Leadership & Staff
Senior Leadership
Greg Brown
Executive Director, Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise; Sarah Graham Kenan Distinguished Professor of Finance, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School
In addition to his leadership as director of the institute, Greg is also the founder and research director of the Institute for Private Capital, an institute-affiliated research center. More
David Knowles
Interim Managing Director; Director of Business Development and Finance
David works to develop partnerships with companies and foundations aligned with the institute’s mission and those of its affiliated research centers. More
Shannon Harris
Assistant Director of Operations
Shannon serves as the point person for the institute's leadership team and Board of Advisors, coordinating meetings, projects and internal communication initiatives between the leadership team and KIPE’s affiliated centers. More
Kim Allen
Kenan Scholars Program Director
Kim heads up the institute’s signature scholarship program, which provides a world-class, transformative scholarship experience for undergraduate and graduate students of UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School. More
MacKenzie Babb
Director of External Affairs
MacKenzie leads marketing and communications efforts for the institute, including strategic planning, events, media relations and branding. More
Ashley Brown
Director of Research Services, Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise
Ashley oversees the logistics of institute-sponsored, faculty-led research projects on entrepreneurship, economic development and global commerce. More
Christian Lundblad
Director of Research, Levin Distinguished Professor of Finance, and Associate Dean of the PhD Program, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School
Christian serves as director of research for the institute as well as director of the Center for Excellence in Investment Management and associate dean of the Ph.D. program at UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School. More
Faculty Directors
Chris Bingham
Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship, Phillip Hettleman Distinguished Scholar and Area Chair of Strategy and Entrepreneurship, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School
Chris’ research focuses on organizational learning, adaptation, growth, innovation and strategic decision-making in entrepreneurial firms and firms in dynamic markets. More
Maryann P. Feldman
S.K. Heninger Distinguished Professor of Public Policy and Professor of Finance, Faculty Director of CREATE
Maryann teaches in the UNC Department of Public Policy and at the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School. More
Eric Ghysels
Edward Bernstein Distinguished Professor of Economics and Professor of Finance, Faculty Director of Rethinc. Labs
Eric Ghysels is the Edward Bernstein Distinguished Professor of Economics and a finance professor at UNC Kenan-Flagler. His main research interests are time series econometrics and finance. More
David J. Hartzell
Steven D. Bell and Leonard W. Wood Distinguished Professor in Real Estate; Professor of Finance, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School
David Hartzell examines issues related to the construction of institutional real estate portfolios, publicly traded real estate companies, real estate private equity performance, and real estate finance. He teaches courses in finance and real estate. More
Olga Hawn
Assistant Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship, Sustainability Distinguished Fellow and Faculty Director of the Center for Sustainable Enterprise
Olga's research lies at the intersection of strategy and organization theory, business and society. In particular, Dr. Hawn is engaged in multidisciplinary research on non-market strategy, including environmental, social and corporate governance activities of the firm with a focus on the strategic impact of such activities, their antecedents and consequences in developed and emerging markets. More
Jim Johnson
William R. Kenan Jr. Distinguished Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship, Director of the Urban Investment Strategies Center
Jim examines the growing inequality in American society, particularly as it affects disadvantaged youth; entrepreneurial approaches to poverty alleviation, job creation and community development; interethnic minority conflict in advanced industrial societies; and business demography and workforce diversity issues. More
Edward Maydew
David E. Hoffman Distinguished Professor of Accounting, Faculty Director for UNC Tax Center
Ed's teaching and research interests include taxation and accounting and their roles in economic decisions. More
Bradley Staats
Professor of Operations, Faculty Director of the Center for the Business of Health, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School
Brad examines how individuals and organizations learn and improve in order to stay relevant, innovate and succeed on an ongoing basis. His teaching focuses on learning and analytics. In addition to teaching on these topics at UNC Kenan-Flagler, he works with many companies around the world on their learning and analytics strategies. More
Jayashankar M. Swaminathan
GlaxoSmithKline Distinguished Professor of Operations, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School
Jay is an internationally recognized thought leader in innovations and productivity improvements related to global operations and supply chain management who has held multiple leadership positions at UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School. More
Ted Zoller
T.W. Lewis Clinical Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship, Faculty Director of the Entrepreneurship Center, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School
Ted’s research focuses on the role and structure of entrepreneurial networks and the interrelationships within investor syndicates. More
Staff
Sydney Bannerman
Events Manager
Sydney produces events from conception to completion including conferences, symposia and more for the institute and its affiliated centers. More
Sue DiMaggio
External Affairs Associate
Sue provides marketing and communications support for the institute, including press releases, blog posts, videos and copyediting. More
Chelsea Donahue
Assistant Director of Rethinc. Labs
Chelsea oversees and manages all aspects of the day-to-day operations of Rethinc. Labs, helping to develop programming and curriculum to support Rethinc’s research initiatives in emerging technologies. More
Jin Ellington
Assistant Director of Business Development
Jin builds new relationships and expands upon existing partnerships with corporations and foundations to cultivate the mission of the institute. More
Celine Fei
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Celine is a visiting research fellow whose research interests include venture capital and private equity, entrepreneurship and fintech. More
David Fisher
Research Data Scientist
Dave provides data research services for the institute, including working with datasets and building research tools. More
Phil Hardy
Assistant Director of the Kenan Scholars Program
Phil serves as the assistant director for the institute’s Kenan Scholars program. More
Patrick G. Hartley
Professor of the Practice of Finance, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School
In addition to his work with the institute and UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, Pat is a member of one of the world’s leading financial services firms, working with institutional and private clients as an investment consultant and financial advisor. More
Philip Howard
Senior Research Associate
Philip guides quantitative research efforts for the institute. More
Emily Hull
Digital Marketing Associate
Emily heads up the institute’s social media efforts, building out the institute’s social media presence and developing follower relationships. More
Emily Keller
Events Coordinator
Emily assists the events manager in planning, organizing and executing events for the institute, from awards ceremonies to conferences to presentations. More
Sarah Kenyon
Research Associate
Sarah is a research associate with the institute’s predoctoral research associates program, providing research support for institute-affiliated centers and faculty with a focus on economic development, entrepreneurship and finance. More
Huan Lian
Data Analyst
Huan provides data management and analysis support, including data cleaning and visualization and database implementation and maintenance for institute-affiliated centers and faculty. More
Karen McFarland
Assistant Director of Finance
Karen provides administrative and departmental support and grant management to the institute. More
Kathryn McKee
Administrative Assistant
Kathryn assists with various administrative tasks, including expense reimbursements and supplies. More
Tammy Moravansky
Grants Manager
Tammy provides grant management support for projects in three areas: the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School and the Small Business Technology Department Center. More
Rebecca Mormino
Assistant Director of External Affairs
Rebecca co-manages the external affairs team, focusing on project management and outreach. More
Amber Nasser
Administrative Assistant
Amber assists with various administrative tasks including conference room and catering reservations, staff travel coordination, expense reimbursements and event planning. More
Victor Quadros
Video Producer
As a video producer, Victor is responsible for creating dynamic and impactful visual content that evokes the institute's mission. More
Steven Rubin
Salesforce Administrator
Steve manages and maintains the institute’s customer relationship management system, allowing staff to connect with constituents with clarity and efficiency. More
Marion Strandh
Executive Assistant to the Executive Director
Marion supports Kenan Institute Director Greg Brown. More
Torrance Todd
Web Developer
Torrance maintains and updates existing websites, develops web pages and print media layouts, while also offering desktop support for the institute. More
Jack Walker
Creative Director
Jack oversees graphic design for all institute initiatives and also provides web and technology support. More
Melissa Waller
Director of Public & Private Partnerships
Melissa is the institute's director of public & private partnerships. In this role, she works to develop partnerships with government entities, industry leaders and academic institutions aligned with the institute’s mission and those of its affiliated research centers. More
Zhe Wang
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Zhe provides research services for the institute. More
Jordan Wilson
IT Associate
Jordan provides technical support and assists with a broad range of IT-related issues, including website content updates, A/V equipment support, and management of the project workflow for External Affairs web and creative requests. More
Lingmei Howell
MBA Program Director
Lingmei serves as the institute’s MBA Program Director. During her more than 20 years at the Kenan Institute, Lingmei has taken various roles, including administrative, business development, marketing, outreach and program development. More