Kristen Jaconi, Professor of the Practice of Accounting
Kristen Jaconi joined the Leventhal School of Accounting and the Marshall Business School in 2018. Prior to joining the faculty, she served as a risk management consultant to some of the world’s largest financial institutions. Additionally, she served in the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Committee on Financial Services with the U.S. House of Representatives.

Leveraging her impressive experience, Jaconi grew the Risk Management Program, launched a new undergraduate course, and developed the first graduate-level risk management course. She has received two Golden Apple Awards as well as the Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence. On top of her outstanding work in the classroom, she also spends significant time providing academic and career guidance to students in the Risk Management minor and emphasis programs. She has served as faculty advisor to the Risk Management Society, recruited professionals to mentor students, arranged career and professional development events, and launched the Emerging Leaders Program. Jaconi holds the inaugural role of executive director of the Peter Arkley Institute for Risk Management. She also supports the school with her participation on Leventhal committees and the SEC and Financial Reporting Institute Advisory Council.

Adel Javanmard, Professor of Data Sciences and Operations
Adel Javanmard joined the DSO department in 2015 and became a chaired associate professor in 2024. Javanmard continues to establish himself as a leading researcher at the intersection of statistics, computer science, operations research, and information theory, focusing particularly on high-dimensional statistical inference and estimation. This research is crucial in addressing challenges posed by the vast datasets generated by modern data acquisition technologies, often with millions of variables. Notably, his recent work has advanced the field of adversarial machine learning, providing precise characterizations of the trade-offs between model accuracy and robustness in the face of adversarial attacks. These contributions underscore Javanmard’s ability to address both fundamental theoretical questions and practical challenges in data science and machine learning.

Javanmard has also taken on significant service roles within USC Marshall. He organized the DSO Statistics seminar series from 2019 to 2021 and has served on the PhD admissions committee, faculty recruiting committee, and APR committee. He also serves as a board member for USC Marshall’s Institute for Outlier Research in Business (iORB). Beyond USC, he has contributed substantially to the broader academic community through his editorial work, refereeing, and committee memberships, including his role as an associate editor for Operations Research from 2020 to 2024.

Nan Jia, Professor of Management and Organization
Nan Jia joined Marshall in 2009 after completing a year as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Toronto. Jia’s research portfolio spans three distinct streams examining corporate political strategies and their interactions with formal and informal institutions; highlighting the inefficiencies of state-led innovations; and investigating interactions between artificial intelligence and humans in organizational settings. Jia’s work adeptly identifies research topics of significant economic and societal relevance and addresses timely questions in these areas.

A dedicated and effective teacher, Jia has taught a variety of classes across Marshall’s undergraduate and graduate programs. She has developed electives and taught core courses on strategy and problem-solving. Her recent collaboration with Professor Gordon Ho to expand Marshall’s offerings in product management — including creating new electives and a graduate certificate — has been instrumental to the school.

Jia also has played a pivotal role in establishing multiple scholarly communities, recognized for supporting the development of the next generation of scholars. She has served as an associate editor for the Strategic Management Journal since 2020 and was selected to guest-edit a special issue on “AI & Strategy” for the journal. Jia was recently elected to the most senior leadership position for the Strategic Management Division of the Academy of Management and will begin a five-year leadership term in 2024, starting as assistant program chair and culminating as past division chair in 2029.

Michael Mische, Associate Professor of the Practice of Management and Organization
Michael Mische has over 40 years of experience in the consulting industry including as a partner with a variety of firms, including KPMG, AT Kearney, Accenture, and the Synergy Consulting Group. He started teaching at Marshall in 1997 while still at Accenture. His rich background in the consulting industry has been instrumental in helping Marshall build a strong consulting program and place many graduates in the consulting industry.

Mische has embraced his role as a complete educator — teacher, mentor, certificate program manager, expert witness, consultant, and researcher. Excelling in the classroom, Mische was recognized with a Golden Apple Award in 2018 and earned a Management and Organization Service Excellence Award in 2019. Mische has testified as an expert before the California Senate and the U.S. Grand Jury, and has opined on bills before the U.S. Senate and the U.S House of Representatives. The author of eight books, Mische continues to engage actively in research activities and publications, and writes an annual update on the consulting industry.

Dennis Schorr, Professor of Clinical Marketing
Dennis Schorr joined Marshall’s faculty 27 years ago. A versatile teacher, Schorr has taught in almost every Marshall program and over a large portfolio of wide-ranging courses, including core classes, specialized electives, and international experiential classes.

Over his academic career, Schorr has made significant service and leadership contributions to the department and the school. He has served as the USC coordinator of the Fashion Scholarship Fund Case Competition for eight years, bringing in $190,000 in scholarship awards for our students. As academic coordinator for the International Experiential Learning Programs from 2000 to 2021, he played an important role in developing and enhancing these programs. He serves as the Chair of the RTPC Faculty Committee where he has taken on the responsibility of leading and managing the Externship Program, which impacts RTPC faculty and students across Marshall.

Selale Tuzel, Professor of Finance and Business Economics
Selale Tuzel has been an associate professor in the department of Finance and Business Economics since 2014. Tuzel’s main contributions have been in the areas of real estate and macro finance, with a particular focus on the intersection of those topics. She is known for combining rigorous theoretical developments as well as careful empirical analysis. Tuzel has published eight papers in top finance and management journals and is a longtime associate editor for Management Science.

Since her arrival at Marshall, Tuzel has held an informal leadership role in Marshall’s real estate programs, contributing substantially to the design of the real estate curriculum. She now serves as the academic director of the new Real Estate Finance and Development Program, an undergraduate program jointly offered with the USC Price School of Public Policy.

Laurence Vincent, Professor of the Practice of Marketing
Larry Vincent has more than 30 years of experience as a strategic advisor, brand consultant, and executive leader in several different industries. He started teaching at Marshall as an adjunct professor in 2018, while serving as chief branding officer at United Talent Agency. He is uniquely able to leverage his background as a senior executive to bring valuable experiences and specific examples to the classroom.

During his time at Marshall, Vincent served the school in and out of the classroom. He took on the challenging assignment of teaching the core marketing class in the Full-Time MBA program (FTMBA) and was successful in changing the student experience in this class. He won the Golden Apple Award for teaching this class in 2023 and has received two additional Golden Apple Awards from other graduate programs. Vincent has served as the academic director of the Executive MBA (EMBA) program since July 2023. He has contributed significantly to curriculum development within the Marketing department and is always first in line to volunteer for important tasks. He has been an active faculty advisor for Marshall PRIDE and the Marshall Automotive, Retail, Travel & Hospitality Association. He is a member of the board of Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF), where he has helped to make the organization more resilient and nimbler, raising more than $300 million for pediatric cancer research.

Nick Vyas, Professor of Clinical Data Sciences and Operations
Nick Vyas has been an integral part of the Marshall School since joining in 2011 as the academic director of the Center for Global Supply Chain Management and has since taken on pivotal roles, including the Founding Executive Director of the Randall R. Kendrick Global Supply Chain Institute (Kendrick GSCI) and the academic director of the Master of Science in Global Supply Chain Management (MSGSCM) program.

Vyas’ contributions to the Kendrick Institute and the MSGSCM program have been extraordinary. He was instrumental in securing a $20 million endowment from Randall Kendrick, Marshall’s second-largest gift, which greatly expanded the institute’s impact. Through his leadership, the MSGSCM program has built partnerships with over 100 industry leaders, providing students with unparalleled access to research opportunities, industry insights, and career connections. Committed to enriching his students’ learning experiences, Vyas updates the curriculum to address emerging trends and challenges in global supply chains. He also initiated “Lunch and Learn” sessions with top executives to help students connect with industry leaders and explore career opportunities.

Beyond the classroom, Vyas is a recognized authority in global supply chain management, has published extensively, and is a sought-after expert for media and conferences worldwide. His dedication to advancing smart supply chains and cities earned him the prestigious 2022 Habilitationsurkunde Award from E.H.E. Europa Hochschule.