Class of 2022: Meet the Foster School’s new tenure-track faculty

The Foster School of Business welcomed seven new tenured or tenure-track faculty this year. Some are proven stars, others are newcomers with enormous promise. Here’s a closer look.

Wanning Chen
Assistant Professor of Information Systems

Education
PhD (operations, information and technology), Stanford University, 2022
BA (mathematics), Pomona College, 2016

Expertise
Learning and decision-making in high-dimensional statistics; matrix-shaped data; sequential decision-making; synthetic control experimental design; causal inference

Most insightful research discovery: “Leveraging hidden structures in data can help us learn about the underrepresented groups better, while improving the overall learning accuracy for all groups.”

Accolades
Pomona College Scholar, 2016
Pomona Award and Prize for Math Majors, Pomona College, 2013 

Teaching at Foster
Database management 

Extracurricular
If not a business professor, I would be: a data scientist
Something surprising about me: I was very afraid of animals but now I have a ragdoll cat.
When not at work, I enjoy: listening to classical music/exercising
Favorite book: many self-help/psychology books
Favorite movie: Soul and La La Land
Favorite television series: Friends
Favorite podcast: Economist series
Favorite technology/gadgets: massage chair and robot vacuum
Top of my bucket list: traveling to many places


German Gutierrez
Assistant Professor of Finance

Education
PhD (finance), New York University, 2022
M.Eng. (operations research and engineering), Cornell University, 2010
BS (operations research and engineering), Cornell University, 2010

Experience
Principal/Consultant, Oliver Wyman, 2010-2015

Expertise
Industrial organization; macroeconomics; finance

Most insightful research discovery: “Increases in lobbying, poor regulatory oversight and weak antitrust enforcement have led to higher prices in the United States compared to Europe—a complete reversal from prior trends.”

Accolades
BU Platforms Symposium, Best paper award, Runner-up, 2022
Yuki Arai Prize, NYU Stern School, 2019
Fubon Center Doctoral Fellowship, NYU Stern School, 2019
Where’s the BOOM Award (best student project in digital technology), Cornell University, 2010 

Teaching at Foster
Competing in the Global Economy 

Extracurricular
If not a business professor, I would be: a management consultant
Something surprising about me: I regularly do silent meditation retreats.
When not at work, I enjoy: hiking, surfing, cooking
Favorite book: The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt
Favorite movie: Roma by Alfonso Cuaron
Favorite television/streaming series: The Wire
Favorite podcast: The Ezra Klein Show
Favorite technology/gadget: reMarkable tablet
Favorite company: Costco
Top of my bucket list: Do one last backpacking trip

Mana Heshmati
Assistant Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship

Education
PhD (strategy), University of Michigan, 2022
MBA (management), Indiana University, 2015
MS (supply chain management) Indiana University, 2015
BS (mechanical engineering), Carnegie Mellon University, 2011

Experience
Product Planner/Product Development Engineer, Ford Motor Company, 2011-2017
Founder and Owner, Peace Meal Kitchen, 2016-2017

Expertise
Managerial cognition; strategic decision making; technological innovations

Most insightful research discovery: “After taking an MBA strategy course, students become more confident in their opinions when making strategic decisions while simultaneously becoming more aware of the uncertainty inherent to strategy decisions. Additionally, students who experience the biggest change in their decision making tend to be those with less prior business exposure (i.e., women and engineers).”

Accolades
Gilbert and Ruth Whitaker Fellowship, University of Michigan, 2022
Outstanding Reviewer Award, Academy of Management, Strategy Division, 2021
W.A. Spivey/Valerie and W. Hall Award for Academic and Research Excellence, University of Michigan, 2020
Rackham Merit Fellowship, University of Michigan, 2017-2022

Teaching at Foster
Strategic Management

Academic Service (select)
President, PhD Forum, University of Michigan Ross School of Business, 2021-2022
Founder/Coordinator, Strategy/M&O Anti-Racist Reading Group, Michigan Ross, 2020-2022
Co-Coordinator, Strategy Doctoral Student Research Seminar, Michigan Ross, 2018-2019
Reviewer, Organization Science, Strategic Management Society Annual Conference, Academy of Management Annual Meeting

Extracurricular
If not a business professor, I would be: An entrepreneur – most likely would have scaled a food business that I started before my PhD.
Something surprising about me: I have lived in 10 different cities. I also rode a motorcycle for 7 years.
When not at work, I enjoy: Spending time outdoors with my family; traveling and trying new food (cooking & visiting new restaurants)
Favorite book: recent favorites are Anxious People and The Midnight Library
Favorite movie: Hidden Figures
Favorite television/streaming series: Stranger Things, Veronica Mars
Favorite technology/gadget: Kindle
Favorite company: Trader Joe’s
Top of my bucket list: Travel more of the world. So far, I’ve been to 22 different countries across 3 continents.

Charles Lee
Kermit O. Hanson Professor of Accounting

Education
PhD (accounting), Cornell University, 1990
MBA, Cornell University, 1989
Certificate in Bible Studies, Ontario Theological Seminary, 1986
B.Math, University of Waterloo, 1981

Experience
Moghadam Family Professor Emeritus, Stanford University GSB, 2022-present
Moghadam Family Professor of Accounting, Stanford University GSB, 2015-2021
Joseph McDonald Professor of Accounting, Stanford University GSB, 2009-2015
Co-founder and General Partner, Nipun Capital, LP, 2011-2017
Managing director, Barclays Global Investors (now Blackrock), 2004-2008
Co-Chair of Accounting Department, Peking University, Guanghua School of Management, 2003-2012
Henrietta Johnson Louis Professor of Management, Cornell University, 1998-2007
Director, Parker Center for Investment Research, Cornell University, 1997-2004
Associate Professor of Accounting and Finance, Cornell University, 1996-1997
Visiting Research Economist, New York Stock Exchange, 1995-1996
Assistant/Associate Professor of Accounting, University of Michigan, 1990-1996
Senior Manager, National Research Department, KPMG, 1982-1985

Expertise
Behavioral finance; market microstructure; equity valuation; financial analysis; quantitative investing; security market regulation
Most insightful research discovery: “People who really respect market efficiency do not assume it; they study it.”

Accolades (select)
Henry Lyman Hooker Distinguished Visiting Professor, McMaster University, 2021
Keynote Speaker, JIAR Annual Meeting, 2021
Best Paper Award, AAA Spark Conference, Western Regional, 2021
Roger F. Murray Prize, Q Group, 2018
Teaching Excellence Awards, Stanford Graduate School of Business, 2017 (MBA Program), 2013 (PhD Program), 2011, 2012 (MSx Program)
Innovation in Financial Accounting Education Award, American Accounting Association, 2017
Presidential Scholar (and Plenary Speaker), American Accounting Association, 2015
Asian American Faculty Award, Stanford University, 2014
Faculty of Mathematics Alumni Achievement Medal, University of Waterloo, 2014
Best Paper Award, China Accounting and Finance Review, 2014
Notable Contribution to Accounting Literature Prize, American Accounting Association, 2003
Moskowitz Prize for Best Quantitative Study of Socially Responsible Investing, 2003
Russell Distinguished Teaching Award, Cornell University Johnson School, 2002
Faculty Award for Research Excellence, Cornell University Johnson School, 2001
AIMR Graham and Dodd Award of Excellence in Financial Writing, 1999
Award for Teaching Excellence, Michigan Ross, 1995 (PhD Program), 1994 (MBA Program)

Academic Service (select)
Distinguished Lecturer, AAA New Faculty Consortium, 11x from 1998-2022
Faculty Member, University Advisory Board, Stanford University, 2018-2021
Co-Editor, Review of Accounting Studies, 1996-2006
Co-Editor, The Accounting Review, 2011-2014
Associate-Editor, Journal of Finance, 2000-2003; Journal of Accounting and Economics, 2000-2006; Management Science (Finance), 2009-2011; Financial Analysts Journal, 1999-2008
Editorial Board, Journal of Accounting Research, 2001-2003

Teaching at Foster
Alphanomics: Active Investing in Equity Markets (MBA elective)
Market Efficiency and Informational Arbitrage (doctoral research seminar)

Extracurricular
If not a business professor, I would be: Probably a small-town pastor
Something surprising about me: I was one of the seven “legendary” professors profiled in the 2021 book, Seven Essentials for Business Success: Lessons from Legendary Professors, by George Siedel
When not at work, I enjoy: fly fishing, GSW basketball, and photography
Favorite book: Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis
Favorite movie: Forrest Gump
Favorite television/streaming series: Queen’s Gambit
Favorite podcast: Timothy Keller
Favorite technology/gadget: YouTube videos on fly tying
Favorite company: Google
Top of my bucket list: Becoming a grandpa (expected to happen in 2023)

Ye Li
Assistant Professor of Finance
William W. Alberts Endowed Professor

Education
PhD (finance and economics), Columbia University, 2017
M.Sc. (finance and economics), London School of Economics, 2011
B.Econ., Zhejiang University, 2010

Experience
Assistant Professor of Finance, The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business, 2018-2022
Investment Banking Analyst, Credit Suisse (London and Hong Kong), 2011-2012

Expertise
Financial intermediation and the macroeconomy; payment systems, digital currency and platforms; asset pricing

Most insightful research discovery: “The rise of investment in illiquid intangibles stimulates precautionary savings in the production sector that feed funding and leverage to financial intermediaries and can cause financial instability.”

Accolades (select)
Wharton Research Data Services Prize in Financial Institutions, MFA, 2022
Lamfalussy Research Fellowship, European Central Bank, 2021
Don Shackleford Fellowship, Ohio State (Fisher), 2020-2022
Charles A. Dice Center Fellowship, Ohio State (Fisher), 2018-2022
Pace Setter Faculty Research Award, Ohio State (Fisher), 2021
Bhattacharya Memorial Prize, European Winter Finance Summit, 2018
Best Paper Award, Paris December Finance Meeting, 2018
Best Paper Award, CME (Emerging Trends in Entrepreneurial Finance), 2018
AAM-CAMRI-CFA Institute Prize in Asset Management, 2018

Academic Service (select)
Referee of more than a dozen academic journals, including Econometrica, Journal of Finance, and Review of Economic Studies
Program Committee Member and Reviewer of numerous organizations, including the American Finance Association and the National Science Foundation 

Teaching at Foster
Business Finance

Extracurricular
If not a business professor, I would be: a professional traveler
Something surprising about me: I spend a lot of time on anthropology
When not at work, I enjoy: watching movies
Favorite book: The House of Morgan
Favorite movie: Everything Everywhere All At Once
Favorite television/streaming series: The Sopranos
Favorite podcast: Masters in Business
Favorite technology/gadget: AirPods
Top of my bucket list: Sailing

Amandeep Singh
Assistant Professor of Information Systems

Education
PhD (managerial science and applied economics), The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, 2022
MS (operations research), Columbia University, 2015
B.Tech (computer science and engineering), Indian Institute of Technology, 2012

Experience
Associate Trader/Strategist, Goldman Sachs (New York), 2016
Quantitative Analyst, Tower Research Capital (New York and India), 2014

Expertise
Digital platforms; marketplace analytics; causal learning; empirical industrial organization; econometrics

Most insightful research discovery: “Traditional econometric models and frameworks are not capable of conducting inference in high-dimensional endogenous settings. I develop a flexible framework to conduct inference and estimation for causal effects in endogenous settings with unstructured data.”

Accolades
Best Student Paper Award (honorable mention), College of Supply Chain Management, 2021
Best Student Paper Award (finalist), INFORMS Service Science, 2021
Best Student Paper Award, POMS Product Innovation and Technology, 2020

Academic Service
Reviewer, Management Science
Program Committee Member, Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS)
Program Committee Member, Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI)
Co-Organizer, Wharton Innovation Doctoral Symposium, The Wharton School, 2019 

Teaching at Foster
Business Analytics/AI for Business 

Extracurricular
If not a business professor, I would be: Quantitative Trader
Something surprising about me: I’m learning to fly airplanes.
When not at work, I enjoy: Flying
Favorite book: The Adventures of Tinin
Favorite movie: Interstellar
Favorite television series: right now, Broad City
Favorite podcast: Crime Junkie
Favorite technology/gadget: My crypto mining rig
Favorite company: Revire (my own)
Top of my bucket list: Sail across Caribbean

Shawn Shi
Assistant Professor of Accounting

Education
PhD (business administration), Stanford University Graduate School of Business, 2022
BA (mathematics-statistics, economics), Columbia University, 2015

Experience
Analyst, NERA Economic Consulting, 2015-2017

Expertise
The role of information and transparency in capital markets and corporate governance settings.

Most insightful research discovery: “Against the common perception that transparency is unambiguously good, my coauthors and I show that increased dissemination of corporate disclosures could discourage private information production by sophisticated investors and hurt corporate investment efficiency.”

Teaching at Foster
Introduction to Accounting and Financial Reporting
Accounting for Problem Solving 

Extracurricular
If not a business professor, I would be: a talent manager
Something surprising about me: I once majored in Classics.
When not at work, I enjoy: functional fitness, running, traveling, and spending quality time with friends and family
Favorite book: Symposium by Plato
Favorite movie: Interstellar
Favorite television/streaming series: White Collar
Favorite podcast: I don’t really listen to podcasts much, but I can play Max Richter’s Sleep nonstop.
Favorite technology/gadget: AirPods
Favorite company: Apple
Top of my bucket list: master a handstand

Leave a Reply