Nardone Family Seminar Series
Nardone Family Seminar Series
Made possible by a gift from David R. Nardone, this seminar series brings scholars and practitioners to Northeastern University to share insights on emerging markets.
2023

Turning Around a Family Business in Brazil
Michael Ceitlin, chairman and CEO of Mundial S/A, shared lessons learned from his experience taking over his family's business, leading the company's turnaround, and operating in Brazil's business landscape.

How the Industrial Internet of Things Changed Manufacturing Forever
Vinod K. Jain, expert in global & digital strategy, explored how the Industrial Internet of Things is changing industrial manufacturing globally and what it means for the future.

Event Space and Firm Value – Chinese Listed Firms in the US-China Trade War
Jane Lu, Chair Professor of the Department of Management at the City University of Hong Kong, examined the impact of the recent US-China trade war on the market value of Chinese listed firms with a multidimensional view of “event space.”

Cities' Race to Attract Multinationals' Green Investments
Iiris Saittakari, Assistant Professor of International Business at Aalto University, Finland, offered an analysis framework for future-facing manufacturing investments that target green economic transitions, highlighting the importance of locational negotiations between multinational companies, cities, regions, and countries.

Transferring Sustainability Practices Within Multinational Companies
Cristina Leone, Ph.D. student at the University of Palermo and Visiting Scholar at the Center for Emerging Markets, discussed the institutional work needed to prompt efficient transfers of sustainability practices within multinational companies.

Environmental Transparency & Green Innovation in Emerging Markets
Combining elements from institutional and signaling theories, Sorin Krammer, Professor of Strategy & International Business at Surrey Business School, explored how institutional changes regarding environmental transparency incentivize firms to develop new technologies that save energy and reduce emissions, especially when they have international ties, such as foreign ownership or access to export markets.

The Adani Controversy: Causes and Consequences
Ashish Chugh, a leading portfolio investor, and Ganesh Krishnamoorthy, Professor of Accounting at Northeastern University, discussed the merits of Hindenburg's claims against Adani Group's business practices, and what it means for corporate governance, the stock market, India's infrastructure growth, and the India brand.

How We Built South Africa's Largest Digital Bank from Scratch
Andre du Plessis, Co-Founder and former Chief Financial Officer of Capitec, shared his perspective on building a business in South Africa.

Building an Infrastructure Business in Emerging Markets
Edmund DiSanto, Executive Vice President and Senior Advisor to the CEO of American Tower Corporation shared his insights regarding the potential hurdles and issues at entry, as well as critical early investment and organizational considerations.

Building Climate Resilience – A Personal Journey with a Successful Startup
Auroop Ganguly, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Northeastern University, shared his personal journey building climate resilience. Professor Ganguly co-founded the climate analytics startup risQ, which models the complex financial risks posed by climate change.

Ending Plastic Pollution – The Role of Small States
Maria Ivanova, Director of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs and Professor of Public Policy at Northeastern University, discussed the role of two small states—Rwanda and Peru—that successfully advocated for a resolution to end plastic pollution by 2040.
2022

Coping with Global Institutional Change
Preet S. Aulakh, Professor of Strategy and the Pierre Lassonde Chair in International Business at the Schulich School of Business, York University, discussed his recent book “Coping with Global Institutional Change – A Tale of India's Textile and Pharmaceutical Industries.”

Private Equity in Africa
Mezuo Nwuneli, Managing Partner at Sahel Capital, who has over 25 years of experience in finance and has invested in several companies in West Africa, discussed the role of private equity in Africa, with examples and insights from food, agriculture, and agribusiness.

China's Belt Road Initiative and International Business
Arie Y. Lewin, Professor Emeritus of Strategy and International Business at Duke University, Fuqua School of Business, discussed his recent paper “China's Belt and Road Initiative and International Business: The Overlooked Centrality of Politics.”

How an Accounting Professor Runs an India Innovation Institute
Partha Mohanram, John H. Watson Chair in Value Investing and Director of the India Innovation Institute at the University of Toronto, discussed his India Innovation Journey and shared some thoughts on the role of academics centres in fostering development, peace and prosperity in South Asia.

When and How Refugees Thrive in Host Countries
C. Annique Un, Associate Professor of International Business & Strategy at Northeastern University, analyzed how refugees can contribute to resettlement countries by becoming innovative employees.

The Future of Competitive Strategy
Mohan Subramaniam, Associate Professor at Carroll School of Management in Boston College, presented an overview of his upcoming book that offers a modern perspective of competitive strategy that is anchored on data and digital ecosystems.
2021

Bridge Institutions in Africa
Jonathan Greenacre, Assistant Professor of International Relations at Boston University, discussed the bridge institutions in Africa and how they provide micro-solar energy, clean drinking water, and other services to remote communities in Africa.

Human Resource Management Practices and Innovation among Colombian Firms
Pedro Mendi, Professor at Universidad de Navarra, discussed his paper that takes a closer look at the way firms combine human resources from different departments by analyzing firm-level data obtained from a series of innovation surveys conducted in Colombia by DANE.

Consumer Citizens: Credit, Crisis, and the Emerging Middle Classes in Mexico, 1970s-2000s
Louise E. Walker, Professor of History at Northeastern University, presented her research on the political and economic programs, and discuss the history of Mexico's emerging middle classes. This seminar was based on the book she co-authored “Latin America's Middle Class.”

Reversing brain drain: Evidence from India, Israel and Morocco
William F.S. Miles, Professor of Political Science at Northeastern University, presented a comparative study of public and private efforts to attract the return or reengagement of high-value expats from three countries over the last four decades.

Innovating for the Middle of the Pyramid in Emerging Countries
Alvaro Cuervo-Cazurra, Professor of International Business and Strategy at Northeastern University, and Miguel A. Montoya, Tenure Professor at Tecnológico de Monterrey, discussed their recent co-authored book “Innovating for the Middle of the Pyramid in Emerging Countries.”

Entrepreneurship in South Korea
Marc Meyer, Managing Director of the Center of Entrepreneurship Education at Northeastern University, and Chaewon Lee, Professor of Business Administration at Seoul National University of Science and Technology, discussed entrepreneurship in South Korea.
2020

Digital Money and Payments Revolution
Ravi Sarathy, Professor of International Business Northeastern University, discussed the evolution and significance of digital currencies and payment systems, government responses in the form of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), the ensuing competition with private stablecoins and cryptocurrencies, and the strategic impact of the rise of digital currency on financial inclusion.

Designing Policy Autonomy in an Open Market Economy
Sonia Rolland, Professor of Law at Northeastern University, discussed themes from her recent co-authored book Emerging Powers in the International Economic Order.

How to Write Articles for Managerial Journals
George S. Yip, Distinguished Visiting Professor at Northeastern University, guided participants in the process of designing research studies that are likely to be of interest to managerial journals, writing managerial papers, and negotiating the publishing process.

The Role of Law in Fighting a Pandemic
Wendy E. Parmet, Matthews Distinguished University Professor of Law at Northeastern University, discussed the key findings of a report, “Assessing Legal Responses to COVID-19”.

Ecosystem Edge – Sustaining Competitiveness in the Face of Disruption
Peter J. Williamson, Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge, discussed his co-authored book, “Ecosystem Edge: Sustaining Competitiveness in the Face of Disruption.”

Economics of the FinTech Industry in Small Open Transition Economies
Aleksandr Gevorkyan, Henry George Chair in Economics and Associate Professor of Economics at St. John's University, discussed the three immediate constraints of the rise of FinTech in the small open economies of Eastern Europe and former Soviet Union.

The Business of Human Trafficking
Shawn Bhimani, Assistant Professor of Supply Chain & Information Management at Northeastern University, presented his research on human trafficking.

Politically Motivated Corporate Budgeting
Kelvin Liu, Associate Professor of Accounting at Northeastern University, presented his research on politically motivated corporate budgeting.

Six Paths to Chinese Company Innovation
George S. Yip, Emeritus Professor of Imperial College London and Distinguished Visiting Professor in International Business & Strategy at Northeastern University, presented his research on the emerging paths of innovation in Chinese companies.
2019

Reputation as a Shared MNE Asset?
Lilac Nachum, Professor of International Business at Baruch College, presented on the theory of reputation building by subsidiaries of multinational enterprises in foreign host countries.

Investing in Emerging and Frontier Markets
Karine Hirn, Chief Sustainability Officer and Partner at East Capital, presented on investing in emerging and frontier markets, with a focus on Shanghai and Moscow.

Ensuring a Well-Functioning Board for the Family Business
John Davis, founder and chairman of Cambridge Family Enterprise Group, presented, “Ensuring a Well-Functioning Board for the Family Business.”

Developing China – the Impact of Foreign Companies on China's Economy
Michael J. Enright, Pierre Choueiri Family Professor in Global Business at Northeastern University, presented “Developing China: The Impact of Foreign Companies on China's Economy.”

Multinationals and Corporate Political Activity
Maria Andrea De Villa Correa from Universidad EAFIT discussed her research on multinational corporations and corporate political activity.

Knowledge Spillovers and Knowledge Collaboration in Innovative Firms
Maksim Belitski, Associate Professor in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Henley Business School, delivered the talk “Knowledge spillovers and knowledge collaboration in innovative firms: Bridging regional and international perspective.”

Economic Integration with China and its Discontents
Ming-sho Ho, Professor at National Taiwan University, presented Economic Integration with China and its Discontents: Taiwan's Sunflower Movement and Hong Kong's Umbrella Movement in Perspective.
2018

Business in Contemporary Russia
Niron Hashai, Associate Professor of School of Business Administration at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, spoke about doing business in contemporary Russia.

Creating and Capturing Value at the Level of the Firm
Marvin Lieberman, Professor in the Policy area at UCLA Anderson School of Management, talked about creating and capturing value at the level of the firm: What does that mean, and how can it be measured?

Local Institutions, Meaning Making, and Heterogeneity in Impact Investing Practices
Esther Leibel, Assistant Professor of Strategy and Innovation at Boston University, spoke about Local Institutions, Meaning Making, and Heterogeneity in Impact Investing Practices.

The Location Choice of the Traditional and Emerging Market Multinationals
Renata Laczi, Ph.D. candidate at the University of Pavia, spoke on the location choice of the traditional and emerging market multinationals.

Case Studies of Business-Government Scandals in South Africa
Albert Wöcke, Professor of GIBS at the University of Pretoria, spoke about case studies of business-government scandals in South Africa.

The Outlook for China and US-China Relations
Charles Chan, Chief Executive Officer of Ascendas Singbridge China and Center for Emerging Markets' Advisory Board Member, spoke about the outlook for China and US-China Relations.

Ilya Cuypers of Singapore Management University
Ilya Cuypers, Associate Professor of Strategic Management at Singapore Management University, discussed his work.

The Cognitive-Cultural Embeddedness of Family Firms – Implications for Prevalence, Strategy, and Performance
Marc Van Essen, Associate Professor of International Business at Darla School of Business, delivered a talk about: “The cognitive-cultural embeddedness of family firms: Implications for prevalence, strategy, and performance,” as part of the Center for Emerging Markets Nardone Speaker Series.

Doing Business in Contemporary Russia
Stuart Lawson, Ernst & Young, spoke about doing business in contemporary Russia.