Since our last newsletter, the Center for Emerging Markets (CEM) has received a generous endowed gift from Ed and Colleen DiSanto to support teaching innovations, as well as the first donation from two recent alumni, Vidhan Bhaiya ‘21 and Daniel Sneyers '21, who were involved with CEM when they were students. We continue to be supported by David Nardone, Vivek and Vandana Sharma, and Venkat and Pratima Srinivasan. Grateful thanks to all our benefactors.
CEM held its hybrid Advisory Board meeting in January 2024, which included an update on CEM, an update on the BSIB program by Professor Ravi Sarathy, perspectives on the global landscape by two board members–Ashish Chugh and Pankaj Sharma–and the board's first meeting with DMSB's new Dunton Family Dean David De Cremer.
The Nardone Family gift supported two research conferences, one on Corporate Governance (organized by Professors Ruth Aguilera and Kevin Chuah) and another on Digital Globalization (organized by Professor Elitsa Banalieva). Our faculty continue to publish books and articles in top academic and practitioner journals, and gain professional recognition. The Nardone Family seminar series also brought in five speakers.
To disseminate research on emerging markets, the Insights @ CEM publication, edited by Professor Valentina Marano, came out with its fifth issue, featuring practitioner-friendly summaries of articles by leading scholars at Northeastern University and elsewhere, and the International Business Today Podcast, led by Professors Paula Caligiuri and Ravi Sarathy, produced its fifth season.
The Vivek and Vandana Sharma India Series featured a fireside chat in April with Amitabh Kant, India's G20 Sherpa, and Sharad Sharma, Co-Founder of the iSPIRT Foundation, and another fireside chat in March with Suresh Muthuswami, Chairman of North America, Tata Consultancy Services. CEM also co-hosted with NUCEE a dozen students from all across India who are winners of the SmartIDEAthon social pitch-fest competition. In addition, the gift supported professors of International Business in South Asia and student clubs on campus.
We celebrated two years of the Srinivasan Family Awards for social projects in emerging markets which has supported immersive experiences for students in Africa, Asia, and South America. CEM ramped up its Student Associate and Student Fellows programs, while creating new opportunities for students to work with professors on their research. CEM also supports multiple student clubs, such as the Latin American Business Club, which organized a talk by Ecuador's former President Jamil Mahuad, or the International Business Club, which organized a case competition on campus.
I am grateful to my many colleagues, administrators, and friends, and to Program Manager Kathryn Slomski, for helping to make CEM the vibrant center that it is.