Introducing new tenure-track faculty

The Alberta School of Business is excited to welcome five new tenure-track faculty! We reached out to get to know them, their research and what they're looking forward as assistant professors with the School.

*Note: the responses below have been edited for clarity and brevity.

Tito Grillo: assistant professor, MBEL

Can you tell me about your previous education?

Just a few months ago, I was still a PhD student at the University of Texas at Austin. I did my PhD in marketing. Here's a fun fact, I originally went to UT Austin as a visiting scholar with a Fulbright Scholarship while I was a doctoral student at a university in Brazil (my home country). I guess folks at UT Austin liked me since they told me to stay and do my PhD there with them!

What are your research areas of interest?

I am interested in the interplay between old memory and learning tendencies people develop while growing up or have hardwired into them (like most humans do) and new stimuli that consumers encounter while navigating the modern world (e.g., new technologies and trends).

Do you have any research papers or projects on the go (or recently completed) that you'd like to share?

Yes! I'm very excited about a project where we developed a new model for how people learn to take risks during a privileged period for learning (the early, formative years of our lives!). An important prediction of the model is that people who grew up in different socioeconomic conditions develop different risk-taking tendencies that persist in adulthood, even when socioeconomic conditions change.

For example, our first publication using this model examined consumer susceptibility to COVID-19 scams: we used early life socioeconomic conditions to predict people's willingness to take their chances with offers that promised to alleviate the toll of the pandemic (e.g., early access to a vaccine that did not exist yet, financial aid) but that also seemed too good to be true--and, in reality, were real scams to steal people's money and personal information and that circulated on social media during the pandemic). We could better predict susceptibility to these scams from people's early life conditions than their current socioeconomic status. 

Why did you decide to become a professor?

Doing research and teaching gives you a lot of opportunities to exercise your curiosity. Your job is to ask questions about the world; look for answers; solve puzzles; talk to students, other professors, and researchers about these questions and the potential answers. I just think a job where my curiosity is one of the main work tools is a dream job.

What are you looking forward to joining the Alberta School of Business?

Everyone I met at the Alberta School of Business has been fantastic and seems to contribute a great deal to creating an inspiring work environment. So, I look forward to being part of this environment and interacting with my new colleagues and students! 

Is there anything you like to do in your spare time?

I am a music nerd. By the way, if any band at the Alberta School of Business needs a bassist, please let me know!

Is there anything else that you would like to share with our community?

I am excited about exploring Edmonton, getting to know my colleagues and students, finding new friends and building a wonderful life for myself and my family.

Sara Mahabadi: assistant professor, department of strategy, entrepreneurship and management

Can you tell me about your previous education?

I got my MBA and PhD from Desautels Faculty of Management, McGill University.

What are your research areas of interest?

In my research, I examine the phenomenon of entrepreneurship from an organizational theory lens. I am interested in how investors such as venture capitalists and accelerators select, support, and alter startups. 

Do you have any research papers or projects on the go (or recently completed) that you'd like to share?

Peer-reviewed publications: 

Cohen, L. E. & Mahabadi, S.  Forthcoming. “In the Midst of Hiring: Pathways to Anticipated and Accidental Job Evolution during Hiring.” 

Working papers:

• Mahabadi, S. & Cohen, L. E. “External Influences: How Investors Shape How and Who Startups Hire.” 
• Mahabadi, S., & Karunakaran, A.“Screening for the Startup Savior: The Paradox of Information Gathering and the Obsession over Ideal Founder Characteristics during the Evaluation of Early-Stage Ventures.” 
• Mahabadi, S. “How Advisors Shape Entrepreneurial Identities: Evidence from an Accelerator Program.” 
• Cohen, L. E., Mahabadi, S. & Yang, T. “ Why Startup Jobs Matter: How Startup Jobs Push Job Seekers and Employees out of the Startup Hiring Ecosystem.”

Why did you decide to become a professor?

In my life, I was lucky to have outstanding teachers who taught me invaluable lessons and encouraged me to become a better version of myself every day. Watching the influence that they had on me and other students inspired me to become a teacher and a lifelong student.

What are you looking forward to joining the Alberta School of Business? 

I am super excited about joining the Alberta School of Business. I believe that in Alberta I can thrive both as a professor and as a researcher. I see tremendous potential for collaboration with other researchers and at the same time working with and learning from both graduate and undergraduate students.

Is there anything you like to do in your spare time? 

I very much enjoy any outdoor activity such as walking, running and hiking.

Borzou Rostami: assistant professor, department of accounting and business analytics

Can you tell me about your previous education?

Here is the summary of my education:

• 2011-2014: Polytechnic University of Milan (Politecnico di Milano), Milan, Italy. I started my Phd in information and technology in January 2011 and graduated in September 2014. 
• January 2013-August 2013: Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA. During my PhD, I spent 7 months as a visiting scholar at the School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences at Clemson University.
• 2003-2006: University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran. I completed an M.S. in applied mathematics with a focus on Operations Research. 
• 1999-2003: University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran. I completed with a B.S. in applied mathematics. 

Before joining the University of Alberta, I was an assistant professor of operations and decisions sciences at Lazaridis School of Business and  Economics, Wilfrid Laurier University, from July 2019 to June 2022. I am also a researcher at the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Data Science for Real-Time Decision-Making at Polytechnique Montreal and Interuniversity Research Centre on Enterprise Networks, Logistics and Transportation (CIRRELT). Before joining Wilfrid Laurier University, I was a postdoctoral researcher at Polytechnique Montreal, École de Technologie Supérieure, Montreal, and TU Dortmund, Germany.  

What are your research areas of interest?

My research interests lie at the intersection of operations research, machine learning, and data analytics in decision-planning with the aim of improving strategic and tactical decision-making through the utilization of big data techniques. 1- Supply chain and retails analytics;  2- Network design;  3- Transportation and logistics;  4- Large-scale optimization;  5- Data-driven optimization; 6- Machine learning applied to real-time decision making.

Do you have any research papers or projects on the go (or recently completed) that you'd like to share?

I am currently working on integrating machine learning and optimization to improve the decision-making process in supply chain management, transportation and logistics. One of my current research projects focuses on improving customer satisfaction in the context of on-demand rental networks (including car sharing and bike sharing), where different strategies to integrate machine learning and optimization are developed.  

Why did you decide to become a professor?

I am very passionate about teaching and research. Over the years, I have been fortunate to conduct research in different domains and collaborate with faculty members, researchers and industrial partners at various universities and research institutions. These experiences provided me with opportunities to dive more into research. However, I still view teaching as an integral role of a faculty member,  and  I  am thrilled to have the chance to share my knowledge and passion with students. Indeed, teaching was the main reason I started an academic career at the University of Kurdistan in Iran, where I was a full-time lecturer from 2006 to 2010. 

What are you looking forward to joining the Alberta School of Business? 

I believe the research environment at the Alberta School of Business with many distinguished faculty members and high-level graduate programs will provide an excellent avenue to further expand my academic and industrial outreach.

Is there anything you like to do in your spare time? 

I love playing with my kids, watching movies with my family and watching and playing soccer.  

Is there anything else that you would like to share with our community?

I have two daughters who love watching cartoons, playing soccer and practicing coding and math. We are all looking to expand our friendship networks in Edmonton.

Katie Lafreniere: assistant professor, MBEL

After learning about her research, it’s apparent that Katie Lafreniere is innovative in her ideas. Read this story about how assistant professor Katie Lafreniere is challenging perceptions in the business community.

Hyeik Kim: assistant professor, department of finance 

Hyeik Kim joined her colleagues as an assistant professor at the Alberta School of Business in July 2022!