Dear Scheller Community,
Yes, the hallways are full, and suddenly every available surface seems to be occupied by a backpack, a laptop, or a student in search of coffee. The students had mysteriously disappeared over the summer and left us alone to bear the Atlanta heat. But it is very good to see that Scheller and Tech Square have come alive again.
The beginning of this new academic year is marked by a profound loss, however. In August, we mourned the passing of Barry Branch, Robert H. Ledbetter Sr. Professor of the Practice of Real Estate Development. I wish he was here to enjoy the campus full of energy again as he always did. The stories shared by Barry’s colleagues and former students speak to the generosity with which he brought his deep industry experience into the classroom and the care he showed in supporting students and their careers. His impact on Scheller and Georgia Tech will be felt for years to come.
As we begin the fall semester, I am delighted to welcome three new faculty members to Scheller: Xizhao Wang, assistant professor of strategy and innovation, Ph.D. from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management; Pauline Liang, assistant professor of finance, Ph.D. from Stanford Graduate School of Business; and Zhexing Zhao, lecturer in information technology management, Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati's Lindner College of Business.
We also have much to celebrate. Executive MBA student Jimmy Swartz was named one of Poets&Quants for Executives’ 2026 Best & Brightest Executive MBA students, and Regents’ Professor Frank T. Rothaermel was elected a 2026 Fellow of the Strategic Management Society. Faculty members Alex Hsu, Mingfeng Lin, and Karthik Ramachandran were also selected for Georgia Tech’s 2026-27 Emerging Leaders Program. Congratulations to Jimmy, Frank, Alex, Mingfeng, and Karthik on these well-deserved recognitions.
Please also join me in congratulating our chair and professorship recipients. These appointments recognize outstanding contributions of our faculty across teaching, research, service, and leadership.
That same spirit of excellence carries into our research as well. Published in August, a study from the Financial Services Innovation Lab explores how AI can make complex IPO filings easier to analyze and serves as a great example of the interdisciplinary work that is being done at the intersection of business and technology.
The intersection of business and technology was also evident when Executive Director of the Jones Career Center Joe Arton joined The Intersection Podcast to discuss how recruiting and career development are changing in the age of artificial intelligence. The conversation reinforced something central to Scheller's culture: While technology continues to reshape the way we work, strong human connections remain at the heart of how we support our students.
September promises to be an exciting month. Tonight, we will welcome our first-year and transfer students with Opening Bell. Tomorrow evening, I will sit down with Jaime Gilinski, CEO of Grupo Nutresa and a Georgia Tech alumnus, for our first Tech Talks Business event of the semester. I hope you can join us.
Our faculty retreat is scheduled for Sept. 11, when we will come together to discuss the strategic direction of the College and the priorities that will shape our next strategic plan.
The conversation will continue Sept. 18 at our Advisory Board meeting. That day, we will also celebrate a defining moment in the history of the Scheller College of Business: the dedication of George Tower | Scheller Tower. This new space represents years of vision, partnership, and generosity, and I hope you will join us to mark this milestone for Scheller and Georgia Tech.
From Sept. 29 – Oct. 1, we will welcome the first participants in the Agentic AI Strategies for Organizational Transformation course, adding to our growing portfolio of Executive Education programs designed to prepare leaders for an AI-enabled future. As part of the Agentic AI course, a panel discussion on AI strategy implementation and the future of work will be open to the Scheller community.
Also on Oct. 1, I look forward to hosting Jim Hannan, president and COO of Koch, Inc., for our next Tech Talks Business. Jim has spent more than two decades in leadership roles across Koch, and I look forward to our conversation about leadership, transformation, and navigating change across a global organization.
There is so much happening at Scheller, and it is good to have the semester underway. I look forward to seeing you in the days ahead.
Best wishes,
Anuj
Anuj Mehrotra
Dean and Stephen P. Zelnak Jr. Chair
Professor of Operations Management
Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business