Fisher's new faculty expand expertise across business and industry

Ryan Hudgins, CPA, CMA is an experienced accounting educator who has taught courses in financial accounting, tax, managerial accounting, audit and AIS. Before joining Fisher, he was a faculty member in the business department at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, where he designed and coordinated the new accounting major. 

Prior to that, Ryan was a faculty member in the Managerial Accounting & Control group at Ivey Business School in London, Ontario, where he published two teaching cases on capital budgeting. Before moving into teaching, he worked in tax for two CPA firms in Ohio where he specialized in state and local taxation.

Ryan has a PhD in accountancy from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign as well as Master of Accounting and Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degrees from The Ohio State University. During his time at Ohio State, he was in the Accounting Honors program and was involved with Beta Alpha Psi and the Accounting Association. He also holds degrees in economics and English.

Hometown, State, Province, Country: Dayton, Ohio

Previous Academic Institution or Company: Earlham College

What area of business and business education most inspires you? I find sustainability assurance to be one of the most interesting and important developments in accounting. I find accounting history to be fascinating as well, not only the history of social and environmental accounting but also the myriad ways that double-entry bookkeeping has been taught since the late 15th century.

What can Fisher students expect from you as an instructor? They can expect a welcoming and inclusive classroom, where I will strive to be responsive, fair, and dedicated to their success, though they can also expect some corny jokes and the occasional pun.

Please share some professional awards/accolades/recognition of which you are proud. Last year, I received an Institute of Certified Management Accountants (ICMA) Board of Regents CMA Bronze Award. Also, my coauthors and I received the 2023 Journal of Management Accounting Research’s Best Paper Award for a research paper on the credibility of data analytics.

Tell us about some of your hobbies and interests. Most of my free time is spent hanging out with my spouse, two kids, and our two dogs, Bowser and Waffles. When I have time, I like reading plays, continental philosophy and books about work. I also enjoy playing word games like Shuffalo, Parseword and The New York Times crossword.

Please share a fun fact about yourself.  At the beginning of my first semester at Fisher, a guest speaker told us that if you don’t know what you want to do as a career, you should major in accounting since it’s an important background for most careers in business. I don’t remember who the speaker was, but they turned out to be one of the most significant influences on my life.

Xiaotong Sun joins Fisher as a lecturer in the Department of Accounting and Management Information Systems. She recently completed her PhD in information systems at Indiana’s Kelley School of Business, where her research focused on digital platforms, social media, artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics.

Xiaotong’s teaching interests include information systems, business analytics, data management and emerging AI technologies. She is passionate about helping students develop analytical thinking and practical skills that enable them to leverage data and technology in business decision-making. Her teaching emphasizes hands-on learning, real-world applications and active student engagement. While completing her PhD, Xiaotong served as the instructor for undergraduate information systems courses at Indiana University. Through her teaching experiences, she has developed a strong commitment to bringing both analytical rigor and practical insights into the classroom.

Xiaotong holds a bachelor’s degree in electronic commerce from Central University of Finance and Economics and a master’s degree in Management Science and Engineering from Renmin University of China.

Hometown, State, Province, Country: Beijing, China

Previous Academic Institution or Company: Indiana University

What area of business and business education most inspires you? I'm most inspired by helping students connect technology with real business decisions. Seeing students gain the confidence to use data, analytics, and AI to solve practical problems is one of the most rewarding parts of teaching.

What can Fisher students expect from you as an instructor? Students can expect a supportive and engaging learning environment where they are encouraged to ask questions, think critically and apply what they learn to real-world situations. I hope to help students build both confidence and practical skills that they can carry into their careers.

Tell us about some of your hobbies and interests. Outside of work, I enjoy traveling, cooking, and spending time with family.

Please share a fun fact about yourself. I enjoy making handmade crafts and am always looking for an excuse to start a new DIY project.

Qili Wang is an assistant professor in the Department of Accounting and Management Information Systems at Fisher. He received his PhD in information systems from the University of Florida and a PhD in computer science from Renmin University of China. 

His research involves two interrelated streams: (1) the impact of digital platform technologies, with a focus on the intersection of artificial intelligence and user behavior, and (2) the design of AI systems aimed at developing new technical solutions to address real-world business challenges. 

His dissertation, “Artificial Intelligence in Digital Platforms,” investigates both the impact and design of AI across digital contexts and has been recognized with the Best Dissertation Proposal in AI Business Research Award, organized by the Mays Business School at Texas A&M University. He is also the recipient of the INFORMS eBusiness Section Best Paper Runner-Up Award and a Best Paper Nomination at the Workshop on Information Technologies and Systems. 

His work has been published in leading journals, including Information Systems Research, Management Science, Production and Operations Management, and INFORMS Journal on Computing. 

Hometown, State, Province, Country: Shenzhen, China

Previous Academic Institution or Company: University of Florida

What area of business and business education most inspires you? Helping students develop the knowledge and critical thinking needed to understand and leverage emerging technologies, especially AI, in business.

What can Fisher students expect from you as an instructor? An engaging and supportive learning environment that connects classroom learning with real-world business challenges.

Please share some professional awards/accolades/recognition of which you are proud. I received the Best Dissertation Proposal in AI Business Research Award, presented by Mays Business School at Texas A&M University. I am also the recipient of the INFORMS eBusiness Section Best Paper Runner-Up Award and a Best Paper Nomination at the Workshop on Information Technologies and Systems.

At a high level, please share your area of research and expertise if applicable. My research focuses on two interrelated streams: (1) the impact of digital platform technologies, particularly at the intersection of artificial intelligence and user behavior, and (2) the design of AI systems to address real-world business challenges.

Tell us about some of your hobbies and interests. I enjoy playing sports, following financial markets, traveling and seeking out great food.

Please share a fun fact about yourself. I somehow survived two PhD programs, and I'm definitely not signing up for a third.

Blake Jackson is a financial economist whose research interests include private equity, venture capital, entrepreneurship and human capital. His ongoing research in private equity and alternative asset classes aims to understand how professional investors make decisions and why some persistently perform better than others when investing in financial markets. 

Blake’s research has been featured in The Economist and Financial Times. He received his PhD from the University of Florida, where he also received his undergraduate degree, and was a visiting PhD student at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business.

Hometown, State, Province, Country: Sarasota, Florida, United States

Previous Academic Institution or Company: University of Florida

What area of business and business education most inspires you? Finance ― in particular, how professional investors make decisions and why some are able to persistently perform well.

What can Fisher students expect from you as an instructor? They can expect my classes to be relevant for their careers and for me to be invested in their success.

Please share some professional awards/accolades/recognition of which you are proud. I am very happy to have won a few best paper awards for my dissertation and some prior related papers.

At a high level, please share your area of research and expertise if applicable. I do research in private equity, venture capital and entrepreneurship.

Tell us about some of your hobbies and interests. I like reading, exercising, and enjoying the Florida sun.

Please share a fun fact about yourself. Not so fun, but I can't whistle.

Elea McDonnell Feit is an associate professor of marketing at Fisher. Her research provides solutions to the critical decision problems that marketers face including measuring ad performance, planning A/B tests and designing new products. 

Methodologically, Elea has expertise in causal inference and Bayesian methods including hierarchical models and decision theory. Passionate about making marketing analytics accessible, she co-authored R for Marketing Research and Analytics, which has been translated into Chinese, Japanese, and Korean and adapted to Python. 

Elea has served as an associate editor for the Journal of Marketing Research, Management Science, and Marketing Science and is currently co-editor of the Journal of Marketing Research. She earned her PhD in marketing at the University of Michigan. 

Hometown, State, Province, Country: Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, USA

Previous Academic Institution or Company: Drexel University

What area of business and business education most inspires you? Helping students learn to use data, experiments and AI to make better decisions. I especially like teaching them not just how the tools work, but when to trust them, question them and use judgment.

What can Fisher students expect from you as an instructor? Clear expectations, practical learning and a lot of engagement with real business problems.

Please share some professional awards/accolades/recognition of which you are proud. I have served as an editor at several top marketing journals. It is a real honor, and a serious responsibility, to help other scholars make their work better.

At a high level, please share your area of research and expertise if applicable. I use data and math to understand people so firms can make better decisions.

Tell us about some of your hobbies and interests. I like swimming, gardening and old-house projects. I also enjoy thinking and writing about small-town urban planning and local policy.

Please share a fun fact about yourself. I was elected and served as Borough Council Member in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.

Callie Leatherwood is a senior lecturer in marketing and also serves as the director of the Strategic Sales Academy at Fisher where she leads the college’s sales education and outreach efforts. 

A highly accomplished professional in the health care industry, Callie has over 20 years of distinguished experience in pharmaceutical sales, leadership, account management, business development and training and development. She holds a master's degree in management and expertise in pharmaceutical and life sciences and has excelled as an executive coach, speaker and published author. 

Callie's versatility extends beyond health care, having facilitated workshops and consulted with startups, Fortune 500 companies and nonprofit organizations from various industries. Expertly trained in leadership development, organizational development, wellness, performance management and coaching successful teams, Callie is a dynamic speaker who ardently believes in actively involving her audience. 

Callie holds a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) specializing in health care administration and, in April 2025, she was appointed DM Coaching Champion for AI-focused coaching initiative.

Hometown, State, Province, Country: South Bend, Indiana

Previous Academic Institution or Company: Amgen Biotechnology Company

What area of business and business education most inspires you? Mentoring and helping students realize dreams and full potential

What can Fisher students expect from you as an instructor? A listening ear, understanding and care

Please share some professional awards/accolades/recognition of which you are proud. I won Chairman’s Circle in Sales twice. I received an award from General Motors for Service to the Community.

At a high level, please share your area of research and expertise if applicable. Healthcare, sales and leadership and AI technology  

Tell us about some of your hobbies and interests. Salsa dancing, running, strength training and traveling to new places.

Please share a fun fact about yourself. I ran one marathon and two half-marathons.

Ed O’Brien is a consumer psychologist trained in experimental social psychology. He studies the psychology of time and change ― how things change over time, how people perceive those changes and the practical applications that follow from people’s change (mis)perceptions.

For example, in one line of work he studied how consumption enjoyment changes across experience (e.g., boredom and hedonic adaptation). He found that boredom is often more in consumers’ minds than in reality and identified interventions for reigniting and sustaining consumers’ enjoyment.

In another line of work, he studied how people perceive change over time in themselves, others and the world. He found that people often misjudge change over time, causing problems like forecasting errors and social conflict. Through his work he identifies interventions for improving temporal perspective taking.

Hometown, State, Province, Country: Cherry Hill, NJ

Previous Academic Institution or Company: University of Chicago

What area of business and business education most inspires you? The intersection of business and psychology

What can Fisher students expect from you as an instructor? Passion.

Please share some professional awards/accolades/recognition of which you are proud. SPSP Daniel M. Wegner Theoretical Innovation Prize (Society for Personality and Social Psychology); APS Janet Taylor Spence Award for Transformative Early Career Contributions (Association for Psychological Science); Poets&Quants 40 Under 40 Most Outstanding Business School Professors.

At a high level, please share your area of research and expertise if applicable. Marketing, consumer behavior, social psychology, judgment and decision making.

Tell us about some of your hobbies and interests. My wife and daughter.

Please share a fun fact about yourself. I was in the movie "The Ides of March" in a scene with George Clooney (not a joke; ask me!).

Joe Wetli is a marketing and innovation leader with over 30 years of industry experience including stints as a small business owner and brand management and innovation leader for multiple international organizations. 

He earned a bachelor’s degree from Miami University and an MBA from Ohio State University. Upon retiring from industry, he began teaching marketing courses part-time at Ohio State in 2025 and fell in love with it and is looking forward to teaching full-time in the fall.

Joe is a proud member of a "Total Buckeye" family, as his wife has multiple degrees from Ohio State and their two children are current Ohio State students. 

Hometown, State, Province, Country: Oregon, Ohio

Previous Academic Institution or Company: Background in industry, with various brand management and innovation roles with General Mills, ConAgra, Elmer's Products and Worthington Industries. I have taught part-time in Fisher’s Department of Marketing and Logistics since 2025.

What area of business and business education most inspires you? I specialize in marketing and truly enjoy in-person teaching, connecting with students and learning as much from the students as they learn from me.

What can Fisher students expect from you as an instructor? I bring decades of experience to the classroom, which ranges from small business/entrepreneurial roles to leadership roles with multi-national organizations. I rely on a mix of academic materials and hands-on learning experiences to bring marketing to life.

At a high level, please share your area of research and expertise if applicable. 

Tell us about some of your hobbies and interests. I enjoy family time, cooking, music, movies, reading, investing and working out.

Please share a fun fact about yourself. I am a lifelong Buckeye that met my wife in Gerlach Hall while in the MBA program, and we are the proud parents of two current Ohio State students. Go Bucks!

Hometown, State, Province, Country: Dublin, Ohio

Previous Academic Institution or Company: OCLC, Inc., most recently for 10 years. I also taught as an adjunct at Ohio State, Franklin University and Ohio University.

What area of business and business education most inspires you? Working with students as emerging professionals. I enjoy helping students connect business concepts to real-world situations and understand how effective leaders create environments where individuals and organizations can thrive. Preparing future leaders to make sound decisions, build trust and lead through change is especially meaningful to me.

What can Fisher students expect from you as an instructor? Students can expect a classroom that is engaging, supportive, and connected to the real world of work. After more than 20 years in HR and leadership roles, I enjoy bringing practical experiences into the classroom to help students see how business concepts come to life in organizations. I encourage participation, curiosity and thoughtful discussion. I hope students leave my class with both new knowledge and greater confidence in their ability to succeed.

Please share some professional awards/accolades/recognition of which you are proud. What I am most proud of is the reputation I have built as a collaborative and trusted HR leader and advisor. Knowing that colleagues and leaders would seek my perspective on important decisions and that I have helped individuals and teams succeed has been the most meaningful recognition of my career.

At a high level, please share your area of research and expertise if applicable. My expertise is in human resources, leadership and organizational effectiveness. For more than 20 years, I have worked alongside leaders to navigate change, develop talent, build strong teams and create positive workplace cultures. What interests me most is understanding how people, leadership and organizational dynamics come together to drive business success.

Tell us about some of your hobbies and interests. I like traveling to historical sites like New York City, Philadelphia or Washington, D.C. as well as visiting our National Parks. I enjoy going for walks, especially in our local metro parks. I am big reader of fiction, biographies and non-fiction. I also enjoy cooking and trying new recipes.

Please share a fun fact about yourself. Although my degrees are not from Ohio State, I am long time Buckeye since I grew up in Central Ohio. I remember having student teachers from Ohio State in elementary school who taught us the university's fight song.

Natarajan Balasubramanian is a management researcher whose work explores how firms create, capture and distribute economic value, particularly as technology and artificial intelligence reshape organizations and markets. His research, published in leading journals including Management Science, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Human Resources, Review of Economics and Statistics and Academy of Management Review, examines the roles of human capital, innovation, organizational learning, productivity, technology adoption and competition in shaping business performance and economic outcomes.

His scholarship on post-employment restrictions has informed policy discussions on noncompete agreements, while his work on value creation and appropriation offers frameworks for understanding how firms generate value and share it among employees, customers, shareholders and other stakeholders. More recently, he has focused on AI and machine learning, studying their implications for organizational learning, productivity and workforce development. His co-authored book, The AI-Centered Enterprise, connects research and practice, arguing that generative AI requires organizations to rethink collaboration, decision-making and value creation.

Balasubramanian also teaches and mentors students across undergraduate, MBA and doctoral programs, emphasizing critical thinking, experiential learning and the responsible use of generative AI.

Previous Academic Institution or Company: Syracuse University

Jose M. Cortina is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Management and Human Resources at Fisher. He is a consulting editor for Journal of Management and a past editor of Organizational Research Methods (ORM) and associate editor of the Journal of Applied Psychology. 

Jose was honored by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) with the 2001 Distinguished Early Career Contributions Award; by the Research Methods Division of the Academy of Management (AOM) with the 2004 Best Paper Award; by the ORM Editorial Board with the 2012 and 2017 Best Paper Awards; and by the AOM Review Editorial Board with the 2020 Best Paper Award. 

He was honored by George Mason University with a 2010 Teaching Excellence Award and by SIOP with the 2011 Distinguished Teaching Award. In 2023 he was honored by Virginia Commonwealth University with the National/International Recognition Award. Jose served as president of SIOP in 2015. In 2020, he was honored by the Research Methods Division of AOM with the Distinguished Career Award. 

Among his current research interests are the improvement of research methods in the organizational sciences and the use of promotions as a performance management tool. 

Hometown, State, Province, Country: Baton Rouge, LA

Previous Academic Institution or Company: Virginia Commonwealth University

What area of business and business education most inspires you? Human capital management

What can Fisher students expect from you as an instructor? They can expect me to keep them engaged, whether they want to be or not.

Please share some professional awards/accolades/recognition of which you are proud. Career Achievement Award from the Research Methods Division of the Academy of Management

At a high level, please share your area of research and expertise if applicable. Research methods and personnel selection.

Tell us about some of your hobbies and interests. I play tournament bridge.

Please share a fun fact about yourself. My favorite color is pink. Also, my sister, brother-in-law, their son and their daughter are all at the University of Michigan. It's not my fault, but rest assured they will be buried in scarlet and gray swag this Christmas.

Vince Palombo has worked in higher education since 2009. He has served in both teaching and administrative positions and has established an entrepreneurship center and developed new majors in entrepreneurship, management and a master’s degree in business administration.          

Prior to education, he spent over 20 years as the operations manager/owner for Terrell Manufacturing, where he managed all operations for the business supervising over 30 employees in the manufacturing of precision-machined products. His career experience involves a period of rapid growth and development by a dynamic corporate culture shift and the cultivation of long-term business relationships with customers and suppliers. 

Inspired by his experience, his dissertation topic was “Exploring Turnaround Strategies for Small Machine Shops,” a qualitative, ethnographic study. In addition, he has served as a volunteer business advisor for Business Volunteers Unlimited and The Service Core of Retired Executives (SCORE). 

He is a stakeholder for Nelderm, a medical equipment start-up company now known as Recovery Force Health, and a board member for Idea Works, a business and entrepreneurship support organization and culinary incubator. 

Hometown, State, Province, Country: Medina, Ohio

Previous Academic Institution or Company: Tiffin University

What area of business and business education most inspires you? Strategic management, specifically change management and transformational leadership. Both align with my career experiences in manufacturing.

What can Fisher students expect from you as an instructor? An engaging classroom using adaptive learning with a focus on practical experiences. I focus on improving critical thinking skills by integrating simulations and problem-solving activities.

Please share some professional awards/accolades/recognition of which you are proud. Contributions to the student entrepreneurial community by founding a center and designing academic programs.

At a high level, please share your area of research and expertise if applicable. In my dissertation, “Exploring Turnaround Strategies for Small Machine Shops,” I used a  qualitative, ethnographic study of five primary turnaround strategies common to researchers to understand the effects that turnaround strategies have on small industrial firms.

Tell us about some of your hobbies and interests. Swimming, high-thrill water parks, domestic travel and supporting Cleveland pro sports

Please share a fun fact about yourself. I am on a mission to attend a game at each professional Major League Baseball park.

As founder and CEO of Inogize, a boutique executive advisory firm, Jennifer Scheehle has partnered with visionary leaders to accelerate innovation, sharpen strategy and drive sustainable growth. Her proprietary frameworks and hands-on approach have made her a trusted advisor to high-growth startups, Fortune 500s and mission-driven organizations alike. 

With more than two decades of experience spanning research, technology, healthcare and nonprofit leadership, Jennifer brings a blend of analytical rigor and human-centered insight. She began her career as a researcher at Battelle, led key account sales for two software startups through successful exits and served as an executive with the American Heart Association. In 2025, she served as executive-in-residence for Springboard Enterprises Healthcare & Technology Accelerator. 

Jennifer holds dual engineering degrees from the University of Washington and an MBA from Capital University. She serves on the advisory board and investment committee for Accelerating Angels, mentors early-stage ventures at The Ohio State University and the University of Washington and has been an adjunct faculty member at Fisher since 2024. Jennifer’s contributions have earned her recognition as a Capital University Alumni of Distinction and a Columbus Business First Woman of Influence.

Will Shepherd is a talent management leader with experience and expertise in succession planning, leadership development, human capital analytics, employment testing and assessment, performance management and organizational culture. 

He has worked internally in the financial services, telecommunication and quick service restaurant industries as well as entrepreneurial start-ups. He also has experience in professional services as a consultant to a wide variety of industries. 

He has served as the director of talent and organizational effectiveness at Wendy’s where he had responsibility for leadership development, executive coaching, organizational culture and hiring and promotional assessment programs as well as curriculum development. Before Wendy’s he worked at Huntington National Bank in various talent management leadership roles. Previously he worked for the international human capital consulting company Personnel Decisions International (now a division of Korn Ferry). 

Will obtained his doctoral and master’s degree in industrial and organization psychology with a minor in quantitative psychology at Bowling Green State University and bachelor's degree in finance and psychology at the University of Northern Iowa. He is a licensed psychologist in Texas. He has been recognized as a fellow of both the American Psychological Association and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. 

Hometown, State, Province, Country: Cedar Falls, Iowa

Previous Academic Institution or Company: Huntington, Wendy's, GE Aerospace

What area of business and business education most inspires you? Human resource management

What can Fisher students expect from you as an instructor? I have worked in Corporate America for more than 20 years but at the same time have taught as an adjunct at Ohio State for 15 years while continuing to publish applied research. Students should expect a blend of both practice and theory

Please share some professional awards/accolades/recognition of which you are proud. I am a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychological Association and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP). I have received nine applied research awards from SIOP including the Distinguished Professional Contributions Lifetime Career Award. My research has been published in the Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology and Personnel Psychology as well as in multiple book chapters and dozens of conference presentations. I currently serve on the SIOP Executive Board.

At a high level, please share your area of research and expertise if applicable. My research focuses on how individual characteristics, including personality and job attitudes, impact group-level organizational performance metrics like turnover, revenue and customer service.

Tell us about some of your hobbies and interests. My wife and I enjoy hiking, traveling and seeing live music.

Please share a fun fact about yourself. My dad was a university music professor who conducted marching bands and symphonic bands and taught music history classes. He also played trombone and led his own bands. I was a "roadie" for him from an early age and helped set up the equipment and sound system for his "gigs."

Zhi Wang is an assistant professor of operations and business analytics at Fisher. She was a postdoctoral fellow at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and earned her PhD in decision science at McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin. Prior to her PhD, she obtained a bachelor’s of engineering degree, with honors, at the Singapore University of Technology and Design.

Her research focuses on developing reliable AI solutions that are both analytically rigorous and empirically effective for addressing real-world operational challenges, especially in revenue management and consumer choice models. She applies tools from machine learning theory, data-driven optimization and statistics to choice modeling, pricing, assortment and e-commerce platform applications. Her previous experience includes working with industry leaders from Expedia and Rakuten’s advertising team.

Hometown, State, Province, Country: Mianyang, Sichuan, China

Previous Academic Institution or Company: University of Texas at Austin and University of Toronto

Please share some professional awards/accolades/recognition of which you are proud. POMS-HK Best Student Paper second-place award, UT Austin Recruitment Fellowship and IES Gold Medal Award

At a high level, please share your area of research and expertise if applicable. Artificial intelligence and revenue management

Please share a fun fact about yourself. I pick up some Japanese and Korean from anime and TV shows.