New academic year, new faculty perspectives
Every year we welcome a fresh class of students to the Kellogg community. However, students are not the only newcomers each Fall Quarter. We’re excited to welcome a few exceptional new faculty members with a diverse set of expertise to contribute to our expansive and rigorous programming.
Kellogg is committed to evolving our curriculum and class offerings to give students the necessary opportunities and skills to become the leaders of tomorrow. That starts with exceptional faculty.
This year, our additions to the faculty roster continue to elevate our teaching standards. Their research spans from AI-human collaboration to measuring the effectiveness of online advertising.
Meet the new faces of Kellogg faculty below. Learn more about what they bring to the classroom, who inspires them, how they stay busy outside of school and more.
Tessa Charlesworth
Assistant Professor of Management and Organizations
Currently teaching: Leadership in Organizations
What do you enjoy most about teaching?
Teaching is such a unique opportunity to shake up stereotypes and hidden beliefs – not only beliefs that students may hold about the world, but also the beliefs that students may hold about themselves as learners. Perhaps they think they are “not a good writer” or “don’t have a math brain.” The classroom is a rare environment where we can encourage students to take risks and challenge what they thought before.
Why are you excited to be at Kellogg, in particular?
The potential to have a real impact on leaders of the future and push my research to have meaning outside of the ivory tower.
What is your favorite way to unwind?
Anything outdoors, preferably involving some combination of water, mountains and my dog. When it’s cold out, I also love to do modern dance and ballet, cook, learn languages and read historical romance novels (yes, really).
Matthew Groh
Assistant Professor of Management and Organizations
Currently teaching: Human and Machine Intelligence
What inspires your research?
AI systems have been recently surpassing human experts across a variety of specific tasks in business, medicine, law, art and more. Yet these AI systems often fail in surprising ways by making mistakes no human would make. If AI systems and humans are prone to different kinds of errors, then it seems possible that the combination of humans and AI may be more effective than either alone. My research examines how to manage teams that involve people and AI systems and how to design AI systems that enable people to solve problems most effectively.
What makes a student stand out?
Follow your intellectual curiosity. Curiosity is a unique compass and fuel for exploring the unknown and making sense of the world. There are many, many ways for a student to stand out, and a foolproof path to standing out is to cultivate your curiosity.
What is your favorite way to unwind?
Anything involving some classic Type II fun! Cycling, guitar, running, cooking and backpacking are some of my favorite hobbies. My favorite bike rides include cycling the coast of California (my home state), riding across the state of Iowa in the world’s largest group bike ride and climbing Mount Ventoux and Alpe d’Huez in France — which are classic routes on the Tour de France.
Kylie Hwang
Assistant Professor of Management and Organizations
Currently teaching: Leading the Strategic Change Process
What inspires your research?
My research is inspired by the profound impact that organizations and the business environment have on systemic inequalities in our society. I explore two central questions: Can entrepreneurship serve as a viable alternative pathway for marginalized individuals (such as racial minorities or those with criminal records) to overcome discrimination? How can organizations improve their hiring procedures to mitigate the on-going challenges faced by marginalized groups?
What is your favorite part about teaching business students?
My favorite part about teaching business students is the opportunity to learn from the diverse perspectives and experiences they bring into the classroom. It fosters a dynamic learning environment for everyone involved.
What is your favorite way to unwind?
I love exploring new restaurants and discovering hidden gems in the dining scene. I also enjoy tennis and pilates – some activities that will help me through the winter in Chicago!
Daniela Hurtado Lange
Assistant Professor of Operations
Currently teaching: Operations Management
What do you enjoy most about teaching?
The interaction with the students and learning from each other. Regarding the curriculum and the topics in class, I love creating a safe and non-competitive environment where they can share their thoughts and ask questions. However, my favorite part is getting to know my students better. I like asking them why they took the class and their goals when they come to office hours. It’s fascinating!!
What makes a student stand out?
Participation and interest in learning! The students I remember the most are not always the students with the best grades. Instead, the students who want to share the learning experience with the professor and participate in class or office hours are unforgettable and make teaching extremely enriching.
What is your favorite way to unwind?
Spending quality time outdoors. Going for a walk, feeling the wind and staring at the lake. Preferably with my phone quietly lying deep down in my bag or pocket and the company of my husband, a good friend or my dog.
What’s the one movie or show you will never get sick of watching?
“Friends” and “Gilmore Girls.”
Suraj Malladi
Assistant Professor of Managerial Economics & Decision Sciences
Teaching in spring: Competitive Strategy and Industrial Structure
What or who inspired you to teach?
Growing up, I wanted to be like my grandfather in every way. He was a botany professor, so I got it into my head that I wanted to teach at a university as well. Having taught for a couple years now, I can confirm that I love it. Unlike my grandfather, I ended up being an economist. But this is just as well, because many lessons in economics are intuitive and relatable, which I think makes them fun to teach.
What makes a student stand out?
Participating in class discussion. Students who volunteer answers or thoughtful questions and comments tend to stand out to me.
What is your favorite way to unwind?
I like to cook and go on walks.
Maddalena Ronchi
Assistant Professor of Finance
What inspires your research?
In my research, which covers applied labor topics, I frequently draw inspiration from conversations with friends and family regarding their work and experiences. For instance, a girlfriend once shared that during her MBA internship interviews, managers who had daughters would often mention this fact during the interviews and would be more likely to extend her job offers. This story prompted me to investigate whether and how managers’ gender attitudes, as proxied by whether they have daughters, affect their hiring decisions. Similarly, a friend working in finance once mentioned a bonus cap policy regulating variable pay for finance sector workers in the Netherlands. Intrigued, I began utilizing Dutch data to explore whether this policy affected banks' ability to attract and retain talented employees.
Why are you excited to be at Kellogg, in particular?
Back during my PhD, I spent a visiting period at Chicago, and I had the opportunity to give a presentation at Kellogg. I was blown away by the building's design. Its circular architecture stood out as more than just an aesthetic choice – it seemed to embody the spirit of collaboration and interaction that I value. That initial impression has stuck with me, and I'm excited about becoming part of an institution that seems to prioritize a sense of community and support among both students and faculty.
What’s the last book you read, did you enjoy it? Why or why not?
I am about to finish “The Years” by Annie Ernaux. I think the book is great as it seamlessly weaves the writer's autobiographical memories and thoughts into a distinctive portrayal of the recent times we've experienced and continue to live in.
Lulu Wang
Assistant Professor of Finance
Currently teaching: Capital Markets
What or who inspired you to teach? Or, what inspires your research?
Finance can often come off as very complex, but the underlying economic principles driving financial markets are quite simple. I enjoy bringing out those economic principles in both my teaching and my research.
Why are you excited to be at Kellogg, in particular?
The finance group at Kellogg is incredibly broad in their interests across both economics and finance. I look forward to both learning from and working with my colleagues during my time here.
What’s the last book you read, did you enjoy it? Why or why not?
"Creditworthy" by Josh Lauer. It’s a historian’s view on the rise of credit scoring in the United States and how we went from a world of local busybodies tracking creditworthiness by monitoring church attendance to the three big bureaus of today. It’s a fantastic book that’s a reminder of how the economic world around us is constantly changing.
Nils Wernerfelt
Assistant Professor of Marketing
Currently teaching: Marketing Research and Analytics
What inspires your research?
Prior to joining Kellogg, I worked for many years at Meta (Facebook). I saw firsthand how transformative online marketing and analytics can be, as well as how often many companies struggle in these domains. Much of my current research builds on this by measuring the effectiveness of online marketing for different kinds of advertisers with an eye toward understanding how changes in the data ecosystem may affect these outcomes.
Why are you excited to be at Kellogg, in particular?
Coming to Kellogg feels very full circle for me. I was actually born next door in Evanston Hospital at a time when both of my parents were on the Kellogg faculty. We moved away when I was young, but I grew up hearing time and again about how wonderful this institution is and how deeply it cares about the faculty, staff and students. Joining Kellogg all these years later, it’s clear this remains just as true today, and I couldn’t be more excited to be back.
What is your favorite way to unwind?
I play squash on the campus courts a fair amount. I love this game not only for the exercise, but also for the social aspect – being in a closed room with your opponent, you often end up getting to know them quite well over the course of playing together. (Especially if you’re tired and avoiding exercise, which happens a lot with me!)