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Alumni

Alumnus Provides Mentorship and Monthly Commentary As Executive in Residence

William “Bill” Longbrake, DBA ’76, has served as Executive in Residence at Smith since 2009, sharing expertise in finance, risk, housing, and policy while mentoring students, supporting research, and leading numerous national economic and nonprofit efforts.

Alumni

For the Love of the Game

Amiel Sawdaye ’99 turned a childhood love of baseball into a World Series–winning career. Now SVP and assistant GM of the Arizona Diamondbacks, he credits Smith with sparking his passion for sports analytics.

Alumni

Smith MBA Alumnus on Learning at Industry Speed

Marc Russo, MBA ’96, is CEO of Careforth, a company supporting family caregivers. He credits his Smith MBA with shaping his leadership path across top healthcare firms and says team-based learning at Smith prepared him for long-term success.

News

Experiential / Reality-based Learning

SERC Student Project Takes Center Stage at Google Higher Ed Leader Series Conference

Krisha Chheda, ’25 MQF, presented a Google-sponsored credit risk project at Google’s Higher Ed Leader Series, highlighting Smith master’s students’ use of AI to analyze banking and fintech practices through the Smith Enterprise Risk Consortium’s experiential learning program.

More than 25K Enroll in Smith AI Course for Career Empowerment

More than 25,000 learners worldwide have joined the Smith School’s free AI and Career Empowerment course—designed for transitioning federal workers but open to all—building AI literacy and career skills through expert-led, self-paced modules.

From Maryland to Medellín: A Journey of Global Leadership and Experiential Learning

Three Smith students joined peers from across the Americas at the 2025 CUIBE Global Summer Leadership Summit in Medellín, Colombia, gaining hands-on experience in global consulting, sustainability strategy and cultural exchange through workshops, field research and project-based learning.

Smith Brain Trust

Faculty Insights On Latest News

Summer Reading List 2025

Get ready for summer with the 22nd Annual Summer Reading List for Business Leaders—featuring Smith School faculty picks on investing, neuroscience, human connection, and more, including a novel inspired by a radio show turned TV series.

Management and Organization

“The Future is Not What it Used to Be”

Ambiguity arises when choices must be made despite unclear outcomes, says Professor J. Gerald Suarez. In today’s fast-paced world, discernment, flexibility, and embracing uncertainty—not rigid control—are key to navigating change, complexity, and an unpredictable future.

Marketing

Small Businesses Take Big Hit from Apple’s Privacy Regulation

Smith marketing professor Daniel McCarthy's research found that Apple's 2021 App Tracking Transparency (ATT) significantly impacted small direct-to-consumer businesses. ATT caused a 37% drop in ad click-through rates and up to a 60% revenue decline for smaller firms reliant on Facebook ads.

Research

Decision, Operations and Information Technologies

Research from Smith Looks at Progress and Prospects with Large Language Models and Synthetic Health Data

In a JAMIA Open study, the Smith School’s Margrét Bjarnadóttir explores how large language models can generate synthetic health data to improve predictive models while addressing algorithmic bias and advancing health equity.

Marketing

AI for Customer Journeys: A Transformer Approach

Marketing researchers at the Smith School developed a transformer-based AI model that predicts digital customer behavior, personalizes insights, and outperforms traditional methods—advancing real-time marketing analytics and ROI through individualized, multi-touchpoint journey analysis.

Logistics, Business and Public Policy

A Way to Minimize the Pension Problem

Public pensions face mounting pressure amid economic uncertainty and legal battles. The Smith School’s T. Leigh Anenson offers a legal framework for reform, advocating “contract minimalism” to balance state budget constraints with fair protections for employee retirement benefits.