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WA K E F O R E S T U N I V E R S I T Y
INSPIRING BUSINESS THE NEXT GENERATION OF
Dear Friends, I am honored to share with you a selection of the collective accomplishments of our faculty, staff, students, alumni, and partners from the 2016-17 academic year. As you will see in this year’s edition of the magazine, our collaboration has produced graduates prepared to make a meaningful impact in their profession and to use their intellectual insights to guide future business practices. This year we observe important milestones in our programs: our Master of Arts in Management program celebrated a decade of success, and our Master of Science in Accountancy and Masters in Business Administration in Charlotte programs both marked their 20th anniversaries. In addition to the impressive legacy established by our programs, we also remain dedicated to fielding new and innovative program offerings. This year, we launched our new Master of Science in Business Analytics program, which is the result of deep faculty, staff, and strategic partner collaboration. The inaugural graduates of this program now go forward with leading-edge knowledge and skills to make valuable contributions to industry. The success of this program and these students serves as proof that together we created a program that is truly market leading. Additionally, we are excited to share stories of our amazing students and alumni. Our alumni demonstrate every day that it is possible to create sustained value for their organizations while making the world a better place. They positively influence their communities through their entrepreneurial efforts, dedication to excellence, and true Pro Humanitate spirit. We continue to strengthen our ties to the marketplace through deepened strategic relationships with key corporate partners, to the benefit of both our graduates and these leading organizations. Our faculty remain engaged in impactful research designed to help elevate business practices across firms and industries. Our success is only made possible with the valuable guidance and remarkable contributions of our alumni, advisors, faculty, staff, and partners. The accomplishments highlighted in this magazine were made possible through your generous contributions, for which we are grateful. I am humbled by your dedication to our shared mission and your tireless efforts and support of our programs. I look forward to continued collaboration as we build upon our tradition of excellence. In partnership,
Charles Iacovou Sisel Distinguished Dean & F.M. Kirby Foundation Chair Wake Forest University School of Business
EXECUTIVE EDITOR Sylvia Green MANAGING EDITOR Aaron J. Henninger CONTRIBUTORS Sydnee Alms Joshua Bryant Carol L. Hanner Dave Hunt Jamie Lichtenstein Stacey Panchyshyn Alicia W. Roberts Stephanie Skordas PHOTOGRAPHY Allen Aycock Ken Bennett .........................
We welcome feedback from readers. sbmarket@wfu.edu
04 Pillars of Our Community
Business.wfu.edu © 2017 Wake Forest University School of Business
Wake Forest University School of Business is accredited by:
4 P illars of Our Community: Defining Features of a Wake Forest School of Business Education
8 Tea Time: Friends Share the Business Cultures of China and America
AASCB International, The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, which represents the highest standard of achievement for business schools worldwide. Accredited institutions confirm their commitment to quality and continuous improvement through a rigorous and comprehensive peer review. The Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees. The Commission can be contacted at 404.679.4501, 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, GA, 30033-4097 and through sacscoc.org. Inquiries should relate only to the accreditation status of the institution, and not to general admission information.
12 Study Abroad
14 The Global Marketplace
16 Real-World Experience
18 Steve Hill on Revolutionizing Accounting Services with Cognitive Technologies / The Hylton Lecture Series
20 Transformation & Innovation: Reynolds American CEO Debra Crew Shares Career Insights
22 The Purpose-Driven Path: CVS Health CEO Larry Merlo Discusses the Importance of Purpose
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26 Balancing Big Data and Privacy: A Panel Discussion
28 Salary Negotiation for Women: Navigate the Discussion Like a Boss
30 Seven Things No One Else Will Tell You About Being a Woman in Business
31 Take a Risk, Make an Impact
32 J.J. Smith: Family and Philanthropy
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34 Mary Caneer: Deepening a Relationship with Wake Forest
35 Jorge Rodriguez: A Passion for Teaching Acquired from ‘Master Instructors’
36 Kevin Holleran: Building a Community, Growing a Business
37 Jamie Bond: Grow Beyond Your Degree
Reversing the Elevator Pitch
Stacy McElroy: Learn What You Bring to the Table
Charlotte: 20 Years
40 60 Commencement
38 Vanessa Hosein: Belonging, In and Out of Class
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40 Executive Education: Realizing Your Organization’s Potential for Innovation and Success Through Continuing Education
83 Dean Iacovou Shares Business Education Insights at International Forum
84 Faculty Recognition
Building Moral Strength
85 Faculty Awards
42 Celebrating 20 Years in Charlotte
86 Faculty Publications
46 20 Years and Counting
89 With Gratitude
49 Elijah Watt Sells Award: School of Business Grad Recognized with National Accounting Award
50 10 Years of Excellence
53 1st Class MSBA
54 In the News
60 School of Business MBA Team Takes First Place at the 2017 Marketing Analytics Summit
62 Commencement 2017
66 Rankings: Where We Stand
67 Real-World Consulting Through the Action Learning Project
68 Coming Soon: Student Inventions to Benefit Your Health
70 Resilience by Jake Teitelbaum
72 School Standouts
77 Students Explore Career Opportunities at Accounting Diversity Consortium
78 Prepared for Impact
70 Resilience
Pillars of Our community:
The Foundation of a Wake Forest School of Business Education As firms navigate an ever-evolving business landscape, the demand for steadfastly disciplined and skillful graduates continues to increase.
Our faculty and staff are dedicated to shaping our graduates through scholarship and experiences that enable them to make meaningful contributions to the organizations they serve and the communities where they live.
“The global business environment poses new challenges we need to prepare our students to face,” said Charles Iacovou, Sisel Distinguished Dean & F.M. Kirby Foundation Chair. “Political, technological, and social shift, and questions about the obligation of corporations to society are some of the challenges that led the School to rethink what it means to teach future business leaders.”
Our students excel due to intimate class sizes that allow for direct engagement with world-class faculty, exposure to thought leaders and innovators from industry through a robust mentoring and guest speaker series, and programs and academic centers that place students in the marketplace while they learn. “Employers understand that when students come through this school, there is a high level of academic rigor and knowledge exchange that goes on. Wake Forest business students are prepared both academically and intellectually,” said Mercy Eyadiel, chief corporate engagement officer. “What we’re doing now is adding to that knowledge and perspective, and helping students connect the dots between the academic experience and the real business world.”
As organizations seek to anticipate challenges and succeed in this changing environment, the School of Business has dedicated itself to helping organizations create a better world through developing passionate, ethical business leaders who get results with integrity. The School of Business continues to broaden and deepen its reputation as a premiere partner to leading organizations globally.
As you will see in this edition of the School of Business magazine, our faculty, staff, students, and partner institutions embrace and display the essence of these pillars. Our graduates are making an indelible impact on the business world.
Our educational framework focuses on developing the whole person while cultivating business leaders who use critical thinking skills to address business challenges, demonstrate grit in the face of adversity, achieve results with integrity, and are prepared to become thought leaders in their industries. The Wake Forest University School of Business develops passionate leaders who are driven to deliver results on day one while enriching their organizations and their profession.
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Pillars of Our Community:
Defining Characteristics of Our Graduates
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IMPACTFUL
HONORABLE
Our graduates make immediate and meaningful contributions to their organizations. Our students create and manage the execution of realistic plans with insights to achieve strategic, operational, and tactical objectives. School of Business students learn to listen actively and consider the purpose, audience, desired action, best channel, and appropriate tone for every communication. Together, this results in a graduate that can analyze, interpret, communicate, and execute for significant results.
Our students gain experience in building and leading teams to foster personal, professional, and organizational accountability and responsibility. This type of learning environment results in students who develop the necessary ethical and psychological strengths to embrace opportunities, overcome challenges, and succeed with integrity. They possess the flexibility and adaptability to successfully lead others and enrich organizations and society.
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PROFESSIONAL
GLOBAL
Our students understand the nature, function, benefits, limits, and sustainability of market economies and can create value within them. Our students are keenly aware of their role as stewards of the profession of business and work to strengthen their community using the skill and expertise of their professional training. Upon graduating, these individuals possess the ability to form and foster a professional identity that creates genuine value both to one’s organization and to society generally.
We work to instill an awareness of the unique requirements to effectively lead across cultural and geographical boundaries. Students gain insights to successfully leverage diversity. Graduates of our School understand how differences contribute to problem-solving and teamwork and effectively engage those differences. One of the defining characteristics of our students is the ability to embrace and leverage diverse opportunities for the benefit of individuals, teams, and organizations.
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TEA TIME Friends share the business cultures of China and America
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Wake Forest University is full of stories about how students from diverse backgrounds formed meaningful relationships that benefited them both personally and professionally. Hayden Lineberger (BS ’18) of Winston-Salem and William Yanhao Wang (BS ’18) of Shanghai, China, began their friendship in a way that could only happen at Wake Forest. For these two students, an initial introduction came about through a University photography contest held in 2015. The contest was hosted by “The Media,” a student-run organization established by Wang along with Houston Clark (BS ’15) and Addison McLamb (’16) in collaboration with the provost’s office. The mission of The Media is to link the University and students in engaging, teaching, and media practice by promoting the University’s extraordinary academic and campus life through high-impact and innovative media, including videos, photography, podcasts, and social media. One of their newest ventures includes expanding into virtual reality (VR), and they are currently working on a VR project for the School of Business. Wang and Lineberger had seen each other around Farrell Hall and in some of their School of Business classes, but after Lineberger was chosen as one of the finalists in the photography contest, Wang invited Lineberger over for tea. For Lineberger, the invitation was something new and unexpected. “I thought to myself, ‘What? Chinese tea?’” As an American, he was not entirely sure what was expected in terms of protocol or conversation. “I did not know how to dress or what the purpose even was.” Their initial exchange began with a tea service ceremony of sorts and transitioned to a discussion about their coursework, interest in marketing, and the work The Media was doing. This ultimately led to Lineberger becoming the director of special events for The Media and collaborating on a host of creative projects. Business in China is about relationship building, and tea offers that opportunity. “In the Chinese culture, tea service is a crucial part of doing business,” said Wang, a business and enterprise management major with a concentration in marketing. “If you determine over tea that you have an interest in a business partnership, you then can move forward with the venture together.” During their initial discussion they learned that they shared many personal interests, but the two had very different paths to Wake Forest. Lineberger, a business and enterprise management major with a concentration in marketing and a minor in entrepreneurship, is a native of Winston-Salem and was instilled with an interest
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in what was happening on campus by his father, Stephen L. Lineberger (MBA ’81), president and CEO of SV American Holdings, LLC, and a current member of the Wake Forest Alumni Development Council. From an early age, attending football games and other campus events inspired the younger Lineberger to set his sights on attending Wake Forest University. “I always knew that Wake Forest was the place for me,” he said. During high school, Lineberger also served with Big Brothers Big Sisters and founded a club at his high school to partner students with at-risk elementary school students. The Wake Forest Pro Humanitate motto resonated deeply with him as he had been so dedicated to service. Wang took a different path. As a young middle school student, he began producing films. In 2014, he won “Best 3D Film” at the Shanghai International Student Film Festival. Finding his niche in technology forecasting and media management, he directed his high school’s television center and created a student correspondent program for China Central TV. His awareness of Wake Forest developed out of a fateful application for the International Baccalaureate World Student Conference. When Wang received his acceptance letter, it indicated that he would be heading to Wake Forest instead of the University of Warwick, located in London, where he had applied. Two weeks later, what turned out to have been a clerical error was corrected — but Wang’s curiosity had been piqued. For two solid weeks, he had been consuming as much information as he could find and was well on his way to including Wake Forest at the top of his college application list. As Wang explored an assortment of universities, he discovered the “big classroom experience.” He saw enormous lecture halls designed to seat hundreds of students. On one particular occasion, Wang had donned the traditional uniform of the business school student: the navy business suit. He found himself in an auditorium brimming with students. From a distance that felt like a football field away, a nondescript professor pointed vaguely into the sea of faces, leaving Wang to only wonder if this passing gesture was meant for him.
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The only reference point the professor was able to provide was “You there, in the dark blue suit!” to a room full of hundreds of people dressed in dark blue suits.
Developing a global mindset is about much more than just diversity of location — it is about diversity of culture, background, and ideas. For both students, this has led to a deep friendship and a desire to remain connected to Wake Forest after they complete their degrees next year. The Media has recently begun working with the Advancement office on projects for alumni, and Wang and Lineberger are committed to advocating for the University and becoming active alumni after graduation. Wang has already been spreading the news in China about his many positive experiences at Wake Forest.
“But at Wake Forest, you know your professors and the administration — and they know you as well,” he said. “Wake Forest was so much more intimate.” At the School of Business, the two friends dove deeper into their studies and took on new projects with The Media, but one thing remained unchanged — tea time. This spring, when Lineberger was serving as executive director for TEDxWakeForestU, Wang noticed his friend was under a lot of stress as the event approached. The evening before TEDxWakeForestU, the two met after Lineberger was done with last-minute logistics for a late night tea service to talk strategy and how best to tackle the next day. Lineberger credits this for helping him to focus and mentally prepare for what proved to be a very successful campus event.
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The two have added an additional tee time, as Lineberger and Wang have adopted an American business tradition that they had in common: a love of golfing. Hayden Lineberger and William Wang’s cultures continue to meld as friends and business partners. Over tea and tees. Their different backgrounds have led to an extraordinary learning experience that will affect their outlook on the world throughout their lives.
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STUDY ABROAD
Study abroad programs provide enriched academic experiences, the opportunity to travel to new and exciting places, and first-hand knowledge of how students can make an impact on the global workplace through their Wake Forest education.
“More than half our students study abroad during their time at Wake Forest,” said Lynn Zimmerman, associate director of Undergraduate Integrated Student Services (ISS). “We ensure they stay on track with their major and other requirements through coordinating study abroad panels so they can learn what to expect from our staff and other students who have enjoyed these programs.” Zimmerman and ISS recently helped junior accounting major Madison Hoff (BS ’18) find a study abroad program that complemented her major. “The School of Business ensured I had an opportunity to study abroad,” said Hoff. “The School does an exceptional job making sure people like me get involved and educated in the business world. We’re encouraged to have a global mindset — understanding that the business world is more than just your city or your country, and how different countries and regions impact our society.” For Hoff, taking business courses in London translated international financial reporting standards (IFRS) into something tangible through direct exposure and experience. She also enjoyed networking on a global scale.
business world,” he said. “And Wake Forest provided me with a global lens that prepared me for this experience.” For their study abroad experience, BEM majors Kurt Swartz (BS ’18) and Lorenzo Soo (BS ’18) chose Barcelona, Spain. The program is based at the Autonomous University of Barcelona’s City Center Campus, providing direct access to the city of 1.6 million people. Swartz (BS ’18) had never been outside the United States before his semester abroad. He chose the Wake Forest Barcelona program due to Barcelona’s reputation as a Western European historical and social hub. “Through talking with individuals from a wide variety of geographical and cultural backgrounds, I have learned about what it is like to grow up and live in a place outside of the U.S.,” said Swartz. “Having the opportunity to analyze the global role of the United States and its robust, diverse business sector from an outside perspective has been extremely valuable.”
“One of my professors in London also works on mergers at Soo saw the Barcelona program as a Ernst & Young,” Hoff said. “By learning from a professor in strategic opportunity to explore many the field overseas, I was able to gain a deeper appreciation for countries in a short time frame. “I may global complexity and make a career connection in the process. never have another opportunity to It’s interesting to see how mergers work from outside the visit all these places in Europe,” he said. United States.” “Immersing myself in a new culture for several months expanded my worldview.” Junior Business and Enterprise Management (BEM) major Richard Eiseman sought a study abroad experience in an This new-found sense of understanding is English-speaking country, but instead of London, he flew what underpins the School’s commitment 9,548 miles to Sydney, Australia, to attend the University of to global diversity. Study abroad trips New South Wales (UNSW). are just one way students at the School of Business gain the perspective necessary to The business education he received at Wake Forest enabled succeed in a global marketplace. him to make an easy transition into his studies in Australia. “My time in Australia gave me a new global outlook on the
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THE GLOBAL MARKETPLACE UNIQUE CASE COMPETITION BLENDS INTERNATIONAL TEAMS
At the Wake Forest University School of Business, our students develop an openness to and awareness of diversity across cultures and markets. These lessons come inside and outside the classroom. Our global immersion courses combine the best of both. The School has traditionally offered opportunities for students to gain experience with overseas markets in countries like Nicaragua, India, and China. This year, for the first time, School alumni traveled with students on two of the global immersion courses. Building on a successful international case competition with the Birla Institute of Management Technology (BIMTECH) in India last summer, the number of Wake Forest participants doubled this year. Eighteen students in the School’s MBA programs in Winston-Salem and Charlotte, and alumnus Charles Kienzle (’74, MBA ’80) traveled to India this May. Six teams of six students, with three each from Wake Forest and BIMTECH, were asked to present strategies on two real business cases for IBM India. The first case sought solutions on 14
cyber security myths and reality, while the second case focused on cognitive analytics. The students had one month to make connections, review and frame their approach to solving their assigned case, do the research, develop recommendations, and prepare their presentations. “They worked in teams despite a nine and a half hour time difference and did not meet in person until the morning of the competition,” said Roger Beahm, WestRock executive director of the Center for Retail Innovation. Beahm served as the faculty lead on the course. For the case on cyber security, the winning team was Wake Forest students Chelsea Cullen (MBA ’17), Lyndsey Fredericks (MBA ’17), Michael Spataro (MBA ’17), and BIMTECH students Faisal Zia, Himanshu Jaiswal, and Premalatha Maddirala. The cognitive analytics case first-place team included Wake Forest students David Brooks (MBA ’18), Stephen Garrett (MBA ’18), and Jordan Hawks (MBA ’18), along with BIMTECH’s Mimanshu Malhorta, Satyam Pandey, and Aakriti Mahajan. Alumnus Charles Kienzle served as a competition judge.
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“I learned as much from my India teammates as I hope they learned from me and my Wake Forest teammates,” said Stephen Garrett, whose team earned a first-place recognition. “I’ve gained new friends in India, and we have plans to stay in touch. Receiving first-place recognition was fantastic, but the best compliment I could have received was one of my India teammates telling me he looked up to me a like a big brother.” “IBM has been a key partner in this competition,” said Beahm. “We have a long-standing relationship through Bernie Hoecker, a general manager at IBM, who helped link the School and BIMTECH with case sponsor IBM India. We are very appreciative of his support and assistance.” In addition to the case competition, students visited businesses and cultural sites in New Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, and also in Kathmandu (Nepal). Led by Lisa David (MBA ’17), the group collected, shipped, and personally distributed essential personal items and toys for children in Camp Hope, a tent city in Kathmandu, a safe haven built for families displaced by the 2015 earthquake. “I think Camp Hope was one on the best parts of this trip. Many of my classmates have never seen that kind of absolute poverty and yet incredible resilience,” David said. “It was great to see everyone engage on a personal level with the children.” After their stop at Camp Hope, the students embarked on an airplane excursion to view Mt. Everest. “Nepal and Everest was a very humbling, heart wrenching, breathtaking, and joyous experience all in one. I realized how lucky we are to have what we have in the U.S. and what I have individually. Then you fly over the Himalayas and Everest, and the massive size and beauty of the mountain range is just incredible. Everything seems so peaceful and beautiful in the sky, and then you remember how dangerous and deadly the mountain actually is,” Garrett said. Students Erin Deedrick (MBA ’17), Michael Hames (MBA ’17), Michael Jackson (MBA ’17), Stephanie Jones (MBA ’17), Gary Ortiz (MBA ’17), Christine Trethaway (MBA ’17), Joshua Barbee (MBA ’17), Ricky Otey (MBA ’17), David Pearson (MBA ’17), Sarah Chronister (MBA ’18), and Stefan Friend (MBA ’17) rounded out the global immersion group. “The global immersion trip allowed me to collaborate with others, in a completely different culture and several different time zones apart, and to put together a solid work product. In doing so, I’ve improved my communication skills, time management, and flexibility,” Garrett said. “I found something special in my trip to India and Nepal.”
NICARAGUA GLOBAL IMMERSION A group of seven Wake Forest MBA students spent their spring break in Nicaragua, working directly with micro-enterprises in the country and the people who run them. “We shifted to a model where we deliver three-day workshops twice a year,” said Amy Wallis, director of global initiatives. “We’re maximizing the experience for our MBA students and giving them more opportunities to work directly with the small business owners.” During the trip, students spent two days visiting microenterprises, learning about their operations, opportunities, and challenges. This global immersion also leads them to understand what it’s like to do business in a developing economy. Next comes the three-day workshop. Students teach business concepts in areas such as marketing, human resources, operations, and finance to the business owners. “It’s important to note that this is a learning exchange,” Wallis said. “Our students are learning as much from the businesses as these micro-entrepreneurs are learning from us. In their final papers, students often talk about their development of cross-cultural facilitation skills. The students explore global business by letting go their assumptions about how things should be done.” For the first time, an alumnus traveled as a team coach. Chuck Harr (MBA ’16), a veteran of such trips to Nicaragua, joined students from the current MBA class March 4-12. Participants included Julia Bayard (MA ’13, MBA ’17), Julianna Nunnenkamp (’13, MA ’14, MBA ’17), Michael Hames (MBA ’17), Alix Tucci (MBA ’17), Gayathri Vijayagopalan (MBA ’17), Hafid Elabdellaoui (MBA ’18), and Jennifer Kern (MBA ’17). During the trip, students also experienced the country, visiting towns like Catarina and Granada, learning the history of Nicaragua through a tour of Managua’s cultural sites, exploring Mombacho volcano, and taking a boat tour of Lake Nicaragua to learn about the environmental and natural resources of the country.
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The Business and Enterprise Management (BEM) program is designed to afford every student the opportunity to gain real-world experience with leading organizations before graduation. These three students are recent examples of the positive experience gained by completing these internships. Andrew Wiehe
He credits his education at the School of Business for preparing him for this real-world experience. “While the exact concepts were new to me, I understood the business fundamentals behind them. This allowed me to try to figure things out on my own, or ask the right questions.”
“Going into this internship, I had never worked on such a largescale forecasting project or with a consulting team,” he said. “I jumped into the project and viewed it as an opportunity to learn something new.”
One class that made an impact on his outlook was BEM-375 (Foundations of Capitalism) with professor Page West. “The class readings and the ensuing discussions really opened my eyes to why businesses and markets work the way they do.”
A summer internship at GE Appliances taught BEM major Andrew Wiehe the importance of confidence and curiosity.
Wiehe helped with a project to redesign how the company forecasts their business. He conducted analysis to build the new process and helped manage the relationship between the company and a consulting team.
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Wiehe said his business studies and internship experiences helped him better define his career goals. “As I gained more internship experience, I realized finance was the place for me because I really enjoy working with numbers. I value the wellrounded approach to business that the BEM program provides.”
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“My internship at Newell Brands helped me realize that even the smallest improvements in everyday products can better the lives of thousands of people.” — Noelle Van Calcar Brittni Milner BEM major Brittni Milner learned about risk analysis during her internship with KPMG.
Noelle Van Calcar BEM major Noelle Van Calcar’s summer internship at Newell Brands Rubbermaid Foodservice division taught her to trust herself and her decisions.
After training in Orlando with KPMGS’s other U.S.-based interns, she worked on a number of projects in New York, from an internal audit initiative and project documentation to data analysis and visualization, and also internal resource models.
“My independent project revolved around making a recommendation for how to approach commercial storage for herbs like basil and oregano,” Van Calcar said. Along the way she found the educational foundation built at the School of Business to be a guiding force.
Milner said she learned the importance of delivering highquality work through her internship experience. “I find myself always saying ‘yes’ to new work. While it’s important to show a willingness to take on new opportunities through additional projects, it is important to ensure this never comes at the cost of quality results.”
“Wake Forest does an excellent job equipping us with soft skills like how to work with different types of people, how to act professionally, and how to share and present ideas clearly and concisely.” She said the School’s emphasis on teamwork and collaboration made a positive impact on the quality of her internship experience.
“The greatest lesson I learned was that work is a lot more valuable when you can see the big picture,” Milner said. Her ability to keep the big picture in mind was evident when her project won the Spotlight Award for Presentation at the annual BEM TableTop Tradeshow, where students offer presentations on their internship experiences.
Van Calcar knew she wanted to major in business from the beginning and was an early decision applicant to Wake Forest because of the School’s reputation. At the close of her internship, Van Calcar received the Spotlight on Research Award at the BEM TableTop Tradeshow.
Milner found that her classes, group projects, and relationships with professors at the School thoroughly prepared her for her internship at KPMG. “I felt comfortable interacting with my manager and others with senior positions in the firm, and the experience I gained from stepping outside my comfort zone when I studied abroad in Spain prepared me for traveling to New York and working on a new team with people I had never met.”
“My internship at Newell Brands helped me realize that even the smallest improvements in everyday products can better the lives of thousands of people,” she said. After graduation, she will start work at Newell Brands in Charlotte, North Carolina as an assistant brand manager.
After graduation, Milner will join the Operations Risk Advisory Team at KPMG in Charlotte, North Carolina.
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SPEAKER SERIES
THE
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Steve Hill
U.S. Head of Innovation and Global Head of Innovation and Investments at KPMG LLP
Revolutionizing accounting Accounting Services Revolutionizing services withcognitive Cognitive technologies Technologies with 18
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We are at the cusp of what has been called the Fourth Industrial Revolution. New technologies
Science in Accountancy (MSA) students, faculty, and staff members. “It will make you smarter and much faster. You’ll be able to examine full data sets to gain insights you’ve never seen before, instead of just looking at data samples.” Andrew Taylor (MSA ’16) found this timesaving aspect of cognitive technology to be of particular interest. “A lot of time goes into comparing information or pulling information that could be easily done by bots,” he said. But bots won’t replace CPAs. “We need people to innovate and use these tools to find new ways to provide value for clients,” said Hill. In his opinion, the human element will also still be needed to ensure digital labor is coming up with the right answers. As physicians found the need for more specialized expertise as technology enhanced medicine, Hill expects CPAs to branch out in the same way.
Steve Hill
The future of accounting is found in cognitive technology, according to Steve Hill, KPMG’s global head of innovation and investments and U.S. head of innovation. During the 2016 Hylton “We don’t have a lot of time to adapt,” Hill said. “Technological Lecture, Hill suggested the combination of artificial intelligence, advances move faster and faster. It took 200 years to get from Big Data, and cloud computing has created digital labor, the invention of the steam engine to the information age. Just representing a seismic shift in the future practice of accounting. two years ago there were a couple hundred companies in the cognitive technology business. Today there are over 2,000 “Digital labor gathers intelligence, perceives its environment, companies in that space.” learns and improves, reasons and infers outcomes, and understands context in natural language,” Hill said. He gave The rapid timeline Hill projects for adapting digital labor stood the example of IBM’s Watson supercomputer, which has out to Dayln Shelton (MSA ’16). “I didn’t realize how advanced been trained by cancer doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering we are in using this technology and applying it to auditing and to “think” like an oncologist. With that training, Watson can tax,” he said. “Hearing it’s as soon as two to three years away examine a patient’s symptoms against clinical studies, patient was really eye opening.” records, and medical textbooks to come up with a list of potential diseases, matched by risk. Emily Burke (MSA ’17) added, “It’s helpful and informative to hear about innovation in our career path. New technologies Hill shared that KPMG has partnered with IBM Watson to will change how we work and so we need to pay attention to train the supercomputer in auditing. It is part of an exclusive advances in our field.” partnership with IBM and other leading IT companies that he believes will revolutionize the industry. The Hylton Lecture Series began in 1980, making this the 26th annual event. It was named for Delmar P. Hylton, who established “Cognitive technology will take your expertise and make Wake Forest’s accountancy program in 1949 and helped grow it you much more powerful,” he told the audience of Master of into one of the top accounting programs in the nation.
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SPEAKER SERIES
TRANSFORMATION & INNOVATION REYNOLDS AMERICAN CEO DEBRA CREW SHARES CAREER INSIGHTS Debra Crew, president and CEO of Reynolds American Inc., shared her insights with an auditorium full of Master of Arts in Management students as part of the Wake Forest University Visiting Executive Lecture Series. Pulling from her diverse and successful career, Crew shared how businesses thrive. The key is simple: innovation. “If you are not looking at portfolio transformation, if you are not thinking about innovation, you are probably falling behind,” Crew said. This is due to the rapidly changing consumer landscape in today’s society. “Even when you think your brand is growing and everything is great, you can go from being really relevant today to passé almost overnight.” When Crew analyzed her own career she noticed a powerful theme that tied the diversity of her experiences together. “I’ve worked on new brands, older but growing brands, and declining brands. Through all of this, my work has almost always been about innovation and transformation.” Transformation is not only necessity; it is also smart strategy. According to Crew, this approach is of particular value if you are the number two player in the industry with little hope of overtaking the number one player in market share. By innovating, you force the 20
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industry to change in areas that your business creates. With this approach, instead of fighting the industry leader over market share, you are changing market demand.
“Her discussion about pivoting in a declining industry was the exact focus area we have been studying recently in our Strategy course,” said Caroline Magee (’16, MA ’17), co-chair of the Graduate Women in Business student group. “It was great to connect theory to a real-world situation that’s right in our own backyard.” .
Crew offered one last note on innovation that every position along her career path has reinforced: “Just when you think you’re done, you have to start all over again.”
About the speaker Debra Crew is president and CEO of Reynolds American Inc. and previously served as president and chief operating officer of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. She has been named to Fortune’s 50 Most Powerful Women for the last three years. Prior to joining R.J. Reynolds, Crew became the president and general manager of PepsiCo North America Nutrition after joining PepsiCo in 2010 as president of the Western Europe region of PepsiCo Europe. Before joining PepsiCo, Crew was general manager of grocery brands and U.S. pet-care products for Mars, Incorporated, and held a number of marketing positions at both Nestle S.A. and Kraft Foods, Inc. 2016
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Reynolds American’s unwavering support of Wake Forest University can be seen across campus. Employees volunteer countless hours each year on boards and councils and engage with students in and out of the classroom. Reynolds American and the dedicated Wake Forest students and alumni they employ provide critical financial support to nearly every corner of campus. This support is evidenced by the Reynolds American Foundation Terrace in Farrell Hall and the Reynolds American Corporate Fellowship established to support a Master of Arts in Management student.
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THE PURPOSEDRIVEN PATH CVS HEALTH CEO LARRY MERLO DISCUSSES THE IMPORTANCE OF PURPOSE
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The marketplace demands that organizations consider and anticipate market changes in tandem with customer expectations. While many organizations struggle with the tension caused by changing demands, CVS Health’s commitment to their purpose has kept them on track.
company takes seriously. “We did a survey recently and found that 75 percent of Americans live within three miles of a CVS store.” For Merlo and CVS Health, that means more opportunities to help consumers take the medicines they need to manage short-term illness or chronic conditions.
“We have an eight-word purpose: ‘Helping people on the path to better health,’” said Larry Merlo, president and CEO of CVS Health. “It serves as a guidepost for everything we do,” Merlo told students in the Master of Arts in Management (MA) and Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) programs during a campus visit.
Merlo also shared his thoughts about the current healthcare landscape. The disruption in the healthcare market creates opportunities, he said. CVS Health’s purpose continues to drive the organization forward with an unflinching eye toward innovation.
Merlo’s session with School of Business students was part of the University’s broader Visiting Executive Program. This is just one way the School fulfills its educational mission to create honorable business professionals who are ready to make an impact in their careers and their communities. Students in the School’s new MSBA program asked Merlo questions about how CVS Health is using loyalty card data, how data-driven decisions determine pharmacy locations, and cyber security concerns. When talking with students in the MA program, Merlo shared ways CVS Health is innovating, such as bringing a generic epinephrine auto-injector (like an EpiPen) to the market for just over $100. Compare that to the name-brand version, which costs more than $600, and has risen in price more than 400 percent in recent years. And that’s not all. “Now we’re offering an insulin solution that is $25 instead of the normal $150,” Merlo said. He suggested that putting healthcare in the hands of consumers is something the
About the speaker Larry Merlo is President and Chief Executive Officer of CVS Health, a pharmacy innovation company that is at the forefront of a changing health care environment. Merlo, a pharmacist by education, joined CVS Pharmacy in 1990 through the company’s acquisition of Peoples Drug. Prior to assuming the role of President and CEO in 2011, Merlo held positions of increasing responsibility, most recently President of CVS Pharmacy. Under his leadership, the company completed some of the most successful acquisitions in the history of retail pharmacy and delivered significant organic growth in major markets across the country. CVS Health was an early investor in the School’s Center for Retail Innovation and initiated the CVS Health Innovation Challenge. Our partnership has created a deeper understanding of the industry for our students and opportunities for research with our faculty. CVS Health also provides leadership in many ways across campus through employees serving on the University’s Parents Council, the School of Business Board of Visitors, and the Masters of Science in Business Analytics Program Board. 2016
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EVERSING THE ELEVATOR PITCH Understanding what investors are looking for could be the difference between an entrepreneur closing a deal or permanently closing the doors of their business.
Greg Brown, president of Cardinal Finance, LLC, whose investment group focuses on early-stage investments, said commitment is key.
“If you work for a big company and are presenting something on the side, where’s the commitment? You won’t make the same progress unless you burn your boats and do it every day. No one wants to invest in your hobby,” Brown said.
A Lunch and Learn titled “Reversing the Elevator Pitch” at the Wake Forest University Charlotte Center brought a distinguished panel of angel investors, venture capitalists, and bridge investors together to offer a behind-the-scenes look at the criteria they use to evaluate investment opportunities and assess elevator pitches. The panel was moderated by Stan Mandel, associate professor of the practice at the School of Business.
The panel discussed the importance of attracting customers, monetizing a business, and the valuation bubble, which they say has popped. Mandel led them in a discussion of where they see growth opportunities for entrepreneurs. “It’s more romantic to start a business,” said Gilroy, “but there’s something to be said for buying an existing business with cash flow.”
Don Rainey, general partner at Grotech Ventures, has been “There are a lot of people in their 50s who are going to have a a venture capitalist for 17 years and said he can differentiate hard time finding their exit strategies because all the 20-yearbetween winning and questionable investments at the pitch olds want to go to Silicon Valley and work at a unicorn,” Brown stage. “I look for one thing: have they achieved some progress that said. “I think there will be a lot of opportunity for young people they would not be expected to have achieved at this stage? That who want to take over these successful family businesses.” indicates success, and the big winners always have that element.” About 70 students, alumni, prospective students, and members of David Gilroy, managing director and co-founder of Scale the business community listened to the panel. Attendee Anitha Finance, LLC, said proposing an investment is selling equity in Vojjala (MBA ’15) said hearing directly from industry experts the venture, so sales presence is crucial. “The confidence level about their perspectives on valuation was helpful. of the presenter is something you can feel in the room. It’s the sense of having not just heard and answered every question, but having lived and thought deeply about the business.”
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a panel discussion
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The promise of enhanced goods and services through Big Data comes with potential concerns about consumer privacy. A panel discussion hosted by the BB&T Center for the Study of Capitalism explored the intersection of economics, technology, and ethical dilemmas related to privacy. Assistant Professor of IS and Analytics Lauren Rhue guided the panel through a discussion ranging from global data sharing to social media concerns and legal issues. The panelists at the event were Morgan Reed, executive director of ACT, the “App Association” representing major organizations in the industry, and Alessandro Acquisti, a behavioral economist and professor of information technology and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University.
DOES BIG DATA MEAN BIG BIAS?
FACIAL RECOGNITION
As algorithms are used to select newsfeeds on social media profiles and glean insight from large data sets, the topic of bias was raised.
Many phone manufacturers are now moving to using facial recognition as a form of password lock/control, bringing something that was once a theoretical discussion into a technology that will soon be used by the masses.
“More and more decisions are being made without our knowledge by algorithms that not even their creators fully understand,” Acquisti said. “Do the algorithms discriminate, even without the knowledge of their creators, just by how they are written?”
As the two discussed facial recognition, Reed noted that using the technology means your data is being shared with multiple third parties, analytics providers, and other data gatherers. “The industry is grappling with how we provide you with a trust framework you understand that explains the string I just pulled by identifying your face,” he said.
Reed responded, “If you are in the business world, you are going to be taking data and running it through algorithms to give you a result based on the queries you’ve created. We’ve been doing that a long time; we’re just better at it now.”
Acquisti, who has conducted research in this area, said there are some major privacy concerns with the technology. “You can change your email address and phone number easily, and even your physical address. But it’s really hard and costly to change your face.”
As technology and the ubiquity of big data increases, Acquisti and Reed noted the importance of transparency and clear communication about data collection and its usage. Reed used the example that someone might be upset to hear that Zappos is recording biometric data, when that might simply mean Zappos is remembering a customer’s shoe size to make the purchasing process easier.
An informal polling of the audience indicated that most would be comfortable with their favorite retail store using facial recognition technology to target them for a 20-percent- off coupon when they visited the store. However, Acquisti noted the same technology could also theoretically be used to identify a customer’s willingness to pay a 20 percent higher price based on their spending habit data.
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“Is your big data collection driven by your business use? If it’s not, you shouldn’t collect it. If it is, you need to tell people why,” Reed said. “When you build a tool at your next company, you need to explain it to the consumer so that it’s something they want to adopt and bring into their lives.”
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SALARY NEGOTIATION FOR WOMEN NAVIGATE THE DISCUSSION LIKE A BOSS
Take a minute to cringe as you recall your worst stories about negotiating your salary: the time you found out a colleague with equal experience was paid significantly more than you. Or the time you accepted an offer only to realize you could have negotiated your benefits, too. 28
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Now, think of a time when it all went as planned. Far too many “When you can express your value, you can present a women don’t have a story like that, according to career coach and persuasive argument for a raise.” consultant Tara Lynn Foster. Foster is a veteran of the corporate and consulting world, having spent the majority of her time Frame your ask in three parts: Good, better, and bye-bye working in or consulting with financial services organizations. Foster recommends identifying your target salary or the She shared advice on how to change that during her “Negotiate amount that reflects your worth based on market data. You Like a Boss” seminar for women, a collaboration between should then set your bolstering range — the amount you use the Wake Forest University School of Business, the American to negotiate with your employer. Finally, using your budget, Association of University Women (AAUW), and Ellevate, a identify your resistance point — the salary at which you walk professional women’s networking group. The seminar was held away from the offer. at the Wake Forest University Charlotte Center. In addition to seminars like this, the School of Business maintains faculty That was the biggest takeaway for Carolyn Malloy (MBA ’18), a expertise on a host of related topics, to include Professor Bill recruiter with Allegis Global Solutions in Charlotte. “Knowing Davis who specializes in negotiation. the market data empowers you to be confident in your salary number,” she said. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, full-time working women were paid 80 percent of And keep in mind benefits — signing bonus, car allowance, what men were paid in 2015. Foster says the best way to close tuition reimbursement, health insurance, paid vacation, and that gap is through salary negotiation, but too many women — the like — can be negotiated, too. Don’t focus only on takeespecially millennials — aren’t doing it. Consider this: home pay. Other negotiating strategies
• 55 percent of women worry about negotiating salary vs. 39 percent of men, according to the book “Women Don’t Ask.”
•M ake them say a number first. Repeat after Foster: “I’d rather talk about salary after I’ve received a job offer.” Or, “Since I’m still learning about this role, I haven’t set my salary expectations yet.” If you had to enter a real number in an online application, “Now that I know more about this role and the value I bring to it, I’d like to open up the salary beyond what I entered on the application.” (If you can get away with entering a 0, consider it.)
• 59 percent of millennials didn’t negotiate for any of their compensation in their current job, and 79 percent didn’t negotiate offers for their first job out of school, according to a Levo League study. As a certified trainer for the AAUW Work Smart seminar, Foster says it all comes down to preparation. Know your value, and watch the rest fall into place
• Deflect questions about your current salary or your desired salary; you want them to offer so you can negotiate from there.
“The first thing we need to do is talk about why we are hesitant to negotiate,” Foster said.
• I f you’re negotiating a raise in your current job, know the review and budget cycles and talk to your boss before the salary budget is determined.
The roughly 40 women in the seminar offered plenty of reasons for that anxiety: It will backfire. I don’t know what’s fair. They’ll say no. I won’t ask with authority. I’ll be perceived as difficult or aggressive.
•U se what Foster calls “The Power Pause” — wait before reacting to something you hear because it might lead to an unexpected and welcomed change in the offer. “It’s another opportunity to listen and learn,” she said. “Trust your gut — drive your car. Do not be the passenger.”
Foster said that when a company makes an offer or sits down for a performance review, they’ve invested in you and want you to work for them. You have more negotiating power than you realize.
• I f you don’t get what you wanted in this negotiation, take what you learned to help with your next one. It’s still a win if you learn something.
“When you know your value, your confidence increases and you become a stronger negotiator,” Foster said. She recommends figuring out who you are, what you’ve accomplished, and what you will contribute to the company.
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THINGS NO ONE ELSE WILL TELL YOU ABOUT BEING A WOMAN IN BUSINESS “If you had told me this would be my path, I wouldn’t have believed you,” Elizabeth Lucas-Averett (MBA ’01) told the members of the Graduate Women in Business organization at the School of Business. Lucas-Averett is the owner of Trivista Group, LLC, a consultancy with a focus on the aerospace industry, co-owner of Village Juice Co., a Winston-Salem cold-pressed juice company, and the host of a podcast on fitness, health, and mindset. She said we are conditioned to think of our careers as a linear progression when, in fact, most career paths are more winding and prone to taking sudden leaps. Lucas-Averett offered the students and faculty members in the audience seven lessons she has learned from her experiences.
1. The imposter syndrome
“We’re all making it up as we go along. Everyone’s doing the best they can. If I had known there was no magic formula for success, I would have started everything I’m doing sooner.”
2. Results, not effort
“Women, more often than men, wear busyness like a badge of honor. But there is no prize. Busyness is not the same as productivity. Focus on the results you are bringing to your organization.”
3. Extreme accountability
“The buck stops with me. I make sure my clients know I will take full responsibility for solving problems that come up. And if you own the problem and solution, you’ve just put yourself in charge. People know they can trust me.”
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4. Stop nodding
“Many women are conditioned to show they are engaged and listening through this body language, but what it actually shows is that you are agreeing with everything, even when you shouldn’t be.”
5. Success is infinite
“Another woman’s success does not mean less success for me. We need to remind ourselves that there is infinite abundance for success. Your success is my success.”
6. You can’t have it all
“Life is like a sound mixing board. When the bass is high, the treble is low. When you focus on one area of your life, the other areas suffer. This balancing act calls for coursecorrection. Figure out the amount of time you have, the number of resources you have, and what you want to accomplish.”
7. The power of story
“The stories we tell ourselves are the ones we live. If you think you’re put-upon, guess what? You sure are. What do you want to be? Write out your brand story. When you can articulate who you want to be, you will live it.”
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TAKE A RISK,
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IMPACT David N. Farr (’77), CEO and chairman of Emerson, spoke before a capacity crowd of School of Business students and alumni gathered in Farrell Hall in a presentation entitled “Strategic Repositioning, Change Management, and Leadership at Emerson.” During his remarks, Farr encouraged students to look for opportunities to make an impact in their organizations, while stressing the value of being able to see and seize upon opportunities as they present themselves. This is particularly important at Farr’s organization, Emerson, which is a highly focused global enterprise that provides innovative technology and service solutions in industrial, commercial, and residential markets.
organization and the individual employee’s success. Farr credits his success in the early stages of his career to his willingness to volunteer and be engaged. By being willing to take on additional roles within the organization, he was able to signal to his leadership his dedication and value to the organization. Since becoming CEO of Emerson, Farr has put a priority on creating long-term value for shareholders and investing for longterm growth while maintaining the company’s solid financial performance relative to earnings, cash flow, and return on capital. Emerson is one of a handful of companies with nearly 60 consecutive years of increasing dividends to its shareholders.
Farr underscored the importance of leaders who know how to evaluate risk and then seize the right opportunities by taking informed risks. Farr noted that it is also important to recognize that failing is okay so long as failure does not occur too often.
In 2015, Emerson had global sales of more than $22 billion, with international destination sales representing 56 percent of that total.
Large organizations and their leaders, according to Farr, are looking for individuals to “raise their hand.” Volunteering and becoming engaged is of tremendous value to both the 2016
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Family and Philanthropy Gerald F. “J.J.” Smith Jr. (BS ’83) arrived at Wake Forest University in 1979 as the first in his family to attend college. Today, he is president and CEO of Valley Proteins, Inc., a private company that renders fats and proteins from animal parts and used cooking oil to make other products like biofuels. Smith worked his way up through Valley Proteins and took over as president and CEO in 2003, growing the company founded by Smith’s grandfather in 1949 into one of the nation’s largest rendering companies through smart acquisitions and expansion into global markets. Today the company has 1,900 employees, services 63,000 restaurants in 24 states, and has annual revenues in excess of $500 million. Smith credits his Wake Forest education with giving him the skills necessary to rise to the business challenges of running such a large company. He was drawn to Wake Forest because of the strength of its accounting program and came to value the small classes and one-on-one interaction with faculty. “I thought Wake Forest had a great combination of having a small college feel, but still playing in the ACC and having a law school, a med school, and a graduate business school.”
in other industries, and be a better supplier and customer for those businesses.” After graduating from Wake Forest, he worked as an accountant for two years at PwC in Winston-Salem before returning to Virginia and the family business. He has three children with his wife Kaye DeHaven Smith (’84), and their youngest child Elise, a rising senior in high school, has her eyes set on attending Wake Forest. Smith has made philanthropy a priority. He and his brother Michael, Valley Proteins’ vice president, have served on Virginia community colleges’ fund-raising arm, and in 2014, Valley Proteins donated $1 million to a public/private partnership to improve rural access to higher education in Virginia. “We earn our money in rural areas, so this is a way of giving back.” Smith has also given back generously to Wake Forest. Recognizing that the University needed top-notch facilities to compete for the best students and athletes, Smith donated $1 million toward building the Sports Performance Center. He served on the football advisory group and is beginning his second term on the School of Business Board of Visitors. “I’m a proud graduate of Wake Forest,” he said.
The faculty rigor also impressed him. “My professors in accounting and business were as tough as they could be, but they prepared us well to go out in the world in our field.” Wake Forest’s liberal arts focus also helped prepare Smith for success. “In all business, the more well-rounded you are and the better feel you have for the world and history, the more it helps you empathize with people, understand what goes on
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Learn What You Bring to the Table As a risk advisory consultant with EY in Charlotte, North Carolina, Stacy McElroy (MA ’16) searches for glitches in software that might affect financial statements and offers her clients suggestions on how to fix or improve processes.
She advises prospective students to think of the program as an opportunity to allow your mindset to evolve and to solidify your technical skills. McElroy developed a love of information technology from Assistant Professor of Information Systems & Analytics Lauren Rhue, who showed her classes how real-world current events affected developing technology. “It surprised me how much I was interested in the field of IT,” McElroy said.
This is her first job out of college and a role she never would have dreamed of taking on as a psychology undergraduate; however, she says the classes she took and the relationships she built in the School of Business Master of Arts in Management program prepared her well for this big step.
“Something else I learned in the School of Business was how to be a champion for yourself. This is especially true when you are trying to start a career or get into an industry,” she said. “Wake Forest taught me to understand and communicate what I bring to the table.”
McElroy decided to pursue a degree at Wake Forest after watching a series of students at Davidson College, her undergraduate alma mater, head to the MA program in the School of Business and then find success and happiness in a variety of industries. The Atlanta, Georgia native weighed her uncertainty about her career path against the peers she saw come away from Wake Forest so focused.
McElroy credits career counselors in the program for providing the support and guidance she needed in personal branding and marketing to prepare her for interviews with employers. “Wake Forest provided a good opportunity to meet people who “I worked with Raina Gandi on the market readiness and could talk about possibilities for placement post-school, and that employment team — she’s phenomenal,” McElroy said. “She was important to me,” she said. “At the end of the day, I wanted helped me develop a strong resume and offered valuable advice.” an education that would propel me into my career.” As a result of that preparation, McElroy said she was not only equipped for her first job out of the School of Business, but also felt prepared for future professional growth. “That first job opportunity may represent a starting point,” she said. “I learned at Wake that your first job will help you evaluate what you want to do and what you do not want to do. Wake Forest prepares you to make the right moves in your career to attain growth and satisfaction.”
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Deepening a Relationship with Wake Forest Mary Nix Caneer (BS ’97, MSA ’98) has spent the past 15 years making sure to stay connected to her Wake Forest family. Every fall, a group of nine sisters from Pi Beta Phi meet to catch up on each other’s lives and relive some wonderful memories. “I just get all rosy when I talk about Wake Forest,” the Double Deac said. “It was the best time of my life. Most people I know have continued those deep relationships throughout their lives.” This year, Caneer is taking it a step further: She joined the Accounting Advisory Council, a group of industry professionals who advise our faculty on what employers want from accounting graduates. “I was excited to hear all the ways faculty and administration are changing, growing, and evolving to meet the needs of today’s students, tomorrow’s students, and the needs of future employers,” of Business and getting her firm plugged in to the job placement she said. “I am really honored to be able to participate.” program has become top of mind for her. Caneer said Wake Forest has been on her mind ever since she left campus in 1998 to start her career with Ernst & Young. She hopes to help influence how the School of Business prepares accountancy graduates for non-traditional career paths. Though she started as an accountant with EY, she steered away from that path when she went to work for a real estate client. She has kept a real estate focus at State Street, where she works with clients year-round instead of only during annual audit or assurance services cycles. Now, as vice president of State Street Global Real Estate Fund Services and Real Estate Investment Solutions, she is part of a team that interviews about 200 job candidates a year, primarily for entry-level accountant roles. Reconnecting with the School
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“It is incumbent upon us to open students’ eyes and show them the multiple paths for accountants in the business world,” she said. She also made a gift in support of the new Dale R. Martin Faculty Fellowship, which aims to entice top-notch faculty in order to allow the School of Business to better compete for the best students. “Wake Forest’s reputation has preceded me and allowed me to procure some great opportunities throughout my career. I am honored to give that same opportunity to other alumni and bring the strength of Wake Forest to State Street,” she said.
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A Passion for Teaching Acquired from “Master Instructors” Wake Forest University prepared Jorge Rodriguez (MBA ’83) for a career in finance, which he has loved for 34 years, and gave him the opportunity to meet his wife, Barbara (MBA ’83), on his first day of class.
This spring, Rodriguez was accepted onto the Wake Forest University Board of Trustees, expanding his service beyond just the School of Business. His term began July 1. “It is important to stay involved with Wake Forest,” he said. “The contributions from alumni have great impact in multiple dimensions — so each one of us needs to find ways to be part of the network.”
The School of Business also helped him find his passion. “I chose to work for Citibank after graduation, turning down a job with the CIA and other interesting opportunities,” he said. “My passion is not finance, which sounds strange after a long career in a field I love. Albeit my true passion is teaching.”
He’ll always remember the diversity of experience and natural leadership among his classmates, and how much that enriched his own journey.
Rodriguez, director of private investment for Sura Mexico, has been in academia for almost 30 years and is a professor at Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City, where he teaches the Seminario de Decisiones Financieras (or Financial Decision-Making Seminar) for undergraduate seniors majoring in finance. He named Ajay Patel, the Thomas S. Goho Chair in Finance, Professor Dan Fogel, and Bill Berry, former operations professor, as major influences and among Wake Forest’s “master instructors.”
“I was privileged to be in study groups with incredibly bright people who came from different angles into the discussions,” he said. “So it was a challenge day in and day out, much like in business.” Rodriguez will always carry with him the lessons he learned at Wake Forest. “The passionate purpose to serve others, captured in Pro Humanitate, reminds me that doing well can only be meaningful if I am doing good for others,” he said. “This and other lessons just like it can be observed all around campus from fellow students, professors, the administration, and athletics coaches. Wake Forest is such a vibrant, intelligent community that leadership lessons are ever-present.”
“Over the years, I had the opportunity to witness firsthand what excellence in teaching is, which I try to emulate every day in my classroom,” he said. That is why Rodriguez has maintained such close ties with his alma mater. As a member of the Board of Visitors for the School of Business, he meets with dozens of fellow alumni twice a year to advise the school on curriculum, programs, facilities, and operations. Board of Visitors members also serve as unofficial ambassadors of the School of Business within their industries, helping the School build relationships worldwide.
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Building a Community, Growing a Business Wake Forest students begin learning about Pro Humanitate from the moment they step foot on campus. For Kevin Holleran (MBA ’98), the Wake Forest University motto has driven him to expand his company while helping his neighbors.
components and subassemblies for TSV products. Students also receive a paycheck for their work to help their families with expenses — poverty being one of the factors that has kept many Richmond County students from graduating high school.
Faced with a shortage of space at its Augusta, Georgia, headquarters, Textron Specialized Vehicles Inc. wanted to expand in its hometown if possible. One concern was the availability of a skilled and qualified local workforce to support the company’s growth.
“I think it is absolutely the best, most tangible example of how the university’s motto has manifested itself within the businesses here,” he said. Textron Specialized Vehicles has shared its RPM model with about 40 other companies. In the spring, 24 RPM students received their high school diploma, with 10 starting full-time jobs at Textron after graduation.
Tackling the need head-on, the company mapped out an expansion plan that included partnering with the Richmond County School System to help struggling high school students earn their diploma while simultaneously growing and training a “We are touching people’s lives by providing them with a skill set local workforce that would be prepared to join the Textron team. to help them succeed in life,” Holleran said. “Pro Humanitate is part of our culture here now, to know we are part of something “We were fortunate enough to come out of the recession very bigger than building vehicles.” diversified,” said Holleran, president and CEO of Textron Specialized Vehicles and of Textron Inc.’s Industrial Segment. Holleran said RPM is just one way Pro Humanitate has taken After the downturn, the company invested heavily to expand root in his life. its commercial and consumer product lines, which include Cushman utility vehicles and Textron Off Road side-by-sides Holleran, who has co-endowed a scholarship for the Wake and ATVs. It also moved into adjacent sectors, such as ground Forest School of Business, said he appreciates that the university support equipment for the global aviation industry, and even makes it a priority to keep in touch with alumni and check on snowmobiles through its most recent acquisition of Minnesotahow they are living the Pro Humanitate mission. based Arctic Cat. That is one reason he has stayed connected to the Wake Forest “We started to bust at the seams, and knew we needed more University School of Business following his degree. capacity and production space,” Holleran said. “Our concern was a well-educated workforce.” Keeping in touch also gives him the opportunity to maintain a presence on campus to recruit future employees. He said alumni With high-school graduation rates in Augusta below the should become involved in the conversation about how to best national average, Textron Specialized Vehicles launched the prepare students for what lies ahead. Reaching Potential through Manufacturing (RPM) program in fall 2016. The company built a combination classroom“My role is to help, in some small way, in letting the educators factory near its current campus, where at-risk students receive know what is going inside the boardrooms, the war rooms, and traditional teaching paired with a four-hour shift producing the showrooms outside the college campus,” he said.
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Grow Beyond your Degree Jamie Bond (MBA ’10) is rarely one to miss a School of Business Lunch & Learn or Leadership Speaker Series at Wake Forest University Charlotte Center.
Her favorite moment from the program was the global immersion course in China where she developed an appreciation for the exposure to China, its unique business style, and the chance to connect with expats, which gave her an eye-opening sense of the culture from an American’s perspective.
These regular sessions at the Uptown Charlotte campus offer students, alumni, and guests the opportunity to delve into current events, explore new industries, and network with key executives and thought leaders. Topics at these lunches can range from creating a career and life vision to the cultural impact of doing business globally.
“Wake Forest has opened a lot of broad opportunities for me,” she said. “My business degree has given me exposure to so many more things than just engineering did.” Part of what opened so many opportunities for her career was learning about organizational behavior, which helped her to better understand the workplace environment. When Bond could fully comprehend the behavioral factors impacting her industry, she found herself starting a provocative series of posts on LinkedIn called “Just a Girl…” “Just a Girl…” is a collection of articles aimed at engaging others in conversations about the things she learned in her new role. “I wanted to articulate some of the things I was exposed to and drive discussion, so I could understand the story as much as possible,” she said.
“I try to go to as many as I possibly can and invite as many people as I can because I get so much from them,” Bond said. “It is important for alumni to take advantage of any opportunities to continually grow.”
Bond challenges readers to raise expectations for their company’s leadership and continue to ask questions and speak up much, much more. She believes going along to get along is a dangerous mindset at work. In fact, she praises her team at Duke Energy for asking questions and making their voices heard.
When you talk with Bond, you quickly discover that personal and professional growth is a huge part of her makeup. As the manager of stakeholder engagement strategy for Duke Energy Corporation’s grid modernization, Bond has had to look past her background as an engineer and technology expert to leading a team that translates technical initiatives into language used in community outreach and governmental affairs.
“Bring your questions to light,” Bond said. “Thanks to my MBA, I have developed a warrior persona about speaking up and not fearing retribution, so I encourage my team to be vocal. I believe being able to speak up has made me a better leader.”
The MBA she earned through the School of Business positioned her to take that career leap from engineering to strategy. She chose Wake Forest for its lock-step approach: working with a core group of students from start to finish. This gave her more opportunities to network and make long-term connections.
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Belonging, In and Out of Class Vanessa Hosein (MBA ’13) will tell you without doubt that she Roger Beahm, full professor of the practice in marketing, felt some trepidation about entering the Saturday MBA program “brought food products and magazines to class to help us get in Charlotte. connected with marketing techniques,” she said. “Class was always much better with CHA! hot sauce!” As an addiction therapist working odd hours, the Charlotte Saturday MBA program at the Wake Forest University Charlotte Hosein says the intimate class sizes allowed her to develop deep Center fit perfectly into her schedule. With family in England relationships with professors who knew her as a whole person, and Trinidad and Tobago, Hosein decided to pursue an MBA not a number. in order to offer her some career flexibility should she decide to move overseas to be with them. Bill Marcum, associate professor of finance, held study sessions with students on Friday nights, which left an impression on her. She said the skills she learned in the classroom had an “That is passion for students!” immediate impact on the business needs of her organization. What is The honorable tradition of Pro Humanitate more unusual is how her business at Wake Forest also played an important role education helped her build better in her personal life. During the spring break relationships with her clients in some of her first year in the program, a tornado of Charlotte’s chief industries. destroyed her house and left her and Gizmo, her rescue dog, without shelter for several “Having an MBA background allows months. She found herself relying on friends, me to understand and connect with co-workers, and her new support network at clients from the business world,” she the School of Business. She said the support said. “I treat a fair amount of people began at the top with the School’s dean at who are in all different walks of life — the time, Steve Reinemund. doctors, lawyers, and bankers. Now, I understand their language and I “Steve and Gail Reinemund sent a personal understand their corporate structure.” note of encouragement,” Hosein said. “The outpouring of support, cards, gifts, well wishes, and help to move so many Though she said she knows it sounds crazy, she loved being in times from my team, my class, the professors, staff, and the school on Saturdays and will always have incredible memories entire Wake Forest community was overwhelming. I will never of that time in her life and gratitude for the professors who gave forget it.” so much.
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Stay Connected! Read the latest news and network with over 4,000 School of Business alumni, students, faculty, and staff
Join the School of Business LinkedIn Group go.wfu.edu/linkedinwfusb
New resources from the Center for Leadership and Character Explore tools and resources relating to leadership development, putting business ethics into action, and building high performing teams. Many of the resources are free to alumni, including the “Leader Development Action Plan Worksheet,” “How to Lead Effective Meetings Guide,” and more.
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EXECUTIVE EDUCATION ENSURING YOUR FIRM’S TALENT IS ALWAYS ON TOP OF THEIR GAME
In today’s rapidly evolving business climate,
an organization’s prospects for enduring success are highly predicated upon the ability to innovate. As markets flux from political, social, and technological forces, business leaders are confronted with new challenges to constantly create, adapt, sustain, and grow. It is that very challenge that is being met by the School’s Executive Education program.
The program draws on the expertise of Wake Forest’s outstanding School of Business faculty for both its custom programs and its open enrollment courses. Executive Education Director Kerry Shronts said that the strength of the School’s custom programs is the ability to carve out niches in areas such as analytics, finance, marketing, and accounting, each of which are distinct strengths at the School.
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“As clients approach us with business challenges and issues around talent development, we engage our faculty with expertise in this area to customize learning solutions to meet the client’s expected outcomes,” said Shronts. He added that the duration for each custom program can vary widely — from a half day to several weeks — depending on the client’s needs.
Emerging digital technologies in recent years have reconfigured many business models to include heavy datadriven strategies. The popular Business Analytics course examines how a massive collection of data can be analyzed to better understand customers, manage resources, and enhance profitability. The course explores how some of the world’s top performing businesses use analytics to inform decisions at the strategic, tactical, and operational levels.
Syngenta, entering its eighth year of partnership with the program, brings in key customers from across the country to gather at Graylyn Conference Center, a Wake Forest-owned 55-acre estate and boutique hotel.
Participants learn how business analytics can be applied at their organization and how to interpret data to foster new ideas. The course is geared toward leaders in marketing, finance, operations, and senior managers looking for strategic insight. The Strategic Innovation and Leadership course, designed for business leaders, managers, entrepreneurs, small business owners, and executives, employs real-world challenges brought by participants who then learn how to apply strategic innovation principles to their company’s business. Areas of focus include identifying tools to address risk and opportunity, studying internal and external trends that impact business, and examining successful innovators to glean insights to develop and maintain a competitive edge in the marketplace. The Competitive Strategic Marketing course is geared toward participants learning how to implement effective marketing strategies with a specific focus on creating and retaining customers.
During this professional development experience, participants are exposed to topics that include negotiations, human resources, financial management, leadership, and diversity and cultural awareness.
Participants are asked to bring a marketing challenge from their place of business. Small group learning facilitated by expert instruction explores topics including brand differentiation and demand generation, and the complexities of mobile transactions and social media in the marketplace. This rigorous examination in a rich learning environment produces solutions participants can leverage in their organization.
With Syngenta, course modifications and adjustments are made each year based on their customers’ evolving needs. “We make the program dynamic to suit the client,” said Shronts. “A company might come to us and say, ‘Give 10 of our mid-level executives the latest and best practices on business analytics.’ Thanks to our design flexibility and deep faculty expertise, we can readily meet such a challenge.”
Individuals and organizations seeking more information about these executive education offerings can visit www.business.wfu. edu/programs/executive-education to learn more.
While custom programs are organization-specific, our open enrollment courses are topic-centric and usually two-day sessions. Last December, three new courses were introduced: Business Analytics, Strategic Innovation and Leadership, and Competitive Strategic Marketing.
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hen Wake Forest began offering MBA classes in the Morrocroft Center, the School of Business was among the first to recognize the need for executives in the Charlotte area to continue their education without interrupting their careers. Now, the program has doubled in size and risen to a top 15 ranking nationally, according to U.S. News & World Report.
Sisel Distinguished Dean of the School of Business Charles Iacovou and more than 400 others gathered at the Westin in Uptown Charlotte for an evening of celebration. Guests included current students, alumni, faculty, and staff members, all with ties to the Charlotte MBA programs taught on evenings and Saturdays. “We are celebrating the 20th anniversary of the MBA program in Charlotte this year when we have had great news about the ranking of the program,” said Iacovou, whose own connection to the program goes back many years. “I have wonderful memories of the first class I taught here,” said Ajay Patel, the Thomas S. Goho Chair in Finance. “I taught the financial management class to first-year students, and a finance elective to second-year students. 2016
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They were a tough group, in the sense that a lot of them were in the financial services sector, so they had extremely high expectations.” “I selected the Wake Forest MBA program because it was a nationally recognized program, and it was local,” said Cutter Davis (MBA ’99), who joined the program shortly after it opened in the South Park area. He is executive vice president/director of commercial banking at South State Bank in Charlotte. Davis said he developed some of his closest friendships in the MBA classrooms and was excited
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to see about a dozen alumni from the class of 1998 and 1999 attending. “One of the most rewarding parts of the program was being able to come back to work and use things right away that you had just talked about or done in class,” said Davis. That tenant of the program still holds true. Anyel Colebrook (MBA ’17) is part of the Charlotte Saturday class that will graduate in December. She says lessons in
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operations management, accounting, marketing, and leadership have provided immediate results for her job. “We just finished our leadership class, and I was able to take what I learned and implemented it right away with the teams I lead,” she said. “We learned about adaptive leadership and situational leadership, for example, and the principles have made a tremendous impact on my career.”
and gathering for group photos. School of Business faculty and staff enjoyed reconnecting with past students and friends and look forward to the next opportunity for alumni to come together.
Alumni from two decades of the Charlotte MBA programs came to celebrate at the Gala, sharing memories about professors and class projects, catching up on personal lives,
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hen the Wake Forest University School of Business graduated its first class of Master of Science in Accountancy (MSA) program students, it was 1997 — the year that 21-year-old Tiger Woods became the youngest golfer ever to win the Masters Tournament, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 7,000 for the first time. It also began an unprecedented streak of number one placements on the Certified Public Accounting (CPA) Exam. Since 1997, MSA students have earned this number one ranking 13 times, more than any other university during the same period. School of Business students have placed in the top five of all schools nationally in 17 out of 20 years since the Wake Forest program has been in existence.
“When the American Institute of CPAs passed the 150hour law, wanting students to have 30 hours beyond the bachelor’s degree to sit for the CPA exam, that’s when we decided to offer the master’s degree,” said Dale Martin, the Delmer P. Hylton Professor of Accountancy. “At the time, our bachelor’s degree was more like four and a half years of course work compressed into four years. When you consider the strong liberal arts we believe in at Wake Forest, plus business, plus accounting — it’s hard to get that into just four years. So, this change allowed us to include an internship as part of the graduate course work.” “The reputation of the program at Wake Forest convinced me to enter the MSA program,” said Paul Griggs (BS ’96, MSA ’97), a member of the first graduating class. Now a partner at PwC in London, Griggs said he and his classmates were excited and uncertain about his new opportunity. “It was very well known even 20 years ago that the Wake Forest program had a tremendous reputation in the accounting industry. The new program created energy, passion, and excitement beyond the nuts and bolts of debits and credits. Accounting sits at the crossroads of all business, and professors like Tom Taylor, 2016
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MSA students once again achieved the #1 pass rate in the nation on the Certified Public Accounting exam, among all U.S. universities with accounting programs. This year’s results clearly placed Wake Forest in first place with an 89.5 percent pass rate average, well above the national average of 54.4 percent. Since 1997, MSA students have earned this number one ranking 13 times, more than any other university during the same period. Jon Duchac, Dale Martin, Jack Wilkerson, and Tom Goho made you excited about the possibilities.” When the MSA program began with 33 students, it was part of the Wake Forest University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. It was a five-year program, just as it is today. In 1997, it was three years of undergraduate courses, followed by two years of graduate work. Student feedback led to the program’s current structure, with four years of undergraduate courses and one year of graduate studies. “I think we did an excellent job communicating with the accounting profession, staying informed of industry changes and what our graduates needed to know. One of the things we heard early on was how important it was to have an internship. But not a summer internship during the slowest time for public accounting firms like most schools were doing,” Martin said. “Instead, industry experts with the big firms told us students would get a much better learning experience if we offered an internship from January to early March during their busy season. That’s one reason our students leave the School of Business ready to perform at the highest level.” Now grown to a class size of 142, the MSA program offers students the option of specializing in the career tracks of Assurance Services, Tax Consulting, or, unique to Wake Forest, Financial Transaction Services. 48
An additional strength of the MSA program is the diversity of the students it attracts. One way this is achieved is through a two-day event held in early January, known as the Accounting Diversity Consortium. The School of Business invites college juniors and seniors from other campuses, including historically black colleges and universities, to learn more about careers in accounting and financial management (see page 77). Lawrence Watkins (MSA ’17) is one of the students who chose Financial Transaction Services. “I chose Wake Forest because of the reputation,” he said. “I spoke with alumni and business professionals who mentioned how difficult the track would be. I knew coming to Wake Forest would not only prepare me for the CPA exam but also for my future career in mergers and acquisitions. I was around some of the smartest and most diligent students in the nation. Being in this environment makes you want to do better.” Watkins has accepted a position with Deloitte’s Risk and Financial Advisory within the Mergers and Acquisitions group in the Chicago office following graduation. Our MSA graduates’ strong performance on the CPA exam and high quality internships have traditionally led to 100 percent accepted job offers before graduation. Many students receive multiple offers thanks to networking events like Meet the Firms and the intensive career preparation provided by faculty and staff at the School.
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Melissa Miller Hughes (BS ’11, MSA ’12) began her career as an audit associate at KPMG and now serves as a campus recruiter who attends Meet the Firms events to hire Wake Forest students. “We’re looking for employees who are hardworking, driven self-starters and really ready to learn,” she said. “Wake Forest students are exceptional, which makes for an easy transition between their coursework and the professional world.”
Jim Willis, Dale K. Cline associate dean for accountancy and associate professor of the practice, sums it up this way: “The unparalleled consistency in the performance of our accounting students is a clear indicator that they leave the School of Business ready to make an impact at their organizations and in the accounting profession on day one.”
Griggs says he spent much of his career based in Charlotte traveling the country for his clients. He believes the foundation “Wake Forest has a tremendous alumni network, especially and global mindset Wake Forest provided has served him since it has been developing top performers for so many years,” well in his new role in London. “The Wake Forest liberal arts said Rob Wilk (MSA ’12). “There are plenty of graduates who degree encourages diversity and inclusion, combined with a are now partners and CFOs. I made lifelong friends with focus on the whole person that makes a difference,” he said. classmates who are part of my professional network today.” “Big business is the same whether you’re in Charlotte, New Wilk began his career at EY and is now a forensic accountant York City, San Francisco, Hong Kong, Tokyo, or London. The at Gursey Schneider, LLP. in Los Angeles. work is the same, but as Wake Forest professionals, we are prepared to be successful no matter where we are.”
Elijah Watt Sells Award S C H O O L O F BU S I N E S S G R A D R E C O G N I Z E D W I T H NAT I O NA L AC C O U N T I N G AWA R D Kayla Elizabeth Gawlik (MSA ’16) has earned the 2016 Elijah Watt Sells Award, which was presented by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) to just 58 people who sat for the Uniform CPA examination last year. To earn this accolade, test takers earn a cumulative average score above 95.5 across all four sections of the exam, pass all four sections on their first attempt, and complete all four sections within a calendar year. Gawlik is employed with KPMG, LLP. in New York City, New York. “The CPA examination, along with the education and experience required, sets a high bar for entry into the profession. This serves to protect the public interest by ensuring that only qualified individuals earn a CPA license,” said Michael Decker, AICPA vice president of examinations in a statement. “On behalf of the AICPA, I’d like to congratulate this year’s winners of the Elijah Watt Sells award on their outstanding accomplishment and wish them the best of luck in their careers.” The AICPA established the Elijah Watt Sells Award in 1923. Sells, one of the first CPAs in the United States, was active in establishing the group and played a key role in advancing the profession.
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hen I began looking at schools, I knew I wanted to attend a master’s program that would enable me to further develop my quantitative skills,” said Jacob Fusek (MA ’17). “Wake Forest’s MA in Management was a great fit because it was designed to build upon any liberal arts foundation.”
constructed our program to help students explore their career focus. We start the students in the summer instead of the fall, giving them an early jump start with sessions that introduce them to major business disciplines and to our Personal Branding and Career Management course that gets them up to speed immediately on current job market realities and possible career tracks.”
For the past 10 years, the School of Business 10-month Master of Arts in Management (MA) program has given students like Fusek a new way to launch their careers. Along with 150 other students in the Class of 2017 with strong backgrounds in liberal arts, sciences, or engineering, Fusek added the business skills and experience needed to gain an advantage in the marketplace.
One unique aspect of the program is the Action Learning Projects (ALP) that provide real-world experience for our MA students (see page 67). The School partners with strategic organizations who provide an actual business problem for the students to study and solve.
Fusek’s choice came thanks to the School’s vision and 13 Wake Forest students who pioneered the program in 2007. At that time, 10-month business master’s programs were common in Europe but exceedingly rare in the United States. Wake Forest became one of the first universities in the nation to offer such a program and employed a structure that ensures our program stands out from the competition.
Deloitte Senior Marketing Specialist Allison Fairall Britz (BA ’11, MA ’12) said she has fond memories of her final presentation for ALP. “My team really pulled together, and I felt like we genuinely accomplished something. We wrote an RFP for Legacy Consultant Pharmacy to help them find a new courier service. This process was 100 percent applicable to my career and really helped me hit the ground running in that aspect.”
“We’re unique,” said Associate Dean Scott Shafer, who oversaw the program at launch and has returned to the helm. “We’ve
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The companies that sponsor ALP teams say they gain as much from the experience as the students do. Companies like Cigna have returned more than once to sponsor in the 10 years since the MA program began. “The kind of ideas and innovative thinking we get from the students is invaluable,” said Stephen Cassell (MBA ’95), Cigna’s vice president of branding. “We gain insights from these young professionals into a problem after they pull that problem apart and present us with solutions. It’s a really powerful way to experience a business case.” Another unique aspect of the program is the Corporate Fellowship Program. The School of Business is strongly committed to building a diverse student body, and the Corporate Fellowship Program was developed to further this goal for our MA classes in an effort to reward high-achieving students from underrepresented groups. In total, the class of 2017 was one of our most diverse classes — 58 percent of the class was female and 28 percent came from underrepresented groups. Fellows receive full tuition plus a stipend to help cover living expenses. They also receive personal mentoring from a high-level executive at a major sponsor corporation who guides them through the ins and outs of the organization. 52
By establishing a mentor relationship and gaining an understanding of their company operations, Fellows are uniquely poised to make immediate and profound contributions to their sponsor companies, should they be recruited to work there upon graduation. A core component of the program is career management and has been from the beginning. Shafer says students are encouraged to take their career search just as seriously as their academic courses. Market readiness and employment staff members help students refine their resumes, practice interviewing, and provide counsel on everything from cover letters to salary negotiation and help students refine their resumes and practice interviewing. This kind of preparation helps graduates not only land the meaningful position they want, but also gives them a head start as young professionals. Adjoa Boateng (MA ’15), now a senior analyst at Amex, described the program as challenging and significantly rewarding. “In many ways, I have learned so much about myself as an individual and a professional. I truly believe that MA graduates are exceptional and add value to any company or career they pursue.”
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he first graduating class of the Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) at the School of Business represents 27 colleges and universities around the world, more than a dozen different majors, eight Double Deacs, and two veterans. Beyond these impressive statistics are even more impressive students.
and communicating insights. “I love telling a story and have a talent for doing that with numbers — like painting a picture,” Trivette said.
“The diversity of our first class is outstanding,” said John White, the program’s executive director. “We have a degree experience that is very much in demand, and I think that’s what attracted so many students to this new program.”
For Denise Dubick, who graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill with a degree in Applied Mathematics and a minor in Creative Writing/Poetry, the MSBA program has prepared her to put her creative skills to the test. “It’s more than just writing the algorithms and grooming the data. The MSBA program focuses on understanding the business world and will give me the tools to apply these skills,” she said. Dubick wants to use her skills to explore and leverage data offered by technology in K-12 classrooms to help revolutionize the way children are taught.
The program was formally announced in February 2016 and within three months had exceeded its original enrollment goals. Students in the MSBA program focus on experiential learning projects with corporate partners, including classroom use of real data from our Center for Retail Innovation’s Retail Learning Labs. Students gain technical skills across a full spectrum of analytics methodologies and develop business skills through innovative courses such as Analytics in the Boardroom, Analytics in Society, and Data Visualization.
“Our MSBA degree provides our graduates with a much higher percentage of true business courses that will help our graduates manage data, extract insights, and collaborate, lead, and communicate effectively,” said Dr. Jeffrey Camm, associate dean of Business Analytics, professor, and Inmar Presidential Chair in Business Analytics
“The accelerated, specialized master’s experience we offer moves very quickly. While we were thrilled to graduate our first class in May, we will welcome our next class in a little more than seven weeks,” said White. “Our enrollment will double in our second year to 75 students, and we are excited to welcome a cohort that continues to be diverse in gender, ethnicity, undergraduate major, undergraduate institutions, and geographic origin.”
The communication piece appealed to Grant Trivette, a Winston-Salem native who earned a business degree from UNC-Wilmington. With three years in the Army’s 82nd Airborne, including a year of combat service in Sadr City, Iraq, the former paratrooper wants to explore data visualization 2016
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Why America’s business majors are in desperate need of a liberalarts education The Atlantic Finding workers who ask those questions can pay off — literally — for businesses. “We have become so myopic in solving business problems that we don’t think about those problems from the perspective of other disciplines,” said Charles Iacovou, dean of the school of business at Wake Forest University. And that sort of context offers a critical competitive edge, even if not all undergraduates understand that.
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If you’re a good employee and your boss still bullies you, this could be why New York Magazine There’s a reason bullying bosses are such a potent cultural trope: Bosses who are domineering jerks are real, they’re everywhere, and they make a lot of people’s lives miserable.
Why are you going to business school anyway? Business Insider Jim Otteson contributed an article as part of Business Insider’s series “The Price of Profits.” He writes: “At Wake Forest University, where I teach, we decided to take a different tack. We wanted to address the criticisms squarely, and give students a real opportunity to think about big questions that need to be asked: Should we have a market economy? What are the responsibilities of a firm in a market economy? What are the objections raised to business, and what are the responses?”
Bully-bosses, writes Wake Forest School of Business professor Sherry Moss in Harvard Business Review, have been linked not only to individual “psychological distress, job dissatisfaction, and emotional exhaustion,” but also to drags on the larger organization as a whole. Bully-bosses, Moss writes, The best 4th of July sales and Is student debt the next may lead to “counter-productive deals of 2016 financial crisis? behaviors, from the organizational to the interpersonal … Not surprisingly, WalletHub Yahoo! Finance bullying also increases turnover.” Associate Professor of Marketing A special report by Consumer Reports Kenny Herbst offered patriotic pennyexamines the student debt crisis. This is why your boss is a bully pinching tips to WalletHub. Herbst Charles Iacovou, dean of the school of Black Enterprise says, “The period leading up to the 4th business at Wake Forest University, said of July is a great opportunity to bring that one way to help students and their On the flip-side, star performers consumers into stores and to show families would be to make more data are sometimes bullied too. “This is them all that they can enjoy in the way available to them such as graduation because high performers represent a of an in-store shopping experience rates and post-graduate earnings. “We threat to supervisors who place a high throughout the year. In a sense, it’s can measure outcomes better than value on their dominant position in an opportunity for some retailers to we do today and be more effective in the hierarchy,” explains Wake Forest communicating those outcomes,” he said. University School of Business professor, provide a real-life sample of what can be found inside their stores in the way Sherry Moss. “To such a boss, an upHow to make sure your most of products and customer service.” and-coming subordinate who performs outspoken employee doesn’t beyond expectations might replace Food prices are down. But there’s hog the spotlight them, supersede them, or garner some an upside for the food industry of the resources normally reserved Fast Company for them, such as status, attention Forbes Outspoken employees can be a great from higher-ups, or advancement In any case, even if the price of food asset, as they often make leaders aware opportunities.” is down, the value of time is not, says of concerns or issues, and suggest Kenny Herbst, an associate professor solutions that others might not be of marketing at Wake Forest University comfortable expressing, says Amy School of Business. “A quick stop at a Wallis, professor of organizational restaurant to take out food not only behavior at Wake Forest University saves time spent prepping food but also School of Business. time spent cleaning up. So, the value of time is a significant consideration here,” Herbst says. 54
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This student went to the extreme to raise money for Alzheimer’s research USA Today College After Caroline Magee’s father was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s in 2013, she jumped into action — literally — by jumping out of a plane Sept. 22. Her skydiving stunt raised $4,125, but Magee says she hopes to reach a total of $5,000. She plans to use the money to fund research at the Alzheimer’s Association and the local support group in her hometown of Roanoke, Va.
WWYD: My female friend found out she earns less than all her male coworkers TheBillfold.com “Managers will be more open to talking about your specific case than they will be to comparing one person’s case to another’s,” says Sherry Moss, a professor of organizational studies at Wake Forest University School of Business.
Donald Trump to meet with potential picks for top financial policy jobs Wall Street Journal BB&T Center for the Study of Capitalism Executive in Residence, John Allison met with the presidentelect. President-elect Donald Trump will meet Monday with two men who could have a strong say in how his administration regulates Wall Street: John Allison, a former chief executive of BB&T Corp., and Paul Atkins, a former Republican member of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Allison’s potential to serve as Secretary of Treasury in the Trump administration was also covered by Bloomberg, the Fox News Channel, Fox Business, CNBC.com, the Charlotte Observer, the Triad Business Journal, and the Winston-Salem Journal
Possible Trump treasury pick continues to slam Fed, Dodd-Frank
Six things to help you in balancing work and life in 2017
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“In terms of eliminating the Federal Reserve, that’s something I’d like to do in theory, but I don’t think it’s doable in practice,” John Allison said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell” on Tuesday.
An essay by Associate Professor Julie Wayne on work-life balance ran in Fox News. In it she writes: “Work-life balance: Moms want it. Dads want it. Single employees want it. Younger employees want it. Older employees want it. And research shows that finding balance is important to individual well-being as well as better satisfaction, commitment, and performance in one’s family and one’s job. Despite these positive outcomes, work-life balance often remains an elusive goal.
John Allison: Get rid of the Fed Fox Business During an interview on the FOX Business Network’s After the Bell, John Allison, former CEO of BB&T, said he would like to “get rid of the Fed,” and blamed the central banking system for playing a “major role” in the housing crisis of the mid to late 2000s.
Tidings of comfort and joy: Why shoppers seeking comfort will be retailers’ joy FoxNews In an op-ed piece, Roger Beahm writes, “After an exceptionally divisive election season and the ongoing fall-out, people are in search of the comfort and nostalgia that comes with the holidays, perhaps turning to some retail therapy.
Coming soon: Student inventions to benefit your health from the 2016 Wake Forest University School of Business Retail & Health Innovation Challenge Yahoo! Finance
Wake Forest students achieve #1 CPA pass rate among U.S. Schools with accounting programs Yahoo! Finance The National Association of State Boards of Accountancy has reported Wake Forest University School of Business students in the Master of Science in Accountancy (MSA) program have once again achieved the #1 pass rate in the nation on the Certified Public Accounting exam, among all U.S. universities with accounting programs. The story was posted on more than 250 outlets across the country, including MarketWatch, Ask.com, StreetInsider, Morningstar, and The Miami Herald.
The next imaginative idea to benefit consumers, patients, or healthcare professionals might be born in the creative concepts presented at the Fourth Annual Retail & Health Innovation Challenge. Hosted by Wake Forest University School of Business and its Center for Retail Innovation, the Challenge is sponsored by CVS Health. This story also appeared in MarketWatch, Morningstar, The Miami Herald, The Charlotte Observer, and other media outlets.
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Why Wake Forest University gave six students $100,000 Marketplace (NPR) Six undergraduate students from Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, are in New York City this weekend with $100,000 to spend. They’re on an art-buying trip for the University’s Student Union Collection of Contemporary Art. After spending months researching artists, they are finally visiting galleries and purchasing artwork. Marketplace host Kai Ryssdal talked with one of the students on the trip, Devon Gilbert, about his experience. Devon is a senior business and enterprise management and art history major from Winston-Salem.
Tax scams and tips for avoiding them WalletHub A story on tax scams and fraud prevention quotes Lee Knight, Hylton professor of accountancy at the School. Knight offers advice for consumers to protect themselves, saying: “The number one cause of tax fraud is identity theft, which occurs when someone uses a taxpayer’s personal information — name, address, social security number, and other identifying information — to file a phony tax return for a refund.”
The ACBJ Power Rankings: The best-performing airports in America New York Business Journal The American City Business Journals has created its first-ever Airport Power Rankings with help from Wake Forest University School of Business.
and subjective, and they spotlight both where the industry is headed and the airports leading the charge.
SPECIAL INTEREST PUBLICATIONS
This story has appeared in multiple outlets in the American City Business Journals group.
JCK
Wake Forest School of Business MBA team takes first place in 27th Marketing Analytics Summit Yahoo! Finance
While millennials are different from the generations that preceded them, ultimately they want much the same things. “There are some consistent principles across generations,” says Julie Wayne, associate professor of management at Wake Forest University. “They’re looking for a cultural fit.”
For the second consecutive year, a Wake Responsiveness and Forest University School of Business Collaboration: Developing a MBA team won first place in the distinctive, holistic, marketMarketing Analytics Summit, hosted by the School’s Center for Retail Innovation. driven MSBA Eight graduate and six undergraduate The EvoLLLution teams from around the globe competed In his essay, Jeffrey Camm, executive in a case competition for total prizes director of the MSBA program, writes: of $56,000. The event was held at the “What does it take to develop and launch a School of Business April 7-8, 2017. successful master’s program from scratch on an accelerated time frame? The brief This story also appeared on Marketwatch, answer may be obvious: committed Morningstar, Ask.com, StreetInsider, The university and school administration, an Miami Herald, the Charlotte Observer, agile and dedicated faculty and staff, and and more than 300 other media outlets. an area of study in high demand.
Visa credit cards: Ask the experts WalletHub Professor Roger Beahm offered branding advice about credit cards for WalletHub, such as: The only real reason to have more than one brand of anything is if the second brand offers a difference that is important to you as a consumer. Some credit cards offer special rewards and services which others don’t. If those rewards and services are important to you, then it might make sense to carry another brand of credit card as well.
The analysis draws from U.S. Department of Transportation statistics with supporting research from ACBJ’s 43 newsrooms and analysis provided by faculty at Wake Forest University’s School of Business. The findings are quantitative
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How to create a cool corporate culture
At the Wake Forest University School of Business, we had all of these components as we developed our new Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) program, but there is much more to the story.”
Two views: Politics — in search of a professional politician SouthCoastToday.com In Matthew Phillips and Adam Hyde’s essay they write: “The term ‘career politician’ has become pejorative in American politics. Even presidential candidates — some with long careers in public service — attempt to claim outsider status, as if experience is a liability. They can hardly be blamed for shunning the label “politician,” but that title used to convey a sense of honor. What we really need are fewer career politicians and more professional politicians. Not “professional” in the sense
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of earning a salary, but rather in establishing a set of professional commitments.
Five key things impacting the price of gas Chase.com “Low gas prices serve as a tax cut for Americans. There is a strong positive effect on discretionary spending when prices are low for a sustained period of time,” says Haresh Gurnani, PhD, Executive Director of the Wake Forest University School of Business Center for Retail Innovation.
REGIONAL
Professors restoring free speech on campus Carolina Journal The panel, sponsored by the Institute for Humane Studies, was led by University of Wisconsin-Madison professor Donald Downs, who was joined by Bradley Thompson of Clemson University, Zagros Madjd-Sadjadi of Winston-Salem State University, and James Otteson of Wake Forest University.
That which does most may not sell most
Young Tupper Lake entrepreneur wins prize for innovation
Capitalatplay.com
Adirondack Daily Enterprise
The Wake Forest University School of Business hosted the Fourth Annual Retail & Health Innovation Challenge. The competition was sponsored by CVS Health and judged by a panel representing retail, academia, and healthcare. This year, thirteen teams of college students accepted the challenge. In the first round, they were given two minutes to pitch their concepts with no visuals. Four teams were then selected to move to the final round, where each had half an hour to display, demonstrate, and field questions. First place and $25,000 went to Orindi Ventures of Grand Valley State University for a cold endurance mask for outdoor workers and asthmatics. Second place and $10,000 went to a Clarkson University team for an antioxidant-rich herbal tea made of chaga mushrooms. Third place and $5000 went to the Resilience Project of Wake Forest for fun socks to be designed and made by cancer patients to fundraise for treatment and research. And, last but not least, another Wake Forest team, Accelerated NanoTech, invented a handheld device that uses a chip-based array of carbon nanotube transistors to analyze small samples of body fluid at the DNA-level for early detection of lung cancer.
Kopp, an 18-year-old sophomore at Clarkson University, traveled down to North Carolina to compete against 12 other teams in the fourth annual challenge, which was hosted by Wake Forest’s School of Business and its Center for Retail Innovation and sponsored by CVS Health.
The Intersection of health, retail and heart North State Journal “America is experiencing silver tsunami. Everyday people are turning 65, a large part of our population are baby boomers who are demanding more from healthcare,” said Roger Beahm, Executive Director of the Wake Forest University School of Business Center for Retail Innovation. “There’s a growing interest in the retail and health intersection … retailers in general have taken on a much more aggressive marketing stance to help meet those market needs.”
Meet the people making money on Charlotte’s grocery delivery services
Forest University School of Business. “As long as people can rate them, you get a little comfort knowing the service provider is going to do a good job,” says Patel. Companies and “individuals rated highly will end up getting the better jobs.”
Negotiating for money and perks: How 3 Charlotte women got to ‘yes’ Charlotte Observer So women should push through these phrases that they may tell themselves during salary negotiation time, and charge ahead. That was a key message during a salary seminar for women last week called “Negotiate Like a Boss,” sponsored by the Charlotte chapter of Ellevate Network, the American Association of University Women and Wake Forest University School of Business.
Study: CLT Airport takes top spot out of biggest airports in NC Spectrum-Time Warner Cable News Charlotte Douglas International Airport is the top major airport in North Carolina, according to a recent study by the American City Business Journals. The publication used research from 43 of its national newsrooms as well as analysis provided by Wake Forest University’s School of Business and statistics from the U.S. Department of Transportation to come up with its “Airports Power Rankings.” So how does one decipher whether an airport is operating at a greater level of efficiency compared to its peers? According to Jeffrey Camm, the Inmar Presidential Chair in Business Analytics at Wake Forest University’s school of business, the answer boils down to identifying a consistent set of inputs and outputs that all subject airports share.
Charlotte Observer Increased competition can make for better customer service — and more opportunities for workers, notes Ajay Patel, finance professor with Wake 2016
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LOCAL
Pump Problems: When will gas prices go down? WFMY-TV Drivers could be in for another two weeks of issues at the pumps, according to Wake Forest Business Professor Haresh Gurnani, “Things are likely going to stabilize,” Gurnani explained. “I don’t see any panic situation. This is a short term event that in two weeks down the road will just be a memory.”
Greensboro News & Record And Roger Beahm, executive director of the Center for Retail Innovation at Wake Forest University, said the benefits of opening on Thanksgiving are not as great given that consumers are shopping earlier for Christmas. This story also appeared in the WinstonSalem Journal and GoDanRiver.com.
Hanesbrands plans to nip locker room odor with FreshIQ basic apparel Winston-Salem Journal Roger Beahm, executive director of the Center for Retail Innovation at Wake Forest University, said Hanesbrands’ FreshIQ strategy is “part of the company’s never-ending efforts to create differences for its brands that are important to consumers.”
Wake business school hosts privacy panel discussion
Reynolds American to merge Wake Forest student turns cancer with British American Tobacco diagnosis into philanthropic Time Warner Cable News business
Winston-Salem Journal
Winston-Salem Journal
The School of Business at Wake Forest University will host a panel discussion on privacy and big data from 4 to 5 p.m. today at Farrell Hall on the Reynolda campus.
Amid all the ordeals, large and small, that came from being an active college student diagnosed with cancer, Jake Teitelbaum showed his frustration in one place: the plain, white “hospital socks.” Standard-issue for all in-patient stays — the Wake Forest University student had several while battling a resistant form of Hodgkin’s lymphoma last year — the socks were everything he hated about his situation.
The title of the discussion is “Personal concierge or Big Brother: balancing the possibilities of big data with the need for privacy.” Lauren Rhue, an assistant professor of information services and analytics, will serve as moderator.
Reynolds transition: Woman succeeds a woman as chief executive at Reynolds American Winston-Salem Journal Roger Beahm, executive director of the Center for Retail Innovation at Wake Forest University, said he believes “great leadership is gender-blind.” “Nothing demonstrates that more than the strong performance Reynolds has enjoyed the past several years,” Beahm said.
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So soon? Retailers reject opening on Thanksgiving
Professor Ajay Patel discusses the merger and its possible impact on the Triad for consumers and investors.
Sorry we’re closed: More stores closing up shop as online business grows Greensboro News & Record But it’s not business as usual for so many retailers to close so many stores at once, according to Roger Beahm, executive director of the Center for Retail Innovation at Wake Forest University.
This story was also covered in Greensboro “There are cycles to these things, certainly,” News & Record and Triad Business Journal. he said. “But it’s also not normal to be shutting down stores if you are a Students answer call to innovate traditional brick-and-mortar retailer. at intersection of retail, health You don’t plan on shutting down stores Triad Business Journal because that is taking you in the wrong Student innovation took center stage direction relative to your growth plan.” this week, from warming masks for Report: Two Triad undergrad asthma sufferers to fun socks that help fund cancer treatments. accounting programs among top Those are examples of some of the concepts that students came up with through a competition designed to cultivate innovation at the intersection of retail and health care. The Fourth Annual Retail & Health Innovation Challenge was hosted by Wake Forest University School of Business and its Center for Retail Innovation and sponsored by CVS Health.
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20 in the U.S.
Triad Business Journal Wake Forest University and Elon University have some of the best undergraduate accounting programs in the nation, according to a new survey.
Wake MBA team takes top honors
Wake Forest athletes provide food for hungry, food for thought
Winston-Salem Journal
Greensboro News & Record
For the second consecutive year, a Wake Forest School of Business MBA team won first place in the Marketing Analytics Summit hosted by the School’s Center for Retail Innovation. Eight graduate and six undergraduate teams from around the globe competed in a case competition for total prizes of $56,000. The longest-running studentled event at the School of Business, the Summit is in its 27th year.
ACC confirms plans to bring championships back to North Carolina
Winston-Salem Journal Ryan Janvion, the superb safety for Wake Forest’s football team, was Roger Beahm, executive director of the chosen to speak for the 54 studentCenter for Retail Innovation at Wake athletes honored at the annual ACC Forest University, said the NCAA’s Postgraduate Scholarship Awards return to North Carolina “is definitely a ceremony Wednesday. So Janvion stood win for the state’s reputation.” on a stage in a ballroom at the Sheraton Four Seasons and talked about balancing “It shows that brands can come back after schoolwork and sports for a bit. And a major loss of equity, even if that brand then he talked about humanity. “Life is is a geopolitical territory.” not about me,” said Janvion, who hopes to play in the NFL. “Life is about helping people around me.”
THINK ONE GIFT WON’T MAKE A DIFFERENCE? THINK AGAIN.
WHEN YOUR GIFTS JOIN FORCES, OPPORTUNITY THRIVES AT WAKE FOREST. TO MAKE A GIFT TODAY, VISIT: GO.WFU.EDU/GIVE
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For the second consecutive year, a Wake Forest University School of Business MBA team won first place in the Marketing Analytics Summit, a two-day case competition hosted by the School’s Center for Retail Innovation. The competition is in its 27th year.
School of Business MBA Team Takes First Place at the 2017 Marketing Analytics Summit
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“A lot of the best ideas in marketing and in business are coming from younger people who have a different perspective. We love hearing their thoughts about ways to better connect, better understand, and better measure results,” said Norm De Greve, CVS Health’s senior vice president and chief marketing officer. “We’re big supporters of the competition because data is the future of marketing.” Student volunteers help run the Summit and spend months balancing competition planning and logistics around an already rigorous academic schedule. This year’s co-chairs included Kristen Merlo (’16, MA ’17) and William Wang (BS ’18).
“The competition provides students with the opportunity to tackle a realworld problem our sponsors face. This year the students themselves were the target of the case. Our sponsors were really interested in what millennials are thinking and perceiving about the discipline of marketing and digital analytics careers in marketing. This year the case was also extremely relevant to the students themselves as they prepare to launch their careers,” said Roger Beahm, (full) professor of the practice in marketing, WestRock executive director of the School’s Center for Retail Innovation (CRI), and Marketing Analytics Summit faculty advisor.
Eight graduate and six undergraduate teams traveled to Winston-Salem from universities around the country and the globe, including the University of Pennsylvania, Yale University, the University of Southern California, the University of Chicago, and the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology. Wake Forest second-year MBA students Matteo Blanc, Kate Blevins, Ross Hartman, Samantha Lewis, Marie Miller, and Si Wong received first place and a $20,000 cash prize for their solutions for attracting, retaining, and growing digital analytics talent for CVS Health. With the growth of
big data, many organizations face the business problem of finding people capable of analyzing the data, extracting the intelligence, and formulating the strategies the data suggests. “The Summit required us to think deeper about this intriguing issue, and provided an opportunity to participate, learn, and receive feedback on solutions to a real-world problem,” said Ross Hartman, a Winston-Salem Evening MBA student from the winning team. Hartman and teammate Kate Blevins were both named MVPs in the graduate competition, and each received a $500 cash prize. “We’re interested in how the students themselves will help us develop the strategic framework to pursue top-flight candidates and keep them growing and developing in our industry,” said Bob Liodice, chief executive officer of the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), also a sponsor of this year’s Summit. “The business of talent is a whole different type of framework that we in the industry are just coming to grips with. At the ANA, we have the ability to provide a lot of reach once we have more ideas about what that strategic framework would be.”
“The connections our competitors forge through presentations, panel discussions, and personal networking make the Marketing Analytics Summit an invaluable experience,” said Haresh Gurnani, executive director of the CRI and Benson-Pruitt Professor of Business.
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COMMENCEMENT 2017
Anil Rai Gupta H O O D I N G
“Wake Forest was love at first sight for me,” Anil Rai Gupta (MBA ’92) told the audience at the Wake Forest University School of Business Graduate Hooding Ceremony on Sunday, May 14. “Everything was fresh and exciting: the campus, the exchange of ideas, and the curriculum.” Gupta is chairman and managing director of Havells India, one of the fastest-growing electrical goods companies in India, which purchased the European lighting company Sylvania in 2007, an organization one and a half times larger than Havells. Graduate students, parents, family, friends, faculty, and staff members assembled in Wait Chapel to welcome the alumnus back to the School. “Exactly 25 years ago, I was seated where you are right now,” he said. Gupta described his feelings at his graduation as satisfaction at completing his degree, eagerness to begin practicing what he learned, and anxiety about starting on his new journey. In his keynote, he shared how Wake Forest 62
shaped him as an individual, how market liberalism stokes growth, and how entrepreneurship is the key to a fulfilling life, especially in volatile times. Gupta mentioned faculty members who had an impact on him, such as Ram Baliga, Chuck Kennedy, John Pinder, and Rick Harris. As a student from India where the culture places teachers on a high pedestal, Gupta was used to showing great reverence to his professors. “Here, the professors insisted we address them by name,” he said. “Old habits die hard, and it took me a couple of months to fall in line.” He said the personal relationships between students and faculty taught him how open communication is essential for learning and relating to people — something that is critical for all businesses. Gupta said while he was not a born entrepreneur like his father, who founded Havells, he considers himself a trained entrepreneur and urged the audience to adopt an entrepreneurial mindset.
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“To my mind, an entrepreneur is not just somebody like [Facebook founder] Mark Zuckerberg or [Tesla founder] Elon Musk. Any employee who thinks of the organization as his or her own and works for its betterment is an entrepreneur. It is a mindset, not just capital ownership,” he explained.
Gupta urged the audience to keep their family members close as they move through the business world, as a source of strength, to radiate success, and share victories. He offered these final thoughts: “You are not here to serve yourself alone; you have to contribute to society, and entrepreneurship is your very powerful tool for that.”
STUDENT AWARDS LEADERSHIP AWARD The faculty give this award each year to a student in each program who demonstrates outstanding leadership, scholastic performance, and integrity. This year’s recipients are: Logan Miller (Charlotte Evening MBA) Richard Reutter (Charlotte Saturday MBA) Shannon Pierce (Winston-Salem Evening MBA) Xiao Li (MS in Business Analytics) Lawrence Watkins (MS in Accountancy) Caylin Iannotta (MA in Management)
IMPACTFUL PILLAR AWARD This award recognizes an outstanding graduating student whose actions, commitments, and personal values reflect the educational priority of the School of Business to develop and support IMPACTFUL businesspeople. The recognized student is exceptional for his/her demonstrated abilities to think strategically, act practically, and communicate effectively as an example for others. This year, the recipients are: George Oliver and Kristen Thut
HONORABLE PILLAR AWARD This award recognizes an outstanding graduating student whose actions, commitments, and personal values reflect the educational priority of the School of Business to develop and support HONORABLE businesspeople. The recognized student is exceptional for his/ her demonstrated abilities to lead ethically and exhibit personal strengths as an example for others. This year, the recipients are: Jane Hardy and Aubrey Ramsdell
PROFESSIONAL PILLAR AWARD This award recognizes an outstanding graduating student whose actions, commitments, and personal values reflect the educational priority of the School of Business to develop and support PROFESSIONAL businesspeople. The recognized student is exceptional for his/her demonstrated abilities to create value for others, embrace a professional identity, and steward the profession of business as an example for others. This year, the recipients are: Robert Robinson and Lawrence Watkins
GLOBAL PILLAR AWARD This award recognizes an outstanding graduating student whose actions, commitments, and personal values reflect the educational priority of the School of Business to develop and support GLOBAL businesspeople. The recognized student is exceptional for his/her demonstrated abilities to leverage diversity, and demonstrate a global mindset as an example for others. This year, the recipient is: Liya Pu
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COMMENCEMENT BY THE NUMBERS:
C O M M E N C E M E N T
260 Bachelor of Science
145
Master of Arts in Management (MA)
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Master of Science in Accountancy (MSA)
A beautiful and sunny Monday morning was the perfect day to celebrate the graduation of 459 master’s and 260 bachelor’s degree recipients from the School of Business. Nearly 1,900 graduates, along with their friends, family, faculty, and staff gathered on Wake Forest University’s Hearn Plaza to celebrate Commencement on Monday, May 15. In his address, President Nathan O. Hatch told students to “make eye contact,” stressing the value of actual — not virtual — connections. “Wake Forest has long been a face-to-face place, a community that links personal connection and intellectual engagement. As you leave this campus and pursue a wonderful array of opportunities, I challenge you to lift your eyes to engage your fellow employees, your fellow graduates, your professors, your clients, your colleagues, and, most importantly, your friends,” Hatch said.
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Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA)
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Master of Business Administration (MBA)
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STUDENT AWARDS OUTSTANDING GRADUATE AWARD — ASSURANCE SERVICES This award recognizes a graduating MSA student who has demonstrated academic and leadership skills in the assurance services field. This year, the recipient is: Sean Taylor Simmons OUTSTANDING GRADUATE AWARD — FINANCIAL TRANSACTION SERVICES This award recognizes a graduating MSA student who has demonstrated academic and leadership skills in the transaction services field. This year, the recipient is: Nick Noble
During his Commencement address, Pulitzer Prizewinning author and presidential historian Jon Meacham told the class of 2017 to reflect on the past, but also challenged them to make history.
OUTSTANDING GRADUATE AWARD — TAX CONSULTING This award recognizes a graduating MSA student who has demonstrated academic and leadership skills in the tax consulting field. This year, the recipient is: Andrew Jay Savarese
“We look back in order to summon the strength and courage to move forward,” Meacham said. “We do this collectively, as a nation; and we do so in our individual lives, too.”
FEDERATION OF SCHOOLS OF ACCOUNTANCY ACHIEVEMENT AWARD This award recognizes a graduate MSA student who has shown superior academic achievement, leadership, and professionalism in post-baccalaureate accounting education. This year, the recipient is: Colton Smith
At the Commencement ceremony, School of Business graduate hooding ceremony keynote speaker Anil Rai Gupta (MBA ’92) received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree. Retiring School of Business professors Chuck Kennedy, Bruce Lewis, and Jack Meredith were honored among those from the Reynolda campus.
Congratulations to our newest alumni, who left campus prepared to help businesses create a better world.
SCARRITT FAMILY PRO HUMANITATE AWARD This award recognizes an outstanding MA student who exemplifies the University’s motto, has enriched the MA program through his/her actions, and has demonstrated a commitment to the communities around him/her as both a student and emerging professional. This year, the recipients are: Lauren DeRuyter and Nathan Lowman
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LURA BAKER PADEN AWARD This award is given to recognize the outstanding academic achievement of a graduating business and enterprise management major. This year, the recipient is: Christiaan Hodgson Adriann Honig LEVAR ANTWAN HAIRSTON COURAGE AWARD This award is given to recognize an undergraduate School of Business student who has displayed courage in the pursuit of his or her degree. This year, the recipient is: Kathryn Cornell Webster DELMAR P. HYLTON ACCOUNTANCY AWARD This award is given to recognize the outstanding academic achievement of a graduating accounting major. This year, the recipient is: Heather Rozella Key ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE IN FINANCE AWARD This award is given to recognize the outstanding academic achievement of a graduating finance major. This year, the recipient is: Dana Helen Matuozzi ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE IN MATHEMATICAL BUSINESS AWARD This award is given to recognize the outstanding academic achievement of a graduating mathematical business major. This year, the recipient is: Alyssa Joy Raguso SPIRIT OF WAYNE CALLOWAY AWARD This undergraduate award is given to recognize the graduating School of Business student who the faculty believes best embodies the ideals and values of Mr. Calloway. This year, the recipient is: Celine Vanderclock Olcott
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rankings: where we stand MA in Management
MBA Part-Time Program
The Economist has ranked the Wake Forest
U.S. News & World Report has ranked the Wake
University School of Business Master of Arts in
Management program #4
Forest University School of Business Part-time
in the U.S. and
Master of Business Administration (MBA) programs
#21 in the world. This is the publication’s
#13 in the nation. Rising six places nationally, this is the 8th consecutive year
Undergraduate Business
MS in Accountancy
inaugural ranking of pre-experience Master’s in
Management programs and the first ranking of our
the School of Business MBA program has been
#1 in North Carolina.
MA program.
#14
#1
#38
#17
Poets & Quants Best Undergraduate Business Programs of 2016 U.S. News & World Report Best Undergraduate Business Programs 2016
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#19
CPA Pass Rate — NASBA Candidate Performance Uniform CPA Exam — 2016
Public Accounting Report Annual Professors Survey Undergrad Ranking 2017
Public Accounting Report Annual Professors Survey Master’s Ranking 2017
U.S. News & World Report Best Undergraduate Business Program Specialty — Accounting 2017
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#23
Real-World Consulting Through the Action Learning Project MA in Management students leverage education through practical experience A core component of the 10-month Master of Arts in Management (MA) program is a two-part program called the Action Learning Project (ALP). In the first phase, 30 student teams compete to present the best business case solution to the sponsor. For fall 2016, Cigna asked our students to provide a strategy encouraging millennials to use preventative healthcare. In the second phase, 23 companies sponsor projects for the same 30 student teams, each with a specific business problem to solve. The experience they gain in the first step, along with additional classroom education, allows them to hone their professional capabilities further. For the organizations, they receive fresh ideas from a millennial perspective and gain impactful solutions for business problems. The companies are invited to nominate their teams for the ALP Excellence Award. Matt Kelly, global human resources director for Getinge Group, has sponsored ALP projects through this organization and his previous employer for eight years now. He traveled from his office in New Hampshire to attend the final awards ceremony. “We’ve gotten excellent results from the ALP program,” he said. “You can imagine over eight years, we’ve seen a lot of work come out of Wake Forest, and I’ve seen many of those projects get implemented in the organizations. We brought this year’s team to New Jersey to present their project to us at Getinge. We’ve gotten a lot of interest from within the organization about their project.” Director of Experiential Learning and Development Michelle Horton says ALP continues to be an integral part of the MA program. “It provides an impactful and valuable learning experience to our scholars where they not only develop professionally but also personally,” she said. “Additionally, we are grateful and appreciative of our sponsors who serve as partners in learning and co-educators. They support our academic goals while receiving innovative and creative solutions to their business challenges. The Action Learning Project is truly a win-win opportunity for all of our stakeholders.” “I enjoy the coaching and mentoring,” Kelly said. It pays off. Three of the student teams he’s coached as an ALP sponsor have received the ALP Excellence Award, including this year. Kelly said it had been such a positive experience that next year he and Getinge plan to sponsor and mentor two teams.
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ALP Excellence Award Winners ALP-1: Fall 2016 Allie DeCaro Alexa Faraimo Kristen Merlo Brandon Napier Tim Olson
ALP-2: Spring 2017 Allie DeCaro Alexa Faraimo Kristen Merlo Brandon Napier Tim Olson
Joshua Gough Cara Longietti Hailey Merk Sharone Moverman Alex Schneider Matthew Beck Imani Brown Emily Carl Jacob Fusek Meredith Shaw
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Coming soon: Student inventions to benefit your health 2016 WFU School of Business Retail & Health Innovation Challenge provides a platform for revolutionary ideas
The next “big thing” to benefit consumers, patients, or healthcare professionals might emerge from the creative concepts presented at the Fourth Annual Retail & Health Innovation Challenge, hosted by the Wake Forest University School of Business and its Center for Retail Innovation, and sponsored by CVS Health. Thirteen teams of student innovators from top colleges and universities across the country traveled to the Wake Forest University School of Business and the new downtown home of Wake Forest Innovations at Biotech Place to offer their revolutionary ideas to a panel of industry judges representing CVS Health, Johnson & Johnson, Bellomy Research, Inmar, the North Carolina Retail Merchants Association, Sales Factory + Woodbine, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, ITT, and WestRock, in addition to representation from the School of Business and Wake Forest Innovations. The common thread among the ideas presented was providing inventive solutions to challenges at the intersection of retail and health. Winning concepts included wearables, testing devices, and nutritional supplements. Each team was competing for cash prizes totaling $41,500, with two Wake Forest School of Business teams placing in the top four overall.
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“I think this competition is sensational because I love hearing what the young minds are thinking about and how they approach problems,” said Oray Boston, vice president of OTC strategy for Johnson & Johnson, who served on the judges’ panel. “It’s never from the traditional standpoint. They’re always coming at it from a different angle. To see how they bring their passion and their knowledge and their view of the world to these problems is very exciting and fun.” In the first round, each team has two minutes to pitch their innovative idea to industry experts — no products, demonstrations, or materials are allowed. Four teams are then selected as finalists and invited back to give the judges an in-depth 30-minute presentation to offer more information, display or demonstrate prototypes, and answer questions. The lengthy final round is a hallmark of the Challenge. Jordan Vanderham, a senior product design and manufacturing engineering student from Grand Valley State University in Michigan, said he’s never had 30 minutes to explain his concept in other competitions. “You have time to put your heart out there and share everything. It’s less scripted, so it’s more of an organic conversation. You can be yourself and show the passion you have for your company.”
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Vanderham and his Orindi Ventures team earned first place “Our technology is going to save lives,” said Accelerated Nano and a $25,000 check for their product “Altaire,” an assisted Technologies team member Dave Pearson (MBA ’17), who breathing mask that helps industrial workers, asthma balanced his weekend on-call rotation as an emergency sufferers, and outdoor enthusiasts maintain a warm breathing department physician with the Challenge. “The competition environment in extremely cold conditions. The mask helps has been incredible. The feedback from the judges was conserve energy by warming and humidifying the air the phenomenal and their insights will allow us to pivot and wearer breathes before it hits their lungs. Along with providing explore new directions for our company.” calorie-saving comfort, the mask could provide the extra hours needed to be rescued if stranded. For the first time, students from the School’s Master of Arts in Management (MA) program served as co-chairs for the event, Second place and $10,000 went to a team from Clarkson which has been run by students since it began 16 years ago as University for their antioxidant herbal tea that is made from the Elevator Pitch Challenge. dried chaga mushrooms harvested in the Adirondacks. The tea is steeped for about 10 minutes, tastes like any black tea, and “This experience has been so rewarding,” said Taylor Ross (MA ’17), can even be added to coffee. who handled logistics for the competition as one of the chairs. “I’ve never planned an event before, so it was really fun getting the The Resilience Project, a Wake Forest team that featured senior logistics together and utilizing my communication background business and enterprise management student Jake Teitelbaum with the business skills I’m gaining in the Master of Arts in (BS ’17) and Master of Arts in Management student Sophia Management program.” Joining Taylor as co-chairs of the Faltin (’16, MA ’17), took home third place and $5,000. The event this year were Kristen Merlo (MA ’17) and Danielle Resilience Project partners with cancer patients to design and Weiner (MA ’17). manufacture socks with creative designs. Half of the net profits from the sale of a patient’s design can be used to help pay for “This has clearly been one of our most outstanding their medical treatment or can be donated to their charity of competitions yet,” said Roger Beahm, WestRock executive choice. (See accompanying story on page 70.) director of the Center for Retail Innovation. “We had more than 25 teams apply, and as a result, we had a very high level The Accelerated Nano Technologies team of Wake Forest MBA of competition. All of the ideas this year were very innovative students who attend the program in Charlotte pitched a testing and worthy of winning the competition.” device that uses carbon nanotube technology to detect lung cancer biomarkers for earlier diagnosis and treatment. The team won $1,500 as a finalist in the Challenge.
Sophia Faltin (’16, MA ’17) and Jake Teitelbaum (BS ’17)
Alan Pernell (MBA ’17) and Dave Pearson (MBA ’17) 2016
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Resilience
by Jake Teitelbaum
When you’re 21 and spend as much time as I did focused on eating well, exercising, and doing the things you knew were meant to keep your body healthy, it’s really weird to find out you have cancer. My name is Jake, I’m currently battling Refractory Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, and I’m the founder of Resilience. Each time you’re admitted to the hospital as an in-patient, you’re given a welcome package of sorts: a gown and a pair of poorly made non-slip socks. Initially, I wore those lifeless beige socks and embraced my role as a patient, but the more time I spent in the hospital, the more I started bringing my own socks in. Fun socks. Socks with fish. Socks with dinosaurs. Socks with wolves. And it helped. It may seem ridiculous, but that little change reminded me that ultimately, I was in control of my experience. Whatever the circumstances, no matter how little I wanted to be isolated in the hospital, I could choose to use this as an opportunity to learn and grow as a person. Meanwhile, as days inside the hospital turned into weeks, I received an outpouring of support from people I would’ve never expected to hear from. My high school honored me at a basketball game and Skyped me in so I could see the ceremony. It was awesome. And then something strange happened. The next day I found out that fans had passed around a hat to collect donations to send to me. I was sick and needed to get better, but I wasn’t struggling to pay for that treatment. My insurance was covering the bulk of my expenses, and I was fortunate to have family that could help with the smaller expenses. Here was a community wanting to provide support in any way possible, and here I was, on a hospital floor with people that needed that money so much more than I did. Resilience is about lending support to those that need it. We use our passion for fun socks to represent the individual struggle of each patient and harness the power of community to help those that are especially financially strapped to get the care they need.
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The idea for Resilience may have fallen into my lap when I was given my umpteenth pair of boring non-slip hospital socks, but it remained just an idea until my journey with cancer forced me to reconsider what I knew about resilience.
mirror day after day and not so gradually your hairless face becomes bonier, your eyes more sunken, what choice do you have but to stare into the depths of your soul and question what strength you have left?
When I was diagnosed in May of 2015, I was wrapping up my junior year of college and knee deep in No Bad Apple, a project I had been working on for two years to make local and organic foods more easily accessible for busy professionals. As a first time entrepreneur, I was gradually adapting to a difficult learning curve, and after two consecutive successful small scale pilots, things were looking up for us as we geared to open on a larger scale for the upcoming fall semester. Cancer, in my opinion, didn’t really have justification to disrupt those plans.
While resilience may begin with the self, it doesn’t end there. Occasionally, day after day of staring into those sunken eyes, doubt will creep in — it is merely a product of our human nature. Doubt that challenges the very essence of who you are as an individual, doubt that questions whether or not you have the strength to defeat a disease killing you from the inside out. It’s at these moments when we’re most vulnerable, and it’s at these moments when we need external support to bolster our resilience. For me, it was a letter from a professor, it was a group of friends driving 1,100 miles to give me a hug, it was an absurd music video created by siblings and cousins, it was a pair of socks, reminding me what it felt like to be loved and letting me know that despite the dilapidated state of my body and mind, I had others fighting to lift my spirit.
After proving to myself and family that I was tolerating the chemotherapy well enough to return to school, I drove down to Wake Forest University to begin the balancing act of running a business, biweekly chemo, and being a student. Walking a thin line between resilience and stupidity, the weekly juggle took a toll on my physical and mental capacity.
The Resilience project is about fighting to become stronger. Stronger in body. Stronger in mind. Stronger in spirit. It’s about embracing terrible circumstances to learn and grow as a person. It’s about sending support, love, and, of course, awesome socks to someone that needs it.
Then, just after midterms, I received a call from my doctor alerting me that the most recent PET scan had shown continued growth of the lymphoma clusters in my chest despite the chemotherapy. We had to begin a more aggressive plan. She very frankly explained to me that due to the intensity of the new treatment plan and frequent hospitalizations, the rest of the semester would have to be put on hold. I thought I knew what it meant to be resilient. I thought resilience was about persevering through difficult times. When I returned to school that fall, I resisted telling many of my classmates about my diagnosis because I didn’t want to be pitied. In my mind, part of this challenge was not only about sustaining inner strength, but also managing how others interpreted my well-being. Was I scared to be vulnerable? Yes. What I misunderstood is that resilience isn’t necessarily about persevering through trying times on your own. When you’re sick, you are vulnerable whether you want to admit it or not. Don’t get me wrong, being independently strong is absolutely essential to your recovery. After all, what other choice do you have when you’re hospitalized for weeks at a time watching your muscle atrophy, losing so much strength that you have difficulty standing up? When you’re looking at yourself in the
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SCHOOL STANDOUTS Throughout the year, our students, faculty, and staff are cause for celebration as they engage in meaningful discussions and activities that broaden definitions of community, excel both inside and outside the classroom, and take on new challenges. These are a few highlights from the past year. Business Students of Color The Business Students of Color (BSOC) organization at the School of Business serves as a source of community for graduate students of color, promoting leadership opportunities, fostering relationships, and equipping students to successfully navigate the global marketplace. To celebrate Black History month, students from North Carolina A&T State University, UNC-Greensboro, and UNCChapel Hill joined Wake Forest students at Farrell Hall to share their creativity and passion through spoken word, poetry, song, and step performance. “This event provided an excellent opportunity for people from different cultures, ethnicities, and races to come together and understand black history,” said Lawrence Watkins (MSA ’17), BSOC president. BSOC members shared information about historical figures; black women leaders in business, music, media and publications; and Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Christian Chambers (MA ’17) and Liam Davis (MSA ’17) served as hosts. Near the end of fall semester, BSOC also held a panel discussion about networking and navigating the corporate world. “We asked panelists to share their experiences, challenges, and words of wisdom about the workplace,” said Watkins, who helped organize the event. “We hope students learn how to make an impact in their industry and help other young professionals.”
Panelists included: •D errick Boone, Wake Forest Senior Associate Professor of Marketing •L atesha Byrd, CPA Campus Recruiter at Dixon Hughes Goodman, LLP • Crystal Martin, Corporate Trainer at Lincoln Financial •K enny Herbst, Wake Forest Sisel Faculty Fellow, Associate Professor of Marketing • Cache’ Heidel (MSA ’12), CPA Senior Tax Accounting EY •E yden Thomas, HR Administrative Coordinator at Reynolds American, Inc. The panelists offered advice about inclusion, maintaining a strong work ethic, and modeling professional behavior, including how to use soft skills to connect with colleagues and actively seek feedback. “These events exemplify how student leaders in our School community are crafting fantastic opportunities for cultural expression, education, and exchange,” said Matt Imboden, executive director of integrative student services at the School.
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Celebrating the Chinese New Year
“My favorite part was the paper cutting and calligraphy” said Woody Shi (MSBA ’17), who helped plan the event with Yang Liu (MSBA ’17), Lorraine Liu (MA ’17), Mengya Li (MSA ’17), Krissy Wang (UG ’18), and Integrative Student Services Associate Director Amanda Horton.
The Wake Forest University School of Business hosted the second annual Chinese New Year celebration in the Bern Beatty Colloquium in Farrell Hall. The celebration, honoring the Year of the Rooster, included large red decorations, traditional Chinese music, activities, and food.
Several of the Chinese students demonstrated calligraphy by writing “good luck” in Chinese characters. They then encouraged fellow students to try their hand at drawing the characters on squares of red paper.
“Seeing faculty, staff, and students mingling together and hearing the conversations among them was a great reflection of how the School of Business is building a greater appreciation of, and understanding for, global competencies,” said Ajay Patel, Thomas S. Goho Chair in Finance.
“I truly enjoyed learning from our students through the stories they shared from childhood and how their families honor and celebrate this special day,” said Mercy Eyadiel, chief corporate engagement office at the School.
In Chinese culture, red envelopes are typically given to family members and friends at the start of the New Year to symbolize good luck. The student group provided a table full of lucky envelopes, along with traditional activities.
MSBA students go West Students in the Master of Science in Business Analytics program used the final days of their winter break for a career trek to Silicon Valley. Eight students and three members of the program visited Google, LinkedIn, Houzz, Contrast Security, Redpoint, Workday, FactSet, Credit Karma, and Glenn Capital. The students attended two networking events and an alumni panel featuring LinkedIn’s Jessica Killoren (’08), entrepreneur John Marbach (’15), and Pinterest’s Adam Ward (’00).
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MBA students from Charlotte selected for honor Wake Forest University School of Business Charlotte students Dante DiGiamberardino, Rebecca Oring, and Courtney Payne have been chosen as members of the 2016 class of STANDOUT Charlotteans by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The STANDOUT program, benefiting the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, honors professionals throughout the Charlotte area. The chosen honorees exemplify leadership qualities, are active in volunteer roles, and have excelled in the business community. Those selected are among the most prominent, influential, and successful young professionals in Charlotte.
Forsyth Backpack program A chilly 32-degree March morning didn’t slow down our dedicated staff, faculty, and students who packed meals on the Reynolds American Terrace. Together, we packed and delivered 3,232 meals to hungry school children as part of the
Forsyth Backpack Program. The Backpack Program aims to feed chronically hungry school children in the local school system so they can grow physically and mentally. One in four children in North Carolina live in poverty and North Carolina’s rate of child food insecurity is almost twice the national rate.
Undergraduate business students represent Wake Forest at military leadership conferences The Center for Leadership and Character sponsored four Wake Forest students to attend military leadership conferences. Business and Enterprise Management (BEM) majors Neb Tally (BS ’18) and David Boone (BS ’18) attended the U.S. Naval Academy Leadership Conference in Annapolis, MD. Hayden Lineberger (BS ’18) and Brittni Milner (BS ’17), both BEM majors, attended the U.S. Air Force Academy National Character & Leadership Conference.
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Fit for Business 5K
patients by attending doctor’s appointments and treatments with them, serving as patient navigators to help them through the system. Doctors involved in the project say patients receive better outcomes with this kind of support.
A team of nine students at the School of Business planned all semester for the second annual Fit for Business 5K. The run/walk course begins and ends at Farrell Hall. Thirty-six students and staff volunteered to help run the event. The event raised $7,300 “Running in and of itself has restorative properties, for both for Take the Fight to Cancer, a non-profit dedicated to improving mind and body, but it can also provide life lessons. I joined the the lives of cancer patients and their families. Fit for Business 5K planning team to make a difference and raise money for a great cause like Take the Fight while being actively “We selected Take the Fight to Cancer because one in two involved in something I love,” Lucas Prillman (MSA ’18) said. people will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetimes,” said “I have run numerous races, so to be able to see and contribute in accounting major Krissy Wang (BS ’18). “This organization the behind the scenes work has been a privilege.” gives patients an edge against cancer by providing informational and emotional support. Fighting cancer is fighting for humanity, which aligns with our School’s Pro Humanitate viewpoint.” “We are grateful to collaborate with the Wake Forest School of Business. What a fun way for race participants to be active both physically and philanthropically,” said Bonny Morris, Take the Fight’s CEO. “This fundraiser makes a huge impact on the lives of patients in Winston-Salem.” The non-profit group pairs Wake Forest University students and recent graduates with cancer patients at Wake Forest Baptist’s Comprehensive Cancer Center. The students support
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Student goes skydiving to raise money for Alzheimer’s research Caroline Magee (’16, MA ’17) jumped out of a plane to raise money for Alzheimer’s research. Her father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s during her freshman year at Wake Forest University.
School of Business student sets world record Master of Arts in Management student Tyler Leinbach set a new Guinness World Record. Leinbach “obliterated” the clay pigeon speed record, according to the Guinness YouTube channel. His challenge: to shoot 25 clay pigeons in 31.98 seconds.
MA students connect with alumni in Washington, D.C. School of Business staff members Kaitlyn Cooper, Raina Gandhi, and Sharron Vogler traveled to Washington, D.C. with a group of 21 Master of Arts in Management students to network with Wake Forest alumni from Deloitte, GSA, The Advisory Board, Department of Transportation, Robert Half, Booz Allen Hamilton, Peaceworks, Keybridge, and JPI. Additionally, the group visited Berkeley Research Group, The Advisory Board, Hanover Research Group, and CEB.
International Education Week As part of a global community, the Wake Forest University School of Business is committed to developing professionals who have a global mindset and are able to build and thrive in high performing teams with colleagues of different backgrounds and cultures. “We benefit from the experiences and perspectives shared by international students, faculty, and staff in our School,” said Amanda Horton, associate director of Integrative Student Services. The School celebrated International Education Week last fall. The School’s International Graduate Student Association (IGSA) hosted an information table as part of the celebration. Students engaged fellow students in conversations about their cultures while enjoying regional snacks. The School also hosted a dinner for international students. “Wake Forest is a close community that international students can relate to, enabling us to bring and share our own cultures
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on campus,” said Yang Liu (MSBA ’17), a member of the IGSA who helped staff the information table. Our international School of Business students represent: Bahamas, Canada, Chile, China, Ecuador, El Salvador, Germany, Honduras, Hong Kong, India, New Zealand, Nigeria, Peru, the Philippines, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, Tunisia, and Zimbabwe.
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Students explore career opportunities at Accounting Diversity Consortium Students from 22 colleges and universities attended the ninth annual Accounting Diversity Consortium (ADC) at the Wake Forest University School of Business. The two-day, invitation-only event hosted by the School of Business and EY is attended by top underrepresented college juniors and seniors from around the nation. The Consortium provides an opportunity to learn more about pursuing a graduate degree in accounting and careers available at the nationally recognized firm. EY Campus Recruiter Ryan Emerson (’11, MA ’12) said his firm’s focus on serving a diverse set of global clients who demand an equally diverse workforce makes the ADC partnership with Wake Forest a natural fit. “What better way to highlight pathways to professional services and build the pipeline for underrepresented students to enter the industry than a highly educational weekend at one of the top Masters of Accountancy programs in the nation?” said Emerson.
the helicopter and described how it was built to a second student. That student went to a team of builders and communicated how to build the helicopter — without notes or photos. The exercise punctuated the challenges often faced in meetings and when communicating across business units in a corporate environment. After the exercise, the teams held a debrief to talk about frustrations, challenges, and successes. Then they swapped roles and built something new.
One of the weekend highlights was a panel of current MSA students who attended the Consortium in the past. Recent graduate D’André Starnes (BS ’15, MSA ’16) also joined the panel via Skype to talk about his experiences at the School and his current role in EY’s Risk Advisor Program.
“The ADC provided me with a great opportunity to visit Farrell Hall and to learn about global business, the MSA program, and EY,” said Tiara May, a North Carolina Central University student who attended the event.
“The ADC provides prospective students with vital networking opportunities and exposure to best-in-class professionals, some of whom have earned their MSA degrees from Wake Forest,” Starnes said. “It’s rare that you get this opportunity to speak with people who have gone through the process you are currently pursuing.”
Spelman College student Ashley Kirby agreed. “During my time at Wake Forest, I received valuable information about the MSA program and EY. I am looking forward to attending graduate school and starting my career in the accounting field.”
Stacy Owen, executive director of the Master of Science in Accountancy (MSA) program, described a team-building exercise incorporated this year that challenged the student teams to build a helicopter out of Legos. One team member looked at
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“Last year, through the help of many professors, I implemented my non-profit with a Wake Forest summer study abroad program,” she said. “Students got to visit the ashram and serve those less fortunate and learn about Indian culture.”
, Nilu Vyas (BS 18) Undergraduate School of Business Nilu Vyas has always looked up to her father, who came to this country with only $40 to his name, lived the American dream, and created his own successful company. Watching him every step of the way, Vyas was inspired to follow in his footsteps. “Wake Forest is known for its incredible business program, and the high-quality individualized education the School offers was a perfect fit for me,” she said. The rising senior came to Wake Forest to pursue a degree in business and has taken advantage of every opportunity since her first day on campus. She is a member of Kappa Delta Sorority, is on the Dean’s List, is a member of the marketing club and other organizations, recently studied abroad in Barcelona, and is an executive member of Project Pumpkin, an annual service event at Wake Forest University that brings together the campus and the Winston-Salem communities. Vyas visits her family’s home country of India frequently, where she volunteers at a non-profit organization located on the Gandhi ashram, where Gandhi himself taught. It was there that she recently fulfilled her dream to connect that organization to Wake Forest.
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Her Wake Forest experience has been filled with wonderful friends and mentors who are always willing to help. “I really enjoy how Wake Forest goes the extra mile to ensure we are well prepared for the future,” she said. “I love the women in business symposiums, various networking events, and interview prep courses.” The alumni network is yet another resource at the fingertips of students like Vyas. She previously worked parttime at Hanes Geo Company through a connection to university alumnus Jerry Greene (’83, MBA ’92) who has become one of her strongest mentors along her journey into the business world. During her time at Wake Forest, Vyas has learned that a marketing background is useful in virtually any field. She will be interning this summer with Wells Fargo in their wealth and investment management sector.
Springfield, Missouri, and spending a few years on a small cattle farm, he moved to Lakeland, Florida, to attend Southeastern University. While there, he spent a summer studying abroad in Oxford and has had internships at non-profit organizations in Washington, D.C., and San Francisco. When Fusek began looking for schools, he was interested in a pre-experience Master’s program that would enable him to further develop his quantitative skills. Wake Forest’s Master of Arts in Management was a great fit because it builds upon a liberal arts foundation and has a curriculum with the finance, accounting, and analytics courses he was looking for. Fusek said Wake Forest has provided him with the key skills to speak more confidently, think more analytically, and network more effectively. “At the beginning of the program, I wasn’t completely sure what I wanted to do, but I had a strong interest in eventually working for a consulting firm, a multinational company, or an international development agency,” Fusek said. “More than anything, the MA program enabled me to gain exposure to a lot of different areas of business. If you want to get a business education and develop practical skills in only 10 months, I would highly recommend that you apply to the MA program.”
, Jacob Fusek (MA 17)
Since joining the MA program at Wake Forest University, his travels have not slowed down. As a member of the Student Engagement Council, he has attended several career treks, his favorite being a trip to D.C. where he and his classmates met alumni and explored numerous career opportunities.
Master of Arts in Management Jacob Fusek has already seen a great deal of the world. After growing up in
After graduation, Fusek’s travels will continue. He recently accepted an offer
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to do economic development work in Timor-Leste as a Peace Corps Volunteer. “I am very excited to leverage the skills I developed through the MA program to contribute to the development of a relatively young nation.”
Lawrence Watkins , (MSA 17) Master of Science in Accountancy As the middle child growing up in Salisbury, North Carolina, Lawrence Watkins learned early on how to balance appealing not only to his older sister but also to his younger brother. It’s a skill he feels helps him deal with negotiations to this day. Watkins began researching MSA programs during his junior year at UNC Greensboro, knowing he would need additional credit hours in order to sit for the CPA exam. The Wake Forest University School of Business appealed to him because of the School’s longstanding reputation, particularly the reputation of the MSA program. Although the program was demanding, Watkins embraced what he called a “healthy challenge” and believes he made the right decision.
and socializing. He is also the recipient of the MSA Student Leadership Award, and Professional Pillar Award (see page 61). While serving as a tax intern with Deloitte Tax LLP in Charlotte last summer, Watkins realized that a career shift might be the best option for him moving forward. He was exposed to a mergers and acquisitions industry report on their intranet site and was intrigued by it. He expressed this interest to the team at Deloitte and also to the MSA team at Wake Forest. After some deliberation, he switched from the Tax Track to the Financial Transaction Services track. Watkins has set himself the goal of becoming an industry leader in the mergers and acquisitions field. He will get his chance to start working toward that goal as he begins his next job with Deloitte — Risk and Financial Advisory within the Mergers and Acquisitions group in Chicago. Being new in town, he has already worked with the alumni network to help connect with other alumni in the market where he knows he’ll find all the support he needs. But Watkins will take with him another experience from his time in WinstonSalem, where he found time to mentor younger students at Carver High School. “Surprisingly for me, when I mentor I feel as if I learn as much from the mentees as they learn from me,” he said. “This will help me in the work force because you have to balance learning from the partners and managers, your peers, and then the younger associates. Wake Forest has been a great experience.”
In addition to thriving in the program, he became active in Business Students of Color, serving as the organization’s president this year. He helped steer the organization to focus on professionalism, community engagement, fundraising,
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, Chase Funk (MSBA 17) Master of Science in Business Analytics After living most of his life in the Tampa sun, the beautiful nature that North Carolina offers was a refreshing change of scenery for Chase Funk. Having completed his B.S. in Sport Administration with a minor in Business Administration at the University of Florida, when it came time to pursue a graduate business degree, Funk wanted to be a part of the inaugural MSBA class. First launching in the summer of 2016, he was excited to have the privilege of being one of the first students to experience the program. In addition to the great education he knew he would receive at Wake Forest, another great benefit of the university is the connections and relationships developed with students and faculty alike. “Networking is one vowel away from not working,” Funk said. “No matter what industry a student wants to work in, there is a faculty or staff member at Wake Forest connected to that industry or a company within that industry. I also know there will be many faculty and staff members I can reach out to in the future.” Ten months later, he has already made some lasting memories at the School that he will never forget. He had the privilege of serving as the logistics lead for the Fit for Business 5K and working with Take the Fight, a studentled organization that supports cancer patients and helps fund their medical expenses. He was also invited to be one of the inaugural members in the MSBA
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Student Ambassador program. In this program, he had the opportunity to discuss his experience with prospective students and make an impact on the future of the program. After joining the School of Business, Funk knew he wanted to make an impact in the tourism or entertainment industry — a goal he has already begun to achieve. He recently accepted a position with the Forecasting & Planning Team at Disney Parks & Resorts, a subset of The Walt Disney Company. He credits the School of Business for helping him attain this position. “The knowledge and skills I’ve gained since joining the MSBA program at Wake Forest gave me the tools I needed to land such a dream job.” Funk is excited for the opportunity to help forecast the demand for new experiences at Disney Parks around the world.
, Charrise Hart (MBA 17) Master of Business Administration (Winston-Salem) After obtaining her Masters of Social Work degree and becoming the chief operating officer at the YWCA Greensboro, Charrise Hart realized the dearth of non-profit organizational leaders that also possess strong business acumen. Thousands of non-profit organizations close their doors each year. In order to keep serving the community and providing a vital social need, nonprofits need to be mindful of their business decisions.
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Hart made the choice to pursue her MBA degree after realizing that just like large corporations, non-profit organizations will not succeed without innovation, strategy, financial stability, and modifying programs to align with new public policy regulations. “I wanted to make a difference in my community with the knowledge gained from my MBA,” she said. “I chose Wake Forest because of the reputation and the caliber of its students. I wanted to gain worldclass experience.”
“The business of social impact can lead to positive outcomes locally, nationally, and globally,” she said. “Having a background in business leadership coupled with passion can only enhance social impact and ultimately improve the lives of people for generations to come.”
She described her time at Wake Forest as “phenomenal,” and the tools she’s acquired are already paying dividends for her current employer. Hart has made some lasting memories and her career goals have expanded. Her hope is to one day become CEO of a non-profit organization and believes that Wake Forest will help her achieve that goal. “I believe the education I received at the School of Business will enable me to be a more effective leader and more invested community stakeholder. I certainly feel more confident and comfortable with leading my agency and moving employees toward success.”
, Will Caldwell (MBA 18)
What she has learned in the classroom has carried over into her career. “Since enrolling in the Evening MBA program, I have gained a wealth of knowledge that has enabled me to become a better leader by improving my managerial abilities, enhancing my understanding of financial management, and learning how to develop an effective business strategy,” Hart said.
His time at Wake Forest has already benefitted his work with Novant Health. He breaks it down into three main areas: thought process, business analytics, and communication ability.
It’s even resulted in her being offered a CEO/Executive Director position at the YWCA Lower Cape Fear in Wilmington, North Carolina.
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Master of Business Administration (Charlotte) For the past 14 years, Will Caldwell has been a practicing surgeon in Charlotte. He also serves as the senior vice president of clinical integration at Novant Health and the chair of the Novant Health Clinically Integrated Network. His current administrative role involves developing an integrated clinical network of providers for the $4.2 billion healthcare company.
“As a physician, you think about your patient,” Caldwell said. “The business component allows you to broaden your perspective and scale what you’re doing so you can impact patients at a higher level.” At Novant Health, he takes data, applies statistics, draws conclusions, and then treats patients based on that data. “Having the ability to join the medicine with the business and quantitatively
analyze the data to then draw a conclusion about where you should go as a business entity has been incredibly useful,” he said. “To not only think about the patient and understand the medicine, but now have the tools to make a business case for the treatment is incredibly valuable.” Through the numerous courses he has taken at the School, Caldwell has developed a communication ability that has and will continue to prove advantageous in his career. “It’s extremely beneficial to have the ability to communicate with other people so, for example, you can sit down with your CFO and have a conversation that is meaningful for both of you,” he said. “Most physicians don’t or can’t do that. It gives you a seat at the table.”
“You need to think about any philanthropic endeavor as a business. How do you create a sustainable structure? How do you maximize your relationship with donors and volunteers so that everyone is experiencing the maximum benefit from that relationship? I also think about budget issues and programs we’re trying to set up and run in very different terms after taking accounting as part of my MBA.” His studies have challenged him in new ways and his capabilities developed through the MBA program are already being used in his work at Novant Health and Give Hope Global. He could not ask for a better Wake Forest experience.
“When we first met these kids in 2013, many were in poor health. Now you see them playing at a high skill level, and you see these kids full of emotion and energy when before they would have been winded just walking to the soccer field.” Caldwell also sees practical applications for his MBA classes in his non-profit work.
Nguyen initially went into the program hoping for a transition outside of accounting. However, as she began to take some of the classes and revisited Financial Accounting, she realized that her passion has remained accounting all along. She recently became a student engagement council representative for her cohort. She also reminisced on perhaps her most memorable moment to date after her group forgot about two assignments. “We decided to stay up all night. We ended up finishing both projects, and submitted the final accounting project the following morning,” she said. “I know this is not the best example for how students should study, but it was a memorable experience for me to see how powerful and committed my team has become and the amazing things we can achieve together.”
In addition to his busy schedule as a doctor and a student, Caldwell serves as a board member and medical director for Give Hope Global, a non-profit organization providing orphan care, medical and dental care, educational advancement, and leadership development in south Haiti. As part of the organization’s work with orphanages in Haiti, they host an annual soccer tournament between seven different orphanages. This year, Caldwell’s MBA classmates collected soccer balls and shinguards to donate for the game.
The School of Business offers a variety of MBA options to work around all schedules, so Nguyen, who regularly travels, was thrilled to be accepted into the Saturday program.
, Tracy Nguyen (MBA 18) Master of Business Administration (Charlotte) Narrowing down one’s business education choices can be difficult, but for Tracy Nguyen, she fell in love with Wake Forest because of its reputation and the MBA program’s flexibility for her busy schedule. “Wake Forest stood out for me because of its prestige and great alumni network,” she said. “I was fortunate to work with some of the brightest individuals from Wake Forest at Deloitte, so I knew I would be receiving the best education.”
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And that teamwork has resulted in Nguyen becoming close friends with her classmates in the MBA program. “Wake Forest has given me the opportunity to meet and interact with professionals from different fields, companies, and industries,” she said. “My hope as I finish the program is that I can leverage the diversity of this new, wide network I’ve gained to build a meaningful career in accounting.”
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BUILDING MORAL STRENGTH Knowing and being able to articulate your personal values can help you navigate situations in which you are confronted by ethical challenges. That was the focus of the Moral Strengths Workshop led by Pat Sweeney, director of the School’s Center for Leadership and Character (CLC). The workshop gave participants practical experience in growing moral strength, in alignment with the CLC’s purpose of advancing the profession of business by developing passionate, ethical business leaders who get results with integrity.
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He advised that people follow these steps: Clarify: Summarize your perceived understanding of the requested action or your perceptions regarding another’s potential unethical behavior. Identify: Clearly identify the unethical behavior that is being requested or performed and frame it in ethical terms. Impact: Express how the request to engage in unethical behavior or the unethical action of another impacts you and the organization.
“You have to take moral ownership and have a sense of duty, moral efficacy (the belief that you can do it), and most importantly, the moral courage to take action,” Sweeney said.
Boundaries: State your choice not to engage in the unethical action or tolerate the behavior by another and commit to working together to find an ethical solution.
Sweeney guided students and staff members in attendance through assertive communication techniques that could help them discuss ethical dilemmas with coworkers and supervisors.
“Using assertive communication techniques can take the focus off an interpersonal situation and frame it more widely in terms of the organization or the behavior,” Sweeney said. “By focusing clearly on actions and outcomes, you are more likely to get the results that will enable you to navigate sticky issues.”
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DEAN IACOVOU SHARES BUSINESS EDUCATION INSIGHTS AT INTERNATIONAL FORUM
minded faculty with real-world experience, our School was recognized as an innovator in this space during the panel session,” Iacovou said. He and the experts explored how both schools and organizations need to adapt to better leverage each other’s strengths during the discussion.
Business schools and corporate training programs, including corporate universities, grapple with change as the business and business education landscapes continue to evolve. Examining how academic and corporate universities can share their knowledge and skills to the benefit of business professionals was the focus of a panel discussion at the 2017 Gaidar Forum that included Charles Iacovou, Sisel Distinguished Dean of the School of Business.
“It was exciting to share some of the innovative ways we are enhancing our value to corporate and governmental partners and showcase specific examples to a global audience,” Iacovou added. “We discussed the challenges faced by businesses and governments with international academics, executives, and government officials, and how business education can play a critical role in addressing them not only today, but also in the future.”
Held in Moscow, Russia, the annual Forum brings together economic thought leaders, Nobel Prize laureates, and top academics from leading global universities to discuss economic and political issues. The Forum provides a unique intellectual platform for theorists, practitioners, scientists, and politicians. Additionally, the Forum is a meeting point for influential representatives of global financial and business elites.
The Forum has been held since 2010 in commemoration of Yegor Gaidar, a Russian scientist, economist, politician, and ideologist.
Iacovou was part of an expert panel titled “The Changing Landscape of the Management Education Market and the Role of Business Schools and Corporate Universities Today and in Ten Years.” He discussed how the School collaborated with leading industry firms to design the new 10-month Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) program. The strategic partnership enabled the School to create a program specifically designed for the firms’ needs, which has the potential to reduce the necessity for in-house training programs. The MSBA program’s first class graduated in May. “Because of our strong market orientation, enhanced business operations, and program delivery, and our great mix of business-
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RECOGNITION Associate Dean Jeffrey Camm awarded Kimball Medal
Jeffrey Camm, associate dean of business analytics, professor, and Inmar Presidential Chair in Business Analytics, received the George E. Kimball Medal in Nashville at the annual meeting of INFORMS, the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences. The medal recognizes distinguished service to the Institute and to the profession. Recipients have been professionals from colleges and universities or organizations such as IBM, Verizon, and UPS. This recognition for Camm bridges the academic and professional worlds in a powerful way and underscores the emphasis the School has placed on connecting to the marketplace as a strategic partner with industry.
Associate Professor lends talents to TEDxWakeForestU event
Associate Professor of Accounting Anna Cianci was one of eight featured speakers at TEDxWakeForestU in Wait Chapel. This year’s theme was the power of curiosity. Cianci said that her formula for success is: “One that focuses on our why and our how … can lead us to understand what is important in life and how to put that understanding and our unique gifts into good use.” Cianci sharing her story exemplifies how the School upholds its professional pillar by teaching students to live their values and incorporate them into their professional identities.
Associate Professor of Management Jon Pinder textbook receives ‘Most Promising’ award
The Textbook & Academic Authors Association (TAA) has named Introduction to Business Analytics Using Simulation Models by Associate Professor Jon Pinder as the “Most Promising New Textbook.” The award recognizes excellence in first-edition textbooks and learning materials. The textbook provides a foundation for 84
managerial decision-making and business analytics. Pinder’s work supports the School’s impactful pillar by helping our graduates make immediate and meaningful contributions to their organizations. The award was presented during the TAA annual conference earlier this summer.
Narus and Steward presented research on B2B procurement
Professor of Business Marketing Jim Narus and Associate Professor of Marketing Michelle Steward presented their research on the impact of digital tools on the business-to-business (B2B) buying process at the “Procurement Revolution” series hosted in Boston. Their research has attracted attention from the procurement industry, leading to presentations at academic conferences, trade shows, and annual conferences. The scholarship that Narus and Steward have fostered directly links the academic and professional worlds of B2B marketing.
Professor Sean Hannah’s book reaches download milestone
Leading with Character by Professor Sean Hannah and James Kirby Martin ranks #5 worldwide on the list of most downloaded free iTunes management and leadership books. The book is part of a series called “Lessons on Leadership,” and was commissioned by The National Library for the Study of George Washington at Mount Vernon. Hannah’s work on leadership is an asset to the Center for Leadership and Character, which seeks to help students gain experience in building and leading teams to foster personal, professional, and organizational accountability and responsibility. In short, Hannah’s work exemplifies the honorable pillar of our educational framework. The book is available on iTunes and will be available on Android devices and Amazon later this year.
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FACULTY AWARDS The following faculty members have received awards for their teaching, research, or impact on our School.
CHARLOTTE EVENING MBA TEACHING AWARD For outstanding contribution to the education and personal development of our Charlotte evening MBA students: Chuck Kennedy
SENIOR CLASS TEACHING AWARD For outstanding contribution to the education and personal development of our graduating senior students: Cynthia Tessien
CHARLOTTE SATURDAY MBA TEACHING AWARD
For outstanding contribution to the education and personal development of our Charlotte Saturday MBA students: Dan Fogel
HORACE KELLY ALUMNI TEACHING AWARD For outstanding contribution to the education and personal development of our UG/MSA alumni who graduated 10 years ago: Lee Knight
WINSTON-SALEM EVENING MBA TEACHING AWARD
T.B. ROSE FELLOWSHIP IN BUSINESS AWARD To recognize a notable innovation or initiative related to instruction in our undergraduate or graduate programs: Jim Otteson
For outstanding contribution to the education and personal development of our Winston-Salem MBA students: Chuck Kennedy MSBA TEACHING AWARD For outstanding contribution to the education and personal development of our MSBA students: Lauren Rhue
COWAN FACULTY RESEARCH AWARD To recognize a faculty member who represents the highest standards of scholarship: Sean Hannah
MSA TEACHING AWARD For outstanding contribution to the education and personal development of our MSA students: Tim Janke
HIGH IMPACT SCHOLARSHIP AWARD
To recognize a faculty member for his/her significant influence on business practice or pedagogy: Jim Narus & Michelle Steward
MA TEACHING AWARD For outstanding contribution to the education and personal development of our MA students: Norma Montague
SERVICE MVP AWARD
To recognize outstanding service to the School, above and beyond administrative duties: Ajay Patel
SPIRIT OF THE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AWARD To recognize a faculty member who displays good citizenship and positive attitude and inspires other faculty to high achievement: Jim Otteson
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F A C U L T Y Derek Avery Avery, D. R., McKay, P. F., & Volpone, S. D. (2016). Blaming the building: How venue quality influences consumer bias against stigmatized leaders. Journal of Applied Psychology, 101(8), 1111-1121. When facilities are of lower quality, consumers appear to use a leader’s stigma to infer lower product quality, coinciding in less patronage for companies with stigmatized leaders. Consumers penalize companies with stigmatized leaders only when doing so can easily be attributed to an alternative factor (e.g., a lower quality venue) not involving the leader’s stigma.
Jeff Camm Womer, K., Li, H., Camm, J., Osterman, C., & Radhakrishnan, R. (2017). Learning and Bayesian updating in longcycle made-to-order production. Omega, 69, 29-42. Products that are made-to-order are often unique and customized. The associated learning curve and other production parameters cannot be precisely estimated before production starts. In this paper, a dynamic and adaptive approach to estimate the effects of learning and optimize next period production is developed. The study's approach is illustrated using historical earned-value data from the Black Hawk Helicopter Program. Managerial insights are obtained and discussed.
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P U B L I C A T I O N S
Anna Cianci and Norma Montague Cianci, A. M., Houston, R. W., Montague, N. R., & Vogel, R. (2016). Audit partner identification: Unintended consequences on audit judgment. Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory. Advanced online publication. doi:10.2308/ajpt-51629 This study finds that, contrary to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s stated purpose of enhancing audit quality, identifying the partner’s name on the audit report yields aggressive write down judgments through its negative impact on partners’ commitment to the profession and, in turn, their commitment to the public. This result suggests that regulators should consider possible unintended consequences of accountability-inducing regulations such as partner identification.
Pat Dickson Lomberg, C., Urbig, D., Stöckmann, C., Marino, L. D., & Dickson, P. H. (2016). Entrepreneurial orientation: The dimensions' shared effects in explaining firm performance. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. Advanced online publication. doi:10.1111/etap.12237 Entrepreneurial orientation is one of the most frequently applied constructs in entrepreneurship research, but it still lacks consensus on the theoretical and operational definition. Characteristics of entrepreneurs — innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk taking — are usually correlated. To gain the B U S I N E S S .W F U. E D U
most complete understanding of the consequences of entrepreneurial behavior in firms and to overcome correlated dimensions, this study suggests a process that relies on more explicit theorizing.
Haresh Gurnani Huynh, C. H., So, K. C., & Gurnani, H. (2016). Managing a closed-loop supply system with random returns and a cyclic delivery schedule. European Journal of Operational Research, 255(3), 787-796. Motivated by an industry example, this study develops a mathematical framework to address the inventory replenishment and capacity planning problem for a closed-loop supply system with random returns. Our models provide a simple decision support tool for making effective replenishment and capacity decisions in managing such a closed-loop supply system.
Fang, F., Gurnani, H., & Natarajan, H. P. (2017). Leadership, dominance, and preeminence in a channel structure with a common retailer. Decision Sciences. Advanced online publication. doi:10.1111/deci.12266 As firms embrace collaborative principles, partners of varying strengths and standing are coming together to effectively deliver products to consumers. By embedding the retailer’s timing choices in channel strength scenarios, the study finds that both retailer and weak manufacturer prefer that the retailer simultaneously set prices for the two products. In contrast, the echelon-dominant manufacturer
benefits from the retailer sequentially pricing the manufacturers’ products. The analysis also covers preeminent channel leaders that control both wholesale and retail prices, finding that preeminent partners achieve significant gains and consumers benefit from low retail prices.
Yang, Z., Hu, X., Gurnani, H., & Guan, H. (2017). Multichannel distribution strategy: Selling to a competing buyer with limited supplier capacity. Management Science. Advanced online publication. doi:10.1287/ mnsc.2016.2702 This study examined the optimal distribution strategy of a supplier with limited capacity. The result points to a new form of strategic purchasing behavior by the buyer in the face of upstream and downstream competition. The study shows that while buyer withholding is always beneficial for the supplier, it can reduce the buyer’s profit under certain cases, although total supply chain profit is the first-best outcome. Also, counter to conventional antitrust concerns, buyer withholding at times may benefit consumers in spite of reduced downstream competition. Finally, in contrast to intuition, the study finds that the supplier’s benefit from investing in direct selling capability is highest when its capacity size is moderate and not large.
Sean Hannah Waldman, D., Wang, D., Hannah, S., & Balthazard, P. (2016). A neurological and ideological perspective of ethical leadership. Academy of Management Journal. Advanced online publication. doi:10.5465/amj.2014.0644 Current research considers ethical leadership largely in terms of a
neurological index derived through quantitative electroencephalogram in combination with ethical ideology. Integrating neuroscience and moral psychology, this study's findings suggest that the interaction of leader relativism and idealism partially mediates the effects of the brain’s default mode network in the prediction of ethical leadership.
Sherry Moss Khan, A. K., Moss, S., Quratulain, S., & Hameed, I. (2016). When and how subordinate performance leads to abusive supervision. Journal of Management. Advanced online publication. doi:10.1177/0149206316653930 While one would typically expect poor performers to elicit abusive responses from their supervisors, this study theorizes that high performers may also be victims of abusive supervision. Specifically, the study draws on social dominance theory to hypothesize and demonstrate that subordinate performance can have a positive, indirect effect on abusive supervision through the mediator of perceived threat to hierarchy. And this positive indirect effect prevails when the supervisor’s social dominance orientation is high. The study found support for the theoretical model using data collected from supervisor — subordinate relationships.
Moss, S. E. (2016, June 7). Why some bosses bully their best employees. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2016/06/why-somebosses-bully-their-best-employees
SDO are more likely to have “a view of the world as a competitive, dog-eat-dog environment of winners and losers.” They’re attracted to institutions and professions that enhance and reinforce social hierarchies and will tend to discriminate against individuals from lower-status groups. As such, individuals high in SDO seek to reinforce inequality between groups in order to sustain their access to resources such as power, status, and wealth. Conversely, individuals with low SDO attach more importance to cooperation, egalitarianism, and humanitarianism.
Rob Nash Nash, R. (2017). Contracting issues at the intersection of the public and private sectors: New data and new insights. Journal of Corporate Finance. 42, 357-366. This study summarizes some of the major trends in privatization and nationalization during the past 20 years. Specifically, to identify potential determinants of the intermittent shifts in the balance between public and private ownership, this paper reviews the costs and benefits of state ownership and then contends that changes in these costs and/or benefits should change the equilibrium between state and private ownership. This paper also establishes a framework into which empirical studies of contracting issues at the intersection of the public and private sectors may be organized.
Social Dominance Theory postulates that some people have more of a tendency toward “social dominance orientation” (SDO) than others. People with high
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Rob Nash and Ajay Patel El Ghoul, S., Guedhami, O., Nash, R., & Patel, A. (2016). New evidence on the role of the media in corporate social responsibility. Journal of Business Ethics. Advanced online publication. doi:10.1007/s10551-016-3354-9 This study investigates the role of the media in influencing firms’ engagement in corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. The study finds strong evidence that firms engage in more CSR activities if located in countries where the media has more freedom. In additional analyses, the study found that the positive relation between media freedom and CSR engagement is stronger for better governed firms and larger firms. Since the media have the ability to impact reputational capital, the study concludes that media freedom affects firms’ incentives to engage in costly CSR activities.
Michelle Steward Rea, P., Kolp, A., Ritz, W., & Steward, M. (2016, April 29). Corporate ethics can't be reduced to compliance. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https:// hbr.org/2016/04/corporate-ethics-cantbe-reduced-to-compliance The study suggests that it is strategically smart for an organization to make sure that stories about the practice of virtue are actively and intentionally shared throughout the organization. Character
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is the result of daily actions — planning meetings, quarterly reports, RFPs, customer interactions, and so on. As Aristotle famously said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit.” Virtues in turn permeate the broader organizational culture and define “the way things are done around here.” That force is much stronger than a narrow focus on following the rules.
Ron Thompson Goodhue, D., Lewis, W., & Thompson, R. L. (Forthcoming). A multicollinearity and measurement error statistical blind spot: Correcting false positives in regression and PLS. MIS Quarterly. Multiple regression has a previously unrecognized “statistical blind spot” because when multicollinearity and measurement error are present, both path estimates and variance inflation factors are biased. Bringing together partial insights from a range of disciplines to provide a more comprehensive treatment of the problem, the study derives equations showing false positives will increase with greater multicollinearity, lower reliability, greater effect size in the dominant correlated construct, and, surprisingly, higher sample size. Using Monte Carlo simulations, the study shows that false positives increase as predicted. The study also provides a correction for the problem.
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Ya-wen Yang Lin, S., Martinez, D., Wang, C., & Yang, Y. W. (2016). Is other comprehensive income reported in the income statement more value relevant? The role of financial statement presentation. Journal of Accounting, Auditing & Finance. Advanced online publication. doi:10.1177/0148558X16670779 This study found that when firms changed the reporting of other comprehensive income (OCI) from the Statement of Changes in Equity (SSE) to Statement of Comprehensive Income (SCI), the value relevance of OCI decreased. These results provide empirical evidence indicating that although Accounting Standard Update 2011-05 requires firms to report OCI only in the SCI, investors continue valuing OCI only when it is reported in the SSE.
With Gratitude
In the spirit of Pro Humanitate, the following members of the Wake Forest School of Business community have generously provided financial support to deserving students and faculty. We wish to express gratitude to those who have contributed to the life-changing power of a Wake Forest School of Business education:
$1,000,000 — Peter C. Brockway Chair of Strategic donations and will be used to support students enrolled in our Management. Established by Peter and Susan Brockway (P ’09) JD/MBA program. to support a faculty member in the School of Business. $250,000 — Hendley-Lightcap Faculty Fellowship in Free $1,000,000 — Dale K. Cline Associate Dean of Accountancy Enterprise and Entrepreneurship & BB&T Center for the Study Endowment. Established by Dale (MBA ’94) and Brenda Cline of Capitalism. Established by John (’59) and Julie Hendley to (P ’94, P ’97*, P ’99, P ’19, GP ’18) to permanently endow the support the faculty in the BB&T Center for the Study of Capitalism. Associate Dean of Accountancy position. $250,000 — Lightcap Faculty Fellowship Matching Gift $1,000,000 — Kelly Family Scholarship and Matching Initiative. Established by Jeff and Jane Lightcap (P ’17), the Gift Initiative. Established by Alan and Carol Kelly (P ’13, P fund matched five gifts of $50,000 each from donors who each ’14) $500,000 of their gift created an endowed scholarship in started a new endowed faculty fellowship positions to the the Master of Arts in Management program. In addition, they School of Business. matched ten gifts of $50,000 each from donors who each started a new endowed scholarship to the School of Business. $250,000 — Dr. Dale Martin Endowed Faculty Fellowship. Established by 17 Accountancy alums to honor Dr. Martin. $910,000 — H. Hal Taylor, Jr. Risk Management Scholarship. Donations are still being received and will provide permanent Funded through an estate gift by Mr. Hal Taylor, Jr. (’61) to endowed funding for an Accounting faculty member. support students pursuing Risk Management studies. $250,000 — Miller Family Scholarship Fund. Established $500,000 — Lee Garber Memorial JD/MBA Memorial by John and Bowen Miller (’87, P ’14, P ’17, P ’21) to support Scholarship. Established by a friend and classmate of Lee business students. Garber ('85, JD/MBA '90). The scholarship is still taking 2 0 1 56
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