Umar Butt

Umar joined the PhD program (Finance) offered at DeGroote School of Business in 2007. His research interests lie in the field of Corporate Governance, Fixed Income and Asset Pricing. He has published various papers, including an article in the Amarillo Business Journal exploring Federal Rate Cuts, and has taught various corporate finance and investment analysis classes to both MBA and undergraduate students at McMaster University.

Professional Activities

During his MBA Umar also worked as the manager of the stock portfolio held by West Texas A&M University and assisted in decisions of diversifying the portfolio. His recommendations were presented in front of the Amarillo Business Council and contributed to changes in the portfolio mix. Umar gained unique experience working as a consultant for The Resource Group over a two year period, while working as a visiting professor at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS).

Education

M.P.A, Banking and Finance, University of the Punjab (Pakistan)
MBA, West Texas A&M University
B.A., Economics and Statistics, Government College Lahore (Pakistan)

Andrew Carrothers

Andrew joined the PhD program (Finance) at the DeGroote School of Business in September 2009. His current research interests are in the field of executive compensation, especially with respect to perquisites (non-monetary personal benefits) and peer group comparators.

Professional Activities

Andrew has spent many years working in the private sector, including management positions in marketing, sales, engineering, operations, and project management at organizations such as Eaton and Westinghouse. As a member of the senior leadership team at the Canadian operations of Eaton Corporation, he was extensively involved in strategic planning, profit planning, human resource planning, industry trade association activity, capital budgeting, cash flow projections, appropriations, and business forecasting. He is a CFA charter holder and a licensed professional engineer.

Education

MBA, Finance, McMaster University
B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering, University of New Brunswick

Danny Liqiang Chen

Danny joined the PhD program (Finance) at DeGroote School of Business in September 2007. His research interests include executive compensation, Agency Theory and Moral Hazard related issues in corporate finance, labor economics and corporate governance. He is also interested in other topics in corporate finance including capital structure and agency issue, corporate governance and market competition.

Professional Activities

Danny spent a significant period of time as a Trade Financing Specialist at the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. Shortly after, he worked as a Research Assistant at Center for Economic Research and Education, at the University of Cincinnati. Before beginning his PhD at the DeGroote School of Business, Danny worked as a Lecturer for the Corporate Finance program at Brock University.

Education

M.A., Applied Economics, University of Cincinnati
B.S., Finance, Sichuan University

Donghui Chen

Donghui joined the PhD program (Finance) at DeGroote School of Business in September 2009. His research interests are in the field of investments and risk management, particularly with respect to default risk modeling and forecasting, portfolio risk and return analysis.

Professional Activities

Donghui held a number of teaching assistant positions at the University of Cincinnati after he earned two bachelors degrees in China. Now he is taking some teaching assistant positions at DeGroote School of Business.

Education

M.A, Applied Economics, University of Cincinnati
B.A., Economics, Wuhan University
B.S., Project Management, Wuhan University of Technology

Wah Yip (Roy) Chu

Wah Yip joined the PhD program (Finance) at the DeGroote School of Business in September 2011.

Professional Activities

Prior to joining the PhD program, Wah Yip worked in the financial industry in Hong Kong. He spent several years in both the HSBC and Hong Kong Stock Exchange. He also held a research position at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, conducting academic research in finance.

Education

M.Fin., Finance, The University of Hong Kong
B.Eng., Computer Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Rahman Khokhar

Rahman joined the PhD program (Finance) at the DeGroote School of Business in September 2008. Prior to joining DeGroote’s PhD program, he has spent several years working in the industry, including management positions in marketing both in Canada and Pakistan with organizations such as Gillette and Phillip Morris.

Research

Research Interests:

Corporate finance, corporate cash holdings, and working capital management.

Working Papers:

Firm size, information asymmetry and window dressing in cash holdings: evidence from quarterly financial statements, 2011.

Working Capital Management: A comparison between Canada and United States, with Sudipto Sarkar, 2011.

Professional Activities

Rahman has spent several years working in the private sector, including management positions in marketing both in Canada and Pakistan with organizations such as Gillette and Phillip Morris. He has also taught marketing and management courses at various business schools, as an adjunct faculty member.

Education

MBA, Finance, McGill University
B.A., Business and Math, Pakistan

Wei-Ju Liao

Wei-Ju joined the PhD program at the DeGroote School of Business in September 2010. His current research interests are in the fields of financial theory and corporate governance.

Professional Activities

After earning his Masters degree in Taiwan, Wei-Ju held a research assistant position at National Chiao Tung University. Now, in addition to his studies, he is a teaching assistant at the DeGroote School of Business.

Education

M.S., Finance, National Chiao Tung University
B.A., Economics, National Taiwan University
B.A., Political Science, National Taiwan University

Jin Lei

Jin joined the PhD program (Finance) at the DeGroote School of Business in September 2009. His current research interests include: corporate finance, banking and risk management, empirical asset pricing and derivative securities.

Professional Activities

Jin attended the 79th WEAI annual conference in Vancouver and the 3rd Triple Crown annual finance conference at Fordham University. He volunteered with the Teaching Support Staff Union at Simon Fraser University and was a member of Phi Beta Delta, Zeta Gamma Chapter.

Education

M.Sc., Statistics, Northern Illinois University
M.A., Economics, Simon Fraser University
B.A., Economics, University of Colorado at Denver

Jia Liu

Jia Liu joined the PhD program (Finance) at DeGroote School of Business in September 2011. His current research interests lie in the field of mutual funds and portfolio management.

Professional Activities

During his studies at the University of South Florida, Jia worked as a teaching assistant for two years. Now he is a teaching assistant at the DeGroote School of Business.

Education

M.A., Statistics, University of South Florida
B.Sc., Statistics, Tianjin University of Finance and Economics

Jacky Ma

Zhe Ma joined the PhD program (Finance) at the DeGroote School of Business in September 2009. His current research interests are in the field of financial risk management and investment.

Professional Activities

Zhe has spent several years working in the financial industry in Toronto before starting the Phd program. He worked as an analyst in TD securities and a manager in Scotia Capital. He has extensive work experience on structured derivative products and market risk management.

Education

M.S., Physics/Finance, Georgetown University
M.S., Physics, University of Delaware
B.S., Engineering, Shandong University

Jennifer Miele

Jennifer joined the PhD program at DeGroote in September 2010. Her current research interests lie in the area of behavioural finance looking at the psychology of investors and the financial decision making process. Prior to coming to McMaster, Jennifer spent 5 years working as a professional in the information technology sector.

Education

MBA, Finance, Brock University
B.C.B., Computing and Business, Brock University

Hesam Shahriari

Hesam joined the PhD program (Finance) at the DeGroote School of Business in September 2008. He is interested in financial issues in large-scale investment and holding companies since being actively involved in strategic planning and business process re-engineering practices in the largest real estate development company in Iran before joining the program.

Professional Activities

Ater graduating with an M.A. in Industrial Engineering, Hesam became involved in management and IT consultancy projects. He co-translated four books in the management field and prepared nine papers for local journals and conferences in Iran. He also prepared a short paper and presentation on the BPR practice which has been presented in "International Workshop: Organisational e-Readiness and the Construction Industry" (28-29 June 2007, Think Lab, University of Salford, UK).

Education

M.A., Industrial Engineering, University of Science and Technology (IUST)
B.A., Industrial Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST)

Chuanqian Zhang

Chuanqian joined the PhD program at the DeGroote School of Business in September 2010. He currently holds a TA position for an undergraduate course in the Commerce program.

Professional Activities

Before joining the PhD program, Chuanqian spent several years researching numerical modeling of nano-scale magnetic-thermo dynamic heat transfer for next-generation cancer therapy collaborating with UAB Medical Center sponsored by NSF and NIH.

Education

M.S. Finance, Manderson Graduate School of Business, University of Alabama
M.S. Chemical Engineering, University of Alabama
B.S., Chemical Engineering, Sichuan University

Yue Zhang

Yue joined the PhD program at the DeGroote School of Business in September 2010. Her current research interests are in the fields of corporate finance, corporate governance and behavioral finance. Yue held several teaching and research assistant positions at Xiamen University. She has a qualification for securities business in China. She is also a certified public accountant (CPA) of China.

Education

M.A., Finance, Xiamen University
B.A., Financial Management (Major), Law (Minor), Xiamen University