New Dean, Top Scholars Usher In New Era At Mays Business School

No matter where you turn — from the Harvard Business Review or the National Council of Nonprofits to the Financial Times or the United Nations Global Compact — the cry for strong ethical leaders has never been louder. Mays Business School is stepping up to meet this challenge. With the arrival of a new dean and a diverse group of accomplished scholars, Mays is ushering in a new era in its long tradition of creating knowledge and developing ethical leaders for a global society.

The 11 new faculty members come to Mays from top institutions, including Wharton, Stanford, Chicago, Michigan, Duke, Michigan, INSEAD and University of Texas at Austin, and will pursue a diverse set of research interests—ranging from sales leadership and behavioral economics to corporate governance and information asymmetry. The influx of new insights, perspectives and experiences will build upon Mays’ foundation of excellence and enhance its globally renowned faculty as the school continues on its upward trajectory as one of the top business schools in the country.

Leading the roster is Eli Jones, who takes the helm as dean, professor of marketing, and Peggy Pitman Mays Eminent Scholar Chair in Business on July 1. Jones is returning to Texas A&M University with a strong record of effective leadership in industry and academia. After earning his MBA, he had a successful career at three Fortune 100 corporations before pursuing his PhD, then taught at the undergraduate, MBA, Executive MBA, PhD and Executive Education levels — both in the U.S. and abroad.

Jones was a professor of marketing, associate dean and founding executive director of the Sales Excellence Institute at the University of Houston, and then served as dean of the E.J. Ourso College of Business at Louisiana State University. Most recently, he was dean of the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas.

Joining Jones and the rest of the Mays faculty this fall is a diverse group of professors with impressive track records of scholarship.

John Robinson, professor of accounting and Patricia ’77 and Grant E. Sims ’77 Eminent Scholar Chair in Business, comes from the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin. He received a PhD in accounting and a J.D. at the University of Michigan. He was an academic fellow at the Securities and Exchange Commission 2009-2010.

Anupam Agrawal, associate professor of information and operations management, comes from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research interests are in sourcing and technology-management interface. He received a PhD in process and operations from INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France.

Cynthia Devers, associate professor of management, was previously on the faculty at University of Wisconsin, Tulane University, and Michigan State University. Her research focuses on the roles governance mechanisms play in perceptions, behavior and organizational outcomes. She received a PhD in strategic management from Michigan State University.

Korok Ray, associate professor of accounting, was previously on the faculty at University of Chicago, Georgetown University and George Washington School of Business. His research interests include performance measurement, compensation, corporate governance, cost allocation, disclosure and financial reporting. He received a PhD in economics from Stanford Graduate School of Business and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Chicago.

Matt Ege, assistant professor of accounting, comes from the Fisher School of Accounting at the University of Florida. He has also taught managerial accounting at the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned his PhD in accounting. Before that, he received a master’s in management information systems and a bachelor’s in accounting from Texas A&M University.

Cexun “Jeffrey” Cai, assistant professor of marketing, comes from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. His research interests include competitive strategy and behavioral economics. He received a PhD in marketing from the University of Pennsylvania, a master’s degree from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and quantitative economics from the University of Minnesota’s Institute of Technology.

Christopher Yust, assistant professor of accounting, comes from the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin. His research interests include financial accounting/reporting and earnings management. He received a PhD in accounting from the University of Texas at Austin and a master’s degree in finance from Texas A&M University.

Christina Kan, assistant professor of marketing, comes from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She received a PhD in marketing from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a bachelor’s of commerce, marketing and international business from Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia.

Mahdi Mohseni, assistant professor of finance, comes from the Carroll School of Management at Boston College. His research interests include corporate finance, corporate governance and control rights. He received a PhD in finance from Boston College, and master’s and bachelor’s degrees in industrial engineering from Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, Iran.

Wei Wu, assistant professor of finance, comes from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, where he received a PhD in finance and an MBA. His research interests include information economics and investment management. He also earned a master’s in financial economics and a PhD in neuroscience from Duke University, and a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from Peking University.