GIROTRA - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor
- Assistant Professor of Finance at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management
Adrian Aycan Corum is an assistant professor of finance at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management. He joined the finance department at Cornell in 2018 after earning his PhD in finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. His research interests are primarily in corporate finance, corporate governance, shareholder activism, and mergers and acquisitions. He has been recognized by various institutions for his research, including Young Scholar Award by Turkish American Scientists and Scholars Association, Hakan Orbay Research Award by Sabancı University, and the first place in Marshall Blume Prizes in Financial Research by The Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research. He also holds an MA in finance from Wharton, and an MS and BS in electronic engineering from Sabancı University, where he graduated with the highest rank.
Job Titles:
- Operational Staff Member
- Professional Advising Staff Member
- Recruiting Manager
- Associate Director, International Advising
Job Titles:
- Executive Director of Marketing
Brian Bessire (he/him/his) is responsible for overseeing the development and execution of omnichannel marketing and communications.
Brian joined the community in September 2019 as an associate director of marketing communications for the SC Johnson College of Business, detailed to the specialized master's programs across the three schools including the MPS programs at Johnson, later taking on his role of executive director of marketing in November 2022. He previously led marketing, analytics, and UX for Ithaca College for 5 years, and prior to that, handled a variety of digital communications roles at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC, helping launch its first national ad campaign. He holds a BS in Communication from Cornell, where he happened to study under a number of former and current business faculty. He has three children in his blended family, and enjoys spending quality time with them, along with making music, traveling, reading, home improvement, and -surprise- spreadsheeting everything in sight.
Job Titles:
- Operational Staff Member
- Corporate Account Manager
Job Titles:
- Operational Staff Member
- Data and Reporting Analyst
Job Titles:
- Finance MBA Program Experience
Students share their experience in the Cornell-Tsinghua Finance MBA program and highlight moments of their residential sessions in New York City and in Ithaca, NY, in this video.
The Cornell-Tsinghua Finance MBA curriculum, which combines theory and practice in 60 credits, is presented in four modules. The core/basic module provides deep insights related to finance, operations, economics, and management. Later in the program, you'll complete modules on entrepreneurship and innovation along with elective courses based strongly in finance. All students participate in and complete a negotiation practicum, Wall Street trek, fintech hackathon, and thesis.
Job Titles:
- Professional Advising Staff Member
- Director, Career Management Center
Job Titles:
- Professional Advising Staff Member
- Associate Director, Consulting
Job Titles:
- Senior Lecturer
- Managing Director and Head of East Coast Banking at Vista Point Advisors
- Senior Lecturer in the Finance
Drew Pascarella is a senior lecturer in the finance area at the SC Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University, where he leads the investment banking immersion. From 2019-2022, Pascarella served as associate dean for MBA programs, where he was responsible for curriculum, admissions, placement, student services, leadership programs and diversity and inclusion initiatives for Johnson's residential MBA programs.
Pascarella founded Johnson's Fintech Intensive, delivered at the Cornell Tech campus each spring. In addition, he has taught core finance, mergers and acquisitions, investment banking essentials, and lectures in finance. He is also heavily involved with executive education initiatives, working with global corporate clients on finance hard skills and Fintech training. He was the 2014 and 2021 recipient of the Class of 1992 Apple Award for Teaching Excellence.
Prior to Johnson, Pascarella spent 15 years working at bulge bracket investment banks. He has advised clients on over $35 billion of merger and acquisition transactions and led equity, convertible and debt financing transactions totaling over $9 billion in proceeds. Most recently, Pascarella was a director in the technology investment banking group at Citi. Notable transactions include the formation of Nokia Siemens Networks, Nokia's $8.1 billion acquisition of NAVTEQ and associated 1.75 billion debt IPO, Andrew Corporation's $2.6 billion sale to Commscope, Lucent's $1.62 billion convertible bond offering and the sale of multiple private businesses to Cisco. While at Citi, Pascarella was an active participant in the Investment Banking Associate Training Program, developing and delivering hard and soft skills courses. Prior to joining Citi, he was a technology project manager at Goldman Sachs, where he led the design, development, implementation and support of global trading technology systems.
In addition to his duties at Johnson, Pascarella is managing director and head of East Coast Banking at Vista Point Advisors. He holds an MBA from Cornell University and a BBA in computer information systems from James Madison University. He was the class co-president and a Fried Fellow at Cornell.
Job Titles:
- Ann Whitney Olin Professor of Management
Elizabeth Mannix is the Ann Whitney Olin Professor of Management at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management. Her research and teaching is focused on the factors that make individuals motivated, high-performing leaders and team members. Specific topics include value-driven leadership, principled negotiation and influence, diversity and inclusion in teams, and leading transformational change.
Mannix's research has been published in in psychology and management journals, including Administrative Science Quarterly, Psychological Science in the Public Interest, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Journal of Applied Psychology, and the Academy of Management Journal. She is the co-editor of the 15-volume book series, Research on Managing Groups and Teams. Her work has been recognized by awards from the Academy of Management, Small Group Research, and the International Association for Conflict Management.
Mannix served as the associate dean for Executive MBA programs at the Johnson School from 2012-2017. She also served as the Director of the Institute for the Social Sciences from 2005-2008, established to promote interdisciplinary research and to increase the university's prominence in the social sciences. Mannix is the recipient of Johnson's inaugural EMBA Globe teaching award, as well as the Faculty Research Award. She is a fellow of the American Psychological Society, the Society for Organizational Behavior, and The Academy of Management.
Job Titles:
- Henrietta Johnson Louis Professor of Management / Senior Director of MBA and MPS Programs
- Professor
- Senior Director of MBA Programs, Professor of Management at the SC Johnson Graduate School of Management
Glen Dowell is the Henrietta Johnson Louis Professor of Management and senior director of MBA and MPS Programs at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University. He researches in the area of corporate sustainability, with a focus on firm environmental performance. Recent projects have investigated the effect of local demographic factors on changes in pollution levels, the role of corporate merger and acquisition in facilitating changes in facility environmental performance, and the relative influence of financial return and disruption on commercial adoption of energy savings initiatives.
Dowell's research has been published in Management Science, Organization Studies, Advances in Strategic Management, Strategic Management Journal, Organization Science, Journal of Management, Industrial and Corporate Change, Journal of Business Ethics, and Administrative Science Quarterly. He is co-editor of Strategic Organization, is on the editorial boards of Strategic Management Journal and Administrative Science Quarterly, and represents Cornell on the board of the Alliance for Research in Corporate Sustainability (ARCS). He also served as division chair for the Organizations and Natural Environment Division at the Academy of Management (2018).
Dowell teaches Sustainable Global Enterprise and Critical and Strategic Thinking. He is a faculty affiliate for the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise and is a faculty fellow at the Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future.
Job Titles:
- Director of Career Development, Executive MBA Programs and Alumni ( NYC )
Job Titles:
- Professional Advising Staff Member
- Contract Advisor
Lauren Wilcox joined the SC Johnson College of Business team in 2021 as the assistant dean for development. With over 20 years' experience building relationships with key stakeholders, Lauren enjoys working with people to fulfill their philanthropic goals and passion for higher education.
Prior to Cornell she led the development office in the School of Journalism and Communication at the University of Oregon and oversaw fundraising to achieve the school's campaign goal of $35 million as part of the university's $3 billion capital campaign.
Lauren also served as the Senior Director of Development for the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of Florida. At the University of Florida, Lauren assisted in raising $32.3 million for the College of Law as part of the university's $1.7 billion capital campaign.
Lauren earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications with a focus in public relations. She lives in Ithaca with her partner, Mike, and their dog Toby.
Murillo Campello is the Lewis H. Durland Professor of Management and professor of finance at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management. An internationally recognized scholar of financial economics, Campello's papers have dealt with such issues as the impact of market imperfections on companies, the limits of the firm, product markets, corporate capital structure, monetary policy transmission, financial crises, the economic implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, and econometrics. His work has been cited by prominent policy authorities, such as the Federal Reserve chairman, mentioned in Congressional hearings, described in the Economic Report of the President, and used to advise the US Supreme Court.
Campello has published extensively in top finance journals and has served as an associate editor at several leading outlets. He is currently the managing editor of The Journal of Financial Intermediation. He has received the Rising Star award and has been named Distinguished Referee by The Review of Financial Studies twice for his referee work. His papers were nominated twice for the distinguished Brattle Prize of the Journal of Finance, and received the Goldman Sachs Best Paper award by The Review of Finance.
He is a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research. He earned a PhD in finance from the University of Illinois in 2000, an MS in business administration from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro in 1995, and a BS in economics from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in 1991.
Job Titles:
- Operational Staff Member
- Corporate Account Manager
Job Titles:
- Associate Director
- Executive
Job Titles:
- Executive Director of Finance
Liz Kosalek, Executive Director of Finance, is responsible for overseeing the overall financials of the SC Johnson College of Business with a budget of $300+ million, including Johnson School, Nolan School, Dyson School, Statler Hotel and college central departments.
Liz is a New York State licensed CPA and earned her BS in Management and MS in Accounting from Syracuse University (Go Orange!) Liz began her career at Ernst & Young in NYC, then held various corporate finance positions at McCann Erickson WorldGroup and The New York Times. Just prior to joining Cornell in 2016 as The Statler Hotel Controller, Liz was the CFO of Greek Peak Mountain Resort.
Liz is originally from the Elmira/Horseheads area and made her way back home after time in New York City, San Francisco and central New York. She currently lives with her airline pilot husband and fur-baby in Horseheads. They enjoy summers relaxing at Keuka Lake and spending time with family and friends.
Job Titles:
- Associate Dean for NYC Initiatives, Senior Director of MBA Programs, Professor of Marketing at the SC Johnson Graduate School of Management
- Nakashimato Professor of Marketing and Associate
- Nakashimato Professor of Marketing, Associate
- Professor
- Senior Director of EMBA and MSBA Programs
Manoj Thomas is the Nakashimato Professor of Marketing and Associate Dean of NYC Iniatives. Thomas is a behavioral scientist who trains MBA students and executives to be customer-centric leaders and encourages them to build meaningful and purposeful connections with customers. His lectures on consumer insights are available online through eCornell's certificate program on Consumer Behavior. Thomas has received the Apple Award and the Stephen Russell Family Teaching Award for excellence in teaching.
An expert in numerical cognition and behavioral pricing, Thomas studies the psychological underpinnings of consumers' purchasing decisions. His research characterizes interesting phenomena such as the left-digit effect and the price precision effect, illustrating how subtle numerical cues can impact consumer behavior. Additionally, his recent work examines the role of moral considerations in shopping choices, offering insights into the complex interplay between morality and economics in consumer behavior. Through his studies, Thomas provides a deeper understanding of consumer behavior.
He is the co-author of the book Why People (Don't) Buy: GO and STOP Signals. He is associate editor for the Journal of Consumer Research and was previously associate editor for the Journal of Marketing Research.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Cornell Tech Career Management Team
- Senior Director, Career Management at Cornell Tech
Job Titles:
- Professional Advising Staff Member
- Associate Director, Marketing, General Management, & Corporate Financ
Job Titles:
- Professional Advising Staff Member
- Associate Director, Tech
Job Titles:
- Professional Advising Staff Member
- Associate Director, Sustainable Global Enterpris
Job Titles:
- Executive Director of MBA Programs
Nicole Pellegrino is the Executive Director of MBA Programs, overseeing the offices of Admissions, Financial Aid, the Registrar, Student Services, and Student Activities and Special Events. Nicole has been at Johnson for 5 years, and a higher education administrator for 17 years. Nicole has a BA in Psychology from Wells College and a MA in Higher Education Administration from Boston College. In her rare free time she enjoys spending time with her son and their adorable puppy and traveling. So far, Nicole has visited 47 US states and has plans to visit the remaining 3 very soon.
Job Titles:
- Senior Associate Director, Executive
Job Titles:
- Administrative Assistant
- Operational Staff Member
Job Titles:
- Member of the Cornell Tech Career Management Team
- Assistant Director, Career Management at Cornell Tech
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors of SmithBucklin Corporation
- Professor of Practice
- Professor of Practice of Management at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management
Risa Mish is professor of practice of management at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University. She created, and teaches, the MBA, Executive MBA, and Cornell-Tsinghua Core courses in Critical and Strategic Thinking; has taught elective courses in leadership and influence; and was the founding faculty director of the Johnson Leadership Fellows program.
Mish is the inaugural recipient of the Provost Award for Teaching Excellence in Graduate and Professional Degree Programs, created by Cornell to "recognize excellence in teaching among faculty who teach primarily at the professional school and/or graduate program level". She has also received the MBA and Accelerated MBA Core Faculty Teaching Awards, selected by classes to honor the teacher who "best fosters learning through lecture, discussion and course work in the required core curriculum"; the Apple Award for Teaching Excellence, selected by the MBA graduating class to honor a faculty member who "exemplifies outstanding leadership and enduring educational influence"; the Best Teacher Award, selected by the graduating class of the Cornell-Tsinghua dual degree MBA/FMBA program offered by Johnson at Cornell and the PBC School of Finance at Tsinghua University to recognize "a faculty member whose teaching was the best in the classroom"; the Stephen Russell Distinguished Teaching Award, selected by the five-year MBA reunion class to honor a faculty member whose "teaching and example have continued to influence graduates five years into their post-MBA careers"; the Globe Award for Teaching Excellence, selected by the Executive MBA graduating class to honor a faculty member who "demonstrates a command of subject matter and also possesses the creativity, dedication, and enthusiasm essential to meet the unique challenges of an EMBA education"; and the Star Award for Teaching Excellence, selected by the Executive MBA Americas graduating class to honor the faculty member whose "exceptional performance made the most significant contribution to the student learning experience".
Mish serves as a keynote speaker and workshop leader at global, national, and regional conferences for corporations and trade associations in the consumer products, financial services, health care, high tech, media, and manufacturing industries, on a variety of topics, including critical thinking and problem solving, persuasion and influence, and motivating optimal employee performance.
Before returning to Cornell, Mish was a partner in the New York City law firm of Collazo Carling & Mish LLP (now Collazo Florentino & Keil LLP), where she represented management clients on a wide range of labor and employment law matters, including defense of employment discrimination claims in federal and state courts and administrative agencies, and in labor arbitrations and negotiations under collective bargaining agreements. Prior to CC&M, Mish was a labor and employment law associate with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in New York City, where she represented Fortune 500 clients in the financial services, consumer products, and manufacturing industries. She is admitted to practice before the US Supreme Court and state and federal courts in New York and Massachusetts.
Mish is a member of the board of directors of SmithBucklin Corporation, the world's largest trade association management company, headquartered in Chicago. She formerly served on the board of directors of TheraCare, Inc., headquartered in New York City, as a trustee of the Tompkins County Public Library, vice chair of the board of directors of the Community Foundation of Tompkins County, and member of the board of directors of the United Way of Tompkins County.
Bloomfield served as director of the Financial Accounting Standards Research Initiative, an activity of the Financial Accounting Standards Board, and is currently editor of a special issue of Journal of Accounting Research dedicated to Registered Reports of Empirical Research. He recently assumed editorship of Journal of Financial Reporting, which is pioneering an innovative editorial process intended to broaden the range of research methods used in accounting, improving the quality of research execution, and encouraging honest reporting of findings.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director
- Executive Director of Cornell EMBA Programs
Sara Lynn Ianni, Executive Director of EMBA Programs, oversees admissions and delivery of our three Executive MBA Programs: EMBA Americas, EMBA Metro NY, and EMBA/MS in Healthcare Leadership.
Sara Lynn joined Johnson in 2019, as the Senior Director of Admissions for the NYC based EMBA programs where she spearheaded the recruitment efforts that brough in the first cohorts to the Cornell Tech campus, marking a significant milestone in the programs' histories. More recently she served as the Program Director for EMBA Metro NY
Prior to joining Johnson, Sara Lynn spent 8 years working with the Executive MBA programs at NYU Stern School of Business where she served on the Admissions Committee and was a key contributor to the accreditation and launch of NYU's EMBA Washinton, D.C. program. She is passionate about access and equity in higher education having also worked with UPenn's Trio Upward Bound Program. She is an active member of the global Executive MBA Council (EMBAC) where she served on the conference planning committee in Madrid, Spain and currently serves on the Membership Committee.
Sara Lynn has a BA in Music from SUNY at Buffalo and a MS in Higher Education from the University of Pennsylvania. Outside of her professional pursuits, Sara Lynn finds joy in her Astoria, NY neighborhood, exploring the vibrant culture of NYC and spending time with family and friends.
Stephen Sauer is a dedicated scholar and educator whose research and teaching interests revolve around leadership, team dynamics, entrepreneurship, and diversity in management. His work has been published in a number of academic journals including Leadership Quarterly, Organization Science, Journal of Applied Psychology, and Human Resource Management. His research has also been featured in a variety of mainstream media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, Forbes.com, and USA Today, among others.
Sauer's teaching experience includes courses in leadership, strategy, negotiations, and organizational behavior at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, and he has extensive experience leading executive education workshops and seminars for a number of major corporations. He is also an entrepreneur in residence at Cornell's Center for Regional Economic Advancement and Rev: Ithaca Startup Works and is a member of the teaching team for the NSF Innovation Corps national program.
Sauer earned his PhD in management, along with an MBA and a master's in business and policy administration, all from Cornell University. He also holds a bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Before transitioning to academia, he gained valuable experience as an organizational change consultant and plant manager, following seven years of service as an armored cavalry officer in the US Army.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Business Incubator Association of New York State
- Executive Director of the Center for Regional Economic Advancement
- Visiting Lecturer / David J. BenDaniel Faculty Advisor for the BR Ventures Fund
Tom Schryver teaches entrepreneurship and venture capital at Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, where he serves as the David J. BenDaniel Faculty Advisor for BR Ventures. An entrepreneur and angel investor who has served as a startup founder and senior executive of high-growth companies, Schryver has structured new companies and raised capital in the form of private venture capital and venture debt, as well as grants and loans from local, state, and federal agencies. Previously, he was an investment banker and institutional investor, leading a private family foundation to top-quartile investment returns.
In addition to teaching at Johnson, Schryver serves as the executive director of the Center for Regional Economic Advancement (CREA), part of Cornell's Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation. In that role, he directs the National Science Foundation-funded IN I-Corps Hub and is the Hub's lead instructor and serves on the NSF I-Corps Hub Council. At CREA, he oversees a portfolio of programs that help people start and grow new businesses, including the IN I-Corps Hub, Rev: Ithaca Startup Works and the Southern Tier Startup Alliance; and Grow-NY, Empire State Development's $1M food and ag innovation competition.
Schryver serves as chair of the Business Incubator Association of New York State, on the boards of Tompkins County Area Development, Britnell Ventures, Fig Medical, and sits on the Southern Tier Regional Economic Development Council, where he co-chairs its innovation working group.
Schryver has an AB from Cornell University and an MBA from the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, where he was a recipient of the Albert J. Fried Fellowship for Leadership and Academic Excellence. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).
Job Titles:
- Operational Staff Member
- Program Assistant
Job Titles:
- Anne and Elmer Lindseth Dean of the Johnson Graduate School of Management
- Anne and Elmer Lindseth Dean, Emerson Professor of Manufacturing Management at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management
- Professor
Vishal Gaur is the Anne and Elmer Lindseth Dean and Emerson Professor of Manufacturing Management at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management in the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business. Gaur earned his PhD from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania (2001), MBA from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (1995), and BTech in Computer Science and Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (1993).
As associate dean for MBA programs from 2014 to 2019, Gaur launched the Digital Technology Immersion, in which MBA candidates and students earning their MPS in data science or applied statistics develop skills in coding, databases, and advanced analytics, and learn to leverage them to tackle challenges faced by leading companies.
He also created the Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) program offered through eCornell, which provides working professionals a hands-on opportunity to learn about data analytics tools essential to analyzing and optimizing business decisions.
Gaur's research focuses on data-driven analysis of problems in supply chains, retailing, e-commerce, and marketplace operations, and his work was recognized with the Wickham Skinner Early Career Research Accomplishments Award from the Production and Operations Management Society in 2006. He created a method for benchmarking the inventory turnover performance of firms, and his current projects involve the reduction of food waste and supply chain risk.
Gaur is the 2022 recipient of the Class of 1992 Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching, the 2020 recipient of the Stephen Russell Distinguished Teaching Award, and a three-time winner of the Johnson School's Core Faculty Award. Well-known among students for the care and attention he gives to his teaching, he currently teaches the Semester in Strategic Operations MBA immersion course, where students go on site visits and work on client projects in topics such as industry 4.0, traceability, and sales and operations planning.
Job Titles:
- Career Research Accomplishments Award ( 2006 ) POMS