Startups

With expertise across a wide range of functions, the School of Management is unified around four distinct areas of focus:

• Business analytics
• Social impact of management
• Business of climate change
• Innovation, entrepreneurship and leadership

Throughout this issue, you’ll find the symbols listed below, which illustrate the ways these strategic initiatives are integrated seamlessly into our programs, teaching, experiential learning, partnerships and research. This focus is helping the school realize its vision of a world of agile, transformational leaders who roll up their sleeves and change society for the better. 

Individuals from nonbusiness backgrounds who wish to gain the knowledge and skills needed to lead in their industries can take advantage of a new Master of Science in Management from the School of Management.

Applications are now being accepted for fall 2024. The 11-month, 30-credit program will help participants jumpstart or advance their careers and confidently speak the language of business.

The curriculum includes courses in financial analysis, marketing, business operations, strategy, communications and leadership. Additional flexible electives allow students to focus more intensively on areas of interest or gain a broader exposure to several domains of business.

The program culminates with Strategic Management and a capstone course, Management Academy, to further develop skills in creative problem-solving, analytics, communicating data and ethics.

For more information, visit management.buffalo.edu/ms-management.

In October, Ananth Iyer, dean and professor of operations management and strategy, was installed as the H. William Lichtenberger Chair in Management. The honor was established thanks to the generosity of Lichtenberger, MBA ’66, retired senior executive and past president and COO of Union Carbide, and later, chair and CEO of Praxair.  

Ananth Iyer, School of Management dean, visited Chicago on Nov. 6 as part of the school’s ongoing centennial celebration and met with a group of esteemed alumni from the area. The group gathered at The Smith in downtown Chicago for their first opportunity to meet the dean, and spent the evening sharing their insights on the best parts of their School of Management experience, and how they can continue to support the school’s efforts into the next 100 years.

Joining the dean were: Anthony Falvo, BS ’17, MBA ’18,  manager - global network planning and alliances, United Airlines Inc.; Thomas Kowalski, BS ’75, senior advisor and director, Private Company Boards; Kevin Meszaros, BS ’92, senior vice president, Marsh McLennan; Kevin Murray, ’83, partner, Wexford Capital Partners; Brandon Tammaro, BS ’15, vice president of strategic growth, Wow Bao; Danielle Vazquez, MBA ’19, director of support services, Rush Medical College; and John Watts, BS ’81, MBA ’83, advanced analytics leader, Morning Consult.

“It was wonderful to connect with fellow alumni in the city I now call home to discuss our shared passion for keeping the School of Management at the forefront of modern business,” said Falvo.

Dean Iyer will continue traveling to celebrate in similar ways with alumni nationwide in the months to come, and looks forward to meeting alumni across the country.

Happy Hundredth! During the first week of fall classes, School of Management students took a cake break to unwind and connect. 

As part of the School of Management’s Centennial Conference series, organizers welcomed more than 130 attendees from 40 organizations to the inaugural Eastern Great Lakes Analytics Conference on Nov. 3 and 4, marking the first formal gathering of industry experts and academic researchers in Western New York dedicated to exploring the frontiers of data analytics and artificial intelligence.

The first day of the event featured a prestigious lineup of industry speakers, including executives from M&T Bank, National Fuel, HiddenLayer and Lockheed Martin, who shared their expertise on real-world applications of data analytics and AI. The next day, researchers from such renowned institutions as Cornell University, University of Rochester, University of Pittsburgh and the University of Toronto showcased their cutting-edge advancements in data analytics and AI, sparking engaging discussions on the implications of these innovations for businesses.

“The blend of academic and industry participation fostered a stimulating environment, enabling attendees to delve into the latest advancements in data analytics and AI while exploring their practical applications,” says Sanjukta Smith, chair and associate professor of management science and systems.

Smith co-chaired the conference with Kyle Hunt, assistant professor, and Dominic Sellitto, clinical assistant professor, both in the school’s Management Science and Systems Department.

“The success of the Eastern Great Lakes Analytics Conference underscores our commitment to fostering innovation and collaboration in the field of data analytics and AI,” says Ananth Iyer, dean of the School of Management. “As the region’s premier business school, we are poised to continue leading the way in shaping the future of these transformative technologies and empowering businesses to harness their full potential.”

Additional conferences in the Centennial series include the Experience the Globe to Africa conference in Ghana held in January, and the Labor and Accounting Group conference at the School of Management coming up in April. Planning is underway for additional conferences in spring 2024.

Entrepreneur magazine and The Princeton Review have again named the University at Buffalo one of the country’s top schools for undergraduate entrepreneurship studies.

UB was ranked No. 44 nationwide in the annual ranking, up four spots from its debut last year. UB also was ranked No. 7 in the Northeast.

Based on a 2023 survey of nearly 300 schools with entrepreneurship offerings, the ranking factors in more than 40 data points about school programs, faculty, students and alumni.

Entrepreneurship leaders at UB attribute the university’s continued success on the list to the burgeoning entrepreneurial ecosystem on campus across several UB entities, including the School of Management, UB’s Startup and Innovation Collaboratory, powered by Blackstone LaunchPad, Business and Entrepreneur Partnerships, and the Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership.

“The growth of entrepreneurship at UB is a result of cross-campus collaborations and our innovative approach to entrepreneurial education,” says Bob Neubert, director of entrepreneurship academic programs in the School of Management. “We encourage all students to amplify their positive influence on communities by developing innovations that enhance customer lives.”

The university offers a wide range of opportunities that provide students with the practical skills to become successful entrepreneurs.

Universities often host visiting professors from other institutions to teach, lecture or conduct research in their areas of expertise. This year, the School of Management is pleased to host management alumna, Jasmina Tacheva, PhD ’20, a visiting assistant professor of operations management and strategy, who is a guest from Syracuse University and is teaching Production and Operations Management and Logistics Management. Her research interests are at the intersection of complex networks, the social impacts of technology and the supply chains fueling the AI industry. She is currently investigating how operations and supply chain management insights can be used to quantify the social costs of the rapid growth in technology, with a particular focus on the environmental impact of AI.

Chan Lim is a visiting assistant professor of finance and joins us from Tulane University. He is teaching Management of Financial Institutions and his research interests focus on behavioral finance, innovation and empirical corporate finance. In one of his works, he used eye-tracking technology to study investor heuristics when they predict future stock prices based on charts. He has a PhD from Purdue University. 

Following in the footsteps of the transformational and insightful leaders who came before them, a new class of students gathered at the School of Management Aug. 25 — for the hundredth time.

At the event, the School of Management launched the Shareholder Society initiative — 15 groups of new students supported by a team of peers, faculty, staff and alumni — to build connections and community.

In the spirit of friendly competition and to foster school spirit and a sense of belonging, the first challenge of the year for students in the Shareholder Society was a massive game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. After beginning the game with hundreds of first-year and transfer students, Vivian Black from Shareholder Society group 12 emerged victorious. Other activities included a visit from the UB Little Blue food truck, inflatable basketball toss, giant lawn games, DJ, an airbrush artist doing temporary UB-branded tattoos, a selfie station and an appearance from university mascot Victor E. Bull.

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