Business Analytics

SPRING 2017

Business Analytics

Meeting the need for talent. PAGE 4 VIRGINIA TECH BUSINESS is published twice a year by: RANKINGS Pamplin College of Business, Virginia Tech No. 2 1030 Pamplin Hall (0209) U.S. 880 West Campus Drive Blacksburg, VA 24061

540-231-6601 No. 2 No. 7 No. 6 World www.pamplin.vt.edu Master of Evening Hospitality and Address changes: [email protected] Information Technology MBA Tourism Management Editorial inquiries and story suggestions: [email protected] U.S. News & World Report QS Top Universities

In this magazine, alumni, with some exceptions, are DONNIE GRAY identified by degree and the year it was received. VIRGINIA TECH’S EVENING MBA ranking in U.S. News & World Report has improved DEAN to No. 7 among the nation’s part-time Robert T. Sumichrast MBA programs, according to the 2018 EDITOR survey released in March. It was ranked Sookhan Ho No. 16 for the previous two years. Offered DESIGN by the Pamplin College of Business, the Uncork-it, Inc. Evening MBA program serves aspiring FEATURE WRITERS business leaders in the Washington, D.C., Sookhan Ho, Dan Radmacher area with classes taught at the Northern PHOTOGRAPHERS Virginia Center, and has seen significant STUDENTS such as Mala Lal balance work, Christina O’Connor, Jim Stroup, Logan Wallace, growth in recent years. study, and family in the highly ranked Evening Oliver Meredith MBA program. ALUMNI INFORMATION Gina French, Bonnie Gilbert

DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Jodi Jennings Charles Schwab Financial Planning Suite

ABOUT enhances learning for business students

Virginia Tech’s nationally ranked Pamplin College of JIM STROUP Business offers undergraduate and graduate programs in accounting and information systems, business information technology, economics, finance, hospitality and tourism management, management, and marketing. Pamplin emphasizes technology and analysis that improve business, entrepreneurship that leads to innovation and innovative companies, international opportunities for learning and research, and an inclusive, collaborative community. It is named in honor of two alumni: the late Robert B. Pamplin, retired chairman of Georgia-Pacific, and businessman, author, and philan- thropist Robert B. Pamplin Jr.

You can support the Pamplin College of Business through your estate, through your retirement account, or with a gift that produces lifetime income for you. To learn more, please call Alex Fritz at ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR 800-533-1144 or email [email protected]. OF PRACTICE Derek Klock teaches a class in the new WEB MAGAZINE Charles Schwab Financial Get the full version of any story, plus content Planning Suite. available only in the web magazine, at: www.magazine.pamplin.vt.edu THE LEARNING EXPERIENCE for students in Virginia Tech’s financial planning program Virginia Tech does not discriminate against employees, got even better last fall, with the opening of the Charles Schwab Financial Planning students, or applicants on the basis of age, color, disabil- ity, gender, gender identity, gender expression, national Suite. origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orienta- Comprising classroom and meeting spaces, the suite was created with a $200,000 tion, genetic information, or veteran status; or otherwise discriminate against employees or applicants who gift from the Charles Schwab Foundation. inquire about, discuss, or disclose their compensation or Located at 302 Hutcheson Hall, the suite features a state-of-the-art audiovisual sys- the compensation of other employees, or applicants; or any other basis protected by law. For inquiries regarding tem and web-conferencing tools. Users can connect their smartphone, tablet, or laptop non-discrimination policies, contact the Office of Equity to the high-resolution projector and sound system. and Access at 540-231-2010 or Virginia Tech, North End Center, Suite 2300 (0318), 300 Turner St. NW, Blacksburg, VA 24061. SEE MORE AT: www.magazine.pamplin.vt.edu OLIVER MEREDITH NOTABLES Pamplin Society Launched, provides more alumni opportunites

THE COLLEGE HAS ESTABLISHED the Pamplin Society to provide alumni more opportunities to promote, support, and improve the college, and to ROBERT SUMICHRAST recognize those who have served it through participation on the Pamplin Advisory Council or departmental advisory boards, philanthropy, or outstanding professional or community achievements. Dean’s Message The Pamplin Society currently has seven officers, led by president Marvin Boyd (MSCI ’00,

STUDENT INPUT is critical in shaping Pamplin’s MGT ’01). It succeeds the R.B. Pamplin Society, O’CONNOR CHRISTINA programs and services. This semester, I met with an honorary group of former members of the members of a new organization, the Dean’s Student Pamplin Advisory Council. Advisory Council. This was another step in develop- “The new organization is open to alumni of ing ways to solicit student input — some formal and all ages and career levels who want to partici- some informal. Existing mechanisms have already pate actively in the Pamplin community,” Boyd led to big improvements, and we will announce ad- said, “and are willing to make a nominal annual ditional changes in the coming months. contribution.” JEROME FOWLKES One longstanding formal mechanism for Pamplin Society members, Boyd said, (FIN ’88) participates student input is an annual survey about career suc- will engage in a variety of initiatives, including in a Pamplin Advisory cess. The majority of our students provide us with fundraising, student enrichment, and business Council meeting. information about their job offers or other plans, and community outreach. They will be invited to such as continuing education or working as an en- college events and have opportunities for networking and mentoring. trepreneur in a startup company. This information has helped us expand Pamplin’s career services ef- LEARN MORE: www.pamplin.vt.edu/pamplin-society fectively and also has documented that about 9 out of 10 students have job offers by graduation. I’ve had spontaneous conversations with students that made me suspect that our academic Lifelong Career Services advising could be improved. We followed up with surveys, focus groups, and additional conversa- now helps alumni, employers tions. The end result is that, two years ago, we changed to a more centralized system relying on PAMPLIN HAS LAUNCHED a Lifelong Career Services program to help its well-trained professional advisors. This improved alumni with their career search and employers with their hiring needs. The student satisfaction from 50 percent to 80 percent. service is free to alumni. For each graduate they recruit through the service, We called the change “Advising 2.0.” Now, we are participating employers make a contribution toward a freshman scholarship ready to move to “Advising 3.0,” where the staff will created by the firm. have a much more personal relationship with indi- The alumni hired are eligible to mentor students in the Pamplin Un- vidual students. The advisors will better integrate dergraduate Mentoring Program and are matched up with the recipients of course schedules with career plans and will ensure their firms’ scholarship that students are connected with other Pamplin for mentoring. services — particularly our career services. “For years, firms We are also using the suggestions of our former have asked us to help students to add alumni services. Since the start of them recruit our alumni. this year, we have been helping alumni who want Simultaneously, alums LEARN MORE: https://pamplin.careers to change companies or careers with Pamplin’s life- ask for help finding their long career services. Hokies are loyal for a lifetime second or third job out of college,” says Stuart Mease, Pamplin’s executive — and Pamplin wants to return that loyalty with director for student advancement and career services. this new service. Introduced in January, the program has already attracted 18 firms as participating employers. The program can strengthen the college’s relation- [email protected] ship with its alumni and employers, and help Pamplin differentiate itself Twitter @Sumichrast with prospective students, he adds.

SPRING 2017 | 3 COVER STORY

inding his niche in neuroscience near the end of his sophomore Fyear dispatched the indecision Business and turmoil Jonathan Briganti had felt — “every path seemed to call to me” — and gave him an academic goal at Virginia Tech. When he discovered business Analytics analytics while competing in a campus hackathon, he acquired a career focus. Meeting the need for talent Briganti expects to graduate this spring and join Pamplin’s master’s pro- HELEN ZHANG gram in business analytics in the fall. Business analytics is the process of using scientific techniques and tech- nologies to extract useful information from raw data to make business decisions. Pamplin’s program would make him more proficient in both data analytics and business subjects, says Briganti, who became CEO of a healthcare tech startup he and others launched in the wake of the hackathon. DAVID FRANUSICH “Corporations... lack analytics talent with the ability to use the data to build a business case.”

- Linda Oldham, CBIA Executive Director

4 | VIRGINIA TECH BUSINESS “This is how our The degree, he adds, will also position him well to pursue other passions that might master’s program emerge through the course of a career and HELEN ZHANG lifetime. is dramatically Also starting the program this fall is Angelica Melvin (PSYC ’13), who is seek- different from ing knowledge and skills to forge a new career she hopes will involve data analytics at a analytics programs community-oriented business. Growing up in an “impoverished, isolat- in engineering, ed Appalachian community, where support- ing local business was emphasized,” Melvin computer science, recalls learning the value of a strong work ethic and a job well done from various family and statistics.” members. “I worked alongside my mom in her restaurant after school. Later, I worked in a graduate program. MAI KHANH NGUYEN cousin’s auto body shop.” The skills shortage is a popular topic of Currently an administrative assistant on trade journals, industry reports, and execu- campus, Melvin was previously a sales man- tive conferences. ager at Goodwill. “Working at a store that Analytics and data science programs was frequented by people of disadvantaged have multiplied (U.S. universities now offer socio-economic backgrounds,” she says, more than 100), but “they can’t crank out “helped me refocus my career goals.” enough sufficiently trained people to meet Robert Lorence spent nearly three years the demand,” says Oldham, citing Deloitte’s as an engineering undergraduate and trans- Analytics Trends 2016 report. TOP: Linda Oldham speaks at an event to promote ferred colleges twice before arriving at Vir- Especially sought are those with knowl- the AT&T-sponsored analytics hackathon in 2016. ginia Tech. edge and skills to manage and interpret data BOTTOM: CBIA Academic Director Cliff Ragsdale Now a senior in economics, he is also for business decision making — “people who says students in the master’s program learn to use enrolled in the business analytics program’s can identify, frame, and solve problems that analytics tools for business problem solving. accelerated track, which lets students earn will also bring high returns on investment,” graduate-course credit while completing a Oldham says. “Corporations tell me they bachelor’s degree. lack analytics talent with the ability to use demic director. “Our immersive, hands-on “I felt absolutely positive if I got in this the data to build a business case.” curriculum trains students to use the tools of program I would have a faster success trajec- Pamplin’s business analytics concentra- analytics to deliver effective solutions to real- tory professionally,” says Lorence. tion gives students a solid education in both world business problems.” “Having data analytics skills, along with data analytics and business, she says. “This The curriculum includes core courses my grounding in engineering and economics, is how our master’s program is dramatically in accounting, finance, managerial statis- will allow me to pivot quickly and have a re- different from analytics programs in engi- tics, organizational behavior, and marketing ally exciting career.” neering, computer science, and statistics.” policy and strategy, as well as courses in busi- Briganti, Melvin, and Lorence can ex- The program is “a great way for students ness intelligence and analytics, and business pect sunny job prospects when they gradu- with virtually any undergraduate degree to information visualization. ate. “There’s a significant shortage of talent in gain skills that are in high demand,” says Capping off the learning is a multi- the data and business analytics arena,” says business information technology professor CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE Linda Oldham, executive director of Pam- Cliff Ragsdale, who serves as CBIA’s aca- plin’s Center for Business Intelligence and Analytics (CBIA), which runs the one-year

SPRING 2017 | 5 “CBIA serves as a conduit for connecting

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE corporations that have disciplinary, team project business problems sponsored by a company, government agency, or nonprofit and opportunities with JERRY HOGGE, organization that addresses of Leidos Defense, a problem identified by the faculty and graduate Health, and Inter- sponsor. national Solutions “The capstone course of- students who have Group, says the fers students the opportunity CBIA partnership for experiential and commu- analytics expertise.” has been a “highly successful” one that has nal education, collaboration, delivered powerful business solutions. and applying what they’ve studied in class to actual problems in the work world,” Oldham says. with the center. tributed $50,000 to the initiative. By operating in teams similar to those at “Analytics research only matters to “With the continued dramatic growth workplaces today, she says, students are able the extent that it helps solve problems that of data creation and collection, analytic ap- to experience the process of participating, people and businesses care about,” says Rags- plications to deliver this information, and the contributing, and learning as part of a group. dale. “CBIA serves as a conduit for connect- shortage of these skills in the market, we saw For the sponsoring organization, a ma- ing corporations that have business problems a natural synergy between Deloitte, our ana- jor benefit is the first-hand opportunity to get and opportunities with faculty and graduate lytic offerings, and CBIA,” says Robert Tor- to know the students and their capabilities students who have analytics expertise.” pey (BIT ’02, COMM ’02), senior manager for potential employment. Collaborations offer “significant busi- of analytics and information management at Another benefit is the expertise of the ness insights and value” for corporations, Deloitte Consulting LLP. nearly two dozen faculty members associated Ragsdale says, as well as “rich sources of His own learning experiences at Virgin- data and living laboratories” for Pamplin’s ia Tech reflect what has come to be called the researchers. “VT-shaped student” model, Torpey says. He With specialties that include text, finan- says he was “well prepared to enter the work- ROBERT TORPEY, cial, healthcare, and operational analytics, force,” armed with a business degree with a of Deloitte, says center faculty are tackling such research top- technical focus and a liberal arts degree, as Deloitte saw a ics as product safety, consumer privacy, ex- well as experiential knowledge gained from natural synergy pert search efficiency, and data use in federal a business study-abroad program and the co- between its ana- government agencies. operative education program. lytic offerings Pamplin established the center in 2014 “I started at an analytics software com- and CBIA. with founding sponsor Deloitte, which con- pany, immediately leveraging my technical

A FAMILY TRADITION: Angelica Melvin LOGAN WALLACE “I’M REALLY PROUD of the fact that I’ve been working since I was STUDENT ANGELICA nine years old. By going into business, I feel like I’m continuing a fam- MELVIN seeks a data ily tradition. analytics career with a My maternal grandfather was a small-business owner during community-oriented a very poignant time in history, the Civil Rights Movement. He had business. only a fifth-grade education, but he became a well-known and well- respected auto mechanic in a small Appalachian town. Through the quality of his work and business practices, he was able to cross racial lines and gain the business of white customers. Not only were they loyal customers, but he considered them friends. I feel like, in his own way, he made people question their stereotypes and preconceived ideas of who African Americans are and what we’re capable of.”

6 | VIRGINIA TECH BUSINESS LAUREN PAK

degree, but eventually, I wanted to get to the front lines of the most challenging business issues. That’s when I made the move to consulting, with a focus on business intelligence and analytics. A ‘VT-shaped’ education has allowed me to play an integral role translat- ing the business needs of my clients into technical approaches that enable them to make actionable data-driven decisions.” THE WINNERS of the Mobile Apps for Global Good in Healthcare Analytics Hackathon in Torpey notes that Deloitte already had spring 2016. (Left to right) Brian Elliott (electrical engineering major), Jonathan Briganti a well-established relationship with Virginia (neuroscience major), and Madeline Yadskowski (public relations major), with Dr. Stephen Tech, with annual sponsorship of and par- Morgan, of Carilion Clinic, who was one of the judges. ticipation in a wide range of campus events, membership on several advisory boards, and designation of Virginia Tech as a high-priori- IN HIS OWN WORDS: Jonathan Briganti ty school for hiring. Deloitte helps guide the center’s strate- Thrust into a big new world gic direction, helps fund faculty and grad- My first exposure to big data and the master’s program in business analytics was uate-student research in data analytics, and during the Mobile Apps for Global Good in Healthcare Analytics Hackathon last jointly sponsors the annual business analytics spring. My team and I went with an idea for a new type of preemptive screening for symposium. dementia using smartphones. As a neuroscience major, my role was ensuring that The center has also attracted sponsor the app was scientifically and medically sound, along with finding the best methods funding from Leidos. “The volume of data to accurately test an individual’s cognition. Winning this hackathon brought us a that is created each and every day related partnership with Carilion Clinic. to key business challenges is ever expand- ing,” says Jerry Hogge (EE ’87, M.S., ISE Opening doors to any field ’91), senior vice president of Leidos Defense, One of the major draws of the MSBA in business analytics is how applicable it is to Health, and International Solutions Group. any field. This program would open doors to places I never thought possible. I love “As a result, the ability to create actionable neuroscience and always will, but an advanced degree in neuroscience allows me to business intelligence in these complex, big- do neuroscience jobs, primarily in a research capacity. Data analytics lets me enter data settings requires the very best in analyt- any field and still find a niche I can fill. ics, methodologies, and approaches.” Pamplin’s center, he says, offers an in- Patient data novative environment that combines the best I want to work for or with hospitals to increase the usability of patient data. As our academic capabilities with real-world chal- world switches over to electronic healthcare records, I want to help hospitals discern lenges. what patient information is important to keep, how to access and store that data in “Our experience in working with CBIA the most cost-effective manner, and build programs or train the professionals on has allowed my defense, health, and interna- how to use the data in increasingly better ways. I could help make the quality of care tional healthcare businesses at Leidos to ad- for every patient better than ever. dress highly complex problems with very big data sets,” Hogge says. Being CEO “It has been a highly successful partner- We are in the process of forming a company focused on the core ideas we presented ship that has delivered powerful, insightful, at that hackathon. We are working closely with Carilion Clinic and hope to have clini- and practical solutions to multifaceted busi- cal trials this spring. This would not be possible without all the amazing work, ideas, ness intelligence and analytics challenges. and support from everyone involved. It’s the most exciting part of my life right now, We look forward to continuing this relation- I never envisioned owning a company and meeting with legal counsel about patent ship as we tackle important issues across a and copyright law. We saw a need in the medical world, and with the help of the spectrum of markets, business sectors, and hackathon, we are actually trying to fix that issue. We have garnered a lot of interest industries.” from a number of different entities, and I cannot wait to see where this goes.

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

SPRING 2017 | 7 CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

Such challenges will also occupy Lor- my personal background, master’s studies, brain through all the neurons.” Learning ence, Melvin, and Briganti as current and and work experiences into the business world about big data and its possibilities “was like prospective students and future business ana- and work to improve the lives of others.” finally seeing the forest for the trees,” Brig- lytics professionals. As for Briganti, it took him a while to anti says. Lorence, who has started his job search, figure out his future, but he now relishes the “Data analytics lets me see large pic- hopes to land at an innovative company in prospect of one based on developing novel tures and work on a scale not previously the technology or space industries. Visiting approaches to business analytics for scientific possible.” one such potential employer recently, he says, and healthcare businesses. “I could really see myself working there and He notes that as a neuroscience stu- FOR MORE INFORMATION on the M.S. how my skills could fit into this organiza- dent, he studies neuronal connections on an in business administration, business tion.” extremely small scale: “understanding how analytics concentration: Her life experiences, Melvin says, have each neurotransmitter affects the brain and shaped her interest in enterprises that empha- how each action results in an endless cascade Linda Oldham size community support and outreach, and a of neural activity.” [email protected] business model that serves the greater good. Focusing on the parts can result in not “I want to bring lessons I’ve learned from perceiving the whole. “I wasn’t seeing the cbia.pamplin.vt.edu

CAPSTONE PROJECTS: Practicing skills, solving problems OLIVER MEREDITH BUSINESS ANALYTICS STUDENT Robert Enterprise, which is providing support for Lorence would like to reach out to Ben Car- HUD’s information technology initiatives. son, who leads the Department of Housing HUD holds a competition annu- and Urban Development (HUD), to hear his ally as a way for local governments and thoughts about housing and running the organizations to vie for federal grants department. that specifically assist homeless people, “I have heard him speak about how notes Hewlett Packard’s capstone project housing ties into health, which I hadn’t con- proposal. sidered before,” says Lorence, whose team “Our project is focused on trying to capstone project in Pamplin’s master’s create a standardized grading system for program in business analytics is to create a HUD so federal funding can be allocated tool or application for an unbiased perfor- better, based on elements such as critical mance score that would aid HUD officials housing classifications and need-based in awarding grants for homeless support scoring,” Lorence says. “Right now, groups programs. seeking funds self-grade, so without other Lorence hopes the HUD secretary can ROBERT LORENCE’S capstone team project comparisons, they can be pretty insular in “share some of his goals and give us his seeks to create a standardized grading system to their value knowledge.” perspective towards developing a solid and help HUD allocate funds better. IBM Cloud, another capstone project viable project path forward.” sponsor, asked students to “create a The capstone assignments are aimed startup lifecycle model, using big data to at solving a problem selected by a sponsoring organization, identify candidate companies for acquisition and the optimum which provides relevant data and identifies success metrics and time to acquire.” expected benefits, says Linda Oldham, executive director of the Other capstone project sponsors are Carilion Clinic, which Center for Business Intelligence and Analytics. asked the students to investigate a number of demographic “Topics should be complex enough to be challenging, yet questions related to its planned expansion of telemedicine infra- contained enough to allow for meaningful results. Each project structure and services; Beyer Automotive, which sought help with should strike a balance between technical issues and business questions aimed at creating a better buying experience at the concerns.” dealership; and Altria, which sought insights into data collected Lorence’s team project is sponsored by Hewlett Packard from its manufacturing equipment.

8 | VIRGINIA TECH BUSINESS EVENTS

Pamplin Advisory Council Annual Meeting DEAN ROBERT SUMICHRAST, members of the Pamplin Advisory Council, and other members of the Pamplin community enjoyed student poster presentations and mingled in the atrium during the council’s annual meeting last fall. The day ended with a reception and dinner at the German Club. PHOTOS BY CHRISTINA O’CONNOR

Maddie Morgan, Josiah Armstrong, Fisher Metcalfe, Mike Clarke

Karla Gill, Dean Sumichrast, Starlette Johnson

SEE MORE AT: www.magazine.pamplin.vt.edu

Mary McVay, Skyler Green, Emily Africa

Diane Taylor, Chuck Taylor, Lisa Ellison, Alana Thomas Mark Krivoruchka, Gina French, Kevin Lane, Lisa Lane

SPRING 2017 | 9 EVENTS COURTESY OF PAMPLIN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT TEAM Student Leadership Conference

STUDENTS HAD THE OPPORTUNITY to further develop their leadership skills, network with company representatives, and gain practical wisdom at the 18th annual Student Leadership Conference in January. The conference was at- tended by 69 students and representatives from Dixon Hughes Goodman, Ernst & Young, Deloitte, Target, Grant Thornton, KPMG, PwC, Capital One, and the Pamplin Recent Alumni Board. The conference was hosted by the Pamplin Leader- ship Development Team, a student organization advised by the Business Leadership Center. KELSEY STONER #HokiesTasteTheFeeling STUDENTS POSE in front of a mural on the Drill- field designed for the launch of a student-led social media campaign on how Coca-Cola can be incor- porated into the best Virginia Tech moments. The campaign, #HokiesTasteTheFeeling, was launched on the Drillfield in February by marketing se- niors Kasey Chau, of Alexandria, Virginia, and Kasey Casella, of McLean, Virginia. The students pitched their winning campaign in the second annual “Barracuda Bowl,” a student competition focused on bringing together Virginia Tech and Coca-Cola brands through social media.

BIT Senior Showcase COURTESY ABRAHAMS OF ALAN

BUSINESS INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY majors exhibited their senior team projects in the Senior Showcase in the Pamplin atrium last fall. The projects in the Introduction to Business Analytics Modeling course, taught by professors Alan Abra- hams and Michelle Seref, allow students to apply analytics techniques studied in class. Project sponsors were CarMax, which is also sponsoring the spring 2017 showcase, and Altria. The students on one project team, left to right, with CarMax representative Jocelyn Blanchard (far left): Sara Cerv, Nick Robinson, Saliou Kaba, and Kevin Osborne.

10 | VIRGINIA TECH BUSINESS EVENTS MARK J. SHANNON

Ray Zinn Visits Innovate Zinn with Joshua Baylor, TOP: Entrepreneur and inventor Ray Zinn met students during a visit to the a sophomore majoring in business information Innovate living-learning community last fall. Zinn co-founded semiconduc- technology. tor maker Micrel in 1978 and led it until its acquisition in 2015 by Microchip Technology. BOTTOM: Zinn with Joshua Baylor, a sophomore majoring in business information technology. RACHEL PHANDINH RACHEL

Financial Management Association

FINANCE PH.D. ALUMNI, faculty, and current Ph.D. students got together at a dinner at the Financial Management Association meeting in Las Vegas last fall. Clockwise from left: Debi Battacharya (Ph.D. ’14, now teaching at Duquesne), Jitendra Tayal, Honghui Chen (Ph.D. ’99, now teaching at University of Central Florida), Murali Jagannathan (Ph.D. ’96, now at SUNY Binghamton), Shahram Amini, Hongyan Li, Nikos Artavanis (Ph.D. ’13, now at University of Massachusetts), finance professor George Morgan, Sylvia Hudgins (Ph.D. ’87, now at Old Dominion University), and Jack Broughton (Ph.D. ’89, now at Chapman University). RACHEL PHANDINH Virginia Tech Entrepreneur Forum

THE INAUGURAL Virginia Tech Entrepreneur Fo- rum, organized in metro Washington, D.C., by the Apex Systems Center for Innovation and Entre- preneurship last fall, drew more than 150 alumni for a discussion on cybersecurity. The forum was moderated by Apex CIE board chairman Win Sheridan (PSCI ’94). Panelists included Charles Clancy, director of Virginia Tech’s Hume Center for National Security and Technology, and Ryan Trost, co-founder and chief technology officer of ThreatQuotient. The forum this spring focused on trends and potential investments related to big data in health care.

SPRING 2017 | 11 ALUMNI Always Looking Forward At IBM, Kelly Chambliss stays prepared for what’s next

hen Business Insider asked IBM two years ago to name some Wof its rising stars, the company came up with 17 key employees who represent its future. One of them was Kelly Chambliss (MSCI ’92). Chambliss, a managing partner within the tech giant’s global business services unit, came to IBM when it acquired Pricewater- houseCoopers’ (PwC) consulting business, shortly after Chambliss had been promoted to partner there. “I’m not sure I ever envisioned working at a company with the number of employees IBM has, but it’s been a perfect place,” Chambliss says. “Working for a large company like IBM, there are so many opportunities to take on new responsibilities, learn new skills, and take on new challenges.” CHAMBLISS/IBM OF KELLY COURTESY Today’s graduates might not consider a company with a rich history like IBM to be VIRGINIA TECH gave her a “fantastic foundation for a great career,” says Kelly Chambliss. an exciting place to work, Chambliss says, but they’d be wrong. “They might think there’s more opportunity at a small startup or a younger tech company. But the experi- Chambliss grew up in Eureka, a small called business information technology. It ence you can get in a short amount of time at farm town in Central Illinois, and envisioned was at this fascinating intersection of tech- a really large company that has consistently herself playing volleyball for one of the big nology, business, and data science. I was in reinvented itself should not be overlooked.” Midwest schools — until she took a trip to my element at Pamplin.” The pace of technological and business Virginia Tech. “When I visited Tech, I just After graduation, she wanted to go change today is so rapid that every company, felt instantly at home,” she says. “There was into consulting and accepted a job at what even institutions like IBM, must constantly no question in my mind that I was going was then Price Waterhouse — mostly, she work on reinventing themselves, Chambliss there.” says, because she could work in Atlanta. “At says. “We’re seeing an unprecedented conver- When she started at Virginia Tech on a that age, you make decisions on some of the gence of technology and new business models full volleyball scholarship, she was majoring smallest things,” she says. “I wanted to live in that’s driving an exponential pace of change in biochemistry. “I gradually found my way Atlanta because the Olympics were coming.” — and it’s hard to imagine that ever chang- to business, though,” she says. “At the time, Her career at Price Waterhouse and PwC ing now.” I was starting to get really passionate about followed a traditional path, Chambliss says. technology. Pamplin had a program they She spent her first couple of years focused called management science then. It’s now on hands-on technical aspects, working as a

12 | VIRGINIA TECH BUSINESS “The experience you can get in a short amount of time at a really large company that has consistently reinvented itself should not be overlooked.”

software developer and application architect. Seven years in, she had the opportunity to move to Australia to work on business in the Asia-Pacific region — moving to Sydney just before the next Olympics. Not long after, she was promoted to partner. In recent years, Chambliss, who was named to the Pamplin Advisory Council last year, has started to reconnect with the college. “I try to carve out a percentage of my time to help others,” she says. “There are so many people who made the time to help me, coach me, and give me advice. Virginia Tech played a huge role. I was given a fantastic foundation for a great career.” Re-familiarizing herself with Pamplin, Chambliss says, has reminded her of how forward-looking the college was when she GINA FRENCH

was a student. “One of the courses I took CHAMBLISS OF KELLY COURTESY was artificial intelligence,” she says. “It was VIRGINIA TECH gave her a “fantastic foundation for a great career,” says Kelly Chambliss. probably one of my favorite courses and we LEFT: “My family is a huge part of how and why I do what I do,” says Kelly Chambliss, of her husband even did some coding in LISP, one of the first David Kunkle and their children Alexa and Keegan. RIGHT: Chambliss with Dean Sumichrast. languages used in programming artificial intelligence. I can even picture the textbook. I don’t think many people took AI courses 20 developing the kinds of skills that graduates learned about its value. “A lot of what I did in years ago as part of a business degree. And, need to go on and do great things.” Pamplin and the way the courses were struc- now I work for IBM where we are applying One significant change she’s seen since tured was all about working with others to AI to usher in a new era of technology we call her graduation is the emphasis on helping achieve common goals. That will always be cognitive computing.” students develop an entrepreneurial mind- important to success in business.” That forward-looking attitude hasn’t set. “That’s a relatively sizeable shift, and an - Dan Radmacher changed as far as Chambliss can see. “The important one,” Chambliss says. “It’s such an courses and the type of professors who’ve important attitude, even if people are going been brought in recently are so closely aligned to work for a large company.” with the market,” she says. “The college is re- And as for teamwork, Chambliss says ally in touch with what’s coming next and it wasn’t just on the volleyball court that she what’s going to have the greatest impact on business, people, and society. The focus is on

SPRING 2017 | 13 PHOTOS COURTESY OF DOUG BRAINARD

“THESE FARMERS took me on tours of their farms and sent me home with a large bag of avocados they had grown.”

ALUMNI Traveling Fellow Young alum finds a way to see the world and give something back

ess than three years after graduation, vide accountability to its lenders, says Natalie international experience. The winter of his Doug Brainard (FIN ’13) had what Russell, an associate at Kiva Fellow and In- sophomore year, he participated in a Pam- Lmany would consider to be a cushy, tern Programs. Competition is fierce for the plin project in Belize where he taught local promising job in his chosen field. He was positions — which were unpaid, until recent- teachers how to better use Excel in their class- working in Washington, D.C., as a consul- ly. “Before the latest change in the program, rooms. tant with the Defense Advanced Research we’d get between 100 and 200 applicants and But Russell said his attitude and apti- Projects Agency, managing a multimillion- had about a 20 percent acceptance rate,” Rus- tude made up for any lack of experience. “We dollar budget for a variety of projects. sell says. saw other qualities in addition to his prior But he wanted a change, and a few The application process is rigorous, professional experience that made him a great months later, he got it: Brainard would spend and Kiva makes sure the fellows know what candidate,” she says. “His determination to more than four months in Africa as a Kiva they’ll be getting themselves into. “We’re very have an impact on the ground really stood Fellow, traveling around Kenya and Uganda upfront about what the experience is going out to us.” to help Kiva’s partner organizations and en- to be like,” says Russell. “We look for those Brainard’s positive attitude had im- sure they were in compliance with the non- applicants with prior travel experience and pressed Mike Kender, finance professor of profit microlender’s rules. He would go weeks demonstrated cross-cultural competency. We practice, who keeps in touch with his former without running water and learn to navigate screen them for adaptability, flexibility, and student through Facebook. “Doug was active a new culture where he did not know the lan- the ability to transition and pivot.” in his fraternity,” he recalls, “and was a plea- guage. Brainard, however, didn’t have a lot of sure to be around.” “I didn’t study abroad in college or do military service,” Brainard says. “I saw this as a way to see the world and give something back.” Through its website, Kiva allows indi- viduals to give $25 loans to organizations around the world. These crowdfunded mi- WITH NOAH SSEMPIJJA, founder croloans help people and organizations grow of Kiva’s partner organization YICE their businesses, provide clean water, and in Kyakatebe, and Winnie Tushabe, engage in other activities that help alleviate head loan officer, outside their office. poverty. “I am still in touch with them on a Kiva Fellows assist its partners and pro- regular basis via WhatsApp.”

14 | VIRGINIA TECH BUSINESS DOUG BRAINARD’S HOME for two weeks in Kyakatebe, Uganda, a two-hour bus ride from Kampala. The office-cooler jug of water provided both his drinking and bathing water. On one of his days off, Brainard explored the Crater Lakes in Fort Portal, Uganda.

After a week of intensive training in sure our partnership was healthy and strong,” “I had to think San Francisco, Brainard traveled to Uganda, Russell says. where he spent his first two weeks in a tiny Brainard says his Pamplin experience on my feet and village called Kyakatebe working with Kiva was helpful. “I didn’t apply a lot of hard skills partner YICE (Youth Initiative for Commu- there,” he says. “It was mostly problem-solv- nity Empowerment). YICE provides loans to ing skills and the generally good work ethic make decisions small groups of women, many of whom are that I developed at Pamplin that I was able to single mothers who farm small plots of rented use there. I had to think on my feet and make land. decisions constantly in a world where I was constantly.” While in Kyakatebe, Brainard went 12 always the center of attention.” days without running water, using an office- Russell says Kiva Fellows are often look- cooler-sized jug of water he bought for both ing to pivot into nonprofit work. “Doug drinking and bathing. The language barrier wanted to work in a career that he felt pas- was also an issue, though Brainard says he sionate about,” she says. “Going in, he wasn’t managed. sure what he wanted do afterward, but he was BRAINARD VISITED Joseph Kuyamba, “As the only white person in the village, sure he could leverage the experience.” a Kiva borrower who runs a mill that I really stood out,” he says. “People would Brainard, a native of Lexington, Mas- grinds cassava root into flour in the stare and say, ‘mzungu,’ a phrase commonly sachusetts, has started a new job as a senior western Uganda town of Bwera. used to identify foreigners. Sometimes I was financial analyst at Carbon Black, a Boston- with someone who could help translate, but based cyber security company. if not, we’d just use hand gestures and bro- He would like to return to Africa even- ken English. Almost everyone spoke at least tually. “My time in East Africa taught me a a little English. People really tried to be help- lot about perspective,” Brainard says. “Read- ful. If I was looking lost, they’d come see if ing about poverty is completely different they could help. I think seeing a stranger was than being immersed for several months. It a highlight of their day.” was a truly humbling experience that’s left From Uganda, Brainard went on to as- me much less reliant on ‘things.’” sist Evidence Action, a partner in Kenya that –Dan Radmacher is distributing chlorine dispensing stations to villages for purifying water. “Doug was really essential in making

SPRING 2017 | 15 RESEARCH/TEACHING Turning Spendthrifts Into Tightwads

PHOTOS BY JIM STROUP

pendthrifts habitually buy more than In a recent study, Pandelaere and two MARIO PANDELAERE’S research may others, but “taking the thrill out of fellow researchers investigated spendthrift help spendthrifts better understand the Sspending” can change their behavior, psychology and ways to alter spending behav- motivations of their actions. new marketing research shows. ior. They tested their theory that spendthrifts Extravagant, irresponsible spending has are characterized by a need to spend freely, been tied to personality differences, notes and that this “spending autonomy” gives Mario Pandelaere, associate professor of mar- them a sense of energy and vitality that fuels keting in the Pamplin College of Business at their tendency to spend. Virginia Tech. Elaborating on the notion of autonomy, Spendthrifts tend to buy impulsively, Pandelaere says that when people can in- save less, and run up a substantial amount of dependently regulate or control their own credit card debt, Pandelaere says. Tightwads, behavior, they experience psychological in contrast, tend to mull over purchasing de- benefits, such as feeling energized or alive. cisions and typically spend less. Researchers call such emotions “subjective Though personality traits can drive indi- vitality,” he says, and have documented its vidual spending behavior, research has shown link with behavioral independence in both that their impact can be curbed and even lab and real-world settings. overridden by situational factors, he says. This sense of vitality can make people “Ironically, despite the rampant problem feel excited and act more spontaneously, he of overspending,” Pandelaere says, studies on adds. spending behavior have mostly focused on “Our central assumption is that spend- how tightwads can be tempted to spend more thrifts enjoy spending without restraint. — not how spendthrifts can be encouraged Consequently, restrictions on this spending to spend less. autonomy would take the joy out of the ex-

16 | VIRGINIA TECH BUSINESS DROWNING “Spendthrifts’ motivation IN DEBT to spend is driven not by indulgence but by the sense of vitality they get $15,762 Average household when they are able to credit card debt¹ spend freely.” $48,986 Average student loan debt¹ perience and diminish their propensity to spendthrifts begin to behave like spend.” tightwads when their purchas- The researchers devised four experi- ing choices are limited. “When ments to examine the effects of reduced free- spendthrifts are not able to spend dom of choice through restricting product freely and autonomously, they $171,775 selection or making clear to participants the experience a dampening of the Average mortgage debt¹ opportunity costs of a selection. particular energy and vitality as- Their results demonstrated that willing- sociated with spending and be- ness to spend diminishes when choice is re- come less willing to spend.” stricted — for both self-indulgent purchases In daily life, common situ- as well as charitable donations. The latter ations that reduce the freedom $12.25 TRILLION finding “underscores the notion that spend- in how money might be spent Total household debt in the first quarter of 2016² thrifts’ motivation to spend is driven not by include items being out of stock, indulgence but by the sense of vitality they or fewer color or style choices. get when they are able to spend freely.” What steps might spendthrifts Willingness to spend also decreased in seeking to spend less take? 1: Issa, Erin El. "Household Debt Ticked situations when participants could choose Pandelaere says his findings suggest that Upward at Start of 2016, but Credit Card Balances Fell." Nerdwallet. July 1, 2016. Ac- freely within a given assortment but were told they should shop at stores with a smaller as- cessed November 29, 2016. https://www. that a specific selection was better than the sortment of products or consider alternative nerdwallet.com/blog/credit-cards/household-debt-ticked-upward-start-2016/ others — thus making clear the opportunity uses of their money before making a large 2: Liesman, Steve. “Household Debt cost to participants whose preferred choice purchase. Climbs to $12.25 Trillion in First Quarter.” was not the superior one. If spendthrifts could think about the CNBC. May 24, 2016. Accessed August 29, 2016. http://www.cnbc.com/2016/05/24/ Pandelaere says their research shows that opportunity costs of spending, they might household-debt-climbs-to-1225-trillion-in- CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE first-quarter.html

SPRING 2017 | 17 Consumer Behavior and Persusasive Communication

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE BEING A SCHOLAR of consumer behavior has allowed Mario Pandelaere to under- see that “their spending is not 100 percent stand his own actions as a consumer better and to make better decisions … some- autonomous,” he says. A constraint is always times. Having expertise in consumer psychology and knowing how businesses can present — one choice eliminates another and do use it to their advantage haven’t always prevented him from falling prey to choice. such manipulations — although, Pandelaere says, “it has led me to more readily At the very least, “our research may get realize that I have been duped.” spendthrifts to better understand the motiva- He recalls, for instance, explaining in class a particular persuasion tactic used tions of their actions.” by marketers, only to be swayed by it days later, when he unwittingly complied with Though spending could be curbed by an actual merchant’s request. taking the thrill out of it, why spendthrifts Pandelaere, who earned all four of his graduate degrees at KU Leuven, Bel- need to spend to feel energized is an issue he gium’s largest and highest-ranked university, has master’s degrees in business is exploring in follow-up research. engineering, statistics, and psychology, and a Ph.D. in psychology. “Are they confronted with aspects of He cites his main research interests as: causes and consequences of materi- their lives that drain their energy that leads alism, luxury and conspicuous consumption, numerosity (the presentation and them to search for vitality through spend- processing of quantitative information), well-being, and social influence. ing?” “I have always liked statistics and the more quantitative courses during my Many activities that make people feel studies,” Pandelaere says. “They have naturally led to me to think about how the animated and energetic don’t involve spend- representation of quantitative information may change people’s perceptions of the ing money. For spendthrifts, what might be information and their decisions based on it.” the obstacles to such activities? After receiving his doctorate, Pandelaere spent two years as an academic Identifying such constraints, Pandelaere researcher in marketing at Leuven, then moved to Ghent University for a research says, “could help spendthrifts restructure professorship in marketing, a post he held for seven years before joining Virginia their environments such that they no longer Tech in 2015. need spending to feel vital and alive.” Pandelaere’s favorite topic to teach remains “persuasive communication.” Pandelaere co-authored the paper, “Tak- Persuasion, “the effect of framing information one way or another on decisions,” ing the thrill out of spending: How auton- and social influence have also been subjects of some of his research. omy restrictions make spendthrifts act like As for his interest in well-being, Pandelaere says it resulted directly from his tightwads,” with Christophe Labyt, of Ghent study of materialism. “A good deal of research shows that materialistic people are University, and Vanessa Patrick of the Uni- not as happy or satisfied with their lives as less materialistic people. I found that versity of Houston. research fascinating, leading me to consider well-being more in depth.” -Sookhan Ho One result is a paper he wrote expounding materialism’s “silver lining.” “I won- dered why people would continue to be materialistic THE RELATIONSHIP between happiness and materialism when it makes them unhappy. What do they get out of may be two-way, says Mario Pandelaere. their lifestyle?” His research suggested that materialistic people were “more likely to engage in luxury consumption, and luxury consumption makes people, at least in the short run, happy. “It is great to indulge,” he says. “In addition, the effect of luxury consumption on momentary happiness is stronger for materialistic than less materialistic consumption.” That materialism causes lower levels of happiness, however, is a conclusion Pandelaere is not prepared to accept: “the jury is still out on that question.” He says some research shows that “low self-es- teem, conducive to lower happiness, may spur materialistic interests” — thus, lower levels of happiness may actually cause materialism. The relationship between happiness and materialism, Pandelaere says, may well be two-way. -Sookhan Ho

18 | VIRGINIA TECH BUSINESS RESEARCH/TEACHING Garbage In Garbage Out The pitfalls of mining social media data for research

n award-winning paper by Virginia Tech data analytics scholars offers Aa caveat about using data from customer reviews on social media sites for research. There’s little discussion of data quality in big data and social media analytics research, especially in the hospitality and tourism field, says Phil Xiang, an associate professor of hospitality and tourism management. Big data is all the rage at the moment, and for good reason. The analytics and information that can be mined from large and increasingly prevalent data sets can be useful “Drawing data in any number of industries and fields. from even a highly But one timeless rule still applies: “Gar- bage in; garbage out.” reputable website... Missing data, mislabeled data, inconsis- tent data, and even fake reviews are not un- might yield unreliable common, Xiang says. “Many existing studies take data from social media platforms to results” make predictive analyses without first assessing the reliability and validity of the data.” JIM STROUP Xiang co-wrote a paper that examined the reliability of social media data by mining “USE WITH CARE,” say Patrick Using a variety of methods, the re- TripAdvisor hotel reviews. Fan and Phil Xiang about online searchers concluded that the problem was in The paper — co-authored with Patrick reviews. “Comments are meaning- the data itself. A word cloud generated from Fan, a professor of accounting and informa- ful, but ratings may not be.” the misclassified reviews suggested a business tion systems; Qianzhou Du, a business in- purpose to the trips, even when the reviewers formation technology doctoral student; and had classified them as leisure. Yufeng Ma, a computer science doctoral stu- The researchers then developed a meth- dent — won a best paper award at a tourism and thus potentially invalid conclusions,” the od to clean the data by identifying the re- conference in Rome in January. paper states. views that were mislabeled by reviewers. “We did this study to shed light about The paper analyzed the quality of the The authors hope the study will raise the reliability issues in using online review data by using algorithms to predict whether awareness of data quality issues in hospital- data,” says Fan. “Users should be cautious in a reviewer was a business traveler or tourist. ity and tourism research. “Our findings raise using online reviews. Comments are mean- The researchers pulled in hundreds of a number of questions regarding the existing ingful, but ratings may not be, especially thousands of reviews from around one million approaches in research based on social media when the number of ratings is low.” reviewers of hotels in 18 U.S. cities selected to data,” says Xiang. Though websites like TripAdvisor have represent a variety of population sizes, loca- The study will likely lead to further re- been considered premier sampling sources for tions, and levels of attraction to tourists. search and, Fan hopes, development of tools social media research in hospitality and tour- They used data from New York City to to help other researchers as well as the average ism, the study casts doubt on the quality of build and “train” the text classifier. New York consumer make better use of this kind of so- the available data. was used because of its large number of hotels cial media data. The text classification algo- “This study demonstrates that drawing and reviews, and because it attracted a good rithm could be refined to detect other travel data from even a highly reputable website like mix of business and leisure travelers. purposes, and to develop segmentation tools TripAdvisor might yield unreliable results The results revealed potential problems to help with targeted marketing. with the data. The classifier performed well – Dan Radmacher in predicting leisure travelers, but did not perform as expected in predicting business travelers.

SPRING 2017 | 19 PHILANTHROPY

Gift Report

GREGORY C. THOMPSON (ACCT ’77) and his wife, KATHRYN L. THOMPSON, of Kiawah Island, South Carolina, have pledged $500,000 in support of the Global Business and Analytics Complex.

A distribution of $272,482 was received from the estate of SCOTT D. PRINCE (MKTG ’75), formerly of Saint Simons Island, Georgia, in support of the Global Business and Analytics Complex.

JAMES E. PEARMAN JR. (ACCT ’70) and his wife, BRENDA K. PEARMAN, of Salem, Virginia, have GREG THOMPSON pledged $250,000 in support of the Global Business and Analytics Complex.

CHRISTOPHER SHEAN (ACCT ’87) and his wife, LESLEY SHEAN (ELED ’88), of Castle Rock, Colo- rado, have given $246,080 in support of the Global Business and Analytics Complex.

JAMES H. HATCH (MACCT ’72), of Richmond, Virginia, has given $110,000 to support various endowments within the Department of Accounting and Information Systems and the Pamplin Col- lege of Business.

JIM PEARMAN GRANT THORNTON LLP, of Alexandria, Virginia, has pledged $107,500 in support of the Apex Systems Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

STEVEN L. PARKER (ACCT ’83) and his wife, SHARON S. PARKER (ACCT ’83), of Charlotte, North Carolina, have pledged $100,000 in support of the Global Business and Analytics Complex.

A charitable gift annuity of $100,000 was contributed by C. DONALD MILLER (BAD ’59) and his wife, ROBERTA L. MILLER, of Lynchburg, Virginia, which will ultimately provide unrestricted support.

CHRIS SHEAN ALTRIA GROUP, INC., of Richmond, Virginia, has contributed $71,750 toward several Pamplin initiatives, including its diversity recruitment strategy, the Business Diversity Center, the Pamplin social media program (PRISM), the Department of Business Information Technology, the Pamplin Undergraduate Mentoring Program, Collegiate Women in Business, Finance for Females, the De- partment of Finance, and Bond and Securities Investing by Students (BASIS).

DAVID CALHOUN (ACCT ’79), and his wife, BARBARA CALHOUN, of New Canaan, Connecticut, have given $62,000 to the David L. Calhoun Fund for Excellence in Accounting and Information Systems, providing unrestricted support to the department. JIM HATCH PAUL V. LOMBARDI III (ME ’95) and his wife, ALLISON K. LOMBARDI, of Chantilly, Virginia, have given $50,000 in unrestricted support and scholarships within the Apex Systems Center for Innova- tion and Entrepreneurship.

STAY IN TOUCH! Hokies, stay connected to Virginia Tech and Pamplin by making sure the university has up-to- date contact information. Use your Virginia Tech PID and password to view and make cor- STEVE PARKER rections to your mailing address, email address, and other information. You can inspect and update your alumni profile anytime from anywhere. alumni.vt.edu/gateway

20 | VIRGINIA TECH BUSINESS PEOPLE

Honors & Awards INTERNATIONAL NATIONAL

FRANCE BELANGER, R.B. Pamplin Professor of Account- MANISHA SINGAL, a hospitality and ing and Information Systems and the Tom and Daisy tourism management associate pro- Byrd Senior Faculty Fellow, was awarded the KoMePol-IT fessor; YINYOUNG RHOU, a hospital- Fellowship from the University of Koblenz-Landau in ity and tourism management doctoral Germany. During her visit in June 2017, she plans to student; and Yoon Koh, an assistant complete research on how to educate teens on security professor at the University of Houston, and privacy for their mobile phones and present it to received the Best Paper Award at the the Ministry of Education, and develop new research collaborations on Graduate Education and Research Conference in Hos- electronic government. pitality for their paper, “What Does Financial Distress Im- ply for Employee Relations in Hospitality Companies?” WEIGUO “PATRICK” FAN, professor of accounting and information sys- STEVE MARKHAM , the Digges tems; ZHENG “PHIL” XIANG, associate Professor of Entrepreneurship in the professor of hospitality and tourism Department of Management, has been management; QIANZHOU DU, a busi- named Claremont McKenna College’s ness information technology doctoral 2017 Distinguished Alumnus. Markham student; and Yufeng Ma, a computer received bachelor’s degrees in indus- PATRICK FAN PHIL XIANG science doctoral student, were recog- trial/organizational psychology and nized for Best Conference Research Paper at the ENTER 2017 eTourism classical philosophy from what was then Claremont Conference of the International Federation for IT and Travel & Tourism. Men’s College in 1974. Markham’s research is on topics Their paper is called “Assessing Reliability of Social Media Data: Lessons that help improve organizational effectiveness. He has from Mining TripAdvisor Hotel Reviews.” published more than 100 articles and book chapters.

COLLEGE AWARDS STUDENT OUTSTANDING H.H. MITCHELL MASTER’S STUDENT OUTSTANDING SENIOR OUTSTANDING LEADERSHIP COLLEGE SERVICE NICHOLAS JOSEPH PAUL GREY JOHANNA BROWN MILLS is a WEISSEND, YEE, an ac- began his finance and a finance counting and studies in the accounting senior from information Evening MBA and informa- Richmond, systems and and Master tion systems Virginia, is a marketing of Information senior from member of manage- Technology Princeton, the Corps of ment senior dual degree program in fall 2015. West Virginia. He chaired the Cadets and the Honors College. from Frederick, Maryland, has A graduate teaching as- Virginia Tech Student Conduct Last semester, as chief invest- dedicated much of her time sistant, Brown was elected Committee, tutored athletes ment officer, he helped manage and talent to Pamplin. She National Capital Region vice through Student Athlete a $5 million student-run endow- was president of Business president of the Graduate Stu- Academic Support Services, ment. He now co-heads a new Horizons, vice president of ad- dent Assembly and volunteers and held two professional student-giving initiative with ministration for the Accounting at activities with the Alumni As- internships. Mills also serves the Virginia Tech Alumni Asso- Society, and serves as control- sociation and Graduate School. as a resident advisor for the ciation. Weissend looks forward ler for the Gamma Lambda Honors Residential College at to studying in China next year chapter of Beta Alpha Psi. East Ambler Johnston. as a Schwarzman Scholar.

SPRING 2017 | 21 PEOPLE

Honors & Awards continued ON THE MOVE COLLEGE AWARDS FACULTY

KEVIN CARLSON has been appointed associ- EXCELLENCE IN INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS ate dean for research and faculty affairs. He had DAVID BRINBERG, professor of marketing, served as head of the Department of Management created and now directs two study-abroad since 2013. He joined Virginia Tech as an assistant programs that have raised a combined professor in 1997. $420,000 for NGOs in South Africa and Kenya. Participation in the programs produces lifelong impact for students, benefits the communities served, and builds ELIZABETH MITCHELL has been appointed as- the international reputation of Pamplin sistant dean of advancement. She has 25 years of and Virginia Tech. Brinberg also won in 2015. comprehensive higher education experience and previously served in senior roles at both the George OUTSTANDING FACULTY Washington University School of Business and the IN DOCTORAL EDUCATION Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University CHRIS ZOBEL, professor of business of Maryland. information technology, has contributed to both the department’s doctoral research DEVI R. GNYAWALI has been appointed head of and teaching efforts. In addition to being the Department of Management. He joined Virginia one of the leaders of the business infor- Tech as an assistant professor in 1997, was promot- mation technology Ph.D. seminar, he has ed to associate professor with tenure in 2003, then chaired or co-chaired five dissertation committees and has to professor in 2010. He was appointed the R.B. published numerous journal articles, conference papers, Pamplin Professor of Management in 2011. and conference presentations.

SVETLANA FILIATREAU has been appointed direc- WARREN L. HOLTZMAN OUTSTANDING EDUCATORS tor of international programs and is the first person JASON DEANE, business information tech- to hold this full-time position at Pamplin. She brings nology associate professor, is in his 10th research expertise in international education and year with the department. While teaching experience working in Ukraine and Canada. She Project Management for the first time this most recently served as manager of Global Learning past year, he made several changes in an Integration at George Mason University. effort to afford students an engaged, experiential, service-based learning experience. GERICA GOODMAN has been appointed Profes- sional MBA program director. Prior to joining JASON MALONE, finance assistant profes- Virginia Tech, she was involved in marketing and sor of practice, teaches eight business law brand development at George Mason University classes a year to more than 800 students. and a number of non-profit organizations. He is developing courses for entrepreneurial initiatives to help students create a legal framework for new ventures.

DANA HANSSON has been promoted from associate director to director of the Evening MBA COLLEGE CERTIFICATES OF TEACHING EXCELLENCE program. She has helped lead the program toward BROOKE BEYER, accounting assistant professor; JASON higher enrollment, improved student qualifica- DEANE, business information technology associate profes- tions, a more engaged student community, and a sor; RICHARD HUNT, management assistant professor; top 10 national ranking. JASON MALONE, finance assistant professor of practice; and JILL SUNDIE, visiting assistant professor of marketing.

22 | VIRGINIA TECH BUSINESS PEOPLE

COLLEGE RESEARCH AWARDS CAREER AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH DOCTORAL SUMMER RESEARCH GRANT PAUL HERR, professor and department head of marketing, has taught and mentored stu- SHAHRAM AMINI, a doctoral student in dents for over 30 years. He has published more finance, for his proposal, “Institutional than 25 peer-reviewed journal articles and Presence and the Underpricing of Initial written papers now considered classics in the Public Offerings.” The project will look field. Herr’s research has been cited more than at the effect of nearby institutional 6,600 times. His H-index of 27 and I-10 index of investors on the underpricing of initial 37 are testament to his impact on the field. His public offerings. contributions to doctoral education have also been recognized at the national level. CHRISTOPHER KWARAMBA, a doctoral student in business information tech- DOCTORAL RESEARCH EXCELLENCE AWARD nology, for his proposal, “Examining the RICHARD GRUSS, a doctoral effect of social media on supply chain student in business informa- disruptions: An empirical study.” He will tion technology, focuses his study how social media can exacerbate research on data analytics and the effect of demand side supply chain text mining. He has two articles disruptions on firms’ market value in the published in A-ranked journals, backdrop of the restaurant industry. two manuscripts under review, and several other manuscripts DANIEL VILLANOVA, a doctoral student in progress. Gruss has devel- in marketing, for his project investigat- oped a highly scalable collaborative tagging system used for text ing what distributional properties con- analytics projects. It has been used by product compliance teams of sumers attend to when they evaluate a two global companies and a national regulator, and holds more than product based on user ratings/reviews. 80 million online consumer reviews and discussions. The grant will help him conduct additional research and enhance the level of OUTSTANDING DOCTORAL DISSERTATION AWARD contribution the work is making. JITENDRA TAYAL (FIN ’16) wrote a three-essay dissertation on financial markets: 1) “Does Idio- YUTONG XIE, a doctoral student in syncratic Volatility Limit Arbitrage? Evidence from finance, for his project proposal that Short Selling,” 2) “Frictionless Short Positions and focuses on the relationship between Asymmetric Risk Premium: Evidence from Future a firm’s future cash flow volatility and Markets,” 3) “Stock Prices Matter.” “He was the best three corporate decisions. The project Ph.D. student that I have mentored…in my more seeks to divide total cash flow variation than two decades at Virginia Tech,” Vijay Singal, pro- measured into downside and upside fessor and department head of finance, wrote in his nomination letter. components.

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