Strome Insights: Faculty Share Expertise through Webinars
On October 28, 2020, Strome faculty Ricardo Ungo and Charles Kirkpatrick from IT and Cybersecurity presented a webinar on Maritime Cybersecurity. What better timing? Just a few weeks back, there had been a ransomware attack and data breach at CMA-CGM, a large international shipping company whose US headquarters are in Norfolk. This webinar exemplifies the spirit of the Strome Insights webinars. In addition to Maritime Cybersecurity, the other webinar presenters addressed important issues including the U.S.-China conflict, reaffirming of vision for leaders and entrepreneurs, and managing customer loyalty in the retail space.
The "Strome Insights" webinars are offered featuring experts from the Strome College of Business which focus on skills development, faculty research, and current topics. Each semester 4-5 webinars are offered with a focus on a limited number of actionable takeaways. The aim is to share the College's knowledge and expertise with the local business community. Associate Dean Kiran Karande, who conceived the Strome Insights webinars, states, "We have excellent faculty at Strome who are thought leaders, with considerable research and work experience in various areas of business. Among the presenters this Fall, Ricardo Ungo has a fascinating background with over 15 years at the Panama Canal and Charlie Kirkpatrick has been a CIO, Shaomin Li has done a lot of research in international business and is an expert on China with thought pieces published in the Harvard Business Review, Wall Street Journal, and the Economist. Yuping Liu-Thompkins is a top researcher in customer loyalty and digital marketing and director of the Loyalty Science Lab, which does research projects with leading companies. One of our new faculty Jay O'Toole has been an entrepreneur and a consultant and helps both individuals and companies with leadership topics."
The four zoom Strome Insights webinars offered this Fall were:
“Understanding the U.S.-China Conflict"
by Shaomin Li, Professor of Management and Eminent Scholar
This webinar reviewed the evolution of China's political economy and the U.S.-China relationship, and explained the trade war and other frictions between China and democracies (especially the U.S.), to help American businesses and policymakers to navigate through the U.S.-China conflict.
“Reaffirming your vision: A critical component when responding to uncertainty”
by Jay O’Toole, Assistant Professor of Management
Successful companies have a well-conceived vision. This webinar introduced practical tools that help participants (re)affirm their vision, whether for themselves or for the company they lead. The webinar discussed tools designed to help leaders, aspiring entrepreneurs, as well as those needing direction in their careers. Participants learned methods to identify and articulate their core ideology and envisioned future.
“Maritime and Supply Chain Cyber-Risks during a Disruption”
by Ricardo Ungo, Clinical Assistant Professor & Charlie Kirkpatrick, Lecturer, Information Technology and Decision Sciences
This webinar focused on the impact of COVID-19 on the current cybersecurity landscape in supply chain and maritime industries. Threats, vulnerabilities, and mitigation strategies were addressed, and maritime/supply chain specific challenges discussed.
“Managing Customer Loyalty in the Retail Space”
by Yuping Liu-Thompkins, Professor of Marketing and Director of the Loyalty Science Lab
This webinar presented the key loyalty drivers in the retail channel based on scientific research and offered insights to help retailers develop their loyalty strategies based on a variety of factors including the retail context, customer base composition, and the current retail environment.
The Strome Insights webinars have been well received with up to 130 registrations for some, mainly from the local business community and ODU but also from other places in the US. "Ultimately, our purpose is to make our faculty's expertise available to the community and this a good way to give them a glimpse. We hope to continue with some cutting-edge topics in the future" said Karande. Topics that are being considered for webinars in the spring of 2021 include implicit bias, design thinking, cultural competence, and emotional intelligence.
The Fall 2020 webinar series follows on the Spring 2020 webinar series "Recovering from Covid-19." Please click on the links to view the recordings of both the Spring 2020 and Fall 2020 webinars. https://www.odu.edu/business/community-connections/webinars
