A number of academic staff have joined the University of Leeds this autumn, dedicating their talents to the university’s world-class scholarship and teaching.
Left to right: Michael Gropper, Xiaobo Yu, Ying Zeng, and Rodrigo Diaz.
Leeds’ 20 new faculty appointees include four tenured academics from top business schools, including Duke University, the University of Chicago and the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management.
Visiting Assistant Professor Michael Gropper worked in litigation consulting for several years before earning his doctorate at the University of North Carolina. He says his professional experience has been invaluable in the variety of projects he has worked on over the years, including “valuing intellectual property, working on antitrust litigation in the healthcare industry, and working on securities class action lawsuits.” He says that experience translates well to his classroom work, helping students connect concepts to the real world.
“The finance department at Leeds is home to some of the world’s best academics working on similar research topics to mine,” Gropper said, citing Tony Cookson and Emily Gallagher’s research on household insurance, and Sean Davies’s work on target-date funds.
Gropper is looking forward to working with people from all walks of life and says that’s a great benefit of working in Leeds.
Xiaobo Yu, an assistant professor of finance, is similarly impressed with Leeds: “I’m a corporate finance theorist,” he says. “Leeds has the largest theory community in the country, so there are lots of people I can talk to and get insights from.”
Yu’s achievements include the Best Paper Award from the Finance Theory Group and the Brattle Group Award from the Western Finance Association. “Nothing beats recognition from people you respect,” he says.
Ying Zeng, assistant professor of marketing, is in her first teaching position at the University of Leeds, where she is excited to be colleagues alongside some of her “academic heroes and role models”.
Zeng holds a PhD from the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, a master’s degree from the University of Chicago, and two undergraduate degrees from Peking University, and also studied at Oxford University over the summer. She believes her international education has sparked her interest in the universal commonalities that underlie human decision-making, especially those that create contradictions and biases.
Rodrigo Diaz, assistant professor of marketing, is also interested in decision-making. He earned his PhD in marketing from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, where he also won a best dissertation award.
“We look forward to the fresh perspectives and innovative ideas this new faculty will bring to the department.”
Sarah Zechman, senior associate dean and professor of accounting
Dias sees the University of Leeds as an important research hub, pointing in particular to its Centre for Research in Consumer Financial Decisions, which dovetails well with his interest in marketing problems that lie at the crossroads of psychology and economics.
“I’m particularly interested in the psychology of financial decision-making and happiness and health,” he said. He’s currently researching inflation and its effects on consumers, as well as the question of how inflation differs from other forms of financial constraint.
“We are thrilled to welcome this talented group to our faculty,” said Sarah Zechman, senior associate dean of the faculty and professor of accounting. “I have no doubt that their research will yield important insights that will benefit consumers, regulators, investors, the broader business community and beyond. I also look forward to them making a lasting impact in the classroom.”
Full list
Below is a complete list of new faculty members, organized by research area:
accounting
Instructor Jane Garrard is a retired corporate financial executive with over 25 years of experience in a variety of industries including CPA, passenger and cargo airlines, consumer products, and direct sales. Jane earned her BBA in Accounting from the University of New Mexico Anderson School of Business and her MBA in Finance from Rollins College’s Cramer School of Business.
Lecturer and CPA Russell Jeans is an experienced leader in the fields of accounting and financial management with over 20 years of experience across a variety of industries. He serves as the Director of Accounting in the Office of the Controller at the University of Colorado Boulder, where he oversees the financial operations of the university and ensures financial compliance, cost and campus accounting, liability and asset management, and financial reporting.
Assistant Professor Kirsten Ortes relocated from Chicago to begin teaching at the University of Colorado Boulder this year. After earning her master’s degree and CPA qualification from the University of Arizona, Ortes worked in audit at PricewaterhouseCoopers, specializing in both asset and wealth management and the technology, media, and communications industries. She currently teaches introductory and intermediate financial accounting courses.
finance
Visiting Assistant Professor Michael Gropper teaches undergraduate courses in corporate finance. Gropper’s research examines corporate and household finance and the factors that influence how employers provide retirement benefits to their employees.
Associate Professor Nicole Hunter has held several positions at the University at Buffalo Jacobs School of Business and has taught at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Her areas of focus include fixed income, corporate social responsibility, global economics, and macroeconomics.
Lecturer Jennifer Kilpela has focused on incorporating sustainability in investing after a 20-year career as an institutional investor. In addition to teaching a new “Investing for Sustainability” class at the University of Leeds, she sits on several boards and chairs the Denver Foundation’s investment committee.
Assistant Professor Xiaobo Yu received his PhD from Columbia Business School. He uses game theory to study financial transactions in which multiple agents strategically interact, such as takeovers, debt restructurings, and bankruptcies. He also studies the stability of financial networks, particularly how network topology interacts with financial contracts. He teaches corporate finance to undergraduate students.
marketing
Rodrigo da Silva Dias, assistant professor of marketing, is interested in financial decision-making and well-being and works at the intersection of marketing, finance, and consumption. He is the recipient of a Rising Star Award from the American Marketing Association, a Matthew Joseph Emerging Scholar Award, and the Faber Prize for best dissertation paper published in the Journal of Consumer Research.
Instructor David Laverty has been a business instructor at Red Rocks Community College for 15 years, where he has taught courses in marketing, management, and business writing. Outside of teaching, David runs his own business writing, website development, and operations training company. He also previously served as the Director of Specialty Markets for Nexus Greenhouse Systems in Northglenn, Colorado.
Ying Zeng, assistant professor of marketing, studies consumer decision-making discrepancies and biases in the context of digital marketing, competition, consumer experiences, and risky decision-making. She teaches marketing research to undergraduate students.
Lecturer Nicole Zimmerman is a graduate of the University of Leeds and a certified digital marketing professional.
Organizational Leadership and Information Analysis
Instructor Connor Lyons Brown teaches some of the courses in Information Management and Analytics, incorporating the latest practices such as the application of generative AI tools. He works in product operations at a leading digital asset management company focused on the world of decentralized finance. Before moving to the cryptocurrency industry, he worked as a product designer at a digital product agency. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and a Master’s degree in Technology and Cybersecurity.
Instructor Ben Hoffman is an expert in data engineering and machine learning.
Instructor Mark Susol is a Hybrid Data Scientist/Machine Learning Engineer at Oracle where he leads the development of generative AI applications within the Enterprise Engineering team. In the classroom, Susol focuses on bridging the gap between academic theory and the practical application of AI technology in enterprise environments.
Joan Zears is the Chief Human Resources Officer for the City of Longmont. She has an MBA and an EdD from Temple University and teaches employer-employee relations.
Professional Effects
Assistant Professor Julie Alexander received her Master’s in Communication from the University of Colorado (UCCS) and most recently served as Curriculum Director and Lecturer of Business Communication at the University of Iowa’s Tippie College of Business.
Carly Fabian is an Assistant Professor whose research interests include transnational social movements, queer people of color analysis, feminist rhetorical criticism, digital media, and contemporary sexualities. Fabian received her BA in Communication Studies from the University of Georgia.
Assistant Professor Matthew Higgins is a researcher and educator specializing in resilience, well-being, and meaningful work. With eight years of teaching experience and a background as a collegiate and professional basketball coach, he combines academic research with practical expertise in leadership and teamwork. He teaches multiple sections of Communication Strategies.
The instructor will be Katrina Newell (details to be announced at a later date).
Social Responsibility and Sustainability
Instructor Jeffrey Butt is a former renewable energy executive with over 10 years of experience working on commercializing solar, wind, and energy storage projects across the U.S. He teaches about the intersection of energy and sustainability and what it takes to move a renewable energy project from concept to producing clean electrons. He holds an MBA from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business.