Vivek Ghosal Appointed as Inaugural Mary S. and Richard B. Inman Jr. Professor in Economics

Posted September 24, 2015

During a special reception September 23, Chair David Laband and the School of Economics celebrated the appointment of Vivek Ghosal as the inaugural Mary S. and Richard B. Inman Jr. Professor in Economics. 

The reception honoring Ghosal was held at the Georgia Tech Library. Georgia Tech Provost Rafael Bras and Ivan Allen College Dean Jacqueline Royster made remarks, as did Richard B. “Rick" Inman Jr., co-founder and managing principal of Atlanta-based Iron Bridge Capital Partners and an alumnus (ECON 1973) who, with his wife, endowed the professorship in 2013.

"Mary and I are pleased to support the School of Economics through this endowment,” said Inman. “We hope our support will help promote the outstanding research activity of faculty members like Dr. Vivek Ghosal, increase the research reputation of the School and stimulate collaborative research efforts with other departments at Georgia Tech. As chairman of the SOE advisory board, I hope this gift will play a role in shaping the future of the School and inspire others to make similar investments." 

Professor Ghosal joined the School of Economics faculty in 2001. His current research and policy interests include firm strategy related to innovation, mergers and acquisitions and pricing; impact of environmental regulations on business strategy, innovation and firm reorganization; firms’ decision-making under uncertainty; antitrust/competition laws and enforcement; and regulatory reform to enhance competition and innovation. His research has been awarded funding from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD, Paris); the U.S. Department of Transportation; the Georgia Department of Transportation; Ragnar Söderberg Foundation (Sweden); Robert W. Woodruff Foundation; Center for Paper Business and Industry Studies; and Scripps Howard Foundation.

Ghosal holds visiting professor appointments at the European Business School (Wiesbaden, Germany) and at the joint OECD-Korea Development Institute School of Public Policy and Management. He has published two edited books, The Political Economy of Antitrust (Elsevier, 2007) and Reforming Rules and Regulations: Laws, Institutions and Implementation (MIT Press, 2010), and is a member of the editorial board of the journals Review of Industrial Organization and Business Strategy and the Environment. He has published extensively in the leading peer-reviewed journals in economics, management, and law and economics.

The Inman Professorship advanced the Campaign Georgia Tech goal of establishing 100 new endowed chairs. SOE Chair David Laband emphasized the significance of the Inman’s contribution.

"With this Professorship, Rick and Mary Inman have provided critical support and leadership that helps the School of Economics' efforts to develop and sustain a nationally prominent academic program." 

Among those attending the reception were SOE Board of Advisors members Rich House, Jr. (ECON 1985) who is the managing director at Joe Mack Ventures LLC and chairs the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts advisory board; Joe Owens (ECON 1977) who is chief financial officer for Indego Africa; and John Wylder (ECON 1973). Also attending were Parks Dodd, a part-time associate professor in the SOE who is with Aluminomics LLC; Lauren Gough (ECON 2011), who is with Delta Airlines; Robin Murray, who works at Siemens; and Kelly Orman, (ECON 1995) who works at SAP.

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