Susan White

Memorial’s business faculty bolstered its faculty component with three new hires this fall.

Dr. Davoud Gharemanlou (PhD’21) is an assistant professor in management science and operations management.

Dr. John Peters is an associate professor in employment relations with additional expertise in international business.

And Neal Willcott (B.Sc.(Hons.)’13, MBA’16, M.Sc.’18) is an assistant professor in finance.

“These new faculty members bring a breadth of experience and education that will benefit students as they progress through their business education,” said Dr. Travor Brown, interim dean. “They all also incorporate questions of sustainability into their work, which aligns with our vision to be a business school that contributes to a prosperous, sustainable and socially equitable world.”

‘Reputation for excellence’

Dr. Gharemanlou has more than a decade of experience in logistics and supply chain management in diverse industries such as manufacturing, energy, forestry and technology transfer.

He completed undergraduate and graduate engineering degrees in Iran and India, respectively, before turning his focus to supply chain and operations management.

His PhD in management at Memorial focused on supply chains for sustainable transportation fuels.

Following graduation, he became a per course instructor at the faculties of Science and Engineering and Applied Science, and then completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Memorial’s Grenfell Campus.

Dr. Ghahremanlou is interested in applying optimization techniques in logistics and supply chain management, and his current research focuses on sustainability in logistics and supply chains.

"I was interested in working at Memorial’s Faculty of Business Administration due to its strong emphasis on community engagement in addition to its reputation for excellence in research and teaching,” he said.

Leading change

Dr. Peters’s research interests include trade unions and labour relations, inequality and comparative public policy, and decarbonization and environmental labour studies.

He’s jointly appointed with Memorial’s Department of Sociology.

“I’m incredibly honoured to join a program that seeks to equip current and future decision-makers with the knowledge and skills necessary to lead change towards sustainability across the province and across Canada,” said Dr. Peters.

In addition to his role at Memorial, Dr. Peters is a research fellow at the University of Montreal’s Inter-University Research Centre on Globalization and Work.

He holds a master’s degree in history from the University of Michigan and a PhD in political science from York University.

‘Continuation of a journey’

Prof. Willcott has earned three degrees from Memorial, collecting accolades along the way including placing first in the 2019 John Molson Business Ownership Case Writing Competition. Co-authors on the case were Ryan Stack, Angela Avery and Dr. Tom Cooper.

“Memorial's Faculty of Business Administration isn't just a workplace for me,” he said. “It's a continuation of a journey that started with my education, a connection to my roots, and an ideal platform for contributing meaningfully to the intersection of academia and real-world challenges in Newfoundland and Labrador."

Prof. Willcott is currently enrolled in a PhD in management program at Smith School of Business, Queen’s University, where he’s been an adjunct instructor and taught courses in finance. He expects to defend his thesis in January and graduate next spring.

His research interests are in the area of sustainable finance, particularly on the impact of climate change on macroeconomic, financial and policy outcomes.

“Beyond personal ties, the research landscape at Memorial aligns seamlessly with my academic pursuits,” he said. “Newfoundland and Labrador's unique economic dynamics, deeply intertwined with the oil and gas industry, present a compelling backdrop for my exploration of the intersection between climate change and finance.”