turned down 10 times before it was accepted. Yet Gomez-Mejia pushed on. “You have to believe in what you’re doing, even when others might not see the value yet. And then you balance that belief by engaging with the rejection and asking yourself, ‘How can I make this research better?’ Then, you try again.” Academics is known for having a high rate of failure; a 90% rejection rate is the norm at most top journals. Gomez-Mejia relates this to business students as a lesson in entrepreneurship. “Being a researcher has a lot of similar lessons as being a small business owner,” he explains. “You have to be enthusiastic about what you are doing, and you have to be willing to fail. Successful researchers and entrepreneurs are both examples of resilience.” Part of Gomez-Mejia’s resilience is a healthy way to respond to rejection. He shares his tried-and-true path forward: “Vent with your team and release your frustration, then let yourself be sad for a bit. Put the research away for a week and let yourself take a break from it. That way, you can come back to it feeling refreshed and give it another shot.” He also emphasizes being picky about whom you work with. “You need smart people you work well with who energize you and complement your strengths,” Gomez-Mejia says, while crediting his co-authors over the years. “Failure is, at its core, a sign that you tried,” Gomez-Mejia sums up. It is a given for anyone who eventually finds success, and he credits failure as the ultimate opportunity. “There is no doubt that rejection has made me a stronger researcher.”

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Investing in social good Net Impact mobilizes a global community of more than 100,000 students and professionals to use their skills and careers to drive transformational social and environmental change. Its programs — delivered from its headquarters in Oakland, California, as well as globally through student and professional chapters — give members the skills, experiences, and connections that will allow them to have the greatest impact now and throughout their careers. The emerging leaders take on social challenges, protect the environment, invent new products, and orient businesses toward the greater good.

“We want the next generation of leaders to believe it’s possible to run a company more efficiently and generate income — and that it’s also their responsibility to be a true leader and improve the communities their businesses operate in.” — JOHN WISNESKI, C L I N I C A L A S S O C I AT E P R O F E S S O R O F M A N A G E M E N T A N D F U L L-T I M E M B A FA C U LT Y D I R E C T O R

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W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2018

Net Impact club makes a comeback

Full-time MBA students and Net Impact club co-presidents Rachel Curtis (MBA ’18), Eve Richer (MBA ’18), and James Hood (MBA ’18) at the new Student Pavilion on ASU’s Tempe campus. The 74,653-square-foot building aims to be a net-zero energy building, in accordance with ASU’s goals for climate neutrality and sustainable building systems. It is also designed to meet specifications for LEED certification.

In 2016, the W. P. Carey chapter of the global, sustainable-business networking group was dormant. Then, two of the three club co-presidents traveled to the East Coast for that year’s Net Impact Conference, the premier event for students and professionals who are committed to making a lasting social and environmental impact in business. For Full-time MBA students Rachel Curtis (MBA ’18) and James Hood (MBA ’18), attending the conference in Pennsylvania was worth giving up a balmy November weekend in Arizona. “We came back fired up with a passion to use business principles for environmental and social good,” Curtis says. Hood believes “business leadership in sustainability is the only fast-enough path forward to solve the complex, globally scaled social and environmental challenges of our time.” Today, Net Impact is the most active club within the university’s MBA program, as well as one of the largest. And it’s steadily attracting new members, including those who helped the club place second to the home chapter for having the most attendees at the 2017 conference in Atlanta. Clinical Associate Professor of Management and Full-time MBA Faculty Director John Wisneski says the work of Net Impact fits into the Forward Focus curriculum and how it’s reimagining what a business education at the graduate level looks like. TPI Composites, the largest independent producer of wind turbine blades globally, is doing just that. The Scottsdale, Arizona-based company sponsored this year’s Net Impact networking event, where President and CEO Steve Lockard also spoke to attendees. “I love the idea of doing well and doing good at the same time, and it can be done. There are many places where it is done today. And it can be done in a much broader sense. You have to search for it, and you have to work for it,” he says. “In our case, we are fortunate that we’re able to build value for our shareholders, serve our customers, and put food on the table for over 8,000 employees around the world.” The third Net Impact co-president, Eve Richer (MBA ’18), says they hope to create a community for students to explore sustainable business opportunities, exchange ideas, and support one another long after graduation. “We have an amazing group of students in the Forward Focus class, and each of us has the potential to make a positive impact, no matter what industry or career path we pursue.” Square-Full

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Built to replicate the all-conquering 1966 Ford GT40, this CAV GT re-creation is based on the MK1 GT40. It sold for $110,000.

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W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2020

ASU business ‘generals’ help drive BarrettJackson car auction The hundreds of thousands of people who flock to Barrett-Jackson’s annual collector car auction under the massive white tents at WestWorld of Scottsdale each January have no reason to know their names. They’re far away from the auctioneer’s staccato urgings as dream vehicles roll across the stage under the bright lights, racking up bids that stretch into the millions of dollars.

But behind the scenes, the contributions of two company executives equipped with a dose of ASU business pedigree are not to be denied. Call them “the generals,” as in Barrett-Jackson General Manager and Executive Vice President Nick Cardinale (MBA ’14), and General Counsel Matt Ohre (BS Finance ’99). Together, these two Sun Devil colleagues help make sure the mega-event successfully crosses the finish line. “I tell everybody that I help the CEO oversee everything except the cars,” says Cardinale. “People say, ‘But Barrett-Jackson is a car auction.’ That’s true, but it’s so much more.” Ohre says he mostly does his heavy lifting before and after the actual event, working on contracts and offering his counsel to others in the company on the issues of the day. Once the gates opened on Jan. 11, it was all hands on deck for the 325,000 people who attended the 49th annual Barrett-Jackson Auction, a nine-day event that now encompasses 73 acres and over 1 million square feet under cover. More than 5,400 bidders registered for the opportunity to buy any of the more than 1,900 vehicles offered at the event. “We just continue to grow and grow,” says Cardinale, who moved to the company in 2013 after 10 years as a Harlem Globetrotters executive. “The hobby seems to be getting bigger each year.” W . P. C A R E Y

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“I tell everybody that I help the CEO oversee everything except the cars. People say, ‘But Barrett-Jackson is a car auction.’ That’s true, but it’s so much more.” —N ICK CAR DINALE, M BA ’14

Nick Cardinale, MBA ’14, credits his MBA at W. P. Carey with helping with networking and teambuilding skills needed in this competitive industry.

“Most of them are entrepreneurs no matter what industry they are in. Do we have lawyers and doctors? Of course we do. But I would say that most of the people have their own businesses and are entrepreneurs who have done well.” — M AT T O H R E , B S F I N A N C E ’ 9 9

Matt Ohre, BS Finance ’99. He says his time at W. P. Carey helped provide him with the business foundation and discipline needed to work successfully at the growing company. 202

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Redefining classic Cardinale, 41, says those driving the growth are ever younger, replacing the baby boomers who once dominated the business. Millennials and Gen Xers now seem to rule the garage. “Cars that people never in a million years thought were collectible are now,” says Cardinale, who sold his 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle and 1991 Land Rover Defender at the 2020 Scottsdale auction. “The new generations are changing things.” Among those drawing high interest in the auction marketplace are sport-utility vehicles such as Chevrolet K5 Blazers, Ford Broncos, and Japanese cars. Also popular among the buying public are “resto-mods,” classic cars with the look of the old fixed up with all the comforts of new models, such as air conditioning and power steering and brakes. Cardinale says the high-end, pre-war classics that used to be the stars of the show are now joined by modern supercars, like the 2017 Ford GT that sold for nearly $1.5 million. “We like to play right in the middle, and I think the middle part of the market is thriving,” says Cardinale, who credits his MBA at W. P. Carey with helping with networking and team-building skills needed in this competitive industry. “That’s what we have been seeing.” Ohre, a self-acknowledged “car guy” who joined Barrett-Jackson in 2014 after a stint as outside counsel, says the nostalgia — the chance to step back in time to those high school or college days — helps drive the business. Ohre, 42, says the auction attracts the kind of bidders that one might expect at these affairs, but one characteristic seems to stand out. “Most of them are entrepreneurs no matter what industry they are in. Do we have lawyers and doctors? Of course we do. But I would say that most of the people have their own businesses and are entrepreneurs who have done well.”

He says his time at W. P. Carey helped provide him with the business foundation and discipline needed to work successfully at the growing company.

Numbers behind the wheel Barrett-Jackson is one of seven auctions held in the Phoenix area, a gathering that turns a week or more in January into a mecca for car enthusiasts from across the world, generating a potent economic punch. This year, the seven companies sold a combined 2,660 vehicles and rang up total sales of $251 million in Arizona, according to Michigan-based classic car insurer Hagerty. Of that figure, Barrett-Jackson led the pack by a large margin, selling more than 1,925 vehicles for a total of $141 million and raising $7.625 million for charities. Ohre and Cardinale say that company executives continue to look to the future with high hopes. BarrettJackson continues to explore expansion opportunities that complement the company’s lineup, which already includes events in Scottsdale, Palm Beach, Florida, Las Vegas, and Connecticut. Cardinale says the company also is keeping its eye on the rise of autonomous and driverless vehicles. “One day you will see that — and it will be pretty cool when that happens, too. But I hope right in front of that you’ll still see a ’63 Corvette split-window and 1970 Chevelle. You can’t fight change, you have to be part of it. And we will.”

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Lendrick Robinson (MS-FIN ’16) is the founder of 3logy (Trilogy), a technology company developing innovative hardware and software products.

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W. P. Carey magazine, Autumn 2021

We all stand on the shoulders of giants “I wouldn’t be the person I am today without the mentors I’ve had in my life.” From a young age, Lendrick Robinson (MS-FIN ’16) was interested in finance. Throughout his life, he’s had mentors who have gifted him with investing books. “Some people may think that type of gift is strange, but to me it was perfect — finance has always been fascinating to me. Taking that extra step of thoughtfulness meant everything,” he says. The successful entrepreneur and mentor has leveraged those early insights in finance. He directly invests in real estate and plans to acquire additional property as a long-term plan to protect against inflation. Robinson strives to make his tenants happy. “If you treat people with respect, good things will come. Sometimes, it’s not all about the monetary benefits — it’s about handling situations with emotional intelligence. To me, business truly is personal.” The lifelong connection Robinson has with the school and fellow W. P. Carey alumni is something he’ll always value. “It means a tremendous amount to me, and I want to contribute because I want our reputation to grow,” he says.

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Jennifer Boonlorn, W. P. Carey BS Marketing ’01

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W. P. Carey magazine, Autumn 2021

Her Soul, Her Way Alumna Jennifer Boonlorn inspires others to move with confidence After graduating from ASU’s W. P. Carey School of Business, Jennifer Boonlorn (BS Marketing ’01) went on to Parsons School of Design in New York City, where she lived, worked, and studied fashion for four years before moving back to Arizona. Her parents died in a car crash just before her graduation from W. P. Carey. “Right before the accident, my mom turned around and asked me where I wanted to go. We were talking about going on vacation. That’s the last question she asked me,” Boonlorn says. The devastating loss of her parents propelled Boonlorn to reflect on her purpose and decide what her next steps would be. “Even though my parents wanted me to pursue law, I knew fashion and design were my passions. I immediately knew I had to shift directions,” she reflects. Despite the hardship she was facing in her personal life, she began her journey as a frequent W. P. Carey donor just a couple years after graduation. “It’s essential for me to honor my parents and their love of learning. My goal is to help students experience the same opportunities I’ve had.” In 2009, Boonlorn started Soul Carrier, where she designs handcrafted and high-end handbags. “My experiences in New York led me to move back home, closer to family. I started a brand that embodies letting your soul be your guide.” Boonlorn’s goal is to inspire women to do just that. “There’s so much noise coming at us. Society tells us to stay busy, but sometimes it’s necessary to stay still and come back to what’s in your soul,” she says. “I’ve had to listen to my ‘why’ — especially during the past year of COVID-19 and the quarantine.” Influencing its customers is one of Soul Carrier’s top priorities. “My newsletter has been a point of pride. I’ve received emails where people have told me they’ve saved little tidbits of it here and there. It made me realize I can make an impression in a personal way.”

During the pandemic, Boonlorn even started designing face coverings for her customers to use. She finds her design ideas in unexpected ways. “Sometimes I’ll go to a restaurant or even a fabric store. I like to browse shops with upholstery and see how I could use it in combination with my bags. I enjoy exploring quirky stores and random locations. Inspiration is everywhere.” With more than a decade of fashion accomplishments under her belt — from showcasing her bags at women’s accessories store Henri Bendal, to selling Soul Carrier at resorts like the Four Seasons in Palm Beach, Florida, and Silver Oak Winery in Napa, California — Boonlorn is pleased with Soul Carrier’s success and can’t wait to expand her vision forward. “I love how younger generations are focused on using business for good,” she adds. “I believe we can create quality products and treat people well, too.” Boonlorn hopes people see her handbags as a reminder to go where you want in life. “I’m so thankful for the W. P. Carey community,” she says. “It has been such a special network of support throughout the years.”

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W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2019

Level Up

Alum shares coaching tips in new book

“The MBA program has stood the test of time and won. One of the exercises in my book asks if you are an arriver or a striver? The business school continues to be a striver. The MBA program continues to hold itself to a standard of excellence.” — B E N LO E B , (M B A ’8 4), AU T H O R O F N E X T- L E V E L C O A C H I N G : H O W T O U S E S P O R T P SYC H O LO GY TO E D U C AT E , M O T I VAT E , A N D I M P R O V E S T U D E N T- AT H L E T E P E R F O R M A N C E

To become champions, athletes need to train and practice. But they also need a certain mindset, says Ben Loeb (MBA ’84), author of Next-Level Coaching: How to Use Sport Psychology to Educate, Motivate, and Improve Student-Athlete Performance. Loeb, a tennis coach, teacher, and long-time athlete, wrote the book to share practical advice on how athletes can overcome some of the psychological challenges of competition. “The most common obstacles are fear of failure, fear of success, perfectionism, and maintaining emotional control,” he says. “Performance will be affected by how you look at competition.” Published by River Grove Books in 2018, Next-level Coaching is a userfriendly guide that covers such topics as mental toughness, confidence, focus, and motivation. The format is a combination of practical advice and exercises designed to help athletes self-evaluate their strengths and weaknesses, build confidence and gain new perspectives on competing. “The exercises can be done in 10 minutes,” Loeb says, adding that coaches can use the book to complement practices, covering one or two exercises each week. Athletes can use the book individually, as well. Inspirational quotes and acronyms help athletes remind themselves to stay focused. For example, Loeb advises readers to play above the “RIM” when they don’t succeed. “RIM stands for reflect on it, imagine what you want to do moving forward, and move on,” he says. “Believing in oneself is a risk, and when things don’t work out, it’s natural to be disappointed. But what’s most important is learning and moving forward, advice that applies not only to sports, but to life.” The book emphasizes the importance of taking pride in personal excellence. What are you doing when no one else is looking? Successful athletes have certain expectations of themselves and compete to achieve a standard of personal excellence and being the best they can be, rather than just competing for the win. Loeb has coached in many United States Tennis Association sectional and national team events and has received several honors, including awards from the United States Professional Tennis Association, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, and the National Federation of High Schools. The teams he’s coached have won more than 1,000 dual meets, 18 state championships, and 39 Final Four appearances. When Loeb competed in tennis tournaments, he recalls that his mother always told him to relax and have fun. Though at the time he didn’t understand how a serious competition could be fun, he has since figured it out. “True competitors look at the situation as a challenge and find fun in that challenge,” he says.

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W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2019

Celebrity CEOs Shackled by fame Some CEOs operate companies under the radar, with no notoriety or fanfare. Others are catapulted into idolatry, like rock stars and professional athletes. And they enjoy the trappings associated with fame — money, influence, and public adoration. But the cost of business stardom for celebrity CEOs might just be that: a trap. Jonathan Bundy, assistant professor of management, mostly studies how famous companies and CEOs deal with external stakeholders and manage reputations in crisis and noncrisis situations. But he flipped the switch in his most recent study, “The Shackles of CEO Celebrity: Sociocognitive and Behavioral Role Constraints on ‘Star’ Leaders,” examining the mindset of famous CEOs who’ve been elevated to celebrity status. Though image-makers focus on the positive public images of famous CEOs, it’s a position inherently lined with potential bottom-line pitfalls, according to Bundy. “Too many people want their CEOs to be famous. A lot of good can come from having a celebrity CEO. It certainly can bring attention to the firm, which can increase market share and help employees identify more with the company so they work harder,” he says. “But it’s not necessarily a good thing to have a celebrity CEO. There are important psychological and psychosocial factors associated with being a celebrity CEO that can be detrimental to the company.” Bundy identified four “archetypes” that celebrity CEOs are cast into because of their fame: creator, transformer, rebel, and savior. The associated star monikers create shackles because they cause famous business leaders to internalize their label and match their behaviors with how they view themselves, Bundy explains. “It’s well-documented that a history of success among celebrity CEOs breeds less flexibility than similar CEOs who are not in the limelight. So they keep doing those things that made them famous instead of being more flexible and trying new things,” says Bundy. “In terms of management, you typically want as much flexibility and options to act as possible.” Jumping archetypes — and industries — is not uncommon in the business world, but a star CEO label makes it more difficult for leaders to be effective decision-makers in new roles, according to Bundy. Though Bundy believes it’s possible that some celebrity CEOs can have a long, successful run leading diverse companies, his research is a warning sign to proceed with caution in typecasting business stars.

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The W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University (ASU) and EGADE Business School at Tecnológico de Monterrey partnered to deliver a dual-degree Executive MBA (EMBA) program for global senior business professionals.

Igor Rivera, National Director of the EGADE - W. P. Carey Executive MBA, accompanied the group, who also enjoyed networking activities and a campus tour, visiting sites such as McCord Hall and the Hayden Library, among others.

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W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2022

Teaching the softer skills of global business culture Most traditional MBA programs teach business skills such as transformational leadership, negotiation, and problem-solving. But in an increasingly global business environment, mastering the softer skills of business cultures around the world can make all the difference. That’s what makes the EGADE – W. P. Carey Executive MBA program so powerful, says EMBA Faculty Director Tom Bates. Through a collaboration with Mexico’s Escuela de Graduados en Administración y Dirección de Empresas (EGADE), students don’t just learn about cultural differences, they also experience them through a one-week international practicum. “Faculty leaders take students to international destinations to learn about things that make business work around the world, [including] the importance of culture for business decision-making, and the ways that different geographic areas [can] determine the way that commerce is performed,” Bates says. “This unique EMBA program offers the best of both worlds: The entrepreneurial and student-focused approach to learning that EGADE Business School is known for, combined with the W. P. Carey School’s ‘Business is Personal’ mindset and our mission of educating tomorrow’s business leaders to create positive change on a global scale,” said Amy Hillman, Dean of W. P. Carey School of Business. “We are proud to expand the 10-year relationship between ASU and Tecnológico de Monterrey by partnering with EGADE, and to continue providing highly innovative experiences for global executive talent.”

Top tier EGADE is the No. 1 business school in Latin America; W. P. Carey’s Executive MBA program was ranked No. 18 by U.S. News & World Report, ahead of Yale, Georgetown, and USC.

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W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2015

Small Steps Lead to Big Influence “People’s behavior is largely shaped by the behavior of others around them; often, to be successful, a communicator only has to describe that behavior.” — ROBERT CIALDINI, PROFESSOR E M E R I T U S O F P SYC H O LO GY A N D MARKETING

Robert Cialdini, professor emeritus of psychology and marketing at ASU, is “the leading social scientist” studying persuasion, says the Harvard Business Review. His 1984 book titled “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion” is one of Inc. Magazine’s top 10 marketing books of all time. Cialdini’s latest book, “The Small BIG: Small changes that spark big influence,” delivers exactly what its subtitle promises. If you study the works of Robert Cialdini, you’ll find he identifies six principles of influence that impact the decisions people make. Among these principles are consistency — the inclination to behave in accordance with values — as well as social proof, or the tendency to look to what others have done as a guide to personal behavior. Authority comes into play, too. We listen to it. There’s also reciprocity, or feeling obligated to repay favors and debts; scarcity, which increases demand; and simple liking, the mindset that prompts us to agree with those we like. Readers of “The small BIG: Small changes that spark big influence” will discover several instances where social proof — the tendency to do what others do — made a huge difference in the outcomes. For instance, when British officials in Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs made a one-sentence change to tax collection letters based on advice from Cialdini’s consulting firm, it raised the bill clearance rate from 57 percent to 86 percent in one year. Overall, the change fetched £5.6 billion more overdue revenue than HMRC collected the year before. The change? HMRC added a line to the letters indicating that a large number of citizens actually do pay their taxes on time and in full. According to Cialdini and his two co-authors of “The small BIG,” “People’s behavior is largely shaped by the behavior of others around them; often, to be successful, a communicator only has to describe that behavior.” Again, it was the cues people received that influenced decision making. The heart-shaped plate served as a cue that activated behaviors associated with love, such as the kindness of giving a bigger tip. These examples and others in “The small BIG” illustrate a key message the book’s authors wanted readers to take away: “It is not information per se that leads people to make decisions, but the context in which that information is presented,” the authors note. “A small change in the setting, framing, timing or context of how information is conveyed can dramatically alter how it is received and acted upon.” W . P. C A R E Y

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“Some people might say, ‘You want to change my brain?’ The answer is, ‘Only if you want to.” — D AV I D W A L D M A N , P R O F E S S O R O F MANAGEMENT

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W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2017

Mapping Brain Signatures of ‘Bad’ Bosses Management Professor David Waldman has studied leaders and has often wondered: “What is going on inside their heads that would make them think and act that way?” Over the past decade, Waldman has become an expert on using neuroscience to observe people’s brain activity to see what goes on. Waldman has new research that shows a “brain signature” of people who are considered to be ethical leaders and a second study that maps electrical brain activity of people considered to be abusive. These are two important issues given recent ethical scandals in the corporate world, as well as organizations’ concerns about the treatment of their employees. And beyond that, Waldman is interested not only in what he can “see” in brain patterns but whether they can be changed through a process called neurofeedback. “I want to see the application of this — whether we can train people to be better leaders through neurofeedback,” he says. “Billions of dollars are spent on traditional leadership development every year. Why can’t this be mixed in to achieve better results?” For many years, researchers measured leadership skills and traits through surveys in which people answer questions about themselves or their bosses. About a decade ago, Waldman learned that there were practical, inexpensive ways of looking at what happens in the brain using a quantitative electroencephalogram, or QEEG. In that scanning process, small electrodes are attached to a subject’s scalp to painlessly measure electrical activity in the brain. “One of the problems with surveys is that people can lie and they can fake and they can manipulate,” Waldman says. “But if I take a direct assessment of your brain, you can’t lie or fake that.” In one study, to be published in the Academy of

Management Journal, Waldman and his co-authors wanted to see if they could establish a signature of the QEEG patterns of people who were considered to be ethical leaders. The study included 104 people who were military or business leaders. They each filled out a survey on their own ethical beliefs, and several of their peers, subordinates, and superiors also answered questions about the ethical leadership of the study subjects. Then the leaders each had an hour-long scan, which included an assessment of the brain at rest, or intrinsic brain. Waldman observed brain activity patterns that are indicative qualities associated with ethical leadership, such as self-reflection, perspective taking, and watchfulness of others’ behavior. Specifically, the researchers looked at connectivity among the brain regions in what is known as the default mode network. Those connections were related to leaders’ ethical ideology as well as their behavior. “There was essentially more and better connectivity between these brain regions for a certain bandwidth of brain waves, the beta bandwidth, for ethical leaders,” he says. In the other study, to be submitted for publication soon, Waldman found a separate signature brain structure, associated with the executive functioning of the brain, that could predict whether supervisors have abusive tendencies toward employees. Waldman says there could be ethical considerations in the neurofeedback itself. “Some people might say, ‘You want to change my brain?’ The answer is, ‘Only if you want to.’”

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W. P. Carey Forward Focus fundraising brochure, June 2018

A Global Perspective “W. P. Carey has become exactly what I hoped it to be: an environment where I can forge my own career and future, instead of follow a predetermined MBA path.” — IAN CURTISS

Long before he completed his MBA at the W. P. Carey School, Ian Curtiss had gained a wealth of international experience. “I was the senior manager for policy at the American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham China),” he says. “This was an incredible job, as I was surrounded by some of the sharpest executives and government officials in China. I was also able to be a part of improving some critical issues for not only multinational companies, but U.S.–China relations as a whole.” Curtiss chose to return to school to pursue his MBA, even though his career was going well, because he saw an opportunity to improve by observing the president of his company in China. “His ability to influence, plan, and execute was incredible. The ways he developed people, achieved long-term goals while effectively handling the day-to-day processes of an organization, and communicated his strategy and vision were an inspiration,” Curtiss adds. When he made the decision to get his MBA, Curtiss opted to return to Arizona, where he had earned his undergraduate degree and had worked on logistics and security issues surrounding the southern U.S. border. “W. P. Carey has become exactly what I hoped it to be: an environment where I can forge my own career and future, instead of following a predetermined MBA path that a university or others have already laid out for me,” he says. “My classmates are incredibly engaged and passionate about their own career plans and look for ways to help the program grow to benefit future students as much as themselves. It’s inspiring to see everyone do so much to help each other and proactively invest in our own development.”

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Lilly Purdon graduates from the W. P. Carey School of Business with a degree in business law and a 4.0 GPA.

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Business law grad reflects on many opportunities at ASU Lilly Purdon, the W. P. Carey School of Business’ Turken Family Outstanding Graduating Senior awardee this semester, faced difficulty in her time at Arizona State University. She arrived from Thailand alone with two suitcases. Due to the pandemic and her financial situation, she hasn’t seen her family in more than three years. Still, the outstanding grad studying business law directs her focus on the many opportunities she’s had. Editor’s note: This story is part of a series of profiles of notable fall 2021 graduates. “A piece of advice I’d like to give to those still in school is to not be afraid and just do it,” Purdon said. “Grasp the opportunities that come to you. Apply to that internship, join that club, take that road trip with your friends. Don’t be afraid to take a break or reach out for help, advice or resources that could aid you. There are so many wonderful things you can experience as a student, so make the most of the time you have.” Purdon did just that, earning a 4.0, being awarded with the New American Scholarship, the C.R. Krimminger Fund Scholarship, and the Sam and Ida Turken Family Scholarship, and being involved in campus life — from serving as a community assistant in the residence halls to joining the Sun Devil Motorsports Formula Electric Club, where she is the director of finance. “My involvement across campus not only made me feel at home at ASU, but also built my leadership skills

and helped me prepare for life after college,” Purdon said. “After three and a half years at W. P. Carey, I am truly thankful I decided to come here. ASU offers so many wonderful classes and opportunities for growth that has shaped me into the person I am today.” We caught up with Purdon to learn more about her experience and goals. Question: What was your “aha” moment, when you realized you wanted to study the field you majored in? Answer: I was initially a business administration major here at ASU. My “aha” moment that made me switch to business law was during one of my American Indian sovereignty/courts classes taught by Professor Richard Breuninger in my sophomore year. I was so captivated by the content we were studying that when a classmate turned to me and asked me what my name was, I nearly forgot and had to take a moment to remember. It was that moment that I acknowledged how every single week, I would look forward to going to this class, excited to learn more about the history of tribal sovereignty and how modern tribal law came to be. That’s when I realized how passionate I was about learning more about the legal system which influenced me to major in business law. Q: What’s something you learned while at ASU — in the classroom or otherwise — that surprised you or changed your perspective? A: Something I learned at ASU that changed my perspective on life was in my existentialism class taught by Professor Thad Botham. Throughout the course, we explored numerous concepts including free will, religion and purpose, and had numerous discussions about the various topics. At the end of all of it, my takeaway was that life is uncertain and no one has the answer to it. I have grown comfortable with the uncertainty of life, and have learned to make the most of the opportunities that come my way. You have the freedom to shape your life into what you want it to be, beginning with your perspective.

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W. P. Carey School of Business Outstanding Graduate Student Chikezie “Chike” Anachu was also named one of Poets & Quants’ “Best & Brightest MBA” students this year.

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MBA Outstanding Grad combines law and business for maximum impact Chikezie “Chike” Anachu was midway through his law degree when he realized more school was in his future. Editor’s note: This story is part of a series of profiles of notable spring 2022 graduates. “In law school, I often found myself wondering about the real impact of legal concepts and principles on business performance, especially how business-friendly regulations and policies could be used to incentivize the growth of small and medium enterprises,” explained Anachu. “Naturally, this curiosity led me to consider attending business school.” Several years down the road, and the Lagos, Nigeria, native and W. P. Carey School of Business Outstanding Graduate Student is graduating with his MBA and has a job lined up in Dallas as an associate at McKinsey & Co. He was also named one of Poets & Quants’ “Best & Brightest MBA” students this year. Anachu shared more about his MBA experience, his most valuable graduate school lessons, and what he would tackle with $40 million. Question: What’s something you learned while at ASU — in the classroom or otherwise — that surprised you or changed your perspective? Answer: One of the most profound things I learned was that leadership isn’t linear. Through involvement in student clubs and organizations, I came to realize that there will be many ups and downs in leading teams and organizations, and that’s OK. Typically, when we think of leadership, we hear strong stories of success, of getting the job done no matter what. But the down moments are often relegated to footnotes. During my time here, I have learned that moments of strength and weakness are equally important in a leader’s journey, because what matters is consistency, staying the course. Things will not always go right, and you should be prepared to

adapt to those contingencies to achieve your set goals or pivot in a new direction. Q: Why did you choose ASU? A: Initially, ASU wasn’t on my radar, but in the early spring of 2020 a friend of mine recommended I check out the W. P. Carey MBA program. After comparing it to other schools within my consideration set, I chose ASU for its incomparable combination of value for money, quality education and optimal outcomes. As a graduate student, I wanted a program that offered the best combination of all these things so that I could justify the cost of taking two years away from work to return to school. ASU has exceeded my expectations on all three fronts, especially once considering scholarship opportunities. Looking back now, I realize how incredibly fortunate I am to have listened to my friend who advised that I apply to ASU. Q: What’s the best piece of advice you’d give to those still in school? A: I would say to make the most of it. Every minute spent on campus is very special. You’re surrounded by so much intelligence, so many cool and bright people. And you should get to know them, learn from them and share with them. Someday when you’re graduating, you will realize the magic of an academic environment is not just the classroom learning you gained, but the ways in which you grew personally, the connections you made and the challenges you overcame. If you play it safe and never embrace the full potential of a campus environment, especially one as vibrant as ASU, you not only shortchange yourself, but you will have deprived others of the opportunity to get to know you and help shape your story.

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W. P. Carey magazine, Autumn 2016

Local flavors Supply chains are closing the distance from farm to table Milled from heritage grains grown on a Queen Creek farm, Hayden Flour Mills’ products easily fit the popular image of local foods: Fresh food grown nearby, named after a piece of local history and trucked short distances to grocery stores, restaurants and microbreweries eager for distinctive flavors and new foods. And it doesn’t hurt the four-year-old company that hundreds of chefs from New York to San Francisco regularly order its flour, or that consumers young and old pay a premium for food crafted at some point by human hands. “It’s a little easier to grow in an area where people do want the product,” says Steve Sossaman (B.S. Agriculture ’78), owner of grain grower Sossaman Farms. “A lot of the chefs that do order from us do promote local, and they feel that their clientele appreciate that … Whole Foods, Sprouts lean toward more of the local, nutritious, organic thing, and their clientele appreciate it. So it’s that market niche that makes sense.”

Consumers believe local is better Suppliers, retailers, researchers and industry experts agree that consumers are demanding more locally produced foods, and they are doing so for a host of reasons. Consumers often perceive that local foods are safer, fresher and of better quality than foods from other regions or countries. They believe in supporting local businesses and keeping dollars in their local economy. And they feel they are helping the environment by doing their part to reduce long distance transportation of food. Consumers’ purchases at classic farm stands and farmers’ markets, however, seem to have plateaued. Such direct-to-consumer food sales jumped 32 percent between 2002 and 2007, but were flat between 2007 and 2012, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported in 2015. Professor of Agribusiness Tim Richards says direct channels are limited because many consumers do not have access to them and because vendors cannot sell in big quantities, nor do vendors have access to capital to expand. “Total sales of local foods, however, are growing rapidly due to the important role retailers are playing in selling local,” Richards says. Indeed, more grocery chains are seeking to both meet consumers’ demand for local foods and to tout the chains’ support of local growers and W . P. C A R E Y

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Steve Sossaman (B.S. Agriculture ’78), owner of grain grower Sossaman Farms.

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producers. “If there’s a demand for it, they’ll get it in the stores, and they know there’s a demand to buy local, especially in foods and produce,” says Tim McCabe, president of the Arizona Food Marketing Alliance, a food industry trade association. “And I think the retailers want to make an impression on the consumer that they do buy local, or they do look locally and support people locally, especially if you’re a national chain.” McCabe says the local food trend started taking off five to 10 years ago as consumers increased demand for organic products, especially in produce. Though organic products are not necessarily local, federal requirements that labels inform consumers about a product’s country of origin have helped raise awareness of what is local and what is not, he says. The local agriculture industry’s “Arizona Grown” initiative, for example, has succeeded in getting many grocery shoppers to recognize the campaign’s orange labels on their spinach, carrots and other produce, and to put higher values on them. “Anytime you put the brand on anything, you find consumers are willing to pay a higher price because of that implicit promise of quality,” says Associate Professor of Agribusiness Renee Shaw Hughner, who helped study the “Arizona Grown” campaign. The top reason consumers bought “Arizona Grown” foods, the research indicated, was that they believed the local foods would taste better than even organic foods grown farther away. Besides the factors of freshness, environmental concerns and local economic support, consumers like the opportunity to build personal relationships with hometown producers and with entrepreneurial businesses that help create local products. “Keeping your dollars local is always a plus. We produce it here, it’s processed here, we provide local jobs and sell it, and those dollars come right back to the state of Arizona,” grower Sossaman says. “And you can have a social media relationship with the farmer, the processor … That’s another part of this that I find personally fun, exciting. I get to connect with something much larger than myself, with the food industry, the foodies.”

“Keeping your dollars local is always a plus. We produce it here, it’s processed here, we provide local jobs and sell it, and those dollars come right back to the state of Arizona.” —STE V E SO S SA M A N , B . S . A G R I C U LT U R E , ’ 7 8 O W N E R , S O S S A M A N FA R M S

Suppliers, retailers respond to demand Whether consumers are millennials buying Apple iPhones or Starbucks coffee, or baby boomers enjoying their higher incomes, people are willing to spend more for higher quality products. Professor of Supply Chain Management Elliot Rabinovich, co-director of the Internet-Edge Supply Chain Lab at the W. P. Carey School of Business, has studied an East Coast online grocer, Relay Foods, with a business model that has allowed consumers to order local products online for delivery direct to consumers. “Because these are not your typical products — they are specialty, organic, hand-crafted types of food — the type of customer that buys from Relay Foods is going to be willing to pay a premium,” Rabinovich says. By selling to a niche market, rather than to consumers who buy groceries at warehouse clubs or dollar stores, sellers can command higher margins on local foods than on non-local foods. Buyers of local foods also tend to spend more during their grocery shopping trips, Rabinovich says — due to the higher prices of local foods, but also because an important fraction of those buyers

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find one-stop shopping more convenient. While some buyers are “stock-up” consumers, buying a range of items for the week, others are “topoff” consumers, who buy in small quantities or for special occasions. The higher prices for local foods are also a function of limited supply and rising demand, Richards of the Morrison School of Agribusiness says. Limited supplies give high quality growers and suppliers an edge in negotiating, though they still need to ship consistent quantities of high quality produce to keep their contracts with retailers. As supplies rise, he sees buyers gaining more of a negotiating edge, but local foods will always carry a premium because the cost of producing and selling them is higher. The local foods trend is entering mainstream retailers in full force, Hughner says, especially because consumers tend to choose their grocery store based on its produce, meat and other perishable items. The additional spending that comes with local foods catches the attention of mainstream retailers, who also sell local foods to differentiate themselves and gain market share. The local economic effect is important to retailers, too, McCabe says. “They always wanted to support their community, but several times in the past there wasn’t the availability” of products that met retailers’ higher standards, he says. “They want a certain product and they just couldn’t get it locally, or they couldn’t get enough of it locally.” As local growers have geared up to meet demand, products are more readily available, McCabe says. Local products are also easier and less expensive to 232

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Ben Butler is the master miller at Hayden Flour Mills.

ship, and spend less time in storage, than products from other regions or countries. But retailers also face potential drawbacks in selling local foods. Local products might cannibalize sales of products from elsewhere. Competitors might cut prices to take back market share. Wholesale prices can run higher, and the logistics of sourcing small quantities from multiple suppliers can be more complicated. Availability, Richards says, is the biggest problem with local foods. National retailers might have to use 20 sources to supply 10 stores instead of using one supplier for 200 stores, creating big logistical problems. Hayden Flour Mills and Sossaman Farms have ramped up to meet demand. The farm started out growing three varieties of grain on 30 of its 800 acres, including the White Sonora wheat well-suited to a hot,

dry climate and first brought to Arizona by missionary Eusebio Kino. The crop is now up to eight wheat and barley varieties, and acreage has doubled each year, Sossaman said, fitting easily into the crop rotation with his major crop of alfalfa. The milling company grinds the grains with a stone mill whose lower heat levels maintain the grains’ nutrients better than modern industrial processing. As demand grew, Hayden Flour Mills moved out of its urban Phoenix location and is leasing bigger quarters at Sossaman Farms. Sossaman is even constructing a five-times-bigger building to house the mill, baking classes and future shop, restaurant and pasta manufacturing facilities. Hayden Flour Mills’ goal is to produce one million pounds of heritage grains a year, Sossaman says, and the company is already halfway there. Sossaman acknowledges some difficulties with producing specialty foods in small quantities. Hayden Flour Mills has learned to sell only to stores with quick turnover, lest a product past its expiration date leads to unhappy consumers and damage to the company’s reputation. Just as the food alliance’s McCabe emphasizes availability’s importance to retailers, Sossaman says small suppliers must gear up when media attention drives a surge in orders.

Delivering the goods in new ways Logistics plays an important role in the supply chain, especially because “local” might not be as close as consumers think. The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 defines local or regional products as those produced within a state’s boundaries or whose total distance from source to consumer is less than 400 miles. Third parties like States Logistics Services, which has operations in Arizona and California, focus on linking local food manufacturers to retailers and providing the warehousing and transportation options that the smaller firms would be hard-pressed to do on their own, says Jim Kallof (B.S. Marketing ’77), business development manager for States Logistics. States Logistics responded to the local foods trend 10 years ago by adding a division that wraps and labels producers’ local items, enhancing packaging to give the products better play on retailers’ shelves.

Consumers like the opportunity to build personal relationships with hometown producers and with entrepreneurial businesses that help create local products. Manufacturers also don’t have to ship foods hundreds of miles away for packaging, a move that Kallof says helps reduce the carbon footprint of transporting local foods. The logistics company also consolidates deliveries from multiple small suppliers, making one trip to a retailer’s dock instead of many trips. Consolidation reduces the number of truck deliveries, scheduled delivery times help make operations more efficient and full loads improve handling efficiencies and reduce damage to products, Kallof says. Kallof agrees that the local food trend is growing, because the numbers of organic and local stockkeeping units, or SKUs, he sees at major national food shows continue to rise. In Arizona, there is more room for foods and producers. “Everyone is always trying to bring in new foods locally, but a lot of that depends, too, on the number of companies moving to the Phoenix metro area for production and manufacturing,” Kallof says. “I don’t think we’ve got as many as we’d really like to have, but every so often a new one moves into town from California and other states.”

Still unsolved: food deserts and waste For all its progress, the local food movement has big challenges to resolve. One is the existence of food deserts — neighborhoods that lack mainstream grocers and are dominated by convenience stores and mom-and-pop shops. W . P. C A R E Y

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Contrary to popular belief, Hughner says, various studies have found that the cost of local foods does not deter consumers in food deserts from buying them. Rather, the problem is that small stores lack the refrigeration and other infrastructure needed to keep such foods fresh. On top of that, transporting small volumes to multiple small stores in sparsely populated areas can be too expensive to be profitable. Another challenge is the vast amount of perishable foods wasted throughout the supply chain, especially 234

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by consumers. Americans throw out about 25 percent of the food and beverages they buy, and the largest shares are fruits and vegetables, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. It recommends that consumers start planning and shopping more wisely, understand expiration dates and buy more imperfect yet still-healthful produce. Food waste also can increase as more big retailers shift away from a vendor-managed inventory model, in which the retailer takes ownership of products upon delivery, and increasingly adopt a new model called scan-based trading. Under the SBT model, suppliers own their products’ inventory, even as it sits on a retailer’s shelf, until a cashier scans the product and sells it to a consumer. The model is attractive to small suppliers in particular because it offers access to real-time sales and inventory information and to quicker payments. But it also reduces retailers’ incentive to ensure that items remain undamaged and sell before their expiration dates. “The supply chain involves a number of entities, from suppliers, manufacturers, third-party distributors and retailers until it reaches consumers. So there are a lot of hands that the product or ingredient has to go through,” says Min Choi, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Supply Chain Management at W. P. Carey. “If some contracts decouple ownership from responsibility, or ownership from management ... retailers won’t care much … It’s not their loss.” Choi’s research into perishable bakery items sold at four major supermarket chains indicated that the share of damaged and expired products increased 2.5 percent under scan-based trading compared to vendor-managed inventory. Her research did not specifically focus on local foods, but given that popular local foods include perishables like fresh produce and bakery goods with few preservatives, she suggests that local suppliers consider the reputational and financial risks of increased waste when deciding which type of contract to sign. On a positive note, Hughner found that consumers who joined community-supported agriculture, or CSA, programs felt guilty if they wasted local foods. Members pay to belong to such programs and get weekly boxes from local growers of whatever fruits and vegetables

Hughner found that consumers who joined community-supported agriculture, or CSA, programs felt guilty if they wasted local foods.

are in season. Her research showed that besides easing guilt, consumption of produce greatly increased when consumers obtained it from their CSA program.

The future of local foods The local food movement won’t fade anytime soon, experts agree. Though growers must deal with their geographical constraints, Sossaman says he would like to see growers in other parts of the country raise their own heritage grains and set up their own local food hubs. However, they face the expense and subsequent risk of building mills to process the product. Logistics professional Kaloff thinks the entry of chains like Sprouts Farmers Markets and Vitamin Cottage Natural Food Markets Inc. into metro Phoenix’s already competitive grocery market will help local food producers, because they will have more chains that can carry their products. For their part, he says, local producers must innovate and add to their product lines to keep consumers interested. Professor Rabinovich sees local foods, subject as they are to factors such as weather and seasonality, remaining a niche market that will not displace other produce at large retailers. Nor does he see retailers displacing farmers’ markets, where consumers and suppliers can make personal, face-to-face connections. He does think local suppliers are a good fit for consumers who want to order foods online. Farmers’ markets can’t scale significantly, and grocery chains, even if they wanted to take the risk, can’t stock everything. “You don’t have those shelf-space limitations on the Web,” he say. “The other thing that’s different is the way order fulfillment works in an online environment. You have the luxury as a retailer to not have to stock

the inventory if you don’t want to. You can usually pick it up the day of the order, versus a retailer who usually has to have the inventory available on the shelves when consumers show up.” The Morrison School’s Richards thinks online is the future for local and all other foods, because it allows consumers to use one portal to order a customized mix of foods, and it helps retailers source from large numbers of small growers and producers. “The combination of low search costs and high variety,” he says, “will mean higher food prices paid willingly by happier consumers.” The food alliance’s McCabe sees the local food trend getting stronger as more consumers focus on nutrition, ingredients and freshness. When local growers and suppliers gear up to ensure the right products are available, they will benefit from being close to buyers and shipping short distances. He doesn’t agree that consumers will do all their grocery shopping online. “Although more and more are doing that, we find that when it comes to things like meat or fruits and vegetables, people like to touch it,” he says. Consumers, the future is back in your hands. Square-Full

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Turken Family Outstanding Graduating Senior Adison McIntosh is graduating from the Morrison School of Agribusiness with a 4.0 GPA.

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ASU News, May 2, 2022

Turken Family outstanding graduate inspired by ASU’s inclusivity and resources Adison McIntosh realized her love and appreciation for animal agriculture early during visits to a dairy goat farm in Strawberry, Arizona, with her grandparents. “We would sample products, like ice cream, and I was just amazed by this process that creates the food we eat,” she said. More than 15 years later, McIntosh has been named the W. P. Carey School of Business Turken Family Outstanding Graduating Senior and is graduating from the Morrison School of Agribusiness with a 4.0 GPA. She is pursuing a career at the U.S. Depart of Agriculture – Farm Service Agency as a county program technician, connecting Arizona farmers and ranchers to the different programs offered by the USDA. When considering why she chose ASU to pursue this dream, McIntosh (who received numerous scholarships, including the ASU New American University Scholarship, the Williams Family Scholarship, the Robert Lytle Scholarship, the Otto and Edna Neely Foundation Scholarship, the McGab/Bean Agribusiness Scholarship and the Marvin and June Morrison Scholarship) explains what the ASU Charter means to her.

“At ASU, the focus is on being inclusive rather than exclusive. As a woman in farming and someone who has a passion for young people continuing to pursue jobs in agriculture, that focus on access and support is meaningful to me,” said McIntosh.

McIntosh shared more about her experience and how others can make the most of studying at ASU. Question: What’s something you learned while at ASU — in the classroom or otherwise — that surprised you or changed your perspective? Answer: Something that surprised me while at ASU and at the W. P. Carey School of Business was the power of connections and the possibilities that come from making a connection. For example, I was part of the Produce Marketing Association’s Fresh Summit Conference during the fall of 2021. During this conference, I was able to meet industry leaders in the field of fresh produce (fruits, vegetables, leafy greens, etc.). The industry leaders talked about how they got their start in the fresh produce industry and how they worked their way up to the career they have now. Almost all of the industry leaders stated they got their careers from the connections they made inside and outside of their previous careers. W. P. Carey’s motto “Where business is personal” is the truth on all accounts. Business is about making personal connections with everyone you meet and then deploying those connections to facilitate success for yourself and others. Q: Why did you choose ASU? A: I chose ASU because I was aware of the ample opportunities that were available to help me succeed during my time at ASU and after graduation. Unlike many other universities, ASU prides itself on being inclusive rather than exclusive. ASU wants to see its students succeed in every way possible and supports them through academic, physical health and mental health services that are readily available to ASU students. Square-Full

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ASU alumnus Patrick Ware raises a glass at Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co.

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W. P. Carey magazine, Autumn 2019

From hops to hiring A new agribusiness class made a real splash this spring. “We wanted to do something different,” says Marvin and June Morrison Chair in Agribusiness Tim Richards. “So we’re teaching ‘vertical’ — everything about an industry from the ground up — and we wanted to choose an industry that would be attractive to students.” Turns out the business of beer is plenty attractive. Taught by Richards and fellow Morrison School of Agribusines faculty Carola Grebitus, the first class of Agribusiness 494 students learned about price elasticity and regression analysis. They also heard about hops farms, spontaneous fermentation, and how issues like labor costs work in real life, thanks to local beer industry leaders including ASU alumnus Patrick Ware. While telling the class about his journey to become co-founder and brewmaster of Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co. — an award-winning craft brewery with two restaurants and 150 employees — he stressed the importance of making business decisions that align with your core beliefs. For Ware and business partner Jonathan Buford, that means staying true to their commitment to ethical and sustainable business practices, as well as their shared devotion to conservation. “A lot of the initiatives we ran after initially didn’t make a dollar but were, philosophically, things we loved,” he explains. “You can’t lose the culture of the company even though you want to put together financial protocols.” An invaluable learning experience for students, Richards says the course will be evaluated for expansion into other areas of agribusiness, such as coffee and pizza. “It’s all about creativity and entrepreneurship,” he says. “It’s the merger of the best things about business.”

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Jan. 3, 2019: The new Starbucks on the ground floor of Union Tempe features 25 partners who are either enrolled in the Starbucks College Achievement Plan, ASU students, or alumni — including Starbucks scholar and corporate accounting student Morgan Michelotti. Say hi when you see her!

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W. P. Carey magazine, Autumn 2019

Brewing brighter futures

A first-of-its-kind partnership between ASU and Starbucks, the Starbucks College Achievement Plan (SCAP) creates an opportunity for all eligible Starbucks employees to earn their bachelor’s degrees through ASU Online with full tuition coverage. Tapped to develop a future-forward business degree for emerging retail leaders, the W. P. Carey School’s online bachelor’s in retail management was launched along with the Starbucks partnership in 2014. Today, retail management is only one of the business degrees that Starbucks employees can pursue at ASU. Learn more: starbucks.asu.edu

Five years later, the progress report:

3,000

Goal: 25,000

graduates in 2015*

graduates in 2019*

graduates in 2025*

2 online W. P. Carey bachelor’s degrees / Feb. 2014 15 online W. P. Carey bachelor’s degrees / Feb. 2019 63% of Starbucks stores have a participating scholar.** Scholars retain at 1.5x and promote at 2.8x the rate of U.S. retail population.**

* Refers to SCAP graduates across ASU programs. ** Reflects program data as of October 2018. W . P. C A R E Y

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“I used our business’s good fortune to help bring others up.” — DENISE WOODARD, MBA ‘10

Denise Woodard (MBA ’10) was inspired to create Partake after struggling to find healthy, delicious food for her daughter, Vivienne, who was diagnosed with several food This is a caption. allergies as an infant. The New Jersey-based company has been featured in Forbes and People, and on Today.

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W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2021

Being the Change in a Changed World How the W. P. Carey community made a difference in an uncertain year

2020 was not easy on anyone. Yet even as many of us struggled through what was one of the most difficult years in generations, many in the W. P. Carey community found ways to lead with generosity and gratitude. At a time of great fear, they found ways to be brave. At a moment when it could be easy to hunker down, they opened up. Call it “the great reframing”: This past year required people to take a new perspective on their lives. Many found that they had more to offer — and more to appreciate — than they realized when times were better. Here, in her own words, Denise Woodard highlights some of the ways that these past few months have allowed her to think differently about her responsibilities and roles. We hope her story will help you see the ways that you, too, may have gained and shared more from this difficult period than you might realize.

DENISE WOODARD After George Floyd was killed, there was a focus on amplifying Blackowned brands. We did more from an e-commerce perspective in June than we did in all of 2019. I was reckoning with a lot of guilt. So many people were losing their jobs, losing family members. There is all this racism in our country. Why was all this good stuff happening to our business? Then I flipped that thought on its head. If good stuff was happening to us, we should use that [momentum] to do more good. I wanted to pay that forward tenfold. How has that come to life? We partnered with the Food Equality Initiative, a nonprofit that provides allergy-friendly foods to food-insecure families. We have been able to feed more than 3,000 families. We figured out a lot of this on the fly. We would see a problem, take a small baby step to move things in the right direction, and continue to learn. All it takes is a bunch of people making small baby steps to be able to effect real change.

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“I was not at all interested in what he was doing, but the night he passed away, a group of winemakers from the area came to see me.” — J A N I E B R O O K S H E U C K , W . P. C A R E Y B S A C C O U N TA N C Y ’ 8 9

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W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2022

Balancing Profit and Purpose Growth and accountability are the fruit of this vine On paper, Janie Brooks Heuck (BS Accountancy ’89) is an accountant who runs a winery. This may not sound like anything out of the ordinary — but in fact, its origins are worthy of an inspirational drama movie for the big screen, in which a lovely Willamette Valley, Oregon, fledgling winery is at risk of closure, in need of rescue after its eponymous founder’s untimely death. And in this story, Heuck is the heroine. To be clear, she wasn’t looking for a gig as a managing director of a winery — or even as the finance director. Heuck had been happily ensconced in a corporate finance job in the health care industry. But in 2004, her brother Jimi Brooks passed away, leaving behind the winery that had been his life’s work. “I was not at all interested in what he was doing,” Heuck recalls, “but the night he passed away, a group of winemakers from the area came to see me. They said they wanted to keep making Jimi’s wine, for free. They asked me to handle the business side.” It was the spirit of community and collaboration that these winemakers showed, as much as the wine business itself, that attracted Heuck to the work. And if she didn’t carry on her brother’s legacy, who would? She assumed the role of winery director and has been at the helm ever since. Seventeen years later, it’s clear that Heuck has done more than just carry on — she has expanded the winery and its legacy significantly. This is how Brooks Winery came to be named to the Sun Devil 100, which recognizes the top 100 fastest-growing companies led by ASU alumni. That’s a lot of business brainpower to measure up to, and Heuck and Brooks Winery have made it three years running. CERTIFIABLY MAKING A DIFFERENCE While the growth of Brooks Winery is impressive, it is hardly Heuck’s only consideration in how she manages the business. Brooks is the only winery in the world that is a certified B Corporation. Certified B Corporations are W . P. C A R E Y

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businesses that meet high standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. B Corps are purpose-driven to create benefit for all stakeholders, not just shareholders. Brooks Winery also is a member of 1% for the Planet, an international organization in which members donate at least 1% of annual sales or salaries to environmental causes. It’s also Demeter Biodynamic-certified, which requires a comprehensive organic farming method that involves creating and managing a closed system minimally dependent on imported materials, and instead meets its needs from the living dynamics of the farm itself. As Heuck puts it: “It’s organic-plus.” COMPOST FIT FOR A KING The commitment and attention to detail involved in Demeter Biodynamic farming are evident in Brooks Winery’s composting, which seems to require more

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care than some grape growers might give to their entire harvest. According to Heuck, this includes no fewer than nine different preparations derived from plants and animals to restore the soil and the grapevines. One preparation involves burying cow manure in cow horns for six full months until it all decomposes and becomes a nutrient-rich crumble that can be used to feed the plants. The vines are also sprayed with a formulation that spreads tiny pieces of shiny silica throughout the vineyards to reflect more sun on the plants, which increases photosynthesis and gives them greater vigor and growth. The grapevines are further enriched by the addition of chamomile tea to their compost mix. If you imagine you can taste all that thoughtfulness and care and positive intention in the wine itself, Heuck is not going to disagree. “We work to make sure our wines are the truest possible expression of the grapes,” she says.

This means very little human intervention in the wine cellar once the fruit is picked. Sugar, acid, yeast, or water — which are often added to other wines to affect taste, texture, or consistency — are anathema at Brooks. “This business takes a lot of patience,” Heuck says, “especially because we don’t manipulate wines. We have to be patient through the ripening process to make sure we have sugar ripeness and flavor development.” A WINNER IN BUSINESS AND BEYOND In addition to being named an ASU Top 100, Brooks Winery was recently named one of the Top 100 wineries in the world by Wine & Spirits magazine. Located in Amity, Oregon, about 20 minutes north of Salem, the Brooks Winery grows about 20% of the fruit it requires, while 40% more comes from other area vineyards. In 2020, the area was engulfed in smoke from wildfires in the western United States. The smoke

taint on grapes can compromise wines, so the winery decided not to make wine that year. But to supplement the lost income to its grape-growing partners, Brooks made payments to them anyway. “It’s part of taking care of our relationships,” says Heuck. This generosity also helps ensure growers are in business to provide the grapes Brooks Winery would need in the future. Heuck puts that wisdom to work when she visits with people in the tasting room, which has since reopened. “I love that part of my job when someone is enjoying our product,” she says. “That’s the real core of the business.” “Winemaking is very personal,” Heuck points out. “Most wines are unique. So it’s not as competitive as other businesses, because we’re all creating something different.” This is certainly true of Heuck and Brooks Winery. —Joe Bardin

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“If you gave me the CV of Michael Jordan, I couldn’t infer his huge material success as an athlete from that. The reason he made so much money is not captured by how long or where he went to school.” — B E R T H O L D H E R R E N D O R F, BERTHOLD HERRENDORF PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS

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W. P. Carey magazine, Autumn 2018

What’s holding agricultural workers back? No matter where in the world they live — in a rich, middle-income, or a developing country — agricultural workers make less money than those in any other sector. So why don’t they quit their low-wage jobs and switch to something better? Previous economic research has suggested that structural barriers keep them in place. Laws or rigid, deeply ingrained social structures, such as the caste system in India or the Hukou system in China, discourage farm workers from pursuing other types of work, even though wages are higher outside of agriculture. But most countries don’t have a caste system like India’s or a harsh government policy like China’s Hukou system, which cuts people off from education and health services if they move from farm to city without authorization. That raises many questions. For agricultural workers in places that lack apparent restrictions, where are the barriers that economists imply are standing in their way? Is there even proof that they exist at all? And if not, what is holding agricultural workers back? Questions like these led Professor of Economics Berthold Herrendorf to research the subject, along with colleague Todd Schoellman, formerly an assistant professor of economics at W. P. Carey and now a senior research economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. For their paper, “Wages, Human Capital, and Barriers to Structural Transformation,” published by the American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, Herrendorf and Schoellman studied data for U.S. workers who switched from agriculture to different careers. They also examined the work of other researchers who studied the same thing in countries across the world’s economic spectrum. Their full sample included about a third of the world population in 2010, including people from four of the five most populous countries: India, the U.S., Indonesia, and Brazil. Their research focused on the question of whether agricultural workers who did manage to transition to a

different type of work received a bump in wages. If an artificial legal or social barrier had been the only thing holding them back, then you would expect to see their wages increase once they transcended it. The finding suggests that other factors play a role in switching sectors. Individual characteristics such as education, skill, talent, drive, and personality, which economists subsume under the term “human capital,” could account for workers’ success or failure in making a transition to higher paying work. Human capital, however, is not an easy area to study. Though it plays a vital role in the economy, its components aren’t always visible to researchers. They can see some statistics, like education levels, but not others, like motivation or unique skills. “If you gave me the CV of Michael Jordan, I couldn’t infer his huge material success as an athlete from that. The reason he made so much money is not captured by how long or where he went to school,” Herrendorf says. Though the researchers couldn’t evaluate every aspect of human capital for agricultural wage-earners, they did document that education levels were consistently lower than they were in other fields. This holds broadly for the aforementioned sample from four of the five most populous countries. In comparing the productivity of agricultural workers to those in other fields, other researchers found gaps even broader than the wage gap. Part of the reason could be that measuring the value of agricultural work is notoriously difficult. Trying to determine whether or how third-world countries will evolve beyond low-functioning agricultural economies is outside the scope of Herrendorf’s work. Next, he intends to focus on the decline of manufacturing and the rise of the service sector in the U.S. economy, and the implications of that trend for productivity. — Teresa Meek

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“Facebook isn’t going away, The New York Times isn’t going away, but the foundation that their stories tend to originate from is going away.” — ROGER WHITE, ROGER WHITE, A S S I S TA N T P R O F E S S O R O F A C C O U N TA N C Y, A N D M I N K I M , D O CTO R A L ST U D ENT O F A C C O U N TA N C Y

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PUBLISHED

W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2020

Extra, Extra! Newspaper closures alarm local businesses “Newspaper readership is declining like crazy. There’s a good chance that nobody is reading my column,” quipped humor columnist Dave Barry. He had a point — U.S. newspaper circulation shrank from 60 million in 1994, the year Barry penned his lament, to 35 million in 2018, according to Pew researchers. For those who recognize the watchdog role of journalism, this decline might look like a dangerous decrease in corporate oversight. That’s why Assistant Professor of Accounting Roger White teamed up with Min Kim, doctoral student of accountancy, to see if firms would become less transparent and less investorfriendly with local newspaper losses. Local firms didn’t. White and Kim found that firms with at least 50% of their operations located near a defunct paper take extra steps to keep investors informed and rewarded. GLOBAL IMPACT ON A LOCAL SCALE “A lot of people believe that small, local newspapers don’t play an important role in the information environment in the United States,” White says, but previous research has shown that “more than half of unique news in this country is generated by small newspapers.” Large news venues comb these local resources, often via algorithm-driven software, and tease out the news that will be elevated to the national stage. As found by a University of North Carolina study that tallied 1,810 newspaper closures between 2004 and 2018, there’re fewer local resources for large news venues to explore. “Newspapers serve as an important monitor for local firms,” Kim says. In a write-up of their study, he and White share memories from a former reporter who recalled when a newspaper in New London, Connecticut, broke the story that Pfizer was moving its headquarters and pulling 1,400 jobs out of town. An editor got the lead from a neighbor. “Maybe the neighbor came home with a bunch of cardboard boxes

in the car one day,” White says. Neighborly banter could easily unveil such news. Local newspapers can be especially valuable to investors, which may help explain why around 30% of the average equity owner’s portfolio consists of stocks from nearby companies, Kim notes. Mutual fund investors also are more likely to invest in hometown firms. “If a firm is covered by a local newspaper, it becomes more familiar,” Kim says. Local news also may give investors information nonlocal investors don’t have, which could provide a trading advantage. White and Kim looked at all firms in towns that suffered newspaper closures or large layoffs, but they found that only local businesses, not multinational firms like Microsoft, changed their investor-related activity. We’re talking about companies that are traded on NASDAQ and the New York Stock Exchange, not Bob’s Hardware,” White says. White and Kim note that all signs point to continuing decay in the newspaper industry, and that’s bad news all over. “Facebook isn’t going away, The New York Times isn’t going away, but the foundation that their stories tend to originate from is going away,” says White. “Even big companies — billion-dollar companies — are affected by the disappearance of these local papers.” Ahead, White thinks companies will need more self-disclosure because they won’t be able to rely on a newspaper to publicize doings and attract potential investors. “They’re going to have to build up their investor relations and marketing departments to get their names and business models out in front of people,” he says. “It looks like they’re going to have to pay out more dividends, too,” White adds. Maybe that’s why he and Kim used these words in the title of this recent research paper: “Stop the Presses! Or, Wait. We Might Need Them.” — Betsey Loef

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Peter Hom, Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship

Luiz Mesquita, Associate Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship

Research by Luiz Mesquita, Associate Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship

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W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2021

The Science of Caring: Why Family Firms Feel Like Family Luis Gomez-Mejia, Regents Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship

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“The image of the family is reflected in the company, and owning a family business can be a risk. They want to leave the dynasty intact for their children and grandchildren. “The company’s future is tied to the firm, which isn’t usually the case with non-family firms.” — L U I S G O M E Z- M E J I A

“Any customer who walks into a family firm may be surprised at what they find,” reveals Luis Gomez-Mejia, ASU Regents Professor of management and entrepreneurship. With an overwhelming belief that non-family businesses offered more attractive career packages — either better human resources benefits or a well-defined career plan — GomezMejia and colleagues Luiz Mesquita and Peter Hom, professors at ASU, Marcos Hashimoto, associate professor at the University of Indianapolis, and Amanda Christensen-Salem, assistant professor at the University of Cincinnati, decided to look closely at organizational caring climates in organizations, which highlight the belief that businesses do care about their employees. In the debate between family firms and non-family firms, family firms offer a refreshing way of doing things, says Gomez-Mejia. “These workplaces are communities that continually encourage mutual help, respect, positive interpersonal relationships, trust, and support.” Fueled by the concept of socioeconomic wealth (SEW) — described as the perceived value of noneconomic factors, such as family values, family dynasty, longevity, altruism, and transgenerational vision — defined by Gomez-Mejia in 2007, the authors discuss how firms strive to enhance their perception through organizational caring. Preserving family SEW motivates how family firms drive their choices. “The image of the family is reflected in the company, and owning a family business can be a risk. They want to leave the dynasty intact for their children and grandchildren,” says Gomez-Mejia. “The company’s future is tied to the firm, which isn’t usually the case with non-family firms.” FAMILY VALUES AT THE FOREFRONT Family firms — defined as businesses where a family member governs or has a major influence — can be large corporations, small family operations, or anything between. Some of the top companies in the world are family firms — including Marriott International, Motorola, Ford Motor Co., Harley-Davidson, Hilton Worldwide, and John Deere & Co. They represent a significant number of Fortune 500 firms and account for 90% of all businesses in both North America and most countries worldwide. Mesquita worked for farm-machinery maker John Deere and found family concern at the forefront of his experience. “The company had a competitive corporate environment, but was also very friendly,” he recalls. “During training, they showed us a picture of the garage where Mr. John Deere used to work. They highlighted his values, and I quickly learned that quality and service are cornerstones at John Deere,” he says. Mesquita was particularly motivated to dive into the research because of his personal experience with family firms. “My dad owned a prolific ranch.

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I will always remember how the employees were a part of a community,” he says. “It was the best place I could have ever asked to work — not only because we were a family but also because we understood each other. We had a common language,” reflects Mesquita. Employees are more likely to perceive family firms as more human and less desirable than non-family firms. “Research shows that it’s less likely for people to quit in a family firm. More than that, employees stay for up to 20 years, compared with three or four years at non-family firms,” says Gomez-Mejia. It’s true that family businesses aren’t perfect. “Fewer benefits or less compensation exist at family firms, but we are starting to see employees who value workplace intangibles rather than just the need to maximize profit,” he says. To uncover more about their research, including deciding whether family firms truly promote employee beliefs about organizational caring, the team collected data from two surveys at the Fundação Instituto de Administração (FIA), a nonprofit research institute in São Paulo, Brazil — the fifth-largest economy in the world. The first survey, completed by key executives, assessed each firm’s human resource management practices and the second survey assessed a random sample of each firm’s employees who described their experiences working there. The team endorsed a second measure of “perceived organizational caring”: Participants identified questions from the employee FIA survey that best captured “caring” by requesting the opinions of 15 renowned scholars who had theorized or studied organizational caring. The team went on to recruit 336 Brazilian working professionals to complete separate survey items analyzing perceptions of caring with a large sample of Brazilian employees and firms. Further, they identified examples of caring within organizations within a large FIA sample of Brazilian employees and firms. Based on his earlier research, Gomez-Mejia and his team believe that employees in family firms, as compared with their counterparts in non-family firms, perceive greater workplace caring. “Because employees believe their employer cares about them, they are more engaged, and therefore more productive,” he says. “In family firms, this goes a step further. Employees seem to progress faster within the firm, and in turn, the firm benefits financially.” Based on 54,000 employees from 180 firms from the FIA, the research team found that employees working for family firms do report higher perceptions of organizational caring. All-in-all, this translates into superior performance for both the firm and the employee. — Madeline Sargent

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W. P. Carey magazine, Autumn 2019

Strengthening small business is a ‘win-win’ An eight-week program for small business owners, W. P. Carey’s Small Business Leadership Academy develops skill sets and competiveness in the small business community. We believe that strengthening small business is a ‘winwin.’ Small firms are responsible for the majority of U.S. job creation, making pathways to success for small businesses critical to our economic development as a state and a nation.

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Josh Cohen earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Arizona State University’s W. P. Carey School of Business in 2005.

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W. P. Carey magazine, Autumn 2022

PC Sportscards tops Sun Devil 100’s Class of 2022 Eligible companies were ranked by how fast they’re growing, determined by percentage increase in either gross sales or revenue for 2018, 2019, and 2020. Josh Cohen earned an undergraduate degree in business administration in 2005. After graduation, he worked in tech and as a basketball coach. Although Cohen had collected sports cards as a kid, he hadn’t dipped his toe in it in years. Then, in 2013, a friend got him back into collecting. After he couldn’t sell a valuable card for a reasonable price, Cohen took it to a card show and sold it for top dollar. In March 2014, Cohen left tech and went into business for himself. Two years later, at the National Sports Card Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey, he shared a space with sports card dealer Zach Polen. They decided it was better to work together and quickly became a contender in the world of modern card dealers. In 2020, PC Sportscards grew its business more than 390% and is the 2022 fastest-growing Sun Devil-led company. Cohen was honored as the top of the Sun Devil 100 Class of 2022 in the category of companies with revenues of more than $10 million. The Sun Devil 100 is an annual awards program that recognizes the fastestgrowing alumni-owned and -led organizations. “I never expected this,” Cohen said as he accepted the award from ASU Alumni Association President Christine Wilkinson. Each year, the alumni association recognizes leaders of organizations from around the world that demonstrate innovation, growth, and entrepreneurial spirit. Companies of all sizes, from individual business owners to large corporations, spanning dozens of industries, are honored at the annual awards program. There were 137 people this year, representing 107 companies — the largest class yet. They had to have been in business for three years and be Sun Devilowned and -led.

The diverse mix of organizations that make up this year’s class has combined total revenues of $15 billion for the last year, employs more than 130,000 people, and has locations in 13 states. It’s the eighth year Sun Devil 100 has celebrated entrepreneurs, changemakers, and leaders who have graduated from ASU. In alignment with ASU’s charter, the ASU Foundation expanded the awards program to include revenue tiers and showcase more ASU alumniowned and -led organizations. In a change from previous years, companies were placed in a tier based on their revenues from 2020: Revenues of $250,000 to $1.999 million: The fastest-growing company in this category is full-service landscaping metal design company and fabrication firm Majestic Water Spouts in Tempe, Arizona, led by owner and CEO Matthew Kayne (BS Computer Information Systems ’08). Revenues of $2 million to $9.999 million: For the first time in the program’s history, Sun Devil 100 recognized a top business from a previous year — Falcon Wealth Planning of Ontario, California, which was awarded the No. 1 spot in 2018. CEO Gabriel Abraham Shahin graduated from ASU in 2006 with a degree in business administration. Revenues of $10 million and more, in addition to Cohen: Frederick M. Van Etten (BS General Business Administration ’77); Aaron Matos (BS Management ’95); Lisa VanBockern (BS Accountancy/Computer Information Systems ’98); Chris Ko (BS Finance ’03); David Freedman (BS Real Estate ’05); and David Glanzrock (BS Supply Chain Management/ Marketing ’05). A complete list of honorees can be found at alumni. asu.edu/events/sun-devil-100.

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Aaron Pool (BS Management ’09), owner of Gadzooks Enchiladas & Soup in Phoenix, and his family will support future Sun Devils with a new scholarship fund. 264

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W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2018

A big win for our Sun Devil family Aaron Pool (BS Management ’09) is a an entrepreneur with a thriving business. He’s a two-time Sun Devil 100 winner. And now, he and his family will support future Sun Devils with a new student-athlete scholarship fund. “The Pool Family Endowment is a scholarship fund that will support Sun Devil student-athletes,” he says. “Four of us being alumni of the university, it is a point of pride that our family has the opportunity to support future Sun Devil students.” For Pool, giving back to ASU acknowledges the power of his college education and experience, while supporting increased access to the same for future students. “We never thought we would have an opportunity, especially this early on in our lives, to give back to ASU,” he says. “Giving back is important because W. P. Carey had a direct impact on my success in life.” While Pool is psyched about the financial investment he’s been able to make in the university and the business school, he sees that money as part of a much bigger picture. “Monetary giving back doesn’t solve all issues. We also need creative thinking and just putting in actual hourly work,” he says, reflecting on his decision to join the W. P. Carey School of Business Alumni Council. “I wanted to get involved, in any way that I could help advance both ASU and the W. P. Carey School.” Serving on the W. P. Carey Alumni Council has allowed him to add value wherever possible, as well as play a role in shaping the future of the school where he got his start. “I’ve learned and enjoyed how well W. P. Carey is organized and their passion for this university,” Aaron says. “I have to pinch myself sometimes because I am so proud of the creativity, open-mindedness, quality, support, and transparency at W. P. Carey. Pool regards the experience and education he received at W. P. Carey as invaluable to his

development, both personally and as an entrepreneur. “Growing up, I found myself wanting to make the decision or create things with a certain quality,” he says. “Some places may say ‘That’s wrong, you need to do it this way.’ I was fortunate to have attended a university that led me to understand those tendencies as having an entrepreneurial spirit.” As a kid, his trademark “what do you want to be when you grow up” response was, well, different than most. “I would always say that I wanted to own an airline,” he says with a laugh. “I would get the ‘Oh that’s cute, not going to happen’ response in return.” He got similar feedback while building what is now Gadzooks Enchiladas & Soup. “An enchilada shop isn’t anywhere close to an airline, but I dealt with the same response from people when I said I wanted to open an enchilada shop,” Pool says. “You learn that you shouldn’t feel ashamed of having big, unique ideas as long as you have the support system, like W. P. Carey was for me.” He also learned that profits will come as long as you are passionate and believe in what you do. “I’ve been in love with Mexican food since the days I was riding my big wheel around the neighborhood block,” he says. “W. P. Carey influenced me to go out and do. Encouraged me to take the risk ... I wouldn’t be here without the encouragement and support.” Square-Full W . P. C A R E Y

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This is a caption. Carson Holmquist, W. P. Carey BS Management ’08

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W. P. Carey magazine, Autumn 2017

Sun Devil 100 celebrates outstanding business success In April, the Sun Devil 100 welcomed 34 inductees — including 23 W. P. Carey alumni, three of whom produced the highest business growth rates among all inductees: Carson Holmquist (BS Management ’08) CEO, Stream Logistics 1,852.32 percent business growth rate Jonathan Beekman (BS Economics/Finance, BA Spanish ’02) CEO, Launchpad Inc./Man Crates 776.06 percent business growth rate Matthew Michalowski (BS Finance ’09) President and Owner, PXL Brothers 365.11 percent business growth rate

We are proud to welcome the third group of alumni entrepreneurs and business leaders to the Sun Devil 100. Each year, the ASU Alumni Association celebrates the exceptional achievements of Sun Devil-owned and Sun Devil-led businesses around the world. This year’s honorees came from a range of industries. They are pioneers and initiators of change. They are corporate leaders and entrepreneurs. They have founded companies and turned businesses around. One of the notable traits of this group, like the two before it, is the inductees are addressing key business and community issues, in fields that range from online community management, software for legal professionals, and tax planning to moving/logistics and energy-efficient lighting solutions. Their work demonstrates how they engage with and improve the community that surrounds them. The Sun Devil 100 Class of 2017 find success by leveraging their ASU connections to operate efficiently and creatively. Kimothy Taylor (BLS Liberal Studies ’08, MBA ’13) relocated his company, Ipro, from north Phoenix to the well-located Papago Technology Center in Tempe, Ariz., making room for business growth — 29.57 percent growth rate — and bringing ASU’s talent pool close. “There are a lot of skilled workers at the university,” says Taylor, who will continue leading the recently acquired software company as its president and chief operations officer. “To grow Ipro, we can recruit responsible, educated interns who learn quickly and apply what they’ve learned. They get our training, and with enthusiasm and effort, can rise to the top of our talent pool.”

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“Students were truly interested in this breadth of offerings. They loved studying these topics along with business.” — K AY FA R I S , R E T I R E D I N J A N U A R Y A S T H E S E N I O R A S S O C I AT E D E A N FOR STUDENTS AND SPECIAL A DV I SO R TO TH E D E A N

The school teamed up with departments and schools across ASU to launch concentrations. Today, the school has even more academic partners; students can earn concentrations in more than 20 different fields. Even better, the school can quickly spin up new concentrations as needs arise.

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W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2022

Innovative ways the W. P. Carey community connects with ASU, industries and the world At the W. P. Carey School, the idea of collaboration isn’t a lofty goal or an empty promise. It’s a practice that’s infused into just about everything the school does. From Bachelor of Arts concentrations for undergraduates to international partnerships that bring the world to Arizona, W. P. Carey students, faculty, alumni, and administrators are committed to making meaningful connections that benefit everyone. The school measures success not by what it can do by itself but by what it can do by including others, sharing ideas, and working together. The results? Better-prepared students, more effective programs, and successful research. Here, in the following examples, we show exactly what that looks like — and why it matters.

Students benefit from multiple specialties through BA concentrations In the mid-2000s, a handful of administrators within the W. P. Carey School, including Kay Faris, then the undergraduate dean, noticed that not only was there an enormous number of students who wanted to earn business degrees, there also were students clamoring for solid business skills who also wanted to pursue fields outside of business. They didn’t want to focus on business alone; they wanted the skills in addition to

the knowledge they could gain in other areas. The school teamed up with departments and schools across ASU to launch four BA concentrations. The concentrations — in sustainability, communication, urban policy, and tourism management — bundled business coursework with classes in a secondary specialty. Today, the school has joined forces with even more academic partners; students can earn BA concentrations in more than 20 different fields, including BA degrees entirely within the business school. Even better, the school can quickly spin up new concentrations as needs arise. According to Faris, the recently developed sports business concentration has been wildly popular. The numbers attest to the programs’ popularity: 6,584 students are currently pursuing BA concentrations on campus, while another 2,710 are pursuing them online. Concentrated power: Current BA concentrations include: business administration; communication; corporate accounting; financial planning; food industry management; global agribusiness; global leadership; global logistics management; global politics; health care; human resources; information security; language and culture (Chinese, French, Italian, or Spanish); law; public service and public policy; retail management; sports business; statistics; sustainability; technology; and tourism. Good to know: The retail management BA concentration was created in partnership with Starbucks. There have been 507 Starbucks College Achievement Plan graduates from W. P. Carey.

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Member Organizations The following companies and organizations have been invited to partner with the Center for Services Leadership as center members because of their commitment to customerfocused services and service excellence. All are, or strive to be, world-class services organizations, whether their core revenues derive from products or service delivery.

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W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2022

Academic research paired with real-world insight propels innovation in services When it comes to finding a competitive edge through services, top organizations — from Fortune 500 companies such as American Express to world-leading nonprofit organizations including the Mayo Clinic — turn to W. P. Carey’s Center for Services Leadership. The pioneering center, launched in 1985, offers a mix of applied research, networking, and teaching. Recent research has addressed building better relationships with customers and identifying high-performance account managers. research.wpcarey.asu.edu/services-leadership

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W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2022

Eliminating “academic silos” leads to innovation in the MS-IVD program In the startup and venture world, disciplines like business, manufacturing, design, and marketing all work together to bring a successful product to the world. But in the academic world, such fields can get “siloed” into different schools. The recently launched Master of Science in Innovation and Venture Development (MS-IVD) program takes a page from the startup world to blur the lines among disciplines and propel student innovation. Three schools — the W. P. Carey School, the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, and the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts — work together to help students come up with a great idea and start executing on it with startup-like speed. Through deep collaboration among the schools, the program provides an experience that looks much like the real work world students will enter, says Interim Director Brent Sebold (MEd ’06, EdD ’11). Launched in 2020, the program has already seen early successes. One team in the program developed KOKO NI, a device that can help older adults age in place through fall detection, gait analysis, and medication checks. The team — Parker Barr, Tesher Cohen, and Kyle DeSousa (all MS-IVD ’21) — have earned several seed grant funding awards throughout their time at ASU, most recently a $5,000 check at the Venture Devils Demo Day last fall.

“The expectation is that we are going to make the world a better place by leveraging our collective experience in this program to build better products, services, and solutions.” — BRENT SEBOLD, MED ’06, EDD ’11

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Always learning Join us on campus to discover new insights that will elevate your decision-making Head back to class with fellow W. P. Carey alumni for a day of learning and networking. Access worldrenowned faculty in their fields and gain perspectives and ideas you can implement in your organization and throughout your career. Amy Hillman joined the faculty of the W. P. Carey School in 2001 and has served as dean since 2013. She has received numerous awards for her teaching and research, including the 2018 Distinguished Educator Award from the Academy of Management. Her areas of interest include corporate political strategies, boards of directors, and corporate strategy.

Amy Hillman Charles J. Robel Dean’s Chair Professor of Management

Since joining the W. P. Carey School in 2014, his prolific research has led to publication in numerous premier journals and grants from the National Science Foundation and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, as well as receiving the AIS Early Career Award. He’s an associate editor at Information Systems Research and has ranked in the top three in the list of top global scholars in the prestigious AIS research rankings system over the past three years (2016-2018).

Yili (Kevin) Hong Co-director, Digital Society Initiative Associate Professor of Information Systems W . P. C A R E Y

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A powerful one day immersion W. P. Carey Back to Class It’s amazing what you can learn in just one class. Taught by leading W. P. Carey faculty, Back to Class is a one-session deep dive into topics relevant for your career and development. Whether you attend in person on ASU’s Tempe campus or join us online, Back to Class is the perfect way to learn something new and meet other members of the W. P. Carey alumni community.

John Eaton Clinical Professor of Marketing

Jonathan Bundy Associate Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship

Mike Baer Associate Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship

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Program snapshot:

W. P. Carey Executive MBA Executive MBA programs are known for their ability to propel high-performing, experienced managers into the next stage of their careers. Our EMBA is no different, helping candidates expand their leadership skills and immediately impact their organizations. The W. P. Carey EMBA is highly ranked by U.S. News & World Report (No. 18), ahead of Yale, Georgetown, and USC; The Economist (No. 23, worldwide); and Poets & Quants (No. 4). Plus, Poets & Quants gave us the top spot for programs costing less than $100,000. Throughout the two-year program, students develop a strategic perspective and learn how policy shapes business decisions, and how companies half a world away can affect organizations. The EMBA is also STEM-designated, allowing eligible graduates on student visas access to an Optional Practical Training (OPT) extension for up to 36 months. Executive MBA classes meet on ASU’s Tempe campus for one in-residence weekend per month. The intensive weekend includes classes both Friday and Saturday, with Friday overnight lodging provided. Live virtual course content is also delivered on one additional Saturday per month, for a four-hour time block, allowing students greater flexibility to meet course commitments while still balancing work and life. Executive MBA alumni receive a lifelong learning benefit, and are invited to attend free elective classes throughout their careers. “The EMBA program far exceeded my expectations,” says Karen Marshall, Executive MBA ’18, “It gave me the knowledge and confidence to pursue a new and unexpected entrepreneurial career path — a lifelong dream that, until now, I thought was out of reach.” Visit wpcarey.asu.edu/emba to learn more.

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ASU students, faculty and staff drive the Cloud Foundations course for high schoolers. Pictured left to right (top row): ASU’s John Rome, Jason Nichols and Lukas Wenrick; (bottom row) ASU students Bhavana Kanumuri, Trinity Smith, Luke Sherry and Justin Manila.

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W. P. Carey magazine, Autumn 2022

Cloud computing goes to high school CIS 194 prepares underserved high school students for cloud computing careers Co-developed by ASU’s University Technology Office (UTO), W. P. Carey, Amazon Web Services, and the National Education Equity Lab, CIS 194: Cloud Foundations is a free, 13-week course delivered in a hybrid modality to high school students nationwide. Students who participate can earn high school and college course credits and an industry certificate in cloud computing. The online, asynchronous part of the course — including recorded lectures by ASU faculty, weekly assignments, and quizzes — is managed through Canvas. This allows students to log into the course from their high school’s classrooms and reduces barriers for those with unreliable access to the internet or computing devices. W. P. Carey School faculty Raghu Santanam and Jason Nichols co-teach the course with UTO’s Deputy Chief Information Officer, John Rome. “The next generation of jobs will require a working knowledge of cloud computing infrastructures,” says Santanam. “It is essential for students to be familiar with cloud technologies and their potential applications. Getting this foundational knowledge in high school gives a great opportunity for these students to develop an interest in technology careers.” CIS 194 is a Universal Learning course offered through ASU’s Learning Enterprise. Visit learning.asu.edu to learn more.

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“I’m the youngest in my family. I never struggled for anything, but we had very humble beginnings. When I started, I just wanted to make money and help my parents.” — J O S H E L I Z E T X E , W . P. C A R E Y B S C O M P U T E R I N F O R M AT I O N S Y S T E M S ’ 1 3

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From Fleischer Scholar to Brand Builder Josh Elizetxe on the summer program that changed his life When he was 13, Josh Elizetxe (BS Computer Information Systems ’13) didn’t have a computer at home, so he spent afternoons at the library, where he checked out computer time by the hour and taught himself programming and how to build websites. Fascinated and eager to help his family, the young entrepreneur began designing websites for local businesses. “When I started, I just wanted to make money and help my parents,” he says And make money he did. The driven teen devoted hours to learning about online advertising and SEO, then added marketing to his menu of services. Before long, companies were paying him monthly to promote their businesses online. One day, Elizetxe’s dad shared a newspaper article about the Fleischer Scholars program, an immersion program for high-achieving high school juniors who are facing multiple barriers. Held at ASU’s Tempe campus, the program is a week-long experience funded by Mort Fleischer, a former CEO who overcame challenges in his youth and went on to become one of Arizona’s most successful entrepreneurs. “I went to college and I don’t regret it. I had a great time and learned a lot. I recommend it because anyone would benefit from that experience. When the business was booming while I was on the university campus at 20 years old, I still understood the community that I was building and the value of the education that I was getting.”

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Luiz Mesquita Associate Dean of Graduate Programs

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W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2022

Firms get MBAs with the skills they want In November, Bloomberg Businessweek reported that W. P. Carey’s corporate education business includes clients such as Salt River Project (an Arizona utility), international development firm Chemonics, and Nationwide Mutual Insurance. “There’s been a growing divide between what companies want and what business schools have grown accustomed to offering,” Associate Dean of Graduate Programs Luiz Mesquita told Bloomberg Businessweek. “Corporations are taking a more active role, investing in rather than just hiring talent.” Foundational business skills are still important for organizations, but so are job-specific capabilities such as revising trade patterns and supply processes in an era of pandemic-related disruptions. Corporate MBA programs allow employers to tailor the instruction to a business’s particular needs, says Mesquita, who helps design custom MBA courses for companies. W. P. Carey’s experience both in the classroom and in designing unique programs across a wide range of business disciplines delivers immediate and long-lasting results. Learn more: wpcarey.asu.edu/custom

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Bruce Gilmore In addition to serving as a mentor to ASU Full-time MBA students, Bruce Gilmore (BS Purchasing/Materials Management ’89) is a W. P. Carey School of Business alumnus and faculty associate in the highly regarded Department of Supply Chain Management.

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Access to those who came before you: An interview with mentor Bruce Gilmore “Many of the incoming students that I talk to tell me that the Executive Connections program was one of the key reasons they chose ASU,” he says. “How many times in someone’s life do they get access to people who have gone before them, have demonstrated successes, have overcome challenges — and to build the relationship, so they can learn from that person.” The W. P. Carey School interviewed Gilmore to learn about his early experience as a mentee and now as a mentor, how Executive Connections mentors influence the career journeys of Full-time MBA students, and why he cares about connecting with future business leaders. Q&A with Bruce Gilmore What is it that makes Executive Connections so unique and impactful? Mentors, alumni, and current students know best. This conversation with Bruce Gilmore has been edited and condensed. Question: Tell us a little bit about your journey. What brought you to ASU? Answer: When I got out of the Air Force, I became a reentry student at ASU. I studied supply chain management, it was called “purchasing” back then, and began my career in the semiconductor industry after I graduated in December of 1989. It wasn’t until I retired from Intel in 2016 and joined the faculty at ASU that I discovered the Executive Connections program and became a mentor. I’ve been doing this for several years now and really enjoy it. Engaging with our students encourages me every day. It’s a great program. I believe it is a differentiator for the Full-time MBA at ASU. Getting to work with the future of

industry is inspiring. Q: What stands out about the Executive Connections program, from your perspective? A: Executive Connections is a key, strategic part of the Full-time MBA program. I have been very impressed by the caliber of the mentors and students that I get to know. I benefit from mentoring, in addition to building a network of all these people with impressive backgrounds. The types of mentors that are interested in this program come from diverse backgrounds and are interested for various reasons. There are those that have a tie to Arizona State University. Maybe they’re involved in different facets of the university. Others have gone through their career experience, and someone in their life gave back to them so they want to give back to a university to impact students’ lives and the next generation of business leaders. Mentors share a wealth of experience and knowledge with students. It’s a broad swath: from middle managers to CEOs or business owners, business entrepreneurs, industries from airlines to health care to manufacturing to services and financial industries, and more. A lot of the mentors have, after their professional careers, become consultants as well. That’s a huge plus for students to learn — not only what it might be like to work inside of a corporation, but also then to be involved in a consulting role. Q: What’s the best piece of leadership advice you’ve given to your mentees? A: I always joke that if you go to the book section of Amazon and type “leadership,” you’ll probably return 60,000+ leadership books, right? I think they can all be boiled down to a few key concepts. The first and foremost is you need to love the people you’re leading. Does a business school teach love? Well, we should. If you don’t love the people you’re leading, you don’t care about them. You don’t care about their future, their family, what their aspirations are, and how you can help them. So that’s something that I’ve always brought to my Executive Connections mentees. And I do this with W . P. C A R E Y

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Bruce Gilmore (BS Purchasing/Materials Management ’89) is a W. P. Carey School of Business alumnus and faculty associate in the highly regarded Department of Supply Chain Management.

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my employees as well. It’s important that they care about who they’re working with. The other part is humility. None of us are irreplaceable. We can all be replaced. And I think oftentimes going through business school, it’s like strive, strive, achieve, achieve. “I’ve got to be the CEO in five years.” I hate to tell you, but you’re not that important. So do the best you can! Love others, do a great job for your employer or for yourself if you’re starting your own business. Q: What do you think is the most important aspect of the Executive Connections program for MBA students? A: The MBA program is intense. Some students come from a specific work environment; some international students are visiting the United States for the first time. Even though it’s collaborative, they’re competing at the same time, whether that’s competing on teams or competing for jobs and internships. The one-on-one relationship with the mentor is a safe relationship. Students can have a conversation with someone who is not judging them, not grading them, not going to give them a job or not. It really creates an environment where, once that trust is developed, some pretty in-depth life conversations can occur. I’ve been involved in conversations not only about career, the professional aspect of the MBA program, but family, parenting, marriage, other things. I look at the person in my professional life with my staff and my employees as the whole person. I think the mentor relationship works best when we look at the student as the whole person as well. I think the relationships that Full-time MBA students build are key. How many times in someone’s life do they get access to people who have gone before them, have demonstrated successes, have overcome challenges — and to build the relationship, so they can learn from that person. This helps students build facets of their own skills and leadership capabilities, making them a better employee for the future, or a better business owner if that’s the direction they’re heading in. The nice thing is that we have enough frequency of interaction over two years, in a one-on-one environment and group settings, where they’re getting access to a lot of different people to learn from. And again, I think it’s a huge differentiator for W. P. Carey. Q: What advice do you have for future Executive Connections mentors? How about future students?

A: I would encourage anyone who is considering becoming a mentor to reach out and learn more about the program. I would tell them that they’re probably going to get more back than they’re going to give to this, because the relationships you build and getting to know the next generation of business leaders is critical. You’re going to build a network of people that are from varied facets of industry, the world of business, and you’re going to be able to bring that together – and give back to a university that has one of the best business schools in the world. And what an honor to be part of that. If I were to give a student advice about how to really leverage the Executive Connections program, I would say engage. This can be a lifelong relationship. I love when I get a call or email checking in from one of my former mentees, “Hey, I just got promoted.” Or sometimes it’s, “I’ve got a problem. Can we talk about it?” Make sure that you invest, participate, and engage with your mentor and other mentors in the program. The benefits and the payback will be huge.

“I would encourage anyone who is considering becoming a mentor to reach out and learn more about the program. I would tell them that they’re probably going to get more back than they’re going to give.”

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“For me, the primary difference is all about access and education for everyone. It’s about empowering people and encouraging them to embark on and continue their journey of success, which is how I got to ASU. – MICHELLE CIROCCO

Televerde Chief Social Responsibility Officer Michelle Cirocco (MBA ‘08) accepts the honor of being inducted into the W. P. Carey Alumni Hall of Fame by Dean Ohad Kadan in 2022.

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Everyone belongs in places like this In celebration of Sun Devil Giving Day, Michelle Cirocco (MBA ’08) shares her story and how the W. P. Carey difference — personal, helping, caring, transformative, and there when you need it most — has been a part of it. After serving time in prison and being released in 2002, Michelle Cirocco (MBA ’08) never imagined she’d be accepted into one of the most highly ranked universities in the country. With an associate’s and bachelor’s degree, a job with Televerde, a family that supported her, and a deep desire for a better life, she bravely applied to W. P. Carey’s Evening MBA program. In celebration of Sun Devil Giving Day, Arizona State University’s annual day of giving, on March 16, 2023, Cirocco shares her story and how the W. P. Carey difference — personal, helping, caring, transformative, and there when you need it most — has been a part of it. But it hasn’t been a traditional journey to ASU for Cirocco. “It’s one that I used to be deeply ashamed of, but I’m now incredibly proud to call my own,” she says. “Because you see, when you ask a little girl what she wants to do when she grows up, the one thing she’ll never say is, ‘I want to go to prison.’ That’s precisely what happened to me. And it could be the best thing that ever happened. Because when I got there, I found two things: a passion for learning and a company called Televerde that provided incarcerated women with jobs and training on the inside that led to employment and careers on the outside.” Cirocco’s turn with Televerde Cirocco began her career at Televerde in 1996 when she was sentenced to prison. The company,

headquartered in Phoenix, provides sales leads and market insight for high-tech companies. About 13 years ago, Televerde created four call centers in the Arizona state prison in Perryville, employing 250 inmates (out of 3,000) — and Cirocco was one of them. Cirocco and her fellow inmates overcame their difficult circumstances through immersion training, mentoring, and working with real-world clients. When she was released in 2002, Cirocco was offered a job in sales at Televerde’s corporate office. But as she networked at sales conferences, she lacked the education and experience to contribute meaningfully to conversations. Cirocco earned a bachelor’s degree and didn’t skip a step before heading to ASU for her MBA to level the playing field. I knew that to succeed in business, I would need an excellent education to equalize my lack of experience,” Cirocco says. “I’ll never forget getting the letter. I was sure it would be a denial when I opened and read it. All I could think to myself was, ‘How could this be? Women like me don’t get to go to places like this.’ “But I did,” she continues. “And when I got to ASU, it was hard.” Cirocco juggled her full-time career and being a mom of two. “I wasn’t sure I could do it. I almost quit, but I didn’t. I stayed the course. I studied, and I learned,” she says. “The most important thing I learned was that getting a degree here wasn’t just about getting the degree. It was about something other than having the credentials or making more money. It was about bringing what I learned back to the workplace, increasing my contribution, and contributing to the business meaningfully. That’s where the magic happened.” In 2011, Cirocco was promoted to vice president of client success. “That’s when our CEO told me that if it hadn’t been for my education’s impact on my career, he would never have considered me for that position,” she says. W . P. C A R E Y

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Creating a path forward W. P. Carey teams up with the Televerde Foundation to help incarcerated women transition into society and find professional success The No. 1 predictor of recidivism, or a person returning to jail or prison, is joblessness. That’s why the Televerde Foundation, with help from its Executive Director Michelle Cirocco (MBA ’08), in partnership with the W. P. Carey School of Business and several other partners, offers the PATHS programs for women as they transition out of prison. PATHS, an acronym for Prepare Achieve and Transform for Healthy Success, teaches skills in personal wellness, workplace readiness, employment strategies, mentoring, financial literacy, and lifelong learning. The program begins while the women are incarcerated and continues through their reentry and transition back into society. Julia LaRosa, clinical assistant professor in the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship, is one of the members of the W. P. Carey community who teaches in the program. LaRosa focuses on workplace readiness skills through business fundamentals, business communication, and professional development courses. “While the curriculum focuses on business skills, it’s also focused on building students’ self-efficacy, or their belief that they can implement the skills they learn,” she explains. “This disrupts some of the messages many of those women have heard up to this point in their lives.” W. P. Carey Full-time MBA students also assist in the program, offering services including résumé review, interviewing practice, and financial literacy training. Volunteering in the program creates new connections while giving MBA students the chance to grow their leadership skills. So far, the PATHS program has seen tremendous success. Of the women who have graduated from the program, 100% have jobs, and none have returned to jail or prison. “It’s compelling to witness the effect this kind of program can have,” LaRosa says. “It’s one thing to know that education can change lives, but it’s another to witness the transformation.”

“Televerde and PATHS have given me the ability to fit into a community that once felt so far away. Remember, being sent to prison means the society you once were part of decided to remove you from its communities physically. PATHS gave that community back to me.” — M A R Y M O N T E M O R R A , PAT H S G R A D U AT E

100% of the women who have graduated from the program have jobs. None have returned to jail or prison.

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“That mentorship part changed McCord from a program that just gave you money to a program that connected people and helped build the business.” – A L I A E C C L E S ( B S E C O N O M I C S / F I N A N C E ’ 1 2 , M B A ’ 1 3 ).

The McCord Scholars embrace collaboration through mentorship, community service, and This is a caption. ongoing program support long after they’ve left campus life.

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McCord Scholarship Full circle support Since 2006, up to 20 W. P. Carey School juniors and seniors have received at least $10,000 a year to help them shoulder the cost of higher education. They’re McCord Scholars, participants in a scholarship program that reflects the values of the program’s namesake and funding donors, Sharon Dupont McCord and her late husband Robert K. (Bob) McCord, distinguished real estate professionals and philanthropists. The McCords’ gift supports their belief that collaboration creates faster and better solutions — and that philanthropy should be a way of life. Participants in the scholarship program embrace this ethos through mentorship, community service, and ongoing program support long after they’ve left campus life. ASU’s McCord Scholarship is as much about giving back as receiving. Getting a McCord Scholarship means demonstrating both academic and leadership skills. The program then hones those skills as scholars mentor a first-year student and participate in monthly events focused on educational and charitable activities organized for the McCord cohort. The mentorship program didn’t begin until the scholarship’s second year, and one scholarship recipient says it made a huge difference. “That mentorship part changed McCord from a program that just gave you money to a program that connected people and helped build the business,” explains Alia Eccles (BS Economics/Finance ’12, MBA ’13). Federico Bryner (BS Accountancy ’13, MACC ’14) says being a first-year student mentee helped him find his footing at ASU and become a McCord Scholar himself. “I learned a lot being both the mentee and mentor that I apply to my corporate job,” he says. As a manager in the risk assurance practice at PwC, he uses the mentorship skills he started building as a McCord recipient. “Being a good mentor means learning how to listen and understand what your mentee is going through … putting yourself in that other person’s shoes,” Bryner continues. “Then you guide your mentees, providing information so that people can make their own decisions. I use these coaching skills in my current job, and someday my associates will become mentors themselves.” Because of the impact the McCord Scholars program made on him, Bryner helped create another mentorship program for high schoolers during his time as a W. P. Carey student.

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Helping others with a practical toolkit Through the nonprofit Arizona Microcredit Initiative, founded by students in 2011, W. P. Carey undergraduates empower underserved and struggling entrepreneurs to start or expand businesses. By offering free consulting services, as well as microloans to businesses that would otherwise not qualify for conventional bank loans, W. P. Carey students gain experience while helping others. What began as a student project makes a real difference in dozens of lives each year by helping to create jobs, alleviate poverty, and stimulate the economy. In partnership with global accounting firm KPMG, W. P. Carey students are taught a toolkit-based curriculum comprised of real-world scenarios helping them learn how to face tough issues and make good ethical decisions. The LEAP program, an acronym for leadership, ethics, accountability, and professionalism, is a unique program believed to be the only one of its kind in the U.S. For two hours each week, students work in teams along with representatives from top accounting firms. Designed to attract and retain the best and most ethical students, the program helps build a culture of what we want our students to be and how they should impact the world of business. All W. P. Carey students have the opportunity to have a mentor throughout their time at ASU. That’s a lot of students who are getting support with career exploration, personal and professional development, and guidance for success in college and in the business world. Undergraduates are matched with a peer, alumnus, or corporate partner depending on their experience level, interests, and goals. Full-time MBA students are matched with a senior executive who meets with them for two full years of coaching and mentoring as they embark on new career opportunities.

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“My classmates were a pivotal part of my education. Because I was pivoting careers, seeing what they wanted to accomplish and do after the program helped me shape what I wanted to do.” — E LV I S D I A Z , W . P. C A R E Y M B A

Elvis Diaz was looking for a place that would welcome and support students with different backgrounds and work experience.

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Attracted by nonprofit and community engagement expertise Elvis Diaz, W. P. Carey MBA When Elvis Diaz started to research business schools, he was looking for a place that would welcome and support students with different backgrounds and work experience. “I was happy to see people coming from the nonprofit sector, community engagement work, and other fields,” he says. “ASU has attracted and provided opportunities for these people to be MBA students, and I think it adds a perspective of intentionality and community work to the program.” Elvis and his classmates were encouraged to make an immediate impact on campus, however they saw fit. “You don’t have to wait until you receive your degree to make an impact,” he says. “We created community events while in the program, and also clubs and organizations that didn’t exist before.” Some of his peers formed the Wine Society and others reinvented an existing volunteer club. Elvis is a co-founder of the StandOut MBA club. “We created the first LGBTQ business club that the school has ever had,” he says. “It wasn’t necessarily because we needed to fill a gap, but more so showcasing the community of acceptance that already existed here.” Elvis emphasizes the lasting impact of his classmates. Surrounded by peers from a variety of career paths, he learned something new through every interaction, and the connections continue today.

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Inspired to give All day, every day Lona Teague (B.S. Finance ’82) loves using her W. P. Carey degree to make a difference for homeless families in Arizona. Teague is the controller at the Phoenix-based UMOM New Day Centers, the largest homeless shelter for families in Arizona. UMOM provides homeless families with safe shelter, housing and supportive services. The center depends on tax-deductible donations and volunteers to help homeless families and individuals reach their greatest potential. As controller, Teague is responsible for keeping track of the organization’s finances. Outside of her work day, Teague often volunteers in the center herself, and she recruits others to get involved. “When Monday rolls around I look forward to starting another week at an organization that inspires me to give my all each day and make a difference in our community,” Teague said. “I’m a very lucky W. P. Carey alum!” Learn more at umom.org. Square-Full

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Leveraging business skills to build communities Alumna Shaandiin Parrish is doing what she can to support Navajo Nation and Native American students In fall 2021, Shaandiin Parrish (MiM ’22) joined with fellow W. P. Carey School of Business students Hiram Bowen (BS Economics ’25) and Lakota Kinlicheenie (BA Business ’25) to relaunch the Native American Business Organization (NABO) at ASU after a four-year hiatus. W. P. Carey interviewed Parrish to learn more about the club and her journey to business school. The focus of NABO, a student-driven club, is to help members excel academically, develop professional business skills, and promote cultural and social awareness to the ASU community and its affiliates. “We also want to inspire more Native American students to consider applying and pursuing a business degree,” Parrish says. “Although our demographic is small at W. P. Carey, the support is tremendous,” she says. “In five years, I hope that we grow the number of Native American business students because our communities need business knowledge.” When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Parrish stood alongside President of the Navajo Nation Jonathan Nez to distribute personal protective equipment, food, water, supplies, and other necessities. “The pandemic hit our population hard because 30% does not have running water, another 30% does not have electricity, and a greater portion does not have internet services,” she

says. “Major infrastructure flaws caused many of our people to die. So I knew we needed a change.” Parrish’s grandparents raised her to focus on the Navajo community. “My grandfather Paul Parrish, a Navajo code talker, used his G.I. Bill to go to business school,” she says. “In the 1970s, he used his education to open one of the first gas stations in the Navajo Nation.” Her grandfather’s vision for their community inspired Parrish to dedicate her life to public service. “I decided to pursue a business degree because business school teaches you how to make quick, confident decisions, and that’s what our people need,” she says. “I chose W. P. Carey because it was one of the best business schools close to my reservation. “I could learn four days a week at W. P. Carey and drive five hours north to be with my community and apply the skills I learned in my classes.” W. P. Carey has equipped Parrish to talk to her communities about possibilities for their economy in the Navajo Nation. “I’ve been able to teach basic financial education and encourage young people to start businesses,” she says. “I know I will always call W. P. Carey my home because it allowed me to help my home in the Navajo Nation.”

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W. P. Carey news caught up with Lorron James (BS Marketing ’05), who’s the CEO of James Group, a supply chain services company for the automotive industry. Here’s how he’s making a difference at W. P. Carey .

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W. P. Carey News, February 14, 2022

Generosity isn’t just about money When facilities were down during the pandemic at Lorron James’s (BS Marketing ’05) company, he chose to continue health coverage for everyone and their families. James, the CEO, said it was his business’s civic duty to the people who live in the community. Today, James Group, a supply chain services company for the automotive industry, is “rebounding and doing very well,” he says, and the company didn’t lose a single employee. Both inside and outside of business, no one is the person they are without the investment of others — and no business is successful without its employees. So, what does the future of business look like with this “pay it forward” mentality? And how will the W. P. Carey School of Business help define it? Already, W. P. Carey is one of many ASU colleges helping current and future leaders rise to meet the global challenges ahead. At the same time, alumni such as James broaden and amplify the spirit of the school by choosing to lend their time, talent, and treasure in their own myriad ways.

W. P. Carey news caught up with James to find out more about him and his thoughts on giving, as well as how he’s making a difference at W. P. Carey. Question: Can you give an example of how someone’s generosity or mentorship changed your life? Answer: One that comes to mind is my father. He’s my mentor and hero. I’ve worked with him for 15 years in our business. He gave me the opportunity to learn about our business and work my way up. So, I know every aspect of it. People think of generosity as something that’s monetary. But the greatest gift I received from executives in Detroit and around the country was their time. People’s time is their most precious asset because you can’t get more of it. The time that my dad and those other leaders have given me is the best thing that’s happened in my career. Q: What does ‘doing good while doing well’ mean to you? What does it mean to do good while doing well? A: I think those two things should be synonymous with one another. I don’t see a scenario where my business is doing well and I don’t give back to the community or take care of the people within my company. I also think intelligence and talent are equally distributed among everyone, but opportunity isn’t. Giving someone else (or a group of people) an opportunity should be one of the main responsibilities of every business owner. Q: Why do you give back? A: It’s a way of showing my gratitude. No matter how successful anyone is, there’s no such thing as someone who did everything on their own. W . P. C A R E Y

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Focused on financial literacy and renewable energy, Paul Cutler (BS Finance ’81) and his wife Judy, established the Cutler Family Endowed Professorship along with the Cutler Finance Scholars program. They created these gifts with growth in mind — centered on ASU business students and the W. P. Carey School’s Department of Finance.

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W. P. Carey News, May 2, 2022

Our goal is to extend the gift of education to others, says finance alum Paul Cutler Focused on financial literacy and renewable energy, Paul Cutler (BS Finance ’81) and his wife Judy, established the Cutler Family Endowed Professorship along with the Cutler Finance Scholars program. I was lucky coming into college as I knew I wanted to major in business. Growing up my Dad was involved with several businesses and I always had an interest in financial markets so a concentration in finance was natural for me. Living on the west coast as a youngster I had followed ASU and then when my sister moved to Phoenix and my brother enrolled ahead of me at ASU, it became a natural landing destination for me. My brother got a real estate degree and continues to work in that field. Thus, we have both benefited from an ASU education. In hindsight, going off to college was such a big part of my life. ASU and the W. P. Carey School were the foundation that really prepared me to come forward with my business career and allowed me to grow personally. I’ve been fortunate enough to use my degree and work for NextEra Energy Inc. for 38 years. The education and life skills I learned at ASU prepared me for a better life and a very satisfying career. Today at NextEra we are the largest producer of wind and solar energy in the world and leading the electric

power industry in decarbonization. My parents sacrificed for their four children and taught us the importance of education from an early age. When we started elementary school, we all knew it was expected that we would be going to college. My mom received a Biology degree from Moravian University in Pennsylvania, but my Dad never went to college because of his family’s financial situation and the onset of WWII. It was instilled in us at an early age that we could pick the college and major, but we were going to college. And I am proud to say that all four kids have a college degree, with two of us getting graduate degrees. The Cutler Family Endowed Professorship and Cutler Finance Scholarships are inspired by my family, with a particular recognition to my parents. It is necessary for me to recognize their influence and prioritization of education, and the positive impact that education had on my life. With the W. P. Carey Cutler Family Endowed Professorship, our goal is two-fold. The first is to bring a greater focus of financial literacy to all aspects of education. Our financial system has become much more complex and now touches everyone in all aspects of their lives. Financial literacy is critical to success today and a necessary building block at any level of education. Secondly, my career has been centered on the renewable power space and the decarbonization of the electric power industry. An understanding of climate impacts and overall ESG effects are key attributes of any business strategy today.

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“I’m a big believer that education is the great equalizer.” – R I C HAR D BOALS (B S A C C O U N TA N C Y ’ 7 9 )

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W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2021

$1 million gift from Boals family provides a path to success New scholarship supports graduate students When Richard Boals (BS Accountancy ’79) was growing up, going to college was never part of his plan. No one in his family had done it. It wasn’t until a restaurant co-worker put the idea into his head — we’ll get back to that in a minute — that Boals started down the path that would lead him to where he is today. That includes a 46-year career at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona and many years of service to ASU. Boals and his wife, Maryglenn, recently made their second $1 million gift to the W. P. Carey School of Business. The first one, in 2016, was for undergraduate students; this one is for graduate students wanting to continue their educational path. “Amy Hillman was telling me that graduate students were having a tougher time getting scholarships than undergrads,” Boals explains. “What largely motivated us was the idea that if you started in a community college and you had a pathway to an undergrad degree at ASU, and then a grad degree, it just allows people to have a more complete vision of what they’re going to do educationally and how they’re going to succeed.” In addition to financial support, Boals served on the boards of the Center for Services Leadership and the W. P. Carey School of Business Dean’s Council and is a member of the ASU President’s Club. In 2004, he received the Alumni Achievement Award, and in 2019 was inducted into the W. P. Carey School of Business Alumni Hall of Fame.

Eliminating inequities Despite all that success, at heart, Boals still considers himself that kid who almost didn’t go to college. That’s why he’s made it his quest to make sure that anyone else in that position can see a path to an education. “I’m a big believer that education is the great equalizer,” he says. “If you think about ways to eliminate inequities, I can’t think of a better way than giving somebody an education and a shot at being successful in life.” The Boals family funds community college scholarships as well. He believes it’s a more approachable path for many students, and with the ability to so easily transfer to ASU, it provides a way for students to take that first step toward a bachelor’s or graduate degree.

Inspiring future generations Boals has had the chance to interact with many elementary students through his work with the Rodel Foundation of Arizona and on the board of Teach for America. At one school, he asked the students what they wanted to do. “They all jumped up and said, ‘We want to go to college!’ These are the things that inspire you to make sure that kids have a path.” Boals encourages alumni to focus on what element of their education at ASU inspired them most and see if they can align their giving with that.

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“Part of what I was trying to do with this scholarship was to build a community of people who could draw on each other.” – BRIAN ETHERIDGE, BS ECONOMICS ‘96

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WPCarey magazine, Spring 2021

The true value of a scholarship New scholarship supports students through graduate school When Alexis Gulbransen (BS Marketing ’18) received the Brian Etheridge Scholarship in her senior year at ASU, it was a life-changing day. Although she didn’t know it at the time, the gift would turn out to be about much more than money to pay for her final year at the W. P. Carey School of Business; the real gift would be the connection she made with the scholarship’s founder, who started the fund just six months after he graduated from ASU. For Brian Etheridge (BS Economics ’96), that day in 2018 was just one of many days when he changed lives. Over the past 20 years, Etheridge’s scholarship recipients have gone on to do great things: Sam Haghgoo (BS Management/Marketing ’14) helped develop the Apple Pay program, Keith Ryu (BS Computer Information Systems/Finance ’14) landed on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list after starting a Silicon Valley company, Ashley Rosselli (BS Management ’15) recorded an album, and Victoria Crynes (BA Global Politics ’18) studied at Cambridge University. “What’s been the most fun for me is watching them go out and start their careers,” Etheridge says. “A good portion of the alumni are vice presidents today in their respective organizations. Many of them are playing major roles in key organizations.” And that’s not just because they received a few thousand dollars to help with tuition. It’s because Etheridge played a key role in mentoring them during college and beyond.

Alexis Gulbransen (BS Marketing) ’18)

Mentoring and making connections Etheridge didn’t only hand out money and run — he stayed involved in the winners’ lives, providing advice and guidance. “He genuinely cares about where his recipients go in life,” Gulbransen says. “He wants to do good and mentor people. That’s what makes this scholarship so different, and I appreciate that.” Etheridge, who is director of general and administrative business architecture at FreeportMcMoRan, also has a successful real estate business and sits on several boards in the Phoenix area. He’s built an impressive professional network and he shares that clout with his scholarship recipients, making key introductions and connections. That was invaluable for Gulbransen when she started looking for a job her senior year. “It was great because he was able to connect me with people in different fields related to marketing,” she says. “That helped me explore what I wanted to do.”

Paying tuition and paying it forward Etheridge is thankful for the value of the education he received at ASU and the price tag it came with. “If you can graduate without crippling student debt, you can take more risks without a big debt looming over your head.” He says if you graduate needing to pay back “you’re working for your education for several years before your education starts working for you.” W . P. C A R E Y

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Seth Crawford (MS Agribusiness ’97) gives back to the W. P. Carey community by volunteering on the Alumni Council, mentoring students, reviewing scholarship applications, and more.

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W. P. Carey magazine, Autumn 2021

“When I applied as a farm kid from rural Minnesota, I had no idea of the world-class education awaiting me.” – S E T H C R AW F O R D ( M S A G R I B U S I N E S S ’ 9 7 )

Giving forward Seth Crawford (MS Agribusiness ’97), senior vice president of AGCO Corp., looks back at his time at W. P. Carey with appreciation and remembers how the school gave him the chance to succeed. Today, Crawford is doing all he can to give back. He is involved in the W. P. Carey Alumni Council, has reviewed scholarship applications, provided input to business school leadership, met and mentored current students, and built relationships with fellow alumni.

Giving to W. P. Carey goes deeper than money Through his experience being a mentor, Crawford has discovered the value of helping the next generation of business leaders. “One of the students I mentored received her undergraduate and graduate degrees without ever stepping foot on the Tempe campus,” he says. “That alone made me inspired to see her success.” Crawford quickly realized how much virtual learning differed from his in-person experience at W. P. Carey. “When I was in college, we didn’t even have the internet,” he says. “It’s hard to imagine going to college without living in a dorm, or walking across the bridge to campus. She was able to complete her degrees independently.” He is motivated to support students as they build their futures. “The world can be a scary place, and I hope to help students become better prepared for

success after college. If they leave feeling supported, they can understand how important it is to give back after graduation,” he suggests. For Crawford, it’s important to stay tuned in to what students are currently learning. “I wanted more insight into the curriculum at W. P. Carey and decided that joining the Alumni Council could help me connect to my alumni network.” Through W. P. Carey, he has also explored the emerging area of analytics and data science within the farm equipment business for AGCO, headquartered in Duluth, Georgia. “Even though W. P. Carey and ASU aren’t the primary recruiting group for the farm equipment business, we are always interested in hiring top talent,” he says. Ultimately, he believes that it’s necessary to pay attention to how creative students can be. “They have ideas that can help businesses.” Contributions combined with the charitable efforts of other alumni can make a huge difference for ASU and W. P. Carey students. “It’s important to me to give back. I use Sun Devil Giving Day to do so, but as you can tell, it is more than just a day,” says Crawford.

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Rich Degraff BS Business Administration ’03

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W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2022

Ready to help By supporting the W. P. Carey-led collaboration AZNext, Salesforce Senior Vice President Rich DeGraff will help expand career opportunities to Arizonans.

DeGraff was a relentlessly curious student when he was at W. P. Carey, soaking up every last drop of wisdom from his professors and readings. “There were so many avenues for me to get answers to questions I’d always had growing up,” he says. “[W. P. Carey] taught me how to learn, to listen, and to ask the right questions.” To succeed in the next chapter of his life, DeGraff leaned on what is now known as the W. P. Carey Career Services Center, where he prepared for tough job interview questions, rehearsed through mock interviews, and methodically mastered the skills he needed to compete with other applicants for top jobs. The approach worked: He’s steadily climbed the ranks for a veritable who’s who of Fortune 500 companies, including PepsiCo, Target, and Honeywell. Six months into the pandemic, in the fall of 2020, he landed his current role as senior vice president of customer success at Salesforce. Not long after he arrived, he knew he was in a great position to give back to his alma mater. While DeGraff had long volunteered in other parts of his life, Salesforce’s strong culture of volunteerism (its employees have logged some 6 million volunteer hours over the past two decades), led him to pursue opportunities that connected his company and his college. He found a fit with AZNext, a public-private partnership led by executive director Raghu Santanam, who is also the senior associate dean for executive education, corporate partnerships, and lifelong learning and the McCord Chair of Business at W. P. Carey. The recently launched program is designed to upskill

thousands of Arizona workers for technology-focused careers. With DeGraff’s support and network, AZNext and Salesforce are collaborating to help a portion of AZNext participants get training to pursue Salesforce Administrator Developer credentials. DeGraff currently serves on AZNext’s advisory board, and as the work on the collaboration progresses, he’s eager to see how he might be able to broaden the connection between W. P. Carey, ASU, and Salesforce. For DeGraff, collaboration has been a key to his growth and success, from his early work with career services to the many teams he’s been on as part of his career trajectory. He’s thrilled that the partnership between Salesforce and ASU — a powerful collaboration of its own — will open up opportunities for others to grow and succeed. “Businesses are the greatest platform for change,” he says. “And with ASU’s mission to create a workforce for the future, we can bring together complementary visions and move things a lot faster.”

Trained to be hired To meet its growing demand for business analysts, Cognizant Consulting has partnered with ASU and the W. P. Carey School of Business to offer the Cognizant Digital Business Analyst Certificate Program, a train-to-hire program. The curriculum focuses on specific skills needed to succeed at Cognizant, and ensures the opportunity to secure an interview for graduates. Of students who completed this program in spring 2019, 90% received an offer to join Cognizant as business analysts. W . P. C A R E Y

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“Leaders need to be able to communicate a vision in a way that creates change. Personal narratives can make a case for change.” — NED WELLMAN

Ned Wellman, Associate Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship

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W. P. Carey magazine, Autumn 2022

Personal Stories Inspire Greater Giving Fourth-generation almond grower James Duncan is worried about the future of his farm in Red Lake Valley, Arizona. “I take pride in my work and have been a farmer for over 20 years. But we farm on the margin already. I’m not sure how much more we can take,” Duncan says of the megadrought that has plagued the Southwest and is expected to worsen, bringing with it water rationing, the proposed elimination of generational water rights, and rising water costs. “This farm is my life. Losing it would be like losing a part of my family.” Duncan is fictitious, though his situation is not. His story — and the way it is told — was the focus of an interdisciplinary study between W. P. Carey Associate Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship Ned Wellman and Emeritus Professor of Information Systems Ajay Vinze, as well as ASU’s Erik Johnston at the School for the Future of Innovation in Society and Elizabeth Segal at the School of Social Work. They wanted to know if personalized accounts, instead of “just the facts” news stories, led to greater empathy in readers and, subsequently, greater willingness to act on behalf of a social cause. The specific social problem they tackled was drought, using the above-personalized narrative and another, non-personalized version of the same topic. “We thought the experience of empathy was a mechanism through which we could unlock prosocial behavior,” says Wellman, pointing out the three types of empathy they studied: cognitive (the act of putting oneself in another’s shoes), affective (the ability to mirror the feelings of others), and associative (identifying with the person in the story). The 249 college undergraduates from a non-drought state were randomly assigned one of the stories to read, then completed a survey indicating the extent to which they felt the three forms of empathy for people affected by drought. They were also asked if they would be willing to donate personal money to this cause. “As a society, we’re facing lots of big social problems,” says Wellman, citing not only drought but also COVID-19, climate change, and political division — issues that require people working together for the good of the whole. “How can we communicate in a way that will motivate and inspire people to want to take collective action?” Personalized stories are one clear path forward. “Leaders need to be able to communicate a vision in a way that creates change. Personal narratives can make a case for change.” — Melissa Crytzer Fry

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Kirby Gonyer (MBA ’09) entered the Online MBA program to advance in his military career and left with a new skill set that has served him ever since.

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W. P. Carey News, March 2, 2023

Sun Devil Giving Day: Veteran support A 30-year veteran, Kirby Gonyer (MBA ’09) joined the Army as a private and retired as a colonel. There, he flew the AH64 Apache helicopter, UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter, and fixed-wing aircraft. Today, he’s a pilot for American Airlines and flies the Boeing 787 Dreamliner domestically and internationally. He says the quality of the MBA program — which sharpened his skills in communication, problem solving, and teamwork — is a big part of why he supports W. P. Carey and ASU today. Question: What brought you to W. P. Carey’s online MBA program? Answer: In the military, advanced degrees are encouraged to move up from the lower ranks as an officer. It doesn’t have to be any specific degree, but they want you to learn about problem solving and enhance your soft skills. ASU has a

well-established business program, the W. P. Carey School of Business is excellent, and being a resident of Tempe made it easy to be a part of the program. Q: What were your key takeaways from the program? A: In each class, you’re assigned complex problems that are designed to produce confusion and ambiguity. With those, two things stuck out: team building and time management. For team building, we didn’t get to pick the people in our groups — they’re assigned, and while there can be friction, there is a maturation of the team through the two-year program. You develop skills to deal with people you might not agree with but can find common ground with and build a good team that works together effectively. And then time management is huge, especially for working professionals. Learning not just how to prioritize tasks but how to prioritize complex problems, because if you haven’t built your team well, you get frustrated and argue, everything goes awry, and you can’t hit specific timelines. Having been a battalion commander, I had to learn how not to say, “It’s my way or the highway,” but more like, “How do I herd cats in the right direction?” and it might not be the outcome I want, but it’s an outcome that works for everybody.

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W. P. Carey magazine, Autumn 2018

Raising awareness to new heights It’s hard to resist the whole “ascend to new heights” thing with regard to Sebastian Navarro (BS Supply Chain Management ’15), who has done so — both figuratively and literally — from the moment he entered the W. P. Carey family. Navarro first arrived on ASU’s Tempe campus the summer before his senior year in high school. A participant in the inaugural Fleischer Scholars program in 2010, he began to see college as not just a possibility, but a real opportunity to forever change his life. Navarro went on to become a first-generation college student. He built a thriving network of motivated peers, tackled and excelled in leadership positions, learned all that he could on campus and abroad, and graduated ready to achieve at the highest level — time and time again. In January 2018, Navarro and his colleague Andrew Morrison embarked on a six-day expedition to summit Mount Kilimanjaro, one of the world’s seven peaks and the highest point in Africa. Honoring his father’s neardeath fight with kidney disease the year prior, Navarro launched Kidneys and Kilimanjaro in partnership with the American Kidney Fund (AKF). “After going through this experience with my father, I knew that I wanted to do something to help people like him,” he says. “I wanted to raise awareness about the importance of kidney health, as well as the crippling effects of kidney disease.” The high-risk nature of kidney disease, its different effects on minority communities, and the lack of awareness surrounding all of it stood out as major problems to Navarro. He wondered whether that lack of knowledge was something he could improve. “My father was lucky enough to have insurance and a strong support network,” he says. “However, there are so many individuals all over the U.S. that not only have to deal with the stress of this horrible disease, but also wrestle with the financial burden that comes along with it.” Partnering with AKF would give him the best chance at doing the most good. “The American Kidney Fund is one of the top nonprofits in the U.S.,” Navarro says. “Their fundraising platform, Kidney Nation, donates 97 cents per dollar raised, which is incredible compared to other crowdsourcing websites that sometimes take up to 20 percent of each donation.” Spend just five minutes with Navarro and you will understand why all of the above is as impressive as it is unsurprising. W . P. C A R E Y

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Watts College Dean Jonathan Koppell (right) This is a caption. experiences the TerrainHopper with ASU alumnus Todd Lemay (BS Accountancy ’95).

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W. P. Carey magazine, Autumn 2020

Alum Paves Pathways for People With Disabilities Todd Lemay’s gift of a TerrainHopper will enable disabled students to enjoy all adventures Todd Lemay remembers longing for snowless days. The weather constricted the Maine native in ways others couldn’t comprehend. That wasn’t all; steps robbed him of his freedom. Beaches did the same. “Every house, every apartment, even restaurants — they all have steps in Maine,” he says. Lemay was born with osteogenesis imperfecta, a brittle bone disease that has led him to use a wheelchair for most of his life. He sometimes walked as a child, but that would only lead to more broken bones and more surgeries. He was tired of it in his teens. “I decided it’s not worth going through all the surgeries just so that I can maybe walk 20 feet on my own,” he says. Lemay, 48, figures he’s suffered more than 80 broken bones — a figure that quickly climbs into the hundreds if he includes ribs. Those crack easily. He doesn’t seek sympathy, though. Rather, he considers himself lucky. “A lot of people out there are in much more difficult situations than I am in,” Lemay explains. “So the fact that I can take care of myself and do so much, those are all blessings.” Arizona opened his eyes to many of them. After one of his friends talked up Arizona and urged Lemay to tag along on a trip, it didn’t take long for him to fall in love with the Valley of the Sun. “I was amazed at how flat everything was out here,” he recalls. “I fell in love with the weather, and I fell in love with how everything was so accessible. I felt a larger sense of freedom.” Lemay landed at ASU in 1992, graduating three years later with a degree in accounting. He immersed himself in this work for some time before launching an IT management company. For the first time in his life, when he returned to his summer home in Maine, he enjoyed beach trips in a way he only previously had in dreams. Lemay, who has donated several of these vehicles to nonprofits around the area, was featured in an article in the Phoenix Business Journal around the time he started full production last fall, prompting ASU President Michael Crow to offer congratulations in a handwritten letter. Shortly after the new year, Lemay gifted a TerrainHopper — they start at $18,000 — to the Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions. W . P. C A R E Y

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Daniel Hernandez was awarded prestigious Fredrick This is a caption. Douglass Fellowship.

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ASU News, March 28, 2023

ASU student awarded Frederick Douglass Global Fellowship Daniel Hernandez will take a three-continent journey to Washington, D.C., Cape Town and Dublin Before arriving at Arizona State University, Daniel Hernandez had a goal: “I want to be that person who cares for others.” He wanted to support his community by giving them the tools and education to understand their health, especially since this is something he didn’t have while growing up. Now, the junior with two majors — business (health care) and business (business administration) — at the W. P. Carey School of Business will move closer to his goal after being awarded the prestigious Frederick Douglass Global Fellowship. He will take a threecontinent journey to Washington, D.C., Cape Town and Dublin this summer for a comparative study of socialjustice leadership. “I’m very proud to be the first ASU student that has received this award,” he said. “I’m really excited, especially as someone who has done research on specifically Frederick Douglass before, this is a great way for me to learn more, especially about ways that I can come back here and apply what I’ve learned.” In addition to the fellowship, he was awarded a $1,500 Frederick Douglass Scholars Grant.

Offered by CIEE, an international study-abroad organization, the fellowship launched in 2017 to increase access to study abroad for students in underrepresented groups. It was inspired by the 1845 meeting between 27-year-old abolitionist Frederick Douglass and the great Irish reformer Daniel O’Connell in Dublin. Hernandez is one of 12 high-achieving students of color selected for the award. According to a press release announcing the scholars, Hernandez was selected for the fellowship because of his academic excellence, communication skills and commitment to social justice. He hopes to empower others to take control of their health through education and advocating for equitable, quality care for everyone. “My story with health care is a very personal one, and it definitely stems from my family life,” he said. “There were definitely some troubles at home during my development, but nonetheless it inspired me to keep going and to keep doing everything I can.” James P. Pellow, president and CEO of CIEE, said: “The future leaders of this program will return home from their time abroad with an enhanced global perspective on advancing social justice and be better prepared to be agents of change in their communities and in our world.”

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National impact W. P. Carey’s mission is to educate tomorrow’s business leaders, take an entrepreneurial approach to learning and conduct groundbreaking research to create positive change. Research at the business school tackles global and local challenges from food waste and climate change to health care. With its mission focused on inclusive excellence, technological innovation and positive societal impact through business education, W. P. Carey ranks in the top 25 across 10 MBA specialty areas in U.S. News & World Report’s graduate school rankings.

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W. P. Carey national positioning

W. P. Carey is the largest and one of the top ranked business schools in the country. With more than 19,000 students, 29 programs and disciplines ranked in the U.S. News top 25, more than USC and Pennsylvania State University, and one of the highest employment rates for new graduates among U.S. business schools, W. P. Carey is where access meets excellence. Top fulltime MBA employers Amazon, McKinsey & Co., Applied Materials, NTT Data, Vizient, American Express, Walmart Corporate, Microsoft

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100%

of women students accepted offers 90 days postgraduation

96%

of full-time MBA graduates have fulltime accepted job offers in 90 days post-graduation with an average base starting salary of $124,664

Top MBA Programs

#2 in the U.S.

Full-time MBA for return on investment, ahead of Penn State, University of Massachusetts, University of Arizona and Harvard – U.S. News & World Report, 2023

#4 in the U.S. Executive MBA,

ahead of UCLA and Georgetown – Poets & Quants

#7 in the U.S.

Online MBA programs, ahead of Penn State and Rice University – U.S. News & World Report, 2023

#1 in the U.S.

online undergraduate business programs, ahead

of University of Pennsylvania and University of Arizona – U.S. News & World Report, 2023

#1 in the U.S. master’s degree program in homeland security, ahead of George

Washington University, Columbia University and University of Southern California

17,444 U.S. students

1,419

Honors undergraduates

7,507

students from underrepresented populations

– U.S. News & World Report, 2023

Supply chain and logistics, ahead of MIT and Pennsylvania State University

4,585

online students

– U.S. News & World Report, 2022

Greatest resources for minority students, ahead of Stanford University, Rice University – The Princeton Review, 2022

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Seattle-based enterprise software executive Dave Yorita (MBA ’84) focuses on guiding customers through their digital transformation to meet key strategic initiatives and outcomes. Throughout his career, and especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, he has been committed to helping companies drive operational efficiency and productivity that leads to positive outcomes during challenging times.

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W. P. Carey News, March 24, 2021

The key to alumni success is connection to a strong community, says MBA alumnus Dave Yorita Seattle-based enterprise software executive Dave Yorita (MBA ’84 ) focuses on guiding customers through their digital transformation to meet key strategic initiatives and outcomes. Throughout his career, and especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, he has been committed to helping companies drive operational efficiency and productivity that leads to positive outcomes during challenging times. The W. P. Carey School of Business interviewed Dave to find out why he enjoys being a part of the alumni community. How has W. P. Carey influenced your journey? W. P. Carey has helped me to be able to understand the bigger picture, so I can express and provide strategic business insights to clients instead of tactical ones. When I was a student, I learned how to understand business in a holistic context. If we focus on one element of business, this can lead to suboptimization for the company. In my role, understanding business goals, objectives, and timelines are critical in achieving results. As an MBA graduate, my overall level of business knowledge (and exposure to relevant situations) was elevated. What’s something you learned while at W. P. Carey that surprised you or changed your perspective? During my career, I have been in various sales and sales management roles. Based on my understanding of

business operations in different markets, I emphasized the strategic outcomes for my client. I learned about the SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis method while at the W. P. Carey School of Business, and the method has stuck with me during my career. Within the SWOT analysis, I have discovered that threats are the most difficult to overcome in business. The COVID-19 pandemic has been a once-a-lifetime example of that. In the last year, I have questioned if my clients will transition to permanent remote work. With remote work comes the need for enhanced consumer privacy, as they continue to access consumer information outside the firewalls of their company’s infrastructure. The pandemic has permanently shifted the dynamics of business, and innovation is key. Unfortunately, with all the changes happening, I am seeing many brick and mortar companies disappear because they didn’t evolve. I have to help companies capitalize on opportunities and prepare to respond to threats. Do you have any essential business tools or insight to share with fellow alumni? From pencils and apps to leadership tips, anything goes. Some advice that I have for students is to develop your soft skills, as it’s critical for success. Working as a team, being accountable, and striving towards a goal or objective is a crucial part of belonging to a successful team. I have always been a fan of team sports and believe that the skills you learn in sports can be translated to the business arena. In order to win a game, players must be accountable. Your teammates are depending on you to perform.

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W. P. Carey magazine, Autumn 2021

Top-ranked W. P. Carey master’s degree in business analytics expands to downtown Los Angeles Created in 2013, the W. P. Carey Master of Science in Business Analytics (MS-BA) has attracted thousands of students from across the country and around the world due to its market-driven curriculum and excellent reputation. Because of the success of the demand for the MS-BA, W. P. Carey has launched the program in Los Angeles, with classes starting in August 2022. The program’s new home is in ASU’s California Center in the historic Los Angeles Herald Examiner Building. The building was commissioned by William Randolph Hearst and completed in 1914, and will house a number of ASU schools, as well as collaboration and event space. Next fall, the school will also launch the master’s degree in accountancy and data analytics in Los Angeles; more details will be coming soon. “As we expand the program to offer a solution for students in Southern California that is not only closer to home but also designed to accommodate the busy schedules of working professionals, we’re extremely proud of what the MS-BA has achieved so far and excited about its future in downtown L.A.,” says Amy Ostrom, interim dean of the W. P. Carey School of Business and the PetSmart Chair in Services Leadership. The 12-month MS-BA in L.A. is delivered on a flexible weekly schedule. Students take classes on Wednesdays from 6 to 10 p.m. (Pacific time) via ASU Sync, a fully interactive remote learning modality that includes live lectures via Zoom. Every quarter, classes will also meet in person at the ASU California Center on two consecutive Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (in August, October, January, March, and June). Students will have the freedom to complete coursework independently, while also building essential collaboration and communication skills, through a combination of virtual and in-person learning. W . P. C A R E Y

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The Cognizant Digital Business Analyst Certificate Program delivers 12 weeks of training to prepare students for new careers in consulting.

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W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2019

New W. P. Carey certificate provides huge career potential for business analysts Faculty from the Department of Information Systems in the W. P. Carey School of Business will provide instruction in a new certificate co-developed by ASU and Cognizant, a leading provider of information technology, consulting, and business process services. The Cognizant Digital Business Analyst Certificate Program delivers 12 weeks of training to prepare students for new careers in consulting.

100% online, with no cost to you The non-degree certificate program welcomes its first class in March, with a four-module curriculum delivered 100% online. The program is open to — and designed for — recent college graduates and others seeking a career change and will address a growing labor gap in the consulting industry. In fact, one of the principal reasons Cognizant values the partnership so highly is so it can interview graduates for positions within the company. Cognizant is also eliminating all the financial burden, paying the tuition cost and fees for every enrolled student in 2019. “Collaborations like this are one of the reasons ASU has been ranked the most innovative university in America by U.S. News & World Report the past four years,” says Amy Hillman, dean of the W. P. Carey School. “ASU and the W. P. Carey School are constantly engaging corporate partners to better align what students learn with the skills and expertise the marketplace and employers are looking for. This program is just a natural extension of that thinking, and as it becomes successful and scalable, I would expect other companies to follow Cognizant’s lead and approach ASU about solutions for their organizations.”

The skills you need to succeed The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 14 percent increase in business consulting careers by 2026. To help you meet the market demand, the curriculum for the Cognizant Digital Business Analyst Certificate Program is engineered to prepare you to hit the ground running. The program consists of four threeweek modules, including Fundamentals of Business Analysis, Fundamentals of Project Management, Digital Enterprise Foundations, and Business Modeling Tools and Techniques. There is one two-day, in-person workshop after the first module. The program culminates with a two-day, in-person workshop. Although Cognizant plans to hire a number of graduates from the program, it is not a boot camp for the company; the skills students will gain cover the competencies expected of entry-level consultants in a broad range of IT consulting firms.

Don’t miss your opportunity Although the first cohort has already begun, the program will be held two more times in 2019, with summer and fall launches planned. The curriculum, taught by faculty in the W. P. Carey Department of Information Systems, will deliver the skills that are most important to the role of an entry-level business analyst. Students will also benefit by gaining real-life insights from actual consulting professionals from Cognizant, who will be teaching parts of the course. Learn more about the Cognizant Digital Business Analyst Certificate Program and apply today: go to asuonline.asu.edu/cognizant

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Power on In a market of big data, big data centers, and big costs, alumnus Clint Poole’s idea may make a big impact on the industry. “Coming to SRP, I was given an opportunity to see data center challenges from a new perspective, as a complete integrated system.” — C L I N T P O O L E , W . P. C A R E Y M B A ’ 0 4 , M S I M ’ 1 2

The pace of technological innovation is driving rapid data center growth. Yet even with all the advancements driving said growth — mobile computing, the Internet of Things, and cloud computing — the underlying infrastructure has remained relatively the same. Data centers continue to be extremely expensive investments, and as they grow in size and importance, their failures grow in significance and visibility. Why do we invest so much money in the data center to reduce risk associated with its most critical resource — power? Why not approach these issues from a different perspective and integrate the data center with its supply chain, the power grid, to increase performance and decrease costs? Poole’s questions planted the seeds for Salt River Project (SRP) DataStations™. “I’ve worked in and around data centers for most of my career,” says Poole, who received his MBA in 2004 and his Master of Science in Information Management in 2012, both from W. P. Carey. “Coming to SRP, I was given an opportunity to see data center challenges from a new perspective, as a complete integrated system.” The challenge with data centers is to eliminate the risk associated with power-related failure while maintaining sufficient unit economic profitability, says Poole, who is responsible for SRP’s commercial fiber business. “As traditional data centers grow in size, they grow in complexity. The more complex the power infrastructure is within a data center, the more prone to failure it becomes,” he explains. Approximately 40 percent of the cost associated with constructing a data center goes to power reliability infrastructure, including generators, uninterruptible power supply, and switchgear. Statistics now show that most power-related failures within a data center have been associated with this infrastructure. “These types of insights led me down a journey at SRP, with support from executive management, to figure out how we can better align my business unit — telecommunications — with our core business — power — and that’s where the SRP DataStation concept grew,” says Poole. DataStation is a scalable, quickly deployable modular data center that can connect directly to the grid near an SRP substation. Its design addresses needs missing in the data center market: simple, reliable, and cost-effective power.

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Mario Liddell ’17 BS in business data analytics and ’22 MS in business analytics, is now a vice president in Bank of America’s customer experience organization.

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ASU News, November 28, 2022

Chance opportunity ‘hooked’ Outstanding Graduate Student on business analytics Mario Liddell discovered his passion for data analytics amid a challenge. The W. P. Carey Outstanding Graduate Student was working in financial sales and trying to prepare talking points, presentation decks and dashboards on behalf of a colleague on paternal leave. “I felt over my head when I was learning how the reports went together,” Liddell says. “At the end of the eight weeks, I incorporated several improvements to increase report automation and decrease the chances of human error. I was hooked and enrolled in the Bachelor of Science in business data analytics.” After Liddell earned his undergraduate degree from ASU as an online student in 2017, he considered graduate programs at several other schools. “In the end, I knew that ASU could provide me with the skills I need and help me make local connections to better my community,” Liddell says. “I had already experienced distance learning at ASU and knew they had the infrastructure to provide a world-class learning experience. The flexibility of ASU’s online degree program allowed me to continue working and supporting my family while furthering my education.” Liddell, who will graduate with a Master of Science in business analytics, shares more about what made his ASU experience special. Question: What’s something you learned while at ASU — in the classroom or otherwise — that surprised you or changed your perspective? Answer: The “flaw of averages” blew my mind. When

making decisions, it is easy to become focused on the desire for a single number when often we should focus on a distribution of numbers to diffuse the amount of risk associated with being above or below the mean. For example, let’s assume you landed the job of your dreams; you had a great year, and with your bonus, you bought a boat. Most trips are with you and the wife, but with friends and kids, the average number of people on your boat when you take it out seems to be around four. You have a few close calls and decide you should have some life vests on board. Again, the average seems to be about four, so maybe you only buy four life vests. Now, if you crash the boat and have less than the average number of people, it’s a bad day, but if you crash on a day where you have an above-average number of people on your boat, that bad day got a whole lot worse. Q: Which professor taught you the most important lesson while at ASU? A: The professor that made the most significant impact on me was Clinical Associate Professor of information systems Hina Arora. I was working at a bank when taking her course as an undergrad. I struggled with some concepts in her course, and my work schedule made it difficult to attend office hours. I reached out to Dr. Aurora, and she set up a web call for my lunch break. Huddled in the corner of my office breakroom, Dr. Aurora walked me through the example I was struggling with and conveyed a contagious passion for how we could apply these concepts in the real world. Since taking that course, I have developed the same passion for using Python (a coding language) in analytics. I’ve completed and earned my Python certification through my employer. I’ve also acted as a facilitator for learning Python and analytics as part of a professional group.

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Among his many activities and accomplishments, Armando Montero was elected as the youngest ever member of the Tempe Union High School district governing board in 2020.

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ASU News, April 24, 2023

Even with 3 majors, ASU grad still found time for political engagement Armando Montero is graduating with three degrees in political science, economics and mathematics with a focus in statistics. He is a student in Barrett, The Honors College as well as a 2022 Harry S. Truman Scholar representing Arizona. Throughout his undergraduate experience, he found multiple ways to get involved in political and community engagement. In his first two years alone, he was involved in Undergraduate Student Government, the Refugee Education and Clinic Team (REACT), the Arizona Students Association ASU Chapter and ASU Young Democrats. He also took part in the SPGS Junior Fellows program with James Strickland and studied lobbying at the state and

local level after taking POS 216 (State and Local Government), as well as an internship that entailed a collaboration between ASU and the Grand Canyon Institute to research the economic variables and policy solutions to the rise in discouraged workers in Arizona. At the Arizona Students Association, Montero worked as a regional director, helping lead voter registration and youth engagement on ASU’s campus. He was elected as the youngest ever member of the Tempe Union High School district governing board in 2020, and he was elected by school board members across the county to serve as the Maricopa County co-director on the Board of Directors of the Arizona School Boards Association in 2022. In 2021, he worked as a policy analyst on ASU’s Enterprise Policy Analysis Group, led by Max Goshert and housed in the Office of University Affairs. The highlight of his time at ASU was being able to meet and learn from such a diverse group of students and professors all with various passions, skills and backgrounds.

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“ In the end, we want to provide greater access to information involving sport, in a way that people can understand.” — KEN SHROPSHIRE

March 29, 2019: Ken Shropshire, left, hosts the keynote discussion with USC Professor This is a caption. Todd Boyd, an expert on race in sports and film, during the second Global Sport Summit.

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W. P. Carey magazine, Autumn 2019

More than Just for Sport A shared drive to harness the power of sport to deliver real-world solutions is at the heart of ASU’s partnership with adidas. The Global Sport Alliance leverages education, athletics, research, and innovation — including ideas and initiatives led by the Global Sport Institute and its CEO, adidas Distinguished Professor of Global Sport Ken Shropshire — to change lives through sport. An expert in sports business, sports law, and the social impact of sport, Shropshire holds faculty appointments at multiple colleges within ASU, including its top-ranked W. P. Carey School of Business. “In the end, we want to provide greater access to information involving sport, in a way that people can understand,” he says. “There are really no boundaries to where the Global Sport Institute might go.” Each year, the institute aligns its research, events, and other work with an annual theme. For 2017–18, Sport 2036 aimed to “shape a progressive vision for what sport could and should look like in the future.” Why 2036? That year marks what will be the institute’s 20th. It also marks the 100th anniversary of Jesse Owens’ 1936 Olympics victories in Berlin, achieved using track spikes handcrafted by adidas founder Adolf Dassler. Race and Sport Around the Globe was selected for 2018–19 — another timely and intentional choice, marking the 50th anniversary of protests against racism by black athletes at the 1968 Olympics and 400 years since the first African slave was brought to America. “We’re thinking about how important this is,” says Shropshire, “and also it’s a time to think about the progress that’s been made — or not — in that time.”

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Karina Forbes Bohn, W. P. Carey MBA ’05

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W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2015

A Whole New Ball Game How W. P. Carey alumni are moving the business of sports forward.

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Finding plus-minus players is one way sports teams are winning games without a roster of high-priced superstars, and such in-game analytics can make a big difference in a team’s win ratio. Likewise, sports analytics on the business side can dramatically raise team profits, as well as fan loyalty. On-field and off, data delivers much more than winning performance and eye-popping box scores.

“Now, at a click of a button, I can find out unequivocally which team has the best offense when their center touches the ball at the free throw line” —A M I N E L H A S S A N

CALCULATED WINS One well-known example of how sports analytics proved to be a game changer appears in author Michael Lewis’ book titled “Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game.” Bradley Fay, a W. P. Carey School marketing doctoral candidate, explains the book’s main takeaway: realizing the statistics such as batting average and stolen bases may not tell the most compelling story. Billy Beane, general manager of the Oakland Athletics baseball team, changed the data points he was examining and questions he was asking in player evaluation. “Instead of going out and looking for players with a batting average of .300, Beane came to realize that someone who hits .299 was undervalued in the market, and people batting at .300 or more were overvalued,” Fay says. “So, the A’s changed what they were looking for to get more production per dollar.” Fay says the Oakland leaders also started looking differently at what a baseball player should do for the game. The team quit looking only at hits and started looking at outs — or the lack of them. “They started using a statistic called on-base percentage, or how many times you avoid getting an out every time you’re at bat,” he explains. “In baseball, as long as your team doesn’t get out, you’re still in the game. That added value to batters who were willing to take walks or get hit by pitches.” What started as a closer look at hitters evolved into a more scientific examination of pitchers. All the major baseball stadiums now have Doppler radar watching the wind-up and release, Fay notes. These devices monitor how fast a ball comes out of a pitcher’s hand, how fast it is when it’s going over the plate, at what angle it left the hand, the rotational velocity — or how fast it’s spinning — and in what direction it’s spinning. “This allows coaches to evaluate curve balls and other tricky moves,” Fay says. THE GAME WITHIN THE GAME Baseball isn’t the only sport where players come under intense scrutiny and numbers guide personnel decisions. Amin Elhassan (B.S. Management and Marketing ’05, MBA Sports Business ’07), an ESPN Insider, has been in the front-row seats throughout the past decade, and he’s seen similar trends on the basketball court. “When I was interning with the New York Knicks 10 years ago, I’m not sure anybody in the organization understood what offensive efficiency was; we just used points per game,” Elhassan said. “Nowadays if you just use W . P. C A R E Y

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“What we’ve learned from research into sponsorship activation is that there has to be an emotional tie,” says Francis. “It can’t be only about business.” — S T E FA N I E F R A N C I S ( M B A SPORTS BUSINESS ’05)

points per game, people will scoff at you because it’s a very primitive way of evaluating an offense. There is great value in being able to uncover hidden efficiencies using analytics.” As an example, Elhassan describes optical data tracking cameras, which are now in use in every NBA arena. They track every player on the court, their movements and speed, and the position and movements of the ball. “Now, at a click of a button, I can find out unequivocally which team has the best offense when their center touches the ball at the free throw line,” he said. “We didn’t have that information available five years ago. Now, the answers are all out there; it’s on us to come up with creative questions.” And, it’s not only the coaches who need to be asking those questions. Analytics is every bit as important to a team’s business office. PRICING IT RIGHT “In all major sports in the U.S., 10 percent of the tickets sell for double their face value on the secondary market, and 50 percent of tickets go unsold,” says AJ Maestas (MBA Sports Business ’05). Now founder and president of Navigate Research, a company he started with fellow W. P. Carey graduate Stefanie Francis (MBA Sports Business ’05), Maestas explains that, “maximizing revenue is a common problem in athletics.” His company addresses this problem in several ways. For organizations looking at stadium-naming rights, he offers what he calls a Kelly Blue Book of sponsorship value. “Before you walk onto a car lot, you have a reference guide that tells you what people pay, on average, for a given car,” Maestas explains. His company creates a similar reference guide, then does research on top of it to ferret out the proper price a company should pay for the benefit of having fans walk into the stadium under a door sporting the company name. How much are stadium-naming rights going for in the marketplace? How many people will see or recognize the sponsorship? How passionate are the fans, and will that passion transfer to the brand name on the stadium? These are the types of questions Maestas considers. His organization also surveys the fans themselves to discover that sponsorship value. Working with partner Stefanie Francis, Maestas has uncovered some interesting findings. “What we’ve learned from research into sponsorship activation is that there has to be an emotional tie,” says Francis. “It can’t be only about business.” Francis came to this conclusion after examining four sponsorships up for renewal with an NBA team. One was from a car company that had a splashy million-dollar deal. Another was from a furniture retailer spending $150,000 annually on a welcome-home salute to a local soldier, who would be featured prominently on the jumbotron. The other two sponsorships were for amounts in between these values. After using analytics and research to evaluate the corporate value of these sponsorships, Francis says that the impact of the sponsorships was W . P. C A R E Y

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“Sports used to be seen as a recession-proof industry. no matter what happened, every year teams would put out their invoices and people would pay.” —R U S SELL SCIB ET TI

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inversely correlated to the spending on them. “From brand metrics to ROI, the soldier salute trumped the other sponsorship opportunities,” she notes. “That welcome home for soldiers is what this particular fan base really cared about.” THAT’S THE TICKET Of course, all fans care to one degree or another about ticket prices. Now that dynamic pricing has hit stadium and arena seating, prices aren’t nearly as predictable as they used to be. The San Francisco Giants pioneered dynamic pricing, notes Fay. Instead of “setting prices a year and a half in advance and trying to guess what a ticket is going to be worth,” the team began experimenting with a couple thousand seats and found those seats increased revenues by around $500,000, he recalls. Andy Rentmeester (MBA Sports Business ’05) knows there’s plenty of room for pricing fluctuations. He is vice president of sales planning and analytics for Madison Square Garden Sports, owners of the New York Knicks (NBA), New York Rangers (NHL), New York Liberty (WNBA) and Westchester Knicks (NBADL). According to Rentmeester, “For each game, we may change the prices five or six times.” The payoff can be substantial. “Depending on the game, we can see a 200 percent increase in yield.” The Anschultz Entertainment Group, owners of the Los Angeles Kings and the Los Angeles Galaxy, among others, also uses analytics heavily in ticket pricing, says the company’s digital strategy and analytics vice president Aaron LeValley (MBA Sports Business ’07). He uses multiple types of analysis before the organization even begins to set initial prices. Among them are regression analysis and visualization exercises, such as a heat map showing where fans most want to sit. “We create a visualization of how the arena is built and overlay color to show what seats get sold and for how much,” LeValley explains. Sometimes, he and his team drive analysis down to each row and even each seat. The group factors in all the possible reasons one seat may be more attractive to fans than the next, including which seats are likely to see more action or where concessions and bathrooms are in relation to a seat. According to LeValley, the process is a combination of “gut feel and market research.” Rentmeester says his organization also looks at trends — what happened year-over-year for particular games with specific opponents. And, ticket pricing is only half the equation: “We’re always balancing two things,” Rentmeester says. “Revenue maximization based on current market conditions while maintaining our sell-out streak.” ake your seats, please Unlike the Knicks, most teams aren’t defending a sell-out streak. “Sports used to be seen as a recession-proof industry,” says Russell Scibetti (MBA Sports Business ’08). “No matter what happened, every year teams would put out their invoices and people would pay.” As vice president of KORE Software, a company that makes customer W . P. C A R E Y

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“We’re trying to get better at combining the science and the art of selling baseball tickets.” — K A R I N A F O R B E S B O H N , W . P. C A R E Y MBA ’05, VICE PRESIDENT OF M A R K E T I N G FO R T H E A R I ZO N A DIAMONDBACKS

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relationship management software for sports, media and entertainment companies, Scibetti helps teams combat disturbing trends: the exodus of fans from the stadium to the living room. “In football, almost every team used to sell more than 90 percent of their tickets to full season ticket-holders,” he continues. To demonstrate the change, Scibetti points to shifts in the NFL’s blackout rules. Up until 2012, games would only be televised if the stadium was 100 percent sold out 48 hours before the game. Now, teams have the option to drop that threshold down to 85 percent. One reason teams are fighting for on-site spectators is technology. Fans can sit at home and watch the game on big-screen TVs with movie theater-caliber sound systems, Fay says. “There’s good food and beer in my fridge, and I don’t have to wait in lines, fight traffic or listen to someone who doesn’t know what he’s talking about yelling in my ear.” So, the challenge is moving folks from sofa to stadium. “They call it de-couching,” Scibetti says. It’s driving huge investments in research and in-park perks. DE-COUCHING THE FAN Karina Forbes Bohn (MBA Sports Business ’05) is the vice president of marketing for the Arizona Diamondbacks and focused squarely on ticket sales. “One way we’ve used analytics is through traditional regression modeling,” she says. “We take all the factors known going into the season: who opponents are, days of the week, promotional items we’re giving away, add-on concerts and anything else we can include to drive attendance. Then, based on our regression model, we project out single-game ticket sales and measure success based on how far we exceed those ticket sales.” Bohn reports that, overall, the team has come within tenths of a percent in forecasting accuracy for specific games. So, she’s working now with the team’s business analytics group to uncover more precise details to drive sales success. “We’re not just saying that if we do a bobble head giveaway, it will sell an extra 6,000 tickets,” she explains. “We’re getting down to saying, ‘If we run a promotion on a Saturday and support it with an advertising plan of 400 TRP (Target Rating Points — how many people within a target segment saw the ad based on purchased airtime) and 2 million online impressions, we’ll see these results.’ We’re trying to get better at combining the science and the art of selling baseball tickets.” Part of that art includes improving the overall fan experience. “You can’t control the game outcome, you can’t control the individual player performances, but you can control fan experiences. We never want to underdeliver,” Bohn says, adding that her department helps generate fan desire to attend games in person by communicating effectively through advertising, Web content and email, as well as by creating excitement W . P. C A R E Y

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“We’re always balancing two things, revenue maximization based on current market conditions while maintaining our sell-out streak.” —A N D Y R E N T M E E S T E R

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beyond the game itself through giveaways, fireworks, concerts, theme nights and other promotions. Plus, the Diamondbacks survey fans regularly … and creatively. Working with former classmate Stefanie Francis, the Diamondbacks recently took a focus group out of that traditional, sterile white room with the two-way mirror and video as fuzzy as an ATM surveillance camera. “I grew up watching shows like Wild Kingdom, where you get to see animals in their natural environment,” says Francis, the research lead. “I asked myself, ‘What’s the natural environment of a sports fan?’ A sports bar!” Francis and Bohn brought nearly three-dozen fans to a Phoenix watering hole, had a local sportscaster lead the group discussion and let the fans grab beers to enjoy with a buffet of finger foods. The venue brought out more fan passion and honesty. “As much as I love focus groups, you can’t help but notice you’re in a room with a bunch of strangers and some other stranger is asking questions. The bar put people in a setting much more appropriate for watching and talking about sports,” Bohn says. BETTER THAN THE JUMBOTRON Navigate Research also is taking a closer look at fan experience with an 8,000-fan survey plus a handful of event attendees who will be fitted with the same type of biometric sensors NBA basketball players use. The one-ounce sensors will give researchers insight into fan heart rates, distance traveled in the stadium, as well as fatigue and cardiovascular changes that might signal excitement, Francis explains. Meanwhile AEG is looking at proximity marketing, says LeValley, who sees this technology as a way to “surprise and delight” the fans that support his company’s teams. “It’s software that you put in your arena, and it transmits a signal to a mobile application,” he says. “So, if I had the Kings’ app on my phone, the software might send me a message letting me know the concession lines in my section are empty right now. Or, it may say where the shortest bathroom line is.” Other teams are looking at loyalty card programs, according to Scibetti. “Teams are investing in systems to incentivize people to share information and track spending,” and the incentives themselves are often enhanced fan experiences, such as “meet-and-greet visits with players and coaches or autographed memorabilia,” he notes. Improving fan experience is a winning move, not only for increasing ticket sales but also for making sure teams get the greatest possible revenue from each ticket sold. Maestas says that premium seats have dramatically risen in price in the last decade to reflect demand. “In the U.S. today, 4 percent of seats account for 50 percent of revenue,” he says. — Betsey Loeff

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Levi Cooper, at right, BS Accountancy ’13 as Tucker, half of the WWE duo called Heavy Machinery.

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W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2019

In this corner When his All-American collegiate wrestling days were over, Accountancy alum Levi Cooper expected to begin his new career in the accounting world Shortly after graduating from the W. P. Carey School, Levi Cooper (BS Accountancy ’13) had the opportunity to try out with WWE, the organization also known as World Wrestling Entertainment. Being a WWE Superstar wasn’t the life he envisioned. But on July 24, 2013 — which happened to be Cooper’s birthday — he got a call that would change his life. WWE wanted to offer him a contract after having him in for a tryout the month before. Fast forward five years, and Cooper is one of the up-and-coming Superstars in the company. He wrestles under the name Tucker and is one half of the tag team duo Heavy Machinery. Cooper had been wrestling on the WWE’s NXT developmental brand since 2015. However, on the Dec. 17, 2018, episode of Raw, WWE’s flagship program, it was announced that Cooper and his tag team partner were being promoted to the main roster. “Professional wrestling wasn’t on my radar,” Cooper says. “When the opportunity popped up, I knew it was something I needed to do. It was the best decision I’ve ever made in my life.” Cooper joined forces with another former NCAA wrestler named Otis Dozovic to form Heavy Machinery. Over the past three years, the duo has performed on NXT, which operates as WWE’s third global brand alongside Raw and SmackDown. For Cooper, a typical week involves a significant amount of preparation and training. Based in Orlando, Cooper spends the majority of his week at WWE’s Performance Center. On a daily basis, Cooper is working on strength and conditioning, watching film, and developing his character through promo classes, among other things. At the end of the week, Cooper performs in multiple shows either in Florida or out of state. For Cooper, his time with the ASU wrestling program helped prepare him for many facets of his professional career. Cooper also notes that having teammates such as Anthony Robles, who won the 2010–11 NCAA title and was born with one leg, gave him perspective on the impact of putting in hard work. He also says that he learned the importance of working together. “My favorite part (of being in the WWE) is the freedom,” he says. “It affords me the opportunity to be myself. To be performing in front of people and have them be on board with what I am doing. It’s what I was meant to be doing all my life.” W . P. C A R E Y

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Honors student Matthew Joanes is graduating with his bachelor’s degree in sports business from the W. P. Carey School of Business. This fall, he’ll begin pursuing a Master of Sports Law and Business from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at ASU.

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ASU News, May 8, 2023

ASU sports business graduate winning at the game of life You could say scoring a Bachelor of Arts in sports business from the W. P. Carey School of Business and Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University has always been one of Matthew Joanes’ main goals since he entered the game of life.

“I knew from a very young age that sports were my one true passion,” said Joanes, a native of Mesa, Arizona. “I started playing organized sports in fourth grade, but I had been playing touch football on the playground since I was old enough to throw the ball. “When I was applying to colleges in high school, I didn’t really know how to get to where I wanted to end up. However, I found out that sports business programs were starting to pop up across the country as I looked for degree programs to be admitted to. Once I saw that ASU was offering a sports business degree, I knew I’d found the right place.” Joanes earned the New American University President’s Scholarship, which is offered to outstanding first-year students. Joanes’ journey toward earning a degree at ASU was pretty much etched in stone from birth, since his parents are also Sun Devil alumni. “I began my Sun Devil journey in the fall of 2011 when I started fourth grade at ASU Preparatory Academy – Polytechnic,” Joanes said. “Even at ASU Prep, Gold Fridays were a tradition that everyone took part in. As I grew up and was exposed to more and more of ASU, I fell in love with being a Sun Devil. My parents graduated from Arizona State and got married at the Newman Center

on College and University, so attending ASU just felt right.” We caught up with Joanes to learn more about his experience at ASU and how he plans to use his sports business degree to be one of the stars in his career field. Question: Which professor taught you the most important lesson while at ASU? Answer: This is tough because I’ve had some incredible professors in my four years at ASU. Daniel McIntosh, who taught my Intro to Sports Business class, gave me my first taste of being a sports business student. Each week, we’d spend the first 30 minutes of class talking about recent developments in the sports world based on articles from the Sports Business Journal. Professor McIntosh, who went on to become the second reader for my honors thesis, told our class that we should always make sure we know what’s going on in the sports world. Even if you’re not super passionate about a certain area, have enough knowledge about the subject to understand what’s going on if it’s brought up in conversation. That really resonated with me because as I’ve had the chance to talk to more people in the sports industry, I feel much more confident talking to them when I know what I’m talking about. Thank you, Professor!

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Anshi Mathur, W. P. Carey MBA ’20

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W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2021

Business by Day, Music by Night Sarup Mathur, Anshi’s mother and a professional singer.

Before COVID-19, life had already changed notably for Anshi Mathur (MBA ’20), but she didn’t skip a beat. In 2017, when she started the Online MBA program at the W. P. Carey School of Business, Mathur was being treated for leukemia, which had temporarily robbed the lifelong musician of her ability to sing. She graduated from the MBA program in better health and had been selected to sing the alma mater at her convocation ceremony, but unfortunately was unable to do so because of COVID-19. Now a business data analyst during the weekdays and a teacher and student of voice on the weekends, Mathur is fully invested in two of her greatest passions. But getting to that point involved a long and winding road, starting with her decision to go to business school in the first place. “The decision to pursue an MBA stemmed from my job position at my previous workplace,” she says. “Being the business development manager in a startup company opened my eyes to the intricacies involved in the world of business. “Creating a culture where everyone feels empowered and valued has been very important to me throughout my professional and academic career. Therefore, I wanted to study business and learn more extensively how to successfully be a leader in the startup industry.” MIXING BUSINESS WITH MUSIC Music — and singing, in particular — has been a part of Mathur’s life since she was very young. She was inspired by her virtuoso mother, Sarup Mathur, who is a professional classical Indian singer and also a professor of special education in the division of educational leadership at ASU.

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Stephen Teglas, W. P. Carey BS Finance ’89

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W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2019

The Serious Side of Entertainment We’re living in a golden age of entertainment. No matter how you spend your off-hours — in a sports stadium suite, sitting in front of the silver screen, or even just scrolling through your smartphone — there’s no shortage of captivating options available to help you fill every moment. And behind the magical storytelling, highlight-reel-worthy athletic accomplishments, and can’t-miss viral moments, you might just find a W. P. Carey grad. From crunching numbers to calling the shots from the C-suite, these alumni are helping make the entertainment we love more accessible and irresistible. Here, they share some of their favorite stories and a few tricks of the trade. BRINGING CHARACTERS TO LIFE OFF SCREEN Stephen Teglas (BS Finance ’89) is senior vice president of North America merchandise licensing at Warner Bros. Consumer Products. Teglas is responsible for merchandise licensing, retail sales, and marketing. “We leverage the company’s intellectual properties — films, television, and comic books — and create three-dimensional products for our fans, effectively extending the story that they’ve seen on the screen or read in comics,” he says. His team determines the franchise strategies and priorities to take to market in the upcoming year. “Currently, we are developing product on Batman’s 80th anniversary, Wonder Woman ’84, Harry Potter, Bugs Bunny’s 80th birthday, and a Scooby-Doo film that will be released in 2020,” he says. “Through consumer and retail marketing, we develop strong franchise narratives that excite our fans and create relevance.” Ask about his favorite Batman and Teglas will tell you he is an Adam West guy. “It’s always fun to see fans playing with the toys or wearing the apparel that you helped create,” he says. “Whether it’s a Disney or a Warner Bros. product, when I see children and adults wearing our apparel or playing with our toys, I’m proud to work in the business that helped create it. The joy our fans have when interacting with our products is evident. For example, I see them when I’m walking through an airport. I will see a child pulling a Batman suitcase or wearing a backpack and I immediately think, ‘I had a hand in that.’” W . P. C A R E Y

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CAPTURING CONSUMERS’ ATTENTION WITH CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGY Matt Michalowski (BS Finance ’09), the founder and president of digital marketing agency PXL, admits that there is a glut of imperfect advertising online. “As a consumer, I don’t love being bombarded with bad ads. If you make advertising that is creative and fun, you will engage consumers,” he says. “When you’re working in entertainment and you’re making ads for products that bring enjoyment and escape to people’s lives, it’s a lot of fun.” PXL, which is based in Los Angeles and works with television networks and movie studios to market their upcoming theatrical, home entertainment, and television series online, was recently awarded a prestigious Silver Clio for its work on Paramount’s 2018 home entertainment release Sherlock Gnomes. The campaign featured a Facebook Live Q&A with the animated Sherlock character from the movie. The agency used real-time face-mapping technology to translate an improv actor’s performance into a digital character who interacted with movie fans. “It basically looked like the animated Sherlock character was talking, gesturing, and making facial expressions; it felt authentic,” Michalowski says. “When have you ever seen a character animated in real time like that? Nobody had ever seen an animated character talking and answering questions in a live stream before. It’s a new technology, and it got people to stop when they were scrolling through their feeds.” Beyond garnering a big award for PXL, the campaign resonated with consumers. It reached more than 10,000 fans and managed to get them to interact with Sherlock. “My favorite part of the job is bringing new ideas to our clients and their customers and solving problems in creative ways,” Michalowski says. “It’s fun when you come up with a new idea, can run with it, and it’s effective.” Trick of the trade: “The best advertising doesn’t feel like advertising to the person on the other end,” he says. “Content that people want to watch, share, and engage with because it’s authentically interesting, funny, or inspiring goes so much further toward building excitement in the product you are selling.” REACHING THE RIGHT CUSTOMERS AT THE RIGHT TIME Joel McFadden (MBA ’06) has been on the team at Fan Interactive Marketing in LA since it was founded 10 years ago. “We focus on one-to-one marketing in the sports and entertainment world,” says McFadden, who is currently the chief operations officer. “We provide services to clients, whether it’s venues like the Barclays Center in Brooklyn or sports teams like the Memphis Grizzlies or Kansas City Chiefs. We essentially help them better optimize their data to target customers or prospects. Ultimately, the end goal is to sell more tickets or increase W . P. C A R E Y

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sponsorship values.” McFadden originally became interested in sports marketing while working as an accountant. He chose the W. P. Carey School to help him transition into a career he could be passionate about. “I didn’t necessarily love the industry I was in, and I didn’t necessarily love some of the work that I was doing,” he says. “Then I looked around and said, ‘Hey, I’ve always loved sports. Since I’m not going to be competing in professional sports anytime soon, if I build my career around the business of sports, something that I love, I’d be much happier.’” McFadden says the sports marketing agency’s main goal is to provide multichannel marketing campaigns to clients — via email marketing, digital advertising, and data analysis — to give them a better understanding of their own customers, which in turn helps them create stronger relationships. Trick of the trade: “We try to leverage their data to figure out things like, for example, who’s buying season tickets, memberships, or suites, whatever it may be,” he says. “Then we create strategies and campaigns to help our clients target the right individuals at the right time with the right offer.” THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX DRIVES SUCCESS FOR LIONSGATE It’s a turbulent time in the movie business, according to Michael Burns (BS Political Science ’80), the vice chairman of Lionsgate, a global media and entertainment company. “Right now, you have disruptors like Netflix that have taken the world by storm,” he says. “And then you have more traditional companies like Disney, which has made some terrific acquisitions including Marvel, Lucasfilm, and Pixar. It’s a new world.” To distinguish itself and make its studio more competitive, Burns says that Lionsgate emphasizes underserved markets, and its approach to unconventional movie making has yielded great success for the studio. “You have to be able to zig when everybody else is zagging; that’s what we’re doing on the movie front,” he says. “There are these giant multinationals that are putting out giant superhero movies, so we’ll do movies that we think are fresh, like “Wonder” or “La La Land.” We’ve invented franchises

out of thin air, like “John Wick.” Those are all different genres, but with targeted audiences. And, in many ways, underserved markets.” Burns says Lionsgate’s strategy for success in such a competitive landscape is to continue to evolve as a company and push boundaries. “The speed with which this industry is changing means you have to be nimble,” Burns says. “When we did a musical with ‘La La Land,’ people thought we were crazy. But it worked out pretty well!” The movie won six Oscars and topped $400 million at the box office. Trick of the trade: “The best business schools expose their students to new disciplines and fresh ideas, helping them to become agile, nimble, and a little more innovative in their thinking. And by bringing them together with a diverse and multicultural group of students and faculty, they’re able to see the world through others’ eyes, enabling them to identify emerging and underserved markets and other opportunities that might otherwise have gone unnoticed.” THE MAN BEHIND THE MUSIC Michael Zimmerlich (BS Computer Information Systems ’07) is president of 80/20 Records in Phoenix and a crowdfunding adviser. Zimmerlich fell in love with the hustle his senior year of high school, when there was an event called Market Day. “We had to come up with a product to sell to our fellow peers. A friend and I got footage from the high school television station and sold a yearbook on DVD. It did terribly, but I loved the experience so much.” One of Zimmerlich’s best moments at work was when he was hanging out with one of the first groups he represented. “They were having a little rehearsal at one of their homes and said, ‘We’d love your opinion on this new song,’” he says. “They played one of the most beautiful ballads I’d ever heard. I was in the middle of the musicians, and I felt like I was immersed in it. It was such a profound moment.” There are also hazards. “We had booked artists for a three-day public event, and while one band was playing, an event organizer tapped me on the shoulder and said they needed to talk to one of the musicians who was on right then. I looked over, and realized one of them was

stripped down to his underwear. It was supposed to be a family event, so I went over to the guy and told him to put his pants on. He was cool about it,” says Zimmerlich. Trick of the trade: “I use a task management system called Asana, which I can’t live without. Anytime I come up with something, I have a list in it called ‘ideas,’ and I’ll throw it in there. I integrate Asana with the rest of my team, so they can see my ideas, and maybe one of those ideas is something that will inspire them to think, ‘Let’s go for this one.’” DATA IS AT THE HEART OF HULU’S BUSINESS Working as an engineer on Hulu’s data team enables Irfan Khanmohamed (MS Information Management ’14) to blend both art and science to help develop compelling content for viewers. “Data is at the center of everything Hulu does,” he says. “We’re in such a competitive space. We’re trying to grow our subscriber base, figure out what content people like, and figure out how we can keep our subscribers happy. You can’t do any of that without going through the data.” Khanmohamed’s job is to help the business side of the streaming video company assess its data using various tools. “My day-to-day is either solving problems for our analysts looking to access our data, or working on and maintaining the tools they use to access this data,” he says. His work at Hulu represents a major shift from his previous role. “I was looking to change — I was working in programmatic advertising,” he says. “I loved working in tech, but I was tired of the advertising industry. I wanted to work for a company that created something people enjoyed. I submitted my resume online to their portal, they called me, and I got lucky.” Working at Hulu means that Khanmohamed gets to work in what he calls a “big data playground.” “We have millions of subscribers and just a ton of content. We get to use any data analytics tool to examine the enormous amount of data we have. That’s exciting,” he says. Trick of the trade: “We spend a lot of time looking at what content is being watched the most, and some of the top shows that people watch definitely surprised me when I first joined. The piece of information that I found most interesting was the top three shows sports

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fans were watching when they weren’t watching sports: ‘Big Bang Theory,’ ‘Family Guy,’ and ‘Fixer Upper.’” LAUNCHING RECORDING ARTISTS TO THE NEXT LEVEL Eric O’Connor (BS Marketing ’10) got an early start in his management career after the New York Giants drafted his best friend’s brother, NFL player Will Beatty. The draft party O’Connor arranged went so well that Beatty hired him as a manager, a role O’Connor fit in between classes at W. P. Carey. O’Connor now works as an entertainment attorney and co-founder of the management company MPM Partners based in Los Angeles. “We take artists who are already popular on YouTube and try to convert them into more traditional avenues,” he says, pointing to his client rapper DDG, who joined Epic Records in 2018. The goal at MPM is to mold scrappy DIY social media artists into a more polished brand. “Most of them will try to put out songs on their own. So we’ll contact them, help them knead it down, and then help them do it better,” O’Connor says. He describes part of his job as being the “brand police.” MPM is currently working on pulling its various artists together to create a compilation album, a tactic O’Connor learned from (Continued from p. 16) W. P. Carey. “Instead of having each person individually advertising the songs that they’re making on their respective YouTube channels, they’re all promoting one project that they’re all on.” The biggest challenge of representing social media stars is credibility, says O’Connor. “You’re going into a business where [executives] look down upon you because you’re a YouTuber or a social media person,” he says. “They prefer to have some singer that nobody knows. They think that’s more valuable than a person that many people have already said they enjoy listening to,” he says. “They’re just old-fashioned.” Trick of the trade: Prepare for gray hair. One of O’Connor’s favorite parts of the job is networking and meeting his clients on the basketball court, which he describes as “four or five hours just beating up on each other.” He knows that his knees and his ability to relate to 20-something clients won’t last forever, which is why the company is working on its own record label, 1010 Records. They have already received interest in partnerships from Columbia, Epic, and Atlantic Records. “We’re going to establish ourselves as the premium place to be for YouTube artists, and then I’ll get some young guns to go run the streets for us,” O’Connor says. “It’s all about pivoting. — Tequia Burt and Claire Zulkey

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Sun Devils take Hollywood When most people imagine working in Hollywood, they picture a busy set with actors running around in costume and directors yelling, “Cut!” But it takes more than on-screen talent for Hollywood to run. “When we think about the entertainment industry, we think about actors, editors, high-level execs — but companies also need marketing professionals, they need PR professionals, they need human resources, every position under the sun,” says Alison Dean Scott, ASU associate director for corporate engagement and partnerships for the Western region. “There’s a lot of opportunity for students of all majors.” In September, in partnership with ASU Career and Professional Development Services, ASU Film Spark invited Sun Devils from all majors to attend an entertainment career fair in Los Angeles at their Film Spark headquarters, located at the ASU California Center in Santa Monica. The L.A. Entertainment Career Fair featured nearly 20 film, media, and entertainment companies, including CBS, Lionsgate, NBCUniversal, and Univision, that were seeking talent for internships and full-time entry-level positions. “The opportunities within entertainment are not just in production. They really have companies that expand beyond that in the entertainment industry, which has been super awesome,” says Adam Hays (BS Marketing ’18), a former intern at international talent discovery and model management leader IMG Models. “I love W. P. Carey students. They know how to comport themselves professionally, they’re very strong academically, and tend to be well prepared,” says Film Spark Director Adam Collis. Being able to connect with and get advice from working professionals in the entertainment industry can be critical for job seekers trying to launch a career in Hollywood. More than 100 alums and students — including eight from W. P. Carey — attended both events, according to Collis. Surprised by the success of their first entertainment industry career fair last spring, The Film Spark team is even more encouraged by that of their second. They plan to hold a Hollywood Sun Devils networking mixer and L.A. Entertainment Career Fair every semester going forward. “It’s my hope that Sun Devils bring signature ASU innovation to the industry,” Collis says. “And W. P. Carey students always represent ASU well.”

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Summer 2017 Sofar Sounds gig held at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, where This is a caption. radio waves were first transmitted and received in 1894.

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W. P. Carey magazine, Autumn 2017

Bringing the magic back to live music “Every gig has a distinct flavor. Sofar makes it possible to see an indie band, jazz band, and beatboxer perform — all in one night, and all in one living room.” — PHOEBE PETRIDIS (BS MARKETING ’ 1 1 ) , D I R E C T O R O F S O FA R L O N D O N .

Founded in London in 2010 and based all over the place, Sofar Sounds is bringing the magic back to live music. Getting on the guest list for one of their intimate, invite-only events is one surprise among many — the excitement of which continues to capture the interest of artists and audiences alike. “My first experience was three amazing bands in this cool office space,” says Samantha Waterman (BS Marketing/BA Tourism ’11), who volunteers as an artist liaison for Sofar Los Angeles. “I had no idea who was going to be performing or where the location was. I loved the anticipation.” Newcomers lucky enough to land a ticket can expect to hear from three diverse artists in a unique space, with a secret lineup and location to be revealed the day before the event. “Every gig has a distinct flavor,” says Phoebe Petridis (BS Marketing ’11), director of Sofar London. “Sofar makes it possible to see an indie band, jazz band, and beatboxer perform — all in one night, and all in one living room.” From living rooms and warehouses to museums, rooftops, breweries, and beyond, diverse venues and lineups are key to curating memorable experiences for guests. Of equal importance are the guests themselves. “The most magical element of the show was how appreciative and engaged the audience [was],” Sofar investor Richard Branson wrote of attending his first Sofar gig. “It took me back to when we started Virgin Records, sitting on beanbags and drifting away with the music as we It’s a BYOB concert like no other, where emerging artists tell stories and talk about their musical journeys. Guests connect with fellow music fans and bands on a personal level. And when the music starts, everything else stops. “Any other small venue or bar does not offer an experience like this for guests or musicians,” Waterman says. “It gives emerging artists a chance to perform in front of a guaranteed audience full of people who will listen and appreciate the songs and the performances. “Music and art have always been powerful partners to the cause of justice because they share an ability to stir something deep within us,” Secretary General of Amnesty International Salil Shetty said in a statement. “The shows will be an opportunity to reflect on our shared humanity and strengthen our resolve to tackle this unprecedented humanitarian challenge.” While the competition for Give a Home tickets closed Sept. 10, there are plenty of ways to connect with Sofar in a city near you. Learn more at sofarsounds.com.

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Chris Cookson, W. P. Carey MBA ’70

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W. P. Carey magazine, Autumn 2013

Taking Movies from 35mm to 4K Ultra-HD The entertainment technology veteran, who has commanded a front-row seat for most of the major technological changes that have digitized movie making and revolutionized the entertainment industry over the last 20 years. Cookson (W. P. Carey MBA ’70) has been a key player in many of the industry’s most important high-tech milestones. He has been on the scene for, among other things, the move from analog to digital processing, the development of DVDs, and the emerging ultra-highdefinition market. “This is the most exciting time to be in this part of the business since movies were first created 100 years ago,” says Cookson. Indeed, until recently, not much about movie-making had changed since the beginning. Sound and color were added, but the basic process remained the same: expose a piece of film, process it, cut it, put it together, make a print and send it to a theater where it was played on a mechanical projector. “Today, virtually everything is different,” Cookson says. “We’re using electronic cameras, and most post-production is done in digital processing. In the end, we ship a digital file that goes into a digital projection system, so, for most theaters, there is never anything physical at any point in the entire production.” Bidding farewell to armloads of 35-mm film reels has also opened up a whole new world when it comes to the ways in which viewers can consume entertainment media. Once a film or TV show has been created, it becomes a digital asset — and that asset can be viewed on “any medium we can dream up,” Cookson explains. “The underlying technology we use to get that asset to someone’s TV or tablet or cell phone is basically the same.” Clearly, Cookson is a devoted techie. In fact, his

undergraduate degree, also earned at ASU, is in engineering. But he doesn’t believe in technology just for technology’s sake. He is a proponent of technologies that help to fulfill both the creative vision of moviemakers and the bottom-line demands of the studio. “Really cool technologies that don’t have a business model behind them are only good for a museum,” Cookson says. “In fact, the real job of technology is to become invisible. The role of these tools — which today are so powerful that we can do anything someone can imagine when it comes to storytelling and production — is to enable filmmakers to carry out their vision for audiences to enjoy in the best possible way.” That powerful combination of business, technology and entertainment savvy has propelled Cookson through a stellar career, including positions as chief technology officer of Warner Bros. Entertainment, president of the Warner Bros. Technical Operations Division, and vice president and general manager of operations and engineering for CBS. Cookson also spent ten years at ABC, where he won an Emmy award for his work as director of the ABC and International Olympics Broadcast Centers for the 1984 Olympics. The W. P. Carey School recognized his achievements by inducting him into the Alumni Hall of Fame. If the next decade brings as much change to the industry as the last, one can only imagine what Cookson and his peers will be working on in 10 years. For him, it will certainly be the continuation of a fascinating career —and a wild ride in the pilot’s seat.

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Holly Barrett, MBA ’86, and her friend and former Intel colleague Wanjiku Kamau, MBA ’19, attending a Michelle Obama event in Phoenix on Feb. 12, 2019.

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W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2022

Leadership is in the small moments Alumna and Executive Connections mentor Holly Barrett reminds students that you don’t need a title to lead A cornerstone of the W. P. Carey Full-time MBA experience, Executive Connections pairs students with a volunteer group of senior executives who coach mentees as they embark on new career opportunities. Holly Barrett (MBA ’86), chief financial officer for ambulatory and pharmacy services at Phoenix-based hospital system Banner Health, starts by asking students what they want to achieve. “The best way I can assist is by identifying what success means to each student,” she says. Having tough conversations helps students identify and achieve meaningful professional and personal goals. “There’s a lot of future career questions mentees need to answer honestly for themselves,” says Barrett. “If your career trajectory is based on how other people are going to look at you, you may achieve success, but you may not enjoy it as much as you otherwise would have.” In her five years as an Executive Connections mentor, Barrett has met many excellent students. “They all have a unique story with varying aspirations,” she says. “Sharing my successful (and unsuccessful) experiences helps them in many ways and, ultimately, I learn from them, too.” Barrett enjoys sharing leadership tips because she strongly believes leadership is a life skill and not just a professional skill. “Every day presents large and small opportunities to lead, but many don’t start their MBA program thinking of themselves as leaders,” she says. “My goal is for students to see that W. P. Carey is providing them with a safe place to practice their leadership skills in team projects, internships, etc., so that when they graduate, they are more confident and

“You do not need an official title to be a leader. Opportunities to lead surround you every day, so do not be afraid to step up and take that role.” – H O L LY B A R R E T T

capable of stepping into those day-to-day and formal leadership opportunities.” Part of Barrett’s role as a mentor is teaching students the importance of growth. “If your skills grow, then your capabilities grow, along with your network,” she says. “Success is the achievement of the virtuous loop, where everybody is getting and giving something. That’s leadership.” Mentorship comes with a significant payoff for Barrett. “When someone accomplishes something they weren’t seeing in themselves, that’s rewarding,” she says. “My role is to remind students of their greatness. They have the skills they need to go for it and often just need us to help them with their self-confidence.” Barrett hopes to inspire students to achieve success on their terms. “Remember, you do not need an official title to be a leader,” she says. “Opportunities to lead surround you every day, so do not be afraid to step up and take that role when you should.” W . P. C A R E Y

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Grace O’Sullivan, MBA ’10, is vice president of Corporate Engagement and Strategic Partnerships for ASU’s Knowledge Enterprise.

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W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2022

Creating community and belonging for greater understanding Alumna Grace O’Sullivan says inclusion is crucial to examine As vice president of Corporate Engagement and Strategic Partnerships for ASU’s Knowledge Enterprise, Grace O’Sullivan, MBA ’10, is responsible for advancing high-impact partnerships, and corporate and economic development. She recently joined the W. P. Carey School of Business for a discussion around inclusion. A second-generation American of Chinese descent, O’Sullivan has always felt somewhat like an outsider. “When I think about inclusion, I reflect on my personal experience. I grew up in a home that spoke only Mandarin Chinese,” she says. “I didn’t learn English until I went to kindergarten.” O’Sullivan describes examining the lens through which we see inclusion and belonging as essential work. “Whether it’s managing yourself or your internal state, your values and beliefs impact how you carry yourself in every situation.” She uses this train of thought as she navigates her career. “Sometimes I engage with a situation through my ASU lens or my identity as a woman, or as a minority, or as a board member,” she explains. “I would encourage you to always look at things through various lenses; collect those different perspectives, and understand where others are coming from, too.” An inclusive mindset is a positive thing. “Try to seek out various perspectives,” O’Sullivan advises. “My best friend couldn’t be more opposite from me in every way. Engaging in civil discourse gives you the opportunity to think about inclusion from varying perspectives.” But developing an inclusive mindset isn’t just a good idea for individuals. Organizations must think about and champion inclusion beyond the numbers, as well.

“Does everyone feel included?” asks O’Sullivan. “If they struggle to find their place, then chances are good people will leave.” Bringing people together creates a community where people feel their opinions and ideas matter. “I think when you achieve that, you can create a wonderful sense of belonging. From that lens, everyone will feel valued and engaged,” she says. “At ASU, we have a responsibility to create that type of community.” Taking the time to have conversations with students can make a huge difference. “I spoke with a young mom who wanted to apply to the MBA program. She was hesitating with her decision,” O’Sullivan remembers. “I said yes, you should absolutely apply. It’s essential we have students that serve as role models for others.” She had another conversation that made an impact. “I spoke with a woman who wasn’t born in America. She immigrated here in her teens,” explains O’Sullivan. “Her accent made her afraid to speak up in meetings; I reminded her that an accent is a sign of bravery. It shows your resilience. That’s a beautiful thing.” Every member of the ASU and W. P. Carey community — including our alumni — can help to create a welcoming and inclusive campus environment. “If you can change one person’s experience, it has a ripple effect,” says O’Sullivan. “We are always thinking about improving the student experience.” Mentoring current ASU students is a great place to start. Visit mentorship.asu.edu to learn more about your potential impact on campus and beyond.

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“Think about what you can do as a manager or as an organization to use goals effectively to get more performance out of your employees, as well as on other things you care about.” — D AV I D W E L S H

Research by David Welsh, Assistant Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship, and Mike Baer, Associate Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship

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W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2020

The problems with employee performance goals The importance of setting performance goals for an organization is evident in years of study in academia and decades of real-life examples in workplaces around the world. Goals motivate: They help improve employees’ performance and keep them focused. There are only positives involved … right? ASU management professors Mike Baer and David Welsh beg to differ — at least with the notion that there are no downsides to setting employee performance goals. According to their newly published research, the negatives can be real and significant. “We’re not trying to say that goals are bad, but they’re not the cure-all for what ails employees and companies,” says Baer. “Sticking your head in the sand and saying, ‘They’re all good,’ is not accurate. Managers don’t seem to recognize this, but should.” In their new paper, “Hot Pursuit: The Affective Consequences of Organization-Set Versus Self-Set Goals for Emotional Exhaustion and Citizenship Behavior” (June 2019), Baer and Welsh challenge the convention that it doesn’t matter who sets an employee’s performance goals. Their research, published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, found that the opposite is the case — and it’s all about emotions. GETTING SKIN IN THE GAME MOTIVATES EXTRA-MILE EFFORTS Baer and Welsh discovered that when employees aren’t involved in setting a particular goal, their anxiety will rise and their enthusiasm will wane — a powerful one-two punch that can lead to burnout. And that’s just the beginning: The research also showed the downstream effect that employees will be more likely to shun so-called “citizenship behavior.” They’ll be less likely to go above and beyond by helping other co-workers, staying late, or reaching beyond their assigned duties for the betterment of the organization. “You may be thinking, ‘Oh, I set a goal for an employee to build 10 widgets and they built 10 widgets,’ but you might miss some of the unintended consequences that come along with this,” says Welsh, who has more than a decade in the goal-setting field. “They might not be doing other things that you would value in an employee — but they’re not part of the goal, so you missed them.” — David Schwartz

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“This is something that we tend to think happens just at the lower end of the income distribution to people with less education, but that’s not the case.” — BART HOBIJN, BART HOBIJN, PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS

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W. P. Carey magazine, Autumn 2020

Ensuring everyone gets a smoother ride up the wage escalator You may not realize it, but at this very moment, you’re riding an escalator — a wage escalator, that is. How quickly you rise to the top determines how much your wages will increase throughout your career. And your race and gender can make a big difference in the quality of your ride. In a study recently published in Economic Letters, Professor of Economics Bart Hobijn, professors at the University of Minnesota, and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco compared early- to midcareer wage growth among Black men, Black women, white men, and white women. Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey, which the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics uses to measure the unemployment rate and estimate income inequality, the researchers constructed career wage profiles to illustrate how wage growth differs for each of these groups over 15 years. And while Black workers, in general, showed slower wage growth than their white counterparts, Black men’s wages fared especially poorly when compared with white men’s wages. The team’s analysis showed that Black workers in general churn through jobs at a higher rate than white ones. Black men, in particular, separate from their jobs much more frequently than white men, yet are rehired at only a slightly higher rate, causing them to experience longer and more frequent spells of unemployment. Fortunately, there are ways of ensuring that everyone gets a smoother ride up the wage escalator. Because wage inequality accumulates throughout workers’ careers, workforce development policies that bring government, business, and academia together to help workers find the best early- and midcareer opportunities can potentially reduce long-term earning gaps. And because these gaps occur across all educational levels, institutions of higher learning such as ASU and business schools such as W. P. Carey have an important role to play as well. Mentoring programs can help college and university students understand the benefits of choosing majors with higher returns on investment, such as economics, business, and finance. Alumni associations can support students long after graduation with networking opportunities and peer mentoring. In that sense, says Hobijn, the message of the research to universities and business school alumni is clear: “If this is something you care about, there’s stuff you can do.”— Alexander Gelfand W . P. C A R E Y

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“Rather than think about who’s a good person or who’s a bad person, let’s ask if there’s a difference between the times when that person is likely to do a good job and the times when that person is likely to do a bad job.” — L U K E S T E I N , A S S I S TA N T P R O F E S S O R O F F I N A N C E

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W. P. Carey magazine, Autumn 2019

When asking a busy person can backfire Directors on the boards of public companies are expected to advise the CEO, monitor the quality of financial statements, and lend their expertise to making acquisitions successful. Especially sought-after for director positions are executives actively working at other companies because of the knowledge and networks they can bring to a board. It’s a big job, and researchers have sometimes found that when directors get busy with other boards, at least one of the companies in whose boardrooms they sit can suffer. Assistant Professor of Finance Luke Stein and W. P. Carey graduate Hong Zhao, now of the NEOMA Business School in France, knew most prior research focused on retirees, professionals, and others serving on multiple boards. “Hong and I considered not only who’s a busy person … but the same person that’s busy sometimes, and sometimes they’re not,” Stein says. “Rather than think about who’s an effective director or who’s not, let’s take a given person and ask if there’s a difference between the times when that person is likely to do a good job and the times when that person is likely to do a bad job.” In their paper published this year in the Journal of Corporate Finance, Stein and Zhao broke new ground by looking at the estimated one-third of directors who are full-time executives at other companies and by quantifying what happened when their employer’s poor performance distracted them from their part-time board duties. The research has implications for CEOs, stockholders, and directors, Stein says. CEOs should be thoughtful about serving on outside boards and about how much time they could devote to those duties when things get busy at their employer. For their part, stockholders should be cautious about voting for the most prestigious, likely-to-be-busy executives as directors and should consider the diversity of experience of those they vote for, especially on small boards. Directors should have good procedures in place to ensure effective communication so they can be aware and step in when one of them is distracted. “My preferred interpretation is on the flip side,” he says. “If these are the bad things that happen when the people are distracted, what I’m really learning is about the good things that people do when they’re not distracted.”— Jane Larson W . P. C A R E Y

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“I want to help create more opportunities to keep young talent here. W. P. Carey is one of best business schools in the country. By increasing retention we can create more businesses, especially in the downtown corridor, which leads to more arts and culture, too.” — S T E V E T H O M P S O N , W . P. C A R E Y B S M A R K E T I N G ’ 1 0

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W. P. Carey magazine, Autumn 2016

Uber-ambitious for growth Steve Thompson (B.S. Marketing ’10) knows what a difference a few years can make in the life of a dynamic business model. Three and a half years ago, when he went to work for the revolutionary ridesharing company, Uber, Phoenix was the 20th city to launch, and the company’s employee roster numbered in the hundreds. Now, more than 450 cities worldwide are served by Uber, which employs more than 5,000 people. “Every day is a new challenge and I’m glad to be a part of it,” says Thompson, who is general manager for the desert region, which includes Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Nevada. “My job is to assess the unique needs of our cities, and think like an entrepreneur to solve problems and take advantage of opportunities.” Thompson was drawn to the energy and adventure of the startup environment while still a student at the W. P. Carey School of Business. He created his own company as an undergrad through the Edson Student Entrepreneurship Initiative. “It didn’t really get off the ground,” he says, “but I took away a lot of lessons I was able to apply later.” Thompson sees his success at Uber as a platform for a personal passion of his: promoting metro Phoenix as a technology hub. “Working for Uber is a great calling card, a conduit to conversations about how we can make Phoenix more desirable for startups, which also builds Uber’s opportunities in the Valley.” Encouraging capable people to move here and stay in Phoenix is key. “I want to help create more opportunities to keep young talent here. W. P. Carey is one of best business schools in the country. By increasing retention we can create more businesses, especially in the downtown corridor, which leads to more arts and culture, too.” When he isn’t working on Uber or Phoenix or both, Thompson is a foodie who enjoys the city’s burgeoning cuisine scene. “I’m always trying to find new restaurants, but my default is Barrio Urbano for Mexican and Bitter & Twisted for drinks.” He enjoys speaking with students and recent graduates about the unique challenges of startups, including skeptical parents. “When I joined Uber my parents thought I was crazy,” Thompson says, “but the company took off and it’s been great.”

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“I didn’t want to be this ‘coulda, shoulda, woulda’ guy 20 years from now, and I didn’t want to have any regrets.” — T O M PAT T E R S O N , B A INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES ’02

“We wouldn’t have been able to see those opportunities if we hadn’t made some mistakes earlier. If you’re not trying to innovate and grow, you’re not making mistakes.” — ER I N FU J I M OTO, B S FI N A N C E ’02

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W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2020

No adjustment needed ASU alumni and Tommy John co-founders Tom Patterson and Erin Fujimoto find success fits them comfortably By J E N N W O O L S O N

“No adjustment needed.” That’s the motto of cult favorite underwear company Tommy John, which was co-founded by ASU alumni Tom Patterson and Erin Fujimoto. Luckily, the duo didn’t apply that motto to their own lives: While Patterson was bothered by an undershirt that wouldn’t stay tucked in, Fujimoto had an itch to work at something she felt passionate about, and both made a few adjustments to create better lives for themselves. After graduating from W. P. Carey in 2002 with a degree in interdisciplinary studies, Patterson took a job as a medical device salesman. “I wore undershirts, and I was tailoring my suits and shirts and I thought, ‘Why doesn’t anyone make an undershirt that’s not baggy and boxy and stays tucked in?’” That question sent him down a path of wanting to find a better way to make them. Growing up in South Dakota, he’d had an entrepreneurial spirit from the start, running lawnmowing and snow-blowing businesses as a kid. Fujimoto, a Phoenix native who’d also graduated from ASU in 2002 with a degree in finance, was working at JPMorgan Chase bank and was about to start on a five-year path toward becoming a certified financial planner when the first course got canceled. Taking it as a serendipitous sign to rethink her career path, she evaluated her options: “I had the entrepreneurial bug, I had to wait another six months before I could enroll in the next series of classes, and I started thinking, ‘Do I want to be in finance?’” She decided to jump ship and try her own thing. As a side project, she started an organic product website.

“It was my first dabble in something entrepreneurial and I loved the entire process,” she says. Around that time, she met Patterson. Together, they’d watch a show called The Big Idea, about how entrepreneurs started their businesses. “We would just riff on different business ideas and things we could do or make better,” Fujimoto remembers. “There was a passion for wanting to start something outside of our corporate America jobs.”

From couch to power couple With their big ideas bubbling on the back burner in 2008, Patterson was laid off when the economy went into a tailspin. He’d read an article that a recession was the best time to start a business, and decided to go for it. “I didn’t want to be this ‘coulda, shoulda, woulda’ guy 20 years from now, and I didn’t want to have any regrets,” he says. That perspective gave them the confidence to start the company, cash out their 401(k) savings, and put all their chips into the business. “I think a lot of people are close, and they have this million-dollar idea,” he says. “But you have to get it into motion and start taking action. That’s tough because they’re scared and uncertain.” Fujimoto and Patterson didn’t let fear stop them — or lack of knowledge or experience. They admit that they had no business starting a company, but say that may have been their secret weapon. “Our biggest advantage was that we didn’t know what we were doing, so we didn’t have any bias about how things W . P. C A R E Y

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should be done,” Patterson says. The other key factor in their success was passion. “I solved a problem that was personal to me,” he says. “I think that’s what created the passion and authenticity we have in the business —we’re so closely tied to the product we sell.” Plus, he adds, “I don’t like regretting things. I don’t want to have excuses in the back of my head. When we started the company, I said, ‘If I lose all my money — my 401(k), my savings — at the end of the day, I can always go back and get a medical sales job.’ I was good at it. I just wanted to check this off and see if I could do it.”

The company on the learning curve

Tommy John headquarters in New York City.

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Fujimoto and Patterson knew what they wanted to do but not exactly how to do it. They also knew they needed help, and they weren’t afraid to ask for it. That led them to one of two other men who’ve been instrumental in Tommy John’s success, fashion consultant Dana Fried. Fried turne`d down the invite, but their communication didn’t end there: At the end of the day, Patterson gave him a Tommy John undershirt and said, “Try it on and come back tomorrow and let me know if you like it. If you like it, you’ll find time to talk to me.” Fried’s feedback the next day was positive: “You have something special here. And I don’t say that to many people.” Ten and a half years later, he’s still the company’s closest confidant. “There are so many pivotal moments in the business where we almost/maybe/could have lost the business, and he’s been that sounding board that’s helped us,” Patterson says. “We’ve broadened our network over the years, especially in New York. But he was a key person we met early on by putting ourselves out there.” The second source of assistance came out of the blue: In 2013, Tommy John had an unexpectedly huge spike in traffic and sales. “We had no idea where it was coming from,” Fujimoto says, but soon a friend texted Patterson that he’d heard Howard Stern mention the company on his radio show. The shock jock ended up mentioning Tommy John a few more times and put the company out of stock. They ended up chasing inventory for about two years.

Making the most of mistakes When the couple launched the company, friends and family questioned their choice. “They didn’t know what the heck we were doing, but we did,” Fujimoto says. “We had a vision and it continued to grow from there. This business has been taking it one step at a time for the past 12 years. That’s how we keep growing and scaling. As long as you can see that road ahead … that’s what we do next.” That vision has always included trying new things and taking risks, because they weren’t afraid of screwing up every once in a while. “Mistakes have helped us take advantage of opportunities that came our way,” Patterson says. “And we wouldn’t have been able to see those opportunities if we hadn’t made some mistakes earlier. If you’re not trying to innovate and grow, you’re not making mistakes.” The company encourages its 100-plus employees to think of new and different ways to do things, too. Tommy John’s five pillars of culture are: humble, adaptable, GSD (get s*** done), mindful, and curious. “Those are the attributes of our company and our employees,” Fujimoto says. “We always say if there’s a better way to do something, present it, create it, make it a reality. We’re all about doing it smarter and making things better, and continuing to evolve.”

Division of labor On the job, Fujimoto and Patterson divide corporate duties, although at launch they did everything from answering phones to shipping orders to folding underwear into the packaging. “Anything that can be done on a spreadsheet was my responsibility,” says Fujimoto. She handled finance and accounting, inventory forecasting, production, and operations. Patterson was more customer-facing in the stores, selling the product, training salespeople, and working on branding, marketing, and trademarking. “In the early days, it was opposite skill sets, like yin and yang,” Patterson explains. “As the business has grown, we have become less generalists and more specialists.” Since the launch of the company’s women’s line in 2018, the pair overlaps more on the brand side and in design meetings and marketing-related things. Off the clock, they share responsibilities of taking

care of their two kids (ages 3 and 5) and themselves. “Our free time is very limited,” Fujimoto says, “but outside of Tommy John we try to spend as much time as a family as possible.” Patterson echoes this priority. “Life now is different. It’s like ‘BK’ and ‘AK,’ right? Before kids and after kids. You have to pick and choose what you do with the time you have. Certain things are sacrificed if you want to spend time with your family.” The couple also makes sure to focus on their fitness and wellness. A morning routine that includes working out and meditation helps ensure they’re prepared for what the day might throw at them. “There’s a lot that comes with this territory,” Fujimoto says. “Keeping our minds sharp to be able to lead this team and keep scaling the business is essential.” Their nighttime routine is less structured but includes one essential rule: No talking about the bad things from work. “I like focusing on the good things,” she says. “If we try to talk about stresses or work through an issue at 9 in the evening, it’s not productive time or a good way to end the day.” They also do what they can to take care of others. Tommy John supports the Testicular Cancer Foundation and the Honor Foundation, which is a career development program that places Navy SEALs into employment opportunities after their service and helps them transfer into civilian life.

Arizona adjustments At the end of 2019, the family was heading back to Arizona; Tommy John recently opened a store at Scottsdale Fashion Square, the company’s third of four stand-alone retail spots. Patterson, who used to sell cellphones at a kiosk at the mall during his ASU days, and Fujimoto, who hung out there in high school, are thrilled, both for themselves and the company. “There’s so much support from the community as a whole,” she says. “It’s been an exciting thing for me and Tom, but it’s been exciting for the rest of the company, too. There’s a certain energy that’s coming from that store.” If those two teenagers could see themselves now, they’d likely have no regrets about the path that’s led them there. W . P. C A R E Y

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Sherri Barry (MBA ’10) returned to school to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a fashion designer.

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W. P. Carey magazine, Autumn 2019

The customized, environmentally friendly future of fashion

After moving up the corporate ladder in fashion retail, Sherri Barry (MBA ’10) returned to school to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a fashion designer. While learning the ins and outs of design, development, and manufacturing, she launched her own company and line of women’s apparel in 2008. It didn’t take long for Barry to discover the challenges up-and-coming fashion designers face in bringing their creations to market. “One of the fundamental problems in the industry is manufacturing smaller quantities,” she explains. “It is too cost-prohibitive. I met so many designers and, universally, everyone has the same issue.” Smaller batches were often pulled off the production line to accommodate high-volume orders mass-produced by established brands, and glitches in the supply chain were common. One such error converted Barry’s pattern measurements from inches to centimeters, resulting in pieces that were too small, ruining her $25,000 order — a major setback for her business. Despite that, Barry’s experience on the front lines opened new doors. In 2016, she founded the Arizona Fashion Source, a small-batch apparel manufacturer in Tempe, Arizona. The same year, she and her current business partner, fashion designer Angela Johnson, established F.A.B.R.I.C., a fashion incubator, and the nonprofit Arizona Apparel Foundation. Both organizations offer emerging designers resources to build their brands and grow them locally and sustainably. “It’s extraordinarily complicated to launch a fashion line, especially from a different city,” Barry says. “We both had to shut down our businesses because there were no local resources, and we knew that happened to hundreds of other designers.” The city of Tempe embraced Barry and Johnson’s mission to support its local talent and donated use of its former 26,000-square-foot performing arts center to house the nonprofit. In the past two years, F.A.B.R.I.C. and the Arizona Apparel Foundation have provided more than $1 million in programs and services back to the community and helped launch 300 independent fashion brands. “The city of Tempe is proud of the partnership with F.A.B.R.I.C., as it supports our city council’s financial stability and vitality strategic priority by creating new businesses, which create new jobs in our community. F.A.B.R.I.C. also supports our goals for small businesses W . P. C A R E Y

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“We call it the headquarters to Arizona’s fashion industry. Now we are working on building a 21st-century factory so designers can make smaller batches for niche segments and do it reliably, responsibly, and sustainably.” —S H ER R I BA R RY

and arts and culture, thus making it a great fit for our community,” says city of Tempe Economic Development Director Donna Kennedy. “The model is based on pulling together a public, social, co-op enterprise,” Barry says. For her part, Barry’s company offers pattern making, with no minimum requirements. Designers can also tap educational consulting, marketing, and creative services and utilize the nonprofit’s photography studio and event space for fashion shows. “We call it the headquarters to Arizona’s fashion industry,” Barry says. “Now we are working on building a 21st-century factory so designers can make smaller batches for niche segments and do it reliably, responsibly, and sustainably.” Devoting nearly two decades to retail fashion pre-internet, launching her own fashion line, and working with artists who are now growing their brands in ways that were never before possible thanks to technology and social media — it all gives Barry a unique perspective on retail trends of the past and future.

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Once upon a time Barry spent her early career in retail management at Famous Footwear, where she rose to divisional vice president and ran 350 stores on the West Coast. At the time, fashion lines required million-dollar advertising budgets for print, TV, and traditional media, and the industry cycled by season. “Buyers would guess what would sell and they’d mass-produce it and hope they were right,” Barry says. Companies moved to manufacture overseas and retail expanded with power strip centers and malls opening everywhere. “It was a race to make items at low cost and high volume to put them in more stores,” she says. Fashion styles also became very generic, and companies started knocking off trendy items to beat the others to market. The mass production of this era created sustainability issues that the industry still grapples with today: According to Barry, fashion ranks second next to petroleum and oil as the most high-polluting industry. What’s more, mass production created an excess of clothing along with textiles that are not biodegradable.

Tuning in Since the introduction of e-commerce, fashion retail has undergone a major transformation to accommodate increasingly socially conscious consumers. Technology and social media enable designers today to not only build brands but also express their personalities beyond their creations, like their commitment to the environment. The demand for styles has changed as well. In the past, younger consumers wanted to wear what everyone else was wearing, but today, “everyone wants to be an individual,” Barry explains, adding that retail is moving toward more individualized products, reminiscent of the 1950s and 1960s. “It’s why everyone loved fashion,” she explains. “You could always find the next unique thing. When fashion became homogenized and industrialized, it lost that.” Today, brands are personalizing items, and social media makes it possible for consumers to interact and choose colors, fits, and styles. Many big brands are also opening pop-up shops with individualized products that can’t be found anywhere else. For example, a Vans

store in Manhattan offers customers one-of-a-kind prints on its tennis shoes, Barry says. Buyers are monitoring social media to gauge what consumers want instead of guessing, and the market has switched from push to pull. “It’s completely flip-flopped,” Barry says. “Everyone’s looking toward social media and where their customers live so that they can produce what the customers want, instead of what they think customers want and pushing it into the market and hoping it will sell.” Today’s retailers need to be on multiple channels — internet brands are moving to retail stores and retail stores are moving online and to social media. Consumers are much more segmented, as well. “If you’re a millennial, you’re shopping on Instagram and Snapchat and you’re looking for stuff your influencers have,” Barry says. “If you’re a baby boomer, you may be on Facebook and shop in traditional stores.”

Fashion forward Barry predicts that if retailers are not providing customers with engaging retail experiences, they will not remain competitive. What’s more, brands need to craft strong social personalities beyond the garments they sell and keep up with ever-changing technology to remain relevant. “If they aren’t presenting a brand and personality that resonates with their customers uniformly and uniquely and marketing on all of those channels, they’re not going to survive,” she says. What does the future hold for fashion? Beautifully made, heirloom-quality custom garments, a continuing trend toward customization to serve niche markets, and local micromanufacturing. There will also be a continued trend toward environmentally friendly fashions. Barry predicts that 10 to 20 years out, consumers will be designing their own clothing on virtual avatars, “kind of like ‘The Jetsons.’ I’m very excited and hopeful about the future in fashion,” she says. “I believe we can sustainably and responsibly bring that age of individualized fashion back, people can express themselves uniquely and wear things that make them delighted, and retail stores will offer unique experiences and entertainment that make shopping fun again.”

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Eddie LeVian and television This is a caption. host and actor Mario Lopez at JCK Las Vegas.

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W. P. Carey magazine, Autumn 2015

Business by design Alumni bring sparkle, function and authenticity to our lives While the W. P. Carey School of Business is most often associated with economics, finance, management and other left-brained pursuits, its programs also benefit artistic-minded students. We spoke with three entrepreneurial alumni who have used their business smarts to help their creative spirits soar. EDDIE LEVIAN Although the jewelry tradition in his family can be traced back to 15th-century Persia, Eddie LeVian (B.S. Business Administration ’80) is a man with an eye toward the future. “My family’s history in fine jewelry spans centuries, from ancient royalty to today’s red carpet,” he says. “Our plan moving forward is to compel every household to own a Le Vian.” He’s been CEO since 2000, but he earned the privilege of running the family business by starting from the ground up. First he interned during summers off from school in the 1970s, then he moved on to stone-cutting and traveling sales. In 1981, a year after graduating, he became a designer and director of the American division his late father, Abdulrahim Ephraim LeVian, founded in 1950 after emigrating from Persia. “The lessons I learned at ASU have been the cornerstone of what helped me build the Le Vian brand,” he says. “The ASU strategy of making sure graduates

have a broad background when studying business … gave me the depth to understand the world better and to understand all facets of running a modern business.” The company designs some 40,000 original pieces each year, many one-of-a-kind or limited editions. The rings, bracelets, brooches, necklaces and pendants are clustered into brands, including Le Vian, which features the Strawberry-n-Vanilla® collection with Vanilla Diamonds® (white) and Strawberry Gold®. There is also Le Vian Couture®, Le Vian Bridal®, Le Vian Time® and, perhaps most famously, Le Vian Chocolatier®, featuring the company’s natural-colored Chocolate Diamonds® (a selection of the highest quality brown diamonds) from Australia that are exclusive to Le Vian. The artistry of the brand has attracted a loyal following of jewelry collectors who are dazzled by the innovative designs and exotic gemstones the company is known for. And celebrities — Taylor Swift, Jennifer Lopez, Jessica Chastain, Charlize Theron and other A-listers — regularly choose Le Vian designs to help them sparkle on the red carpet. “The challenges of a family business are that it may not be a well-funded business run by experts,” LeVian says. “The advantages of a family business are that people genuinely care and are passionate about what they do, and you don’t have to answer to outside shareholders and boards or worry about short-term strategies because of quarterly earnings reports.” This has given him both the impetus and the freedom to think outside of the box. At JCK Las Vegas, the largest jewelry tradeshow in North America, Le Vian goes above and beyond the competition every year by

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“I use my accounting degree on a daily basis and feel it’s a great academic background for any entrepreneur” — L I LY K A N T E R , W . P. C A R E Y B . S . ACCOU NTING ’87

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hosting a much-anticipated, invitation-only fashion show/trend forecast event. The 2015 show held in June marked new territory for the company: models were decked out in Le Vian from head to toe, from “the dress to the shoes, from jewelry to the timepieces, from the scarves to the pashmina, everything was Le Vian,” he says. This served as the U.S. launch of Le Vian Luxury, the legendary company’s first step beyond fine jewelry and into accessories, including handbags, shoes, scarves and small leather goods, some of which will feature gemstones and precious metals. The items will be offered at a price point meant to “strengthen the base of the brand,” he says. This year also marked the opening of a store dedicated exclusively to the new brand. Called Le Vian by Jared, it is a boutique dedicated to Le Vian creations, both the fine jewelry they are known for and the accessories that offer just a glimpse of LeVian’s vision for the future of his family’s company. “The opening of the first Le Vian by Jared store in New York in May was our first foray in turning the storied jewelry brand into a lifestyle brand,” he says. “The future of the jewelry business is not to be an island but to speak to the woman in a language she understands.” LILY KANTER The lessons Lily Kanter (B.S. Accounting ’87) learned at W. P. Carey have been invaluable in her role as CEO of Serena & Lily, a lifestyle brand offering a wide range of items for the home and the people who live in it. “I use my accounting degree on a daily basis and feel it’s a great academic background for any entrepreneur,” she says. After graduating, her degree served her well in traditional accounting and technology roles at Coopers & Lybrand, Touche Ross, Deloitte & Touche and Microsoft Corp. Then she decided to combine her corporate experiences with the “retail pull” she’d felt since college and dive into entrepreneurship in 2000. “I’ve always had entrepreneurial interests,” Kanter says. “In every position I held in the corporate world, I carved out a new niche and created something. During my time at Microsoft, I wrote the business plan to convince Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer to open the first Microsoft retail store.” Her interests also leaned toward little ones. First, with Baby & Kids, a children’s clothing boutique she founded in Mill Valley, Calif., then with the company she co-founded with Serena Dugan, a decorative painter and textile designer who walked in the Baby & Kids door one day in 2003. Within 24 hours of meeting, the pair decided to join forces. “We both saw a clear void in the marketplace and shared an exciting new vision for the nursery,” Kanter recalls. “We launched Serena & Lily as a wholesale brand selling our baby products through 600 specialty stores, including Bloomingdale’s and Neiman Marcus, before launching our own site. Serena, two administrative assistants and I managed everything for the first few years. We worked very long hours and wore every hat.” W . P. C A R E Y

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“With the online platform it’s cool to be able to get my product in front of a global audience in a matter of seconds.” — J E N N I F E R B O O N L O R N , W . P. C A R E Y B . S . ACCOU NTING ’87

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Headquartered in Sausalito, Calif., the company currently has more than 100 employees, so Kanter and Dugan have more time to think about the big picture and grow the business in a way that remains true to their aesthetic. They still sell baby-related items, but have expanded to include some fashion items and a wide range of items for the home. This has been a successful strategy for the online marketplace, so they expanded their reach with a retail location in the Hamptons in May 2013. Called Beach Market, the store was a “major step” for the brand in that it allowed customers the opportunity to touch, feel and otherwise interact with the products, rather than rely only on photos and descriptions. More recently, in May 2014, the pair opened Design Shop in San Francisco, which Kanter describes as a “reimagined showroom experience” with key silhouettes, rugs and swatches of fabrics and wallpapers that allow shoppers to mix and match, try before they buy and get expert advice as they go. “The greatest challenges have been managing the funding needs and the ever-changing human resource needs as we have grown over the years,” Kanter says. “The greatest rewards have been seeing the baby grow up through the years and creating an amazing workplace for our employees. We believe every company is built differently and we are headstrong on being true to ourselves as we evolve.” JENNIFER BOONLORN For most women, handbags are a must-have for toting around daily necessities and expressing individual style. For Jennifer Boonlorn (B.S. Marketing ’02), they are much more than that. As the creative director of Soul Carrier, she designs handbags meant to “inspire and encourage people to be who they are, to be unique and authentic and have the inner courage to be bold and live the life they want to live,” a quest she herself has been on since graduation. “I lost both my parents in a car accident in college,” Boonlorn says. “I was determined to go to law school to fulfill my father’s dream of me being a lawyer. But it wasn’t my passion. My passion has always been art and design.” “With the online platform it’s cool to be able to get my product in front of a global audience in a matter of seconds, and it cuts out the middleman so I can do production in Leon, Mexico,” Boonlorn says. “If I went overseas for production, I could probably have bigger margins, but I want to do it close to home. I want to work with family artisans, I want to know the people I work with and make sure it’s done in an ethical manner. If I can go to bed at night knowing I ran my business in a conscious, ethical manner, that’s success.” — Teresa Esquivel

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World impact W. P. Carey School of Business is dedicated to preparing students for an ever-changing world and business environment. The school’s commitment is evident through the number of W. P. Carey business students who come from other countries; who study abroad each year; through outreach trips to leading businesses on six continents; and through the relationships the school is forging with international institutions. The school’s highly ranked academic programs are designed with faculty and industry feedback to align with best practices and leading-edge advancements. This focus on evolving programs and collaboration with international partner schools makes W. P. Carey degrees applicable and transferable anywhere in the world.

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W. P. Carey world positioning

ASU’s W. P. Carey School of Business is dedicated to preparing students for an ever-changing world and business environment. Our graduate recruiting team visits 23 countries across four continents, — including partner schools in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Indian Subcontinent — to bring the power of a W. P. Carey degree to more learners worldwide.

in the U.S. for online undergraduate business programs,

ahead of University of Pennsylvania and University of Arizona – U.S. News & World Report, 2023

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in the World for Information Systems department ranking, world wide research, 2016-2021, ahead of University of Arizona and University of Washington – Association for Information Systems Research Rankings

#1 in the U.S., #9 in the world

for global impact

ASU is ranked best in the nation and ninth in the world by Times Higher Education for advancing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

Global alumni hail from more than 160 countries. Here are the top 10: 1. U.S. 6. Taiwan 2. China 7. Japan 3. India 8. Saudi Arabia 4. Canada 9. United Kingdom 5. Mexico 10. South Korea

105,566 W. P. Carey alumni worldwide

We are redefining global business International Academic Partnerships make W. P. Carey degrees applicable and transferable anywhere in the world with 10 universities in China, Ghana, India, South Korea and Taiwan. A few of these partnerships include the KNUST School of Business in the West African nation of Ghana, the Shanghai National Accounting Institute, the Institute of Management Technology – Dubai and the Institute of Management Technology Ghaziabad in India. We are actively seeking more to better prepare business students around the world.

3,000+

W. P. Carey alumni living in China

2,398

international students from 126 countries

1,742

International undergraduate students

127

countries represented

international faculty

15+

STEM-designated programs

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World ams and partners W . P. C A R E Y

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Global programs

Global partnerships

International graduate programs

General collaboration agreements

Mexico

China

Americas

21 students

1,769 total alumni for the EMBA, MiM and DBA

Mexico

EGADE — W. P. Carey Executive MBA • Partnership with Instituto Tecnológico De Estudios Superiores De Monterrey • Courses taught by faculty of both schools in Mexico City, with immersion sessions on the ASU Tempe campus • (First alums graduated December 2022)

EMBA in Shanghai Partnership Shanghai National Accounting Institute • Ranked No. 20 in the world by Financial Times

• Universidad ESAN Peruvian Amazon Research Institute

Master of Accountancy (Data Analytics)

Middle East

283 EMBA in Shanghai 72 China MiM 124 DBA 479 Total

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Peru

Doctorate of Business Administration First American DBA offered in China

• Partnership with Shanghai National Accounting Institute

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• Instituto Tecnológico De Estudios Superiores De Monterrey (Agreement to cooperate) • National Autonomous University of Mexico

Turkey • Ozyegin University

United Arab Emirates • Institute of Management Technology-Dubai

Europe

Asia

Austria

China

• University of Wien

Denmark – Slovenia – Spain • EMTM Consortium: University of Southern Denmark, University of Ljubljana, University of Girona (Associated Partnership)

Ireland • Dublin City University (Memorandum of Agreement for Cooperation)

• Beijing International Studies University • Beijing Normal University • Dalian Jiaotong University • Dalian University of Technology • Guangdong University of Foreign Studies • Harbin Institute of Technology • Huazhong Univ. of Science & Technology • Jinan University • Lanzhou University • Liaoning University • Nanjing University • Nanjing University of Science & Technology • Shandong University, Weihai • Shanghai University of Finance and Economics • Sichuan University (Sister University Agreement) • Southeast University • Southwestern Univ. of Finance and Economics • Tongji University • Wuhan University • Xi’an Jiaotong University

India • Institute of Management Technology-Ghaziabade • Myra School of Business-Mysore • National Institute of Design

Kazakhstan • KIMliP

Nepal • Pokhara University • Tribhuvan University

Pakistan • Forman Christian College

South Korea • Sejong University • Seoul National University • Inje University

Taiwan • National Central University • National Chengchi University

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India Global partnerships

International Accelerated Degree Program agreements

• Institute of Management Technology-Ghaziabad 2+1 Master of Science in Business Analytics 1+1 Master of Science in Business Analytics

• Symbiosis Institute of Business Management-Pune 3+1+1 Master of Science in Business Analytics

Americas

Asia

Peru

China

• Universidad ESAN Peruvian Amazon Research Institute 3+1+1 Master of Science in Business Analytics

Middle East United Arab Emirates • Institute of Management Technology-Dubai 3+1+1 Master of Science in Business Analytics 1+1 Master of Science in Business Analytics

Partnerships for: 3+1+1 Master of Science in Business Analytics 3+1+1 Master of Science in Global Logistics 3+1+1 Master of Science in Finance • Beijing Normal University • Guangdong University of Foreign Studies • Harbin Institute of Technology • Huazhong University of Science and Technology • Nantong University • Sichuan University (Sister University Agreement) • Southwestern University of Finance and Economics 3+1+1 Master of Science in Business Analytics 3+1+1 Master of Science in Global Logistics 3+1+1 Master of Science in

3+1+1 Master of Science in Global Logistics 3+1+1 Master of Science in Finance 3+1+1 Master of Science in Management

South Korea • Sejong University 3+1+1 Master of Science in Business Analytics 3+1+1 Master of Science in Global Logistics 3+1+1 Master of Science in Finance 3+1+1 Master of Science in Management 2+1 Online Master of Science in Business Analytics

Taiwan • National Central University 3+1+1 Master of Science in Business Analytics 3+1+1 Master of Science in Global Logistics 3+1+1 Master of Science in Finance 1+1 Master of Science in Business Analytics 1+1 Master of Science in Global

Finance

Logistics

3+1+1 Master of Accountancy

1+1 Master of Science in Finance

3+1+1 Master of Taxation 3+1+1 Master of Real Estate Development

• National Chengchi University 3+1+1 Master of Science in Business Analytics 3+1+1 Master of Science in Global Logistics 3+1+1 Master of Science in Finance

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Funded international research projects

Center for Applied Research and Innovation in Supply Chain (CARISCA) • A global center for supply chain research in Ghana • Partnership with Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) • Five-year, $15M project funded by USAID BRIDGE-Train program (June 2020 to June 2025) • CARISCA’s key objective is to support higher education institutions in building the capacity necessary to provide best-in-class degree programs and training, facilitate research translation and utilization, engage stakeholders in best practices and policy changes that strengthen supply chains, and increase inclusion and impact for women in supply chain management.

Financial Interactions Between Labor Markets and the Macroeconomy • 8 million Norwegian Krone (equivalent to ~$750,000) • Principal investigator — Andreas Køstol, assistant professor of economics • The Norwegian Research Council, 2021-2024

Development and testing of a mobile learning app for supply chain management education for developing countries’ health care workers • $250,000 • Principal investigator — Thomas Kull, professor of supply chain management • Co-principal investigators — Adegoke Oke, professor of supply chain management, and Dale Rogers, professor of supply chain management • Partnership funding between ASU and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana

Creating Supply Chain Emergence through Blockchain Technology: Implications for the Network Rent in the Transitive Service Triads • $135,000 • Principal researcher — Artur Swierczek, University of Economics in Katowice, Poland • Foreign Advisor — Thomas Choi, professor of supply chain management • Polish National Science Center, 2020-Present

Self-Organization of the Shadow System: Blockchain Technology in Supply Chains • $43,000 • Principal researcher — Artur Swierczek, University of Economics in Katowice, Poland • Foreign Advisor — Thomas Choi, professor of supply chain management • Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange, 2021-Present

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PUBLISHED

W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2022

International partnerships provide an edge in today’s global business environments W. P. Carey has agreements with more than 40 institutions across 16 countries and four continents. A few of these partnerships include the KNUST School of Business in the West African nation of Ghana, the Shanghai National Accounting Institute, the Institute of Management Technology – Dubai, and the Institute of Management Technology Ghaziabad in India.

And help W. P. Carey international students take their education further, faster. Through its International Accelerated Degree Programs (IADP), W. P. Carey offers international students the chance to pair three years of coursework from their home university with two years of advanced classes at W. P. Carey to earn a bachelor’s and master’s degree in only five years. That gets these talented students out into the work world faster, ready to make an impact.

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Jack Sinclair, CEO of Sprouts Farmers Market. Photo courtesy Jack Sinclair

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PUBLISHED

ASU News, March 20, 2023

Sprouts’ Jack Sinclair is W. P. Carey’s 2023 Executive of the Year

For his leadership in making Sprouts a more efficient, profitable and innovative retailer, the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University will honor Sinclair with its annual Executive of the Year Award. Since joining Sprouts Farmers Market in 2019, Jack Sinclair has focused on providing a curated, attribute-based product assortment that has helped the specialty foods retailer grow through dynamic changes in the food industry, resulting in the planned opening of 30 new stores in 2023. With more than 35 years of experience in the retail and grocery industries, Sinclair previously served as CEO of 99 Cents Only Stores; as executive vice president in charge of Walmart’s U.S. grocery division, the largest grocer in the United States; and Safeway PLC in London. At Sprouts, Sinclair has advanced a “doing well by doing good” longterm strategy rooted in initiatives that grow business while caring for the health of communities and the environment. “It is a pleasure to award Jack Sinclair this year’s Executive of the Year honor,” said Ohad Kadan, Charles J. Robel Dean, Professor of Finance and W. P. Carey Distinguished Chair. “Jack has grown Sprouts Farmers Market through a tumultuous time in the grocery retail industry while advancing initiatives that benefit customers, communities and the planet. That commitment to integrity

in leadership is exactly what this award celebrates.” Sinclair becomes the 40th annual Executive of the Year chosen by the W. P. Carey Dean’s Council, a national group of prominent executives who advise the W. P. Carey School of Business. Previous honorees include Steve Sanghi, executive chairman of Microchip Technology; Sheryl Palmer, chairman and CEO of Taylor Morrison; and Chris Koch, chairman, president and CEO of Carlisle Cos. Sinclair will be honored at a luncheon at the JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn Resort & Spa on Wednesday, April 5. The event, which begins at 11:30 a.m., is part of the Economic Club of Phoenix speaker series. Tickets are $100. For more information about the club or to reserve seats, visit wpcarey.asu.edu/ecp.

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“ ASU is a top-ranked school for supply chain management, and a lot of companies come on campus for recruitment. This helped me a lot in building professional connections, and the first internship offer that I got was also through on-campus recruitment.” – O U T S TA N D I N G G R A D U AT E S T U D E N T R I S H A B H KAKKAR

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PUBLISHED

ASU News, April 24, 2023

Teamwork and a collaborative environment buoyed Outstanding Graduate Student

Rishabh Kakkar drawn to MBA program after pandemic supply chain issues sparked his interest “During the lockdown, I experienced an existential crisis that made me question what I was doing and if the path I was on would be fulfilling in the end,” Jenq says. “All the losses during the pandemic brought to light what I truly valued and how life is too short not to try for the things you love.” The Turken Family Outstanding Graduating Senior added a degree in marketing and a minor in film and media production, helping her forge a new path. She spent her final year at ASU editing bays and soundstages and will soon work as an actor and producer. “Life is all about learning and growing, and we do that by taking risks and saying yes to new opportunities,” she says. “Meeting new people who encouraged and supported me helped me build up the courage to shift courses and focus my career on the entertainment business.” Jenq shares more of the lessons she learned while at ASU. Question: Why did you choose ASU? Answer: I chose ASU due to the generous scholarship I received from the university. Beyond that, I wanted to study at a strong business school that provides students ample opportunities. Unlike other business schools, W. P. Carey provides direct admission, which allowed me to be enrolled in my major program from day one, saving me a lot of stress.

Q: Which professor taught you the most important lesson while at ASU? A: Michael Mokwa (professor and Pat Tillman Foundation Distinguished Professor of Leadership and Marketing) was my professor as a Tillman Scholar. His guidance and passion for his students helped me rediscover who I am. Through a series of self-reflection exercises highlighting who I am at my core, I learned what leadership style best suits me. Professor Mokwa also brought me my best friends through the T-16 cohort, who have shown me so much support and taught me something valuable with their perspectives on the world. Professor Mokwa and my cohort gave me the courage to chase after my dreams and helped me unlock a new point of view on what it means to lead and inspire those around me, just as Pat Tillman did. Q: What’s the best advice you’d give to those still in school? A: Be open to new experiences. There is no set path in life; college is a time to explore new ideas, cultures and experiences. By trying new things and challenging your comfort zones, you might discover new passions, make lifelong friendships and gain a new perspective on the world. Also, don’t forget to take care of yourself along the way, both physically and mentally. Self-care is not selfish but essential for your overall well-being and success in college and beyond. W . P. C A R E Y

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Delaney Shultz landed a job with KPMG, a Big Four accounting firm with a global footprint.

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PUBLISHED

W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2022

Business and language come together to create success in the Fortune 500 Delaney Shultz (BS Supply Chain Management/Business Spanish Language and Culture/Business Chinese Language and Culture ’21) calls herself “obsessed” with languages, but she knew from the start that she wanted to couple her language learning with additional practical skills. Pairing language with business was the hook she needed. “In many traditional [language] classes, you’re learning to speak to friends and family. But when you’re learning in the context of business, it’s also about culture: How do you speak to a boss, a colleague, or a client? How do you format a résumé?” After graduation, Shultz landed a job with KPMG, a Big Four accounting firm with a global footprint. And while travel has been curtailed, she’s already used the cultural aspects of her language coursework in her work with colleagues around the world. “It’s been wonderful and applicable to my job — and I know there will be a lot more opportunities as travel comes back,” she says.

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“Studying at W. P. Carey is truly global.” — C H R I S T I A N P L E S C A , W . P. C A R E Y M S - S C M

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PUBLISHED

W. P. Carey Look Book, 2022

Going the distance For Online Master of Science in Supply Chain Management (Online MS-SCM) grad Christian Plesca, traveling from Zurich, Switzerland to walk the graduation stage in Arizona was an unforgettable milestone. “It was exciting to meet my classmates,” he says. “I chose ASU because it’s the North Star in terms of supply chain education, and that is due to the synergy that is currently a mix of both academia and working professionals.” When he was graduating high school in 2014, Christian had no idea what he wanted to study. His father encouraged him to walk the path less traveled, and nudged him toward logistics and supply chain management. “He saw the potential 10 to 15 years ahead, that this field would have a scarcity of professionals,” Christian says. “I’m happy I listened to him!” Even as an international online student, Christian was able to collaborate and build relationships with his classmates and professors using Slack and Zoom. “My classmates connected seamlessly, either for project work, sports, or to enjoy happy hour,” he says. “We made great connections.” Learning the value of cross-cultural communication was an important part of the experience. “I learned how important it is to be sensitive to the cultural background of our teammates and colleagues at W. P. Carey,” he says. Christian emerged with an education he describes as truly global. “Studying at W. P. Carey, it’s not only U.S. focused, but it’s truly global — ensuring that we immerse ourselves into the different cultures and ways of doing business in different countries.”

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Dale Rogers, the ON Semiconductor Professor of Business in the Department of Supply Chain Management at the W. P. Carey School of Business, has been named the recipient of the CSCMP 2021 Distinguished Service Award by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals.

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PUBLISHED

ASU News, August 20, 2021

ASU professor receives most prestigious award in supply chain management The CSCMP 2021 Distinguished Service Award is given for significant achievements in the logistics and supply chain industry The award is bestowed upon an individual for significant achievements in the logistics and supply chain management industry. Presented annually, the award was instituted in 1965 as a tribute to logistics pioneer John Drury Sheahan. In September, Rogers will accept the award at CSCMP’s EDGE Conference, the largest of its kind for the supply chain management industry. “This award means a lot to me,” Rogers said. “It’s great recognition for our department and the work that is being done here. Previous award winners include leading practitioners and academics. I’m the first Sun Devil to ever win this award and I hope there are several more.” Rogers, who came from Rutgers University as a professor of logistics and supply chain management, is the director of the Frontier Economies Logistics Lab and the co-director of the Internet Edge Supply Chain Lab at Arizona State University’s W. P. Carey School. He is the principal investigator of the $15 million CARISCA Project and director of Global Projects for ILOS - Instituto de Logística e Supply Chain in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In 2012, he became the first academic to receive the International Warehouse and Logistics Association Distinguished Service Award in its 130-year history. He is a board advisor to Flexe, Enterra Solutions

and Droneventory and is a founding board member of the Global Supply Chain Resiliency Council, Reverse Logistics and Sustainability Council and serves on the board of directors for the Organización Mundial de Ciudades y Plataformas Logísticas. He has published in the leading journals of the supply chain and logistics fields. Rogers has been principal investigator on research grants from numerous organizations, as well as is a senior editor at the Rutgers Business Journal, area editor at Annals of Management Science, and associate editor of the Journal of Business Logistics and the Journal of Supply Chain Management. Rogers has made more than 300 presentations to professional organizations and has been a faculty member in numerous executive education programs at universities in the United States, Africa, China, Europe and South America as well as at major corporations and professional organizations. He has been a consultant to several companies and a principal investigator on research grants from numerous organizations as well as an author of several books including the lead author of a new book on the subject of supply chain financing with Rudi Leuschner at Rutgers Business School and Tom Choi at the W. P. Carey School.

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“We’ve realized we have the infrastructure in place to achieve success amid COVID-19 and all its challenges.” C H R I S C O C A L I S ( B S A C C O U N TA N C Y ’ 9 2 )

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PUBLISHED

W. P. Carey magazine, Autumn 2021

Pivot Cycles rides pandemic bike boom Although its supply chain was disrupted during the beginning of the pandemic, Pivot Cycles and its president, Chris Cocalis (BS Accountancy ’92), kept business balanced when it began to boom. Founded by Cocalis in 2007, the company designs and builds high-end performance bicycles, particularly in specialty categories like mountain, downhill, and full suspension. Pivot Cycles has headquarters in Tempe, Arizona, and assembly facilities in Germany and Taiwan.

approach,” he says. Pivot Cycles uses several vendors for each part, with the understanding that some will come through and some won’t. “An ocean container of parts that used to take 3½ weeks to ship now takes 2½ months.”

2020 curbs cycle supply chain

Tempe warehouse pivots

April 2020 proved to be the most difficult month for Pivot Cycles. “We had to look at our sales every day, and run projections of how many days we could keep a full staff on board,” Cocalis says. One month later, however, it was as if a light switch had been flipped on. With the world stuck at home, people began rediscovering their love for the outdoors. “We had more orders that month than the rest of 2020 so far,” Cocalis says. Thanks to what the media had been referring to as a “bike boom,” it suddenly seemed like Pivot Cycles would be OK. Although the company has been able to stay successful, it still deals with its fair share of challenges. One of the biggest disruptors is related to lead times.

Pivot Cycles has brought on additional employees at its Tempe headquarters, even expanding its purchasing team from three to seven. “Everything has taken more analysis and communication,” Cocalis says. “The ability to manage product development has changed. We assemble everything in-house.” Inventory has been a crucial aspect to focus on, he says. “We now expect creativity and adaptability as normal parts of our operation. Especially within this industry, we have to be aware of product life cycles and pay attention to inventory on the individual part level.” The team stays involved within the community and is always looking for fresh talent. “Over the years, our company has hired W. P. Carey and ASU alumni,” Cocalis says. “We interact a lot with the marketing department and Clinical Assistant Professor Nancy Gray, participating in case studies for varying courses.” Pivot Cycles has used 2020 as a critical lesson. “We’ve realized we have the infrastructure in place to achieve success amid COVID-19 and all its challenges,” he says. “I’m proud of how our team has shown flexibility and the ability to pivot.”

Halted travel leads to broken chain Cocalis and his team haven’t been able to travel internationally since COVID-19 hit. “We work with over 400 retailers within the United States and 50 international distributors in connection to 20 different bike models, each with numerous different parts. It’s been more complicated without the usual hands-on

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“The quantity of the comments on your product pages affects whether people choose to purchase or not.” — N I H U A N G , A S S I S TA N T P R O F E S S O R O F I N F O R M AT I O N S Y S T E M S

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PUBLISHED

W. P. Carey magazine, Autumn 2020

Words to Sell By Word-of-mouth systems can raise online profits If you’ve ever asked people you know for their thoughts about a future purchase, you’re not alone. One study from Nielsen researchers found that 92% of survey respondents trust product endorsements from family and friends.

Folks trust strangers, too — a 2018 survey reported that 82% of consumers read online reviews. Does that translate into more sales for companies that offer online review functionality on their retail websites? It does, says Assistant Professor of Information Systems Ni Huang, who tested an in-site review system on customers of an e-commerce retailer. She found that the system served as an effective wordof-mouth (WOM) marketing tool that boosted sales and profits once customers saw a critical number of reviews on a product page. MIXED FEELINGS Online review systems may be a standard now, but even Huang admits they can have unintended consequences. On the plus side, such systems allow companies to gather customer feedback and provide additional product information, Huang says. Review systems also facilitate WOM marketing because customers share their experiences and preferences with others online. Those opinions can be both positive and negative, though, and previous research has shown that “negative WOM in the system can outright damage a product or website’s reputation,” Huang and her research colleagues wrote in a paper covering their experiment. The reason is “social learning,” which holds that people learn by watching other people. Social learning can boost or depress sales, and its impact isn’t limited to the risk of negative comments. It’s also related to the number of comments themselves.

“The quantity of the comments on your product pages affects whether people choose to purchase or not,” Huang says. If the customer sees only a few comments in your word-of-mouth system, “the customer might infer that the product is unpopular,” she adds. If that product is unpopular, maybe it’s unworthy, too, and would-be customers may shy away from buying it. WORTH THE EFFORT Based on her experiment results, Huang thinks managers of e-commerce sites that don’t have WOM systems should consider implementing one. She also says that website managers who deploy such a system should observe it and quickly boost comment numbers. “I would encourage website owners to seed content,” she says. “After the customers make purchases, send them a reminder email to review their purchases.” Also, Huang suggests encouraging customers to post questions on the word-of-mouth system, which allows the website to monitor and reply to those questions. Another trick: When customers do pose questions, reach out to other customers, and invite them to post an answer. That increases customer engagement overall. When negative comments do appear, Huang says website owners can — and should — jump in to address them. It may take some extra site-management effort, but Huang’s research shows an in-site WOM system can have a big payoff. Her experiment was done on a working e-commerce website in cooperation with the site’s owner, and it took only three weeks for the number of comments on this site to begin making a positive impact. “Based on our experiment’s outcome, our collaborating firm implemented the WOM system at full scale,” Huang and her colleagues note in their paper. — Betsy Loeff

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From left are graduating students from the W. P. Carey School’s Master of Science in Global This is a caption. Logistics (MS-GL) program Samuel Atta Gyan, Asie Wadee, Samuel Togodui, and Lois Andoh.

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Supply Chain Students From Ghana Soar to Success The team of Samuel Atta Gyan, Lois Andoh, Samuel Togodui, and Asie Wadee (MS-GL ’20) was one of the top two winners of this year’s Rutgers TEN Plus Supply Chain Innovation Challenge. The foursome shared a $5,000 cash prize. All four members of the team hail from Ghana and arrived at ASU through the Mastercard Foundation Scholars program, which strives to support young scholars from Africa. These students embody leadership and seek to foster a positive impact on their communities. Although this year’s competition — an extension of the Rutgers TEN Plus Supply Chain Case Challenge, hosted by the Rutgers Business School supply chain management department — was just as competitive, it was slightly different from previous years because of COVID-19. This year, the Rutgers leadership team decided to award the winners based on their performance during the virtual first round. This event highlighted adaptability within higher education during an unprecedented time in history. Teams presented ideas to add value for electronic manufacturer BetaWare’s customers. “Being at the top in this case competition is another confirmation of the successes that I can attain in the supply chain field,” Andoh says. “This is just the tip of the iceberg, and I can’t wait to embrace what is out there.” The W. P. Carey School of Business foursome are proud to be alumni. They believe the specialized master’s program prepared them to confidently tackle and address the issues successfully within the competition. Through courses such as Decision Modeling and Operations Management, they were able to develop strategies to target the case’s core requirement. Recently, the Master of Science in Global Logistics program was designated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency within the Department of Homeland Security as a STEM-eligible degree program. The designation gives greater opportunities for international students to find employment in the U.S. for up to 36 months beyond graduation. W . P. C A R E Y

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Advancing Through the Unexpected “I grew up realizing how wide the world is but also how interconnected, and how similar people are, how human needs and experiences are more similar than people think.” — S C O T T M O F F I T T, W . P. C A R E Y BS FINANCE ’88

ASU alumnus rides waves of change to business success Instead of overanalyzing your next career move, Scott Moffitt (BS Finance ’88), president of the $1.4 billion coffee creamer and beverage division of Danone North America, suggests you “think ‘future back’ — that is, think about where you want to end up at retirement and realize how much time you’ve got to find your way there.” Moffitt knows from experience that the best path to business learning and success is not necessarily the straightest one. He came to ASU to study computer systems engineering but ended up majoring in finance. Upon graduation, he says, “I aspired to work on Wall Street. The bright lights and big city attracted me. I thought the bigger the arena, the better.” But Moffitt was offered a management training position at Norwest Bank (later acquired by Wells Fargo) in Minneapolis — a far cry from the Big Apple, but which turned out to be a “fantastic experience” he couldn’t pass up. Still, finance itself turned out to be a starting point. Moffitt realized this when he visited one of the bank’s clients, General Mills. He had lunch with the assistant treasurer in Minneapolis and happened to walk through the marketing department, which changed the trajectory of his career. “They looked like they were doing meaningful work, work that impacted consumers’ lives, and having fun while doing it,” recalls Moffitt. He met a marketer there who explained more about their marketing operation and realized this was what he wanted to do. A WORLD OF EXPERIENCE In some ways, Moffitt’s childhood prepared him to embrace change, even when it came in unexpected forms. He lived in Isfahan, Iran, during his elementary school years, while his father worked for Bell Helicopter. When the Iranian Revolution started in 1979, martial law was declared, and he saw tanks take up positions in the streets. In a matter of days, it seemed the Shah’s regime, friendly to U.S. interests, was overthrown, and Moffitt’s family W . P. C A R E Y

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was evacuated out in a C130 Air Force cargo plane. From Iran, his family moved to Greece, where he went to high school. As a member of his high school’s cross-country team, Moffitt had the opportunity to compete at meets from Frankfurt, Germany, to Cairo. He says he “grew up realizing how wide the world is but also how interconnected, and how similar people are, how human needs and experiences are more similar than people think.” His family’s home base in the U.S. was in Arizona, which brought him to ASU. He describes life at ASU as “an all-you-can-eat buffet. You have to be judicious with your time, make choices about where to devote your energy, and take full advantage of ASU’s breadth of opportunities.” He credits the university with teaching him life management skills as a result. At ASU, “I became a better learner,” Moffitt says. “I learned how to digest large amounts of information more efficiently.” The strategies he acquired for learning have been especially valuable as he’s moved to new companies and industries throughout his career, requiring him to learn new categories, cultures, and ways of working quickly. RISK IS AN OPPORTUNITY “I’m a strong believer in taking risks in your career, and I think it’s better than playing it safe and not pushing outside of your comfort zone,” says Moffitt. For him, accepting the position of executive vice president of sales and marketing at Nintendo in 2011 was a bold departure. “People advised me when making a career move to change one, or at most, two, dimensions,” Moffitt recalls. “Work with the same distribution channels but change product categories, or change distribution channels within the same category, but don’t change both. When I joined Nintendo (from Henkel), I changed everything.” The move away from his background in consumer packaged goods such as beverages and soap entailed learning an entirely new industry — video games. Moffitt considers himself a casual gamer “who spent four years of high school lunch money on Donkey Kong.” But that was hardly preparation for the steep learning curve he faced at Nintendo, where he got to work with Shigeru Miyamoto, whom he describes as “the Walt Disney of gaming.” Miyamoto created some of the most iconic games and characters, such as Donkey Kong, Mario Brothers, and The Legend of Zelda. Moffitt had to learn a new industry and a new culture: At Nintendo, he encountered a distinctly Japanese ethos of “humility, almost reverence for game fans — putting them first, even at the expense of profits.”another issue that remote work can bring: the decline of corporate culture. CULTURE AND COMPANY The culture of Nintendo was a “very long-term-oriented culture,” Moffitt recounts. “They would think nothing of moving a big game launch out a few months to perfect thegameplay, even if it meant missing annual targets.” Not surprisingly, Moffitt says that communications were “very polite, very W . P. C A R E Y

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“I’m a strong believer in taking risks in your career, and I think it’s better than playing it safe and not pushing outside of your comfort zone.” — SC OT T M O FFIT T

respectful, but somewhat hierarchical. Decision-making styles are very different than in U.S. companies.” Before Nintendo, Moffitt had been senior vice president and general manager of the personal care division of Henkel, a German company. In contrast to the Japanese, Moffitt found the Germans to be “very shortterm-focused, direct in communication style, and process-driven.” He says that in his experience, Germans tended to “appreciate what Americans are good at, which is being flexible, innovating, and creating a new plan quickly when the situations change. At the same time, his German counterparts excelled at rigorously executing plans, operating efficiently, and being on time and within budget.” Navigating these cultural differences didn’t prevent Moffitt from scoring some massive marketing wins. He seems to have a way of aligning marketing with broader societal events to drive massive sales. At Nintendo, he helped launch the Pokémon Go craze, which became North America’s top-grossing mobile game. The game uses augmented reality to draw in hardcore gamers and casual consumers by combining simple gameplay, physical movement, and interaction with others. As director of marketing of the Mountain Dew brand at PepsiCo, Moffitt developed and launched its first widely successful flavor extension called Code Red in 2001. Code Red became the No. 1 new product across all food and beverage categories that year. This occurred partly because some hackers happened to be drinking Code Red when they discovered a dangerous computer virus that broke big and became front-page news. Because they were drinking it at the time, they named their virus Code Red, driving immense name recognition for the new soft drink. As a result, Mountain Dew Code Red became the largest new drink launch since Diet Coke. He’s proud that Danone, his current employer, is the world’s largest company to earn B Corporation certification, which meets higher standards of accountability and transparency when it comes to overall positive community service and environmental impact. “Not only do we have sustainability goals, but we also make decisions that are right for the planet and the farmers that grow our raw materials,” he says. STILL ON THE RUN Moffitt is still a runner. During vacations, he enjoys some form of adventure challenge, such as hiking the Grand Canyon rim to rim or Half Dome at Yosemite National Park. He has a goal of running a road race in every state in the U.S., from 5Ks to marathons. He’s run three marathons so far. When he’s not working, Moffitt likes spending time with his wife and three kids, ages 16–21. And he still follows ASU sports closely. He likes reading books by and about business leaders, including Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs and Shoe Dog by Phil Knight, founder of Nike. Of Steve Jobs, Moffitt says, “I would have worked for him in a minute — I’d rather work for a tough genius than someone who’s just tough.” — Joe Bardin W . P. C A R E Y

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The New Rules of Retail

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How do retailers thrive in today’s rapidly evolving marketplace? Faculty experts and on-the-ground alumni pros share their secrets. For more than a century, the idea that the customer is always right has driven retailers who want to demonstrate a commitment to customer satisfaction above all else. The execution, however, has evolved with the times. Today, companies want to communicate with you on your terms. They want to recommend products that match your interests that you didn’t even know you wanted. They need to maintain an extensive inventory of colors and sizes, all ready to be shipped to your doorstep within two days and returned in-store at your convenience weeks later. Many experts say these shifts in retail can be attributed to the rise of Amazon. When the e-commerce marketplace introduced free two-day shipping, flexible returns, and product recommendations, it upended consumer expectations. Suddenly, retailers had to dramatically rethink their business. “Amazon is dominant in the U.S. e-commerce market right now with 47% of sales this year,” says Nancy Gray, who teaches brand development and advertising in the Department of Marketing. “Still, this means there’s another 53% of online retailers who are not Amazon. These firms can and do compete because we don’t purchase just on price. Our value equation also includes functional, emotional, transformational, and social elements. Functional elements include quality, variety, and effectiveness; emotional elements include great-looking design, nostalgia, and fun; transformational elements can be access to a social circle or motivation to complete a goal; social elements refer to the joy and satisfaction we have in making a purchase that makes the world a better place,” explains Gray, who is a clinical assistant professor. In response, startups angled to provide solutions to problems shoppers had never considered, offered through a purely digital shopping experience. From the comfort of their couches, customers could now order everything from furniture to underwear to groceries. But even that revolution was short-lived, replaced with a movement from clicks to bricks as digital-first brands began opening storefronts across the country. Now, augmented reality is entering the picture. Consumers can use their phones to visualize furniture in their homes or shop the outfits of passersby on the street. A focus on omnichannel engagement is also dominating, as consumers expect a seamless experience as they migrate from digital to physical and back again. They want to research products and compare costs online, enter a store to touch and feel and test, place an order through an app, and pay their bills via text message. The end result is that retailers are no longer solely in competition with other brands in their category. Instead, every company is a technology W . P. C A R E Y

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“Retailers want consumers to feel like it’s a one-to-one relationship, that they’re personally recommending things that customers are going to love. From a retailer’s perspective, they have to organize and structure their data to come up with their top 5 or 10 personas that they want to personalize to, but in a way that’s scalable and cost-effective.” — M I C H E L L E T I N S L E Y, W . P. C A R E Y M B A ’ 9 9

company competing to launch the most innovative customer engagement tactics — or, at the very least, keep up. “The moment you got your Starbucks app and realized you could order your drink from your phone, you didn’t just go, ‘This is incredible. Other coffee places should be like this,’” says Eddie Davila, who teaches supply chain management. “You thought, ‘Wait a second, every place should be like this.’ At that point, Starbucks made McDonald’s, Chipotle, and your doctor’s office look old and slow.” These shifts are great for consumers — but what about future CEOs, data analysts, and marketing execs? How can today’s students stay nimble when the landscape could look entirely different by the time they graduate? Gray tells her students that regardless of technology or purchasing platform, today’s consumers want four key elements from brands: authenticity, a promise of satisfaction, multiple points of seamless and integrated engagement, and opportunities to co-create with the retailer. Leslie Bush, who teaches fashion merchandising, helps her students see how classroom lectures and discussions play out in real life through assignments including a store comparison project and a team technology assignment. For example, they compare and contrast competitors within a category — like Sephora versus Ulta, or Lululemon versus Athleta — and consider their use of technology and performance in the marketplace. Every year, Bush also takes a group of fashion students to New York, to see how luxury retailers and wholesale distributors conduct business. “[After visiting], students talk about engagement with the customer and how retailers get the customer to stay longer,” Bush says. “Lululemon has a place to have garments repaired. In Saks Fifth Avenue, the cosmetics area has a lounge for demonstrations, guest speakers, and brand events. Tiffany’s has different experiences by floor; the engagement floor has a totally different vibe than the silver floor.” Meanwhile, Davila wants students to consider the ripple effects of a highly customized, on-demand retail environment. For example, when customers can order a shirt in seven colors and three sizes and return what they don’t want, how can retailers maintain sufficient inventory and deal with items that are no longer relevant once they’re returned? Or, when consumers call for an end to plastic straws, how can restaurants find a suitable replacement and suppliers that can meet the rapid surge in demand? And what about Amazon’s impact on the cardboard box industry? Davila wants his students to think beyond store remodels, good prices, and shipping logistics; they also need to understand organic farming, psychology, real estate, and the science behind autonomous driving. “I tell our students all the time that they don’t have to be experts in everything, but they have to understand there are questions to be asked,” he says. “I want [them] to read a book about how artists or scientists or doctors are solving problems. Having curiosity about how to solve problems is the only way you’ll discover little nooks and crannies that other people have overlooked.” W . P. C A R E Y

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“ Consumers nowadays are so much more informed than 15 years ago, and a mattress purchase is quite intentional, so more often than not, folks are pretty knowledgeable when they walk into our stores. It’s really important to let them choose the journey they want to take.” — N I C K A R A M B U L A , W . P. C A R E Y B S A C C O U N TA N C Y ’ 0 8 , M TA X ’ 0 9

With W. P. Carey’s forward-looking mindset, it’s no surprise that many graduates are on the front lines of retail innovation, reimagining the customer experience and teaching companies how to leverage technology and consumer data effectively. Here, a few alumni outline their rules for navigating today’s retail environment. Michelle Tinsley (MBA ’99) knows what consumers want — and has the data to back it up. After 25 years with Intel, where she focused on deploying technology in retail spaces and extending internet connectivity into products like smart home devices, she launched Tinsley Retail Insights to consult with retailers on deploying technology. Now she’s the CEO of Remitter, a mobile platform for banks and merchants to collect late payments from customers. In her own words, she shares what works — and what doesn’t — with today’s retailers and consumers. “Retailers want consumers to feel like it’s a one-to-one relationship, that they’re personally recommending things that customers are going to love. From a retailer’s perspective, they have to organize and structure their data to come up with their top 5 or 10 personas that they want to personalize to, but in a way that’s scalable and cost-effective. “It’s a fine line, and companies have to know their customers. Millennials or digital natives are going to be more comfortable sharing their data. Baby boomers or Gen Xers are going to value privacy. “Remitter is frictionless; consumers don’t need to download an app or know a login ID and password. It doesn’t allow you to transfer money and do a lot of fancy things, but it’s going to let you pay a bill if it’s late. It’s putting the consumer in the driver’s seat. Like Venmo, it enables purchases to happen anytime, anywhere. “There’s no shortage of tech. As a consultant, I would say to narrow it down to the most important problem you want to solve as a retailer or the new experience you want to light up. We can be laser-focused on narrowing down those choices. After leaving behind a career in accounting in search of something more forward-looking, Nick Arambula (BS Accountancy ’08, MTax ’09) was trying to figure out his next step. One night in 2015, while searching for startups in Phoenix, he stumbled on Tuft & Needle’s website. He was immediately drawn in by the aesthetic; only later did he realize that the company sold mattresses. Arambula says Tuft & Needle sought to change the mattress-buying process through direct-to-consumer sales and significantly lower price points. It also replaced fluorescent-lit showrooms and high-pressure sales environments with online ordering. “I read the founding story and thought, ‘My wife and I went through the same thing,’” he says. “We got married, bought a $2,500 bed, and hated it. The problem [the company was trying to solve] made so much sense to me.” He reached out to the Tuft & Needle team on LinkedIn and started up a conversation. A few months later, Arambula had an offer in hand. Now he’s W . P. C A R E Y

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“ Whether it’s The Churchill or Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice Beach — walking the street and going to the shops, there’s got to be an experience there.” — H A R T L E Y R O D I E , W . P. C A R E Y B S F I N A N C E ’ 1 2

the chief operating officer in charge of customer experience, supply chain, retail, and partnerships. Tuft & Needle’s approach caught the eye of Serta Simmons Bedding (SSB), one of the largest mattress brands in the world, which acquired Tuft & Needle last year. Arambula says the acquisition created a cognitive dissonance in the way SSB approaches its own business practices. “Our companies had pretty significant differences around one word: ‘customer,’” he says. “Tuft & Needle always viewed the customer as the person who would sleep on it. Serta saw customers as their distribution partners, like Mattress Firm and Macy’s.” This emphasis on the end user is most evident in Tuft & Needle’s storefronts, which are designed by in-house architects. Team members are available to guide customers and answer questions or give shoppers space to explore on their own using the iPads placed by every bed. “Consumers nowadays are so much more informed than 15 years ago,” Arambula says. “And a mattress purchase is quite intentional, so more often than not, folks are pretty knowledgeable when they walk into our stores. It’s really important to let them choose the journey they want to take.” Tom Patterson (BS Business Communications ’02) and Erin Fujimoto (BS Finance ’03) are the husband-and-wife duo behind Tommy John, which sought to upend a previously stable industry: men’s underwear. They launched the company more than 10 years ago when Patterson, then a medical device salesman, complained to Fujimoto daily about his ill-fitting undershirts. After trying on every shirt on the market, the couple set out to change everything. Patterson: I wanted an undershirt that had a longer, tapered design that would hug the body without being restrictive. I wanted to have neck styles that would never stretch out. I wanted the fabric to be soft and breathable. I wanted to design an undershirt that would make me forget I was wearing one at all. We drew a sketch and went to the garment district in downtown Los Angeles to select a soft, premium fabric. We brought the sketch and a bolt of fabric to our local tailor in San Diego and had her mock up a prototype. Fujimoto: In the early days, Tom was the idea man, while I was comfortable behind the scenes working on strategy and execution. We balanced each other out and supported each other during the more tumultuous early days of the business. There were plenty of moments in the beginning where we would be sitting in our 500-square-foot apartment crunching the numbers, convinced we didn’t have enough runway to make it through the quarter. “I’m no expert,” Rodie says. “I’m just a 30-year-old who somehow pulled a rabbit out of his hat with The Churchill. But I think that retail has to be experience-based. Whether it’s The Churchill or Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice Beach — walking the street and going to the shops, there’s got to be an experience there.” —Kim Catley

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Dean Amy Hillman helps Knight-Swift Transportation CEO Dave Jackson cut the ribbon at the KnightSwift Logistics Lab grand opening at ASU’s West campus on Nov. 9, 2017.

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Joining forces to move supply chain students forward Venus and Serena. Bill Gates and Paul Allen. Beyonce and Jay-Z. The best partners take something good and, through cooperation, make it great. That’s the case with Knight-Swift Transportation and the W. P. Carey School of Business, which kicked off November 2017 with the grand opening of the Knight-Swift Logistics Lab located on ASU’s West campus. “This is going to be a milestone for us to educate the next generation of logisticians,” says Department of Supply Chain Management Chair and Professor Mohan Gopalakrishnan. Thanks to a generous donation by Knight-Swift Transportation, the lab provides a place for students to work on projects with firms across Phoenix. Patricia Swafford, clinical assistant professor of supply chain management, says students will be able to use the new lab and its technology for exposure to real-world issues in the logistics field. The technology will enable “WebEx streaming meetings, data analysis through software programs, and real-time sharing using collaboration apps and hookups in the lab’s team — M O H A N G O PA L A K R I S H N A N technology pods,” she says. D E PA R T M E N T O F S U P P LY C H A I N Knight-Swift Transportation MANAGEMENT CHAIR , PROFESSOR CEO Dave Jackson (BS Global Business/Financial Management ’00) holds a special place in his heart for the W. P. Carey supply chain and logistics program. His professional journey is peppered with experiences at ASU and culminates with high ambitions for the recently merged Knight Transportation and Swift Transportation Co. “We hope to run the most efficient, the most innovative, and the largest truckload transportation company in the world, with huge significance to the supply chains in North America,” Jackson says. Square-Full

“ This is going to be a milestone for us to educate the next generation of logisticians.”

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Research by Andrea Morales, Lonnie L. Ostrom Chair in Business and Professor of Marketing

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Why we shop to feel better Researchers have known about “retail therapy” for years.

An executive who feels outmaneuvered at the office invests in high-end pens and briefcases. A woman who feels unattractive after a breakup binges at the makeup counter. A new, insecure student loads up on university-branded hats and sweatshirts. We know it happens, but on a psychological level, how does it work? How is it that someone feeling unattractive suddenly perceives a pretty scarf as an exceptionally beautiful must-have? What makes a worried executive’s eyes latch onto that Mont Blanc behind the glass case? In their paper “Identity Threats, Compensatory Compensation and Working Memory Capacity,” Andrea Morales, the Lonnie L. Ostrom Chair in Business and professor of marketing, and her co-authors share the answers to these questions based on their research. “There had been a black box between feeling threatened and buying products to make you feel good. We learned that when people feel threats to their self-esteem, it reduces their working memory capacity and makes them more inclined to purchase products that make them feel better,” Morales says. The researchers’ work also offers intriguing insights that could be used by marketers — or people who want to avoid being swayed by them. REAL-WORLD IMPLICATIONS The researchers’ findings about emotions and memory could lead to further research to improve memory training. “No prior research has shown ways to increase working memory capacity other than intense mental training,” Morales explains. “What we found is that feeling the right emotion at just the right time has the same beneficial effect.” The connection between social identity threats and consumption might be used to drive sales. To most marketers, this connection is not intuitive. Stores that sell athletic apparel often display pictures of competitors standing atop the podium and play hard-driving music. Everything is designed to appeal to the athletic persona. But Morales’ research suggests that aiming for emotions 100 percent consistent with athletes’ self-image may be counterproductive for sales. Ironically, a store with pictures of athletes on the walls may want to switch from electronic or heavy metal music to Pachelbel or Bach in order to create the kind of identity contradictions and discomfort that leads customers to try and reaffirm their identity by buying athletic products. — Teresa Meek

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“Capabilities are rushing ahead without us really knowing much about what will make a good customer experience.” — R U T H B O LT O N

Research by Ruth Bolton, Professor of Marketing

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Connecting the Dots Integrating the digital, physical, and social realms to deliver stellar customer service Professor of Marketing Ruth Bolton’s research paper, “Customer Experience Challenges: Bringing Together the Digital, Physical, and Social Realms,” didn’t exactly start on the back of a cocktail napkin, but the story isn’t far off. While at a future-focused conference in Australia, she and some of her fellow attendees were so excited by the ideas being presented that they met and conceived the idea for the paper on the spot. “We started talking, and the paper unfolded very rapidly,” Bolton says. “People were throwing ideas out and pulling things up on the internet.” They found that these three areas — the digital, physical, and social — are being studied and implemented in isolation, creating a fragmented customer experience. New technologies, such as artificial intelligence, robots, and virtual reality, are changing the way businesses interact with customers. But it’s how effectively they integrate these new methods of engaging customers with existing face-to-face interactions that will determine their success. “Capabilities are rushing ahead without us really knowing much about what will make a good customer experience,” Bolton explains, and most companies aren’t yet able to connect the dots. For example, if you shop online, the merchant doesn’t necessarily know you’re the same person who was in their store yesterday. Or, if you walk into the store and you’ve already done some research online, they don’t know that. If you’re shopping with a friend, but their immersive experience is just for one, the merchant is missing out on the social element. In this new world, managers will need to understand customer experiences across all three spaces. Instead of simply asking, “Can we do this?” marketers are looking at how the whole experience will affect the end user. People are adapting to this type of digital social presence, she says. For example, most admit they don’t find talking to Siri or Alexa all that strange anymore. And just like these handy assistants are gaining our trust, companies are leveraging technology in other ways to bolster trust levels damaged by digital breaches of privacy and other blunders. Airbnb and Uber that give customers the ability to provide ratings are flipping trust on its head. “We think: ‘If 5,000 other people gave this person a 5, I guess I can trust them to take me to the airport.’”— Jenn Woolson

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“Many who grow up in the city have never held a shovel. It’s important to put resources into education so those in the community become aware of urban agriculture and its benefits.” — CAROLA GREBITUS

Research by Carola Grebitus, Assistant Professor of Food Industry Management

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W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2018

Getting to the root of urban farm’s success Urban farming is a popular trend across America, thanks to a “buy local” movement gaining momentum in many cities. The associated health and ecological benefits of consuming farm-raised produce and products also are pushing the uptick in urban farming operations. Yet, just like the challenges faced by rural farmers, urban farmers must understand how to stimulate business to stay viable in metropolitan settings. The ability to predict consumer behavior is key to an urban farm’s success. What factors drive shoppers to buy directly from or even grow their own food at an urban farm and not purchase lettuce or potatoes at a chain supermarket supplied by a corporate distributor? That’s the root of research conducted by Carola Grebitus, assistant professor of food industry management, who investigates what influences urban farm consumption in her study titled, “Relationship Between Consumer Behavior and Success of Urban Agriculture.” Grebitus’ study is part of a five-year national project funded with $4 million from both the Department of Agriculture and National Science Foundation. Her work adds to a multidisciplinary effort associated with faculty in ASU’s School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences and in the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning.

Cultivating urban agriculture To get a better perspective on consumer decision-making related to urban agriculture participation, Grebitus polled 325 ASU undergraduate students via an online survey as part of her study. She focused on Generation Y because they are educated and informed, as well as they tend to be large consumers of urban farming products and account for the greatest percentage of those creating urban gardens, based on data from the National Gardening Association. Grebitus delved into both the psychological and personal factors that influence the buying and growing behaviors in her research. In general, urban farming has a positive perception by the consuming public. Freshness, health, taste, and support of the environment and local economy are the main reasons that encourage consumers to shop at local farms. Grebitus herself exposes students to local agribusinesses in her introductory course, AGB 100, taught at the Morrison School of Agribusiness at ASU’s W. P. Carey School. “Make students more familiar and informed about food production,” she says. “Many who grow up in the city have never held a shovel. It’s important to put resources into education so those in the community become aware of urban agriculture and its benefits.” — Sally J. Clasen W . P. C A R E Y

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“Logistics plays a supporting role in helping improve quality of life for bottom of the pyramid populations.” — A R N O L D , A S S O C I AT E P R O F E S S O R O F S U P P LY C H A I N M A N A G E M E N T

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Strengthening the Weakest Link with Supply Chain Management When there are no roads or distribution centers — the building blocks of a successful supply chain — how do you get goods into and out of developing regions? Those and other challenges are facing the 1 to 2 billion people globally who make up the “bottom of the pyramid (BOP)” — a term first used in 1999 to describe those who make less than $1,500 a year. And Associate Professor of Supply Chain Management Arnold Maltz wants to figure out how supply chain can help. Over the past three decades, Maltz’s interest in poverty obviation has grown. “In my mind, the thing that we could all do, those of us who are privileged to live in developed countries, is to see if we could bring the bottom up, without taking the top down,” he says. To do that, Maltz started studying the supply chain factors that can affect BOP populations. “Transportation and logistics are key ingredients in improving people’s lives,” he says. His recent research, “Base of the Pyramid Projects: A Framework for Further Investigation,” looks at what efforts have been successful. URBAN VERSUS RURAL CONCERNS Maltz says that much of the existing BOP research has been on rural populations. But with major migration toward the cities in the past 15 to 20 years, the image of what a poor person is around the world is changing. He says the question now is whether the BOP issue can be solved in the same ways in both rural and urban settings. Rural supply chain issues arise because areas are lightly populated with a lot of distance between deliveries, and, often, poor infrastructure. That leads to a very large set of distributors, each one with a small area. In comparison, urban settings have dense populations and infrastructure in place. But, Maltz says, there are similar issues. “You have terrible delays due to congestion in some of these cities, so you have long times to get stuff there. Timewise it’s just as bad, and aggravation-wise it’s probably worse.” However, dense commercial settings are different in terms of number of warehouses, so it’s a different supply chain set up. Setting up partnerships with companies like Alibaba and Flipkart, who are established local players in many regions, will also help facilitate distribution in and out of many developing areas. — Jenn Woolson

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“Online shopping isn’t like the Saturday morning scramble seen at the typical grocery store. The proven preference for Saturday grocery runs is “driven by manmade constraints” like school and work, says Chen. But, she adds, “You can do online shopping any time.” — P E I -Y U C H E N , A S S O C I AT E P R O F E S S O R O F I N F O R M AT I O N S Y S T E M S

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The Art and Science of Online Shopping Retailers Can Learn From Early Birds, Night Owls On the job, most of us have met a night owl or two, the kind of people who are still shooting out emails at midnight and get their best work done after everyone else has gone to sleep. Likewise, we’ve all met the chipper morning person who cheerfully arrives at work and dives into a tidy to-do list long before the morning rush hour starts. Both types of worker are following their own natural circadian rhythms, the physical, cognitive, and behavioral changes that roughly follow a 24-hour cycle. That’s a smart move, says Associate Professor of Information Systems Pei-yu Chen, at the W. P. Carey School of Business. According to her, psychologists have found that people perform tasks more competently when they tackle them during their preferred time of day. Chen’s research demonstrates that this phenomenon also shows up when people shop online. The correlation between body-clock rhythms and performance is so well-studied, it has a name: the synchronous effect. As Chen points out, psychologists have studied it in several arenas. For instance, morning people — called “larks” by the psychologists — are better drivers in the a.m. “They tend to get better grades if tests are given in the morning, too,” Chen says. Conversely, night owls get better grades in night or online classes, in which they get to arrange study and test times according to their body-clock rhythms. That’s why Chen and her co-authors (Ziqiong Zhang and Zili Zhang) wondered if following their natural body clocks when shopping online would lead consumers to better purchasing decisions. After all, online shopping isn’t like the Saturday morning scramble seen at the typical grocery store. The proven preference for Saturday grocery runs is “driven by manmade constraints” like school and work, says Chen. But, she

adds, “You can do online shopping any time.” Using buyer satisfaction as a measure of successful performance, Chen analyzed data from JD.com, one of the largest online shopping venues in China. Her dataset included more than 11.5 million purchases and the related reviews from 172,825 customers who shopped the site between 2007 and 2014. Like the larks and night owls who make their preferences known on the job, the majority of online shoppers exhibit specific times during which they’re more likely to click the proceed-to-checkout button. “It tends to happen in a tight range of four to six hours,” Chen says. People also have days of the week they prefer for shopping. After correlating shopping sessions and related reviews, Chen found that people give more favorable reviews on the items they purchase during their preferred shopping hours as well as during their preferred days to shop. “People get more satisfaction — they are happier with what they bought — when the shopping is done during their preferred shopping hours, and ratings tend to be lower when they deviate from their preferred shopping time,” Chen says. She also looked at people who showed no preference in shopping times. “For these people, the shopping satisfaction is about the same, regardless of when they shop.” This is interesting, because the two results combined together show evidence that existence of rhythm and whether it is followed is a driver of performance. “Retailers do have the data for this type of activitybased promotion,” Chen says. She thinks it would be a worthy investment if retailers put the larks and night owls to work in their corporate IT departments to help build out this highly personalized promotional approach. — Betsy Loeff

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The Lawrence R. Klein Award for Blue Chip Forecast Accuracy is judged and sponsored by the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. The winner is selected based on the accuracy of forecasts published in the Blue Chip Economic Indicators newsletter, compiled and edited by Haver Analytics, Inc.

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Fannie Mae Chief Economist Wins Blue Chip Forecasting Award Douglas Duncan to share 2023 predictions and accept the Lawrence R. Klein Award at Oct. 12 event. TEMPE, Ariz. (Sept. 13, 2022) — As economic uncertainty continues amidst market turmoil and talks of recession, Fannie Mae Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Douglas G. Duncan predicts a modest recession, characterized by competing effects of inflation and a strong labor market. Duncan will deliver his 2023 economic outlook at a live event, Wednesday, Oct. 12 from 6 to 8 p.m. Eastern time at the University Club of New York. At the event, Duncan will be honored with the Lawrence R. Klein Award for Blue Chip Forecast Accuracy, one of the best-known and longeststanding achievements in economic forecasting. A livestream of the forecast and award ceremony will also be available from 7 to 8 p.m. Eastern, and is free for the public to view. The award is judged and sponsored by the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. The winner is selected based on the accuracy of forecasts published in the Blue Chip Economic Indicators newsletter, compiled and edited by Haver Analytics, Inc. “It is a real honor for the

Fannie Mae forecast team to be recognized with the Lawrence R. Klein Award,” said Duncan. “While it is a permanent challenge to accurately forecast macroeconomic activity, it has been particularly difficult during the period including the pandemic. The advent of unparalleled monetary and fiscal policy actions, combined with the lack of health-related historical information on which to base modelled forecasts, required an atypical amount of judgment and humility. Such will continue to be the case in macroeconomic forecasting in the days, weeks, and months ahead, as the repositioning of global supply chains, the ongoing war in Ukraine, global tightening of monetary policy, and fiscal policy constraints challenge us and our forecasting brethren in offering guidance to industry, households, and government.” Ohad Kadan, dean of the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, will present Duncan his award, which will be followed by his economic forecast for the coming year. Chryssa Halley, Fannie Mae Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, will introduce Duncan. “The award is based on the smallest average error for GDP, CPI, and unemployment over the past four years,” says Professor of Economics Dennis Hoffman, director of the Office of the University Economist at ASU. “I W . P. C A R E Y

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Fannie Mae Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Douglas G. Duncan

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commend Doug Duncan and his team at Fannie Mae for their remarkable predictions during a period of extensive market fluctuation and instability.” Duncan is responsible for forecasts and analyses of the economy and the housing and mortgage markets at Fannie Mae. He also oversees strategic research regarding the potential impact of external factors on the housing industry. Under his leadership, Fannie Mae’s Economic & Strategic Research Group won the NABE Outlook Award, presented annually for the most accurate GDP and Treasury note yield forecasts, in both 2015 and 2016 – the first recipient in the award’s history to capture the honor two years in a row. In addition, the team was awarded by Pulsenomics for best home price forecast. Duncan was also named one of Bloomberg/BusinessWeek’s 50 Most Powerful People in Real Estate. Prior to joining Fannie Mae, Duncan was Senior Vice President and Chief Economist at the Mortgage Bankers Association. His experience also includes work on the Financial Institutions Project at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and service as a LEGIS Fellow and staff member with the Committee on Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs for Congressman Bill McCollum in the U.S. House of Representatives. Previously, Duncan was a Board member of the National Association of Business Economics and a Board member and Chairman of Strategies to Elevate People (STEP). Duncan received his PhD in Agricultural Economics from Texas A&M University and his BS and MS in Agricultural Economics from North Dakota State University. He was also elected as a Trustee of North Dakota State University in 2022. During the ceremony, Duncan will share his latest thoughts on the U.S. economic outlook, including: Current challenges in macroeconomic forecasting; Prospects for growth through the remainder of 2022 and 2023; The status of inflation and the implications for monetary policy; and Financial and housing market performance and risks

About the W. P. Carey School of Business The W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University is the largest and one of the top-ranked business schools in the United States. The school is internationally regarded for its research productivity and its distinguished faculty members, including a Nobel Prize winner. Students come from more than 100 countries and W. P. Carey is represented by alumni in over 160 countries. Visit wpcarey.asu.edu. About Fannie Mae Fannie Mae advances equitable and sustainable access to homeownership and quality, affordable rental housing for millions of people across America. We enable the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage and drive responsible innovation to make homebuying and renting easier, fairer, and more accessible. To learn more, visit: fanniemae.com.

About Haver Analytics Haver Analytics is the premier provider of timeseries data for the global strategy and research community. Haver Analytics maintains 200-plus databases from more than 1,350 government and private sources. Economic and financial database coverage includes the advanced economies and developing world with detail for the U.S., UK, Canada, Europe, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, China, and other emerging markets. Visit www.haver.com. For more information/media contact: Shay Moser, W. P. Carey School of Business Shay.Moser@asu.edu Matthew Classick, Fannie Mae matthew_t_classick@fanniemae.com

Media note: Please consider adding this to your community calendar. Journalists who attend as members of the virtual audience can ask questions during the Q&A section of the event. W . P. C A R E Y

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Researchers Find Bright Financial Side to Automation “We’re saying the ability to potentially automate relaxes the constraint that labor imposes on companies’ financial policies, so they’re able to hold less cash, which is a good thing for the value of the company.” — T H O M A S B AT E S , D E A N ’ S C O U N C I L O F 1 0 0 D I S T I N G U I S H E D S C H O L A R A N D A S S O C I AT E PROFESSOR OF FINANCE

To many businesses, automation has a negative side — complicated customer service call systems that drive consumers away, cyberattacks on vulnerable networks, staff lacking in manual-process skills. But research by two W. P. Carey professors reveals there is a positive side to automation, in that it affords greater financial flexibility to certain types of firms. Thomas Bates, Dean’s Council of 100 Distinguished Scholar and associate professor of finance, and Jessie Jiaxu Wang, assistant professor of finance, found that a firm’s ability to substitute automation for labor helps determine its corporate financial policy. Specifically, they found that firms that can’t easily replace employees with machines, artificial intelligence, or data analytics tend to be conservative in their financial policies. Such firms hold more cash, use less debt, and pay lower dividends than their counterparts, all to protect themselves from labor-related expenses such as rising wages for skilled workers or increased costs of hiring and firing. On the other hand, Bates and Wang found firms that can more easily replace employees with automation tend to have more flexible financial policies. These firms hold less cash, use more debt, and pay higher dividends than their counterparts. When these firms experience shocks to their operating cash flow, such as corporate tax increases, they’re more likely to take advantage of their ability to increase automation and the use of debt. “We like to take a corporate finance perspective and try to understand how the nature of technology integration, or the ability of a firm to replace human workers with automated capital, can affect its financial policies,” Wang says. “And financial policies are one of the major decisions that managers have to make.” The research combined Wang’s interest in how firms balance human labor and automation with Bates’ expertise in corporate finance. Along with a colleague from California State University, Fullerton, they studied more than 13,000 industrial firms from 1999 to 2018, using data on the potential

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“We like to take a corporate finance perspective and try to understand how the nature of technology integration, or the ability of a firm to replace human workers with automated capital, can affect its financial policies. And financial policies are one of the major decisions that managers have to make.” — J E S S I E J I A X U W A N G , A S S I S TA N T P R O F E S S O R OF FINANCE

for various occupations to be automated, the number of and average annual wages for employees in those occupations, and the firms’ cash holdings and dividend payouts. They created a predictive measure they call Substitutability of Labor with Automated Capital, or SLAC, to reflect the proportion of an industry’s existing employees who are susceptible to replacement by automation. The lower the SLAC, the smaller the share of workers who potentially could be replaced. The team sorted the firms into industries with the lowest and highest abilities to substitute automation for labor. The differences were subtle and sometimes surprising, Bates says, because they depended less on an occupation’s skill level than on whether computers could figure out how to do a job. Among the industries the team found were less able to automate were childcare, health care, educational services, and research and development. Among those more able to automate were restaurants, transportation, gas stations, stores, and logging. The researchers found that firms with high abilities to automate held 25–26% less cash, had nearly 10% more leverage, and paid up to 22% higher dividends than firms whose workers were more difficult to replace with automation. This ability frees up capital in a market, Bates says, which then can be used for investments instead of sitting unproductively in company coffers. “We’re saying the ability to potentially automate relaxes the constraint that labor imposes on companies’ financial policies, so they’re able to hold less cash, which is a good thing for the value of the company,” he explains. “They’re able to take on more debt than they otherwise would, which again will increase the value of the company, and they’re able to pay out more of their operating cash flows to their shareholders in the form of dividends. All of those things, all else equal, should be value-enhancing for shareholders.” The team’s research pre-dated the COVID-19 pandemic, but Wang and Bates say it became even more relevant as firms used technology to meet the need for working from home and social distancing and as corporate earnings plummeted. It has lessons for both employees and managers as jobs change over time, the two say. Workers should be ready to acquire new skills, collaborate with technology, or move into jobs that are harder to automate, Bates says. “The lesson for workers is twofold: Don’t panic, you’re not going to be replaced tomorrow just because you work for a railroad or because you drive an Uber,” he says. “That also means that every person in the labor market is aware that the timeline of a career is now much more dynamic than it was 50 years ago.” For their part, “We want managers to understand that to make rational, sophisticated decisions about their financial policies, they want to look at the potential flexibility coming from their production side,” Wang says. “The nature of their workforce, whether their workforce can be automated, these are very important aspects to consider.” — Jane Larson W . P. C A R E Y

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“Well over 90 percent of permanent jobs on Wall Street are offered to those who went through a summer internship the previous year or two.” — WERNER BONADURER, CLINICAL PROFESSOR OF FINANCE AND D I R E C TO R O F A S U ’ S I N V E S T M E N T BANKING INDUSTRY SCHOL ARS PROGRAM

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Wall Street smarts Morgan Stanley. JPMorgan Chase. Goldman Sachs. Perella Weinberg. Moelis. BlackRock. Those are just a few of the firms at which students in the Investment Banking Industry Scholars (IBIS) program intern and are employed.

“IBIS supports students who are considering an investment banking career,” says Clinical Professor of Finance Werner Bonadurer, faculty director for the program. “It’s their stepping stone from ASU onto Wall Street.” The one-year, credit-eligible course is a targeted career program, which offers multiple dimensions to qualified undergrads. Students gain technical skills: arranging mergers and acquisitions, analyzing debt and equity capital markets, and advising on corporate finance, to name a few. Interacting on Wall Street, and exploring investment banking relationships with corporate and institutional clients, for instance, help build soft skills. “Most of those things are not covered in regular coursework,” Bonadurer says. “IBIS fills the gap. “Investment banking is a very competitive business to get into,” he continues, “with Wall Street companies receiving up to 15,000 applications just for internships, and there are few spots. Well over 90 percent of permanent jobs on Wall Street are offered to those who went through a summer internship the previous year or two.” Advice for students who want to apply for the highly competitive IBIS program which accepts about 15 percent of students who apply? Eli Schifman (BS Finance/Economics ’19), a 2016 cohort member and student co-leader for the 2018 program says, “Prepare early and have a compelling reason why you are interested in it. Most people say they are interested but don’t put the time in to prepare technically, which is one way to demonstrate interest. Also, reach out to alumni of the program.”

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Private Investor Meetings Before IPOs Contribute to Longer-Term Vision “If firms provide more information to investors, investors will have a more holistic view of the company and its direction.” — B A D R YA H A L H U S A I N I , A S S I S TA N T P R O F E S S O R O F A C C O U N TA N C Y

If your company were going public, how might it encourage investors to be less reactive to bad news or bumps along the way — to keep a longer-term perspective and stay onboard? According to research by W. P. Carey Assistant Professor of Accountancy Badryah Alhusaini, and colleagues from Washington University and Notre Dame, it’s not impossible. They analyzed R&D-intensive firms that took advantage of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act of 2012 to examine the impact of private communications on institutional myopia. Under the JOBS Act, emerging growth companies may talk privately with investors for months before an initial public offering (IPO). These early discussions are a considerable departure from previous regulations in which the only direct dialogue between managers and investors occurred during the “road show,” a short meeting broadcast to the public at least once, during which only information limited to the formal IPO documents is shared. “When firms provide information publicly, it becomes available not only to potential investors but also competitors,” Alhusaini says. As a result, firm managers often provide less detail about scientific or technological innovations, strategies, and products. “Investors are then unable to properly evaluate the firm and often focus instead on current performance to assess the long-term health of the company.” They’re also less patient with poor performance. Firm managers, in turn, become more focused on short-term earnings goals. The result: Both parties have myopic behavior by fixating on the short term. Alhusaini and her research collaborators thought if managers cause myopia by withholding relevant details from public disclosure to keep it from competitors, private disclosure should allow more openness and less myopia. The study quotes another manager as saying, “A core group of investors has stuck with our company over several years since the IPO. They know our story and are the least likely to call me right after an earnings announcement in a panic over some small detail.” Alhusaini hopes her research sheds light on a positive aspect of private, selective disclosure — often viewed as harmful among traders for creating a less level playing field. “Our paper shows an interesting benefit: less myopia, which the literature had previously overlooked,” she says. — Melissa Crytzer Fry

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W. P. Carey alumna Ashley Torres graduated with a Bachelor of Science in finance in 2023 after receiving several scholarships, including the New American University Scholarship, the Obama Scholarship and the Dean’s Award.

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Next stop NYC for finance graduate A family legacy brought Ashley Torres to ASU, and where she goes from here will be propelled by the knowledge and passion she developed during her time as a Sun Devil. Torres is graduating this semester with a Bachelor of Science in finance from the W. P. Carey School of Business. She also received a number of scholarships, including the New American University Scholarship, the Obama Scholarship and the Dean’s Award. Torres said she always enjoyed learning about finance in her classes and discussing things like personal finance with her friends. When she realized she was excited about the prospect of being tested on the subject, she knew it was the right path for her. “I remember taking my first FIN class and being excited about an exam for the first time ... it really just became a part of my everyday life,” Torres said. Much like her professors helped break down the complexities of finance and economics, she hopes to ultimately do the same for

others – to make these concepts accessible and remove any intimidation. Soon, Torres will head to New York City to start her career in finance. “After graduation, I’m heading to the Big Apple. I will be working at an investment firm, Goldman Sachs, where I will be understanding how various macroeconomic factors (such as interest rates and even recessions) can affect business,” Torres said. “I am excited for the next chapter of my life!” Torres shared more about her time at ASU and the people and places that shaped her experience. Q: What’s something you learned while at ASU — in the classroom or otherwise — that surprised you or changed your perspective? A: The biggest lesson I learned was to relax and go with the flow. I have always been a planner and when I decided to join the Sun Devil Fitness Complex as a freshman to get some extra cash, I would have never realized how much I would gain from this experience. Four years later, I cherish the lifelong friendships I have made in addition to the countless lessons I’ve learned from some amazing mentors. I could have never anticipated for this place and the people who are a part of it to have had such an impact on where I am today.

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Julie Kaplan (BS Finance/BA This is a caption. Business Global Politics ’23)

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From Switzerland to Moldova to Iraq, Fulbright Canada Killam Fellow gains global perspective Pandemic globetrotting taught Julie Kaplan (BS Finance/BA Business Global Politics ’23) real-world lessons no textbook could convey. When COVID-19 was shuttering schools and businesses, Julie Kaplan (BS Finance/ BA Business Global Politics ’23) used W. P. Carey as a springboard to catapult herself around the world. She gained a global perspective and applied what she learned in the classroom to real-life experiences. In spring 2020, Kaplan was awarded a Killam Fellowship, administered by Fulbright Canada. She intended to study international development in Canada the following fall, but with the pandemic raging, Fulbright Canada put her fellowship on hold. Uninspired by the idea of online classes, Kaplan turned to a W. P. Carey alum and mentor, Sabrina Garland (BA Business Global Politics ’20), who helped Kaplan nab an internship at the Swiss consulting firm where Garland was working. While most Americans stayed home, worked, and studied remotely, Kaplan headed to Switzerland, a country faring extremely well during the pandemic, With the full support of W. P. Carey faculty and administrators, the experience opened her eyes to a new world of possibilities. “Pausing my formal education was simultaneously daunting and exciting,” Kaplan says “Moving abroad was one of the first times in my life I deviated from the path that I was supposed to take. When I took that initial step off the beaten path, it was empowering. The world is large, and there are countless opportunities to pursue. I don’t need to follow any specific path. I can

create my own.” After spending fall 2020 in Zurich, Kaplan sought opportunities related to one of her passions: microlending. She called 10 banks in Eastern Europe, a region she has close ties to as a U.S.-Polish dual citizen and landed a position as an intern at a small bank in Chisinau, Moldova. In her free time, Kaplan lectured locally about personal finance and the importance of promoting democracy. “My original plan for the year was to study economic development in Canada on my Fulbright Killam grant,” she explains “What made my time in Moldova so special is that I got on-the-ground experience in microlending. There is a lot to learn about how to best support low-income small-business owners, and I left Moldova with a much better understanding of microlending best practices.”

On the road again The following fall, Kaplan decided to take one additional year off from W. P. Carey to continue her solo travels, although her trip was less structured this time. She visited countries from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan to Albania and Montenegro. In October 2021, she traveled to Iraq for a weekend visit that ultimately turned into a four-month stay. Kaplan calls the experience the most formative of her life. Rather than finding a nation torn by the effects of war and political strife, as the media often portrays it, Kaplan explored a beautiful country filled with welcoming people. She shared countless meals in Iraqis’ homes, for which she was never permitted to pay, and often was invited to stay with their families. She filmed a 12-episode documentary about her travels to shine a light on Iraq’s true riches: history, nature, architecture, cuisine, and hospitality. With the support of W. P. Carey and Barrett, the Honors College, this series W . P. C A R E Y

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became her thesis project, which she will defend before graduating in May 2023. “So much of what I learned from W. P. Carey I applied to my journey in Iraq,” Kaplan says. “For example, at W. P. Carey, we are taught that the people are the most important part of any company or corporation. I realized that when visiting a country, one should remember that exact mindset. The people are the beating heart of a nation: not the politics, not the memories of war. It’s all about the people.” For a student who spent much of her undergraduate career focused on the finance industry, notably as a member of the Investment Banking Industry Scholars program, wrapping up her undergraduate career with a globally focused project was both a surprise and welcome turn of events for Kaplan. “As a finance and global politics double-major, this project allowed me to lean more into my second degree,” she says. “My global politics courses allow me to be informed and educated about the cities I visit. I’ve applied my degree to the real world in the most exciting way.” Kaplan returned to the U.S. last spring and, after a summer investment banking internship in Houston, finally headed to Prince Edward Island, Canada, for her Killam fellowship in fall 2022. There, she took courses toward her degree in global politics and gained a fresh perspective on the U.S.--Canada relationship. “I think people often assume that because the U.S. and Canada are allies, we don’t need to focus on bilateral relations,” Kaplan says. “It is the opposite. Canada is one of our most important partners, and it is important to keep our close, enduring partnership strong. I love learning more about our northern neighbor, and it is an honor to be an ambassador of the United States.” After she graduates in May, Kaplan will work in San Francisco for a strategy consulting firm. She hopes to continue exploring international development and drawing upon her studies and experiences in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Canada. Her early undergraduate work with the Arizona Microcredit Initiative, a nonprofit that advances economic empowerment, and the Next Generation Service Corps, an ASU leadership development program that promotes cross-sector leadership, will also guide Kaplan in

her career.

Takeaways Kaplan says one of the biggest lessons she learned in her travels was how kind people are — no matter the country. She says that in each country she visited there were locals excited to help in her pursuits. From colleagues in Switzerland who supported Kaplan’s professional development to small-business owners she worked with in Moldova who taught her about best farming practices, she was astonished by how helpful those she met were. “The kindness that others gave me during my two years off university is something I think about every day,” says Kaplan. “None of my adventures would have been possible without the endless support of those I met along the way. It’s now my responsibility to find ways to pay it forward and help those who come after me.” Kaplan says her experience at W. P. Carey, meeting and mentoring international students, helped prepare her to interact with people in other parts of the world. She says she is also grateful for the open-mindedness and spirit of support she received as she paved a non-traditional trail through her undergraduate career. “W. P. Carey’s motto ‘Where business is personal’ defines my college experience,” Kaplan says. “Every step along the way, I had professors, administrators, and classmates offering advice and resources. There were so many people advocating for me. I am so grateful that I decided to attend W. P. Carey — my time at this school has helped me grow personally and professionally and has given me the tools to help others do the same.”

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“When employees know those resources are available and, importantly, that using them does not negatively affect their perceived work performance, they are more likely to take advantage of them when they experience a work-life shock event.” — BL AKE ASHFORTH, ASU REGENTS PROFESSOR OF MANAGEMENT AND HOR ACE STEELE A R I Z O N A H E R I TA G E C H A I R

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In It Together How dual-earner couples respond to worklife shock events “When most researchers talk about work-life balance, they talk as though these two spheres are separate,” explains Blake Ashforth, ASU Regents Professor of management and Horace Steele Arizona Heritage Chair. As many of us know firsthand, though, this isn’t the case. “Humans have rich and overlapping identities at home, with their faith communities, at work, and more. The management field needs new ways of looking at the intersections of all our identities,” Ashforth says. A new paper by Ashforth and colleagues Wayne S. Crawford, assistant professor at University of Texas at Arlington, and Merideth J. Thompson, associate professor at Utah State University, seeks to enrich the conversation. The authors propose a new model in the Academy of Management Review called “work-life events theory,” which helps explain how dual-earner couples handle shock events in their life. A shock event is something that is disruptive, rare, a priority, and requires an influx of the couple’s resources, such as time or money. An example of a shock event could be a major illness or loss of a job, but it could also be something positive, such as a promotion that requires relocation. When one of these shock events happens, couples try to navigate through them together. “One thing we emphasize is there are three actors involved,” Ashforth says, “Partner A, Partner B, but then also the relationship itself is something that has its own particular needs and dynamics.” Ashforth and his co-authors stress that this point is important because just as both members of a couple have their own individual identities and histories, the couple as a unit has unique goals and a history that affects how they navigate a shock event. Thus, Ashforth and his colleagues suggest there are two levels to how dual-earner couples manage a shock event: The first is individually, considering their own identities and goals, and then the couple comes together to make sense of the shock event and respond to it. Together, this process creates the researchers’ new work-life events theory. Whether the shock event is individual or universal, positive or negative, the authors agree the biggest takeaway for dual-earner couples is to focus on their relationship as an entity. “Focus on the us, and your identity as a couple, to best process and respond to shocks in your own life,” Ashforth says. — Emily Beach

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“It was a little scary at first being thrust into unfamiliar territory,” Hu says. “But I took pride in running the family business. Failure was not an option.” — R O D N E Y P E T E R H U , W . P. C A R E Y B S FINANCE ’96, CHIEF EXECUTIVE AND O W N E R O F T H E FA M I LY ’ S Y U C C A TA P ROOM

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From hedge funds to libations

Like a good novel with a strong plot, sometimes the story of a person’s journey through life can take an abrupt turn along the way and wind up in a place that they never had imagined. Rodney Peter Hu (BS Finance ’96) remembers well the day it all changed with a telephone call that came one night to his Brooklyn, New York, apartment. It was his cancer-stricken father in Arizona. And the news was not good. “He called and said you really need to come home. He didn’t think he was going to last much longer, and we had family affairs that I needed to take care of,” recalls Hu, the family’s only child. “I told him I’d be there. I understood that it was time to come home.” Hu had been living the dream, one he had held close for a long time. The Arizona native attended the W. P. Carey School, earned his degree, and then took on Wall Street. He aspired to be a hedge fund trader. After an aggressive job search, he landed a spot at financial services powerhouse Cantor Fitzgerald in the summer of 1996 and was soon on his way. He spent eight years on Wall Street, working for such icons as Bear Stearns and Goldman Sachs. “It was an amazing experience,” says Hu. “I did not think I ever was going to leave.” He turned down his dad’s first request to come home in the aftermath of Sept. 11, an event that unfolded as Hu watched from several blocks away. The timing was not right, he says. But three years later, he hung up the phone after that hourlong call with his dad and set a course for a new career as chief executive and owner of the family’s Yucca Tap Room, a longtime Tempe bar and live music spot. “It was a little scary at first being thrust into unfamiliar territory,” Hu says. “But I took pride in running the family business. Failure was not an option.” He talked to industry experts to learn as much about all aspects of running a successful business. Hu upgraded the menu to infuse his love of food from different cultures, installed more than 30 taps so the place could live up to its name, and continues to discover and bring local music of every genre to the neighborhood hangout nightly. He even has partnered with local brewing and distilling companies to offer one-of-a-kind Arizona brews to show his local pride. W . P. C A R E Y

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“That’s the nature of research. The environment around you influences your agenda. If I was not at the New York Fed, I wouldn’t have arrived at this study.” — B A S I T Z A FA R , P R O F E S S O R O F E C O N O M I C S

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W. P. Carey magazine, Autumn 2019

Higher Education Aid and its Impact On Long-Term Prosperity We hear a lot currently about student loans and the debt incurred to gain a higher education. Many argue that it places an undue burden on graduates as they seek to build their professional and financial futures. This has led to calls from some for more financial aid in the form of grants that don’t have to be repaid. But how effective are such grants? Before this study, research had focused primarily on the effect of grants on college enrollments and the completion of coursework for degrees. But that is only one measure of the efficacy of grants for higher education. The larger question to be answered isn’t just whether students graduate, but how well they do, in real-life financial terms, after they graduate. The desire to shed light on these issues led Professor of Economics Basit Zafar and his partner in the project, Judith Scott-Clayton of Teachers College at Columbia University, to conduct some groundbreaking research. Their study, “Financial Aid, Debt Management, and Socioeconomic Outcomes: Post-College Effects of Merit-Based Aid,” is the first to examine the impacts of grant aid on homeownership, neighborhood characteristics, and credit outcomes in early adulthood. They were able to do this by examining college and financial aid information, and linking educational data to credit bureau data later in life. This unique confluence of data came about almost accidentally. Before joining ASU, Zafar served for more than eight years in the Research Group at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. At the New York Fed, Zafar learned about the availability of information from the Equifax Credit Bureau on students who’d received grants. Zafar was able to conceive of this research because he knew of the availability of that data. Together with ScottClayton’s access to educational records from West Virginia, they were able to perform the necessary analysis. “That’s the nature of research,” Zafar says, “The environment around you influences your agenda. If I had not been at the New York Fed, I wouldn’t have arrived at this study.” “More time in the labor market is one driver,” Zafar says, “but also you’re more likely to get a graduate degree if you have a grant. A bunch of good stuff happens. It’s hard to pinpoint any one cause.” The study serves as an endorsement of West Virginia’s program and others like it that exist in several states around the country. It’s also opened the door for more future research along these lines. “Since we did the study, we have been approached by others who want to do similar merges to link educational records with credit bureau data,” says Zafar. “Right now it’s the only one.”— Joe Bardin W . P. C A R E Y

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“The whole idea is that if employees who are making the sausage are better employees, the information they produce and funnel through the system will be better.” — A N D R E W C A L L , A S S O C I AT E P R O F E S S O R OF ACCOU NTING

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W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2018

A Well-Educated Workforce Pays Off in High-Quality Financial Reporting Every company says it wants to hire good employees. That should be more than a platitude, new research shows: Companies that have a welleducated workforce available in their headquarters’ cities do a better job of accurately reporting and forecasting financial results than companies that must pull headquarters employees from a less-educated workforce. Andrew Call, associate professor of accounting, studies the role employees play as whistleblowers after fraud has occurred in companies. For this research, he and colleagues from three other universities wondered whether having good employees — not just in accounting but throughout the company — could matter in warding off or catching companies’ financial-reporting problems before they could occur. “Your employees are the ones generating this information at its very core, and it gets funneled up through the organization to give the executives either reliable information to work with or not-so-reliable information,” Call says. “The whole idea is that if employees who are making the sausage are better employees, the information they produce and funnel up through the system will be better.” Other researchers have explored the impact senior executives have on financial reporting, Call says, but few have looked at the impact midlevel managers and rank-and-file employees have. He and his colleagues were curious to answer the broader question of whether these everyday employees matter in accounting outcomes. Call’s team theorized that better-educated employees at company headquarters — where accounting and other key staff typically work — could make fewer errors in gathering and reporting the information that goes into financial reports. Better-educated workers also could be more likely to spot abnormal or potentially fraudulent transactions before they could go into those reports. The researchers looked at two main categories of financial reporting: mandatory reporting and voluntary disclosures. For mandatory reporting, they examined whether to check on how the quality of employees affects the quality of the earnings information that public companies are required to disclose. For voluntary disclosures, they were interested to learn whether employee quality affects the quality of earnings forecasts companies choose to make. They also wanted to see whether employee quality relates to the frequency with which companies later restate earnings. “We can’t think these employees are totally interchangeable,” Call says. “Their impact is more important than that. They can add value in ways we might not even be thinking about.”— Jane Larson

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Money Talks

Although the world of assets, liabilities, margins, and dividends can seem impersonal, there are real people making the money world go ’round. We asked two successful W. P. Carey alumni to trace their rise in the world of finance — including the ways in which ASU influenced their careers — and share their predictions for the future.

W. P. Carey alumna Cristina Morgan (BS Management ’75, MBA ’77) is the vice chairman of technology investment banking at JPMorgan Chase in San Francisco.

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Cristina Morgan (BS Management ’75, MBA ’77) The truth is, Cristina Morgan enrolled at ASU because she had to. Her father’s position with the U.S. Air Force moved the family all over, eventually landing them in Arizona. Then they relocated again, this time to Saudi Arabia when her father took a job with Northrop Corp. Morgan and her brother were attending college in Beirut, Lebanon, when “the Syrians rolled into Beirut one fine day, and the embassy and the corporation took a dim view of having dependents of an executive with Northrop in what they were thinking of as a war zone,” Morgan says. It was time to look elsewhere to finish their degrees. Because of the many moves, they had no real home base in the United States, so they made the most economical choice. “When you’re an expat, the rules about paying in-state tuition are wherever you last paid taxes in the U.S.,” Morgan says. “So that made ASU the cheapest solution for a guy who had two children in college at the same time. And back to Arizona we went.” It might not have been her first choice, but Morgan did end up getting solid advice from a professor assigned to help her transfer the credits she had already earned overseas. “At one point he asked me why I didn’t switch my major to business and get an MBA,” Morgan recalls. “I was stubborn and asked, ‘Why would I do that?’ and he said, ‘Because you might want to get a job.’” After careful thought, she made the switch from psychology to business and earned both her bachelor’s in management and MBA from the W. P. Carey School of Business. “I truly wish I could remember his name,” Morgan says. “But I have to admit that it was excellent advice.” Her military upbringing also likely shaped her disciplined approach to personal finances. She believes in paying cash for toys, not incurring debt, and living within your means. “The old values of prudence and saving and investing early, all of the things that sound so boring, are true,” she says. “I think a lot of young people think that the old rules don’t apply. But they very much apply.” That said, Morgan sees firsthand that money and financial transactions are changing. “Blockchain is an extremely positive move in the future of money,” she says. “As a foundational technology, it makes transactions more transparent and efficient. And we already do things on our phones that none of us ever dreamed of being able to do. All of that will keep moving forward, the speed will pick up, and security and convenience will get better. The companies we finance in the technology practice at JPMorgan come up with innovation in these areas every single day. The progress never ceases to amaze me. So, no matter how good it gets, it can always seemingly get better.”

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“We’re very fortunate. We get to work for a great company; we get to do a lot of innovative things. Business people, in general, are very fortunate with what they get to do in this world.” — KERRY WILLIAMS (MBA ’87) IS T H E C H I E F O P E R AT I N G OFFICER OF EXPERIAN IN C O S TA M E S A , C A L I F O R N I A

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Kerry Williams (MBA ’87) Perspective. That was one of Kerry Williams’ most enduring lessons from his time at ASU. “What has stuck with me from that time is taking classes with people who were working full-time jobs during the day, had families, and were working toward their MBAs at night,” Williams recalls. “I remember thinking, ‘Don’t ever think what you’re doing is all that hard, because there’s somebody else who has it harder.’” Even now, 31 years after earning his MBA from the W. P. Carey School of Business, it’s a philosophy he upholds as chief operating officer of credit reporting agency Experian. During a recent weeklong series of meetings in Spain, for example, he says he anticipated a certain degree of burnout as the group headed into the final two days. “I opened up those meetings by saying that things can be tough, but we’re not going to coast into the gate. We’re going to finish strong,” Williams says. “You look at some of the other issues in the world, in perspective. We’re very fortunate. We get to work for a great company; we get to do a lot of innovative things. Business people, in general, are very fortunate with what they get to do in this world.” Williams helps spread that good fortune through a program he started some 10 years ago that recruits new MBAs into Experian. Several of these hires, he says, are graduates of W. P. Carey and are still with the company. “Blockchain encryption capabilities that enable the movement of digital currencies are going to continue to proliferate,” he says. “And I think the instant access to money, or to credit so to speak, is going to continue to expand. We work in countries across the globe transacting money and granting credit in milliseconds without a physical or personal face-to-face connection made. Nor is there any physical money generated to support those transactions. I see that continuing to accelerate across the globe, with the emerging markets very much leading the charge on those types of capabilities.” But even as money itself changes, his views on personal finance are tried-and-true. He tells his three teenage sons to save, to live within their means, and to prepare for unexpected expenses. “And I say that from personal history. When I came out of grad school, I had $2,000 in my checking account and owed $10,000 in loans, and it’s just miserable to have to pay off those loans. It took me a few years to get ahead of everything, and it’s just not a whole lot of fun. I’m not sure if they’re listening to my advice yet, but I hope they do. I don’t want them to have to go through that.”

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Research by Hendrik Bessembinder, Professor of Finance and Francis J. and This is a caption. Mary B. Labriola Endowed Chair in Competitive Business

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W. P. Carey magazine, Autumn 2018

Correctly calculating returns on futures contracts Hendrik Bessembinder has no problem setting people straight about the stock market or busting myths about futures investing. One of his most attention-getting papers showed how the conventional wisdom that stocks outperform Treasury bills was incomplete because in truth only a few stocks were responsible for the market’s overall gains. “That [stock market] paper had the flavor of ‘keep what you thought you knew, but here are some additional things you should also know,’” he says. “This [futures market paper] has the flavor of, ‘some people need to forget what they know — because it’s wrong.’” In his latest research paper into futures contracts, the professor of finance and Francis J. and Mary B. Labriola Endowed Chair in Competitive Business tackles what he calls the “roll yield myth.” Investors who regularly trade in futures contracts understand what determines their gains and losses, he says, but some financial journalists, market commentators, and investment advisors inaccurately explain the nature of yields on a series of such contracts. Whether the contracts involve future prices of corn or soybeans, crude oil, or the Dow Jones Industrial Average, investors who wish to maintain a long-term position in futures contracts must sell, or exit, the contracts before they expire and “roll” their position into new contracts with later expiration dates. The myth is that this rolling activity generates a cash flow or yield.

“the investor sells the contract, buys a cheaper one for delivery at a later date, and pockets the difference,” and a 2010 Bloomberg column on rising futures prices that said when commodity fund managers sell expiring contracts and “buy the more expensive contracts … they lose money for their investors.” Bessembinder says confused observers mistakenly focus on the point in the process when investors exit one contract and enter another one. They think that when investors “roll” from one contract to another, they have a gain, or “yield,” based on the difference in the contracts’ prices on the “roll” date. For example, these observers presume that if investors sell a contract for a commodity to be delivered in October with a futures price of $82, and then buy a contract with a futures price of $81 for the same product to be delivered in November, they’ve made a profit of $1. “That’s the myth, that you pocket or pay that difference in prices,” he says. “There’s a presumption that you sell the expiring contract, receive the futures price, purchase the next contract, pay the futures price, and you either pocket or pay the difference in the two prices. In fact, what they refer to as the the roll yield will never be debited or credited to your margin account.” The concept is comparable to thinking that just because a company books goodwill or depreciation on its financial statements, those items flow as cash into or out of investors’ accounts. — Jane Larson

Why the contract confusion? Confusion over calculating investors’ returns on futures contracts appears to be widespread, Bessembinder says. Among the examples he cites are a 2014 Wall Street Journal story on commodity trading that said

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W. P. Carey magazine, Autumn 2018

The Insider’s Guide to Money Earn it, invest it, spend it We spend much of our lives thinking about money. Do we have enough cash in our pockets to buy a snack from the vending machine? When will that paycheck hit our bank account? What’s “the number” for a great retirement? There are plenty of bigger questions, too. How do we spend money to improve communities or countries? How do we invest it to nurture big ideas or the next great technology? For this story, we spoke to people who have spent their careers and lives thinking about how we can best earn, invest, and spend our money — for ourselves, and for the betterment of the world. They shared what they’ve learned, the principles they believe in, and the time-tested truths they think every reader should understand. We hope you find their stories and ideas surprising, useful, and hopeful. EARN ... A COMMUNITY’S GOODWILL In late 2015, when Uber’s then-CEO Travis Kalanick announced on a global all-hands company call that they planned to make Uber the biggest revenue-generating company on the planet, John Hamby (BS Business Administration/Finance ’05) was dazzled not by Kalanick’s boundless ambition, but by the opportunities such massive scale would open up. “My first thought was: If we’re going to be the biggest revenue generator in the world, then we also have to be the biggest giver in the world,” he recalls. Indeed, for a company that has been beset by problems in recent years, Hamby’s work to build meaningful partnerships with the communities Uber serves has been an unequivocal bright spot. W . P. C A R E Y

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“My first thought was: If we’re going to be the biggest revenue generator in the world, then we also have to be the biggest giver in the world.” — J O H N H A M B Y, ( B S B U S I N E S S A D M I N I S T R AT I O N / F I N A N C E ’05) IS THE REGIONAL MANAGER OF COMM U NIT Y E N G A G E M E N T AT U B E R .

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Great companies, says Hamby, understand that giving back to a community isn’t just the right thing to do — it ultimately smooths the way to make strong company growth possible. During his tenure, Hamby has helped orchestrate numerous pilot programs that make the most of Uber’s capabilities. For example, he’s worked with the governor of Arizona to help ex-offenders get free rides for job interviews. He’s also created a partnership with Meals on Wheels to help deliver food to local seniors in need. Such programs, launched in his home region of Phoenix, now serve as a template for other cities worldwide. As Uber seeks to find more ways to move people and goods from point A to point B, Hamby expects his own work will expand as well. “How can we give back when we’re working with freight, for example? What about aviation? There are so many avenues where we can be globally impactful,” he says. EARN ... THE INVISIBLE MARKERS OF FINANCIAL SUCCESS In his wildly popular personal finance courses, David Hoffman asks his students to imagine going on a blind date: The object of their potential affection arrives at dinner and glances at his or her Rolex, mentioning that traffic from Paradise Valley, Arizona, the nearby neighborhood, was a nightmare. The blind date sets down car keys emblazoned with a Mercedes logo. “You might think,” he tells his students, “that you’re on a pretty good blind date.” But not so fast: You have no idea why that person was in Paradise Valley, whether or not that Rolex is real, or if that Mercedes is brand new or decades old. And can your date really afford all those status symbols, anyway? If you want to know the true financial state of the man or woman across the table, you’ll have to go beyond external markers of success and focus on what you can’t see: a credit score, for example, which tells you if they’re responsible enough to pay their bills on time and that they don’t take on excessive amounts of debt. The trajectory of their net worth — is it making a steady upward climb? — can also serve as an indicator of a person’s financial realities. “These are things you can’t see, but they’re things we should be asking about,” says Hoffman, who is a lecturer senior in the Department of Finance. “Maybe not on a first date, but by the time you’re going to get married? Of course!” Perhaps it seems heartless, but these financial indicators can help us go into lifelong relationships with our eyes wide open. And the larger truth is hard to deny: We often judge people on glossy exteriors, but really getting to know someone requires that we go beneath the surface. EARN ... YOUR WAY THROUGH HARD TIMES The so-called “gig economy” — the idea that workers go from one short-term project to the next, rather than spend years or decades in a W . P. C A R E Y

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“Palestinians don’t have control of their borders, the resources in the ground, the people coming in and out, or the movement of goods, so any business that requires imports and exports is extremely difficult.” — A M B A R R E N O VA A M L E H , ( B S MARKETING ’03) IS A CO -FOU NDER OF THE IBTIK AR FUND, A VENTURE C A P I TA L F I R M I N T E L AV I V, PA L E S T I N E .

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permanent job — has inspired plenty of opinions on its overall value. Do platforms like Uber and Upwork represent transformational new models that open up greater freedom and flexibility for workers? Or a devastating shift that’s providing less security than a traditional job? The answers to both, according to Kevin Hong, may be “yes.” In research conducted with colleagues Nina Huang (ASU), Gord Burtch (University of Minnesota), and Paul Pavlou (Temple University), Hong found that the popularity of gig work rises and falls with the economy. For example, during the financial crisis a decade ago, the hardest-hit states saw the biggest spikes in new-worker signups on gig-work platforms. But as the economy picked up, that trend reversed. While people choose gig work for many reasons, Hong believes that the larger lesson in the trends his research found is heartening. “In some ways, [gig work] can be a type of ‘unemployment insurance,’” he says, keeping people above water and stable while they look for permanent jobs. “[These platforms] allow people to find jobs without relocating — it’s more of a digital migration.” INVEST ... IN THE IDEA OF INNOVATIVE ENTREPRENEURSHIP Building a business from scratch in the United States is tough, but compared to the challenges entrepreneurs in Palestine face, it seems like a veritable cakewalk. “Because Palestine is politically occupied, the economy is largely dependent on Israel,” says Ambar Renova Amleh (BS Marketing ’03). “Palestinians don’t have control of their borders, the resources in the ground, the people coming in and out, or the movement of goods, so any business that requires imports and exports is extremely difficult.” In Gaza, the limitations are even more punishing: The territory often has electricity for just a handful of hours each day. Palestinians are known for their business acumen throughout the Arab region and entrepreneurs have always seen opportunity where others see only obstacles, which is what drove Amleh to co-found the Ibtikar Fund in 2015. The venture capital firm invests in early stage Palestinian technology startups. Among the 20 or so companies in Ibtikar’s portfolio, several have already seen significant traction. Mashvisor, a real estate analytics company, has experienced triple-digit annual growth and has grown from a pair of founders to a team of 17. Other companies include Rocab, an Uber-like startup for taxis, and Play 3arabi, a mobile games publisher. While not every venture that Ibtikar backs is destined to rocket into the stratosphere, even companies that eventually disband impart startup-style energy and innovative ways of thinking that employees can apply wherever they work next. For Amleh, the fund isn’t just about giving the right companies the resources that they need to succeed on an international stage. It’s about creating much-needed jobs and economic opportunities, and placing W . P. C A R E Y

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“Our clients are the coaches, and we’re the quarterback. It’s our job to win the game for them.” —GABRIEL SHAHIN, (BS BUSINESS A D M I N I S T R AT I O N ’ 0 6 ) I S T H E F O U N D E R O F FA L C O N W E A LT H P L A N N I N G , A F E E - O N LY F I N A N C I A L F I R M B A S E D I N O N TA R I O , C A L I F.

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Palestine on the global startup map. “Through technology, our startups can grow beyond Palestine, to the Arab region, or the world, and that can change everything.” INVEST ... IN PEOPLE WHO WANT YOU TO SUCCEED Over the course of his career, Gabriel Shahin (BS Business Administration ’06) has burrowed deep into the financial weeds for commission-based financial advisory firms, discount brokers, and registered investment advisory firms. But the lesson he took away from those experiences when he started his own financial firm in 2014 had nothing to do with balance sheets or bottom lines: It was about relationships. He was ready to move away from pushing products to his clients in favor of creating a true partnership with them, which included a fiduciary responsibility to them. “Our clients are the coaches, and we’re the quarterbacks,” he says. “It’s our job to win the game for them.” That shift meant that he had to look up from performance charts to dig deeply into the lives of the men and women who hired him. “We’ll ask questions like: ‘How’s your health? How old were your parents or grandparents when they passed?’ That can affect how we plan for things like Social Security benefits, for example.” While clients may hire him for his financial acumen, Shahin is also often privy to more details about his clients’ lives than their best friends and family members, and it’s a responsibility he takes seriously. “Personal finance is often more ‘personal’ than ‘finance,’” he says. INVEST ... NOW, IN WHAT YOU KNOW Kevin Kelly (BS Finance ’08) knows that even for business school alumni, investing can be intimidating. “There’s a lot of jargon, and it’s easy to get lost in the minutiae,” he says. “But there’s never been a better time to start investing.” He’s not just talking about the old saw that the best time to invest was 20 years ago, but the second-best time is today. He means that in recent years, costs have plummeted, choices have skyrocketed, and it’s possible to build a balanced portfolio with just a few thousand dollars, and often even less. Kelly’s been part of the revolution, developing exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for specific real estate classes including hotels, retail, and health care, which can be purchased for as little as $25. Thanks to minuscule initial costs, almost anyone can set up a justfor-fun investment account based on their specific interests. Like green energy? Social media? Politics? China? You can easily find ETFs or other investments that allow you to use your own insight to make bets on specific areas. “There are so many different things for people to invest in and be excited about. There are great opportunities for them to put their capital to work and make their money work for them,” says Kelly. W . P. C A R E Y

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“It’s time for companies to embrace virtual reality commerce and become the kinds of early visionary thought leaders Jeff Bezos was 25 years ago.” — M A N P R E E T S I N G H , ( B S A C C O U N TA N C Y ’ 9 7 ) , I S C O - F O U N D E R A N D P R E S I D E N T O F PAY S C O U T, A PAY M E N T I N N O VAT I O N S C O M PA N Y.

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SPEND ON ... THE NEXT BIG THING When Jeff Bezos founded a little book-selling website called Amazon in 1994, he was prescient enough to see that someday, almost all of us would be happy to put credit card information online to buy ... well, just about anything. Long before retail behemoths including Walmart saw the trend, Bezos understood where our spending was headed. A quarter-century later, Payscout’s co-founder and president Manpreet Singh (BS Accountancy ’97) is placing his bets on what he believes will be the next wave: virtual reality commerce. If his predictions are right, Payscout — a company that drives the authorization, approval, funding, and security that happens after you swipe your credit card at a face-to-face transaction — is poised to win big. Global giants such as Oracle and Accenture are also strong believers in a virtual-reality future. He paints a vivid picture. “Imagine a virtual reality movie where you see something that you want — a car, a dress, anything — and all you have to do is blink your eyes to make a payment and buy it,” he says. “You don’t have to reach for your wallet or your phone.” Of course, such purchases aren’t limited to physical items: Watch a compelling ad about the Humane Society or the Red Cross, and you’ll be able to blink to donate. We can quickly and seamlessly act on our very best intentions. Companies like Payscout will invisibly transform our desires into action. Early research suggests that we’re more than three times as likely to buy in these virtual reality experiences, and Singh is confident that today’s tech is just scratching the surface. “It’s time for companies to embrace virtual reality commerce and become the kinds of early visionary thought leaders Jeff Bezos was 25 years ago,” he says.

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“Some acquirers cancel in-themoney options, providing no payment to employees, sometimes even if those options are vested. That happened, for example, to workers at Skype when Microsoft bought the company in 2011.” — I LO N A B A B E N KO

Associate Professor of Finance Ilona Babenko’s research has been cited over the past year in several leading media outlets, including Harvard Business Review, MarketWatch, The New York This is a caption. Times, The Washington Post, and USA Today.

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W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2017

Diminishing returns What happens to employees’ stock options when their company is acquired by another firm? That question from a doctoral student inspired Associate Professor of Finance Ilona Babenko to investigate. Working with colleagues Fangfang Du and Yuri Tserlukevich, she studied 1,277 merger-andacquisition (M&A) deals and found that 80 percent of the time, the acquiring company canceled at least some employee stock options. The average M&A deal reduced the value of stock options to employees by over 48 percent. That’s bound to be disappointing news for many workers. The use of employee stock options has increased more than ninefold over the past 30 years, and they were the most prominent form of individual equity compensation in 2014. They’re especially prevalent in the tech industry. Stock options often serve as a carrot for startups to attract talent, because they can’t pay wages high enough to compete with larger companies. Successful startups and small businesses are also frequent acquisition targets. Babenko found that the most common tactic for the acquiring company is to cancel all out-of-themoney employee stock options held by the business they are buying (the target company) and to cash out those that are in-the-money. But some acquirers also cancel in-the-money options, providing no payment to employees, sometimes even if those options are vested. That happened, for example, to workers at Skype when Microsoft bought the company in 2011. Usually, employees who are forced to cash out their options because of the merger don’t receive the full financial benefit from them. They do get the “intrinsic value,” which is the difference between the strike price and the current market price. For example, an option with a strike price of $100 and a market stock price of $101 has an intrinsic value of $1. However, Babenko explains, “If employees are able to hold onto their options until maturity and exercise them later, they will typically obtain more money. Since

there is a possibility that a stock’s price will rise over the period an option can be held, an option contract that lasts for five to 10 years is valued higher than the one that must be exercised within a shorter timeframe.” Imagine, for example, that it is equally likely that the stock price drops or increases by 50 percent over the next five years. If the stock price increases to $151.5, employees will obtain $51.5 by exercising their options. If the stock price drops to $50.5, employees will not exercise their options and get a value of $0. Still, a lottery with an equal chance of getting $51.5 or $0 could be preferred by many employees over $1 offered through a merger cash-out. In the rare cases where the acquiring company does preserve the target company’s employee stock options, their value usually drops after the acquisition. Larger companies are less volatile than smaller businesses. With options, higher volatility means more possibilities for growth — and higher premiums. Babenko’s research raises an interesting question: If target company executives know they will get a higher price for their business if it has lots of stock options, might that influence them to issue more options to employees to increase their bargaining power? “We can’t answer the question explicitly, but it appears that they may be doing that,” Babenko says. Another possibility is that companies may increase the number of employee options to serve as a “poison pill” to prevent a takeover. Again, there’s no evidence, but it’s an intriguing possibility. There’s no denying that the stock market favors deals where employee stock options are canceled. But for employees, all is not lost. Many also own stock in the company, often obtained at a discount. The premium paid by the acquirer will benefit them as shareholders in the new business.— Teresa Meek

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“I have many firsts, and at this point in my career, I love that.” — ELIZABETH CRAIN, (BS ECONOMICS ’87) CO-FOUNDER AND CHIEF O P E R AT I N G O F F I C E R , M O E L I S & C O .

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W. P. Carey magazine, Autumn 2017

Formative years inspire a rewarding career Elizabeth Crain was 10 years into her investment banking career when she found herself at a crossroads: Leave a struggling private equity fund for another position in banking or pursue something entirely different? In the end, she followed her instincts to leverage her experience in banking and moved to the management and operational side of the business. Crain (BS Economics ’87) is now happily marking 30 years in the industry as a co-founder and chief operating officer of Moelis & Co., a global independent investment bank. She oversees the firm’s global strategy, infrastructure, and business management. Established with a handful of employees, today the company boasts almost 650 employees and 17 offices worldwide with revenues of more than $600 million last year. The firm, which went public in 2014, has advised clients on nearly $2 trillion in transactions. What’s equally notable, Crain says, is the fact that Moelis continues to work with clients from its very early days. “What drew me to this part of the business, as opposed to asset management or sales and trading, was the ability to work with companies advising them on strategic alternatives in a relationship-based business, not a transactional or trading business,” she says. “That didn’t appeal to me. It was this corporate work, where I could be part of helping a company execute on their vision and strategy by providing advice or access to capital.” Relationship building has been the foundation for Crain’s entire career. And that began at ASU. Growing up a half-mile from ASU’s Tempe campus, university life and family life were often intertwined, one

in the same for Crain. There were weekend football games, Fiesta Bowl traditions, and a family of alumni. When Crain stepped onto campus as a freshman economics major in the 1980s, she started down a path that ultimately would help shape her long and fruitful career. One of her most vital experiences came through the Department of Economics, where the faculty created a personalized academic environment that fostered relationships and a small college feel. An offer to join Merrill Lynch as a young analyst opened the doors to a career that has taken Crain through the investment banking and private equity industries as a banker, principal, and operations specialist. Along the way, she has twice been honored by American Banker magazine as one of the “25 Most Powerful Women in Finance.” She also has chosen to serve as a board member for organizations focused on arts and education and sits on the Dean’s Council of the W. P. Carey School of Business. Thinking back over her career, Crain recalls a major turning point in 2001, when she met Ken Moelis at UBS Investment Bank. She turned down his initial job offer to join in a banking position and countered with one of her own — a position in the day-to-day management of the business. Six years later, rising to the ranks of a managing director in the firm’s office of the CEO and president, Crain and a handful of partners left to join Moelis in launching Moelis & Co. “I walked out of the meeting thinking, ‘Well, that was a first.’ I think that’s awesome and that’s what energizes me every day,” she says. “I have many firsts, and at this point in my career, I love that.”

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Edward C. Prescott, Regents Professor and W. P. Carey Chair in Economics Ed’s research is foundational to the field — and modern understanding — of macroeconomics. He and frequent co-author Finn Kydland were honored with the 2004 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences “for their contributions to dynamic macroeconomics: the time consistency of economic policy and the driving forces behind business cycles.” The impact of his work can be seen in five honorary professorships and doctorates he earned during his life, as well This is a caption. as multiple fellowships and his election to the National Academy of Sciences.

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W. P. Carey magazine, Autumn 2014

A Nobel Moment Regents Professor and W. P. Carey Chair in Economics Edward C. Prescott receives the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences from the king of Sweden.

In the darkness of 4 a.m. on October 11, 2004, economics professor Edward C. Prescott’s phone rang. At the other end of the line was the Nobel Committee of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, informing him that he had been chosen to share that year’s Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences with his research partner, University of California, Santa Barbara professor Finn Kydland. For Prescott, that call was the beginning of a whirlwind of congratulations and media appearances. ASU was already electric with excitement because the international press was gathering for the debate between President George W. Bush and candidate John Kerry at Gammage Auditorium three days later. That evening, colleagues and students — some having flown in for the occasion — encircled Prescott for a champagne toast at the University Club. Two months later, on December 10, faculty, staff and students gathered in the first floor lecture hall in BAC to watch a live telecast from Stockholm as one of our own accepted the Nobel Prize Medal from King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. Since then, Prescott’s presence has enlivened the intellectual atmosphere at W. P. Carey as he leads the research center he founded and encourages the next generation of economists.

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“I’ve lived and conducted research in different developing countries and seen the struggles farmers face.” — A L E X I S V I L L A C I S , A S S I S TA N T P R O F E S S O R AT T H E M O R R I S O N S C H O O L O F AGRIBUSINESS

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W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2022

Facing uncertainty, creating solutions Cover crops — a crop grown for the protection and enrichment of the soil — show a lot of promise for mitigating climate change: increasing yields, reducing erosion, and improving soil quality. Rising temperatures, unpredictable rains, and other effects of climate change mean agricultural producers face more uncertainty every season than ever before. They also face the challenge of continually adapting to a changing climate to produce enough food to feed an increasing global population. Cover crops — a crop grown for the protection and enrichment of the soil — show a lot of promise for mitigating climate change: increasing yields, reducing erosion, and improving soil quality. But cover crops are not a solution, says Alexis Villacis, assistant professor at the Morrison School of Agribusiness. Although farmers could add them to their soil management toolbox, many, especially those in the tropics, will not, according to Villacis’ recent research published in the journals Advances in Agronomy and Agricultural Economics. The paper, “Potential Use of Cover Crops for Soil and Water Conservation, Nutrient Management, and Climate Change Adaptation Across the Tropics,” looked at the use of cover crops and other tools in developing countries such as Villacis’ native Ecuador. But he and his co-authors have not been just trying to understand whether these crops work to moderate climate change; they have also been digging deeper into farmers’ climate change behaviors. “I’ve lived and conducted research in different developing countries and seen the struggles farmers face,” Villacis says. “They face a lot of uncertainty related to markets, sociopolitical events, and climate change. We have these tools that may help farmers overcome the effects of climate change, but first, we have to understand why farmers may or may not adopt these types of tools.” Villacis says in many places farmers do not sign up for crop insurance. He wanted to know how he could help change that situation. “By understanding what is going on in their minds and why they behave in a certain way, we might create more effective ‘nudges’ or better policies or tools to help people around the world,” he says.

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Full-time MBA students Roman Stephan and Jeff Watkins at the New Venture Challenge competition at Avnet Hall on May 1, 2023. Their Proper Pack sustainable, paper beverage packaging product won investment.

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W. P. Carey News, June 8, 2023

MBA team wins $30k for entrepreneurial venture Roman Stephan and Jeff Watkins are the first MBA team to win the New Venture Challenge for their sustainable beverage product. This past May, Full-time MBA students Roman Stephan and Jeff Watkins presented their business pitch for Proper Pack — a sustainable, paper beverage packaging product — to a crowd of judges, mentors, and peers at the New Venture Challenge finals. The New Venture Challenge is an annual, application-based eight-week course that aims to empower student entrepreneurs to grow successful businesses and culminates in a competition for an investment in their business. “After our presentation, there were 10 minutes of Q&A, and one question was, ‘How does it hold up?’ ” says Watkins. To answer, the teammates handed that individual a freshly packaged four-pack of canned beverages. The audience member started shaking the package, and Stephan and Watkins’ product held up. Pictured: An applicator and the packaging used for the Proper Pack. “Jeff immediately turned around, and we high-fived. The judges seemed shocked and impressed that it worked as well as it did,” says Stephans. “You hear ‘paper can carrier,’ and it doesn’t sound like it will hold cans, especially when thinking about 64 ounces of fluid.” This innovative design and hands-on demo helped seal the deal for Stephan and Watkins, who became the first MBA team to win the New Venture Challenge. As a result, the two received $30,000 to continue

developing Proper Pack. “It was one of those disbelief moments,” Stephan says. “We put the work in, but it’s different when you hear you won.”

Opening the door to innovation, and adaptation Both Stephan and Watkins also hold bachelor’s degrees in business entrepreneurship. And after connecting at the MBA orientation last fall, Stephan proposed the duo start a business together — from there, the New Venture Challenge seemed like a natural next step. Now in its sixth year, the New Venture Challenge was pioneered by entrepreneur and visiting scholar, professor, and researcher Scott Wald (BS Management ’76, MBA ’79) and is run by the Center for Entrepreneurship and New Business Design at ASU’s W. P. Carey School of Business. “Every other company was much more developed than we expected,” says Watkins, with some already generating thousands of dollars in revenue before the start of the course. By comparison, “we actually changed our concept to Proper Pack during break on the first day of class,” he adds, despite applying to and being accepted into the challenge with a different business model and concept. “Roman and Jeff gave us a real opportunity to see something very novel,” adds Jared Byrne, director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and New Business Design. “They were so open to feedback. They came to class, engaged, and worked with their customers. They worked with the mentors. It was a living, learning laboratory for them,” Byrne says.

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Spring 2023 Outstanding Undergraduate Elizabeth Quigley

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ASU News, April 24, 2023

Finding a way to do a bit of everything while making the world a better place According to Lizzie Quigley, sustainability is the perfect field for people who want to do everything. Editor’s note: This story is part of a series of profiles of notable spring 2023 graduates. Before starting at Arizona State University, she was interested in exploring a variety of fields — from architecture, design and film to computer science and engineering. She tried a few different majors on for size and eventually settled on business. Its versatility and relevance to a variety of career pathways were appealing, but she still felt something was missing. A volunteer position with ASU’s Changemaker Central as the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals coordinator gave her the opportunity to build friendships with other students who shared her passion for changing the world. The experience led her to realize that sustainability was the field she was looking for, one that gave her the freedom to explore a little bit of everything while actively working to make the world a better place. “If you had asked me as a high school senior what I thought I’d be doing now, I would probably have said something with design, and definitely not anything related to policy or international issues,” Quigley said. “A few months ago I was at the U.N. headquarters in New York meeting with world leaders, which just goes to show that a lot of change can happen during your college experience.” Quigley is a student in Barrett, The Honors College graduating in May with dual majors — supply chain management from the W. P. Carey School of Business and sustainability with an emphasis on international development from the School of Sustainability housed within the College of Global Futures. After graduation, she plans to take a year off for reflection and professional development before returning to school to pursue a graduate degree in urban planning and design. “I am hoping this year will help me determine what I still need to learn and improve upon to ensure that I am dedicating myself to making the greatest impact possible.”

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“If they’re not doing well, that can have implications on larger companies, which are often customers of medium-sized companies, and a big part of the economy — a domino effect.” — M I K A E L L A P O LY V I O U , A S S I S TA N T P R O F E S S O R O F S U P P LY C H A I N MANAGEMENT

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W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2020

Building in a back up plan Disasters both threaten the human population and destroy natural resources – and they also tax the nation’s infrastructure and economy The epic wildfires that ravaged Northern California in recent years have scorched tens of thousands of acres and caused an estimated $16.5 billion in damage. When Hurricane Maria tore through Florida and Puerto Rico in 2017, it was one of the worst humanitarian catastrophes in U.S. history and one of the costliest, with damages hitting nearly $1 trillion. Put another way: They’re bad for business. Because natural disasters can have such a devastating impact on the economy and an individual organization’s abilities to stay afloat, Assistant Professor of Supply Chain Management Mikaella Polyviou studies how businesses avoid sinking and recover from disruptions to their supply chains. “We look at a disruption as an interruption in the flow of products, services, or information from a supplier to a buyer,” Polyviou explains, adding that such interruptions are most often caused by natural disasters but could also be brought on by other events, such as a pandemic, labor strikes at ports or factories, or the imposition of tariffs. Occasionally, disruption can result from something positive, such as a surge in customer demand. “A company might experience an increase in consumer demand but not have the product in inventory or its production capacity is tied up, so it has to do something to build up inventory or capacity quickly,” Polyviou says. Larger companies have built-in backup plans such as excess production capacity or additional supply sources and transportation providers, while smaller ones usually don’t. A body of scholarship on how large companies cope with unexpected disruptions exists, but Polyviou and her colleagues found that medium-sized companies — those with annual revenues between $10 million and $1 billion — are under-researched, so the team made that sector the focus of their study. “They are the backbone of the U.S. economy,” Polyviou says. “If they’re not doing well, that can have implications on larger companies, which are often customers of medium-sized companies, and a big part of the economy — a domino effect.” Larger firms can also benefit from the findings by collaborating with medium-sized companies to build resilience in their supply chains.

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By sharing sustainability measurement tools with large, well-known brands at the hub of the $14 trillion global economy, we’re on an exciting track to influence social and environmental stewardship involving $1 trillion of consumer sales” –KEVIN J. DOOLEY

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W. P. Carey magazine, Autumn 2019

Sustainable transformation The Sustainability Consortium (TSC) was created in 2009, with a mission to transform the consumer goods industry. Now, in partnership with its more than 100 members — including top companies, NGOs, universities, and government organizations — TSC helps organizations define, develop, and deliver more sustainable products. Over the past six years or so, TSC has built a science-based system to enable the above and more. Covering everything from adhesive tapes and toys to root vegetables and refrigerators, the group offers companies access to research insights on nearly 130 product categories, along with the opportunity to work with competitors without the competition. “By sharing sustainability measurement tools with large, well-known brands at the hub of the $14 trillion global economy, we’re on an exciting track to influence social and environmental stewardship involving $1 trillion of consumer sales,” says Chief Scientist Kevin J. Dooley, ASU Distinguished Professor of Supply Chain Management. Well-known brands engaged with TSC include Walmart, Amazon, Walgreens, and Sprouts Farmers Market, to name a few. “TSC proves that universities are good places for the world to bring difficult and controversial issues to,” Dooley says, “as a safe and objective place for deliberation and discourse, even for groups that are very far apart from each other.” The Sustainability Opportunity is an intensive three-day seminar, with multiple weeks of follow-up activity, led by ASU’s W. P. Carey School of Business and School of Sustainability. Midcareer professionals interested in building a sustainability network, creating an advantage in the marketplace, and advancing their strategic sustainability skills are encouraged to apply.

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“I have valued the opportunities I have had to help companies improve their performance by further integrating corporate responsibility practices into their operations” — S U Z A N N E FA L L E N D E R ( M B A ’ 0 6 ) H A S B E E N A G U I D I N G F O R C E AT I N T E L I N C O N S C I O U S C A P I TA L I S M

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W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2018

Redefining business as usual Alums lead corporate responsibility and sustainability in the workplace A commitment to green power. Promoting ethical practices in the supply chain. Empowering girls and women through tech. Advancing a diverse workplace. In the past decade, Intel has taken a leading role in conscious capitalism practices, also known today as corporate responsibility, corporate citizenship, and purposeful businesses. Suzanne Fallender (MBA ’06) has been a guiding force all along the way. Fallender leveraged her early experience in the fields of corporate governance and socially responsible investing to help steer the global tech giant through myriad corporate responsibility and sustainability initiatives and milestones. “From those early days in my career working on social investment to my time working at Intel, I have valued the opportunities I have had to help companies improve their performance by further integrating corporate responsibility practices into their operations,” says Fallender. Intel’s work by teams across the company has garnered high praise in the corporate responsibility arena. The latest recognition came in December when the company took the top spot on the 2017 JUST 100 list, the annual Forbes and JUST Capital ranking of companies.

Light bulb moment Fallender didn’t set out to devote her career to the field of corporate responsibility. At Connecticut’s Trinity College, she concentrated on a double major in music and political science with a focus on Latin America, and entered a challenging job market looking for a position in international development. She shifted gears and took a position at a firm that performed research on global corporate governance issues. Fallender figured that graduate school was just a few years away. But the firm grew quickly, and she ultimately was tapped to run its newly acquired, socially responsible investing research company. Through that role, Fallender found herself engaging with people driving change around environmental and social performance inside their W . P. C A R E Y

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power use and 80 percent of its global power use from renewable sources. Under a new goal, the company will restore 100 percent of the water it uses by 2025. • Supply chain Intel works to ensure minerals used in devices like laptops are conflict free, meaning those minerals are not helping finance violence in countries where they are mined. The company also addresses issues such as preventing human trafficking in the supply chain. • Inclusive excellence The company has set a goal to fully realize inclusion companywide, and is spending $300 million to grow inclusive practices within the company and its industry. • Social impact Intel was an early leader in techbased empowerment initiatives for girls and women worldwide. Fallender led a range of these efforts as director of the Intel Global Girls and Women Initiative.

Bill Post is the former chairman of the board and CEO of Pinnacle West Capital Corp. A Valley leader and Alumni Hall of Fame member, Post sits on the board of directors of ASU’s Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability, serves as a trustee, leads the ASU Foundation as board chairman, and is principal for Campaign ASU 2020.

companies. It opened her eyes to new possibilities and, with that, Fallender was off and running. A job opportunity for her husband brought the couple west, and Fallender pursued her W. P. Carey MBA. Though she specialized in management and marketing, Fallender says professors like Dean Amy Hillman supported her interest in corporate responsibility as she focused papers and projects on related topics.

Global leader Fallender joined Intel a decade ago, after obtaining her MBA, and now serves as its director of corporate responsibility. The company is lauded for wide-ranging efforts, and four areas in particular are points of pride for Fallender, including: • Environment Intel sources 100 percent of its U.S.

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On the horizon Fallender and her corporate responsibility office team work with internal groups to integrate corporate responsibility practices across the company, and also engage with external stakeholders to boost the company’s commitment to corporate responsibility. In addition, the team leads the company’s transparency and reporting strategy on corporate responsibility. Their work has recently been recognized with an award for best CSR (corporate social responsibility) Disclosure by the industry publication Corporate Secretary. Meanwhile, Forbes has also highlighted Intel’s investor outreach on environmental, governance, and social issues, with Fallender driving a more integrated approach and working closely with the company’s investor relations and corporate governance groups. Looking ahead, Fallender expects to see continued integration of corporate responsibility issues into investor policies and processes to enhance everything from data to governance practices. The supply chain and purchasing departments will also continue to be key players in promoting corporate responsibility. More and more, employee engagement will be vital as companies look to attract and retain talent, and provide employees with more opportunities to get involved, she says.

“Sustainability to me is doing what you can to optimize energy use and increase its maximum value, while minimizing its impact. Sustainability to me is a higher goal.” — B I L L P O S T, F O R M E R C H A I R M A N O F T H E B O A R D A N D C E O O F P I N N A C L E W E S T C A P I TA L C O R P.

On the grid Utility leader champions sustainability in career and retirement A young kid fresh out of ASU in the 1970s, Bill Post landed a position at Arizona Public Service (APS), one of the state’s largest utility companies. It was a good match — the company needed someone with computer experience at a time when the skill was hard to come by, and Post was a newly minted statistics grad versed in the technology. The match would last for nearly 40 years, with Post working his way through APS to the top spot as chairman of the board and CEO of its parent company, Pinnacle West Capital Corp. Along the way, Post helped guide the company as it became one of the state’s leaders in sustainable business. In retirement, Post (BS Quantitative Systems ’73) is helping shape energy history — again. Since 2010, Post has been a member of the board of directors of First Solar, an Arizona-based company focused on comprehensive solar solutions. He is also a board member of ASU’s Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability, the hub of the university’s sustainability initiatives. For decades, Post’s name has been synonymous with energy. A W. P. Carey Hall of Fame inductee, he is recognized across the state and country for his work to boost the utility industry, foster sustainable business, and advance alternative energies. Beyond that work, Post has been a community leader serving a variety of organizations. At ASU, he serves as a trustee, leads the ASU Foundation as board chairman, and is a principal for Campaign ASU 2020.

Climbing the corporate ladder Post, a Tempe, Arizona, native whose first job as a paperboy included tossing newspapers at ASU, wasn’t thinking about charting a notable course when he walked through the doors at APS. He just needed a job. “It wasn’t strategic,” Post says with a laugh. But he couldn’t have chosen a more interesting period in history to join the utility. An oil embargo placed on the United States in the 1970s led to fuel shortages,

long lines at the pumps, rising prices, and calls for severe energy conservation. The 1970s also saw the beginning of a nuclear generator-building boom across the country. At home in Arizona, demand for electricity was soaring along with the state’s population, and homeowners began replacing swamp coolers with air conditioners. “It was a very dynamic time,” Post says. “Things were changing literally throughout the world.” At APS, Post moved through several business areas, everything from forecasting to finance to nuclear energy. He became president and CEO of APS and president of Pinnacle West in February 1997. By 2001, he was chairman of the board of both companies. During Post’s tenure, APS and Pinnacle West emerged as sustainable business leaders in the state of Arizona. APS was the first utility to join the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies, and also partnered with Intel to found Arizona Businesses Advancing Sustainability. APS was an early adopter of solar, building its first facility at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in the 1970s. The company’s Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station came online in the 1980s, and continues to be the nation’s largest energy producer.

Coming full circle Post’s work in the energy arena comes full circle today with a focus on sustainability and the future. ASU’s Wrigley Institute is working to advance research, education, and business practices worldwide. Its School of Sustainability, of which Post is a founder, offers transdisciplinary degree programs designed to support and grow those efforts. Post credits ASU for its linkages between the School of Sustainability and W. P. Carey. He sees that kind of “cooperation and integration” as vital to finding future solutions for sustainable business. At First Solar, Post is charged with helping further the company’s mission to “create enduring value by enabling a world powered by clean, affordable solar electricity.” The company, he says, is positioned to take solar energy to the next level as a full-fledged industry, beyond drivers like financing mechanisms and tax credits. Square-Full W . P. C A R E Y

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“Human rights are considered part of the global definition of sustainability,” she says, “including access to water, food, education, land, and homes.” — A L E X I S A D A M S O N , W . P. C A R E Y B S S U P P LY C H A I N M A N A G E M E N T/ B A P S Y C H O L O G Y ’ 0 8

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W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2018

Power up Globally, attitudes and perceptions about energy efficiency prevail. Some believe a new industrial revolution — powered by clean energy — is underway Until the late 1800s, the crackle and pop of wood-burning fires warmed icy fingers and toes, providing a renewable energy source in early American homes. Around the same time, water mills sprung up, bringing with them industrial growth. Coal replaced wood and further spurred commerce and industry into the late 19th century. With steam engines and steamboats chugging about, human travel expanded. Coal became the backbone of electric power generation. The world expanded. Fast forward to the era of petroleum. More expansion. Then natural gas. Nuclear. Hydroelectric. Solar. Biofuel. Hydrothermal. It’s no surprise that today’s energy sources and providers continue to evolve.

The voices of many “Consumer concerns are largely driving changes in the energy industry,” says Tom Brittain (BS Finance ’93, MBA ’95), an energy trader with Portland General Electric (PGE). A 2016 Pew Research Center survey shows just how passionate Americans are about green energy options: 89 percent of U.S. adults favor the expansion of solar panel farms, and 83 percent favor wind turbine expansion. Gallup’s environment poll in March of 2016 also indicated that 73 percent of Americans prefer an emphasis on alternative energy. Businesses are looking to incorporate sustainable power and practices into their operations as well, with lending institutions backing them along the way. JPMorgan Chase’s goal through 2025 is to provide $200 billion in clean energy financing in an effort to help companies invest in renewable energy and other clean, advanced technologies. Locally, businesses and industrial customers are seeking energy advice and education directly from their power providers. Wayne Dobberpuhl (MBA ’87) is the program manager for Arizona Public Service (APS) Solutions for Business. A leading provider of electric, APS operates on a 47-percent carbon-free platform, including power from nine grid-scale solar plants. Dobberpuhl, formerly a design engineer for the APS fossils plant and nuclear generating station, arranges and conducts energy training classes

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“We capture energy stored in water during the elevation drop as it passes through the dam. The high-pressure water from upper reservoirs turns turbines to generate electric power.” — J O H N B L E V I N S , W . P. C A R E Y M B A ’ 0 4

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for a range of customers: government sectors, public schools, barber shops, restaurants, large resorts. Course topics cover everything from basic energy theory and lighting to load management and thermal energy storage. Working closely with the local chapter of the Association of Energy Engineers, APS’s businesscentric program also offers Certified Energy Manager designations for those who pass a four-hour exam after completing a semesterlong course. “We build up the energy IQ of energy professionals, facility managers, and contractors throughout the state of Arizona,” Dobberpuhl says. “We also work closely with trade allies — engineers and suppliers who work for our customers in lighting and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning — to be sure they understand how to specify and use energy.” It’s been paying off. Since 2006, the 2,000-plus annual participants have received more than $2.4 billion in energy savings — through Solutions for Business rebate offerings, technical assistance, and energy-efficiency guidance. The program has consistently met its annual energy savings goals each year since program inception.

Sustainable focus At Salt River Project (SRP) in Phoenix and the surrounding area, the water and electric provider emphasizes hydropower as one sustainable power source. John Blevins (MBA ’04) is the company’s operations and maintenance manager for hydro generation. A mechanical engineer, he is no stranger to energy conservation and management. Before moving into SRP’s hydro operations, he worked with commercial and industrial customers to lower peak energy demands and implement conservation technologies. Today he manages the operations and maintenance of seven dams in Arizona on the Salt and Verde rivers and another along the Mogollon Rim. Five of the dams have hydropower plants. “We capture energy stored in water during the elevation drop as it passes through the dam. The high-pressure water from upper reservoirs turns turbines to generate electric power.” The combined output of SRP’s hydropower is 382 megawatts; a mall or hospital, in comparison, uses a connected capacity of three to five megawatts. SRP also utilizes sustainable pump-back storage, using the generator as a motor and reversing the spin of the turbine to pump water from a lower to a higher reservoir during off-peak hours, when grid power is cheap and abundant. “The stored water is available to once again run through our turbines to generate more electricity during peak energy demands,” says Blevins. “Pump-back storage is a proven and sustainable means to harness energy for future use.” Alumni are quick to point out that sustainability isn’t limited only to ecological concerns. Oftentimes green solutions and operational efficiencies work hand in hand. Consider supply chain, a topic close to W . P. C A R E Y

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“We build up the energy IQ of energy professionals, facility managers, and contractors throughout the state of Arizona. We also work closely with trade allies — engineers and suppliers who work for our customers in lighting and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning — to be sure they understand how to specify and use energy.” — W AY N E D O B B E R P U H L , W . P. C A R E Y M B A ’ 8 7

Justin Burnett (MBA ’07), vice president of materials management and warehousing at BP. Burnett’s team is responsible for pickup, transport, storage, and preservation of BP’s upstream materials in the crude oil market, ranging from drill pipes, flanges, fittings, and valves down to gaskets and batteries. He has worked to standardize warehouse operations across the company’s more than 100 storage locations extending from Alaska, Brazil, and the North Sea to Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Indonesia. “We looked at capability within our teams — what materials each warehouse had, what was in the system, what was coming inbound, what we would receive next year — and we analyzed and digitized that information so we could really manage our materials for BP on a global scale.” Over three years, Burnett’s team significantly optimized inventory, reducing its upstream holding by 37 percent. “That excess inventory was cash that had come out of the business and was just sitting on the ground and not being used.” The freed-up capital is just one way improved supply chain efficiencies can lead to reduced waste. More operational cash can mean more dollars for project investment, and research and development in clean energy and renewable technologies. There’s another often-overlooked side to sustainability, adds Alexis Adamson (BS Supply Chain Management/BA Psychology ’08), procurement and supply chain lead at BP in Houston. “Human rights are considered part of the global definition of sustainability,” she says, “including access to water, food, education, land, and homes.” When technological advances led to the shale oil revolution, allowing for greater and more efficient extraction, crude oil prices plummeted. BP is responding with a diversified strategy that brings even more natural gas, and also renewables, into their energy mix. “Energy companies have to be agile and must learn how to adapt to the new energy environment,” says Adamson. Perhaps no one understands the need for agility, analysis, and strategy more than Brittain. He’s a real-time energy trader, responsible minute-byminute for ensuring PGE’s power supply meets demand for its more than 800,000 customers. “The biggest worry in my field is having an energy emergency,” says Brittain. “You don’t want to be the one to announce a blackout and have to choose who will be without power.” Renewable gas from landfills and farms is being refined as an energy source. Artificial intelligence technologies, 3-D printing capabilities, and drones are being studied for their implications in the energy market. Indeed, it’s not your grandmother’s wood-burning hearth anymore. New renewables are on the horizon. — Melissa Crytzer Fry

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W. P. Carey Forward Focus fundraising brochure, June 2018

Opening Doors

Alum Amine El Housni on his “never-ending pursuit of incremental improvements” Raised in a small village in Morocco far from the modern world, Amine El Housni grew up hearing bedtime stories about never giving up and the importance of giving back. “My mother would say that there is nothing out of reach if I persevere.” The first in his family to earn a college degree, El Housni graduated summa cum laude in his home country. He gained professional experience in an empty 250,000 cubic foot storage distribution center where he implemented operations and logistics systems from the ground up. “It was scary and thrilling at the same time,” says El Housni. “I was fueled by a fear of failure and a never-ending pursuit of incremental improvements.” While in college, El Housni worked on a team that implemented a solution using solar power to pump water to his home village. He uncovered his passion for renewable energy, and with his MBA, El Housni hopes to leverage the industrialization of solar panels to help countries in Africa. “I realize how lucky I am to have been given the opportunity to sharpen my leadership skills and develop lifelong relationships with my classmates. The full scholarship put a positive pressure on me to contribute to the MBA experience of my peers, and to represent the W. P. Carey School in the best

“I realize how lucky I am to have been given this opportunity to sharpen my leadership skills and develop lifelong relationships with my classmates.” — A M I N E E L H O U S N I , W . P. C A R E Y M B A ‘ 1 8

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“We hope that our mission and success inspires young people to become local farmers,” Kelly says. “It is amazing to think that by not selling our vegetables at all, which was our original core business, we can create more value than ever before.” — G A R R E T T K E L LY, ( B . S . M A N A G E M E N T ’ 1 0 ) , C O - F O U N D E R O F S K Y B E R R Y FA R M

Teamwork makes the dream work at Skyberry Farm in Portland, Oregon — an altruistic enterprise made possible by This is a caption. backers all over the world. from left: farmers Walters, Anderson and Kelly.

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W. P. Carey magazine, Autumn 2016

Skyberry Fields Forever

Portland-based organic farm passionate about building a community around healthy food Imagine working tirelessly to cultivate thousands of pounds of produce — just so you can give all of it away for free. That’s exactly what Garrett Kelly (B.S. Management ’10) and the other co-founders of Skyberry Farm are doing in the hills above Portland, Oregon. “We hope that our mission and success inspires young people to become local farmers,” Kelly says. “It is amazing to think that by not selling our vegetables at all, which was our original core business, we can create more value than ever before.” Kelly and ASU alums Sid Walters (B.S. Kinesiology ’09) and Derek Cardinale (B.S. Geography ’11), fellow members of ASU’s track and cross country teams joined together with longtime friend Patrick Anderson to break new ground in agriculture. The original business was a community supported agriculture (CSA) model. Each CSA share equated to a portion of the Skyberry harvest — like a pre-paid subscription for organic produce — which was delivered directly from Skyberry Farm to community shareholders, once a week for 16 weeks out of the summer. Establishing a cooperative scheme with local consumers allowed them to share the risks and rewards of food production. Organic farming, however, is expensive. “Many farms struggle to break even and can typically see up to five years in the red to get there,” Kelly says. “In order to survive, we had to sell CSA shares at premium prices that only a small, wealthier segment of the Portland community could afford.” They found creative ways to diversify their business, including farm-totable dinners, company offsite events and fundraisers at local breweries. But nothing compensated for the fact that the bulk of their efforts revolved around selling organic vegetables to the wealthy, a realization that bothered Kelly and his Skyberry Farm colleagues. Hosting farm stay experiences for local enthusiasts and international travelers offered a new, community-oriented source of revenue — exactly what they needed to turn Skyberry Farm into a self-sustaining food source for local charities. The Skyberry farmers showcased this vision on Kickstarter, and raised more than $33,000 to help convert their large garage into a rentable space for guests in June 2015. W . P. C A R E Y

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“I created new ways to connect with others.” — M A R C U S D ELG A D O, (M BA ’ 2 0), I S A L E A D P R O J ECT R E S O U R C E A N A LY S T AT T H E N A S A J E T P R O P U L S I O N L A B O R AT O R Y

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W. P. Carey magazine, Spring 2021

Creating glimmers of hope during hard times A reflection from Marcus DelGado, (MBA ’20), lead project resource analyst at the NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory I’ve had family members who have been laid off and a good friend who was in the ICU on a ventilator with COVID-19. It’s so hard not to be able to be with people physically at these moments — just to give people a hug, right?

Social media spotlight But I have found ways to try to make a difference. Early on, for example, when Seattle — where I live — only had outdoor dining and takeout, some friends and I put together a list of restaurants in the city that are owned by African Americans and other people of color. We would choose two restaurants a week and put a social media spotlight on them. We would encourage folks to order takeout. It was a way to share conversation even if we couldn’t be in the same space.

Walk and talk Later, a few friends and I started a “walk-and-talk” where we walk a 21/2-mile loop around a local park with our masks on. It is an opportunity to say what’s on our mind and in our heart. I think it’s helped all of our mental health. We can always look forward to our Thursday walk-and-talks.

Enrichment Friday I also practice something I call “enrichment Friday.” I have every other Friday off, and I try to do something productive. I’ve helped create a speaker series for a couple of local schools with professionals in my network. I’ve gone with some of my fraternity brothers to donate food to a food bank. In times like these we will all experience some form of hardship, but it is important that the pain we experience not be followed by a period or exclamation point. Make sure that we follow that hardship with a comma. There can always be more to the journey and it’s up to us to realize that life is larger than that moment. A comma offers hope — a glimmer of optimism and something for us to hold on to as we remain steadfast throughout adversity.

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“Repairing something improperly or miscommunicating with a teammate might be manageable on Earth, but fatal in space.” — JEFF LEPINE, PROFESSOR OF MANAGEMENT AND PETSMART CHAIR IN LEADERSHIP

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W. P. Carey magazine, Autumn 2017

Lessons Learned on Earth May Soon Go Deep Into Space Professor of Management and PetSmart Chair in Leadership Jeff LePine is halfway through a multiyear grant from NASA to study how astronauts — and the rest of us — can more easily and efficiently make transitions between daily tasks. Switching from individual work to team work can be tough, as can switching from a complex project to a mundane task. In both cases, how well or how poorly astronauts and earthlings make those switches affects our productivity. The NASA research ties in with other work LePine has done on how to form teams, what it takes to make them useful, and how they adapt when something unforeseen happens. “The focus of this research is on understanding the nature of transition periods, how different features of the tasks and those involved influence what’s going on during the transition, and how that change influences effectiveness on the subsequent tasks,” LePine explains. The proposal by LePine’s team — including Assistant Professor of Management Ned Wellman and graduate student Daniel Newton — on the topic of team task switching was one of 16 projects NASA selected in early 2015 for its human research and space biology programs. NASA said it wants the research so it can develop resources and measures that will ensure astronauts remain healthy and maintain performance standards during their missions. After all, repairing something improperly or miscommunicating with a teammate might be manageable on Earth, but fatal in space. From previous research, LePine already knew that teams and individuals have routines that make it hard to switch gears from one task to another. Now he needed to find out what variables cause those difficulties and what we can do to counteract them. The NASA study started with LePine’s team developing a firefighting simulation and enlisting W. P. Carey management students in the experiments. Participants trained in different roles and teamed up to fight a virtual fire. After 20 minutes, the researchers told them their fire truck had broken and needed to be repaired, and gave each a set of Legos. After the trucks had been re-assembled, participants re-joined their team and continued fighting the fire. That “buzz,” however, can be a double-edged sword. “When individuals are performing one task, and they are highly engaged, the positive emotions linger and can have a positive effect on the subsequent task,” LePine says. “But at the same time, if you’re more engaged with the thing you’re doing, it makes it harder to disengage from it mentally, and this negatively affects performance on the other task.” — Jane Larson W . P. C A R E Y

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W. P. Carey magazine, Autumn 2017

The business of space Commercial players aim for the stars, ground themselves on Earth, and make big bet on small satellites All you star-gazing souls who look skyward and mourn NASA’s small 0.47 percent share of the federal budget, take heart: More than three-fourths of the global economic activity related to space — some $323 billion in 2015 — came from commercial sectors. Broadcasting, telecommunications, and Earth-observationspending made up the biggest piece of this moon pie: $126 billion. But infrastructure was another big slice. Things like launch services, in-space platforms, ground equipment, and even insurance to cover it all totaled more than $120 billion. No, it’s not your standard-issue, government-backed space race anymore. Space is serious business and these days that business is booming.

To boldly fund what no one has funded before

“Now venture capital markets are willing to invest in space.” — B A R R Y M AT S U M O R I , ( B S M A N A G E M E N T ’ 7 8 ) , C E O O F S AT E L L I T E C O M PA N Y B R I D G E S AT AND FORMER SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF B O T H V I R G I N G A L A C T I C A N D S PA C E X

“Access to space has historically been dominated by governments and a few select large contractors,” says Eric Matteson (MBA ’03), a space launch program manager for Orbital ATK’s Launch Vehicles Division in Arizona. “Orbital ATK built the first purely commercial rocket, called Pegasus, and in recent times there have been more startups joining in with their own designs,” he adds, pointing to firms like Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which is now 15 years old, and the 11-year-old Rocket Lab as examples. All of these companies are part of what’s now called NewSpace, which Wikipedia defines as a “highly visible, globally emerging private spaceflight industry” that is characterized by “commercially minded aerospace companies and ventures working to independently develop faster, better, and cheaper access to space and spaceflight technologies.” What’s more, investment in NewSpace is on the rise. “One of the big differences from the past is now venture capital markets are willing to invest in space,” says Barry Matsumori (BS Management ’78), CEO of satellite company BridgeSat and former senior vice president of both Virgin Galactic and SpaceX. “They never did that before.” Venture capitalists traditionally view space business as too risky and slow to deliver a return on investment. However, according to a report produced by analysts at The Tauri Group, “more than 50 venture capital W . P. C A R E Y

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“We needed somebody to launch our satellites, and we could have gone with NASA, but we bet on SpaceX. The price was right, and we believe in what they’re doing.” — V I C T O R E I N F E L D T, ( M S I M ’ 0 6 ) , I R I D I U M ’ S M A N A G E R O F N E T W O R K SECURIT Y AND INFRASTRUCTURE

Top: A picture taken from a chase airplane shows Orbital ATK’s Stargazer carrier aircraft releasing its commercial rocket, Pegasus®, which ignites, beginning its climb to orbit.

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firms invested in space deals in 2015, the most in any year.” The venture capitalists pumped some $1.8 billion into commercial startups with space-related products and services, which was more than venture capitalists chipped in during the previous 15 years combined. Venture capitalists are putting in big bucks, too. As a case in point, Rocket Lab, a privately owned startup that plans to offer small-satellite launch services, made news in March 2017 by closing a $75 million financing round. The startup launched its experimental rocket for the first time in May 2017. Along with venture capitalists, there’s the billionaires club, a small number of headline-grabbing innovators who are financing space-related businesses. This club includes Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who started Blue Origin to provide private access to space, and Tesla CEO Musk, whose SpaceX was launched in 2002 to offer space transport services, among other things. Virgin Galactic’s founder, Richard Branson, aims to provide suborbital spaceflight for tourists through SpaceShipTwo, as well as space transport services via LauncherOne. Other billionaires involved in space include the co-founder of Microsoft, Paul Allen, who established Vulcan Aerospace, and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, who joined British physicist and mathematician Stephen Hawking and Russian millionaire, scientist, and philanthropist Yuri Milner in a $100 million space exploration project called Breakthrough Starshot, which aims to reach the nearest star system. For those who want to initiate a space-related startup but don’t have billions to invest, the Founder Institute, a California-based business incubator, may be able to help. It has earmarked financial incentives and mentorship support from industry veterans to help space-related startups get off the ground. “This is an international call for anyone working in space or passionate about space to launch a company,” Adeo Ressi, co-founder and chief executive of the Founder Institute, told Space News. “Our goal, which admittedly might be a bit of a stretch goal, is to have 500 new space and space exploration companies launched by 2025.” Ressi’s dream may not be entirely out of reach, although it may remind some of that old industry analyst joke: “The numbers are right. The years are wrong.”

NewSpace Global, an analyst firm that covers the space industry, has gone from tracking 125 space companies six years ago to more than 1,000 today. Richard M. Rocket, NewSpace Global’s CEO, told SatelliteToday.com that, “We will get to 10,000 businesses in the next 10 years. Every single company that’s in the satellite and launch market — regardless of size, whether or not they are public or privately held, whether based in Seattle, Denver, or Nigeria, it doesn’t make a difference — everything is going to flip upside down in the next 10 years.”

Out-of-this-world ideas There are many new ways to commercialize space technology, data, and access. The NewSpace sector includes launch organizations, firms with moon-mining goals, businesses that plan to provide satellite maintenance services, orbital debris removal companies, and much, much more. “Businesses are even looking at providing entertainment from space,” Matsumori notes. “One company in Japan plans to launch a nanosatellite into a very low orbit, and it will release, in a controlled fashion, pellets that will produce a light show. Different materials make up the pellets. As they enter the atmosphere, they oxidize, emitting light. Because the materials are different, each one oxidizes with a different color. Hence, you’ll have a pattern and colors.” Another company, SpaceVR, plans to put virtual reality cameras on foot-long satellites to give the earthbound an astronaut’s view of the planet.

Launch, rinse, repeat — and 3D print Along with new ideas for products and services, NewSpace entrepreneurs “have entered the space business with a different approach,” Matsumori says. Among the changes is a belief in reusability of rockets. “Early on, Elon Musk had the notion that throwing away a used rocket is kind of silly,” Matsumori continues. “If you flew a 747 from Arizona to New York and then threw the plane away, that’s not intelligent business. But, essentially, that’s what’s been done in the rocket and engine space business. Elon decided reusability is essential. Now SpaceX is not only recovering the first stage of a rocket; they’re using that first stage over again.” W . P. C A R E Y

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An Iridium NEXT satellite.

“ With the amount of bandwidth we have today, we can have hundreds of planes, at any given time, full of people streaming video from Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTube, or Hulu.” — JA S O N G U I L ES (M B A ’ 10), A P R O G R A M M A N AG E R FO R S AT E L L I T E - B A S E D I N T E R N E T S E R V I C E P R O V I D E R V I A S AT

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Blue Origin has similar goals, and that company has already demonstrated that it can launch a rocket, disengage the crew capsule, and safely land the booster rocket in a vertical position by engaging its thrusters. Besides recycling, NewSpace and established companies are joining the movement of additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, to help make commercial space endeavors low-cost and easier — from 3D printing rocket parts while on the ground to making astronauts’ tools in space with the first 3D printer on the International Space Station. But there’s more than economics driving such rocket-related sustainability endeavors. There’s zeal. “When I was at SpaceX, one of the things that I liked about being there was that if you ask anybody in the company, ‘Why does the company exist? Why are you here?’ the answer was simple: ‘We’re going to Mars.’ That’s what Elon wants. Everything that the company does is about supporting the mission to Mars,” recalls Matsumori. He must have fit right in. Early in Matsumori’s career, he worked on space architecture as part of a NASA study. The researchers examined space vehicles, space stations, Mars habitats, and other details designed to answer the question, “How do we get to Mars and stay there?” says Matsumori, who shares his knowledge giving annual lectures to students of ASU’s School of Earth and Space Exploration. Even if people don’t venture away from the planet, they could be customers for space travel, says Matteson. He thinks private space travel may be akin to where the airline industry was many years ago, where only the wealthy could afford to fly until economies of scale kicked in and prices came down. He sees “shades of the early airline industry in front of us now with space travel.” Plus, he sees applications beyond shelling out big cash for a chance to experience weightlessness on a Virgin Galactic suborbital flight. “It still takes too long to get to Japan, for instance. If you could do that in a couple of hours versus 15 hours, that would be transformational to world travel,” he says.

What’s old is new again Newcomers aren’t the only ones reusing space vehicles and innovating in the space business. Established giants are engaged in some recycling actions, too. Matteson, for instance, has spent part of his Orbital ATK career repurposing used rocket motors. “It’s a swords-to-plowshares application,” he says. For years, the Minotaur program at Orbital ATK has been taking motors from old Minuteman and Peacekeeper landbased, intercontinental ballistic missiles and turning them into low-cost rockets that can launch government satellites or payloads on suborbital trajectories. “These decommissioned motors were sitting in silos waiting on alert for launch against a nuclear attack,” Matteson says. “They are inspected by the Air Force, and then we integrate modern avionics, structures, new upper stage propellant, and the payload for a complete launch vehicle solution.” Along with recycling, upgrades are underway. For example, Iridium, a satellite communications provider, is in the process of replacing their old and distant assets. “We have 66 satellites up there now,” says Victor Einfeldt (MSIM ’06), Iridium’s manager of network security and infrastructure. “Satellites are not designed to last more than 20 years,” he explains. “We have 75 satellites scheduled for launch, and six will be ground spares — a $3 billion investment. Sixty-six are going to be in the mission orbit, or servicing customers. We’re going to have spares in space, as well, should something happen.” To accomplish this upgrade, Iridium purchased eight rockets from another commercial player in the industry. “We needed somebody to launch our satellites, and we could have gone with NASA, but we bet on SpaceX. The price was right, and we believe in what they’re doing,” Einfeldt says. Other businesses involved in upgrades to these “Iridium NEXT” satellites are broadband services provider ViaSat, which supplies key radio frequency hardware, and Orbital ATK, which Matteson says is “assembling, integrating, and testing those satellites.”

Why space business matters on planet Earth While the business of space has all of us gazing toward the stars, it has broad benefits for those rooted to Earth. W . P. C A R E Y

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ViaSat-2, the world’s highest-capacity communications satellite from broadband services company ViaSat, before it successfully launched into space on June 1, 2017. The will offer high-speed internet Thissatellite is a caption. service to millions of people on the ground, in the air, and at sea.

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“Space makes the whole world go around now,” says Matteson. “Whether it’s the debit card transactions that are time-stamped by GPS satellites or getting from point A to point B following Google Maps instead of old-school paper maps, space touches our lives every day in ways we probably don’t even realize. We take it for granted.”

Everywhere you look Ask Matsumori why those of us on this wet, blue planet should care about the machinery we send into orbit, and he’ll be hard pressed to give you just one answer. He’ll try, though. He lumps several items under the header “critical applications.” Among the must-have capabilities from space that Matsumori pinpoints is Earth observation for things like weather forecasting. “The only way to get critical weather data is via satellite,” he says. “You can’t do it any other way.” Agriculture and forest management are other applications dependent on the broad view from beyond our planetary atmosphere. “Typically, the sensors on a satellite will look at a spectrum of images through different frequencies and be able to get information about what’s going on,” Matsumori says. Agribusinesses are using satellite imagery to estimate crop yields, evaluate crop health, guide decisions about fertilization and watering schedules, and help identify optimal crop types for different areas. Matsumori also sees communication as a critical space-related application: “The only way to provide communication coverage for any place on Earth is by satellite,” he says. Therein lies the primary mission of many a corporation.

Moving up in the world One company leading the way is ViaSat, headquartered in Carlsbad, Calif., with a location in Tempe’s ASU Research Park. When it queried British consumers late last year, 27 percent were worried that poor broadband would spoil their 2016 Christmas festivities. Among millennials, that number rose to 45 percent. Lucky for all these internet addicts, companies like ViaSat dedicate themselves to bringing broadband to all, including those who have been cleared for takeoff

and are now cruising at 35,000 feet. “What ViaSat has done is offer much more than broadband on a plane,” says Jason Guiles (MBA ’10), a program manager for this satellite-based internet service provider. “With the amount of bandwidth we have today, we can have hundreds of planes, at any given time, full of people streaming video from Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTube, or Hulu” on personal electronic devices like iPads and smartphones. Remember, the aircraft is moving at hundreds of miles an hour. Right now, ViaSat provides such service on more than 550 commercial planes, mostly traveling over land, but with the recent launch of ViaSat-2, the world’s highest-capacity communications satellite, ViaSat will be the first internet service provider to provide high-speed, high-quality internet over water, including the Atlantic Ocean. Another 830 planes are in the queue for equipment install, as the company recently inked big deals with American Airlines in the U.S., El Al Israel Airlines, Finnair, Scandinavian Airlines System, and Icelandair throughout Europe. The company also provides its high-speed connectivity to U.S. government VIP and special mission aircraft. On land, ViaSat brings internet to around 830,000 subscribers in North America and Europe. It is also one of the companies that helps people in remote areas get high-speed internet connectivity. It’s not just for the well-heeled living in high-priced mountain communities or rural retreats. “Because we have so much capacity on our satellites, we’re looking at new programs we call shared or village Wi-Fi,” Guiles says. “We’re working with towns in Mexico to deliver the internet to areas that have never had service before.” “We estimate that most of the globe — 80 percent — is not covered by any communication system,” says Einfeldt at Iridium, a Motorola offshoot that also brings the internet to the farthest reaches of Earth. “There’s no ground-based communications infrastructure for more than 80 percent of the planet since nobody is about to build cell towers in the middle of the ocean.” Although users can’t stream their favorite YouTube channels on an airplane using the Iridium network, the system has vital importance to planes and other transportation vehicles worldwide. That’s because it does cover the whole world, which enables Iridium to create subsidiaries like Aireon. Starting in 2018, Aireon W . P. C A R E Y

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The solar arrays on NASA’s InSight lander are deployed in this test inside a clean room at Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver. This configuration is how the spacecraft will look on the surface of Mars.

“To date, everybody’s been focused on larger satellites that stay in space a longer period. Now what is happening is that given new technologies and lower cost, people are starting to spend on small satellites that have roughly the same capabilities” — B A R R Y M AT S U M O R I , ( B S M A N A G E M E N T ’ 7 8 ) , C E O O F S AT E L L I T E C O M PA N Y B R I D G E S AT A N D F O R M E R S E N I O R V I C E P R E S I D E N T O F B O T H V I R G I N G A L A C T I C A N D S PA C E X

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will begin to track and monitor aircraft around the world in real time. The technology monitors Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) signals, which planes equipped with the proper devices send. “Right now, planes flying over the North Pole or an ocean often cannot be seen by any ground radar,” Einfeldt explains. “With Aireon, we can get global flight tracking anywhere,” he says, adding that this could end tragic accidents like the one that left all 239 people aboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 lost at sea. The Aireon technology also will likely save airlines’ and their passengers’ money. “Because of the gap in radar coverage, flight controllers don’t want planes flying anywhere near each other over an ocean,” Einfeldt explains. “It also means planes have to follow a particular path so that they can get as much radar coverage as possible. This technology means we’ll be able to track direct routes over the ocean.” They also can fly closer together. Both changes allow for greater scheduling flexibility and fuel savings for airlines.

The small sat revolution So how big are the satellites that relay our favorite TV shows, show us our way around a new town via GPS, and help farmers predict crop yields? Are they the size of a car? A suitcase? A toaster? The answer is “yes.” “To date, everybody’s been focused on larger satellites that stay in space a longer period,” says Matsumori, who is on the board of advisors for satellite propulsion company Accion Systems. “Now what is happening is that given new technologies and lower cost, people are starting to spend on small satellites that have roughly the same capabilities” as the traditional large satellites. Matsumori explains that traditional satellites can weigh 11,000 pounds, while many being launched today

are a few thousand pounds or even lighter. Some are no bigger than a loaf of bread. The larger, traditional satellites are placed into geostationary orbit, which means they fly some 22,000 miles or more above Earth, staying over the same part of Earth and following its rotation. This orbit means we can track geostationary satellites without redirecting the antennas that communicate with them from Earth. Geostationary satellites’ distant orbit is associated with latency; however, they have significantly more capacity than low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites that fly only about 1,000 miles above Earth.

Many giant leaps for mankind As we continue to explore outer space, our creativity brings the technology used for space business down to Earth. Whether warning us about imminent weather and missile launches or sharing a view of Earth from space and a light show like no other, space products and services make life easier, help us endure unstable times, and open our ideas of what we think is possible. The space industry is in a new period of rapid expansion in both capabilities and customers, even after many years of slow, steady progress. Startups are trying fresh approaches to bring us closer to space. Established space operators are renovating products and reutilizing the old. The universal reach of small satellites is attracting interest and investment from other industries and connecting the billions of people around the globe who don’t have access to modern communications. The way we live is going to keep evolving thanks to space business. The skilled professionals who comprise the space industry — some of whom are our alums — are prepared to take a leading role in making those changes a reality.

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“As an engineer, especially as a young engineer, there is a fear of failing or a fear of not knowing the answer, which is true in business as well.” — C H R I S LO N G , (M B A ’01) V I C E P R ES I D EN T O F N AT I O N A L S E C U R I T Y S Y S T E M S , O R B I TA L AT K

This is a caption.

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PUBLISHED

W. P. Carey magazine, Autumn 2017

MBA boosts engineers career in space As a boy, Chris Long was sure about two things: the importance of a college education and the joy of playing outside building forts, ramps, and whatever else he dreamed up. Surrounded by a family of engineers — and a child of the first Star Wars generation — Long pictured himself working in space. But as the son of a pharmacist, he also envisioned a career in medicine. Then a chance encounter sealed Long’s future. In 1982, the Space Shuttle Columbia was diverted from its planned landing in rain-soaked California and instead prepared to land at the U.S. Army’s White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. Long’s family lived in New Mexico, and after the shuttle had touched down, his father wrangled a spot to get a closer look at Columbia. The unexpected landing captured the nation’s attention — and Long’s imagination. “It was fascinating. It solidified the direction I wanted to go toward,” Long says. For more than two decades, Long (MBA ’01) has been living out his dream as an engineer and executive working in the space industry. He has spent much of his career with Orbital ATK, a global leader in aerospace and defense technologies, and its heritage companies. He is currently Orbital ATK’s vice president of national security systems, overseeing a business area that designs, builds, and operates satellites for the U.S. Department of Defense and the intelligence community. Long is also a partner in Arizona-based Aletheia Enterprise Design Group. The company, which employs 75 people in Arizona and New Mexico, has a broad range of design and development business interests. At Orbital ATK, Long’s work is classified, the satellite systems are complex, and the team is often up against a new challenge to solve or a threat to unravel — a combination that might prove too daunting for some but keeps Long engaged in the field. “Working in space is a hard and unforgiving environment with little room for mistakes,” he says. “The

way we build, test, and fly space missions is different than the development of ground or airborne systems. For many new engineers, the challenge is the timeline that it takes to see a program from start to finish.” Preparing for takeoff Long began his career at Motorola and remembers well his first project, working on a GPS system that the company was helping to build. In the late 1990s, the technology was relatively new, and the challenge was perfect for the young engineer. Soon after, Long dove into work involving classified space programs at the company — projects he can’t discuss even two decades later. As Long worked to establish himself in the field, he looked to ASU for an MBA. The program drew like-minded professionals from the state’s high-tech companies, boosted Long’s business profile, and rounded out his engineering career. Long forged friendships in the program that continue today. Throughout Long’s career, almost all his work has been out of the public eye because of the classified nature of the projects. At Orbital, Long’s business area is focused on satellite systems equipped with information, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities. His team has access to some of the country’s most advanced technologies and is tasked with helping meet vital, always-evolving national security needs. “As an engineer, especially as a young engineer, there is a fear of failing or a fear of not knowing the answer, which is true in business as well,” he says. “It is important to understand that you cannot be a lone ranger. In this industry, success comes in surrounding yourself with highly capable people, and understanding that failure is probable and is part of innovation and necessary for growth. “We learn from failure and improve our process,” he adds. “Fail early and fail fast, learn, and move on.”

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Arizona , onal and Arizona’s strength in advanced industries, including semiconductors and electronics, navigational instruments and sensors, aerospace and defense, and health and biomedical advances contributes significantly to the state’s competitiveness in the global marketplace. It is clear that in order to secure prosperity for the state’s citizens, our region must transition from a growthdependent economy to one that is agile, flexible and driven by technological innovation. Our knowledge-based national economy depends on well-educated and highly trained professionals who will maintain our country’s competitive edge. As learners around the world seek paths to innovation and transformation, we are partnering in new ways and sharing our offerings in the global learning sphere. ASU is rising to the challenges of the state, the nation and the world to deliver learning at all levels for anyone, wherever they are.

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from

Serving our state, our nation Maintain the fundamental principle of accessibility to all students qualified to study at a research university

ASU enrolls undergraduates from 88% of Arizona high schools. Maintaining the fundamental principle of accessibility to all students qualified to study at a research university. 570 Arizona high schools represented in the undergraduate student population from Fall 2022 and Spring 2023.

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ASU serves learners in all 50 states plus Washington D.C., Guam, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.

n and our world.

A complete university experience, from anywhere learners are. Transforming the landscape of education one global initiative at a time. A R I Z O N A S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y

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Cintana Affiliate Institutions

ASU Cintana Alliance and powered by ASU

Cintana Affiliate Institutions

14 universities

115,000+ students in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Montenegro, Philippines, Turkey and Ukraine.

50 universities will be in the expanded network

by 2030 .

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with Cinta We areInASUpartnership is building a global to increase access to qu building a with academic collaborat global and research and trainin university Fourteen universities wit students in Colombia, Co network to Egypt, India, Indonesia, K Montenegro, Philippines, fuel impact are part of the ASU-Cinta Engage learners of all socioeconomic, geographic and demographic backgrounds powered by ASU. In partnership with Cintana Education, ASU is building a global network of universities to increase access to quality higher education, with academic collaborations, student mobility and research and training projects.

The network will expand universities by 2030.

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Members of AAU, including stalwart private universities like Harvard, Stanford, MIT and Johns Hopkins and leading public universities like UCLA ... collectively help shape policy for higher education, science and innovation. 572

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We are now a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities Association comprises 71 elite research universities, including Harvard, Stanford, MIT and UCLA Arizona State University on June 1 was selected to join the prestigious Association of American Universities, which comprises the nation’s elite research universities. The AAU added Arizona State into its membership, applauding the university’s academic and research strength and acknowledging its place as a leader in higher education. There now are 71 universities — including two from Canada — in the association, which was established in 1900. “From deep space to deep in the oceans, we are a university designed for discovery,

interdisciplinary research and innovation,” ASU President Michael Crow said. “As one of the fastest-growing research enterprises in the United States, we are focused on solving society’s greatest challenges, and we are excited to become part of the AAU.” Members of AAU, including stalwart private universities like Harvard, Stanford, MIT and Johns Hopkins and leading public universities like UCLA, the University of Washington, the University of WisconsinMadison and the University of Michigan, collectively help shape policy for higher education, science and innovation; promote best practices in undergraduate and graduate education; and strengthen the contributions of leading research universities to American society. As a group they earn a majority of competitively awarded federal funding for research that improves public health, addresses national challenges and contributes significantly to the nation’s economic strength, while educating and training visionary leaders and innovators.

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‘Top producing’ university of elite scholars for 10 consecutive years For the past 10 years, ASU has been a top-producing university for elite scholars. This impressive list includes 312 Gilman Scholars, 180 Fulbright Scholars, 40 Boren Scholars, 35 Killam Fellows, 21 Goldwater Scholars, 13 Udall Scholars, 8 Gates Cambridge Scholars, 4 Marshall Scholars, 4 Truman Scholars and 2 Rhodes Scholars.

3,500+ faculty mentors

from 17 colleges and schools, including Nobel laureates, Pulitzer Prize winners and MacArthur fellows

#1 public university in the U.S. chosen by international students ahead of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, UCLA and UC Berkeley — I N S T I T U T E O F I N T E R N AT I O N A L E D U C AT I O N , 2 0 2 2

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ASU is achieving excellence Top 10 in the world for employerstudent connections

A top university worldwide for academic reputation ASU is named to the top 100 in the world for academic reputation by Times Higher Education. The ranking is based on the world’s largest invitation-only academic opinion survey, which uses United Nations data as a guide to ensure that the results are representative of world scholarship, and targets only experienced, published scholars.

One of the fastestgrowing research universities Over the last 10 years, ASU has emerged as one of the country’s fastest-growing research universities among those with $100 million+ in annual research expenditures — ahead of Harvard, Yale, Duke and others.

— QS World University Rankings 2022

#6 in the U.S.

for total research expenditures ASU ahead of University of Chicago, Princeton and Caltech among universities without a medical school. – N AT I O N A L S C I E N C E F O U N D AT I O N H E R D S U R V E Y, 2 0 2 2

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International students

TSMC

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Starbucks

public university chosen by international students

ASU is an international destination Institute of International Education, 2021

Top 10 Countries India

Taiwan

China

Vietnam

Attracting faculty, students Saudi Arabia Mexicoand partners from around the globe, ASU’s Canada Egypt reputation for innovation and excellence Arab Emirates hasRepublic createdofaKorea center ofUnited gravity that continues to grow. Faculty 5 Nobel Laureates 8 MacArthur Award winners 10 Pulitzer Prize winners 21 National Academy of Sciences members

#1 public university in the U.S. chosen by international students ahead of University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign, UCLA and UC Berkeley —IN STITUTE OF I N T E R N AT I O N A L E D U C AT I O N , 2 0 2 2

Industry giants like Mayo Clinic, Starbucks, Intel, TSMC, adidas, Dreamscape Learn, Uber, Amazon, Infosys, Labcorp, NBA G League, Peloton, Phoenix Children’s and more understand the importance of responding to the changing needs of business and work with ASU to meet their goals. A R I Z O N A S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y

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ASU is engaged and serving learners on both coasts

Los Angeles, California

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Engage learners of all socioeconomic, geogra demographic backgrou

ASU is engaged on both coasts in the U.S.

Washington, D.C.

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ASU is a global hub for microelectronics activity

ASU catalyzes a future of sustained prosperity for Arizona

U.S. President Biden

at TSMC President Biden attended the TSMC Phoenix plant celebration and spoke with President Crow.

ASU plays a key role in Arizona’s New Economy Initiative, which will:

Ambassador Esteban Moctezuma Barragan Co-develop solutions to the

bal hub for Create 40,000 new nics activity

Ambassador Moctezuma critical social, technical, cultural andASU environmental issues facing visited to sign an MOU 21st-century Arizona, ensuring to boost semiconductor sustainability and resilience production in North America.

high wage jobs by 2041.

U.S. President Biden

Increase economic at TSMC output to $6.9 billion. President Biden attended theDouble TSMC Phoenix plant the return on celebration and spoke with the state’s investment President Crow. by 2032. The New Economy Initiative builds on ASU’s role as Ambassador Esteban a catalyst for economic Moctezuma Barragan growth and resilience and two decades of enabling Ambassador Moctezuma accessible, high quality visited ASU to an MOU education and sign innovative to research boost semiconductor that meets production America. the needs in of North the market and society.

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U.S. Commerce Secretary

Gina Raimondo Secretary Raimondo joined U.S Senator Mark Kelly on a tour of ASU MacroTechnology Works.

U.S. Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Heidi Shyu Undersecretary Shyu visited ASU MacroTechnology Works.

ASU is a global hub for microelectronics Attracting researchers, industry partners, students and community partners in high-tech growth.

5x multiplier effect 2,000 jobs TSMC is directly hiring high-tech roles for its new foundry

Each microelectronics job creates five additional jobs for suppliers and vendors SOURCES: TSMC, ASU, L. WILLIAM SEIDMAN RESEARCH INSTITUTE AT T H E W . P. C A R E Y S C H O O L OF BUSINESS

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Arizona ASU’s MacroTechnology Works is accelerating semiconductor, advanced materials and energy device research in the United States. The world-class caliber of these facilities makes MacroTechnology Works central to the photovoltaics, batteries and power-electronics work of ASU’s new Advanced Materials, Processes and Energy Devices (AMPED) Science and Technology Center.

California Applied Materials is making a landmark investment to build the world’s largest and most advanced facility for collaborative semiconductor process technology and manufacturing equipment R&D (rendering at right). ASU is collaborating with the company to bring research expertise and help create the future innovation and manufacturing talent pipeline that will be critical over the long term.

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ASU builds and partners on lab-to-fab pipelines

Focusing research on impact and connecting insights directly to industry where they can scale and deliver “We’re all-in as an asset to industry and to the nation as we seek to regain global pre-eminence in semiconductor manufacturing, research and development,” said ASU President Michael Crow. “Applied Materials is providing extraordinary leadership to accelerate innovation and commercialization of foundational manufacturing technologies that will define the future of how chips are made. And as we continue to innovate in that process, ASU will bring research expertise and help create the future innovation and manufacturing talent pipeline that will be critical over the long term.” A R I Z O N A S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y

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Innovation Zones

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ASU cultivates an ecosystem of innovation Drive regional economic competitiveness through research, discovery and socioeconomically integrated programs

Supporting business growth and economic impact from large companies to family-owned small businesses across the Phoenix metro region Innovation Zones provide an opportunity to work in close proximity with ASU staff, students and faculty, as well as with other high-profile industry leaders. Just like urban neighborhoods, each Innovation Zone has its own distinct personality, characteristics and amenities. We designed our Zones this way to ensure we can offer tenants a wide range of customizable options appropriate to size, industry and need.

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“State Farm invests in communities where we live and work, it’s part of being a good neighbor. We are proud to team up with ASU and excited to have our Marina Heights facility located in the Novus Innovation Corridor. As a leader in innovation, ASU is ... committed to building the workforce of the future. Our employees also benefit from the proximity to ASU for continuing education, personal development and volunteer opportunities.” — I N E S H A L LO R A N , S TAT E FA R M V P E N T E R P R I S E T EC H N O LO GY 586

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ASU creates spaces for research, work and life to mix

With prime locations, smart city infrastructure, Class A office space and build-to-suit options combined with the ASU difference — the opportunity to tap into research, programs, initiatives, faculty and student resources.

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Inspiring, cultivating and achieving innovation at every level Arizona State University was founded in 1885 with a pioneer spirit and a vision for the future. This vision makes ASU one of the fastest-growing and most agile research universities in the nation. ASU has been recognized for eight years in a row as the country’s “most innovative” school, ahead of Stanford and MIT (U.S. News & World Report). Nine design aspirations guide ASU’s ongoing evolution as the New American University, a new paradigm for the public research university that is transforming higher education. The university integrates these institutional objectives in innovative ways to advance excellence and impact, with an emphasis on inclusion and student success. ASU’s pace of innovation — intellectual, cultural, social — is not just continuing, it’s accelerating.

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Liz Lerman, a MacArthur Fellow and Guggenheim Fellow, works with students in the Herberger Institute for the Arts and across boundaries with students and community members from all parts of ASU.

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Making a difference Some of the world’s brightest minds empower ASU’s master learners. Nobel laureates, Pulitzer Prize winners and MacArthur fellows inspire new ways of thinking and solving social, cultural and economic challenges in the Southwest, national and international communities. ASU students can study with more than 3,500 faculty mentors from 17 colleges and schools that embrace an inclusive, collaborative and entrepreneurial environment. ASU is home to the top honors college in the nation and the first School of Sustainability in the world, and outpaces Duke, Yale, Georgetown and Dartmouth in the number of patents granted to universities worldwide. The diverse experience of students and faculty, nationally ranked programs and stateof-the-art facilities creates fertile ground for the best-qualified graduates in the U.S.

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Students connect with the people who are changing the world

World leaders

Extraordinary entrepreneurs. Renowned professionals. National heroes. Distinguished thought leaders. These are the types of people ASU collaborates with, either through partnerships that benefit students or by offering opportunities for students to meet with, ask questions of and learn from them. Here are some notable names who have visited ASU and shared their knowledge.

Students

Cultural influencers

Revolutionary artist James Turrell partnered with ASU to inspire transdisciplinary approaches to creativity for students.

CNN journalist Anderson Cooper met with journalism students to talk about the passion that will be key to their careers.

Journalist David Brooks addressed students at an ASU undergraduate commencement.

Choreographer, performer and MacArthur Genius Liz Lerman was named Institute Professor at ASU’s Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts.

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U.S. poet laureate Joy Harjo talked to students about her groundbreaking journey through the American literary landscape.

NPR journalist Mara Liasson connected with students about the role of citizens and journalists in national elections.

Oscar-winning filmmaker Spike Lee spoke with students about the film industry through a program that connects students to entertainment industry jobs.

NBC News anchor Lester Holt was the recipient of the Cronkite School’s Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism.

Author and Arizona poet laureate Alberto Ríos is a Regents Professor at ASU, where he has taught since 1982.

While he was president, Barack Obama addressed new graduates at an ASU commencement and inspired a new ASU scholarship.

The late senator John McCain and Cindy McCain partnered with ASU to form an institute to promote character-driven leadership.

First female U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor inspired ASU to name its law school after her.

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice held a discussion with students about being involved at the highest level of international affairs. Hong Kong dignitary and social justice leader Anson Chan interacted with students on the topics of international politics and democracy.

Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton hosted the Clinton Global Initiative University at ASU, celebrating student-led changemaking.

Students learned about cybersecurity and privacy at a forum with former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff.

Former Intel CEO Craig Barrett and former Secretary of the U.S. Air Force Barbara Barrett have created opportunities for students to interact with international leaders in Arizona and at the ASU D.C. center.

Former South Africa President F.W. de Klerk met with students about solving important social, economic and political problems through civil discussion.

Prince Alfred Mbinglo of Cameroon's Nso Kingdom worked with students on solutions to migration and human trafficking.

Industry leaders

Former White House physician and Mayo Clinic doctor Connie Mariano spoke about overcoming obstacles to achieve success.

Microsoft founder Bill Gates was a guest lecturer at a forum on expanding higher education access.

Students heard from former Google CEO Eric Schmidt about the power of science, technology and hard work. MasterCard Foundation CEO Reeta Roy shared her journey to a successful career with MasterCard Foundation Scholars from Africa. Student athletes met with Jack Ma, co-founder of Alibaba, one of the most successful businesses in the world, to learn about managing a global business.

Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz participated in an ASU town hall event on how business can be a partner in expanding education opportunities.

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Jid’dah Ado-Ibrahimis studies in ASU’s online biological sciences degree program which includes an intense on-campus lab week.

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Removing boundaries to build excellence By redefining the 21st-century university as a knowledge enterprise, Arizona State University has inspired its faculty and students to lead discovery, most notably space exploration, electron microscopy, sustainability and human origins. ASU’s interdisciplinary, solutions-focused approach to research, entrepreneurship and economic development is centered on discovery that matters and the fusion of intellectual disciplines in order to solve complex problems. Integrating perspectives, concepts and theories from multiple disciplines and home to 25 transdisciplinary units, ASU has rapidly risen to rank No. 3 in the United States for total interdisciplinary science research expenditures — ahead of Harvard; University of California, Berkeley; and Johns Hopkins University, among others.

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How does ASU build leaders? We don’t. They do. ASU graduates more than 20,000 thinkers, innovators and master learners every year dedicated to the betterment of American society and democracy. ASU’s “students-first” approach creates groundbreaking opportunities designed to help students learn and thrive in personalized ways. Studying at an innovation powerhouse delivers access to use-inspired technology, the vast resources of a Research I university and programs that are unique to students’ needs. ASU educators and mentors believe that leaders come from diverse backgrounds and perspectives. In the last 10 years, more than 3,135 National Merit Scholars and National Hispanic Scholars have built their futures at ASU. More than 500,000 alumni serve their communities and countries as international government leaders; U.S. governors, congressmen and senators; founders of companies; militaryservice pioneers; researchers in medicine, technology, engineering and sustainability; groundbreaking entrepreneurs, pioneering educators; entertainers, pro athletes and more.

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20,000+ graduates every year dedicated to the betterment of American society and democracy.

3,135+ National Merit Scholars and National Hispanic Scholars in the last 10 years

1/2 million+ alumni leading and serving in Arizona and around the world as international government leaders, groundbreaking entrepreneurs, military-service pioneers; medical researchers, technologists in engineering and sustainability, pioneering educators, entertainers, pro athletes and more.

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ASU Charter ASU is a comprehensive public research university, measured not by whom it excludes, but by whom it includes and how they succeed; advancing research and discovery of public value; and assuming fundamental responsibility for the economic, social, cultural and overall health of the communities it serves.

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In order to achieve its charter, ASU has reorganized its internal structures to an enterprise model.

hree pillars anchor the ASU Public Enterprise

Advances research, innovation, strategic partnerships, entrepreneurship and international development. ASU Public Enterprise Office Units

ASU Public Enterprise Office Units

Advances academic excellence through the faculty and growing the quality, scope and scale of campus immersion and online programs.

EdPlus@ASU ASU Enterprise Partners ASU Enterprise Technology Office EdPlus@ASU ASU Enterprise Marketing Hub ASU Enterprise Partners ASU Preparatory Academy ASU Enterprise Technology Office ASU Enterprise Marketing Hub ASU Preparatory Academy

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Serves learners across their entire lifespan, from kindergarten to high school to midcareer to post-retirement.

ASU has remade itself into a

New American University Nine design aspirations guide the ongoing evolution of ASU as a New American University. These institutional objectives are integrated in innovative ways throughout the university to achieve excellence, access and impact.

Leverage Our Place ASU embraces its cultural, socioeconomic and physical setting.

Fuse Intellectual Disciplines ASU creates knowledge by transcending academic disciplines.

Transform Society ASU catalyzes social change by being connected to social needs.

Be Socially Embedded ASU connects with communities through mutually beneficial partnerships.

Value Entrepreneurship ASU uses its knowledge and encourages innovation.

Engage Globally ASU engages with people and issues locally, nationally and internationally.

Conduct Use-Inspired Research ASU research has purpose and impact.

Practice Principled Innovation ASU places character and values at the center of decisions and actions.

Enable Student Success ASU is committed to the success of each unique student.

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Design aspirat things we are a achieve throug of the institutio ability to accom ultimate goals 604

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tions are those attempting to gh the design on that aid our mplish the of the charter.” – M I C H A E L M . C R OW, A S U P R ES I D E N T

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Phoenix Bioscience Core

“Our faculty and students are working together with our surrounding populations ... in research that rapidly moves from the lab to the community to have a real impact for better health.” — DEBORAH HELITZER, PROFESSOR AND DEAN OF THE COLLEGE OF H E A LT H S O L U T I O N S

Fastest growth in life sciences employment the Phoenix metro area topped the nation, ahead of Seattle, Denver, Boston and other major metro areas in growth

22,000+

jobs in life sciences in metro Phoenix at the end of 2020

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The area includes a new 227,000-square-foot building, called 850 PBC, provides key biomedical facilities and resources that most startups and many researchers previously were not able to access. These include clinical trial areas, dry labs with high-tech equipment for crunching numbers, a wet lab with resources for complex analytical chemistry and molecular biology analyses, a cardiovascular and exercise physiology laboratory, and a rehabilitation and motor control lab.

Leverage our place ASU embraces its cultural, socioeconomic and physical setting. By partnering with bioscience experts at other local universities and businesses in the local market, ASU is working to catalyze a bioscience and innovation core in downtown Phoenix. The core is poised to revolutionize health and drive economic growth to benefit Arizona and beyond. ASU scientists are working on a vaccine that could prevent people and dogs from developing multiple types of cancer. It would be a groundbreaking innovation protecting countless lives every year. It’s one of several lifesaving interventions researchers are striving to make a reality at the Phoenix Bioscience Core. Research like this is quickly elevating Phoenix’s profile as a hotbed for life sciences innovation, says Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego. Years of investments, planning and development are now bearing fruit as life science companies and university researchers improve health while bringing new opportunities to Arizona.

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100+

top-ranked online bachelor’s degrees in the Starbucks College Achievement Plan

7,500+

Starbucks partners have graduated from ASU *As of December 2021

60+

companies partnering with ASU in innovative ways to bring education to their teams, including Starbucks, adidas, Uber, Desert Financial Credit Union and others

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To Be Welcoming, addressing bias through understanding the human experience Public spaces and third places are more welcoming to all when we celebrate our shared humanity. By understanding each other, we deepen connections. To encourage more meaningful conversations on this topic, leaders at Starbucks reached out to the experts at ASU to create this 15-course curriculum.

Transform society ASU catalyzes social change by being connected to social needs. What started as a conversation between former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz and Arizona State University President Michael M. Crow led to a shared philosophy and the idea of providing access to lifelong learning worldwide. And they decided to do just that, starting with Starbucks employees (“partners”). The ASU + Starbucks partnership makes this possible for eligible U.S. partners. to choose from 100+ bachelor’s degree programs offered 100% online. Learn more at starbucks.asu.edu.

“The Starbucks College Achievement Plan has really armed me with the tools to go out and be someone I’ve always aspired to be. I just maybe didn’t know how.” R O B E R T L . , A S U G R A D U AT E T H R O U G H S C A P

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$1 billion+ in external funding for ASU’s Skysong Innovations startups ASU passed the milestone in its portfolio at Skysong Innovations, the entity that brings ASU research into the marketplace.

$1B

Sustainability

$347.4M

$800M

$600M

Devices

$198.3M

$400M

Energy

$182.2M

Diagnostics

$143.9M

Therapeutics

$79.1M

$200M

Tools, reagents

$37.5M

Vaccines $24.4M Software, networking $18.8M Materials, nanotech $6.0M SOURCE: Skysong Innovations

180+

companies have launched based on ASU innovations More than 1,500 people are now employed at ASU-linked startups.

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SOURCE Global, an ASU startup now at SkySong in Scottsdale, was founded by Cody Friesen, an engineering professor. The company creates clean water using solar power to pull it from the air. Friesen now mentors other startups.

Value entrepreneurship ASU uses its knowledge and encourages innovation. Students, alumni and community members tap into the startup ecosystem, funding sources and supportive networks. With the support of its entrepreneurial arm at Skysong Innovations, ASU has become one of the top-performing U.S. universities in terms of intellectual property inputs (inventions disclosed by ASU researchers) and outputs (licensing deals and startups). Mentorship, funding and collaborative spaces are critical to the success of launching new venture concepts. ASU’s J. Orin Edson Entrepreneurship + Innovation Institute maintains a directory of networks that can provide not only the financial support startups need, but also the training, mentorship, capital and communities to help turn big ideas into a reality.

The Venture Devils program guides student, faculty and community-based entrepreneurs through the process of launching a venture by providing dedicated mentorship as well as access to funding opportunities and venture development work spaces. Learn more at skysonginnovations.com and entrepreneurship.asu.edu.

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1,200+

U.S. patents issued since 2003

University for patents granted. ASU in the top 10 along with MIT, Stanford and Harvard — U . S . N AT I O N A L A C A D E M Y O F I N V ENTO R S A N D TH E INTELLECTUAL PROPERT Y O W N E R S A S S O C I AT I O N

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invention disclosures since 2003

1 MechanicalTree™ = 1,000 trees Popular Science picks ASU professor’s MechanicalTree as a 2019 top technology. The device was developed by Professor Klaus Lackner and his colleagues at ASU and commercialized by Carbon Collect. Over the next decade, Carbon Collect plans to deploy MechanicalTree farms globally to mitigate carbon emissions.

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$677.3M estimated total research expenditures ASU is one of the fastest-growing research enterprises in the U.S. It was named #6 in the U.S. for total research expenditures among universities without a medical school — ASU Knowledge Enterprise and National Science Foundation Higher Education Research and Development Survey, 2020

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K c w p A E h

Conduct use-inspired research ASU research has purpose and impact.

Center for Negative Carbon Emissions

Klaus Lackner, a pioneer in carbon capture, views a greenhouse that will be fed carbon dioxide from his prototype materials at his lab in ASU’s Center for Negative Carbon Emissions. Companies are building on his ideas to achieve climate goals.

By redefining the 21st-century university as a knowledge enterprise, ASU has inspired its faculty and students to lead discoveries from the behavior of nanoparticles to the birth of galaxies, unveiling answers about our ancient past, our global future and everything in between. Our interdisciplinary, solutionsfocused approach to research, entrepreneurship and economic development is centered on discovery that matters and the fusion of intellectual disciplines in order to solve complex problems. With $677.3M in total research expenditures in FY20, ASU is one of the fastest growing research enterprises in the United States. Learn more at research.asu.edu.

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Mentorship Students can find mentors through ASU’s mentor network, or connecting with a professor on a research project. Tutoring ASU offers free tutoring and writing help to catch up or get ahead in classes. Academic advising Advisors help ensure students are taking the right classes and are on the most efficient path to graduation. eAdvisor™ Students can see what classes they need to take, in which semester and receive alerts if they fall off track. First-year success coaching Students get support in their transition to college life with a peer mentor who can offer tips and advice. ASU mobile app Allows students to easily access grades, schedule and financial aid information. They can also find ASU events, maps, library resources and more, all on their phones. Counseling services To support emotional wellbeing, ASU offers professional counseling services as well as confidential 24-hour support. Family support Families are part of the college journey, too. ASU offers resources and information to keep them connected.

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Enable student success ASU is committed to the success of each unique student. Quality higher education should be available to any student capable of performing university-level work, regardless of socioeconomic status or geographic constraints. This objective is central to the ASU Charter and organizational design. The university is dedicated to providing all learners with accessible and valuable pathways to knowledge, and preparing Universal Learners® capable of lifelong adaptation.

Coaching and support Paula Guzman, an academic advisor from the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College on the West campus, meets with a student to make sure they are taking the right classes to graduate on time.

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73,762

student engagements across all socially embedded activities

21,295,811 hours of student engagement

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engaged courses

300+

study abroad programs

514

community-engaged programs that involve students

647

on-site community-based learning opportunities

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Community partnerships At the Pause + Play installation in Mesa, design and architecture students designed and built an installation for the first Prototyping Festival for the City of Mesa. Unlike most projects that often apply a top-down approach, the professor and students proposed to prototype the process rather than the object. They partnered with Porter Elementary, a Title I school in the city of Mesa school district, collaborating with 75 sixth graders to design the installation.

Be socially embedded ASU connects with communities through mutually beneficial partnerships. For ASU, partnering with our communities is not an afterthought. It is a fundamental part of our institutional identity. Tethering our success to the success of our communities has inspired us to achieve more and continually recommit to the public purposes of higher education. Embeddedness allows us to expand our reach into communities that are often forgotten, increase efficiency, prepare and strengthen a capable 21st-century workforce and amplify mutually desired outcomes.

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interdisciplinary schools

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interdisciplinary institutes and centers

Biodesign Institute We deliver the future of natureinspired scientific innovation today for the betterment of human health, community safety and global sustainability.

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Fuse intellectual disciplines ASU creates knowledge by transcending academic disciplines. What is the outcome? A new learning setting that primes ASU’s students to become master learners who, with the support of exemplary faculty and staff, are capable of tackling society’s most complex and important challenges. We have torn down the walls between disciplines, finding connection points between the seemingly unrelated research of different departments. We have created entirely new academic units, centers and institutes devoted to the study of emerging fields that encompass many disciplines.

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In the ASU Enterprise

International locations

225+

Academic partnerships

453

Research and sponsored projects globally

13,800+ International students

Study abroad locations In Global Futures Laboratory

740+

scientists and scholars in GFL

1,300+

students in the College of Global Futures

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Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory ASU has convened some of the world’s best scientists, scholars and innovators to launch the Global Futures Laboratory, a leading-edge effort to help create a habitable future that facilitates wellbeing for all. Learn more at globalfutures.asu.edu.

Engage globally ASU engages with people and issues locally, nationally and internationally. Through formal and emergent partnerships and collaborations, ASU grows its innovation infrastructure to maximize impact. The scale and complexity of today’s global challenges are significant, but not insurmountable. Expanding knowledge and developing new solutions for these topics calls for diversity of expertise, perspective and international collaboration. ASU has made global engagement a core design aspiration, motivating our establishment of global partnerships that enable us to increase the breadth and depth of our initiatives. These relationships take us beyond our borders, stretch our minds, enhance our capacities, and help build a safer, more secure world.

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Dimensions of character Moral • Identify and acknowledge fundamental values. • Utilize moral and ethical decision-making.

Civic • Understand culture and context. • Engage multiple diverse perspectives.

Intellectual • Develop habits of an informed systems thinker. • Reflect critically and compassionately.

Performance • Design creative solutions. • Navigate uncertainty and mitigate consequences.

When individuals practice Principled Innovation, their actions exhibit the empathy, honesty and humility inherent in moral character; the desire to serve others that is part of civic character; the truth-seeking impulse of intellectual character; and the problem-solving commitment of performance character.

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Practice principled innovation ASU places character and values at the center of decisions and actions. This powerful approach helps ensure we are not just innovating for the sake of change but to fulfill our values. When using Principled Innovation, we start with a basic question about any prospective change or course of action: We can, but should we? Principled Innovation is a practice that offers reflective approach to change that centers the well-being of humanity, communities and society as a whole. It is a framework for ethical decision-making that can be embraced by individuals, organizations and systems. It informs simple, everyday decisions and complex actions at all levels.

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Serving Arizona and the world, w a complete univ experience, fro learners and pa

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a, the nation we are now versity om anywhere artners are.

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