Faculty and Staff Contacts

Department of Marketing and Business Analytics
Business Tower 750
Phone: 408-924-3506
Zip: 95192-0069

Office Hours:
Monday - Friday: 8:00am - 5:00pm
(Closed between 12:00pm - 1:00pm)

Department Chair

 Dr. Michael Merz
 Department Chair and Professor of Marketing
 408-924-3536
 michael.merz@sjsu.edu

Dr. Michael A. Merz is a Professor of Marketing and the Chair of the Marketing and Business Analytics Department at San Jose State University. He completed his Ph.D. at the University of Hawai`i at Mānoa, MBA. at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, and his B.S. at the University of Bayreuth. Michael is an expert in the areas of international marketing, branding, artificial intelligence, entrepreneurial marketing, and sustainability marketing. He has published his work in journals such as the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Industrial Marketing Management, Journal of Business Research, Journal of International Marketing, and Journal of Product and Brand Management. He is also a co-author of the acclaimed International Marketing – Strategy and Theory textbook, now in its 6th edition with Routledge/ Taylor & Francis.

Staff Contacts

 Quyen Luu
 Department Analyst
 408-924-3503
 quyen.luu@sjsu.edu

 Fidelio Adriano
 Administrative Support Coordinator
 408-924-3516
 fidelio.adriano@sjsu.edu

Jump to:

Ravi Agarwal - Assistant Professor
Vivek Agarwal - Lecturer
Thunyarat Amornpetchkul
Jennifer Bechkoff
Stephen Cash
Gary Castro
David Czerwinski
Marilyn Easter
Walter Easter
Egbe-Etu Etu
Jeffrey Fadiman
Ken Gehrt
Mithila Guha
Jennifer Johnson
Michael Klein
Hyojin Lee
Ruichun Liu
Therese Louie
Mahboudeh Madadi
David McFeely
James R McMillin
Miwa Merz
Mohammadsadegh Mobin
Alexa Pagonas
Mahesh Rajan
Serkan Saka
Reshma Shah
Robert Sibley
Steven Silver
Marko Spremo
Sumeet Syal
Shaonan Tian
Gema Vinuales
Kezban Yagci Sokat
Jing Zhang

Agarwal, Ravi 
 Assistant Professor of Marketing
 BT 753
 ravi.agarwal@sjsu.edu


Dr. Ravi Agarwal is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Marketing & Business Analytics at San José State University. He earned his Ph.D. in Marketing from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where his dissertation, Regulatory Focus in Key Account Management Teams, Governance Mechanisms, and Solution Outcomes, won the prestigious ISBM Doctoral Dissertation Award. His research interests span marketing strategy, interfirm relationships, key account management, and strategic alliances, with a methodological focus on econometrics, text analytics, and machine learning. His work has been published in leading journals, such as the Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management and the International Journal of Research in Marketing. Ravi has presented his research at renowned conferences, including the AMA Academic Conference, Haring Symposium, ISBM Academic Conference, and Mittelstaedt & Gentry Doctoral Symposium. 

His teaching portfolio includes courses such as Marketing Analytics, International Marketing, Principles of Marketing, and Business-to-Business Marketing. In less than 3 years of his career at SJSU, he has been honored twice with the Lucas College of Business Master Teaching Award in recognition of his excellence in teaching. 

Agarwal, Vivek
 Lecturer
 BT 760
 (408) 476-7626
 vivek.agarwal01@sjsu.edu

Vivek Agarwal is a part time marketing and graduate program instructor. He has a strong passion to help striving students, professionals and executives achieve their full potential. Throughout his 27+ years in the high-tech industry, he has a proven track record in the areas of marketing, business management and general management. He has an MBA from SJSU and Master’s in Computer Engineering from USC. Vivek has delivered enlightening lectures and seminars to motivate, inspire and train aspiring individuals enhancing their management skills and make informed career choices. He has shared his personal insights to provide guidance on career management and leadership development. He is also an Adjunct Professor at the School of Business & Management at SJSU since Spring of 2017.
Vivek teaches courses such as Product Management and Marketing Management. He also is the undergraduate instructor for the Honors Program and graduate instructor for the Silicon Valley Experience program. He has been honored with the Lucas College of Business Distinguished Lecturer Award and several Master Teacher Awards in recognition of his consistent excellence in student instruction and development.

Amornpetchkul, Thunyarat 
Lecturer
thunyarat.amornpetchkul@sjsu.edu

Bechkoff, Jennifer
Professor
 BT 764
 (408) 924-3693
 Online & by appointment
                     jennifer.bechkoff@sjsu.edu

Cash, Stephen
Lecturer
Email: stephen.cash@sjsu.edu

Stephen Cash is a part time marketing lecturer. Stephen has over 15 years of Tech industry experience including AI datacenter network infrastructure, Telecom/Datacom optics, Semiconductors, and Biotechnology. He is currently Senior Director at Accelink Technologies. His prior experience includes Ciena, Edgecore Networks, Coherent, Itochu international trading, and Hitachi for semiconductor and network solutions. Stephen has a strong passion to help students bridge the gap from university studies to careers in industry. He completed his MBA at SJSU, BS in Microbiology at UC Santa Barbara, and AS in Computer Network Technology at Mission College. Stephen has been teaching undergraduate and graduate courses at SJSU since Fall 2020.

Castro, Gary
Lecturer
BT 752
(408) 924-4561
gary.castro@sjsu.edu

Gary Castro is a lecturer in the Department of Marketing and Business Analytics. He did is BS in Management from SJSU and an MA in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga University.

Czerwinski, David
Interim Associate Dean, Interim MSTM Director, Professor
BT 365
(408) 924-3528
david.czerwinski@sjsu.edu

Dr. David Czerwinski is Professor of Business Analytics and Interim Associate Dean of Business Graduate Programs at San Jose State University. David holds a PhD in Operations Research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a BS with distinction in Mathematical and Computational Science from Stanford University. His research involves the application of techniques from operations research and statistics to healthcare and transportation.

Easter, Marilyn
Professor
BT 764
(408) 924-3520
marilyn.easter@sjsu.edu

Easter, Walter
Lecturer
BT 660
walter.easter@sjsu.edu

Dr. Walter Easter has successfully owned and operated a small business for 34 years. He co-authored a book “The ABC’s of Marketing a Successful Business.” As Senior Advisor to the G.o.A.L. (Generation of Aspirational Leaders) team, Dr. Easter was instrumental in developing and implementing criteria for measuring student success. He recently presented a research paper "Creating Community for Students' Academic and Career Success" at the American Society of Business and Behavioral Sciences in Las Vegas. Dr. Easter received his DDS in dentistry from the University of California, San Francisco, an MBA from Louisiana State University, Shreveport, and a BS from University of California, Davis. He is a Fellow of the American College of Dentists.

Etu, Egbe-Etu
Assistant Professor
BT 565
(408) 924-3507
egbe-etu.etu@sjsu.edu 

Dr. Egbe-Etu Etu is an Assistant Professor of Business Analytics in the Department of Marketing and Business Analytics at San Jose State University (SJSU). Dr. Etu completed his Ph.D. degree at Wayne State University and undergraduate degree at Covenant University, Nigeria. He is a research associate with Mineta Transportation Institute and Henry Ford Health. Dr. Etu is an expert in developing use-inspired machine learning models to solve problems in healthcare, transportation, and manufacturing industries. He has published his work in journals such as IEEE Access, Healthcare, Water Practice & Technology, PLOS One, and Annals of Emergency Medicine.

Fadiman, Jeffrey
Professor
BT 756
(408) 924-3527
jeffrey.fadiman@sjsu.edu

Jeff Fadiman is a Professor of Global Marketing at SJSU. Jeff's Ph.D, in Comparative Tropical History, (Africa/Asia) is from University of Wisconsin.  His MA (African Language and Area Studies) is from American University. His BA--which includes two years of study at the Universities of Vienna and Berlin-- is in Journalism, from Stanford University.

Gehrt, Ken
Professor
BT 562
(408) 924-3534
kenneth.gehrt@sjsu.edu

Guha, Mithila
Assistant Professor
mithila.guha@sjsu.edu

Dr. Mithila Guha, an Assistant Professor of Marketing at San Jose State University, specializes in the intersection of Marketing analytics, the transformative role of Marketing in driving positive social changes, Brand activism, and Online strategies. Her expertise is rooted in empirical quantitative marketing research, focusing on brand-consumer interactions across diverse social media and online platforms.

Dr. Guha's research has been published in leading marketing journals include the Journal of Business Research and the Journal of Brand Management. She was recently honored as the first SJSU faculty member to receive the prestigious 2024 Paul R. Lawrence Fellowship, a global recognition awarded to only 10 fellows by the North American Case Research Association (NACRA) and the Case Research Foundation. Her exceptional work was further recognized with the Best In Track Award at the 2022 Summer AMA Conference for her outstanding achievements in the Digital & Social Media Marketing Track. Beyond academia, Dr. Guha's commitment extends to serving as a certified Mental Health First-aider, demonstrating her dedication to making a meaningful impact in the lives of others, both within and beyond the classroom.

Johnson, Jennifer
Lecturer
BT 752
(408) 924-4561
jennifer.p.johnson@sjsu.edu

Jennifer Johnson is a part-time marketing instructor with over 20 years of experience in digital marketing. She currently serves as a Program Manager for Digital Events at Oracle. Prior to joining Oracle, she was the Director of Global Marketing Programs at Informatica, LLC. Jennifer earned her B.A. in Sociology from UC Santa Cruz and her J.D. from Golden Gate University School of Law. Since Fall 2017, she has been teaching BUS 90 to undergraduate students at San José State University. Jennifer is passionate about helping students connect classroom learning with real-world marketing practices.  Jennifer has a passion for “wheels that go fast” after growing up in a garage handing tools to her dad.

Klein, Michael
Associate Professor
BT 755
(408) 924-3520 
michael.klein@sjsu.edu

Dr. Michael G. Klein received his Ph.D. in Operations Management from McGill University, his MBA from DePaul University in Chicago and his B.Com in MIS from the University of Ottawa. He enjoys teaching Business Analytics courses in specialized topics such as Simulation Modeling & Analysis and Supply Chain Analytics. His research focuses on the application of operations research for healthcare operations management and humanitarian logistics. He has published research in the European Journal of Operational Research, IISE Transactions, International Journal of Production Economics, Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education, Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, and Simulation in Healthcare.

Lee, Hyojin
Associate Professor
BT 763
(408) 924-8160
hyojin.lee@sjsu.edu

Hyojin Lee is an Associate Professor of Marketing at San Jose State University. She received her PhD in Marketing from The Ohio State University and B.S. and M.S. degrees in Business Administration from Seoul National University. Prior to beginning her graduate studies, she worked as a marketer at Samsung Electronics in South Korea.  

Her research investigates the interplay between visual perception and cognition in the domain of consumer behavior. Her works appear in  Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing Research, and Psychology & Marketing, and won the 1st prize in the Edward F. Hayes Graduate Research Symposium. She was named an AMA-Sheth Doctoral Consortium Fellow in 2014.

Liu, Ruichun
Assistant Professor 
ruichun.liu@sjsu.edu

Dr. Ruichun Liu is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at San Jose State University. He received hir PhD in Marketing from University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Dr. Ruichun's research has been published in premium marketing journals such as the Journal of Marketing and the Journal of Public Policy and Marketing.

Louie, Therese
Professor
BT 551
(408) 924-3454
therese.louie@sjsu.edu

Therese Louie is a Professor of Marketing in the Department of Marketing and Business Analytics at San Jose State University. She completed her Ph.D. at UCLA, and both a BS and a BA at the University of California, Berkeley.  Prior to academia, she worked in the sales department at a network television station.  Therese’s research area is "consumer behavior."  She has published her studies in journals such as Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Applied Psychology, and Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.  She enjoys seeing different parts of the world.

Madadi, Mahboubeh
Associate Professor
BT 757
(408) 924-3513
mahboubeh.madadi@sjsu.edu

Dr. Mahboubeh Madadi is an Assistant Professor of Business Analytics in Lucas College and Graduate School of Business at San Jose State University. She received her PhD in Industrial Engineering from the University of Arkansas. She also holds a Master’s degree in Statistics, a Master’s degree in Industrial Engineering, and a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Mathematics. Dr. Madadi’s expertise is primarily in the areas  of stochastic decision modeling, applied probability, and statistical analysis of complex data with application to healthcare operations and maintenance optimization.

McFeely, David
Lecturer
BT 760
(775) 567-4242
david.mcfeely@sjsu.edu

David McFeely is a part time marketing instructor. David has over 30 years of engineering and marketing experience. He is currently working part time at San Jose State teaching a variety of marketing and data analytics classes, most often "Marketing in new Ventures." Prior to that, David co-founded the non-profit Solartech and served as Director of Government Relations. David served several marketing roles at Agilent Technologies and Hewlett-Packard. David also served several engineering roles at IBM, Signetics, Hewlett-Packard and Analogy. David completed his second MS in Transportation Management in the MTI program at SJSU, his first MS in Economics at SJSU, and his BS in Electronic Engineering at the California Polytechnic State University, SLO. David has been teaching at San Jose State University to undergraduate and graduate students since Fall 2016.

McMillin, James R
Lecturer
BT 752
(408) 924-4561

Merz, Miwa
Professor
BT 754
(408) 924-3519
miwa.merz@sjsu.edu

Miwa Y. Merz is a Professor of Marketing in the Department of Marketing & Business Analytics at San José State University. Miwa received her Ph.D. in Healthcare Marketing in the Communication and Information Sciences (CIS) at University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Miwa specializes in consumer insights and healthcare marketing, and in developing and implementing creative messages and communication strategies. Miwa was one of the team professors who launched both Introduction to Marketing and Consumer Behavior courses for the Lucas College of Business Online Degree to Completion Program. Outside of her work, she loves swimming, cooking, and hiking, and enjoys spending time with her family.

Mobin, Mohammadsadegh
Lecturer
sadegh.mobin@sjsu.edu

Pagonas, Alexa
Lecturer
BT 364
(408) 924-3510
alexa.pagonas@sjsu.edu

Alexa Pagonas is a part time marketing instructor. She has represented and advised A-list award-winning talent, top filmmakers and corporations for over 25 years. Throughout her extensive career, she has negotiated hundreds of contracts for film and television including well over $100 million dollars of employment contracts, rights, packages, and events, and is well versed in all aspects of studio, network, and independent productions. Alexa Pagonas has a JD from UC Law San Francisco and a BA from Mills College (nee Northeastern) in Political, Legal, and Economic Analysis. Alexa has been teaching at San Jose State University to undergraduate students since Fall 2020.

Rajan, Mahesh
Professor
BT 759
(408) 924-3537
mahesh.rajan@sjsu.edu

Dr. Mahesh Rajan is a Professor in the Lucas College of Business, San José State University and teaches in the areas of Global Enterprise Management and Marketing.  Professor Rajan also served as the first MBA Director at the Lucas Graduate School of Business from August 2009 to December 2012.  In addition to teaching at San José State University, he has taught at several eminent business schools in the United States, Australia, Japan and Central America including the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, the Australian Graduate School of Management, the University of Western Australia, Nagoya University of Foreign Studies, and INCAE.  He has also had considerable work experience in the private sector in India, Japan, and the USA. Professor Rajan’s research interests include comparative economic and management systems, national/corporate competitiveness and strategic advantage, managing structural decline, consumer logistics, and electronic commerce. He has received several research grants and fellowships from The Japan Foundation, Australian Research Council, SJSU Lucas Graduate School of Business Research Fellowship, and California State University Junior Faculty Research Grant and Lottery Grants.  His research has been disseminated in prestigious international conferences, and published in leading journals. Professor Rajan actively serves the university community through committee and advisory work; he also provides consulting services for companies and not-for-profit organizations on a regular basis. In addition to serving on the editorial boards of several journals, Professor Rajan is also a member of the Advisory Board of Alliance School of Business, Alliance University, a leading management school and private university in Bangalore, India.

Saka, Serkan
Assistant Professor
serkan.saka@sjsu.edu

Dr. Serkan Saka is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at San José State University. He earned his Ph.D. in Marketing from the University of Illinois Chicago, his M.S. in Marketing from the University of Cincinnati, and his B.S. in Marketing from Penn State University. Dr. Saka’s research focuses on consumer behavior, particularly how marketing impacts consumer well-being, activism, and human interactions with AI. Before entering academia, he worked in pricing, brand management, and sales across a range of industries.

Shah, Reshma 
Lecturer
reshma.shah@sjsu.edu

Sibley, Robert
Associate Professor
BT 764
(408) 924-3442
robert.sibley@sjsu.edu

Silver, Steven
Lecturer
BT 756
(408) 924-3525
steven.silver@sjsu.edu

Spremo, Marko
Lecturer
marko.spremo@sjsu.edu

Syal, Sumeet
Lecturer 
BT 756
sumeet.syal@sjsu.edu

Tian, Shaonan
Professor
BT 751
(408) 924-7245
shaonan.tian@sjsu.edu

Shaonan Tian is a Professor of Business Analytics at the Lucas College and
Graduate School of Business, San José State University. She earned her Ph.D. in Quantitative Analysis from University of Cincinnati. She holds an M.S. in Quantitative Analysis from University of Cincinnati and a B.S. from Zhejiang University, China. Her research interests are statistical finance (bankruptcy prediction, credit risk management) and data mining. Her recent publications appear in the premier journals such as the Journal of the American Statistical Association, European Journal of Operational Research, Journal of Banking and Finance and Journal of Empirical Finance.

Vinuales, Gema
Associate Professor
BT 757
(408) 924-3559
gema.vinuales@sjsu.ed

Gema Vinuales is an Associate Professor of Marketing in the Department of Marketing and Business Analytics at San Jose State University. Gema completed her Ph.D. and MBA at the University of Rhode Island, and MS. and BS. in Electrical Engineering at the University of Zaragoza. Gema is an expert in the areas of AI, social media and brand management. She has published her work in journals such as Psychology & Marketing, Journal of Marketing Theory & Practice, and Marketing Education Review. Gema enjoys traveling and spending time with her family.

Yagci Sokat, Kezban
Assistant Professor
BT 761
(408) 924-8038
kezban.yagcisokat@sjsu.edu

Kezban Yagci Sokat is an Associate Professor of Business Analytics in the Department of Marketing and Business Analytics at San Jose State University. Kezban completed her Ph.D. at Northwestern University, M.S. at Georgia Institute of Technology with a Fulbright scholarship, and undergraduate degrees at Istanbul Technical University. Kezban is an expert in the areas of human trafficking, humanitarian operations, and public health. Her work has been supported and recognized by many organizations such as United States Department of Transportation, IBM and San Jose State University.
Kezban has published her work in journals such as Supply Chain Management, European Journal of Operational Research, Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, Journal of Humanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain Management, and PLoS One. She has served as DEI Ambassador for Institute for Operations Research and Management Science (INFORMS), secretary at Production and Operations Management Society (POMS) College of Humanitarian Operations and Crisis Management (HOCM) Board, member at Transportation Research Board Standing Committee on Women and Gender in Transportation, and Disability Advocate for Campus Committee on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at SJSU. Kezban enjoys playing and watching sports, especially volleyball, cooking, traveling and learning from new cultures.

Zhang, Jing
Professor
BT 765
(408) 924-1346
jing.zhang@sjsu.edu

Jing Zhang is Professor of Marketing in the Department of Marketing and Business Analytics at San Jose State University. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and B.S. from Peking University, China. Prior to academia, Jing worked at J. Walter Thompson as a research assistant and then strategic planner. Jing is an expert in the area of consumer behavior and has published twenty articles in academic journals, including the Journal of Consumer Psychology, Journal of Advertising, and Psychology & Marketing, and International Journal of E-Business Research. Jing enjoys hiking, listening to audio books, and traveling.