In Good Company: Leeds Welcomes New Faculty

A large cohort of faculty members arrived at Leeds this fall to contribute their talents to Leeds’ world-class scholarship and teaching.

Pictured from left to right: Michael Gropper, Xiaobo Yu, Ying Zeng and Rodrigo Dias. 

Among 20 new faculty members at Leeds are four tenure-track scholars who hail from top business schools including Duke University, the University of Chicago and the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto.

Michael Gropper, visiting assistant professor of finance, worked for several years in litigation consulting prior to pursuing his PhD at the University of North Carolina. He says his professional experience has proven invaluable in different projects over the years, including “valuing intellectual property, working on antitrust litigation in the healthcare industry and working on securities class-action lawsuits.” That experience translates well to the classroom, he says, enabling his students to connect concepts to the working world.

“The finance department at Leeds is home to world-class scholars whose research interests are similar to my own,” said Gropper, pointing to the household insurance research by Tony Cookson and Emily Gallagher, and to the study of target date funds by Shaun Davies.

Gropper looks forward to collaborating with others across disciplines—an exciting advantage, he said, of working at Leeds.

Xiaobo Yu, assistant professor of finance, is similarly impressed with Leeds. “I am a corporate finance theorist,” he said, “and Leeds has the biggest theory community in the U.S. I have a lot of people that I can talk to and get insights from.”

Among Yu’s accomplishments are receiving the best paper award from the Finance Theory Group and the Brattle Group Prize from the Western Finance Association. “Nothing beats recognition from the people you admire,” he said.

Assistant Professor of Marketing Ying Zeng begins her first teaching job at Leeds, where she is excited to become a colleague alongside her “academic heroes and role models.”

Zeng earned her PhD from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, a master’s from the University of Chicago and dual bachelor’s degrees from Peking University. She also studied for a summer at Oxford University. She credits her international education to sparking her interest in the universally applied commonalities underlying human decisions, especially those that produce inconsistencies and biases.

Rodrigo Dias, assistant professor of marketing, is also interested in decision-making. He received his PhD in marketing from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University, where he also received the best dissertation award.

Dias sees Leeds as a critical research hub, specifically pointing to the Center for Research on Consumer Financial Decision-Making. This aligns well with his interests in marketing questions at the intersection of psychology and economics.

“I am particularly interested in financial decision-making and the psychology of happiness and well-being,” he said. He is currently exploring questions related to inflation and its impact on consumers, and how inflation differs from other forms of financial constraints.

“We’re thrilled to welcome this talented group to our faculty,” said Sarah Zechman, senior associate dean of faculty and professor of accounting. “I have no doubt that their research will contribute significant insights to benefit consumers, regulators, investors, the greater business community and beyond and anticipate they will make a lasting impact in the classroom.” 

The Full Roster

The following is a complete listing of new faculty, organized by their areas of study. 

Accounting

Jane Garrard, lecturer, is a retired corporate financial executive with over 25 years of experience in diverse industries including public accounting, passenger and freight airlines, consumer products and direct selling. Jane completed her BBA in accounting at The Anderson School of Management at University of New Mexico and earned an MBA in finance from Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College.

Russell Jeans, lecturer and CPA, is a seasoned leader in the fields of accounting and financial management, with over two decades of experience across diverse industries. He serves as the director of accounting in the Controller’s Office at CU Boulder, where he oversees the financial operations of the university, ensuring fiscal compliance, cost and campus accounting, debt and asset management, and financial reporting.

Kirsten Ortez, assistant teaching professor, moved from Chicago this year to begin teaching at CU Boulder. After earning her master’s from the University of Arizona and becoming a licensed CPA, she worked in audit at PricewaterhouseCoopers, specializing in both the asset and wealth management and technology, media and telecommunications industries. She is teaching the intro and intermediate financial accounting courses.

Finance

Michael Gropper, visiting assistant professor, will teach corporate finance in the undergraduate program. He conducts research exploring corporate and household finance, as well as studying the forces that affect how employers offer retirement benefits to employees.

Nicole Hunter, associate teaching professor, held several positions at the Jacobs School of Management at SUNY Buffalo, teaching at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Focus areas have included fixed income securities, corporate social responsibility, global economics and macroeconomics.

Jennifer Kilpela, lecturer, pivoted to focus on the incorporation of sustainability in investments after a 20-year career in institutional investing. In addition to teaching the new Investing in Sustainability class at Leeds, she is a member of several boards and chair of the investment committee of The Denver Foundation.  

Xiaobo Yu, assistant professor, earned his PhD from Columbia Business School. He uses game theory to study financial transactions where multiple agents interact strategically, such as takeovers, debt restructuring and bankruptcy. He also studies the stability of the financial network, particularly how the network topology interacts with financial contracts. He is teaching undergraduate corporate finance.

Marketing

Rodrigo Da Silva Dias, assistant professor of marketing, is interested in financial decision-making and well-being, researching topics that lie at the intersection of marketing, finance and consumption. He received the Rising Star Award from the American Marketing Association, the Mathew Joseph Emerging Scholar Award from the American Marketing Association, and the Ferber Award for the best dissertation-based article published in the Journal of Consumer Research.

David Laverty, lecturer, has worked as a business instructor at Red Rocks Community College for 15 years and has taught marketing, management and business writing courses. Outside of teaching, he has managed his own company with business plan preparation, website development and operational education. He also worked as the director of specialty markets for Nexus Greenhouse Systems in Northglenn, Colorado.

Ying Zeng, assistant professor of marketing, studies inconsistencies and biases in consumer decisions in the context of digital marketing, competition, consumption experience and risky decisions. She is teaching undergraduate marketing research.

Nicole Zimmerman, lecturer, is a Leeds alumna and a certified digital marketing professional.

Organizational Leadership and Information Analytics

Conner Lyons Brown, lecturer, is teaching a section of the Information Management and Analytics course, incorporating the latest practices, such as the applied use of generative AI tools. He works in product operations for a leading digital asset custodian focused on the world of decentralized finance. Prior to transitioning into the crypto space, he worked for a digital product agency as a product architect. He holds a bachelor’s in economics and a master’s in technology and cybersecurity.

Ben Hoffman, lecturer, has expertise in data engineering and machine learning.

Mark Susol, lecturer, is a hybrid data scientist/machine learning engineer at Oracle, where he spearheads the development of generative AI applications within the enterprise engineering team. In the classroom, Susol focuses on bridging the gap between academic theory and real-world application of AI technologies in enterprise settings.

Joanne Zeas, lecturer, is the chief human resources officer for the City of Longmont. She has an MBA and an EdD from Temple University. She is teaching Employer-Employee Relations.

Professional Effectiveness

Julie Alexander, assistant teaching professor, earned an MA in communication from the University of Colorado (UCCS). Most recently, she was the curriculum director at the Tippie College of Business and a lecturer in business communication, both at the University of Iowa.

Carly Fabian, assistant teaching professor, has research interests in transnational social movements, queer-of-color analysis, feminist rhetorical criticism, digital media and contemporary sexuality. Fabian received an ABD in communication studies from the University of Georgia.

Matthew Higgins, assistant teaching professor, is a researcher and educator specializing in resilience, well-being and meaningful work. With eight years of teaching experience and a background in college and professional basketball coaching, he combines academic research with practical expertise in leadership and teamwork. He is teaching multiple sections of Communication Strategy.

Katrina Newell is a lecturer (details to come).

Social Responsibility and Sustainability

Jeffrey Butt, lecturer, is a former renewable energy executive with over a decade of experience commercializing solar, wind and energy storage projects across the U.S. He teaches about the intersection of energy and sustainability and what it takes for renewable energy projects to go from concept to producing clean electrons. He has an MBA from the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia.