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Meet the master program faculty

Get to know some of the ESMT core faculty who will deliver your courses during the Master in Global Management (MGM)Master in Innovation & Entrepreneurship (MIE), Master in Analytics and Artificial Intelligence (MAAI) programs.

 

 

Meet the MGM Core Faculty

Merih Sevilir

Nationality: Turkey/USA 


Education: INSEAD, Ph.D.


Research area/focus: Entrepreneurship, gender gaps in leadership and entrepreneurship, healthcare finance, mergers and acquisitions 


Courses taught: Financial Management and Entrepreneurial Finance 


Fun fact: Studied, lived and worked in 5 countries in the last 20 years (England, France, USA, Italy and Germany).  

"It lays the foundations of modern finance theory based on Nobel Prize winning theories in financial economics. Using finance theory to understand the creation and growth of entrepreneurial startups"

David Royane

Nationality: UK 


Education: University of Warwick, Ph.D.; University of Oxford, Post doc.


Research area/focus: Industrial organization and behavioral economics 


Courses taught: Business Economics 
 

"We will explore business-relevant economic concepts and results, bringing them to life through applications and interactive exercises. The questions we will address range from the fundamental, e.g., 'What are the benefits of a free market?' to the practical, e.g., 'How should you price a product line?'

 

Matt Bothner 

Nationality: USA


Education:  Columbia University, Ph.D.


Research area/focus: Semantic network analysis; status measured through eigenvector centrality 


Courses taught: Status and Organizations: Approaches to Leading with Agility  


Fun fact: I played basketball in the junior Olympics  
 

“Even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there.” – Will Rogers 

Nazlı Sönmez 

Nationality: Turkey 


Education: London Business School, Ph.D.


Research area/focus: Operational innovation in healthcare 


Courses taught: Operations and Global Supply Chain Management (MGM/MIE/MAAI), Analytics and AI for Healthcare Management (MAAI)


Fun fact: I was the co-founder of Bilkent University Baking Club during my college years. 
 

"You can't manage or improve what you can't measure." 

Eric Quintane

Nationality: France


Education: University of Melbourne, Ph.D.


Research area/focus: Social network analysis


Courses taught: Managing Organizations is a Global Context (MGM/MIE), Organizational Analytics: Data, Models, and People (MAAI)


Fun fact: I convinced my family to spend a night with me in a treehouse in the middle of the Amazon forest.

 

“No one can effectively implement third-generation strategies through second-generation organizations run by first-generation managers.”   -  Bartlett and Ghoshal (1990)

Julia Langdon 

Nationality: Spain/UK


Education: London Business School, Ph.D.


Research area/focus: How we judge unethical behavior, moral lay theories, moral messaging around disability, and negotiations. 


Courses taught: Negotiations 


Fun fact: I once walked from Bordeaux to Valencia. 

 

"It is not the critic who counts; ... The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, ... who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, ... and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly." - Theodore Roosevelt  

 
 

 

Linus Dahlander 

Nationality: Sweden 


Education: Chalmers University of Technology, Ph.D. and Stanford University, Post doc.


Courses taught: Innovation, entrepreneurship, new technologies 


Fun fact: I once broke my arm while arm wrestling with a childhood friend. We are still friends even though he won. 
 

"AI is changing how we innovate by opening new ways to solve problems and think creatively. But many people still don’t understand how to leverage it to the fullest potential." 

Jamie Song 

Nationality: South Korea 


Education: INSEAD, Ph.D.


Research area/focus: Entrepreneurial strategy, social networks, machine learning 


Courses taught: Foundations of Strategic Management 


Fun fact: I’ve lived across four continents and seven cities in the past ten years. 
 

“The principles of strategic management will be a compass guiding you through the complexities of business, illuminating paths to gaining and sustaining competitive advantage, and empowering you to shape the future of organizations.” 

Oliver Binz

Nationality: Germany
 

Education: Duke University, Ph.D.
 

Research area/focus: Valuation
 

Courses taught: Financial Accounting
 

Fun fact: Lived in 7 countries 

 

"A = L + E"

Angeliki Papachroni 

Nationality: Greece 
 

Education: University of Warwick, Ph.D.
 

Research area/focus: Strategy & innovation 

Courses taught: Foundations of Entrepreneurship (MIE), Organizing for Innovation (MIE), Ambidextrous Leadership (MGM) 
 

Fun fact: So far I have traveled to 29 Greek islands, there are approximately only 198 to go! 
 

“There is nothing more practical than a good theory” - Kurt Lewin 

 

Huseyin Gurkan

Nationality: Turkey 


Education: Fuqua School of Business is the business school of Duke University, Ph.D.
 

Research area/focus: Decision sciences, incentive management  

Courses taught: Advanced Decision Analysis (MAAI), and Statistics in (MGM)
 

Fun fact: I have never tried doner kebap in Berlin. 

 

Jan Sebastian Nimczik 

Nationality: Germany 


Education: University of Mannheim, Dr. rer. pol. 


Research area/focus: Labour markets and immigration 
 

Courses taught: Data Science for Analytics (MGM/MIE), Machine Learning and Causality (MAAI)
 

" In this class we connect the predictive power of machine learning with the quest for answers to causal questions that help us make thorough decisions."

Meet the MIE Core Faculty

Angeliki Papachroni 

Nationality: Greece 
 

Education: University of Warwick, Ph.D.
 

Research area/focus: Strategy & innovation 

Courses taught: Foundations of Entrepreneurship (MIE), Organizing for Innovation (MIE), Ambidextrous Leadership (MGM) 
 

Fun fact: So far I have traveled to 29 Greek islands, there are approximately only 198 to go! 
 

“There is nothing more practical than a good theory” - Kurt Lewin 

 

Merih Sevilir

Nationality: Turkey/USA 


Education: INSEAD, Ph.D.


Research area/focus: Entrepreneurship, gender gaps in leadership and entrepreneurship, healthcare finance, mergers and acquisitions 


Courses taught: Financial Management and Entrepreneurial Finance 


Fun fact: Studied, lived and worked in 5 countries in the last 20 years (England, France, USA, Italy and Germany).  

"It lays the foundations of modern finance theory based on Nobel Prize winning theories in financial economics. Using finance theory to understand the creation and growth of entrepreneurial startups"

David Royane

Nationality: UK 


Education: University of Warwick, Ph.D.; University of Oxford, Post doc.


Research area/focus: Industrial organization and behavioral economics 


Courses taught: Business Economics 
 

"We will explore business-relevant economic concepts and results, bringing them to life through applications and interactive exercises. The questions we will address range from the fundamental, e.g., 'What are the benefits of a free market?' to the practical, e.g., 'How should you price a product line?'

 

Nazlı Sönmez 

Nationality: Turkey 


Education: London Business School, Ph.D.


Research area/focus: Operational innovation in healthcare 


Courses taught: Operations and Global Supply Chain Management (MGM/MIE/MAAI), Analytics and AI for Healthcare Management (MAAI)


Fun fact: I was the co-founder of Bilkent University Baking Club during my college years. 
 

"You can't manage or improve what you can't measure." 

Eric Quintane

Nationality: France


Education: University of Melbourne, Ph.D.


Research area/focus: Social network analysis


Courses taught: Managing Organizations is a Global Context (MGM/MIE), Organizational Analytics: Data, Models, and People (MAAI)


Fun fact: I convinced my family to spend a night with me in a treehouse in the middle of the Amazon forest.

 

“No one can effectively implement third-generation strategies through second-generation organizations run by first-generation managers.”   -  Bartlett and Ghoshal (1990)

Linus Dahlander 

Nationality: Sweden 


Education: Chalmers University of Technology, Ph.D. and Stanford University, Post doc.


Courses taught: Innovation, entrepreneurship, new technologies 


Fun fact: I once broke my arm while arm wrestling with a childhood friend. We are still friends even though he won. 
 

"AI is changing how we innovate by opening new ways to solve problems and think creatively. But many people still don’t understand how to leverage it to the fullest potential." 

Oliver Binz

Nationality: Germany
 

Education: Duke University, Ph.D.
 

Research area/focus: Valuation
 

Courses taught: Financial Accounting
 

Fun fact: Lived in 7 countries 

 

"A = L + E"

Bianca Schmitz

Nationality: Germany
 

Education: Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Dr. rer. pol.
 

Research area/focus: Innovation, hidden champions and family firms, sales
 

Courses taught: Design Thinking
 

Fun fact: Being a “Kölsch Mädche” I love the Cologne Carnival.

 

"Design thinking isn't just a methodology; it's a mindset that transforms human-centered challenges into opportunities for innovation."

 

 

Jens Weinmann

Nationality: Germany
 

Education: London Business School
 

Research area/focus: Innovation, digital transformation, design thinking, energy transformation, sustainability
 

Courses taught: Design Thinking, Sustainable Energy Future
 

Fun fact: Tried to become rich with producing NFTs and publishing them on web3 marketplaces (failed, at the least the part of becoming rich)

 

“We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten. Don't let yourself be lulled into inaction.” - Bill Gates

 

 



 

Jamie Song 

Nationality: South Korea 


Education: INSEAD, Ph.D.


Research area/focus: Entrepreneurial strategy, social networks, machine learning 


Courses taught: Foundations of Strategic Management 


Fun fact: I’ve lived across four continents and seven cities in the past ten years. 
 

“The principles of strategic management will be a compass guiding you through the complexities of business, illuminating paths to gaining and sustaining competitive advantage, and empowering you to shape the future of organizations.” 

Julia Langdon 

Nationality: Spain/UK


Education: London Business School, Ph.D.


Research area/focus: How we judge unethical behavior, moral lay theories, moral messaging around disability, and negotiations. 


Courses taught: Negotiations 


Fun fact: I once walked from Bordeaux to Valencia. 

 

"It is not the critic who counts; ... The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, ... who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, ... and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly." - Theodore Roosevelt  

 
 

 

Stefan Wagner

Nationality: Germany       
 

Education: LMU Munich, Dr. habil., Dr. oec. publ. 
 

Research area/focus: Technology and Innovation Management
 

Courses taught: Economics of Innovation and New Technology , Innovation Policy and Regulation.
 

Fun fact: Despite being German, I have a weakness for vintage Italian vehicles. While still dreaming of owning an Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA, I acquired two Vespas with a combined age of 72 years and still uses both of them!

 

"It is always fun to bring insights from my research to the classroom."

Jan Sebastian Nimczik 

Nationality: Germany 


Education: University of Mannheim, Dr. rer. pol. 


Research area/focus: Labour markets and immigration 
 

Courses taught: Data Science for Analytics (MGM/MIE), Machine Learning and Causality (MAAI)
 

" In this class we connect the predictive power of machine learning with the quest for answers to causal questions that help us make thorough decisions."

Matthias Qian 

Nationality: Germany 
 

Education: University of Oxford, Ph.D.
 

Research area/focus: AI and entrepreneurship 
 

Courses taught: Econometrics, Large language models  
 

 "Data is not information, information is not knowledge, knowledge is not understanding, understanding is not wisdom." 

Vali Berlin

Vali Berlin, ESMT's Entrepreneurship Hub, fosters entrepreneurship for economic, environmental, and social value in Europe and beyond. While not a traditional faculty member, Vali is an important part of your journey within our MIE program, providing essential resources and mentorship for aspiring entrepreneurs. Vali supports students with specialized startup and innovation programs that lead them through the entrepreneurial process, from ideation to implementation. These initiatives ensure students acquire the necessary skills and insights to launch and sustain impactful businesses. 

Learn more about Vali Berlin

Meet the MAAI Core Faculty

Catalina Stefanescu-Cuntze

Nationality: Romania/UK
 

Education: Cornell University, Ph.D.
 

Research area/focus: Credit risk, customer analytics 
 

Courses taught: Analytics leadership 

 

“All models are wrong. Some are useful. (G.E.P. Box)” 

Nazlı Sönmez 

Nationality: Turkey 


Education: London Business School, Ph.D.


Research area/focus: Operational innovation in healthcare 


Courses taught: Operations and Global Supply Chain Management (MGM/MIE/MAAI), Analytics and AI for Healthcare Management (MAAI)


Fun fact: I was the co-founder of Bilkent University Baking Club during my college years. 
 

"You can't manage or improve what you can't measure." 

Urs Müller

Nationality: Germany/Switzerland 
 

Education: University of Goettingen,Dr. phil.
 

Research area/focus: Business ethics 
 

Courses taught: Analytics and Society
 

Fun fact: I collect selfies in front of McDonald’s and sort literature, art, and philosophy books by date of birth of the author.

 

“Analytics and AI will shape our future – for the better or worse. I am rather optimistic, but business will need to contribute to turn them into drivers of societal benefit.”
 

Vlada Pleshcheva

Nationality: Russia


Education: Humboldt University Berlin, Dr. rer. pol.


Research area/focus: Leveraging advanced analytics to understand consumer behavior and devise environmentally sustainable strategies
 

Courses taught: Value Chain Analytics, Predictive Analytics, Advanced Marketing Modeling, Consumer Preference Modeling

 

"The goal is to turn data into information, and information into insight." - Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard 

Jan Sebastian Nimczik 

Nationality: Germany 


Education: University of Mannheim, Dr. rer. pol. 


Research area/focus: Labour markets and immigration 
 

Courses taught: Data Science for Analytics (MGM/MIE), Machine Learning and Causality (MAAI)
 

" In this class we connect the predictive power of machine learning with the quest for answers to causal questions that help us make thorough decisions."

Tamer Boyaci 

Nationality: Canada/Turkey


Education: Columbia University, Ph.D.
 

Research area/focus: Human-AI collaboration, sustainable operations
 

Courses taught: Modeling and AI for Sustainability  
 

"My course will not focus on predictions and predictive analytics, but rather prescriptive models and strategies for improving sustainability of business operations."

 

Matthias Qian 

Nationality: Germany 
 

Education: University of Oxford, Ph.D.
 

Research area/focus: AI and entrepreneurship 
 

Courses taught: Econometrics, Large language models  
 

 "Data is not information, information is not knowledge, knowledge is not understanding, understanding is not wisdom." 

Jamie Song 

Nationality: South Korea 


Education: INSEAD, Ph.D.


Research area/focus: Entrepreneurial strategy, social networks, machine learning 


Courses taught: Foundations of Strategic Management 


Fun fact: I’ve lived across four continents and seven cities in the past ten years. 
 

“The principles of strategic management will be a compass guiding you through the complexities of business, illuminating paths to gaining and sustaining competitive advantage, and empowering you to shape the future of organizations.” 

Eric Quintane

Nationality: France


Education: University of Melbourne, Ph.D.


Research area/focus: Social network analysis


Courses taught: Managing Organizations is a Global Context (MGM/MIE), Organizational Analytics: Data, Models, and People (MAAI)


Fun fact: I convinced my family to spend a night with me in a treehouse in the middle of the Amazon forest.

 

“No one can effectively implement third-generation strategies through second-generation organizations run by first-generation managers.”   -  Bartlett and Ghoshal (1990)

Huseyin Gurkan

Nationality: Turkey 


Education: Fuqua School of Business is the business school of Duke University, Ph.D.
 

Research area/focus: Decision sciences, incentive management  

Courses taught: Advanced Decision Analysis (MAAI), and Statistics in (MGM)
 

Fun fact: I have never tried doner kebap in Berlin. 

 

David Royane

Nationality: UK 


Education: University of Warwick, Ph.D.; University of Oxford, Post doc.


Research area/focus: Industrial organization and behavioral economics 


Courses taught: Business Economics 
 

"We will explore business-relevant economic concepts and results, bringing them to life through applications and interactive exercises. The questions we will address range from the fundamental, e.g., 'What are the benefits of a free market?' to the practical, e.g., 'How should you price a product line?'