News & Stories
In other news: July 2026
Celebrating MAC graduates
Congratulations to the 116 Master of Accounting (MAC) Program students who became the Business School’s newest alumni following a June 18 graduation ceremony. The commencement address was delivered by Sharon Bryson, former CEO of the North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants.
In a LinkedIn post, Valedictorian Noah Abernethy (BSBA ’25, MAC ’26) said that his accomplishment reflects the hard work, perseverance and support of those who encouraged him along the way. “As a first-generation college graduate, earning my master’s degree from UNC and receiving this recognition is something I could not have imagined when I began this journey,” he said.
As Bryson shared on LinkedIn, “The future of the accounting profession remains bright!”
Thought leaders
- For the second year in a row, Alyssa Tedder-King (PhD ’25) won the Academy of Management DEI Division’s 2026 Saroj Parasuraman Outstanding Publication Award. This year, it was for “The mitigation–signaling model: An integrative conceptual review of allyship behaviors’ consequences for marginalized individuals,” co-authored by Professor Elad Sherf.
- Marketing Professors Fei Long and Eddie Ning have been selected as members of the 2025 MSI Young Scholars cohort by the Marketing Science Institute. The program recognizes outstanding early-career marketing academics.
- NCGrowth, economic development center at The Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise, received the North Carolina Bar Association Outstanding Collaborative/Group Pro Bono Service Award.
Tedder-King with Professor Sherf after winning last year’s publication award.
Standout students and alumni
- Lauren Dever (MAC ’20) received the prestigious Elijah Watt Sells Award. The American Institute of CPAs and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy grant the award each year to the highest scoring exam candidates who sat for the Uniform CPA Exam.
- Winston Wright (MBA ’24) joined Grasp as senior manager of commercial partnerships.
- Deaconess Health System named Alice Rigdon (MBA ’08) its next chief financial officer.
- Nilesh Navlakha (MBA ’96) joined JM Financial Services as nonexecutive chairman at JM Financial Singapore.
- After seven years with Accenture, Leslie C. Wong (MBA ’18) joined Morgan Stanley as digital assets portfolio enablement and governance lead.
- James Hall (MBA ’06) joined Willis Lease Finance Corporation as treasurer and vice president.
- Choice Home Warranty named Mandy Dowson (MBA ’05) chief operating officer.
- A.J. McKinney (MBA ’23) was named the first-ever sports tourism business development manager with the Gallatin Economic Development Agency in Gallatin, Tennessee.
Spotted on social
- The Ackerman Center for Excellence in Sustainability joined the Investors Circle Student Impact Investing Initiative. The initiative integrates university students directly into the real-world Investors Circle impact investing ecosystem.
- Cloudforce recognized Paul Wolff, director of the faculty consulting group at UNC Kenan-Flagler, as their 2026 Frontier Awards Adoption Accelerator winner for his role in bringing BlueChipAI to life.
- Professor Jan-Benedict Steenkamp joined “Consumer Pulse: The Crisis Series” to discuss the rise of Private Label and why it sticks.
