Skip to main content

Kean University

Apply
Visit

Finance Faculty

Kean Professor Benito Sanchez

Benito Sanchez, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Department Chair

Hynes Hall 404F  l   908-737-4222   l   bsanchez@kean.edu

Dr. Sanchez has a 30-year teaching experience at both the MBA and the undergraduate levels. In addition, he has worked in business consulting projects, mainly in benchmarking, operation management, financial engineering, and asset valuation. Sanchez holds a Ph.D. (2007) and M.S. (2005) in Financial Economics from the University of New Orleans, an M.A. in International Management (2001) from Tulane University, and MBA (1995) from IESA and a B.S. in Industrial Engineering (1993) from University of Carabobo. Dr. Sanchez is currently a member of the Board of Advisors of the PANNA Group (Miami, Florida).

Education: 

  • Ph.D., Financial Economics, University of New Orleans
  • M.S., Financial Economics, University of New Orleans
  • M.B.A., International Management, Tulane University
  • M.B.A., IESA, Venezuela
  • B.S., Industrial Engineering, University of Carabobo

Classes: 

  • FIN 3310 CORPORATE FINANCE I
  • FIN 3311 CORPORATE FINANCE II
  • FIN 3380 INTRODUCTION TO DERIVATIVES
  • FIN 4300 INVESTMENTS
  • FIN 4320 CAPITAL BUDGETING MANAGEMENT
  • FIN 4350 ASSET VALUATION

Research interests: 

  • Relationship Between Financial Development and Economic Growth
  • Banking Efficiency
  • Asset Pricing
Ahmed Alam

Ahmed Alam, Ph.D., Assistant Professor 

Hynes Hall 404k  l   908-737-4232   l aalam@kean.edu

Dr. Ahmed W. Alam is an Assistant Professor of Finance in the Department of Accounting and Finance at Kean University. He received his Ph.D. in Financial Economics and M.S. in Finance from the University of New Orleans. He also holds an M.S. in Finance from the University of North Texas. His research primarily focuses on empirical corporate finance. He has published in well reputed finance and economics journals such as Energy Economics, Economics Letters, Journal of Environmental Management, Finance Research Letters, Journal of Sustainable Finance Investment, Journal of Economics and Finance, and Research in International Business and Finance.

Education: 

  • Ph.D., Financial Economics, University of New Orleans
  • M.S., Finance, University of New Orleans
  • M.S., Finance, University of North Texas

Classes: 

  • FIN 3310 CORPORATE FINANCE I
  • FIN 3311 CORPORATE FINANCE II
  • FIN 3345 ENTREPRENEURIAL FINANCE
  • FIN 3350 INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

Research interests: 

  • Corporate Finance.
  • Political Economy
  • Banks
  • ESG/CSR

Selected Publications:

Alam, A. W., Farjana, A., & Houston, R. (2024). Geopolitical risk, CEO power, and corporate lobbying: Do powerful CEOs lobby more? Finance Research Letters, 105127. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2024.105127.

Alam, A., Banna, H., Alam, A. W., Bhuiyan, B., & Mokhtar, N. B. (2024). Climate change and geopolitical conflicts: The role of ESG readiness. Journal of Environmental Management, 353,120284. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.120284.

Banna, H., Alam, A., Chen, X. H., & Alam, A. W. (2023). Energy security and economic stability: The role of inflation and war. Energy Economics, 106949. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2023.106949.

Alam, A. W., Houston, R., & Farjana, A. (2023). Geopolitical risk and corporate investment: How do politically connected firms respond? Finance Research Letters, 103681. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2023.103681.

Alam, A. W., Farjana, A., & Houston, R. (2023). State-level economic policy uncertainty and firm financial stability: Is there any political insurance? Economics Letters, 111027. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2023.111027.

Andreas Kakolyris

Andreas Kakolyris, Ph.D., Assistant Professor 

Hynes Hall 404Q  l   908-737-4232   l   akakolyr@kean.edu

Dr. Kakolyris is an Assistant Professor and holds a Ph.D. from the Graduate Center, City University of New York. He received a Master's degree in Financial Mathematics from the University of Athens in Greece and a Master's degree in Statistics from the University of Florida. He has substantial teaching experience in both undergraduate and graduate courses at top institutions such as Columbia University and NYU. Prior to joining Kean University, he was a Visiting Assistant Professor at the O'Malley School of Business at Manhattan College. His research interests are quite broad and include Investments, Asset Pricing, Risk Management and Insurance.

Education: 

  • Ph.D., Financial Economics, Graduate Center, City University
  • M.B.A., Financial Mathematics, University of Athens 

Classes: 

  • FIN 3310 CORPORATE FINANCE I
  • FIN 3311 CORPORATE FINANCE II
  • FIN 3320 PREP & ANALYSIS FINANCIAL STMTS
  • FIN 3350 INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
  • FIN 3380 INTRO TO DERIVATIVES
  • FIN 4310 FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS & MKTS

Research interests: 

  • Investments
  • Asset Pricing
  • Risk Management and Insurance
  • FinTech
Headshot Image of Assistant Professor Bo Wang

Bo Wang, Ph.D., Assistant Professor 

Hynes Hall 404P  l   908-737-4227   l   bwang@kean.edu

Dr. Wang is an Assistant Professor in the School of Accounting and Finance. He received his Ph.D. in finance from the Illinois Institute of Technology. His work has been published in peer-reviewed journals including Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Sustainability, and Review of Business.

Education: 

  • Ph.D., Quantitative Finance, Illinois Institute of Technology
  • M.S., Finance, American University
  • B.S., International Economics and Trade, Beihang University

Classes: 

  • FIN 3310 CORPORATE FINANCE I
  • FIN 3311 CORPORATE FINANCE II
  • FIN 3330 EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS
  • FIN 4310 FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS & MKTS
  • FIN 4350 ASSET VALUATION

Research interests: 

  • Corporate Finance
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Innovation
  • Labor and Finance
  • Corporate Social Responsibility
  • Social Capital
  • FinTech
Headshot Image of Assistant Professor Huaibing Yu

Huaibing Yu, Ph.D., Assistant Professor 

Hynes Hall 404O  l   908-737-4226   l   huaiyu@kean.edu

Dr. Yu is an Assistant Professor of Finance in the School of Accounting and Finance at Kean University. He received his Ph.D. in Finance from the University of North Texas. He has published multiple research papers in peer-reviewed international finance journals. He also had a great teaching experience as he taught a variety of finance courses at University of North Texas and Texas A&M University - Central Texas.

Education: 

  • Ph.D., Finance, University of North Texas
  • M.A., Economics, University of Alabama
  • M.B.A., Finance, Hofstra University
  • B.S., Economics, Xiamen University

Classes: 

  • FIN 3310 CORPORATE FINANCE I
  • FIN 3311 CORPORATE FINANCE II
  • FIN 3380 INTRO TO DERIVATIVES
  • FIN 4310 FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS & MKTS

Research interests: 

  • Investments
  • Corporate Finance
  • Corporate Governance
Qian Mao

Joyce Mao, Ph.D., Associate Professor

Hynes Hall 404L  l   908-737-4223   l   qwang@kean.edu

Dr. Mao earned a Ph.D. in finance from the University of Texas at Dallas in 2006. Before joining Kean University, Mao was an assistant professor of finance at Washington State University – Tricities. She published in a number of influential journals such as Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting and Managerial Finance. Mao has been featured several times on WalletHub for her expert insights on personal finance.

Education: 

  • Ph.D., Management Science with Concentration in Finance, University of Texas
  • M.S., International Business, Lancaster University
  • B.S., International Finance, Shanghai University

Classes: 

  • FIN 3310 CORPORATE FINANCE I
  • FIN 3311 CORPORATE FINANCE II
  • FIN 3320 PREP & ANALYSIS FINANCIAL STMTS
  • FIN 3345 ENTREPRENEURIAL FINANCE
  • FIN 3350 INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
  • FIN 3380 INTRO TO DERIVATIVES
  • FIN 5300 BUSINESS FINANCE

Research interests: 

  • Emerging Markets
  • IPOs
  • Entrepreneurship

Tin Shan (Michael) Suen, Assistant Professor 

Hynes Hall 404M  l   908-737-4224   l   tsuen@kean.edu

Dr. Suen is an Assistant Professor with decades of experience in applying quantitative techniques, financial theories, behavioral insight and information technology to numerous disciplines.  These include alpha modeling, risk management, portfolio optimization/construction, and trading and transaction cost management.

Prior to joining Kean, he was a hedge fund manager at CWF Manager and was the Global Quantitative Equity Strategist at Société Générale. He has also been Director of Research at Avatar Associates, Portfolio Manager at Invesco and Senior Quantitative Analyst at ING Investment Management. He started his career in quantitative equity management when he left IBM and joined Barra in 1993.

Education: 

  • Ph.D., Finance, Graduate Center, CUNY
  • M.B.A., City University Hong Kong
  • B.S., Finance, University of Manchester

Classes: 

  • FIN 3310 CORPORATE FINANCE I
  • FIN 3311 CORPORATE FINANCE II
  • FIN 3330 EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS
  • FIN 3350 INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
  • FIN 3380 INTRO TO DERIVATIVES
  • FIN 4320 WORKING CAPITAL MANAGEMENT
  • FIN 5300 BUSINESS FINANCE
  • GMBA 5350 MULTINATIONAL FINANCE MANAGEMENT

Research interests: 

  • Data analytics
  • Econometrics
  • Empirical Finance
  • Behavioral Finance