Welcome

Dr. Robin Cheramie
Dr. Robin Cheramie

At the Michael J. Coles College of Business, student success lies at the heart of everything we do. From developing new and innovative academic programs to building lasting relationships with the business community, each action we take is designed to improve the value that students receive from a Coles College education. 

This guiding principle means that our faculty are highly-respected in their fields – many had distinguished careers in industry before becoming educators – and that our staff provide exceptional support to the entire Coles College community.

Our students do more than simply earn a degree. They leverage the knowledge and skills gained in the classroom to create professional opportunities and become the best versions of themselves.

To ensure that the Coles College of Business never waivers in its commitment to students, we strive to:

  1. Meet students’ changing educational needs. Making sure students are career-ready upon graduation is critically important. The Hughes Leadership and Career Program provides valuable career guidance, while events like the Tetley Distinguished Leaders lecture series and the All-Access Business Series give students direct access to area employers. In addition, 59 percent of all Coles College graduates complete an internship or co-op.

  2. Differentiate ourselves from the competition. Students have a choice of where they earn their business degrees. Recent additions like the Bachelor of Business Administration in Hospitality Management and the Master of Science in Cybersecurity help keep the Coles College on the leading edge of business education and differentiate us from the competition.

  3. Promote innovation and academic excellence. Coles College faculty produce groundbreaking research that adds to the global business knowledge base, routinely getting published in Financial Times Top 50 academic journals. We also urge undergraduate students to conduct research through initiatives like the Bagwell Center for the Study of Markets and Economic Opportunity Undergraduate Research Fellowship and participation in the National Conference on Undergraduate Research.

  4. Provide the business community with exceptional graduates. Because the College designs its curriculum around the skills that businesses are looking for today, we have the University’s highest graduate placement rate, with many of our academic programs reporting at or near 100 percent placement.

  5. Foster excellence and diversity in teaching, research, and service. The Coles College creates a welcoming environment for faculty, staff, and students of all perspectives, values, genders, sexual orientations and more. We recently reaffirmed this commitment by establishing the role of Director of Diversity Relations, who will hold the Coles College accountable to these ideals.

All of this represents just a small fraction of how the Michael J. Coles College of Business sets its students up for success. I invite you to learn more about us and discover why the Coles College is one of the country’s top business schools.  

Robin Cheramie, PhD
Dean, Coles College of Business and Professor of Management

Leadership

The Coles College dedicated leadership team includes the following:

Deans

Robin Cheramie, Dean of Coles College of Business
Hope Baker, Associate Dean for Assessment and Undergraduate Programs
Lisa Duke, Assistant Dean, Administration & Operations
Brett Katzman, Interim Associate Dean of Faculty and Research

Academic Department Heads

David Burns, Chair, Marketing and Professional Sales
Khawaja Saeed, Chair of the Department of Information Systems
Raj Veliyath, Interim Director, Michael A. Leven School of Management, Entrepreneurship and Hospitality and Professor of Management
Steve Smalt, Director, School of Accountancy
Aniruddha Bagchi, Interim Chair, Economics, Finance and Quantitative Analysis


Advisory Board 

The advisory board provides the Coles College administration with support and advice regarding policies, programs, and the direction of the College, among other duties.

  • Mr. Robert L. Bachrach
    Retired Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer
    Congregation Etz Chaim
    Ms. Nancy Berger
    AVP-Consumer Billing & Delivery Innovations
    AT&T- Financial Billing Operations
    Ms. Sarah Boone
    Portfolio Manager
    G2 Wealth Management
    UBS Financial Services, Inc.
    Dr. Robin Cheramie
    Dean, Coles College of Business
    Kennesaw State University
    Mr. Michael Chriszt
    Vice President and Public Affairs Officer
    Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
    Mr. Kirk Gadebusch
    Associate Broker
    Harry Norman Realtors
    Mr. Chris K. Gruehn
    Financial Advisor
    Pinnacle Financial Partners
    Mr. Joseph Handy
    President & COO
    Georgia Aquarium
    Ms. Cindy Hannafey
    Managing Director
    UHY Advisors GA, Inc.
    Ms. Kristi B. Johnson, CPA
    Principal
    Windham Brannon
    Mr. William (Bil) G. Lako, Jr., CFP
    Executive in Residence
    Principal, Managing Director
    Henssler Financial
    Dr. Philip N. McCullough
    President
    McCullough Consulting, LLC
    Mr. Rotimi Olumide
    Modern Workplace Sales Leader (Americas)
    World Wide Specialist Sales
    Ms. Sheri Pitcher
    Vice President, Operations
    Pathbuilders, Inc.
    Mr. Lee Rhyant
    Executive in Residence
    President, LER Solutions, LLC
    Retired Executive Vice President and General Manager
    Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company
    Mr. Michael E. Russell
    President, MBA, CTP
    EtsSolutions
    Mr. Douglas Shore
    Co-Founder, Chairman, and Co-CEO, Retired
    Shore-Varrone, Inc
    Mr. Michael M. Smith
    Shareholder
    Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC
    Ms. Robyn Smith
    Executive Vice President
    Jackson Healthcare
    Mr. Brent Uken, CFA, ASA
    Retired
    Ernst & Young, Transaction Advisory Services
    Ms. Kerstin L. Valdes Benden
    CFO Consumer Business, VP-Finance
    Georgia-Pacific LLC
    Mr. Mark Wilson
    President & CEO
    ChimeSolutions

Executives In Residence 

  • Michael J. Coles
    Benefactor, Namesake
    Co-creator of Great American Cookie Company
    Former CEO of Caribou Coffee

  • Executives in residence provide coaching and mentoring to Coles College of Business students.

    William G. Lako Jr., CFP, Principal
    G.W. Henssler & Associates, Ltd.

    Bob Kilinski, Regional Operating Partner
    Keller Williams Realty International

    Bernice Dixon, Founder
    Advising Angels

    Connie L. Engel, Partner
    Childress Klein Properties

    Barry Flink, Executive Vice President and Partner
    FlexHR, Inc.

    John W. Gamble, Founder and Principal
    Tenacity, Inc.

    Rita Izaguirre, Principal, Ideas
    LLC.

    Harry Maziar, President
    Zep Manufacturing Company

    Larry Stevens, Partner (Retired)
    PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

    Harry Vardis, Founder and Principal
    Creative Focus, Inc.

    Steve Wurzbacher, Principal
    Tenacity

    Erin Wolf, Founder and Managing Partner
    SuiteTrack

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