Faculty
Making the Grade
Bauer Welcomes New Tenure and Non-Tenure Track Faculty
It is hard to imagine faculty leaders more diverse and interesting than those joining the C. T. Bauer College of Business in 2020. New faculty range from seasoned academic contributors bringing expertise in topics ranging from health care analytics, FinTech, workplace diversity and supply chain to longtime practitioners of public policy, sports marketing, the arts and energy.
They come from all over the map: Korea, Turkey, Venezuela, Russia, China, India and France, as well as from Houston, Texas, with work experience ranging from Silicon Valley to Mattress Firm. The new and returning teachers will no doubt enhance the well-roundedness and enthusiasm Bauer graduates are known for.
New Faculty: By the Numbers
Tenure Track Faculty Members
Adjunct Faculty Members
Countries
Korea Turkey Venezuela Russia China India France USA Germany Italy
Ravi Aron
Professor, Department of Decision & Information Sciences
Ravi Aron joins the Bauer College as Professor in the Department of Decision & Information Sciences. He previously was Associate Professor at Carey Business School, Johns Hopkins University and has also served as faculty at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Aron’s research focuses on healthcare information systems; emerging technological paradigms, such as machine learning, and their applications in health care and technology-enabled businesses; and strategies in the digital marketplace. He has advised CEOs of several Fortune 1000 firms, as well as policy-making bodies around the world. He was an invited speaker and panel chair at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos in 2005 and 2006.
Aron’s work is widely published in top academic journals such as Management Science, Information Systems Research and The Harvard Business Review, and has been reported by media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Economist and others. He has received grants from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, The Wharton School and many others.
Aron serves on the Editorial Board of Journal of Management Information Systems and has served as a reviewer and Associate Editor at several journals, including, Management Science, Information Systems Research and Organizational Science, among others.
Among his awards:
- Dean’s Faculty Excellence Award, Johns Hopkins University Alumni Association Excellence in Teaching Award, 2016
- Johns Hopkins University Alumni Association Excellence in Teaching Award, 2012
- ISA-INFORMS Best Paper Award finalist, 2012
- Professor of the Year, GMBA Charter Class Award, Carey Business School, 2011
- Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Industry Studies Fellowship Award, 2008
- David Hauck Teaching Excellence Award at The Wharton School, 2004
- MBA Teaching Excellence Award at The Wharton School, 2004
Aron received a Ph.D. in Information Systems and a master’s degree in Business from Stern School of Business, NYU. He received an MBA in Finance from the Indian Institute of Management (Bangalore).
Derek Avery
Chair, Inclusive Leadership Initiative
Professor, Department of Management & Leadership
Bauer’s first Chair of Inclusive Leadership is Derek Reynold Avery, previously the David C. Darnell Presidential Chair in Principled Leadership at Wake Forest University.
Avery joins the Department of Management & Leadership at the Bauer College as a well-respected scholar with extensive expertise in organizational diversity, particularly demographic analyses on the impact of individual differences in the workplace. He has advised numerous organizations on how to create work environments that foster inclusivity, diversity and equity. Avery serves as associate editor for Journal of Business & Psychology, and as an editorial board member and ad hoc reviewer for other respected academic journals.
From 2012 to 2017, Avery held the following positions: Senior Associate Dean of Diversity & Global Initiatives and Sisel Professor of Management at Wake Forest; Professor of Human Resource Management and Seymour L. Wolfbein Senior Research Fellow, Temple University; and Associate Professor of Human Resource Management, Temple.
Avery has also been a faculty member at the University of Alabama, University of Houston, Rutgers University, and St. Joseph’s University.
He has received numerous honors, including the following:
- Academy of Management International HRM Scholarly Research Award, 2019
- Wake Forest School of Business Cowan Faculty Research Award, 2018
- Journal of Organizational Behavior, Best Paper, 2018
- GDO’s Sage Distinguished Scholarly Contributions Award, 2017
- Elected Fellow – Association for Psychological Science, 2015
He received a Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Rice University in 2001, a master’s degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Rice in 1999 and a B.S. in psychology from Tulane University in 1997.
Antonio Gargano
Assistant Professor, Department of Finance
Antonio Gargano joins Bauer College Department of Finance as an Assistant Professor. Gargano’s research interests include Household Finance, FinTech, Information, and Financial Econometrics. He has established academic collaborations with Gimme5 (an Italian FinTech Company), realestate.com.au (the largest real estate listing website in Australia), CLS Group (the largest FX Settlement Institution in the world), S3 Partners (a FinTech and data company in NYC) and TD Ameritrade.
Gargano was previously an Associate Professor of Finance at the University of Melbourne. His research has been published widely in highly respected academic journals, including the Review of Financial Studies, Management Science, and the Journal of Econometrics, and featured by several major news outlets (Reuters, CNBC, and Business Insider and others). Gargano has received several prestigious awards, including the Michael J. Brennan Award for the best paper in the Review of Financial Studies in 2018; and the PanAgora Asset Management Crowell Prize in 2016. He has received research grants from INQUIRE Europe, the Fondecyt Foundation, and the Lusk Center, among others.
Gargano received his Ph.D. in Finance from Bocconi University; a master’s degree from the University of Pisa and a BA in philosophy from the University of Naples Federico II. He also worked as a junior portfolio manager at an asset management company in Italy.
Johannes Habel
Associate Professor, Department of Marketing & Entrepreneurship
Johannes Habel joins the Bauer College as an Associate Professor in the Department of Marketing & Entrepreneurship.
Habel previously was an Associate Professor at the Warwick Business School, United Kingdom; and a Visiting Lecturer at the European School of Management and Technology (ESMT), Berlin. While at ESMT, Habel has also served as Co-Director of the Hidden Champions Institute, as an Associate Professor and Program Director, all roles primarily focused on executive education. He has developed and directed customized executive education programs and open executive education programs for numerous organizations and delivered executive education programs for some of the world’s top business schools, including the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia, Stanford Graduate School of Business at Stanford University and Yale School of Management at Yale University.
Habel’s research interests include personal selling, sales management, and digital transformation of sales and marketing. He is a member of the Editorial Review Board of the Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management and the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science and an ad-hoc reviewer for International Journal of Research in Marketing and Journal of Marketing.
He has received several awards, including three President’s Honor Roll for Teaching Excellence awards for courses taught at ESMT between 2016 and 2018. He received a Best Paper Award from the American Marketing Association in 2013.
Habel has also worked as a management consultant and radio news anchor. He received a Ph.D. in marketing from the University of Bochum, Germany; and a degree in Management from the University of Mannheim, Germany.
Yili (Kevin) Hong
Professor and Bauer Senior Fellow, Department of Decision & Information Sciences
Yili (Kevin) Hong joins Bauer College Department of Decision & Information Sciences as Professor and Bauer Senior Fellow.
Hong’s research interests are in the areas of Digital Platforms, Sharing Economy, Human-AI Interactions, and Smart Health. He is a Senior Editor of Production and Operations Management and an Associate Editor at Information Systems Research (ISR) and the Journal of the Association for Information Systems (JAIS).
Hong’s research has been published in premier journals such as Management Science, ISR, MIS Quarterly, JMIS, JAIS and the JCP. His work has been supported by multiple prestigious grants, including the National Science Foundation (2018-2020), the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (2017-2020), and the NET Institute (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020). According to AIS Research Rankings, Hong is ranked #3 based on publications in the top four Information Systems Journals (MISQ, ISR, JMIS, JAIS) and #7 based on publications in the top two IS journals (MISQ, ISR) for 2016-2018.
Hong formerly was a tenured Associate Professor, Co-Director of the Digital Society Initiative and Director of the Ph.D. Program at the W. P. Carey School of Business of Arizona State University. He was awarded the college-wide W. P. Carey Faculty Research Award (2017), the AIS Early Career Award (2018) and INFORMS Information Systems Society Early Career Award (2019). He was named Best Associate Editor of ISR for editorial contributions in 2018.
Prior to his academic career, Hong worked as an analyst at a leading investment bank and as a language specialist for the International Olympics Committee. Hong obtained his Ph.D. in Management Information Systems at the Fox School of Business, Temple University.
Nina Huang
Associate Professor and Bauer Fellow, Department of Decision & Information Sciences
Nina Huang joins Bauer College as Associate Professor and Bauer Fellow in the Department of Decision & Information Sciences.
Huang’s research focuses on understanding individuals’ usage of information technology (IT) and digital artifacts and how to optimally design IT and digital artifacts in various contexts, such as digital learning, online knowledge exchange, online healthcare, mobile applications, and digital commerce.
Her research utilizes field and online experiments, econometric analyses, and text mining methods to analyze user behaviors and has been published in Management Science, MIS Quarterly, Information Systems Research (ISR), Journal of Management Information Systems, Journal of the Association for Information Systems and Journal of Consumer Psychology. According to the Association of Information Systems (AIS) Research Rankings, Nina’s global top researcher ranking is #11 worldwide (based on publications in ISR and Journal of Management Information Systems).
She formerly was Assistant Professor, Department of Information Systems, at the W. P. Carey School of Business, Arizona State University (ASU) and has received several significant awards and recognitions:
- Nominated for Best Paper at the 2020 INFORMS Annual Meeting, eBusiness Cluster
- Dean’s Early Career Research Award, W. P. Carey School of Business, ASU, 2020/
- Best Reviewer of the Year Award, ISR, 2019
- Outstanding Reviewer of the Year Award, MIS Quarterly, 2019
- Best Paper in Track, International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS), 2017/
- High Achievement Award, Fox School of Business, Temple University, 2017
- Best Paper Nomination, 50th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS), 2017
- CIBER International Business Research Award, Department of Education, 2016
- NET Institute Grant, 2015
Huang was awarded a NET Institute Grant in 2020 and has held several important leadership roles at key conferences and annual meetings in her field.
Huang received her Ph.D. from the Fox School of Business, Temple University. She also holds master’s degrees in Business Research and Advertising from Michigan State University; a BA in English Literature from Huazhong University of Science & Technology; and a BA in Advertising from Wuhan University of Technology.
Bin Li
Assistant Professor, Department of Accountancy & Taxation
Bin Li joins the Bauer College as an Assistant Professor of Accountancy & Taxation. Li previously was Assistant Professor at Price College of Business, University of Oklahoma and Assistant Professor of the University of Texas at Dallas.
Li’s primary research concerns whether and why accounting disclosures, both mandatory and voluntary, affect firm value and investor decisions. He is also interested in research topics related to corporate finance, regulatory enforcement and standard setting. His research has been published in top accounting journals and has received multiple awards, including:
- Notable Contribution to Accounting Literature Award, 2018
- Financial Accounting and Reporting Section Best Paper Award, 2018
- Alley-Rayonier International Business Scholars Fund, University of Oklahoma, 2018
- Best Paper Award, Annual Conference of the Multinational Finance Society, 2016
- AAA New Faculty Consortium Fellow, 2013
- AAA Deloitte/J. Michael Cook Doctoral Consortium Fellow, 2011
Li has been an ad hoc reviewer for many top academic journals, including The Accounting Review, Journal of Accounting & Economics, Review of Accounting Studies, Contemporary Accounting Research, and Management Science.
He received his Ph.D. in Business Administration from Duke University in 2012, a master’s degree in Accounting from Tsinghua University, China, in 2007 and a BA from Renmin University of China, 2005.
Christopher R. Small
Assistant Professor, Department of Accountancy & Taxation
Christopher R. Small, Ph.D., CPA, CGMA joins Bauer College as Assistant Professor in the Department of Accountancy & Taxation.
His research interests include Capital Markets, Financial Reporting, Tax, and Corporate Governance. He is an ad hoc reviewer for Contemporary Accounting Research and Management Science and previously was Assistant Professor of Accounting at the University of Toronto.
Small has received numerous grants and recognition. He was awarded both a prestigious Insight Grant, SSHRC (co-investigator) and a SSHRC Institutional Grant in 2018. He also received a Lee-Chin Family Institute Grant from the University of Toronto in 2018. Small was a Corporate Governance Fellow at Harvard Law School in 2010-2011 and was co-editor of the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation from 2010 to 2017.
Small earned his Ph.D. in Accounting from the University of Iowa, a master’s degree in Management Research from Harvard University and a BA in Accounting from Benedictine College.
Non-Tenure Track Faculty
Bauer College added several non-tenure track faculty to its ranks in Fall 2020, bringing a real-world perspective to the classroom.
Sukran Nilvana Atadeniz
Adjunct Faculty, Department of Decision & Information Sciences
Sukran Nilvana Atadeniz (formerly Kadipasaoglu) is serving as adjunct faculty in the Department of Decision & Information Sciences at the Bauer College. Atadeniz taught at Bauer from 1993 to 2008 and has since served internationally as faculty, as well as in higher administration in several universities (Turkey, Hungary, Finland, Portugal). She also has served as full-time faculty at the University of St. Thomas and Clemson University, SC.
In addition to her extensive academic experience, she has also worked as a supply chain consultant and financial analyst in several industries, including Oil, Gas & Chemicals.
Her research areas include Production Planning and Control, Quality Management, and Supply Chain Management, and her research has been published in several reputable academic and practitioner journals.
Atadeniz is an active participant of the Decision Sciences Institute, a leading professional organization in the field of Operations and Supply Chain Management. She serves on the Board of Directors of the European region of the Decision Sciences Institute and has held numerous executive positions for international supply chain organizations.
Esther Elizabeth Bailey
Adjunct Faculty, Department of Accountancy & Taxation
Esther Elizabeth Bailey joins the Bauer College Department of Accountancy & Taxation as adjunct faculty.
Bailey has worked as Lead Accountant for the Dubai branch of the Khudairi Group and as a Sarbanes-Oxley compliance consultant with Protiviti Consulting. She also was a Program Assistant for Bauer’s SURE™ (Stimulating Urban Renewal through Entrepreneurship) program before entering the Ph.D. program.
Bailey’s research interests are in Rank and File Employee Compensation and Benefits, and Small Business Credit Access. She received a Ph.D. in Accounting from University of California Irvine and a master’s degree in Accounting and BBA from the Bauer College.
Charles Becker
Professor of Practice, Department of Marketing & Entrepreneurship
Charles Becker has been named Professor of Practice in the Bauer College Department of Marketing & Entrepreneurship. As Managing Director of Bauer’s award-winning SURE™ (Stimulating Urban Renewal through Entrepreneurship) program, Becker helps initiate and execute projects for the experiential learning program. He was Assistant Director from 2016 to 2019.
SURE™ has launched or grown more than 500 Houston-area businesses. It has received several awards, most recently an Award of Excellence in Talent + Innovation from the University Economic Development Association and a Higher Education Community Impact Award from Governor Greg Abbott’s office.
Becker received his MBA from Bauer College in 2016 and also received a master’s of Applied Economics from the University of Houston in 2016. He has a B.A. in Economics from Texas A&M University and received a Certificate in Intermediate Mandarin Chinese from Peking University and taught students in China.
In addition to serving as SURE’S Assistant Director, Becker is a rare bookseller on Amazon.
Dom Berta
Adjunct Faculty, Department of Finance
Dom Berta, an energy executive with an extensive background in Decision Making, Economic Analysis and International Negotiation, joins the Bauer College as adjunct faculty in the Department of Finance.
Berta, who will teach MBA students, was Executive Vice President of Reliance Holding until 2019, where he managed unconventional oil and gas assets, technology teams in Houston and Mumbai and was active in divestitures/marketing. He earlier worked for ConocoPhillips in numerous capacities, ranging from corporate planning to Finance Director in Dubai.
Berta attended an executive class on Finance from Harvard University in 1995, carried out post-graduate work in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 1981, and received a master’s degree in Engineering from Ecole Centrale Lille, France in 1978.
Diogo B. Carvalho
Adjunct Faculty, Department of Finance
Diogo B. Carvalho, the Director of Business Development for the Americas for Solomon Associates, joins the Bauer College Department of Finance as adjunct faculty.
Carvalho consults with energy industry companies around the world, providing innovative, problem-solving solutions and digital transformation strategies. Prior to joining Solomon Associates, he worked for Siemens Energy Inc. and the Siemens’ company Chemtech, helping to develop new accounts in Latin America and North America.
He received an MBA from the Brazilian Institute of Capital Markets and an electrical and industrial engineering degree from Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil.
Ashley DeWalt
Lecturer, Department of Marketing & Entrepreneurship
Ashley DeWalt is a leading management consultant with experience in brand strategy and marketing and tech startups. He has worked with some of the most iconic brands, properties, and talent across sports, esports, and higher education, and will teach at the Bauer College as adjunct faculty. DeWalt is the Founder and Managing Partner of LVRG Sports and will teach entrepreneurship classes.
DeWalt has been a trusted consultant to NIKE, Under Armour, Adidas, Houston Outlaws, Texas A&M University, WBC Heavyweight Champion Deontay Wilder, NFL Hall of Famer Ray Lewis, and Emmy Award-Winning NBA on TNT Broadcaster Kenny “The Jet” Smith. His award-winning work has been featured in local media such as the Houston Business Journal, Houston Chronicle, ESPN, Forbes and CBS Sports. He also serves as a startup mentor and adviser to Stadia Ventures, a leading venture capital firm and tech accelerator for sports and esports startups.
DeWalt has been a lecturer at the University of Houston since 2016. He received a master’s degree in Sports Management from Texas A&M University in 2014 and a BBA in Finance from UH-Downtown in 2008.
Klavdia (Claudia) Markelova Evans
Adjunct Faculty, Department of Management & Leadership
Researcher Klavdia (Claudia) Markelova Evans, whose expertise includes corporate governance and socially generated assets and liabilities such as prestige, status, reputation, stigma and disapproval, joins the Bauer College Department of Management & Leadership as adjunct faculty.
Evans earned her Ph.D. from Bauer College in 2016, an MBA from Louisiana State University in 2009, a B.S. degree from Nicholls State University in 2004 and an undergraduate degree in business from Mari-El State Polytechnic University in Russia in 1997.
She has been widely published, including in Cross Cultural and Strategic Management, Journal of Business Strategy and Organizational Dynamics. She has presented extensively in professional conferences throughout the United States, France and Italy. In 2019 she received the Outstanding Research Award from St. Mary’s University’s Greehey School of Business. She was awarded a UH Teaching Excellence Award in 2015. Evens has corporate teaching and training experience at the Original Honey-Baked Ham Co. and Brinker International.
Elena Farah
Adjunct Faculty, Department of Finance
Elena Farah is a policy and public finance expert and social program design strategist. Farah joins the Department of Financ at Bauer College as an adjunct professor, teaching a class on the Global Environment of Business.
Farah draws on her experience in Public Finance, Policy Design and Non-Profit funding to identify solutions to pressing social challenges. She has taught policy design and politics at UH since 2016 and previously was Director of Public Accountability for the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, identifying, evaluating and recommending high-leverage philanthropic investments. Prior to that, she worked as a public finance analyst at Moody’s Investors Service in New York, NY. Her views on public financial sustainability and the nation’s pension challenges have been featured in printed media, blogs and TV programs.
Farah holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from UH, a Master of Public Affairs from the LBJ School of Public Affairs and Master’s degree in Eastern European studies from the University of Texas-Austin.
Alejandro Fernandez
Adjunct Faculty, Department of Decision & Information Sciences
Alejandro Fernandez, a senior executive with extensive experience in the Chemical Distribution and Oil & Gas Industry in Human Resources, Strategy, Planning, and Information Technology joins Bauer as adjunct faculty. He will teach Introduction to Strategic Human Resource Management.
Fernandez is the former Vice President for Human Resources and Communications at Brenntag Latin America, Inc. – Chemical Distribution, a global market leader in chemical and ingredient distribution. He was responsible for policies, practices, and systems that influence employee behaviors, attitudes, and performance across 16 countries in Latin America, leading a team of managers and HR specialists throughout the region. He has also worked as Vice President for Corporate Development and Communications at Brenntag Latin America and has worked in the human resources sector within the oil and gas industry in Venezuela since 1990.
Fernandez received a master’s degree in Management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a master’s degree in Human Resource Management from Cornell University. He received an industrial engineering degree from Andres Bello Catholic University, Venezuela.
Terrence Fontaine
Adjunct Professor, Department of Management & Leadership
Terence Fontaine, Director of Aviation at Texas Southern University (TSU) and President and CEO of Business Operating Solutions, joins the Bauer College as adjunct faculty. Fontaine, a retired Airline Pilot and Pilot Instructor, is a member of the Association of Technology, Management and Applied Engineering Higher Education Accreditation Team and an adjunct professor in the business school at TSU.
He previously was Executive Vice President of the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Deputy Chief of Staff for Mayor Bill White and has served as Chairman, Director or Adviser for numerous Houston-area boards.
Fontaine received an Ed.D from Texas Southern University in 2014 and an MBA from Bauer in 2008.
Rodi Franco
Adjunct Faculty, Department of Marketing & Entrepreneurship
Rodi Franco, the former chief marketing officer at Houston Symphony, the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston, Alley Theatre and Houston Grand Opera, joins the Bauer College Department of Marketing & Entrepreneurship as adjunct faculty.
Franco has previously consulted with the college on curriculum development and was a panelist for the Volunteer Management course at Rice University’s Leadership Institute for Nonprofit Executives. She has been an adjunct instructor at UH Downtown and UH Clear Lake and has taught workshops for the UH Small Business Development Center and to employees of Tenneco, ExxonMobil, Texas Instruments and others.
She received a master’s degree from Rice University, where she is currently enrolled in a post graduate degree program.
Liana Gonzalez
Adjunct Faculty, Department of Marketing & Entrepreneurship
Liana Gonzalez joins the Bauer College as adjunct faculty in the Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship within the Department of Marketing & Entrepreneurship at the Bauer College. Gonzalez is a Program Manager for RED Labs, a co-working and startup accelerator at Bauer.
She co-founded a business through Rice University’s OwlSpark, has worked in retail as a store manager and as a graduate research assistant at Texas A&M University.
Gonzalez earned a B.S. in Political Science from Texas A&M in 2013.
Kristen Gullo
Adjunct Faculty, Department of Marketing & Entrepreneurship
Kristen Gullo, Vice President of Learning and Development for Mattress Firm, returns to the Bauer College Department of Marketing & Entrepreneurship as adjunct faculty.
Gullo leads Mattress Firm’s learning and development initiatives, driving the customer experience through education programs for the company, a $3.5 billion retail operation. She received the 2020 Association for Talent Development BEST Award and has been a guest speaker for Bauer’s MBA programs. Gullo also helped develop curriculum for the Professional Selling Course at Bauer in 2014 and 2015 while serving as adjunct faculty. She received a master’s degree in Family and Child Studies from Texas State University in 2004 and a B.A. in psychology from the University of Texas at San Antonio in 2002.
Taehoon Im
Adjunct Faculty, Department of Management & Leadership
Taehoon Im, a Ph.D. candidate at Rice University-Jesse H. Jones School of Business, joins the Bauer College of Business as adjunct faculty.
Im’s research concerns sustainable business and sustainable development. He is teaching Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility at Bauer and expects to graduate from Rice University with a Ph.D. in Business Administration-Marketing in 2021.
Im studied Political Economy and Development at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and Harvard University-John F. Kennedy School of Government, where he obtained a B.A. with Distinction and an M.P.P. with Distinction, respectively. During his undergraduate studies, he spent two and a half years in Bangladesh as a Korean Peace Corps volunteer, sparking an interest in bottom of the pyramid (BOP). Later, Im worked for Harvard University-Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation as a researcher and for the World Bank as a consultant, where he was involved in research projects on foreign direct investment (FDI) and corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Im has received several prestigious awards from the Mayor of Seoul, Korean Ambassador to Bangladesh, Korean Ambassador to the United States and Speaker of the National Assembly. In 2011, he won the Talent Medal of Korea bestowed by the President of the Republic of Korea.
Robert J. Kelly
Adjunct Faculty, Department of Marketing & Entrepreneurship
The Department of Marketing & Entrepreneurship at the Bauer College welcomes Robert J. Kelly as adjunct faculty. Kelly is a frequent keynote speaker on salesforce effectiveness and founded The Sales Management Association, a global, cross-industry association for sales operations, sales enablement, and sales leadership professions established to advance professional standards and disseminate best practice research. He serves as adjunct faculty at Emory University, teaching sales and business development to MBA students and has spoken at some of the nation’s top business schools, including Harvard, Columbia and Stanford universities.
Kelly formerly was vice president of sales at S.P. Richards Company/Genuine Parts Company, a $2 billion wholesale distributor of business supplies and furniture; Senior Director and Director of Marketing Strategy at Intermedia Communications; and Senior Consultant at The Alexander Group.
He received an MBA from Emory University and a B.A.in English Literature from Washington and Lee University.
Edward J. Kroger, MD, JD, MBA
Adjunct Faculty, Department of Management & Leadership
Edward J. Kroger, MD, JD, MBA, joins the Bauer College as adjunct faculty. Kroger will teach Fundamentals of Healthcare to graduate students and is helping to create a graduate degree in Healthcare Leadership and executive education programming on that topic at the Bauer College. He is the Founder/Managing Partner of Texas Healthcare Consultants and until 2020 was Owner/Managing Partner of Kroger Burrus Nelson, a specialized healthcare law and consulting firm that advised clients including Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s Hospital, CHI Baylor St. Luke’s, Hendrick Medical Center (Abilene) and others.
Kroger also serves as an adjunct professor at Rice University, Jones Graduate School of Business, teaching Strategic Management – Healthcare and other healthcare related topics. He is Director of the school’s Healthcare Certificate Course.
Kroger was recognized as a Texas Super Lawyer and Houston Top Lawyer and was included as the 50 Best and Brightest Executive MBAs in the World 2017 by Poets and Quants. Kroger has been an adviser on Healthcare Business for the Houston Business Journal and a consultant to the Texas State Bar and Texas Medical Association.
Kroger graduated from Baylor University in 1981 and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, completing an Internship in Internal Medicine before taking a three-year leave of absence to attend the University of Texas School of Law. He returned to Houston and finished his residency in 1991 with subsequent Board Certification in Internal Medicine. After making partner at an international health law and medical malpractice litigation firm, he left to found Kroger Burrus Nelson in 1999. Kroger returned to school and earned an MBA from Rice University in 2017.
Yu Li
Adjunct Faculty, Department of Finance
Yu Li, who earned his Ph.D. in Finance at Bauer College in 2018, joins the Department of Finance at the Bauer College as adjunct faculty. Li is a quantitative research analyst for Invesco with expertise in multi-asset allocation, capital market assumption and alternative investments. Li received a master’s degree in mathematics from the State University of New York, Buffalo. He has a B.S. in mathematics from Xiamen University, China.
Joseph Martocchio
Adjunct Faculty, Department of Management & Leadership
Joseph Martocchio, Professor Emeritus at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, (UIUC) joins the Bauer College as adjunct faculty in the Department of Management & Leadership.
Martocchio is a seasoned educator with a distinguished career at the UIUC School of Labor and Employment Relations (LER). His research, focusing on employee compensation and benefits, training and evaluation design, generational dynamics in the workplace, cultural diversity and work withdrawal has been widely published in noted academic journals. Martocchio served as Associate Dean and Interim Dean at LER, was Editor of Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management, Associate Editor of International Journal of Training and Development and led the Human Resource Department of the Academy of Management for several years. He was an elected Fellow of the American Psychological Association; the Employee Benefits Research Institute; and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology.
Martocchio was among the top 5 percent of published authors in Journal of Applied Psychology and Personnel Psychology during the 1990s. He authored several textbooks and received numerous grants and awards over his career.
Martocchio is also an adjunct Instructor at Pennsylvania State University World Campus. He received his Ph.D. and M.L.I.R. from Michigan State University and graduated with High Distinction from Babson College in 1984.
Hiten Mehta
Adjunct Faculty, Department of Finance
Hiten Mehta joins the Department of Finance at the Bauer College as adjunct faculty.
Mehta has extensive joint venture management experience in E&P in the oil and gas field, as well as experience in mergers and acquisitions, business development and contract negotiations. He has worked in India, the U.S., Egypt, Trinidad and the U.K., most recently as a Project Manager for M&A for the BP Corporation North America and as CEO of India Gas Solutions, Mumbai, a joint venture with BP and Reliance Industries. Mehta has worked for various BP companies since 1995.
Mehta earned a law degree from William Howard Taft University; an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin; and an undergraduate degree in chemical plant engineering from the University of Bombay, India.
Andrew Slaughter
Adjunct Faculty, Department of Finance
Andrew Slaughter, the former Executive Director of the Deloitte Research and Insights Center for Energy, Resources and Industrial Products, joins the Bauer College as adjunct faculty. He will teach Energy Value Chain courses.
Until his retirement at the end of 2019, Slaughter was responsible for developing and publishing strategic analysis and decision focused insights for clients in the oil, gas and chemicals industries, the power and utilities sector, renewable energy and the industrial products and construction sector.
Previously, he held the position of Vice President for Energy Research for IHS. In this role, he led the company’s research teams in the areas of oil and gas supply and oil markets, as well as oil and gas company valuation and transaction analysis; and the social and environmental implications of onshore energy and petroleum development activities.
Prior to joining IHS in mid-2012, Slaughter was Business Environment Manager for Shell’s Upstream Americas energy and petroleum business. He had responsibilities for strategic counselling and analysis relative to North American crude oil and natural gas markets, covering short and long-term supply, demand, price and other regional market issues in support of investment planning and business strategy.
Slaughter has been an active participant in a leadership role for recent National Petroleum Council (NPC) studies, undertaken for the U.S. government, including the 2007 NPC study “Facing the Hard Truths About Energy”, and the 2011 study on prudent development of North American oil and gas resources, for which he served as Chair of the Resources and Supply Task Group. He is a member of the Oil and Gas Journal Editorial Advisory Board; serves on the Council of the U.S. Association for Energy Economics; is a peer reviewer for the Journal of Energy Policy; and is a regular contributor to industry forums.
Zin Smati
Adjunct Faculty, Department of Finance
Zin Smati, a senior executive with more than 30 years of U.S. and international energy experience, joins the Bauer College Department of Finance as adjunct faculty.
He is a senior advisor to the private equity industry and was chairman and CEO of LifeEnergy, a portfolio owned company, until its recent sale at the end of 2019. Prior to the private equity industry, he was President and CEO of GDF Suez Energy NA, part of Engie, one of the largest renewable and energy services company in the world. There, and for more than 10 years, he managed Engie’s $10 billion business in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Prior to Engie, he was President and CEO of BP Global Power, part of the BP Group. There he led all gas to power developments worldwide. He started his career in the electricity industry in the United Kingdom. Smati currently serves on corporate and industry trade boards in the U.S. and Canada.
He earned a Ph.D. from Brunel University, U.K.; an MBA from Henley Management College, U.K.; a master’s in Engineering from Nottingham University, U.K.; and B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Sheffield University, U.K.
Alex Tawse
Adjunct Faculty, Department of Management & Leadership
Alex Tawse, Assistant Clinical Professor of Management at Georgia State University, joins Bauer College Department of Management & Leadership as adjunct faculty.
Tawse earned his Ph.D. in Business Strategy and Strategy Implementation at the Bauer College in 2018 and received an MBA from UT Austin in 1996. He graduated with a B.A. in Economics & International Relations from Stanford University in 1990.
He has collaborated with Bauer faculty on numerous academic research papers regarding leadership and strategy implementation, including recently co-authored academic papers published in Business Horizons and Asia Pacific Journal of Management. In 2018, he won the UH Teaching Award for graduate students, as well as a Future Faculty Fellowship Award.
Tawse has more than 20 years of business experience. He served as the CEO of a start-up acquisition company in the oil and gas industry, as an executive and loan consultant for the Kaizen Institute, and as a CPA for Price Waterhouse Coopers in Silicon Valley.
Allison Traylor
Adjunct Faculty, Department of Management & Leadership
Allison Traylor, a doctoral student in Industrial/Organizational Psychology at Rice University, joins the Bauer College as adjunct faculty.
Traylor’s research focuses on teamwork and diversity in organizations and has been published in several respected academic journals. She has received several grants and scholarships: A $375,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for a research project, “When teaming discriminates: A series of studies examining team discrimination by gender in STEM teams and a way forward.” In 2018, she received an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship ($138,000) and in 2017, she received a grant from the Doerr Institute for New Leaders, Rice.
Traylor received a master’s degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Rice in 2019 and expects to receive her doctorate in 2022. She received a B.S. degree in Business Administration & Political Science from Northeastern University, Boston, 2017.
Jerome (Jerry) Witte
Adjunct Faculty, Department of Finance
Jerome (Jerry) Witte joins the Bauer College as adjunct faculty in the Department of Finance. Witte is the Principal and CEO of Qval Property Advisors. He was previously a partner and National Director of Real Estate Advisory Services for Hein & Associates LLP. Prior to that, Witte was the South-Central Region practice leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Witte has extensive experience in valuation and consulting services for institutional grade commercial real estate and in acquisitions, mortgage loan restructuring and asset securitization. He has consulted on numerous international real estate projects and provided forensic accounting services in the U.S. and around the world. Witte holds the MAI, CRE and FRICS designations from globally recognized institutions.
He received a master's degree in Land Economics and Real Estate from Texas A&M University in 1989 and a BS in Agricultural Economics/Finance from A&M in 1987.
