Dear Friends of CEM,
This fall brought two major events to campus that drew hundreds of participants. One was the Vivek and Vandana Sharma India Summit that focused this year on the challenges facing leaders of family businesses. Speakers included owner-CEOs of leading Indian business groups and world-renowned experts on family business. The other was the India Lecture featuring Frank D'Souza, co-founder and former CEO of Cognizant, whose fireside chat explored how India is adapting to disruptions caused by AI. Other notable events in the Fall included talks by Tarun Khanna of Harvard Business School on the impact of extreme heat on South Asian population, and another by Dr. Sreedhara Somanath, former Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization, on India's ultra-low-cost space exploration program.
The Nardone Family Seminar Series featured a fascinating talk by Northeastern alumnus Vicente Zavarce (BSBA '16), who built Venezuela's most successful digital business, now valued at over $200 million. (While a student, Vicente's minor was Emerging Markets.) Other speakers addressed topics such as trade law and the impact of digital platforms on underground organizations.
CEM's faculty fellows, such as Ruth Aguilera, Kimberly Eddleston, and Alvaro Cuervo-Cazurra, received multiple honors for their research and professional contributions.
Our publication, Insights @ CEM, edited by Valentina Marano, continues to garner strong interest. The December issue introduced a new segment called “Executive Voices” that featured two recent speakers at CEM—Frank D'Souza and Farhad Forbes.
Four students received Srinivasan Family Awards this fall to pursue social projects in Kenya, Nigeria, Nepal, and Ecuador. Six CEM Student Associates served as RAs to faculty doing research on emerging markets. An NU student club hosted the annual gathering of 500+ Brazilian students for the 10th BRASA Summit Américas; it was organized by CEM Student Associate Brenda Belgamo (DMSB '26) as part of the NU chapter of BRASA. For the second time in six years, Northeastern was selected to host this prestigious event.
CEM's fall meeting of the Advisory Board brought together members from four continents. Board members Spencer Fung of Li & Fung and Karine Hirn of East Capital Group led a discussion on the state of the global economy. Lourdes Casanova shared the origins and trajectory of the Emerging Markets Institute at Cornell University that she heads. The board will meet next in Croatia in June 2026.
Kathryn Slomski and I are grateful to our faculty, students, board members, and benefactors for their invaluable support and contributions. We look forward to maintaining CEM's momentum in the months ahead.
Warm regards,