Emory Business Magazine Spring 2021

A MAGAZINE FOR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS OF EMORY UNIVERSITY’S GOIZUETA BUSINESS SCHOOL

EMORY | BUSINESS

The Future is Now

Goizueta’s Digital Learning Innovations to Enhance Student Experience, Strengthen Global Reach Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Anti-Racism | COVID-19 and Telehealth | Master of Analytical Finance | Scholarships for Women

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CONTENTS SPRING 2021

FEATURES

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Continuing a Global Conversation on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Anti-Racism

The Future is Now: Digital Innovations to Enhance Global Learning Experience

Alumni Innovate Telehealth in a COVID-19 World

Goizueta Acts

LEADING INTO

THE FUTURE

Challenge yourself and transform your career options with a top-ranked Goizueta graduate business degree. Let us nurture your potential, fuel your passions, and prepare you for the challenges and possibilities of tomorrow.

Goizueta Innovates

CONTENT

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Scholarships for Women Entrepreneurship & Innovation Business & Society STEM in MBA Master of Analytical Finance John Lewis Case Competition Super Polluters

Social Justice Intern Drew Bullock 21BBA Math Man of Marketing David Schweidel Digital Transformer Cynthia Sole 19EMBA Microbusiness Accelerator Erin Igleheart Procurement Director Joe Adamski 09MBA Future Leader Nicole Mejias 21EvMBA Global Leader “Henry” Haipeng Zhang 00MBA Lyft Business Developer Faizan Bhatty 14BBA Critical Thinker Renee Dye 94PhD

Buzz

#MeetGoizueta

Discover how you can drive your career – and business – forward.

EMORY BUSINESS is published by Emory University’s Goizueta Business School and is distributed free to alumni and other friends of the business school. Send letters to the editor at gbs_communications@emory.edu. For archived editions, visit emory.biz/ magazine. ©2021 Goizueta Business School, Emory University. All rights reserved. Articles may be reprinted in full or in part if source is acknowledged.

ONE-YEAR MBA | TWO-YEAR MBA | EVENING MBA | EXECUTIVE MBA | MS BUSINESS ANALYTICS | MASTER OF ANALYTICAL FINANCE | EXECUTIVE EDUCATION

ONE-YEAR MBA | TWO-YEAR MBA | EVENING MBA | EXECUTIVE MBA | MS IN BUSINESS ANALYTICS | MASTER OF ANALYTICAL FINANCE | EXECUTIVE EDUCATION

EMORY.BIZ/GBS 2 | spring 2021

Goizueta Responds

Emory University is an equal opportunity/equal access/affirmative action employer fully committed to achieving a diverse workforce and complies with all applicable Federal and Georgia state laws, and executive orders regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action in its programs and activities. Emory University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, ethnic or national origin, gender, genetic information, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and veteran’s status. Inquiries should be directed to the Department of Equity and Inclusion, 201 Dowman Drive, Administration Building, Atlanta, GA 30322. Telephone: 404-727-9867 (V) 404-727-2049 (TDD).

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Class Notes

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#GoizuetaKnows

Glass Ceilings and Myopic Biases AI in Procurement PPP Relief for Small Business Merchandise Returns Achievement Gap in Social Classes Financial Statements

A FOND SENDOFF TO A GOIZUETA FRIEND For twenty years, Nicole Golston has been a familiar face at Goizueta Business School, writing and editing stories about our faculty, programming, events, colleagues, alumni, and friends for both Emory Business magazine and EmoryBusiness.com. In February, Golston officially retired from her university career, embarking on an exciting new adventure of writing, podcasting, and pursuing new hobbies.

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GOIZUETA BUZZ

DEAR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS, As spring moves into summer, I would like to congratulate the newest graduates of Goizueta Business School. Their resilience, resolve, and commitment to our school and overall community has been truly remarkable. We can’t wait to see where they will go next, the ways they will continue to thrive, and how they will leave their mark on the world around us.

Through all of the change and uncertainty over the past year, I have witnessed our students' and alumni’s incredible generosity. You have volunteered countless hours at food banks, testing and vaccination clinics, and grassroots organizations. You have stepped up to support voting rights, immigration rights, and social justice. You have risen as leaders in our local communities and on a national scale. We are proud to call you part of the Goizueta community.

As I look ahead to the future, I am grounded by the leaders of the past.

When our school evolved from Emory School of Business to Goizueta Business School in 1994, Roberto C. Goizueta, then CEO of The CocaCola Company, challenged, “Will we have the courage and wisdom ... to aspire to build a school completely distinctive in its ability to add value to our society?”

I believe we have done and are doing just that.

As we look back on this year, we have so much to be proud of. Thanks to a transformational gift from The Goizueta Foundation in 2019, this spring we launched two new centers–The Roberto C. Goizueta Business & Society Institute and The Roberto C. Goizueta Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. Through Global Classrooms, also supported by the gift, we are poised to take digital learning to the next level by providing business professionals with a true immersive, dynamic experience from anywhere in the world. Our MBA students launched the nationally acclaimed and inaugural John R. Lewis Racial Justice Case Competition, examining how companies can address racial injustice within their organizations and in society.

We believe business is a vehicle capable of delivering meaningful, lasting impact to society. Through our focus on delivering world-class educational experiences and opportunities for our students, we are preparing principled leaders and convening the brightest minds to solve the biggest problems of our future.

I am proud of our community, and I look forward to a future full of opportunity and innovation.

Karen L. Sedatole John H. Harland Interim Dean, Goizueta Business School

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SCHOLARSHIP FOR WOMEN ESTABLISHED AT GOIZUETA The new Rosemary and John Brown Family Scholars Program will increase enrollment of women across Goizueta’s graduate programs, reinforcing its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Goizueta Business School is honored to announce a $5 million endowment to establish the Rosemary and John Brown Family Scholars Program, open to alumnae of Spelman College and Agnes Scott College. This generous gift is presented

by John and Rosemary Brown, parents of alumna Sarah Beth Brown 89MBA.

From left to right, pictured are daughter Janine Brown, a Spelman trustee, Rosemary Brown, John Brown, and daughter Sarah Beth Brown 89MBA. Photo taken prior to 2020.

“Goizueta is proud to launch this exciting initiative to increase representation of women in business,” said Goizueta’s Interim John H. Harland Dean Karen Sedatole. “Women and minorities often are underrepresented in graduate business programs. This imbalance negatively affects students, business schools, and the larger business community. This generous endowment allows Goizueta to execute its bold vision to meet tomorrow’s challenges and reimagine what business education could and should be.”

only 32 percent in academia achieve the rank of full professor, and a lower percentage still become college presidents.

Designed to afford opportunity and increase enrollment of women across Goizueta’s graduate programs, the Brown Family Scholars Program reinforces Goizueta’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and aims to provide continued learning and networking opportunities to women to chisel away at the glass ceiling that limits extraordinary women in business from assuming leadership roles.

According to Fortune 500 research, although women make up 50.8 percent of the United States population (39 percent of which are women of color), females represent a record high of only 7.4 percent of top leadership roles of Fortune 500 companies. In Fortune 500 financial services companies, women hold more than half of the financial manager and accountant roles but ultimately only 12.5 percent rise to become chief financial officers.

“My parents, Rosemary and John Brown, and our family are excited to support opportunities for women to enroll in Goizueta Business School graduate programs. We are pleased the Rosemary and John Brown Family Scholars Program is in collaboration with Spelman College and Agnes Scott College for principled women business leaders to advance in their careers,” said Sarah Beth Brown.

As reported in The Women’s Leadership Gap, women earn more than half of all undergraduate degrees, but the percentage drops to just 38 percent for MBA degrees.

Similarly, though women earn more doctorates than their male counterparts,

Rosemary Brown, a lifelong educator, shared her passion for mathematics with students in East Brunswick, NJ, and several schools in Kalamazoo, MI. She received her Bachelor of Science in chemistry from Auburn University and her Master’s in mathematics education from Rutgers University. She received an Honorary Doctor

of Laws degree from Freed-Hardeman University, and was recognized by Auburn University with an Honorary Doctor of Science degree and the Distinguished Alumni Award from Auburn’s College of Science and Math.

John Brown is Chairman Emeritus of Stryker Corporation. He received his Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from Auburn University, and also received an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Freed-Hardeman University, an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Kalamazoo College, and an Honorary Doctor of Science degree from Auburn University.

Brown Family Scholars admitted into any of Goizueta’s graduate programs will benefit from small-by-design program classes known for a collaborative culture and highly experiential learning model. This will help Scholars to formally build camaraderie and continue with mentoring and networking during the remainder of their studies.

Sedatole added, “By rejecting the impediments of progress, and fostering broad inclusion, Goizueta is committed to affecting meaningful change, helping every individual become a principled leader who will have a positive impact on business and society.”

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GOIZUETA BUZZ

GOIZUETA BUZZ THE ROBERTO C. GOIZUETA BUSINESS & SOCIETY INSTITUTE BUILDS ON GOIZUETA’S SOCIAL ENTERPRISE LEGACY Social impact at Goizueta has elevated with the launch of The Robert C. Goizueta Business & Society Institute. The March 4 virtual launch featured Rebecca Henderson, Harvard Business School professor and author of Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire.

GOIZUETA LAUNCHES THE ROBERTO C. GOIZUETA CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP & INNOVATION From corporate America to Main Street, the future of work is entrepreneurial, and The Roberto C. Goizueta Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation offers students, alumni, community members, and corporate partners a portfolio of programs to meet those growing needs and interests. The Center was funded by a gift from The Goizueta Foundation in late 2019.

Emory University and Goizueta Business School launched the Center to a virtual global audience on February 11. The program featured Robert Kazanjian, the academic director of the Center and Asa Griggs Candler professor of Organization & Management, in conversation with Bill Carr 94MBA, former Amazon vice president for 15 years.

The Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation promotes entrepreneurship and innovation across the Goizueta community fueled by critical inquiry and developed to serve fundamental societal needs. The Center supports the application of sound business principles, presented to open possibilities and foster imagination while focusing on three key areas: entrepreneurship, investing, and innovation. To broaden its reach, the Center is partnering with The Hatchery–an interactive area at Emory that includes classrooms, collaboration areas, a makerspace, and presentation and event space.

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Funded in part by a 2019 gift from The Goizueta Foundation, the Institute builds on a decade of work by Social Enterprise @ Goizueta. The Institute's goal is to transform business to solve society's challenges through cutting-edge research, innovative programming, and principled leadership. The belief is that business and society can work collectively to address the issues of inequality and climate change, two of the most pressing challenges facing both business and society today.

“In business school we bring urgency to these issues,” says Executive Academic Director and Associate Professor Wesley Longhofer. “It should be a place we can innovate and experiment.”

Enterprise Student Fellows gain mentorship and hands-on experience in social enterprise). The Institute will also deeply explore the role of business in tackling climate change.

“We will always be a research center.

What’s unique about our work is that we not only research, but we put it into action,” adds Managing Director Brian Goebel 09MBA.

In under a decade, enrollment in business and society courses has grown to hundreds of undergraduate and MBA students each year who experience global travel, consulting, mentorships, and fellowships.

Programs for interdisciplinary faculty and alumni explore ways to take action.

This includes nurturing microbusinesses (its Start:ME accelerator has supported hundreds of Atlanta microbusinesses in underserved communities), specialty coffee markets (its Grounds for Empowerment program provides women specialty coffee farmers in Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala the market connections and expertise to reach full economic potential), and next-generation leaders (Social

“Conversations around equity and climate change are increasingly central to business,” Longhofer says. “To build a better system to create equity or to solve the climate crisis, business must be a part of it.” —Sally Parker

The Center’s launch in February of 2021 represents an expanded scope and elevated commitment to entrepreneurship and innovation for the Goizueta Business School. Growing numbers of students develop new business ideas or even start companies while still in school. For some, a startup might be their career focus right away, while others might take a more traditional corporate job with intentions to launch entrepreneurial ventures later in their careers.

“Even in large corporations, people experience many career pathways because it’s a more flexible work environment,” Center Director of Entrepreneurship Amelia Schaffner said. “Having multidisciplinary and cross-vertical experiences, which entrepreneurship and innovation allow for, provides the necessary skills to navigate uncertain and complex scenarios, even if you stay within the large corporate world.”

“It is our desire to create a vibrant community of alumni and students who are entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators, expanding opportunities, deepening connections, and supporting those who solve big problems in the world,” Schaffner said.

–Michelle Valigursky

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GOIZUETA BUZZ FULL-TIME MBA ANNOUNCES NEW STEM TRACK True to the school’s commitment to market readiness, Goizueta has added a credentialed STEM track as part of the business analysis major within its full-time MBA programs. To enhance proficiency in science, technology, engineering, and math, this new track will emphasize tech savviness, data literacy, analytical problem-solving abilities, and other expertise prized by today’s employers.

“The main driver for this addition in our programming is the clear direction of the global economy and the skills leaders will need in the future,” said Brian Mitchell 00EvMBA/00MPH, associate dean of full-time MBA programs. “This has led to significant growth in interest in STEM for younger students, which they bring with them to business school. Our faculty has always delivered a quantitatively rigorous curriculum, so credentialing a STEM track has been a natural evolution for them.”

Students who choose the new STEM track will complete electives that give them a deeper understanding of the tools necessary for analyzing business decisions, and more experience applying those tools to real-world challenges.

“For those choosing to pursue careers in STEM-related fields,” said Mitchell, “this credential will be a competitive advantage in the marketplace.”

Goizueta also offers a STEMcredentialed Master of Science in Business Analytics degree.

–Breckyn Wood

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GOIZUETA BUZZ GOIZUETA TO LAUNCH MASTER OF ANALYTICAL FINANCE DEGREE Goizueta will launch a new Master of Analytical Finance degree, beginning with Fall 2022 enrollment. As the finance industry evolves with big data and increased processing speed, “This specialized master’s program addresses an industry shift that keeps pace with the future of finance education,” said Kirsten Travers-UyHam, academic director of the new program. “The curriculum balances mastery of the practical concepts of finance and technical expertise.”

The 10-month, full-time student experience with a unique internship-style, analyst immersion experience delivered throughout will offer a data-driven STEM curriculum to explore financial markets through analytics and projects.

The program features core strengths: a corporate advisory board of leading global practitioners and corporate partnerships to provide externships, student projects, and recruitment.

“A key element of this new program will be the creation of a cutting-edge Finance Lab to be the central hub of the program and an exciting, interactive space modeled on a professional trading floor,” Travers-UyHam said. “Students will experience the fast pace of live markets daily with access to professional industry platforms and analytical tools. The hub will also facilitate collaboration and networking with practitioners through partnerships with financial institutions.”

Travers-UyHam’s program vision comes from her own career on Wall Street, including investment banking, risk management, and hedge fund management. She surveyed current finance industry professionals on the

future needs of finance. “The industry clamors for versatile thinkers who can make real data decisions while appreciating that financial markets can be imprecise,” she said. “Graduates need to understand the way the world works and how to measure and model prices.”

“We are forging ties with local, domestic, and international industry leaders as an integral part of this program’s success,” said T. Clifton Green, professor of finance. Travers-UyHam added that, “We will promote a diverse community of finance professionals, including initiatives for women in finance, and establish a corporate scholarship program.”

“Candidates may have prior analyst-level experience or be in a fifth year after undergraduate studies,” Travers-UyHam continued. “This immersive internshipstyle program is perfect for recent graduates from any discipline to prepare them with the knowledge and know-how for analytical careers in finance, such as in sales and trading, investment management, FinTech, consulting, hedge funds, and risk. We encourage applications from college graduates as well as junior professionals who want to accelerate their career with advanced analytical skills.”

Learn more at emory.biz/finance.

—Michelle Valigursky

JOHN R. LEWIS LEGACY GROWS THROUGH RACIAL JUSTICE CASE COMPETITION competition in summer 2020 in response to police violence and the Black Lives Matter movement. Their organizing mirrored what Lewis (1940-2020) did as a college student in the 1960s.

Willie Sullivan 21MBA As part of the unique value Goizueta Business School brings to MBA students, the school links student teams with major corporations to solve real-world business problems. In late 2020, that impact spread to more than 100 national student teams from top universities who entered the first John R. Lewis Racial Justice Case Competition.

MBA students, led by Willie Sullivan 21MBA, began forming the case

By King Week 2021, when judges determined top student teams—and Emory MBA students placed second—the competition extended the economic legacy of Lewis’ courageous crossing of Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge.

“Racial justice and business success are not mutually exclusive, and in fact are connected,” said Bonnie Schipper 22JD/ MBA, a member of the Goizueta team with Rutendo Chikuku, Bryan Shepherd and Simone Trotman, all 22MBA. HP welcomed the team’s bold ideas for providing Black suppliers more access to capital, networking opportunities, and economic metrics.

The team won $10,000, and half of all competition prizes went to racial justice community nonprofits.

Other corporate sponsors and finalist teams included: Johnson & Johnson (University of Southern California Marshall Business School, winner of the $20,000 grand prize), Salesforce and Southern Company (two teams from MIT), Truist (Harvard Business School, $10,000 Audience Prize) and Walmart (Yale School of Management).

SurveyMonkey and Poets & Quants provided additional support.

“This competition came together so quickly, and a force of will made it happen,” Sullivan said of the volunteers, including former Lewis chief of staff Michael Collins 15EMBA. —Michelle Hiskey

TAKING ON SUPER POLLUTERS TO REDUCE GREENHOUSE GASES A new book co-authored by Wesley Longhofer, academic director of The Roberto C. Goizueta Business & Society Institute and associate professor of Organization & Management, offers new insights into a persistent problem—how to curb carbon emissions from top-polluting power plants around the world.

In Super Polluters: Tackling the World’s Largest Sites of Climate-Disrupting Emissions (Columbia University Press), Longhofer and co-authors Don Grant and Andrew Jorgenson argue that reducing pollution from fossil-fueled power plants should start with the dirtiest producers.

From data they gathered over eight years on the carbon emissions of every power plant in the world, they found that a small number of plants contribute the lion’s share

of pollution. For instance, if just the top five percent of carbon-emitting plants in the U.S. reduced emissions to the average intensity of all plants, overall emissions from the electricity sector would fall 22 percent.

The book also questions claims that improvements in technical efficiency will always reduce greenhouse gases.

“It’s the paradox of efficiency,” Longhofer says. “Just because a plant produces power more efficiently doesn’t mean they’ll pollute less. It just becomes cheaper to produce.”

As sociologists, the authors are the first to put the problem into context, investigating global, organizational, and political conditions that explain super-

polluter behavior.

They demonstrate the energy and climate policies most effective at curbing power-plant pollution, and show how mobilized citizen activism shapes those outcomes.

“Climate change is fundamentally an organizational problem. Even if you think about the Paris Accords, it’s the power plants and the cars within those states that produce the emissions, not the states themselves,” Longhofer says. “What do we do with what we already know? How do we develop policies to help us achieve our climate goals?” —Sally Parker

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FEATURE

D

ecades ago, Goizueta Business School embarked on a meaningful journey toward achieving its intellectual and human potential. Now, upholding the critical principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is ingrained into our ethos.

A Look Back When we consider the journey that Goizueta Business School has been on related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, Jill Perry-Smith, senior associate dean of strategic initiatives, shares, “The historical context is really illuminating.” Perry-Smith is charged with leading the school’s DEI strategies and notes, “It is important to recognize trailblazers and have an opportunity to think through the events of the country and world as they collide with our local history.”

Continuing a Global Goizueta Conversation on

DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, AND ANTI-RACISM by

by MICHELLE MICHELLE VALIGURSKY VALIGURSKY

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“Emory was desegregated in 1962–not long ago from a historical perspective,” she said. As the civil rights movement took hold, then Goizueta Dean Jim Hund embraced the opportunity for discovery, engaging social justice activists and economists to address Southern Black entrepreneurship. Awareness continued to grow through the 1970s, with matriculation of Black undergraduate and graduate-level students and the implementation of President James T. Laney’s President’s Commission on the Status of Minorities. In 1994, the school was renamed to honor Cuban immigrant Roberto C. Goizueta, Chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company.

Global student recruitment gave way to worldwide outreach and a multicultural infusion on Goizueta’s campus, and Dean Tom Robertson responded to student needs by hosting the first Diverse Leadership Conference. In the following years, Goizueta appointed Alicia Sierra as its first director of diversity and community initiatives, along with naming Dean Erika James to guide our institution. Dean James made history as the first Black woman to lead a top-25 ranked business school ahead of its peer institutions.

Progress in DEI has remained a constant throughout Goizueta’s storied history, and Perry-Smith noted that three priorities are at the forefront of the school’s formal DEI Initiative: enrich our community, reflect broader society, and improve equity.

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“We prepare for our future, our anti-racist future, for Emory and the broader community here in Atlanta—and beyond—that we serve.

These conversations will serve for more action and progress, and that’s exactly what we need at this moment in time.”

–Greg Fenves, President, Emory University

Turning to the Future “The work we are doing now to set infrastructure in place will enable us to make more sustainable and impactful change in the future,” Perry-Smith explained. “For many, the events of 2020 and 2021 symbolize an awakening, a call for more global conversation around vital issues of diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism.”

“Our focus extends to raising awareness for individuals with identities who have been historically marginalized and who have faced systemic barriers to equitable treatment,” she said. “Beyond race, cultural upbringing, gender identity, and sexual orientation, we explore the needs of people who are neurodiverse with unique ways of processing knowledge. Our goal is to discover how every single person can contribute to their fullest potential to help us achieve a better campus community and society.”

Enrich our Community: Exposure to cultural knowledge with an aim of increased self-awareness.

“We do not live in a static state. Public sentiments and individual needs will ebb and flow depending on current events and society at large,” Perry-Smith said. Last year, Goizueta Business School established the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council, which Perry-Smith was chosen to guide. “Our DEI Council has tentacles into key parts of the organization. We have appointed ambassadors from each program office, faculty members from each area of study, and we touch all aspects of our organization to advise and give input on pressing issues.”

She noted, “We are diving into evidence-based data across all constituents. We need to be transparent about that information, even if it’s not all favorable.”

Enhanced awareness education and training is an important tool in the anti-racist cache of resources. Perry-Smith noted that while some diversity training can be ineffective and even

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harmful to positive outcomes, “research reveals that cognitive learning is helpful. And this is where we shine as an institution, to engage in critical inquiry based on evidence.”

One such global effort began with expanding the scope of the Common Reads Program and the Ally Education Series, both forums for shared understanding and empathy. Goizueta encouraged all students, faculty, and staff, to read Whistling Vivaldi by author Claude M. Steele. Through research and interviews, Whistling Vivaldi speaks to race, racial bias, and stereotypes, both racial and cultural. Goizueta community members participated in peer-facilitated small group discussions designed to delve into the racial biases and stereotype threats they have seen and experienced in their own lives.

Brian Mitchell 00EvMBA/00MPH, associate dean for the full-time MBA program and Goizueta’s Global Strategy and Initiatives, pointed out, “Whistling Vivaldi is a great book for students who are coming into an academic environment because it talks about biases and stereotypes as it relates to academic performance.” He went on to explain the burden these types of assumptions might add to working through an already difficult situation. “The conversation we have with students is, ‘Here are some of the realities around the stereotype threat, here’s how they might affect you as a student in this program, and here are some strategies for how to work through it.’”

FEATURE

faculty and staff of Social Enterprise @ Goizueta along with its programs. The Institute reflects the school’s elevated commitment to social impact and seeks to transform business to solve society’s challenges. At the launch event, Goizueta Business School Associate Professor and Academic Director Wesley Longhofer led a fireside chat with Harvard Business School professor and author Dr. Rebeca Henderson, based on her book Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire. The conversation revolved around building a profitable, equitable, and sustainable capitalism, grounded in new ways of defining the role of business in society. Longhofer shared, “As an Institute, we do not claim to have all the answers facing business and society; rather, we want to be a catalyst for asking the right kinds of questions.”

One of the Institute’s transformative programs is Start:ME, a free small business training program that provides entrepreneurs the tools and connections necessary to build and grow successful businesses in underserved communities around Atlanta.

Eighty-two percent of 2021 winter cohort businesses are led by people of color, 84% are led by women, and 24% are foreign-born entrepreneurs. The 49 small businesses served represent more than $425,000 in revenue for 2020.

On a global level, Grounds for Empowerment provides women specialty coffee farmers the market connections and business know-how to enable them to reach their full economic potential.

This cohort program works with small groups of women growers from Latin America through semester long consulting support and in-country workshops supported by Emory students and industry members.

Funded by the Goizueta Business School Dean’s Innovation Fund, the Improving Goizueta’s Support of Black Entrepreneurs and Black Students Study, led by K. Hall Consulting and a team of student consultants this past summer, conducted interviews with 30 stakeholders across the entrepreneurship ecosystem both in Atlanta and on campus to determine where and how the business school could better partner, engage, and support Black entrepreneurs. Following up on the Phase 1 report, Goizueta faculty and students will continue efforts in Phase 2, which is focused on developing an academic case on Black entrepreneurship to support classroom learning, along with the implementation of other internal and external diversity, equity, and inclusion recommendations.

In the summer of 2020, Mitchell guided candid student conversations around key events highlighting racial injustice, the impact of such instances, and changes that could be implemented. For alumnus Willie Sullivan 21MBA, the repeated rally cry for social justice at the forefront of the Black Lives Matter movement sparked a desire to lead meaningful change.

“We wanted to do something actionable,” said Sullivan, speaking of his MBA classmates. “How could we take a business case note and have students come up with strategic frameworks for a major corporation to do something about large societal issues?”

Sullivan and classmates conceived The John R. Lewis Racial Justice Case Competition to address equity and inclusion problems plaguing corporate America. Sponsored by Goizueta and with the blessing of the late Congressman and civil rights icon John R. Lewis’ family, the inaugural competition earned

Improving Equity: Inspire our community members to leverage the power of diversity to improve equity in business and society.

“Going beyond the walls of Goizueta, our school also has a rich history of partnership with community organizations to share expertise and insight,” Perry-Smith said. “We explore our connection to one another on many levels, including economic empowerment and social justice.”

In March, Goizueta celebrated the launch of The Roberto C. Goizueta Business & Society Institute, the new home for the

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FEATURE submissions from 105 teams from 52 of the nation’s top universities. Thousands listened to presentations to corporate partners (HP, Johnson & Johnson, Salesforce, Southern Company, Truist, and Walmart), during which bold student teams confronted issues of supplier diversity to include Black-owned businesses, minority vendor supply chain relationships, STEM careers and scholarship for Black girls, the Black wealth gap, training for people of color on house arrest, and people over profits.

John H. Harland Interim Dean Karen Sedatole praised the student-conceived, student-designed, and student-executed event. “Their passion and leadership skills are a testament to the quality of students, faculty, staff, and programs that we have here at Goizueta Business School. We’re so very proud of them.”

Reflect Broader Society: Achieve a composition of our faculty, staff, and student body that fully reflects the broader society.

Goizueta has developed partnerships with a range of organizations to recruit and increase representation of students and faculty from diverse backgrounds in our business programs, including The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management,

Forte Foundation, Management Leadership for Tomorrow, MBADiversity.org, National Black MBA Association, The PhD Project, Prospanica, The Robert Toigo Foundation, and Women in Technology. On campus, clubs and groups, too, celebrate the broad range of backgrounds and experiences in our diverse community, with at least 14 distinct organizations for Goizueta students.

In 2002, Goizueta formed a strategic partnership with The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management, a cooperative network of universities designed to enhance diversity and inclusion in business education while at the same time reducing underrepresentation in graduate school enrollment through merit-based full-tuition scholarships to top-tier MBA candidates.

From the onset of the partnership, Goizueta has awarded more than $14 million in scholarships to Consortium members.

“I’m impressed by how the school has embraced diversity in a way we were fighting for when we were students. It’s rewarding to see DEI being prioritized,” said Nsombi Ricketts 06MBA, who came to Goizueta through the Consortium and later founded the student-run Diverse Leadership Conference at Goizueta in response to racial incidents on campus. She noted, “When I look at Goizueta today, I’m proud to see that our work has had a tangible impact, and that the DEI conversation impacts so many populations–students, faculty, and even alumni.”

Faculty Research Highlights Racial Antipathy “What we have seen and are seeing in 2020 and 2021 is a confluence of many major factors: a pandemic that has put a lot of people out of work, and that has put everyone on edge, punctuated by some horrific and well-documented instances of violence against Black and Asian citizens,” said Emily Bianchi, associate professor of Organization & Management.

“So many of these things are in the mixing pot, that it’s hard to pinpoint one specific cause behind the current race crisis in the U.S. So many things coming together at once have put us in this moment.” To delve deeper into important societal issues, faculty members are shedding light on the impact of racial disparities and related financial opportunities for growth.

Bianchi and colleagues Erika Hall, assistant professor of Organization & Management, and Sarah Lee 19PhD, assistant professor of management, Dominican University of California and visiting professor of organizational behavior, Pepperdine University, conducted research on racial antipathy during times of economic downturn.

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Destigmatization “Stigma is powerful, resulting in significant economic and social disadvantages,” writes Goizueta Professor of Organization & Management and Professor of Sociology Giacomo Negro.

One way in which we understand the deep impact of stigma is by studying its lingering effects. In the forthcoming paper Destigmatization and Its Imbalanced Effects in Labor Markets, Negro partnered with colleagues Melissa J. Williams, The Goizueta Foundation term associate professor of Organization & Management, and Gabrielle Lopiano 23PhD candidate of Organization & Management, and Elizabeth Pontikes of University of California-Davis. “Destigmatization is an understudied social process,” Negro said. This study shows a new paradox. As society changes and stigmas weaken, stigma by association can persist longer than direct stigmas, meaning that co-workers or associates of someone who was formerly discriminated against may still be discriminated against themselves.

“We are very energized by the work being done in the business school and across the university around social justice. The context that comes from addressing this crucial topic from an interdisciplinary perspective enhances understanding and adds depth and breadth to the conversation.”

—Andrea Hershatter, senior associate dean of undergraduate education and senior lecturer in Organization & Management, Goizueta Business School

Impacting Community Beyond the classrooms of Goizueta, Associate Dean of the Evening MBA Program and Co-chair for Goizueta’s DEI Council Corey Dortch stressed this point. “We want to encourage students to lean in and face head-on how they can lead on DEI in their workplaces—even where they are right now—from a framework of real-world knowledge and confidence. DEI is a skill.”

Dortch praised the many faculty and staff who listen to the students and their colleagues of color, and then make decisive moves to address concerns. “I’m proud to be part of a community that strives to get it right.”

The strategic, structural, and sustainable principles that Goizueta will continue to evolve to create impactful and lasting change among its community are also mirrored at the university.

“We seek to truly understand how racism permeates so many aspects of society, and to seek to change that, and for Emory to be a model of an anti-racist university,” Emory University President Greg Fenves said.

“We prepare for our future, our anti-racist future, for Emory and the broader community here in Atlanta and beyond that we serve,” Fenves said. “These conversations will serve for more action and progress, and that’s exactly what we need at this moment in time.”

For more information on Goizueta’s longstanding commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, please visit emory.biz/equity.

At Goizueta, diversity is a commitment to nurture and challenge the unique perspectives that will shape the future of business. It's a commitment to innovate in traditional fields and embrace emerging insights. It is the foundation of our intentions and actions. It is one of the core values by which we lead. Scan the QR code to learn more about Goizueta's values.

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FEATURE FEATURE

THE FUTURE IS NOW Goizueta’s Digital Learning Innovations to Enhance Student Experience, Strengthen Global Reach

BY BRUCE BROOKS If 2020 was about adapting teaching methods and keeping pace with change, 2021 is about setting the pace and exploring the future of business education.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to change how we work and learn, organizations, including business schools, are not only having to adapt to survive but also are reevaluating their business models for a new reality.

“We should look to the future with our well-trained minds ... ” – Roberto C. Goizueta 16 | spring 2021

In 2020, Goizueta faculty pivoted to online teaching and were quick to adopt new interactive tools and applications, including online case discussions, breakout room technologies, online polling, and many others, according to Anandhi Bharadwaj, vice dean for faculty and research. To strengthen the teaching transition, Goizueta established faculty forums, discussion boards, tips, and idea sharing.

“The ability to not only adapt but to innovate is critical,” said Nicola Barrett, chief corporate learning officer at Goizueta

Business School. “As with other sectors, higher education and executive development is undergoing significant change from new entrants, new technologies, and changing expectations of professionals and organizations.”

“For Goizueta, the time is now to explore the benefits and possibilities of digital learning and what it means for the future of teaching,” she said. Digital learning tools provide a perfect fit for busy working professionals as more individuals appreciate the flexibility of being more productive from the comfort of their home, she notes.

Denys Lu 04C 12EvMBA, Goizueta’s chief technology officer, agrees and explains that digital learning enables everyone to take a more active role in the learning process. “The way students want to learn today is very different than 10 or 20 years ago when the most important person in the room was the teacher,” he said. “Now, everyone contributes and learns from one another, including the teacher.”

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FEATURE

SETTING THE PACE FOR CHANGE Even before the pandemic, Goizueta was looking ahead to future learning innovations. “The goal is not to use digital learning to replace all of our traditional classrooms, but to reach a different audience AND provide a top-notch educational experience,” said Jaclyn Conner, associate dean for Executive MBA. Conner has been spearheading the teaching innovation efforts.

With three next-generation global classrooms, hologram technology, and augmented and virtual reality projects being developed, Goizueta is poised to take digital learning to the next level by providing business professionals with a truly immersive, dynamic experience from anywhere in the world.

“Digital learning offers an opportunity to expand Goizueta’s global reach and offer an amazing learning experience that other schools do not provide,” according to Lu. By eliminating the need for travel for many working professionals, the technology draws in a more expansive set of students both domestically and internationally with a greater diversity of thought, experience, and culture. “To really enhance the level of conversations and engagement in the classroom, you have to bring people in who are as different as possible,” he said.

“That’s what digital learning enables. It breaks the barriers for people who can’t afford to travel for a length of time.”

INVESTING IN A MORE DYNAMIC, INTERACTIVE STUDENT EXPERIENCE Digital learning is another important way to further develop and hone business leaders that shape and drive organizations, according to Barrett.

“The future of work and the future of learning are so intertwined with technology that we must constantly challenge ourselves to imagine more effective ways for professionals to enhance and broaden their perspectives, learn new skills and tools, and adopt more successful behaviors,” said Barrett.

Goizueta is leveraging a generous donation from The Goizueta Foundation to move forward on teaching innovations in three key areas: virtual classrooms, holograms, and virtual reality or gamification. This summer, Goizueta’s Executive Education and EMBA students will be the first to experience The Roberto C. Goizueta Global Classrooms, which create online and hybrid learning opportunities that don’t sacrifice one-to-one connection.

Goizueta has partnered with X20 Media—a third-party vendor—to power the digital learning platform that drives each of the three 18 | spring 2021

Global Classrooms. With multiple camera angles and state of the art audio, faculty and students will be able to see and hear each other through a wall of 20 to 40 high-definition monitors positioned with each student’s video feed assigned to a monitor– all in a familiar grid format.

The Global Classroom technology involves a lot more than just connecting students on a Zoom-type call. Making this possible is new in-house talent hired to run a production or control room, in which production members can communicate with professors in real time regarding questions and topics that arise in the online chat. This allows students to interact with each other and the instructor. Conner likens the production or control room to a sophisticated TV studio. “It’s Zoom on steroids,” she said.

Goizueta’s in-house instructional designers will work with faculty to help them prepare to fully leverage the world-class platform, and each session will be recorded for those who can’t attend or want to review.

Perhaps the greatest advantage, noted Conner, is the system’s learning analytics—which are the hardest to collect in a traditional learning environment. Faculty can conduct real-time polls to get the “temperature of the room” on any given topic. “The ability to use a digital platform to capture that data to provide to the

“The goal is not to use digital learning to replace all of our traditional classrooms but to reach a different audience AND provide a top-notch educational experience.”

–Nicola Barrett, Goizueta’s Chief Corporate Learning Officer

instructor in real time is revolutionary,” Conner said. “As you are teaching, managing a chat board is almost impossible. But having a system that is looking for commonalities and provides a report showing key words mentioned a number of times by a significant number of students—that is a game changer!”

In addition to real-time data analytics, the system also allows for greater flexibility and collaboration through break-out room options, whiteboard technology, and sharing of common assets to store files and presentations.

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FEATURE

EXPANDING REACH WITH “POP-UP” CLASSROOMS, HOLOGRAMS, AND VR Goizueta encourages faculty and staff to explore new technology and innovative approaches to teaching by funding high-impact proposals from the Experimentation Zone. The Experimentation Zone has enabled faculty and staff the freedom to explore additional learning opportunities by proposing ideas to create virtual reality learning experiences.

Expected to be in use later this year, holograms will allow Goizueta to invite guest speakers from all over the world, appearing as if they are right in front of students. Holograms also would make “pop-up” classrooms possible in locations around the world. This method is far less expensive than sending a faculty member to far-away places like Shanghai or Rome for in-person instruction. In the long run, this technology is expected to increase flexibility for new programs and create unique opportunities for innovation.

Additionally, gamification or the use of game-like virtual reality (VR) simulations can pave the way for immersive learning experiences without incurring the costs of associated travel to off-campus locations or relying on external partners to create these learning experiences.

Faculty are excited to explore how VR and holograms can enhance the student experience, Conner said. Barrett has cosubmitted and received approval for two proposals involving virtual reality, including one with Lieutenant General USA (Retired) Ken Keen, senior lecturer in Organization & Management and associate dean for leadership. They are developing a customized VR crisis leadership simulation that transports learners into “realworld” scenarios. The simulation is designed to be flexible, with unexpected challenges inserted mid-simulation to test business decisions, leadership behaviors, change management, and communication strategies. The simulation allows for forwardlooking learning when dealing with a crisis or challenge as opposed to case study review to see how a company handled a previous crisis.

“This simulation will make Goizueta unique,” said Keen. “What will differentiate this innovative crisis simulation will be how it uses state of the art technology, like virtual reality and holograms, to put leaders in roles within an organization, where they must deal with both sudden and smoldering crisis events that represent current research and future challenges.”

Barrett, along with Professor in the Practice of Organization and Management Michael Sacks, also proposed a VR negotiator simulation that has the potential to revolutionize how educators teach and research negotiations while providing a potential revenue stream through corporate education.

20 | spring 2021

“Our goal with both the crisis leadership simulation and the VR negotiator is to provide our executive participants with highly relevant and engaging learning situations that can better assess and build competencies and provide practice opportunities– faster, more effectively, and with less variability than the current approaches most providers use,” Barrett said. “By standardizing negotiation practice, we will be able to take biases out of the experience and better evaluate, for each learner and for each negotiation, based on multiple data points over the negotiation rather than on the outcome alone.”

For Steve Walton, professor of Information Systems & Operations Management, having the opportunity to explore how this technology can be integrated into the educational experience makes it interesting and fun. “This creates an opportunity to think creatively about what digital learning really means.”

Walton’s proposal to create a virtual reality experience of the Delta TechOps facility has been approved for a prototype this year. Walton regularly takes his students to the Delta TechOps facility but the VR learning experience, developed in partnership between Goizueta and Delta, would enable every section of process and systems courses across every Goizueta program to have the learning experience. It will also allow Delta to experiment with augmented and virtual reality at TechOps to further its own business.

“What you want students to remember is not the technology but the experience and how it enhanced their life."

–Denys Lu, Goizueta’s Chief Technology Officer

“We will use technology to increase our school’s reach, to stay connected with our students and alumni on a global scale, and to improve our range, which is our ability to do more things in more meaningful ways to improve business and society.”

–Anandhi Bharadwaj, vice dean for faculty and research, Goizueta Business School

THE FUTURE OF DIGITAL LEARNING “It is an exciting time to be in higher ed, as we are constantly challenged to reimagine ‘what’s next’ and how we can better help professionals, managers, and executives adopt new mindsets, skillsets, and toolsets to lead their organizations,” Barrett said.

“Technology will continue to be an important enabler, and we will continue to invest, learn, and adopt new technologies,” said Bharadwaj. “We will use technology to increase our school’s reach, to stay connected with our students and alumni on a global scale, and to improve our range, which is our ability to do more things in more meaningful ways to improve business and society.”

But investing in technology by itself is not the end goal, Bharadwaj notes. Leading in the digital learning space means figuring out how to use it to add significant value for students and organizations.

“What you want students to remember is not the technology but the experience and how it enhanced their life,” said Lu. As a result of the increased flexibility and collaboration that digital learning tools provides, we will see more and more of this type of technology, Lu noted.

For Goizueta, digital learning tools will be one more differentiator from the competition while providing greater global reach.

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FEATURE

ALUMNI INNOVATE

TELEHEALTH IN A COVID-19 WORLD With Patients in Need, Goizueta MBAs Launched Emory Healthcare Telehealth

BY A L L I S O N S H I R R E F F S 22 | spring 2021

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FEATURE

P

rior to the new coronavirus pandemic, investments in telehealth at Emory Healthcare had been limited. But in 2019, Emory Healthcare planned to change that. It formed an internal telehealth team and established a goal to provide 1000 telehealth visits in 2020, a figure that seems laughable now. On January 21, 2020 the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S. was reported in the state of Washington, and in weeks it became clear that the coronavirus would disrupt outpatient care for the foreseeable future.

In response, the U.S. Congress and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued emergency public health orders, paving the way for telehealth to become a viable alternative to face-to-face medical visits. “We knew the only way we were going to be able to continue with robust access to outpatient care, at least in the short term, was by telehealth,” said Gregory Esper 09EMBA, MD, associate chief medical officer at Emory Healthcare and medical director of Emory’s telehealth initiative.

In early March, the team—Esper, Sarah Kier 20EMBA, vice president, patient access, Emory Healthcare physician group practices, Rob Sweeney 18MBA, administrator, Emory Healthcare, and Emma Winchell, project manager, Emory Healthcare—went into “hyperexecute mode,” said Esper, as it worked to ensure continuity of patient care. Amy Comeau 11EMBA, vice president, marketing, Emory Healthcare, was a key health system partner whose team developed the telehealth brand, Emory Connected Care, and innovatively spread the word to patients and families.

On March 13, 2020, the European travel ban took effect, and by St. Patrick’s Day, most of Emory Healthcare’s non-employees were working from home. As a safety precaution and to preserve personal protective equipment (PPE), in-person visits at Emory Healthcare clinics were significantly reduced. That’s when telehealth took off: between mid-March and the end of 2020, Emory Healthcare’s telehealth team facilitated approximately 436,000 telehealth visits—an astounding increase from their initial goal of 1000.

“You’ve heard the saying, ‘Never let a good crisis go to waste,’” said Comeau. “The laser focus on COVID-19 response allowed all of us to perform at the top of our game and to really push innovation for the benefit of our patients and our organization.”

As the pandemic forced the telehealth team into overdrive, one of the principles Esper learned at Goizueta kept running through his mind. “If you create the right incentives, the market will happen,” he said. “That’s exactly what happened with telemedicine.” To help the team move an initiative like telehealth through the Emory Healthcare system, Esper relied on knowledge gleaned from his organizational behavior and leadership classes with Rick Gilkey and 24 | spring 2021

Peter Topping, both professors in the practice of Organization & Management at Goizueta.

For the four Emory Healthcare leaders armed with an MBA from Goizueta, it turns out that instituting an outpatient telehealth program which did not exist “allowed us to put into action what we learned in our business courses,” explained Esper, “Which is just awesome.”

Kier, who was in the last semester of her Executive MBA program while working to get Emory Healthcare’s Telehealth initiative up and running, “felt the full benefit of my degree almost immediately,” she said. “It was an amazing, unique, and meaningful culmination of all the education, all the practical lessons come to life.”

2020 TELEHEALTH END OF YEAR VISITS

1,000

INITIAL GOAL

436,000 TOTAL VISITS

Why a Revolutionary Business Model Changed Healthcare Before the pandemic, the telehealth team had designed three training modules, which helped the team hit the ground running.

The first module addressed telehealth basics. The second reviewed legislation and regulations, and the third guided physicians through steps before, during, and after patient visits.

For physicians to be certified to conduct telehealth sessions, they needed to complete the training, pass an exam, and commit to using Emory Healthcare Telehealth standards.

To ensure that the system’s nearly 2400 healthcare providers could access the training, take the test, and document that they’d passed, resources needed to be organized and easily accessible.

“It was very detailed operational work,” described Esper, “and Emma Winchell was the lynchpin for the certification process.”

Emory Healthcare, an academic medical center with 11 hospitals and over 250 clinical sites, delivers care for more than 820,000 patients annually. There are more than 70 subspecialties at Emory Healthcare, and from a telemedicine perspective, certain subspecialties made sense to target first. The telehealth team

The Emory Healthcare Telehealth team, picture here from left to right: Emma Winchell, Sarah Kier 20EMBA, Rob Sweeney 18MBA, Amy Comeau 11EMBA, Greg Esper 09EMBA. then used what it learned from those experiences to cascade insights into other subspecialties.

While Emory Healthcare’s senior leadership was accessible and provided guidance, for all intents and purposes, the telehealth team and their clinical partners within the sections were blazing a new trail. “That felt good,” said Kier. “We knew we’d execute successfully and get it done, but no one knew what the end zone would look like once we got there. We were focused on the now– we needed to do a thing and we needed to do it fast.”

Information Management and Delivery Take Top Priority While Kier, Sweeney, and Winchell organized the training, Comeau and her marketing team built the Emory Connected Care brand and developed content to inform patients about how to access resources and care. To communicate with leadership and deliver information to different stakeholders, Comeau relied on her “soft skills,” she said—something she’d learned the importance of while at Goizueta. “You can’t get stuff done alone,” said Comeau.

Leaning on established partnerships and building new ones across and through the organization helped her align resources and priorities to market the program and provide patients muchneeded information on what to expect.

Comeau had a limited background in finance prior to taking financial classes as part of her core curriculum in the EMBA

program. She credits her ability to make a business case for getting the green light for certain Emory Healthcare Telehealth campaigns and initiatives. Being able to crunch numbers to make a compelling case, added Comeau, is a skill she relies on “every single day.”

As outpatient care shifted to telehealth, Sweeney and Winchell organized daily informational Zoom meetings for providers. They also implemented a “hub-and-spoke” communication model.

Rather than Sweeney and Winchell fielding inquiries from across the system, each subspecialty had representatives that shared concerns and reported best practices to the telehealth team.

“They were key for telling us what they were seeing from an operational standpoint,” Sweeney said.

Sweeney came to Goizueta from the U.S. Department of Defense and had no prior experience in healthcare. By happenstance, Sweeney’s Goizueta IMPACT project (where students act as consultants to solve real-world business issues for sponsoring clients) paired him with a pharmaceutical company. Some of what he learned on that project—discerning who the stakeholders were, finding out and focusing on what was most important—was instrumental in understanding the regulatory environment around telehealth. Working on that IMPACT project also gave him insight into how to structure information so “it’s easy to digest,” Sweeney said. “Being exposed to business situations where you were in uncharted waters and had to figure out how to swim. That was a big takeaway.”

emory business magazine | 25

COVID-19 ALUMNI INSIGHTS “The pandemic emphasized the power of a team and reinforced creativity and collaboration.

We all learned that urgency, creativity, and teamwork make a difference not only during these challenging moments, but at all times. The strength of our teams further improved communication, collaboration, and cross-collaboration among various specialties and services, which will be critical in response to any obstacle that comes our way in the future.

Dealing with the pandemic made me more agile, tenacious, strengthened my leadership skills, and fortified my ability to multitask. Going through the Goizueta Executive MBA program expanded the depth and the width of my mindset not only as a physician but also as a leader.”

Christine Charaf 20EMBA, MD, FACP, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Adjunct Faculty Member, Morehouse School of Medicine, and Staff Physician, Veteran Administration

FEATURE “The ambiguity that COVID brought to the hospital caused me to think back to my education at Goizueta. My IMPACT projects taught me the tools to identify applicable frameworks to help solve the types of problems COVID created in and around the hospital.

Additionally, COVID created logistical problems. Today, we are trying to determine how best to administer the vaccine to everyone.”

Adlai Pappy 19MD/MBA, Anesthesiology Resident at Harvard's Brigham and Women's Hospital in MA

“Because of COVID, the business models that were inevitably going to fail over the next 10 years have failed in two months. Someone pressed a button and now we’re 10 years ahead and our capabilities aren’t. And we have to adjust. This disruption is a catalyst for digital transformation and for adapting new business models and letting go of old business models that would have failed over time anyway. It just happened in an instant.”

Sanchit Rege 12MBA, Director Digital, Direct Channel & Metasearch Strategy, Hyatt Hotels Corporation. Rege lives and works in Zurich, Switzerland.

“The pace at which we were getting information was constant. I remember thinking, is there even a point to work on this until an hour before it’s due because we’re just going to have to change it.

I learned about agility. I would work so hard to make pieces look beautiful and then they got changed. You just have to deal with it, you know? There’s no option for perfection. You can make it look the best it can, but it needs to go out because of how important it is for that information to be out in the public.”

“This pandemic has taught me the importance of being incredibly purpose-driven with a clear human focus.

As terrible as the pandemic has been, the necessary response reaffirmed that business is about pursuing a noble purpose and putting employees and human relationships at the heart of how a business operates.”

David DiLoreto 05MBA, Principal, Sg2, a Vizient Company.

DiLoreto’s firm works with healthcare providers to plan and predict future demand for healthcare services.

26 | spring 2021

Iterate, iterate, iterate.

Lessons Learned in 2020 Guide Future

Given the speed of the project’s implementation, some aspects did not get the level of attention they might have in a nonCOVID-19 environment, but the team held firm when it came to quality of care. “Keeping patient experience, provider experience, and the standard of care just as high quality as it would have been in person was really important to all of our stakeholders,” stated Kier.

As Esper reflected on all that happened in 2020, he felt a sense of accomplishment. Over the course of a career, the moments where you get “to leverage all your skill and desire and knowledge to bring about a change” are few and far between, he said. “To this date, for me, the launch of telemedicine at Emory is that moment.”

For example, during the initial phases of the rollout, doctors often had to talk their patients through the ins and outs of Zoom.

Rather than burden clinicians, the telehealth team created a pool of contact center agents who worked with patients prior to their telehealth sessions and got them Zoom-ready. “Watching the iteration happen up and downstream was really cool,” added Kier. “We went from totally new and a bit shaky to really good operationally quickly.” If issues were ubiquitous, Comeau and her team created messaging to help alleviate them, creating how-to videos and what-to-expect content.

Esper and his telehealth teammates certainly don’t wish for anything like COVID-19 to strike again, but they’ve come out of the experience with a sense of pride. “If you’re in a situation where it’s fourth down and there are 22 seconds left in the game—do you want the ball or not?” Esper asked.

Thankful for the skills he learned during his Goizueta MBA program, he said, “It’s performing like this that tells me that if a team like ours has the ball, we can do something with it. That gives us confidence. And we hope it gives Emory Healthcare confidence in us as well.”

As a result of the effective ramping up and the use of telehealth during the pandemic, the money billed via Emory Healthcare Telehealth has been similar to that from in-person visits, as have been patient satisfaction scores. Another positive outcome of the team’s hard work is that the processes the team implemented for the telehealth rollout have proven applicable to Emory Healthcare’s patient and employee vaccination programs. “Many of the mechanisms developed for communicating with our (telehealth) patients, we’re now using and improving upon for our patient vaccinations,” explained Comeau.

Neha Bansal 17C 21MSBA. When the pandemic began, Bansal was an ORISE Fellow at Centers for Disease Control for the Clinician Outreach and Communications (COCA) team, responsible for creating content regarding emerging health threats such as COVID-19.

“There is still so much to learn about COVID and all of the challenges that have come with it. The Goizueta experience prepares its students to work through ambiguity and to become comfortable with being uncomfortable, but not everyone gets to go through that experience. That’s why we must be leaders and be the calm in the storm.”

Eric Neydorff 19MBA, Finance Business Partner, SARS CoV-2 Vaccine, Moderna Therapeutics

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#MEETGOIZUETA

#MEETGOIZUETA

Drew Bullock 21BBA/MPA Student

FTI Consulting–Future Dispute Advisory Consultant Drew Bullock 21BBA/MPA likes to stay busy. When she’s not playing outfielder for Emory’s softball team, the North Carolina native can be found working on her dual BBA and Master in Professional Accounting degrees. “What keeps me motivated is that it's something new every day,” Bullock says. “I'm always thinking that tomorrow can be different, and I shouldn’t dwell in the past. I learned in sports you can't hang onto the fact you just struck out in the field. It’s always about moving onto the next thing.”

When Bullock first came to Emory, she knew she wanted to work in healthcare with her ultimate goal of becoming a healthcare lobbyist, heading to Capitol Hill and changing the American healthcare industry. However, after taking a few business school prerequisites, her love of business quickly grew. In fact, she’s already landed a full-time job as a dispute advisory consultant with FTI Consulting postgraduation. “I'm still very much on the path to healthcare,” Bullock explains. “I don't know exactly how I'm going to make the transition, but I'm going to make it sometime in life. I think I have the tools to get there, and accounting is a great foundation for me to work into that.”

Bullock’s busy schedule doesn’t stop on the field or in the classroom, as she currently works at the Department of Accessibility Services on campus, as well as serving as president of Beta Alpha Psi, the Financial Honor Society, and a pre-BBA Coach. She also works as an intern with the Commission for Racial and Social Justice where the group recently created an official BBA book fund, helping numerous students struggling to purchase textbooks. “I think it is really helpful because I know I've had to use it in the past,” she says.

In her spare time, Bullock loves to read, as well as volunteer at PAWS Atlanta Animal Shelter. With a strong love of reality television, she and her sister started a podcast called Raised with Reality, where they discuss some of their favorite shows.

During her time at Emory, Bullock has grown to understand other people, as well as improving her emotional intelligence. “People change and I think that's OK,” she says. “You should always keep growing as a person.”

–Patty Pohuski 28 | spring 2021

DAVID SCHWEIDEL

Faculty

Professor of Marketing When David Schweidel first entered college at the University of Pennsylvania, he thought he would become an actuary because of his interest and talent in math. A Penn staff member saw more in him, and Schweidel has never left academia. Now in his ninth year as professor of marketing at Goizueta Business, Schweidel teaches, researches, and advises doctoral students like he once was.

What’s Schweidel’s advice for students? Take advantage of access to broad university experiences beyond the classroom.

“Learning is not restricted to the classroom, so the staff member in my dorm set up a meeting for me to consider a PhD,” he recalled.

“I’ve literally been putting one foot in front of the other ever since then, and today I tell our students that should not be the totality of their Emory experience. Coming to a top-tier research university, you need to take advantage of all the value that we are adding.”

Individual choice defines Schweidel’s work, too. He studies data from consumer decisions and spending patterns of consumer groups—especially on social media—to identify trends. His research focuses on the development and application of statistical models to understand consumer behavior and shape how companies manage relationships with consumers. He asks questions like: As

information spreads at lightning speed, how do companies harness that power to reach (and not manipulate) consumers?

“Take something like consumers’ location data, which has the potential to destroy their privacy,” Schweidel says. “Where’s the tradeoff, and how do you balance the consumer privacy with the business objective?”

Through tweets and posts, consumers signal their values, and companies must pay attention. “If your consumers care about an issue, you have to,” he added. “Business doesn’t operate in a vacuum.”

Because technology and data-gathering morph constantly, Schweidel uses current issues in his classes. Example: As marketing copy is churned out by language generation tools aimed at increasing search engine optimization, how will business change?

“It’s not Mad Men anymore,” Schweidel says of consumer marketing. “It’s Math Men. Data and analytics now make things tick in business.” —Michelle Hiskey

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#MEETGOIZUETA

#MEETGOIZUETA ERIN IGLEHEART

Staff

The Roberto C. Goizueta Business & Society Institute–Program Director You won’t often find Erin Igleheart in the spotlight—and she likes it that way.

CYNTHIA SOLE 19EMBA

Alumni

Microsoft–Leader, Education Partner Sales, Mid-Atlantic A strong advocate for self-awareness, Cynthia Sole 19EMBA learned that the selfassessment she took at Goizueta during her Executive MBA program validated what she already knew: “I always need time to think and reflect.”

Igleheart is program director of Start:ME, the business accelerator housed in The Roberto C. Goizueta Business & Society Institute. She is in awe of the hardworking Atlanta entrepreneurs who go through the three-month training program, and of the mentors who show up every week to guide and support them.

Now a technology sales executive at Microsoft, Sole began her career as an accountant after graduating from George Mason University with a bachelor’s degree in accounting at the onset of the global recession.

“It was a crazy time,” Sole says. “I felt fortunate to have been offered a job, but I soon realized I needed change; the accounting world wasn’t for me.”

She earned a master’s in international commerce and policy from Mason, became a business consultant, and was then tapped for a tech role. “This was out of my comfort zone at the time; the perfect recipe for growth,” she says.

Her tech job was virtual, so Sole moved to Atlanta. “By analyzing the gaps in my skill set, I knew I needed an MBA,” she says.

“At Goizueta, I could expand my network, build business acumen, and develop entrepreneurial skills.”

Sole joined a diverse Executive MBA class: “My cohort is incredibly smart, accomplished, kind, and supportive. On a 30 | spring 2021

“I get a lot of satisfaction watching from the sidelines,” she says. “If I can set things up and think through challenges and complexities, and it runs as if it was easy and straightforward, then I have succeeded in my job.”

“They’re really passionate about what they do, whether it’s baking or fashion

JOE ADAMSKI 09MBA global study trip to Dubai, we formed a real, unbreakable bond. We still have a group chat to catch up on each other’s progress and life adventures.”

One of her most valuable classes was Organizational Behavior with Associate Professor Peter Topping. “He taught us invaluable skills that differentiate a person or a company,” she says. “I use the knowledge I gained daily.”

As a technology sales executive in New York City, Sole leads education partner sales in the Mid-Atlantic Region for Microsoft.

“I accelerate digital transformation for customers by leveraging Microsoft’s partner solutions,” she says. “My day-to-

day requires I lead and orchestrate across cross-functional teams to drive business outcomes. To lead effectively, being selfaware is critical in developing emotional intelligence.”

In the tech world, according to Sole, “things change at light speed. I prefer it this way because to me, monotony is slow death.”

Sole is also on an entrepreneurial journey.

She is currently building Velvé, a multifunctional skincare product line for women leveraging African botanicals and cuttingedge skin science, set to launch later this year. –Mary Loftus

or construction. They bring so much enthusiasm to what they’re doing,” she says.

Igleheart worried that the group energy would be lost.

Participants live and work in Clarkston, East Lake, and Southside Atlanta. Start:ME has worked with 257 ventures since 2013.

Two-thirds are led by women, 84 percent by people of color, and a quarter by foreignborn entrepreneurs. Together they employ more than 500 people and generate about $12 million in annual sales. A new crop of 49 businesses and 80 mentors are in the 2021 cohorts.

But moving program content into videos meant participants could view it at their own pace. Meetings became more interactive, with discussions in breakout groups.

Another bonus: a larger and more diverse group of mentors and experts could pitch in.

Bringing together good people to build networks and connections is a key ingredient in Start:ME’s formula: A power-washing company partners with a housecleaning firm. A designer and a seamstress find ways to collaborate.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic upended everything. Start:ME’s lively in-person meetings had to jump to Zoom, and

With a master’s degree in international policy from Stanford and a decade of finance experience, Igleheart has a wideopen, optimistic view of what’s possible for Start:ME entrepreneurs.

“I see the success of our program in the success of the people we serve,” she says.

“Not that it runs itself, but in some ways it does. People take what you give them—the structure, the knowledge, the relationships— and they independently start to share it with others and apply it to new ventures.”

—Sally Parker

Alumni

ProcureAbility–Director As Joe Adamski 09MBA wrapped up his career with the U.S. Air Force, he was looking for a new path, a new area to take flight. Adamski enjoyed problem solving and sought the type of business school to offer him the credentials, access to knowledge, and network that comes from a high-quality program. Goizueta Business School felt most like home.

Since Adamski has become a professional, the personal connections he developed at Goizueta have continued into his everyday business life.

“I still consider several of my professors to be friends,” he says. “They’re people that I highly respect.” He acknowledged that lessons in critical thinking were delivered with real-world examples, personal experiences, and outcomes, including lessons learned.

Working in the procurement industry, Adamski has worked with ProcureAbility for the last year after earlier stints with A.T. Kearney and Georgia Pacific. Goizueta helped Adamski develop hard skills and soft skills to use in procurement consulting.

“From a hard skill perspective, the way to think about problems, the way to even first off ask the question, ‘Is this a problem worth thinking about?’ That is definitely something

I use on a regular basis,” he notes.

Adamski recalled the change management and leadership courses that gave him the tools to influence clients and colleagues to, “help them along that evolutionary journey.”

Soft skills have become increasingly important during the pandemic where meeting remotely by video conference is a way of life. Welcoming colleagues and clients into your home via a computer monitor has become a necessity to grow relationships. “We have to strive to make sure that we can see each other as human beings, not just as someone on the other side of the screen,” Adamski says.

—Keith Farner

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#MEETGOIZUETA

#MEETGOIZUETA

NICOLE MEJIAS 21EVMBA

Student

Microsoft–Senior Account Manager For Nicole Mejias 21EvMBA, it was Goizueta or nothing. “I wanted to expand my network deeper into job functions that were more closely aligned with my career aspirations, and so for me, it was Emory or nothing,” Mejias says. “I actually didn't apply anywhere else.”

The senior account manager at Microsoft focused on strengthening her network by becoming actively involved. After serving as vice president of student activities, Mejias was elected president of the Goizueta Evening Business Association.

“What I love about Emory is that the school provides a multitude of ways to exercise your leadership skills,” she says. “And, not personally having a team to manage yet at work, student government has given me the opportunity to lead a team of students and

interface with the program office to amplify the concerns and needs of the student cohorts.”

Mejias also has found opportunities to work on projects with faculty, most recently helping to develop a SunTrust case study about building a purpose-driven organization with Associate Professor in the Practice of Marketing Omar RodríguezVilà. “Case studies take a lot of work and time,” she explains. “As we continued to learn about the details of the case, I couldn’t help but think of how many countless other stories were out there but may never be told.

I hope the case serves as a conduit for other teams and organizations to take the time to capture how they were able to execute meaningful change–the business landscape would be better off for it.”

Outside of school, Mejias enjoys traveling, attending live music and sporting events, and outdoor activities like hiking and skiing.

“I love discovering new places and overall, taking adventures.”

Guided by what she calls her “North Star,” Mejias’ continued motivation always comes back to her “why” of attending school.

“While career goals and aspirations are definitely a major factor, at the end of the day, my big ‘why’ goes back to my family,” she notes. Whether through immigration or attending night school, Mejias’ family made decisions that positively impacted future generations. “I aim to follow in their footsteps of not just doing this to improve my life but the multi-generational lives of those to follow.” –Patty Pohuski

"HENRY" HAIPENG ZHANG OOMBA Doctor of Medicine As the 2020 recipient of the Sheth Distinguished International Alumni Award, “Henry” Haipeng Zhang 00MBA (known to readers as Feng Tang and known to the Emory community as Henry Zhang) is a man of many talents, earning global accolades for healthcare reform in China and strategic business leadership. As a complement to his sharp acumen in the business world, Zhang is at once creative and intuitive, earning global renown as a best-selling novelist, fine artist, and inspirational speaker.

“I owe all my major achievements to what I learned at Goizueta.

Without the business knowledge and skills, I could not have obtained an offer from McKinsey & Company, could not have the opportunity to work for a huge conglomerate as their head of strategy, could not have the chance to play a vital role in changing the almost unchangeable China healthcare landscape,” he says.

“Without the MBA learning experience in Atlanta as a fresh medical school graduate, I could not have the drive to work on my first novel Everything Grows. The Sheth Award is a confirmation that I have learned the right things at Emory, and I have done the right things after I graduated from Emory.”

Throughout Zhang’s life, he has demonstrated an unyielding passion for learning and sharing his gifts with society. He has written, “In the past thirty years, I have gone from an era of extreme material scarcity to an era of extreme material proliferation.” Zhang has come to realize that “Having more, even much more, does not mean that you are happier,” he reflects. “Future business models have to

32 | spring 2021

Alumni address the deeper causes of human happiness. Having more is just not the direction to go.”

To achieve optimal work/life balance, Zhang briefly took a hiatus from business and moved to California, where a publisher challenged him to re-translate Tagore’s Stray Birds. Controversial and much criticized, the translation was eventually banned and removed from shelves in China. Zhang defends his work as a better reflection of contemporary Chinese language and history.

As an author and poet, he is a self-described audacious and free man who weaves autobiographical elements and business expertise into stories that incorporate social taboos. Zhang crafts thoughtprovoking novels, essays, poetry, and short stories. Perhaps best known to his global audience as the beloved novelist Feng Tang, Zhang earned several People’s Literature Awards in China, was named to the Top 20 Under 40 Literature Masters in China and lauded

by Chinese GQ Magazine as one of the world’s most influential writers in recent history. Many of his books have been adapted for television, streaming video, film, and have earned billions of loyal viewers.

As a literary figure in China and beyond, Zhang is also recognized for his calligraphy and frequently demonstrates his art through museum exhibitions and collaborations with noted artists and photographers.

–Michelle Valigursky

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#MEETGOIZUETA

#MEETGOIZUETA

FAIZAN BHATTY 14BBA Alumni

Lyft Media–Leader of Business Development and Strategic Partnerships Travel is essential to the startup and story of Faizan Bhatty 14BBA, an entrepreneur named to the Forbes 30 under 30 in rideshare advertising.

Journeying from Pakistan, he saw Emory for the first time when he moved in as a first-year student who valued kindness and being helpful. “That began the four most formative years of my life,” he recalls. “I was a first-generation student making independent decisions, in a country, university, and system that rewards persistence and dedication. I wanted to take full advantage of that.”

No case competition team for undergraduates at Goizueta Business School? Bhatty helped create one, and they flew to compete nationally. An investment newsletter written by juniors and seniors only? Bhatty broke new ground as a freshman.

Google not recruiting at Emory at the time? “I can get a job with them,” Bhatty vowed.

And he did. Bhatty landed at Google for Entrepreneurs, as a digital lead for search advertising. “At Google, my impact was as one piece of a large, well-oiled machine,” he notes. “For me to have a larger individual impact, I had to take a risk.”

He left Google for the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and he joined a fellow MBA student to co-found Halo Cars in 2018. The concept: a rideshare driver makes extra money by putting a smart digital advertising screen—a Halo—on their car roof, and the ads can be hyper-targeted based on the car’s location.

Within a year, Lyft bought Halo Cars, and today Bhatty is head of business development and strategic partnerships for Lyft Media.

“Don’t be afraid to take risks,” is Bhatty’s advice for student entrepreneurs. “Early in your career, the risk is not that high, and that calculated risk will reap benefits the rest of your career.

Even if you decide entrepreneurship is not your path, you will be a better employee and problem solver.” –Michelle Hiskey

34 | spring 2021

RENEE DYE 94PhD

Faculty

Goizueta–Associate Professor in the Practice of Organization & Management Renee Dye’s 94PhD faculty title is nine words: associate professor in the practice of Organization & Management. Her story turns on the word in the middle—practice— and its multiple meanings of performance or application and a systematic exercise for proficiency.

Dye was a brand-new college graduate with a chemistry degree when she was hired as a private high school English teacher one week before classes began. She had taken zero education classes.

“I had always been close friends with my teachers and professors, and something in me gravitates to teaching,” she says.

“Along with a reasonable syllabus, I pulled together an hour and 20 minutes of material for a 45-minute class. That was a mistake I only made once.”

A love of literature and analysis led Dye to Emory for a PhD in English, concentrating on 19th century Southern literature. In a weak academic job market, her proficiency in non-linear thinking turned into a career-building tool. She joined McKinsey and eventually worked up to associate partner. Later, as vice president and chief strategy and innovation officer at Navigant Consulting, she helped grow revenues from $724 million to over $1 billion and increase stock price by 85 percent.

“Literary interpretation and critical thinking are really well suited to strategic development. I gravitated really quickly to innovation and creativity,” she says. “What makes an exceptional literary critic is analogous reasoning, and I used parallels and metaphors when I consulted with organizations. I am a reader and writer at my core.”

After four years of teaching as an adjunct faculty member, Dye earned her current Goizueta title in 2017. She remains an innovator, using Twitter and podcasting to educate beyond the classroom.

“Lots of folks like myself successfully led multimillion and multibillion dollar publicly-traded companies. As a McKinsey consultant, I had the opportunity to serve hundreds of Fortune 100 companies, but also I personally led 5,000 employees as a member of a senior executive team. I like to think that one reason for my success as a faculty member is academically rigorous training and my practical management expertise.” –Michelle Hiskey

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CLASS NOTES

1970s David Lance 74OX 76BBA of Calhoun, GA, was elected chairman, board of directors, Community Bankers Association of Georgia.

Andrew Tatnall 76OX 78BBA of Marietta, GA, received the Kiwanis International Walter Zeller Fellowship Award for his outstanding community service.

1980s Harold B. Yellin 82JD/MBA of Savannah, GA, named to The Best Lawyers in America. Harold specializes in corporate, land use, zoning, and real estate law.

Ninfa Saunders 84EMBA of Macon, GA, received the 2020 American Hospital Association Board of Trustees Award.

1990s For real-time updates, tweet your news and celebrations using the hashtag #GoizuetaKudos and share with us via email at gbs_communications@emory.edu.

Christopher Radpour 90BBA of Chattanooga, TN, was awarded an endowment in proctology at Pierre Fauchard Academy for 20 years of exemplary public service.

Matt Preschern 92MBA of Austin, TX, is chief marketing officer at Forcepoint, a global cybersecurity company.

Jerry Chang 95MBA of Atlanta, GA, was elected to the board of Tommy Nobis Center. Jerry is senior managing director and partner at Ankura Consulting Group.

Shan Cooper 89C 95EvMBA of Marietta, GA, was elected to the board of directors, Intercontinental Exchange Inc. Shan is vice president and general manager at Lockheed Martin.

Brian Fry 96EMBA of Cincinnati, OH, is president of the newly reunited Commonwealth Hotels Inc. and Commonwealth Hotel Collection.

Leslie Patterson 99MBA of Atlanta, GA, was selected as a 2020 Top Diversity and Inclusion Officer by the Atlanta Business Chronicle. Leslie is a partner at EY, Atlanta.

2000s Jean-Noel David 00MBA of Atlanta, GA, was appointed managing director for Seqens CDMO. Jeffrey Kovick 01BBA of Austin, TX, was promoted to managing director at CenterGate Capital.

Gail Podolsky 01BBA 04L of Atlanta, GA, received the Georgia Intellectual Property Alliance’s Intellectual Property Community and Service Award for 2020.

Matthew Dalton Smith 01MBA of Washington, DC, was promoted to brigadier general in December 2019, serving the Pentagon as deputy director of operations, readiness, and mobilization for the U.S. Army.

36 | spring 2021

Yoshiki Kashiwagi 03MBA of Yokohama, Japan, published in English his best-seller Getting the Go-Ahead: Using Statistical Analysis to Maximize Your Business Plans.

Karen Wishart 03EMBA of Silver Spring, MD, was appointed nonexecutive director of SRI, a London-based consulting firm. Karen is executive vice president and chief administrative officer at Urban One Inc.

Avi Robbins 10EvMBA of Atlanta, GA, is president of Porex Life Sciences Institute.

Jonathon Ende 05BBA of New York, NY, is chief strategy officer at Kofile. Kofile acquired his company, SeamlessDocs.

Dhanesh Bharvani 13BBA of Los Angeles, CA, is vice president at UBS.

Cory Anderson 06EvMBA of Atlanta, GA, is vice president of clinical affairs and medical operations at Neuronetics Inc. Vince Ford 14EvMBA of New York, NY, was appointed senior vice president of digital strategy and innovation, executive director of the Performance Innovation Lab, and Field-McFadden Chair in Digital Studies at the Curtis Institute of Music.

Kathryn Glas 06EMBA of Atlanta, GA, chairs the department of anesthesiology at University of Arizona College of Medicine– Tucson. Kathryn served as professor and vice chair of professional development at Emory University School of Medicine.

Sean Mahoney 06MBA of Atlanta, GA, announced that Masten Space Systems earned two Tipping Point Awards as part of NASA’s Artemis Mission to return to the moon. Sean is CEO at Masten.

Eric Duchon 07BBA of New York, NY, is global head of real estate ESG at Blackstone.

Michael Niarchos 07MBA of Boston, MA, is managing director of Healthcare Industry Group at Alvarez & Marsal, a global professional services firm.

Percy Muente 08MBA of Lima, Peru, is CEO of Sudamericana de Fibras S.A. William J. Gallagher III 09BBA of Wagontown, PA, was noted in “Ones to Watch” by The Best Lawyers in America 2021. William specializes in corporate law.

2010s Brandi Ray 10MBA of Dallas, TX, senior director of marketing for Cheetos brand at PepsiCo, was selected as one of Business Insider’s 25 Rising Stars of Brand Marketing.

Mili Shah 11BBA of New York, NY, and Jaidev Reddy were married on November 20, 2020, at Washington Market Park in Manhattan.

Emily Anne (Nolte) Jacobstein 13MBA of Cambridge, MA, and husband Jeff welcomed son Benjamin in February 2020.

Michael Simon 13BBA and Allison “Allie” Kamm 16BSN 17MSN of Atlanta, GA, are engaged to be married in April 2021.

Michael Summers 13MBA of Atlanta, GA, is head of marketing for Atlanta United FC. Ty Heath 12MBA of New York, NY, was named a 2020 Woman of Distinction by the NYC Girl Scouts. Ty is director of market engagement at LinkedIn in New York.

Walter Ward III 14EMBA of Detroit, MI, is chief of staff at Lambert & Co., a public relations, investor relations, and integrated marketing firm.

Ned Douthat 15MBA of Atlanta, GA, is a wealth advisor at Sage Mountain Advisors, a boutique wealth management firm.

Tully Brown 16MBA of Atlanta, GA, is CFO and senior vice president of SR Homes.

Randall Loggins 16EvMBA of Atlanta, GA, was appointed chief financial officer at PruittHealth.

Jenna Drevins 17MBA/MPH of Atlanta, GA, and husband Justin Gardner welcomed son David Price in March 2020.

2020s Maria Suarez 20BBA of Atlanta, GA, published her first novel, Spinning Threads, in April 2021. Maria is a marketing associate at Azul Arc and VinoApp. Tristan Wynn 20MBA of Atlanta, GA, is an associate at Maranon Capital in new investment underwriting and portfolio management.

IN MEMORIAM Professor Emeritus Larry Beard of Commerce, GA Robert Charles Etheridge 49BBA of Decatur, GA Morris Max Cohen 51BBA of Macon, GA Dorothy H. Bishop 58BBA 85L of Marietta, GA Brooks W. Lansing Sr. 54BBA of Dahlonega, GA Charles L. Gardner 56BBA of Atlanta, GA Ann Astin Hardin 57BBA of Saint Simons Island, GA Patrick M. Rayburn 57BBA 62L of Woodstock, GA Jimmy Jackson Wray 58BBA of Saint Simons Island, GA William A. Kendall 60MBA of Morganton, NC Gordon H. Peters 60BBA of Columbia, SC

Samuel D. Ramsey 59OX 61BBA of Covington, GA Jean Albert Mori 63MBA of Atlanta, GA Harry A. Mullen Jr. 65MBA of Marietta, GA Morris D. Pearce 66MBA of Conway, SC Geoffrey C. Gill 67MBA of Atlanta, GA Greg Rosenzweig 78BBA of Long Beach, NY Richard W. Fahringer 85EMBA of Jefferson City, TN Mauricio Levitin 97BBA of Uruguay Catherine Ann Connor 11EvMBA of Northville, MI Arvin Richie Gera 20EvMBA of Atlanta, GA Robb Gooden 21MBA of Atlanta, GA

emory business magazine | 37

#GOIZUETAKNOWS

KNOWLEDGE

CREATION

Goizueta faculty are world renowned for their experience and business expertise. They focus on researching important problems that affect business and their insights shape the future of business.

The following is a sample of recent faculty research.

By Áine Doris

Minority Board Directors Held Back by Glass Ceiling and “Myopic” Biases Diversity remains a troubling issue in the upper echelons of U.S. business today. A stunning 81 percent of board members in top firms are white and male, according to the Standard & Poor 500 Index. So what prevents women and minority directors from making it to the top? Goizueta’s Grace Pownall, professor and area coordinator of accounting, and Justin Short, assistant professor of accounting, together with Zawadi Lemayian of Washington University, parsed 12 years of data on gender, ethnicity, and compensation to get insight into who holds power in U.S. board rooms. In Behavioral and Experimental Finance, research results point to two critical roadblocks that continue to stymie the career trajectory of aspiring Black, female, and minority directors: the glass ceiling effect that reduces the talent pool; and what Short et. al. call “myopic” bias entrenched in corporate America. “The glass ceiling is a bottleneck for diverse talent,” says Short. “But we also see minority directors fail to secure promotions once they’re on the board. We conjecture that this is down to biased or myopic thinking on the part of chairs and peers.” Leaders need to be cognizant of the cut-off points that tie to ethnicity and gender in the U.S. and elsewhere, say the researchers; not least of all because of risk to innovation. “Without diversity, any organization risks deferring to groupthink, and sourcing creativity and ideas from the same, small pool of shared experience,” says Short.

“There’s still work to be done because diversity at top levels of American business should be commonplace.”

B2B Firms Need to Smarten Up Before Using AI In Procurement Procurement, the process of buying goods, products or services from external suppliers, is critical in the B2B market. But it’s costly, labor-intensive, and time-consuming.

To speed and drive efficiencies in supply chain management, procurement managers are turning to artificial intelligence (AI). On the one hand, AI can automate the process of obtaining pricing quotes using tools like AI Assist and chat boxes. Then there’s the “smart control” that AI can leverage to identify the best potential suppliers via algorithms that collect and analyze market 38 | spring 2021

information. Cut-and-dried benefits then for decision-makers?

Not quite, says Goizueta’s Ruomeng Cui, assistant professor of information system and operations management of research to appear in Manufacturing & Service Operations Management.

Because unless your AI system is fitted with the smart control, you run the risk of getting higher price quotes from suppliers than you would if you used human procurement purchasers.

And it’s down to how suppliers interact with automated chatbots. Together with colleagues from Rutgers University and Tianjin University, Cui ran a large-scale field experiment using China’s Alibaba trading platform and integrated chat program, Aliwangwang. What they found is that suppliers essentially “discriminate” against chatbot buyers when it comes to quoting prices. “Suppliers see chatbots as lacking expertise around their products,” says Cui. “The fact they don’t have to lower prices to build professional relationships with chatbot buyers means they tend to quote higher than they would otherwise.” This effect is mitigated, however, when buyers signal to suppliers that they also use the smart control: an AI-powered recommendation system.

Caveat emptor, say Cui and her co-authors: by all means use AI in your procurement processes, just be smart about it.

If PPP Relief is so Attractive, Why Are so Few Small Firms Taking it Up? The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), part of the U.S. Government’s CARES Act, is a relief package that offers highly subsidized financing to small businesses. With an escalating value, PPP reaches deep into the pockets of the Federal Reserve with the aim of helping corporate America weather the economic contraction and job losses due to the pandemic. Yet, despite the “positive shock” it represents to struggling firms, PPP uptake has been far from universal. Not only that, but a significant proportion of firms applying for PPP actually return them to the government without using them. So what’s going on? It has to do with the indirect costs imposed on borrowers, says Goizueta’s Tetyana Balyuk, assistant professor of finance, in the National Bureau of Economic Research: Working Paper. She and colleagues from Johns Hopkins Carey and Fuqua School of Business looked at publicly listed firms that applied for PPP funds using databases maintained by the Securities and Exchange Commission. “These firms are worried about ex-post audits and investigations into recipients of these PPP funds,

which are conducted by the government. Specifically they’re worried about subjectivity of these types of audits, and the broad powers the government has to pursue litigation.” The solution to this, she says, is to focus on the objective standards for PPP eligibility, and similarly objective standards for the conduct of expost audits. “Among other measures, policy-makers might want to look at delineating safe harbors to circumscribe litigation, which has been a standard practice in securities law since the 1930s.”

What are the Costs–and Opportunities–to Retailers in Returned Merchandise?

In 2018, a staggering ten percent of all retail sales –around $369 billion–were returned to the original seller. For retailers, this is vastly challenging. First, there’s figuring out how to respond; then there’s the huge financial loss from returned stock. And then there’s simply trying to work out what to do with unwanted merchandise, and how to absorb it back into the inventory. But is there an opportunity here for retailers, too?

Goizueta’s Ryan Hamilton, associate professor of marketing, and Sandy D. Jap, Sarah Beth Brown professor of marketing, believe so. Together with Wharton Professor and former dean of Goizueta Business School, Thomas S. Robertson, they’ve published their research in Journal of Retailing. The researchers dive into literature surrounding the returns market–a market so valuable it is “ripe for more research”–and found that returns policies can build reputation, drive customer loyalty, and secure competitive advantage. “Consumers today increasingly expect to be able to return goods easily,” says Jap, “and it’s a burden for retailers. But also an opportunity to deliver a customer experience that drives brand loyalty.” For those retailers, returns provide the chance to exchange goods, or even cross or upsell to customers who return to stores or sites to bring back original purchases.

The trick, says Jap, is to “get it right.” An easy returns policy may build reputation for great customer service; too lax a policy and you might end up “training” customers to make returns, she says. There’s the risk to reputation, too, in how retailers absorb or dispose of returned goods: are their policies sustainable and environmentally friendly? More to explore in the potential tradeoffs here, says Jap, and she and her co-authors call for more research into this evolving stage in the purchase journey.

Achievement? It’s All in the Eye of the Beholder There is a well-documented gap in achievement between U.S. social classes that hurts the perception of, standing, and prospects for people from lowerclass, high-school educated backgrounds, vis-a-vis their higher-class counterparts with college degrees. One way of attenuating this gap might be to rethink the way society measures achievement, says

Goizueta Assistant Professor of Organization & Management, Andrea Dittmann. Instead of assessing people’s skills and aptitudes through the lens of individual achievement, might it not be just as helpful to measure ability based on how well people work together, as a part of a team? Together with Nicole Stephens of Kellogg and USC Marshall’s Sarah Townsend, Dittman ran four studies of outcomes for students working alone or in groups. The work published in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology portrayed consistent results: when working individually, higher-class students are better able to showcase their strengths. But in groups, this advantage disappears. In fact, when people from lower-class contexts work in teams, they demonstrate unique strengths that can set them apart from more privileged counterparts. Dittman and co-authors call for gateway institutions–institutes of higher education and workplaces–to integrate these findings into practices and procedures that reflect that one style of achievement is not superior to the other, but simply different.

Is There a Case For Sharing Less Information in Financial Statements?

There’s broad consensus in the world of finance. Disaggregation– the practice of breaking down different components or sources of earnings in a financial statement–is good. After all, for investors looking to predict a company’s earnings from one year to the next, all information is good information, right?

Not necessarily, says Goizueta Professor of Finance, Teri Yohn; it all depends on what type of information is being shared. Together with colleagues from Colorado, Indiana, and OSU, Yohn hypothesized that not all disaggregated components in earnings statements are heterogeneous. Not all information might be specific to one year, and that’s problematic. “Investors assume that disaggregation highlights one-off specificities that impact earnings—things like restructuring costs—but won’t have a de facto impact on the future earnings of a company,” says Yohn.

However, her research, published in The Journal of Accounting Studies, shows that disaggregation also trawls up homogeneous things–the same components that impact earnings year over year.

This can lead to confusion on the part of investors, and actual mistakes in forecasting future earnings. “Our paper has two clear takeaways,” Yohn says. “For investors: don’t assume that disaggregation only highlights the one-offs in earnings specific to a given timeframe.” For regulators and standard-setters who have pushed for more disaggregation in recent years, Yohn and her coauthors urge deeper reflection about what type of disaggregation should be included in financial statements, or not.

emory business magazine | 39

#GOIZUETAKNOWS

WHAT PROBLEM CAN WE HELP YOU SOLVE?

UP CLOSE WITH

DANIEL MCCARTHY

Extending Goizueta’s value to the business community

It’s Equal Parts Marketing, Equal Parts Wall Street

Until now, evaluating firms has been a question of forecasting future revenues off of past revenues. But with increasing access to new data, astute forecasters are deploying new methodologies. Among these is customer-based corporate valuation. And it’s a field that fascinates Goizueta Assistant Professor of Marketing Daniel McCarthy because it’s “equal parts marketing and equal parts Wall Street.”

For McCarthy, a passion for finance and numbers led to a six-year hedge fund stint and a Statistics PhD from Wharton. But while pursuing his doctorate, he discovered an emerging discipline that integrates statistical-based predictive analysis and “looking at what customers do.” It became his passion and the focus of his research.

“If you’re generating revenue, it’s coming from your customers. Customer-based corporate valuation (CBCV) entails looking at data regarding the flow of customer acquisitions over time, how long they stay, the orders they place and how much they spend,” he says. “We run this data through best-in-class predictive models for customer behavior to produce forecasts–of revenues, as well as marketing expenses and ultimately cash flows. Wall Street meets marketing.”

Of course, accessing data doesn’t come without challenges, including the question of privacy.

40 | spring 2021

“The flavor of the month for predictive models right now is machine learning, where you throw in a bunch of data and algorithms spit out predictions based on historical patterns,” McCarthy notes.

“That’s fine, but it requires a huge amount of data, some of which might not be available in the near future because it is sensitive.”

The CBCV methodology efficiently works with smaller volumes of data that are fully privacy-preserving, says McCarthy.

“We typically use data that comes from corporate filings and is highly compliant in terms of privacy regulation: we know how many customers a firm has acquired over a quarter, for example, but nothing about specific individuals. As long as we have the right aggregate data, we can predict nearly as well as if we had all of the granular data.”

McCarthy’s work on customer acquisition, retention, and corporate valuation has brought him to the forefront of a phenomena of the COVID-19 shock: the explosion in valuation of the U.S. restaurant food delivery sector. “I wanted to understand what’s driving the spike for Uber Eats, Door Dash, and others: new customers, existing customers coming back in greater numbers, and if so, why?”

He has a paper coming in spring 2021 that, he hopes, will shed empirical light on this “billion dollar question” for many organizations in this sector.

McCarthy’s research keeps him close to business. It also delivers insights of extremely high value to organizations.

Has he been tempted to move into entrepreneurship himself?

“I have co-founded two firms using my models over the years. It’s heartening that so many diverse stakeholders find this area of diligence compelling. But if I’d wanted to be in industry, I would have stayed at the hedge fund.”

Academia and scholarship, he says, afford a unique opportunity and the intellectual and creative freedom to go deep into problems. “I love the fact that you can just take nine months and say: I am going to devote this time to look at this one little problem that many people would not find interesting, but that I find absolutely fascinating. I also really enjoy the teaching.

I enjoy being able to learn these things and then feel like I’m able to give back to next generation leaders. At the end of the day, I feel very good about that.” –Áine Doris

Seeking organizations to sponsor projects: Bring us your toughest problem, and we’ll put our brightest minds on it.

BENEFITS OF PARTNERSHIP • Gain fresh perspectives, data-driven insights, and actionable recommendations on key business issues.

• Access expert faculty, research, tools, and Goizueta Business Library resources.

• Build brand equity with our students and engage with a diverse and in-demand talent pool.

TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT SPONSOR PROJECTS Undergraduate Capstone: From Fortune 500s to nonprofits requiring a communication strategy or messaging execution plan to solve an internal or external challenge for your organization. The course features one client, with 200+ undergraduate business students forming four to six-person project teams that review the data and recommend strategies to leadership.

MS Business Analytics Capstone: Student-teams in the Master of Science in Business Analytics program work as consultants to Fortune 500s, non-profits, start-ups, and government organizations to provide data-driven solutions to business problems. Your firm provides proprietary datasets where the solution to your business problems lies within the data.

MBA IMPACT Projects: Large, mid-sized, and start-up businesses as well as nonprofit organizations needing a solution related to analytics, finance, healthcare, marketing, operations, real estate, social enterprise, or strategy. We are looking for messy, ambiguous, real problems that you are facing and require an action or decision, and our MBA students will present findings and actionable recommendations.

Some past clients include:

Learn more at emory.biz/impact emory business magazine | 41

NEW BOARD LEADERS APPOINTED With the new year came new leadership and new members for the boards of three Goizueta organizations.

There are many ways to get involved or volunteer with Goizueta Business School as one of our alumni.

GOIZUETA ADVISORY BOARD Rebecca Ginzburg 94BBA, COO at Junto Capital Management, is the new chair of the Goizueta Advisory Board, which provides strategic direction for the school. Many thanks to former chair Todd M. Foreman 86BBA for his service.

The Goizueta Advisory Board consists of the following committees: Advancement, Alumni Engagement, Governance, Professional Pathways, and Revenue Diversification. Advisory Board members are well respected in the industry and bring a unique perspective in supporting the business school.

ATTENDING EVENTS

MENTORING OR SPEAKING WITH CURRENT STUDENTS

ALUMNI CAREER SUPPORT

RECRUITMENT

GOIZUETA @ WORK

CONNECTING WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

GOIZUETA ALUMNI BOARD Former vice president of the Goizueta Alumni Board Debbie Perantoni 00EvMBA, director of product management and international services at AT&T, has been elected president.

Serving alongside Perantoni are: · Monika Hudson 09EMBA, vice president · Graham Jaenicke 14MBA, secretary · Rashida Burnham 14MBA and Edward M. Dearborn 16EMBA, new members The Goizueta Alumni Board works collaboratively with Goizueta’s Office of Alumni Advancement and Engagement to promote alumni participation and involvement through directing the school’s policies and program initiatives. Thanks are due to outgoing president Aditya Rao 08MBA and outgoing secretary Leslie Marshburn 10MBA/10MPH for their leadership, especially during such a trying year.

EXECUTIVE WOMEN OF GOIZUETA Executive Women of Goizueta (EWG) elected a new board in February. · · · ·

Kyla Desmarais 11MBA, brand development manager at The Home Depot, is president Danielle Donnelly 17EMBA, SVP of strategy at Moxie, is senior vice president Diana Retter 14MBA, senior manager at The Coca-Cola Company, is secretary Meredith Swartz 09MBA, principal at Persenche LLC, is treasurer

Kudos go to Melinda Sung 04Ox 06BBA, director of investments for Oppenheimer & Co., for her dedicated service as president of EWG for the past year.

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JOINING ONE OF OUR AFFINITY GROUPS

For more information about these opportunities, please visit our website goizueta.emory.edu/alumni or reach out to the Goizueta Alumni and Advancement Office at gbsalumni@emory.edu.

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Goizueta Business School 1300 Clifton Road Emory University Atlanta, Georgia 30322

BUSINESS IS CHANGING. ARE YOU? Business is constantly changing. Evolving. Improving. And never done.

The same should be true for your career growth.

Gain new skills and insights and bridge business challenges with an Executive Education workshop, short course, or certificate.

WORKSMARTER.ORG/EMORYBIZ 44 | spring 2021