News & Stories
In other news: June 2026
Thought leaders
- Professor Sriram (Sri) Venkataraman will become senior associate dean for academic strategy and programs at UNC Kenan-Flagler effective July 1, succeeding Professor Brad Staats. Venkataraman is an award-winning researcher and educator whose work has influenced practice and policy worldwide. Staats will step into a new role as dean of the McCombs School of Business.
- Professor Eva Labro will succeed Professor Christian Lundblad as senior associate dean of faculty and research effective July 1. Labro has been at UNC Kenan-Flagler since 2009 and shares Lundblad’s deep commitment to rigorous, relevant and impactful research.
- Mithila Hegde (PhD ’27) was selected as a winner of a 2026 American Marketing Association Marketing Strategy Special Interest Group Doctoral Student Research Award. Her research explores how platform repositioning can impact individual sellers differently, depending on their unique circumstances.
- Professors Mike Christian and Jessica Christian joined Palisades Hudson Financial Group’s Something Personal podcast to explore how organizational behavior illuminates how we behave at work.
- UNC Kenan-Flagler real estate students worked with the Dare County Housing Foundation on feasibility studies for affordable housing development on two county-owned land parcels in Manteo, North Carolina, as part of Professor Eric Maribojoc’s Affordable Housing Practicum class.
Standout students and alumni
- Sonali Ratnasinghe (BSBA ’26) is the youngest winner of this year’s Triangle Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 award due to work with her nonprofit, Youth Ambassadors of Service, and UNC Kenan-Flagler.
- Sagar Rathie (MBA ’13) was named to Charlotte Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 Class of 2026 for his work as a managing director at Crescent Communities.
- Blake Berquist (MAC ’17) was named chief financial officer at HealthPartners after almost 18 years with UnitedHealth Group.
- Claudia Berrón (MBA ’03) was named CEO of Europa Biosite, a leading European distributor of life science products.
- Bascome Majors (BSBA ’03, MAC ’04) joined Stephens to lead the firm’s transportation equity research team.
- Dr. Ian Martin (MBA ’15) was selected as the next dean and provost of the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine.
- Tom Staab (BSBA ’89, MAC ’90) was named chief financial officer at Tenax Therapeutics.
Spotted on social
- UNC Kenan-Flagler unveiled a new piece of artwork outside Steven D. Bell Hall. “The Orchid (And The I-Beam),” a sculpture by Ben Leone (BA ’15), was made possible by the generosity of Tom Kenan (BA ’59).
- Professor Kristopher Keller received the Master of Science in Management (MSM) Teaching Award from the inaugural MSM class.
- Pedro Oliveira (PhD ’04) and Enno Siemsen (PhD ’05) reconnected 25 years after meeting during their PhD programs at UNC Kenan-Flagler on Oliveira’s LinkeDean podcast. They spoke about where education and technology are heading, including how AI is shifting the role of professor.
“The Orchid (And The I-Beam)” by Ben Leone