News & Stories
In other news: December 2025
Thought leaders
- Professor Jan-Benedict Steenkamp’s paper “Brand Equity in Good and Bad Time: What Distinguishes Winners from Losers in CPG Industries?” received the American Marketing Association’s Branding Special Interest Group Best Paper Award. The award recognizes an outstanding journal article that advances branding theory and practice.
- New research from Professors Elad Sherf and Alyssa Tedder-King (PhD ’25) shows the most effective allyship tackles the root causes of inequality, focusing on removing structural barriers and changing biased workplace systems.
- This year’s Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise Frontiers Conference brought together researchers and practitioners from across industries to talk about the U.S. skills gap. Four key themes emerged at the conference: work-based training is critical for success, AI is rapidly redefining how work gets done, demographic shifts are reshaping the workforce and culture is powering business and community growth.
- New research by Professor Longxiu Tian has been accepted for publication in Marketing Science. The research proposes Privacy Preserving Data Fusion, a machine learning framework that enables businesses to accurately join multiple databases without compromising privacy.
Standout students and alumni
- Royal Caribbean Group was ranked the No. 3 best company in the U.S. according to Forbes. President and CEO Jason Liberty (MBA ’15) has been at Royal Caribbean since 2005 and serves on the UNC Kenan-Flagler Board.
- Dr. Abraham Thomas (MBA ’25) was appointed Caring Health Center’s new chief medical officer.
Keegan, Grannan and Asuncion with McNeilly.
- Ravi Maniar (MBA ’16) was featured by The Global Indian Showcase for his journey from the high seas to the frontlines of clinical education and leadership in the U.S.
- Caroline Landry (BSBA ’21) and Paul Lilley (BSBA ’16) were named “NextGens to Watch” in Family Business Magazine. Landry is a third-generation family member of furniture retailer Furnitureland South, and Lilley is a third-generation leader at Lilley International.
- David Keegan (MBA ’07), Tim Grannan (MBA ’07) and Virginia Asuncion (MBA ’12) joined Professor Mark McNeilly’s Global Brand Strategy class to discuss their career journeys, global brand building and what it takes to create impact.
- Thorpe Landscapes, founded by Dan Thorpe (MBA ’21), has expanded across North Carolina, earning recognition for their sustainable designs and high-profile restoration projects including work at Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.
Spotted on social
- Marketing Professors Sri Venkataraman, Annie Williams, Longxiu Tian and Claudia Kubowicz Malhotra participated in a Black Friday Professor Panel hosted by the UNC Marketing Club and the UNC MBA Marketing Club.
- Professor Brad Staats, associate dean for strategy and academics, shared insights from UNC Kenan-Flagler’s Master of Science in Management (MSM) Program in a LinkedIn post. “In the spring, they’ll step into high-impact work through STAR (Student Teams Achieving Results) projects across North Carolina,” he said. “This is a perfect example of what we are trying to do with the MSM program.”
- During a visit to Tokyo, UNC Global Affairs and the Office of University Development hosted a reception for more than 130 Tar Heels and friends. Taketo “Mike” Furuhata (MBA ’52), the first international student to earn an MBA from Carolina, was a special guest.
Barbara Stephenson presents Furuhata with a copy of “UNC Kenan-Flagler: A Century of Tradition and Innovation,” which includes a story about his experience at Carolina. Photo by Yuuki Ide.