Our Strategic Plan:
Shaping Our Future and
Embracing Change

In this edition, we also highlight the achievements of the M.B.A. Class of ’22, provide insights into the ways our undergraduate students are harnessing the power of AI to enhance their job search, and explore the incredible learning experiences our graduate and undergraduate Global Immersions afford.

As the academic year draws to an end, we celebrate the many accomplishments of our soon-to-be graduates whom we will send off at Commencement and Diploma Ceremonies on May 17 and May 20 respectively. This year, we are honored to welcome Hamdi Ulukaya, founder and CEO of Chobani, as our Graduate Diploma Ceremony speaker.

The Gabelli School is on the move! We hope you will take the opportunity to learn about all that we are doing by reading this issue and sharing your pride.

My very best,

The School’s Financial Times rankings are critically important from both a domestic and global standpoint. Over the last two years, the Gabelli School has seen a significant improvement in the publication’s global rankings. After several years absence from the Financial Times, the Full-time M.B.A. program reappeared in the #100 position globally in 2024 and climbed to #78 globally for 2025 and to #36 among U.S.-based business schools. This is a huge jump, and was such an accomplishment that the FT did a highlight piece on it when the numbers were released.

Gabelli School Marketing Area and IAA North America Host
“Navigating the Tightrope: Marketing in a Polarized World”

The research portion of the event, based upon a study conducted by Nejad; Genevieve O’Connor, Ph.D., associate professor of marketing; and Aniko Nakazawa DeLaney, lecturer of marketing, focused on findings regarding three key areas—Social vs. Political Issues, Authenticity & Transparency, and Beyond Algorithms: Real Talk Wins, and compared the sentiments of Boomers, GenX, Millennials, and GenZ. The research was conducted among 23 chief marketing officers via in-depth interviews and 950 individuals via survey. Survey participants were polled on questions including: Do brands have a responsibility to take a stance on social issues? Do brands have a responsibility to take a stance on political issues? Do brands need to be authentic? Do brands need to be transparent? How would you react to content from a brand that conflicts with your personal values?

Gabelli School Undergraduate Consulting Cups – The Culmination of a Semester-Long Exercise in Solving Real-World Business Problems

Spring Break Global Immersions Provide a Window of Enlightenment Into Business Innovation and Best Practices Across the Continents

The PMBA students led by Sertan Kabadayi, Ph.D., Joseph Keating S.J. distinguished professor in business, professor of marketing, director of the PMBA program, and director of teaching excellence, spent their time in Barcelona, a major European business hub with a storied past in international trade, which today is known for its dynamic startup ecosystem, innovation, and entrepreneurship. They had the chance to meet with top executives at global companies—from Microsoft and BCG to Allianz Technology—as well as with leaders at sustainable footwear and apparel companies, Sivasdescalzo and SAYE.

Thakkar launched his first startup in India, leading a team of 14 to build a successful subscription-management platform. He raised $125,000 in funding and scaled the business to 38,000 users. Seeking to deepen his understanding of finance, he decided to pursue an M.B.A. in the United States. He was drawn to Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business by its reputation for excellence and its prime location.

“Fordham is one of the great institutions for finance in New York City,” he noted. “The M.B.A. program has been an incredible experience for me.”

Thakkar, who will complete his M.B.A. with concentrations in finance and marketing this May, and will serve as the Graduate Diploma Ceremony speaker, credits supportive faculty members, professionally relevant courses, and the collaborative culture at the Gabelli School with helping him to develop the skills and network needed to advance his career. He cites Adjunct Professor Paul Kramer’s branding course as a highlight of his studies. “It was one of the most phenomenal classes I’ve taken,” he said. “It truly made me understand exactly what it takes to build a brand.”

But when it came to figuring out her career path, she was less certain. After a high school internship in aerospace engineering didn’t feel like a good fit, she decided to pivot and enroll at Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business.

It turned out to be the right decision. “It’s been the best four years of my life. I fell in love with Fordham, the professors, the people—and now—I must leave!” she joked.

In May, Petalcorin will graduate with a B.S. in Accounting, a field she first learned about through a corporate track arranged by Smart Woman Securities, the Gabelli School’s all-female finance club. “You shadow an officer of a company for a day,” she explained. “The first corporate track I did was at Deloitte, and now I’ll be working with them after graduation.”

Joining Deloitte is one of several ways that Petalcorin is coming full circle as she wraps up her time at the Gabelli School. But the job she will take is in a different field than her original career path. While Petalcorin’s accounting skills are strong, she found she didn’t have a passion for accounting practice in the traditional sense. Thankfully, Michelle Weber, Ph.D., a clinical assistant professor in the Leading People and Organizations area, introduced her to sustainability consulting.

Salute to the Full-Time M.B.A. Class of 2022

Gabelli School of Business graduates go on to highly successful and fulfilling careers. They are leaders in their fields whose impact can be felt across the U.S. and around the world. On these pages, we feature six outstanding alumni from the full-time M.B.A. Class of 2022, whose hard work and deep commitment to responsible business are elevating their careers and making a difference in the world.

Managing Director and Corporate Controller, United States Tennis Association

As he researched programs, the Executive M.B.A. at the Gabelli School of Business “checked all of the boxes,” allowing him the flexibility to pursue a rigorous course of study while balancing the demand of his full-time position and the many responsibilities of raising a young family.

Faculty Research

According to Genevieve O’Connor, Ph.D., associate professor of marketing at the Gabelli School, these findings are based on feedback from more than 30 recipients of microloans awarded through a program sponsored by AMPO International, a nonprofit organization that provides housing for children, healthcare clinics, and many other social services to residents of Burkina Faso, a country rife with political unrest—one in which 40% of the population live below the poverty line.

“Participants also learn skills to help better position themselves to be banked,” O’Connor said, such as money management and financial planning. “The findings suggest that the social support aspect of the program is invaluable to success.”

The research project, led by O’Connor and Yuliya Komarova, Ph.D., associate professor of marketing, in collaboration with three colleagues from industry and other academic institutions, aims to better understand the impact of microcredits.

“The study explores the well-being outcomes of micro-credit recipients, such as their financial stability, health, independence, literacy, and overall quality of life,” O’Connor explained. “We are also interested in the potential spillover effects of micro-credit success stories, examining how those who thrive through these interventions share their experiences and whether these narratives inspire further community participation.”

The uses of the microloans vary dramatically, from small business operations, such as selling mangoes on the street to shops that make handcrafted items and clothing to eateries. “The money often goes toward buying enough food to prepare the meals to be sold,” Komarova said. “Importantly, we find evidence of microloans enabling sustainable innovation, whereby many loan recipients launch profitable enterprises and successfully repay their loans on time.”

Pirson and Bartlett also co-produced the inspiring documentary, “Zen Brownie,” released in 2023 and now available on YouTube. The film, which was awarded a Special Mention from the 2023 Impact DOCS Awards Competition, is narrated by Academy award-winning actor, Jeff Bridges. It tells the story of Yonkers, NY-based Greyston Bakery, a business built upon a deep commitment to ideals and policies that unlock human potential. Bernie Glassman, an aeronautical engineer who became a pioneer in the American Zen Movement, founded the business in 1982. Through its unique and inclusive Open Hiring® policy, Greyston welcomes job applicants from all walks of life who are struggling economically. It provides the opportunity for them to earn a living wage without the complications of being scrutinized during hiring. Once hired, employees receive ongoing training and development to enrich their work and lives.

Preparing business students and professionals with this specialized knowledge is the inspiration behind Sustainability Reporting and Disclosures, a forthcoming textbook to be published by McGraw Hill, that is co-authored by Gabelli School faculty members Barbara Porco, Ph.D., associate dean of graduate studies and clinical professor of accounting; Timothy Hedley, Ph.D., executive-in-residence and adjunct professor; and Steven Mintz, Ph.D., adjunct professor.

“The textbook has been created to assist faculty in teaching a dynamic, complex, and challenging subject,” Porco said. “Additionally, it serves as a valuable resource for professionals in the accounting and finance fields to gain a deeper understanding of the topic of sustainability disclosure, which is relatively new in relation to financial reporting.”

Caulfield, an assistant professor in the Law and Ethics Area at the Gabelli School of Business, has focused his latest research on how to structure institutions to advance corporate social responsibility and moral corporate governance. It’s a unique line of inquiry at the intersection of philosophy, business, and politics, drawing on insights from moral and political philosophy, as well as organizational theory and nonmarket strategy.

“A lot of the conversations about corporate governance and corporate social responsibility are happening in management venues, but they don’t have philosophers throwing their ideas into the hopper,” he said. “I’m really trying to integrate these literatures.”

One of Caulfield’s working papers explores a constitutional theory of corporate governance that likens the structuring of a firm to the development of a nation-state, where organizational decisions and policies are made through discussions and votes. “We don’t make these decisions by bargaining prices. We have a dialogue. It’s more of a political process than a market process,” he explained.

Masthead

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