Finance Faculty
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).
Classes:
- Management of Corporate Finance I
- Management of Corporate Finance II
- Introduction to Derivatives
- Investments
- Asset Valuation
- Capital Budgeting Management
Research interests:
- Relationship Between Financial Development and Economic Growth
- Banking Efficiency
- Asset Pricing
Joyce Mao, Ph.D., Assistant 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.
Classes:
- Management of Corporate Finance I
- Management of Corporate Finance II
- Preparation and Analysis of Financial Statement
- International Business Finance
- Introduction to Derivatives
- Money and Capital Markets
- 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.
Classes:
- Management of Corporate Finance I
- Management of Corporate Finance II
- International Business Finance
- Introduction to Derivatives
- Exchange Traded Funds
- Working Capital Management
- Multinational Financial Management
- Business Finance
Research interests:
- Data analytics
- Econometrics
- Empirical Finance
- Behavioral Finance
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.
Classes:
- Management of Corporate Finance I
- Management of Corporate Finance II
- Financial Institutions and Markets
- Introduction to Derivatives
Research interests:
- Investments
- Corporate Finance
- Corporate Governance
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 Institution 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.
Classes:
- Management of Corporate Finance I
- Management of Corporate Finance II
- Financial Institutions and Markets
- Exchange Traded Funds
Research interests:
- Corporate Finance
- Entrepreneurship
- Innovation
- Labor and Finance
- Corporate Social Responsibility
- Social Capital
- FinTech
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.
Classes:
- Management of Corporate Finance I
- Management of Corporate Finance II
- International Business Finance
- Preparation and Analysis of Financial Statement
- Financial Institutions and Markets
Research interests:
- Investments
- Asset Pricing
- Risk Management and Insurance
- FinTech
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., University of New Orleans
- M.S., University of New Orleans
- M.S., University of North Texas
Classes:
- Management of Corporate Finance I
- Management of Corporate Finance II
- Entrepreneurial Finance
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.