Faculty Profile

Profile

Paul A. Griffin

Emeritus Distinguished Professor | 2025-2026 Edward A. Dickson Emeriti Professor

Ph.D., The Ohio State University, 1974

Research Expertise
Accounting, accounting and financial theory, evaluation of accounting methods, financial information and disclosures

Areas of Expertise
Accounting, Finance

Professor Paul Griffin is a leading international expert in accounting, financial information, and corporate disclosure.

He has published more than 80 articles in leading accounting and finance journals, five research monographs for the Financial Accounting Standards Board, and two case books on U.S. corporate financial reporting. His research has had a substantial impact on the

Mehul Rangwala

Profile

Mehul Rangwala

Continuing Lecturer

Master of Business Administration (MBA), UC Davis Graduate School of Management
Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Electronics Engineering, India

Lecturer Mehul Rangwala has nearly 20 years of experience in information technology and quantitative and qualitative data analysis. An information technology manager at the Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District, Rangwala researches, plans and provides insights to the executive management on IT strategy and the latest technology trends while providing leadership in IT investments, cost/benefit analysis, asset management, IT operations and support.

Paul A. Wong

Profile

Paul A. Wong

Assistant Professor

Ph.D., Texas A&M University

Research Expertise
Financial reporting, financial analysts, corporate disclosures, auditor/audit firm networks and the role of the audit committee

Assistant Professor Paul Wong joined the UC Davis Graduate School of Management in 2015 after having worked for Crowe Horwath (formerly Crowe Chizek) from 2007–2011 as a senior staff auditor in the not-for-profit and higher education group.

He served as a board member for Ledger & Quill, DePaul University’s accounting alumni association from 2007-2011 and New Moms Inc., a Chicagoland nonprofit, from 2009-2011.

His

Marc Ross Manashil

Profile

Marc Ross Manashil

Lecturer

Master in Public Administration (MPA), Harvard Kennedy School
Master of Social Welfare, University of California, Berkeley
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Political Science, University of California, Santa Barbara

Marc Ross Manashil is a consultant and educator specializing in leadership and organizational development. His background is in global health and philanthropy, having served in director roles with an international grant-making foundation, a medical relief organization, and an NGO preventing child mortality in West Africa.

Manashil first studied adaptive leadership while pursuing an MPA

Robert Lorber

Profile

Robert Lorber

Visiting Assistant Professor

Ph.D., University of California, Davis

Research Expertise
Executive coaching, performance management, leadership, teamwork, life planning, corporate culture and developing strategy

Robert L. Lorber is the CEO of The Lorber Kamai Consulting Group, a firm formed in 1976. The organization has implemented productivity improvement systems for companies on five continents. The Lorber Kamai Consulting Group’s client roster has included Kraft Foods, SantaFe International, Teichert Inc., Occidental Petroleum, Gillette, Sutter Health, American Express, Mattel, AlliedSignal, Raley’s, VSP, Teichert Inc

Elizabeth Pontikes

Profile

Elizabeth Pontikes

Professor

Ph.D., Stanford Graduate School of Business

Research Expertise
Category strategy, market evolution, stigma in markets

Elizabeth Pontikes is a professor of management at the University of California, Davis, which she joined in 2019. She was formerly on the faculty of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business as an associate professor and was a visiting associate professor at the Kellogg School of Management. She is an associate editor at Management Science and a senior editor at Strategy Science.

Pontikes studies market categorization, innovation, and technological change. She

Noah Gift

Profile

Noah Gift

Lecturer

Master of Business Administration (MBA), University of California, Davis
Master of Science (M.S.), Cal State Los Angeles
Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

Noah Gift is lecturer and consultant at UC Davis Graduate School of Management in the MSBA program. He is teaching graduate machine learning and consulting on Machine Learning and Cloud Architecture for students and faculty. He has published close to 100 technical publications including two books on subjects ranging from Cloud Machine Learning to DevOps. He is also a certified AWS Solutions Architect and has an MBA from UC

Chih-Ling Tsai

Profile

Chih-Ling Tsai

Distinguished Professor of Management (Emeritus)

Ph.D., University of Minnesota

Research Expertise
Regression analysis, model selection, high-dimensional data, time series, biostatistics, application of statistics in business.

Teaching Field
Statistics

Professor Chih-Ling Tsai is a recognized expert in the practical application of statistics in business, including regression analysis, model selection, high-dimensional data, time series and biostatistics. He has had more than 100 research papers published in academic journals relating to statistics, marketing, finance and biostatistics. He teaches courses on forecasting and managerial research

Hollis Skaife

Profile

Hollis Skaife

Professor Emerita

Ph.D., University of Iowa

Research Expertise
International financial reporting issues and corporate governance, including the role of internal control and auditing in the development of high-quality financial information.

A former practicing Certified Public Accounting (CPA), Hollis Skaife earned her master's and Ph.D. in accounting from the University of Iowa. She has taught various accounting courses at the undergraduate, master's and Ph.D. levels and currently teaches financial accounting to Master of Professional Accountancy (MPAc) and Master of Business Administration (MBA) students. She

Marc Lowe

Profile

Marc Lowe

Continuing Lecturer

Master of Business Administration (MBA), University of California, Los Angeles
Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Genetics, UC Davis

Research Expertise
Product Management, New and Small Business Ventures, Business Planning

Marc Lowe is managing partner and founder of Praxis Ventures, a consultancy advising high-potential technology companies on strategy development, venture capital financing and M&A transactions. Praxis Ventures has been instrumental in raising more than $200 million in venture capital financing for its clients and has advised on M&A transactions and initial public offerings

Hemant Vaidya

Profile

Hemant Vaidya

Lecturer and Director of Biotechnology Industry Immersion

Ph.D. Microbiology, Sardar Patel University, India
Post Doctoral Fellowship in Clinical Chemistry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis MO

Research Expertise
Healthcare, In Vitro Diagnostics, product development, executive management, Healthcare Biotechnology

Hemant Vaidya, who has a Ph.D. in microbiology is a lecturer and director of the Biotechnology Industry Immersion program at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management. Until 2021 he taught Entrepreneurship Clinic at the same school. He is also an independent consultant in the In-Vitro Diagnostics (IVD) space and a Sacramento

Daniel Kennedy

Profile

Daniel Kennedy

Lecturer

Master of Arts (M.A.), University of Toronto

Research Expertise
The development of persuasive, professional speaking and writing skills for business, and the use of critical thinking protocols that optimize decision making.

Lecturer Daniel Kennedy was director of marketing operations for the 1980 national census within the Promotions Office of the U.S. Census in Washington, D.C. He received a Silver Anvil award from the Public Relations Society of America for the best nonprofit or government national promotion campaign that year. He later became the national director of information services

Nick Briscoe

Profile

Nick Briscoe

Lecturer

Master of Science (M.S.), UC Davis

Nicholas Briscoe is Chief Economist at Briscoe Economics Group, Inc. He provides valuation consulting and expert witness testimony in a wide variety of economic and financial matters. He teaches as the UC Davis Graduate School of Management as part of the adjunct faculty. Briscoe’s prior positions include manager in the forensic services division of the accounting firm Crowe Horwath, LLP, as well as Senior Economist at Cohen | Volk Economic Consulting Group.

Briscoe has earned a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree from UC Davis as well as has obtained

Nicole Woolsey Biggart

Profile

Nicole Woolsey Biggart

Research Professor and Professor Emerita

Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley
Chair, Social, Political and Economic Sciences section of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Research Expertise
Economic and organizational sociology, firm networks, industrial change and social bases of technology adoption.

Course Taught
Strategic Innovations in Energy Efficiency

Fast Facts
One of the School’s founding faculty members, and an alumna of UC Davis
Influential in shaping the School’s community, values and learning environment through her teaching and leadership

Nicole Woolsey Biggart joined the Graduate School of

Suzy Taherian

Profile

Suzy Taherian

Lecturer

Master of Business Administration (MBA), Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management

Suzy Taherian has over 20 years of experience as a senior executive for international industrial companies. She started her career with Exxon and Chevron and transitioned to CFO of a mid-size company.

On June 1, 2021, Taherian became CFO at Xpansiv, a global online exchange for ESG-inclusive commodities. She previously served as CFO of Wrightspeed, a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer company, and continues to serve on their board of directors. She also serves on the board of directors of

Harold Schmitz

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Harold Schmitz

Senior Scholar

Ph.D., North Carolina State University

A 20-year veteran at Mars, Visiting Professor Harold Schmitz has been chief science officer since 2005. His responsibilities include strategy development, program alignment and quality control of the company’s multidisciplinary scientific research programs. He has previously held various positions within Mars in scientific and regulatory affairs, fundamental research, analytical and applied sciences and corporate functions.

Schmitz joined the Graduate School of Management community in August 2013 to focus on business innovation in food and agriculture

H. Rao Unnava

Profile

H. Rao Unnava

Professor of Marketing

Ph.D., The Ohio State University

Research Expertise
Advertising, brand management, promotions, international marketing and consumer behavior

H. Rao Unnava served as the Michael and Joelle Hurlston Dean of the UC Davis Graduate School of Management for 10 years, stepping down from the position in 2026 and returning to faculty.

Unnava’s research focuses on issues related to brand loyalty, consumer response to advertising and sales promotions and consumer memory. His work has appeared in the Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Consumer Research, Marketing Letters, Personality and Social

Sharad Gupta

Profile

Sharad Gupta

Lecturer

Master of Business Administration (MBA), UC Davis Graduate School of Management

Sharad Gupta is an executive leader with large-scale strategy and execution background in driving modern data and analytics and technology transformations in the healthcare industry. He is a tech-savvy leader and is an industry-recognized thought-leader with focus on applying data science, artificial intelligence/machine learning, data science, digital technologies, and modern architectures for business growth and transformations.

Gupta is currently the senior vice president, chief data & analytics officer at

Brad M. Barber

Profile

Brad M. Barber

Distinguished Professor Emeritus | AAAS Fellow

Ph.D., University of Chicago, Booth School of Business
Ph.D., University of Maryland

Research Expertise
Behavioral finance, asset pricing, gender, and private equity.

Teaching Expertise
Financial Theory and Policy

Distinguished Professor Emeritus Brad Barber is an internationally recognized authority on investor psychology, stock analyst recommendations, online trading, and mutual fund performance. His research includes the effect of expenses on money flowing into mutual funds, gender-related overconfidence in stock trading, the impact of coordinated trading by individual investors, and how

Mark Smith

Profile

Mark Smith

Lecturer

Mark Smith is a UC Davis Graduate School of Management alum and director of public policy, Western Region for Ducks Unlimited (DU).

Smith’s primary responsibilities included managing federal and state government relations in nine Western states (HI, AK, WA, OR, CA, AZ, NV, UT, ID).

As a member of DU’s government relations team, Smith’s primary duties include policy advocacy with federal, state, and local elected officials, appointees, and regulatory bodies (Department of Interior, Natural Resources Agencies, Fish and Wildlife departments, others), managing DU’s coalition engagements, and