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Fordham University Business Fall 2022

ESG Doing Busines with Purpose typography
Fall 2022
from the office
of the dean
Picture of Lerzan Aksoy

Periods of change often precede moments of great progress.

In New York City, which is continually evolving, this is an axiom we see proven time and time again — from the challenges we’ve faced in the global spotlight to the wealth of social and economic activity we are experiencing in the current post-pandemic environment. It’s also a theme that is woven through the challenges and triumphs of the industries we serve and the lives and careers of the students we educate.

When I was appointed interim dean of the Gabelli School of Business in July, I was humbled and honored, yet deeply excited, to serve an educational institution that is so passionately committed to preparing the next generation of leaders and innovators for the changes occurring now and for those that lie ahead.

It is that same commitment to progress and to promoting the concept of “business with purpose” that has intrigued me most during my 14-year tenure at the Gabelli School. It has served as the underpinning for all that we do — from addressing the pressing issues of climate change to ensuring an uncompromised level of social and corporate responsibility.

Contents

Fordham Business / Volume 23 / Fall 2022
features
group of students on their laptops doing homework together in a classroom
Fordham Foundry Celebrates 10th Anniversary

In the past decade, Fordhamʼs hub for entrepreneurship has assisted 4,500 students, alumni, and faculty University-wide in shaping new business ideas. Many have grown into profitable, even multimillion-dollar ventures, often fueled by winnings from the Foundry’s business competitions and Angel Fund.
green cubed shape blocks stacked creating upward arrows
ESG: Doing Business with Purpose
Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) standards are transforming the business landscape in a global push to preserve the environment, address social ills, and make the world a better place. ESG was woven deeply into business education at the Gabelli School long before the acronym became popular in corporate boardrooms. Read about the latest ESG-related programs, initiatives, and additions to the curricula designed to educate the next generation of global business leaders and alumni who
are changing the world.
green cubed shape blocks stacked creating upward arrows
ESG: Doing Business with Purpose
Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) standards are transforming the business landscape in a global push to preserve the environment, address social ills, and make the world a better place. ESG was woven deeply into business education at the Gabelli School long before the acronym became popular in corporate boardrooms. Read about the latest ESG-related programs, initiatives, and additions to the curricula designed to educate the next generation of global business leaders and alumni who
are changing the world.

Quotables

“There’s a lot of entrepreneurial energy in the Fordham ecosystem.”
— Al Bartosic , BS ʼ84, Executive Director, Fordham Foundry
“Creating that hands-on entrepreneurial mindset among teens is the best hope for significant improvement in areas challenged by poverty and job access.
– Dennis Hanno, PhD, founder of IDEA4Africa
“Today’s journalists are coding, programming, running analytics, and developing apps. These news nerds are industry professionals working in jobs at the intersection of traditional journalism and technologically intensive positions that were once very separate.”
— Allie Kosterich, PhD, on her book, News Nerds: Institutional Change in Journalism
I want to leave the world a better place.”
— Jeannette Ferran Astorga, BS ’96, Executive Vice President, Zoetis
$350K typography
The amount the Fordham Foundry has awarded winning entrepreneurs through business competitions and the Angel Fund
illustration of an open book, above it floats a trophy, a grad cap and a diploma
Consumers between the ages of 17 and 38 are twice as likely to consider a company’s work on ESG-related issues when spending money.
— 2021 PwC report
illustration of a man and women looking over and tending a large Earth shaped plant lightbulb

92 percent

Number of S&P 500 companies that produced a sustainability report in 2020 — up from 20% in 2011
— Governance and Accountability Institute
News

Executive MBA Program Ranked #10 in US

Poets&Quants recently ranked the Gabelli School’s Executive MBA program #10 in its 2022-2023 composite ranking of the best Executive MBA (EMBA) programs in the U.S. , an increase from its #20 ranking the previous year.

The Poets&Quants EMBA ranking is a composite based on a school’s performance of its U.S.-based programs in the three major EMBA rankings: U.S. News & World Report, Financial Times, and The Economist. Each is centered on different methodologies, and Poets&Quants gives equal credit to all.

Keynote with Fordham President
Tania Tetlow Opened Women’s Summit

portrait of Tania Tetlow, standing in a hallway, wearing a dress and smiling; Fordham Women's Summit: Philanthropy, Empowerment, Change
The sixth annual Fordham Women’s Summit, held at Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus on Oct. 19, included discussions with women business leaders who were “firsts” in a variety of fields — corporate social responsibility, entrepreneurship, education, and others. Kicking off the day was a keynote conversation featuring one of Fordham’s firsts, the University’s first woman president, Tania Tetlow.

The former law professor, who served as president of Loyola University New Orleans for four years, was officially installed as the 33rd president of Fordham University on Oct. 14. She is the first layperson and first woman to lead the Jesuit University of New York in its 181-year history.

Gabelli School Hosts NYC Hive of One Young World 2022 Summit

A Picture of Panelist at the NYC Hive
Panelists at the NYC Hive included (left to right): Barbara M. Porco, PhD, CPA, CFF, associate dean of graduate studies and clinical professor of accounting; Poonam Thimmaiah, founder of the jewelry brand Maalicious and the NGO CLIMB; George Tsiatis, CEO, president and co-founder of The Resolution Project; Isabel Hartman, a student in the Gabelli School of Business MS in Accounting program; and Milica Skaro, LLM, a legal professional with a background in nonprofit management, sustainability, and communications.
FORDHAM UNIVERSITY’S GABELLI SCHOOL OF BUSINESS was recently chosen to serve as the host for One Young World’s 2022 Summit USA Hive in New York City. The School was one of only four educational institutions around the world in the U.S., Japan, Brazil, and South Africa to be given this prestigious designation.

The One Young World 2022 Manchester Summit took place in Manchester, England on Sept. 5-8, and convened more than 2,000 of the brightest young leaders from every country and sector who are working to accelerate social impact both in-person and digitally.

MBA group photo outside

An MBA Orientation and So Much More

Many MBA programs offer orientations designed to acclimate students to the curriculum and provide time to get to know faculty members and classmates prior to the start of the semester. The Gabelli School of Business takes this initiation period — known as “Gabelli Launch” — to a whole new level, helping incoming full-time MBA students, over a four- to five-week period, to build the skills and establish the relationships that will ensure their success. Through meticulous planning by Alex Markle, PhD, associate professor and director of the full-time MBA, and Linda Agnew, the program’s administrative manager, students are immersed in a truly thought-provoking journey. From building quantitative skills to developing executive presence, gaining an understanding of design thinking to learning how to draft a résumé, they are empowered to achieve.

During an Event to Welcome the Class of 2026, Mario Gabelli Provided Sage Advice to Students Just Beginning Their Academic Journeys at the Gabelli School of Business

As he has done for many years, Mario Gabelli, chairman and CEO of GAMCO Investors, and philanthropist, returned to the Gabelli School of Business to share his insights with incoming students. This year, he visited campus on Sept. 12 to welcome the Class of 2026. Gabelli, who was senior-year president of the Class of 1965, and who graduated summa cum laude from the school that now bears his name, gave students sage advice and provided them with an optimistic view of the business world despite recent troubling headlines and disruptions.

During his many past engagements with students, Gabelli has told them that he likes to hire candidates with a PhD — meaning “poor, hungry, and driven,” which he proudly claims as being part of his own background growing up in the Bronx. But this time, he referred to PhDs as being “passionate, hungry, and driven.” To illustrate this point, he cited the story of a Gabelli School student from China who took the initiative to travel to Connecticut where Gabelli was meeting with clients at a function.

Gabelli School Partners with the Chartered Accountants Worldwide Network USA

THE GABELLI SCHOOL OF BUSINESS recently partnered with the Chartered Accountants Worldwide (CAW) Network USA, the first regional network of the global organization. CAW Network USA is a nonprofit professional and educational organization that supports more than 7,000 Chartered Accountants who are living and working in the United States.

The Gabelli School is the only academic institution to join a select group of partners and sponsors from across the country and around the world that includes organizations such as: New York Welsh, St. George’s Society, Circular Economy; the Accounting Blockchain Coalition; AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants); NASBA (National Association of State Boards of Accountancy); IFAC (International Federation of Accountants); and PACE (Profitability Analytics Center of Excellence).

News Bits

O’Shea Center for Credit Analysis and Investment

The O’Shea Center for Credit Analysis and Investment at the Gabelli School hosted a fireside chat with Harvey Schwartz, former president and COO of Goldman Sachs.

Dean’s List

An astonishing 329 Global Business undergraduate students made the Dean’s List for academic excellence in October ­­— 55% of eligible students in this renowned program.

GSB Advisory Board

Caroline Dahlgren, director of global consumer insights at Tiffany & Co., David Gannaway, principal at Bederson LLP, and Nicole Johnson, partner at EY, recently joined the Gabelli School Advisory Board.

A Tale of Two (Global) Cities

PMBA students in Prof. Sertan Kabadayi’s course traveled to London for lectures and company visits emphasizing global business practices in the post-Brexit and post-pandemic era.
Alumni

Man on a Mission

A headshot portrait photograph of Mark Gregorio smiling in his black SpaceX shirt
Mark Gregorio, knows something about missions: He spent his early career serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, where he rose to the rank of sergeant and completed a seven-month tour in Iraq. Today, he leads a team at Elon Musk’s SpaceX that produces engine parts for rockets designed to transport people to Mars.

“SpaceX was founded to establish a self-sustaining colony of people living on Mars,” Gregorio says. “In order to do that, we need to drive down the cost of access to space. And in order to do that, we need to be able to make rockets that are reusable.”

A Drone Career Takes Flight

Jillian Switzer Ruiz, BS ’11, MBA ’13 headshot
Delivering medicine to people in remote communities. Searching for survivors in areas devastated by hurricanes, fires, and other disasters. Alleviating urban congestion with a new mode of short-distance transport.

These are the kinds of solutions drones can — and in some cases, already do — provide that get Jillian Switzer Ruiz, BS ’11, MBA ’13, excited about the industry in which she’s carved out her career.

Fordham Foundry

Celebrating a Decade of Entrepreneurship,
One Business Idea at a Time
group of co-workers high fiving in the office

Fordham Foundry

Celebrating a Decade of Entrepreneurship,
One Business Idea at a Time
F

or 10 years, the Fordham Foundry has served as the University’s hub for entrepreneurship and innovation. From its early beginnings as a business incubator and academic resource for students supported by funding from the Gabelli School, grants from NASDAQ Educational Foundation and investment bank BNP Paribas, and physical space provided by the City of New York, the Foundry has evolved into a thriving entrepreneurship center.

John Kilcullen
John Kilcullen, FCRH ’81, creator of the For Dummies book series.
In addition to offering courses for the Gabelli School’s entrepreneurship concentration, the Foundry serves the entire University community. It has assisted 4,500 students, alumni, and faculty across all nine schools who are exploring new business ideas, many of which have grown into profitable, even multimillion-dollar ventures. What’s more, the Foundry’s business competitions and Angel Fund have awarded more than $350,000 to winners, providing much-needed seed money to lift innovative ideas off the ground. On October 27, the Foundry celebrated its milestone 10th anniversary at a reception at Fordham Law School. John Kilcullen, FCRH ’81, a well-known Fordham entrepreneur who created the popular For Dummies brand of how-to books, delivered the keynote. The event kicked off the public portion of the Foundry’s Endowment Campaign, which has a goal of raising $1.5 million to support entrepreneurship at Fordham.

ESG: Doing Business With Purpose

ESG: Doing Business With Purpose
By Hal Conick
ESG…what is it, really? It’s a pressing issue in corporate boardrooms and lies at the heart of the Gabelli School’s mission. But what does it mean, and how is it changing the business landscape?
The term “ESG” — the acronym that stands for environmental, social, and governance — was coined in a 2005 study by the United Nations called “Who Cares Wins.” The report said that incorporating ESG metrics into investment would benefit society, while also being financially beneficial for businesses. In the years since, that hypothesis has been put to the test.

Companies traditionally measured their value based on accounting metrics —revenue, profits, and losses. But in 2015, the Paris Agreement — an international treaty aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change — put ESG standards at the forefront of business. Corporations began adding ESG metrics to the mix, considering criteria such as commitment to diversity, community engagement and philanthropy, and how an organization treats the environment.

Ideas

Faculty Research

Vector illustration of woman happily receiving a present
Marina Carnevale, PhD, and Luke Kachersky, PhD, Associate Professors of Marketing
Have you ever received a gift from someone special that made a lasting impression?
New research by Gabelli School faculty members shows that how you feel about your relationship with a gift-giver affects how you feel about the gift’s brand — for better or worse.

In “The influence of interpersonal relationships on brand-related behaviors for gifted brands,” published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology this year, Marina Carnevale, PhD, and Luke Kachersky, PhD, associate professors of marketing, explored relationship dynamics and how they affect the way people perceive brands. Their findings show that the more positively the recipient feels about the gift-giver, the more positively and frequently he or she engages with the brand.

Xu Han, PhD, Assistant Professor of Information, Technology, and Operations
Vector illustration of residents and others outside of nursing home
When he read about the death of a resident at a poorly-managed nursing home in California — a facility that somehow earned a five-star rating from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) — Xu Han, PhD, was compelled to take a closer look at the federal agency’s rating system. His subsequent research has inspired the agency to take steps to ensure greater accuracy and transparency in nursing homes’ self-reported data that influence the ratings.
Since 2008, consumers and healthcare professionals have consulted CMS’s Five-Star Quality Care System to evaluate and compare nursing homes nationwide. The resource, available on Medicare’s Nursing Home Care Compare website, is considered a gold standard, with grading based on health inspections by CMS-certified inspectors and self-reported data nursing homes provide.

People

Q&A

Dennis Hanno, PhD, on the power of education and social entrepreneurship

This fall, Dennis Hanno joined the Gabelli School faculty as a clinical associate professor. The former president of Wheaton College in Massachusetts, Hanno is a higher education leader, educator, and social entrepreneur. In 2014, he founded IDEA4Africa, a nonprofit which educates, mentors, and supports young entrepreneurs in several African countries.

Dennis Hanno against a background of fall trees
Photo courtesy of Keith Nordstrom
Dennis Hanno against a background of fall trees

Photo courtesy of Keith Nordstrom

Dennis Hanno, PhD, on the power of education and social entrepreneurship

This fall, Dennis Hanno joined the Gabelli School faculty as a clinical associate professor. The former president of Wheaton College in Massachusetts, Hanno is a higher education leader, educator, and social entrepreneur. In 2014, he founded IDEA4Africa, a nonprofit which educates, mentors, and supports young entrepreneurs in several African countries.

Books

News Nerds:

Institutional Change in Journalism

Allie Kosterich, PhD, Assistant Professor of Communications and Media Management

News Nerds, Institutional Change in Journalism, Allie Kosterich

The content of news has not changed much over the last century — politicians, celebrities, wars, crime, and sports still dominate the headlines. Yet, the ways in which journalists gather and disseminate information have been upended.

Today’s journalists are coding, programming, running analytics, and developing apps. These “news nerds” are industry professionals working in jobs at the intersection of traditional journalism and technologically intensive positions that were once very separate. Consequently, news nerds have changed the institutionalized view of journalism.

In her book, News Nerds (Oxford University Press, 2022), Allie Kosterich, PhD, explores how technological, economic, and societal changes are impacting the profession of journalism. She draws on a mixed-methods research design that blends interviews, social network analysis of LinkedIn data, job postings, and industry publications to make sense of how skills and practices become entrenched throughout the news industry. Taken together, these data reveal the ways in which the profession is evolving to incorporate new technological skill sets and new routines of production.

Profile

Interim Dean Leads with Global & Social Focus

Since Lerzan Aksoy’s New York Times best seller The Wallet Allocation Rule hit the stands seven years ago, many of the world’s largest companies have adopted its revolutionary yet simple formula, which links customer satisfaction to market share, in order to gauge their competitive edge.
Lerzan Aksoy
Photo courtesy of Todd France
“There is this big disconnect between making customers happy and corporate growth,” said Aksoy, co-author of the book and two other award-winners on customer loyalty. “The two are not necessarily related. We need to think through and measure our satisfaction, or any customer-based metric, in a way that’s relative to the competition.”

Challenging conventional wisdom is a common thread throughout the extensive body of research Aksoy has published over the past two decades. Her recent research, published in the Journal of Service Management, investigates the disconnect between companies’ environmental, social, and governance metrics and customer perceptions of social innovation. The 2022 paper has already been downloaded more than 1,600 times — a testament to the keen interest in corporate social responsibility, a theme in Aksoy’s work since she joined Fordham in 2008.

Masthead

Fordham Business Fall 2022
Editor-in-Chief
Lerzan Aksoy, PhD
Interim Dean,
Gabelli School of Business

Senior Director of Marketing and Communications
Paola Curcio-Kleinman

Executive Editor
Michael Benigno

Managing Editor
Claire Curry

Creative Director
Ruth Feldman

Contributing Writers/Reporters
Hal Conick
Kelly Kultys
Nicole LaRosa
Robert Lerose
Gabrielle Simonson
Ryan Stellabotte

Fordham University President
Tania Tetlow

Provost
Dennis C. Jacobs, PhD

This publication is published by the Office of the Dean of the Gabelli School of Business, with offices at 441 E. Fordham Road, Bronx, NY 10458 and 140 W. 62nd Street, New York, NY 10023.

Fordham Business welcomes your comments and suggestions. Email gsbnews@fordham.edu.

Does Fordham have your correct contact information? If not, please contact the Office of Alumni Relations at 800-314-ALUM or
alumnioffice@fordham.edu. Or update your profile at forever.fordham.edu.

Opinions expressed in this publication may not necessarily reflect those of the Fordham University faculty or administration. © 2022, Fordham University Gabelli School of Business

Editor-in-Chief
Donna Rapaccioli, PhD
Dean, Gabelli School of Business

Executive Editor
Michael Benigno

Managing Editor
Claire Curry

Creative Director
Ruth Feldman

Contributing Writers/Reporters
Joseph DeLessio, FCLC ’06
Jennifer Keeler
Chris Quirk
Gabrielle Simonson
Stevenson Swanson
Jennifer Woolson

Fordham University President
Joseph M. McShane, S.J.

Provost
Dennis C. Jacobs, PhD

This publication is published by the Office of the Dean of the Gabelli School of Business, with offices at 441 E. Fordham Road, Bronx, NY 10458 and 140 W. 62nd Street, New York, NY 10023.

Fordham Business welcomes your comments and suggestions. Email gsbnews@fordham.edu.

Does Fordham have your correct contact information? If not, please contact the Office of Alumni Relations at 800-314-ALUM or
alumnioffice@fordham.edu. Or update your profile at forever.fordham.edu.

Opinions expressed in this publication may not necessarily reflect those of the Fordham University faculty or administration. © 2021, Fordham University Gabelli School of Business

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