M.S. in Business Analytics Faculty Members

Bringing Industry Expertise to the Classroom and Beyond

Fordham’s Gabelli School of Business offers students the opportunity to acquire a graduate business education that is second to none. Our reputation is greatly enhanced by the quality of our faculty members and their ability to convey complex ideas in ways that are meaningful and relevant to the students and the industries we serve. Their research provides the insights and new ideas needed to advance the field while preparing graduates for the opportunities ahead.

M.S. in Business Analytics Program Leadership

Jie Ren, Ph.D.

Program Director M.S. in Business Analytics; Associate Professor

Teaching Courses: Business Technology and Analytics

Jie Ren, Ph.D., earned a doctoral degree from Stevens Institute of Technology and a Master's in Management Science and Engineering from Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, where she also earned a Bachelor's in E-Commerce.

Her research explores the business impact of collective online behaviors: How the crowd helps organizations and (or) individuals innovate, market, and make financial decisions. Specifically, she studies crowdsourcing, online reviews, and social media. Currently, she also studies cybersecurity and generative AI. Ren won the 2023 Gabelli School of Business Dean's Award for Impact and the 2024 Fordham University Distinguished Research Award for Interdisciplinary Studies. Read More about Jie Ren.

Yilu Zhou, Ph.D.

Information, Technology, Operations Area Chair; Associate Professor

Teaching Courses: Web Analytics, Natural Language Processing and Applications

Yilu Zhou, Ph.D., has research interests that include business intelligence, web/text/data mining, multilingual knowledge discovery and human-computer interaction. Most specifically, she investigates and explores computational, intelligent and automatic ways to discover interesting and useful patterns in news articles, web sites, forums and other social media. She won the 2024 Dean’s Award for Impact. 

Before joining Fordham University, Zhou was an assistant professor at George Washington University. She earned a Ph.D. in Management Information Systems at the University of Arizona, where she also was a research associate at the Artificial Intelligence Lab. She holds a B.S. in Computer Science from Shanghai Jiaotong University.  Read more about Yilu Zhou.

Robert Chiang, Ph.D.

Professor

Teaching Courses: Mobile E-Commerce and Applications, Blockchain Technology and Application Development, Web Applications Design and Development

Robert Chiang, Ph.D., earned his doctoral degree in information systems from the University of Washington. Prior to joining the Gabelli School of Business, he was an assistant professor at the University of Connecticut School of Business, and a manager at Accenture.

Professor Chiang's research interests are in software process improvement, information systems economics, and e-commerce design. His consulting experience spans business process reengineering, project/program management, requirements management, organizational change enablement, and system development methodology improvement. His clients have included leading global and U.S. companies in the financial, healthcare, transportation, and energy industries. Read more about Robert Chiang.

Dawit H. Demissie, Ph.D.

Program Director, M.S. in Information Technology, Clinical Professor

Teaching Courses: Accounting Information Systems, Cloud Computing for Analytics, Cybersecurity Analytics for Business, Robotic Process Automation

Dawit Demissie, Ph.D., is currently a clinical professor at Fordham University’s, Gabelli School of Business, recognized for his dedication to innovative teaching with the Dean's Award for Teaching Innovation in 2023. Previously, Demissie served as a visiting professor at the College of Engineering & Applied Sciences, University at Albany, State University of New York. His commitment to teaching earned him the President's Award for Excellence in Teaching in both 2011 and 2016, as well as the State University of New York Online Teaching Award in 2018. Additionally, he was honored with the Faculty of the Year Award for Excellence in Teaching and Academic Advising at The Sage Colleges in 2013. His diverse academic journey includes roles as a curriculum developer and instructional designer at several institutions, including Syracuse University, The University of Oklahoma, State University of New York at Oswego, Excelsior College, The Sage Colleges, and Siena College. In industry, Demissie has worked as a systems integration engineer and an independent software consultant. Read more about Dawit Demissie.

Apostolos Filippas, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Teaching Courses: Web Analytics, E-Commerce 

Apostolos Filippas, Ph.D., is an economist working on market design and the economics of technology, primarily in the context of online platforms. He is currently an assistant professor at Fordham's Gabelli School of Business, and a research affiliate at the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy (IDE).

His recent research examines topics including the design of reputation and pricing systems in online marketplaces, the economic and public policy implications of the "sharing economy,'' and the design of social media platforms. His work has appeared in mainstream media outlets, including The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, The Financial Times, and on NPR. He earned a Ph.D. in Business Administration from the NYU Stern School of Business, and an undergraduate degree in Computer Science (summa cum laude) from the University of Patras.  Read more about Apostolos Filippas.

Daniel Groner

Clinical Professor

Teaching Courses: Advanced Python with Data and Algorithms, Programming with Python

Daniel Groner earned a B.S. and an M.Eng. in operations research from Cornell University, and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago. Before joining the faculty full time, Groner was an adjunct lecturer at the Gabelli School, teaching classes in computer programming and optimization.

Groner has over 35 years of experience in business analytics systems, spanning finance (risk management, portfolio analysis, market intelligence), logistics, and marketing, with a focus on optimization-based models. He is a co-author of books on the Java programming language, as well as the founder of Rose River Software, which develops interactive visualization tools for teaching programming languages. Groner won the 2024 Dean’s Award for Faculty Service. Read more about Daniel Groner.

Xu Han, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Teaching Courses: Programming with Python 

Xu Han, Ph.D., has research interests in the broad area of Information Technology and Operations (ITO) and business analytics, with a current focus on information management and information technology in healthcare systems. He conducts large-scale data analysis and develops analytical models to study a series of issues in the nursing home rating system developed by CMS, such as rating inflation detection, evaluation, audit design, and IoT adoption. Besides healthcare, Professor Han also conducts research, both empirical and analytical, in fields such as social media, gamification, behavioral studies, electricity market auction, machine learning, and blockchain, among others.

His research won the 2016 National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation Grant and has been reported on by multiple media outlets, including a live broadcast on C-SPAN 1. Han earned a Ph.D. degree in Operations and Information Management from the University of Connecticut (UConn).  He also holds an M.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering (UConn), an M.S. in Statistics (UConn), and an M.S. in Control Theory and Control Engineering (USTB). Read more about Xu Han.

Lin Hao, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Teaching Courses: Machine Learning for Business 

The research of Lin Hao, Ph.D., centers upon the platform economy and digital retail. He also is interested in issues related to revenue models in electronic commerce. He was the recipient of the 2022 Dean's Award for Excellence in Research at the Gabelli School of Business. Hao has taught several business analytics courses, including business intelligence, data mining tools and techniques, and predictive analytics. Before joining Fordham University, he was an assistant professor at the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame. He received the 2014 James Dincolo Outstanding Teaching Award during his tenure at Notre Dame.  Read more about Lin Hao.

Pasumarti Kamesam, Ph.D.

Clinical Professor

Teaching Courses: Machine Learning for Business, Programming With Python, Business Modelling With Advanced Spreadsheets

Pasumarti Kamesam, Ph.D., earned a doctoral degree in operations research from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Prior to joining the Gabelli School, he was a research scientist/manager at the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, New York.

Kamesam's research interests are in operations research, information systems, machine learning, data mining, and operations management. He also holds several U.S. patents. Kamesam's work at IBM spanned many years and touched multiple areas, including supply chain management, mathematical optimization, unstructured information management, data mining, and emerging technology evaluation. Read more about Pasumarti Kamesam.

Evan Katsamakas, Ph.D.

Professor

Teaching Courses: System Analysis and Design, Business Dynamics: Systems Thinking and Simulation, Business Technology and Analytics 

Evan Katsamakas, Ph.D., served as area chair from July 2012 until June 2018, leading the growth of department curriculum, enrollments, and faculty positions. Professor Katsamakas’ research analyzes the strategic and economic impact of digital technologies focusing on digital transformation, networks and platforms, data science, business analytics, and fintech. His research interests include economic theory and analytical modeling, machine learning, and computational modeling of complex business systems. His research on digital innovation received the 2016 SIM Best Paper Award. He won the 2024 Harold and Sydelle Gach Endowed Award for Research Excellence. Read more about Evan Katsamakas.

W. “RP” Raghupathi, M.B.A., Ph.D., LL.M.

Professor

Teaching Courses: Data Management with SQL, Data Visualization, Business Performance Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, Healthcare IT

RP Raghupathi, Ph.D., directs the Design and AI labs within the Gabelli School of Business’s Center for Digital Transformation. His current teaching and research interests include analytics, artificial intelligence and deep learning methods applied to climate change and sustainability, crowdfunding, cybersecurity, entrepreneurship and innovation, ESG, healthcare, and legal reasoning, among others. He has published more than 80 refereed journal articles, and is co-editor for North America of the International Journal of Healthcare Information Systems and Informatics. 

Prior to joining the Gabelli School of Business faculty, Raghupathi taught at California State University, Chico, and The University of Texas at Arlington. He was a researcher at the Automation & Robotics Research Institute (UTA) in Fort Worth, Texas, and visiting faculty at Intel Corporation, Folsom, California. Before earning his doctorate, Raghupathi worked at 1st Capital Assets Group in New York City. He also worked at J.K. Industries Ltd. and Midwest Leasing Ltd. in India before coming to the United States to earn an M.B.A. Raghupathi has received numerous faculty awards and grants from IBM Corporation and Verizon. He is a certified Rutgers University Master Gardener of Somerset County, and a certified Environmental Steward of Rutgers University, New Jersey. He won the 2024 Dean’s Award for Overall Excellence. Read more about RP Raghupathi.

Aditya Saharia, Ph.D.

Director of the Center for Digital Transformation, Professor

Teaching Courses: Business Performance Analytics, Digital Technology and Social Justice, Information Systems Strategy and Management, Project Management

Aditya Saharia, Ph.D., teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in IT strategy, IT project management, e-commerce, and enterprise integration. He entered the field of information systems after beginning his career in theoretical physics. Saharia's research focuses on applications of AI systems, information-systems strategy, database theory, information economics, ERP systems, and service-center management. His projects include AI applications, data visualization in healthcare data breaches, query optimization, and query reuse in data-warehousing systems, IT and business alignment, challenges in IT integration in mergers and acquisitions, incentive-compatible contracts, and quality in outsourcing contracts. 

Before joining Fordham, Saharia served on the graduate faculty at the business schools of the University of Washington and University of Illinois, Chicago, supervising Ph.D. candidates at both institutions. Professor Saharia earned a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from Carnegie Mellon University. He did additional graduate work in operations research, economics, and computer information systems at the University of Rochester. Read more about Aditya Saharia.