CEO at Smith: Board Chair David Marriott Shares Timeless Hospitality Lessons
TechFest 2025: DOIT-hosted Forum Tackles Growing Risks From AI, Data and Cybersecurity
2nd Annual AI Symposium Addresses the Challenges and Benefits of Artificial Intelligence
Alumni
April 28, 2025
Supportive Smith Network Inspires Alumnus to “Uplift” Current Students
Renard Brumfield, MBA ’22, studied finance during his time at Smith and is currently a Finance Business Manager with JPMorgan Chase. Brumfield credits his Smith network for helping him get to where he is today and he pays it forward by engaging with the Smith community and mentoring current students.
April 02, 2025
Vet Ventures Into Finance
Smith MBA students and military veterans German Salazar, MBA ’25, and Charles Castelly, MBA ’26, leveraged the University System of Maryland’s Venture Fellowship to gain hands-on VC experience. Their shared journey highlights Smith’s strong veteran community and career-building opportunities in venture capital.
March 13, 2025
Smith Education Provides Foundation for Alumnus to Pursue a Career in Investment Banking
Alan Grantham ’05, managing director and group head of debt capital markets at Synovus Bank, shares his journey from Smith to investment banking. He credits Smith’s curriculum, networking, and career services for his success and encourages students to stay persistent.
April 29, 2025
David S. Marriott, Chairman of Marriott International, shared insights on leadership, service, and technology at the Smith School's CEO at Smith event, reflecting on his family's legacy and the enduring values behind the global hospitality brand.
At the Smith School's TechFest 2025, experts in AI, data, and cybersecurity explored deepfakes, ethical risks, mental health, and human-centered leadership, urging students to balance innovation with responsibility in tackling rising digital threats across business and society.
Experts from business, government, and nonprofits shared insights on AI’s challenges, opportunities, and governance at the Smith School’s 2nd Annual AI Symposium, highlighting innovation in healthcare, finance, manufacturing, and legal compliance.
Faculty Insights On Latest News
Management and Organization
April 24, 2025
“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
October 04, 2024
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.
Decision, Operations and Information Technologies, Finance, Marketing
September 11, 2024
Smith Experts Explain Google Antitrust Implications
Google faces major antitrust cases for monopolizing digital advertising and search. Research Professor Kislaya Prasad suggests that ending exclusive agreements could increase competition, while Associate Professor Bobby Zhou emphasizes breaking up business units like Google’s search could benefit competitors, advertisers, and consumers.
Decision, Operations and Information Technologies
April 16, 2025
Smith Research Develops Model to Address Product Life Cycle Forecasting
Smith’s Xiaojia Guo co-authored a study on forecasting demand for new products using Bayesian model averaging. The research offers a robust, flexible model for predicting life cycles of fast-evolving items like fashion, news topics and digital content.
April 04, 2025
Online Marketplaces: Beyond the Number of Buyers and Sellers
New online marketplaces often rely on network effects to grow, but inviting prominent sellers can shape their long-term reputation. Research from Wedad Elmaghraby and Ashish Kabra shows that high-quality sellers attract premium buyers, while lower-quality sellers foster price-sensitive markets.
March 20, 2025
How Cities Can Attract Remote Workers and Keep Them
When the Covid pandemic made the already growing trend of remote work ubiquitous five years ago, it also opened possibilities for where people could decide to live.
