Wake Forest Online MSBA Faculty

Dr. Jeffrey Camm is Associate Dean of Business Analytics and the Inmar Presidential Chair of Analytics at the Wake Forest University School of Business. His scholarship is on the application of optimization modeling to difficult decision problems in a diverse set of application areas including operations planning and scheduling, supply chain optimization, product design, and conservation. His research has been featured in Business Week/Financial Times-ranked academic journals, such as Management Science and Operations Research, as well as the renowned journal Science. Camm also recently co-authored an article for the MIT Sloan Management Review on the impact of the global pandemic on data science.

Camm received his PhD in Management Science from Clemson University and a BS in Mathematics from Xavier University. He previously held the Joseph S. Stern Chair in Business Analytics in the Lindner College of Business at the University of Cincinnati, where he served as department head for 20 years, was awarded the lifetime appointment as a Fellow of the Graduate School, and was the founding director of the UC Center for Business Analytics.

Dr. Ron Thompson is the John B. McKinnon Professor of Management and Area Chair at the School of Business at Wake Forest University. He is originally from Canada, and prior to joining Wake Forest in 2000 he worked for the Royal Bank of Canada, the University of Calgary, and the University of Vermont. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Waterloo, his MBA from McMaster University, and his PhD from the University of Western Ontario.

Thompson’s teaching and research interests include information systems and data management. He is a former Senior Editor for MIS Quarterly. He has written numerous articles that have appeared in outlets such as MIS Quarterly, Information Systems Research, the Journal of Management Information Systems, the Journal of the AIS (Association of Information Systems), and other publications. He is a member of the Association of Information Systems, and has presented and otherwise participated at major national and international conferences. When not working, Thompson enjoys hiking, playing golf with his wife, walking his dog, and generally spending as much time outdoors as possible.

Dr. Gordon McCray is the Vice Dean of Academic Programs, AT&T Fellow, and Associate Professor at the Wake Forest University School of Business. In his role as Vice Dean, McCray oversees all existing and new academic programs at the School. His research interests include project management, outsourcing, systems development, and the visual arts market.

McCray is an alumnus of Wake Forest University having earned his Bachelor of Science in Physics. He would go on to earn his MBA at Stetson University and receive his PhD in Information Systems at Florida State University.

Dr. Tonya Etchison Balan is an Associate Teaching Professor in the School of Business at Wake Forest University. She received her undergraduate degree in mathematics and her PhD in Statistics from North Carolina State University. Dr. Balan has extensive experience as a practicing statistician working with customers in such diverse industries as health care, retail, financial services, government, and consumer packaged goods.

Prior to joining Wake Forest, Balan was on the faculty of North Carolina State University’s Poole College of Management. She also spent 10 years as Director of Analytics Product Management at SAS Institute where her team was responsible for providing strategic direction for all aspects of the development and deployment of SAS’ suite of analytics products. Dr. Balan is something of a foodie and enjoys cooking and trying new recipes and cuisines. She also enjoys playing the piano and traveling the world with her family.

Mike Ames is a Professor of the Practice at Wake Forest University, teaching courses including Analytics Software Technology. His areas of specialization include software development, software engineering, product management, predictive analytics, machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI), data science, deep learning, TensorFlow, MXNet, Spark, cloud, data visualization, fraud and compliance, and thought leadership.

Professionally he is a software leader who has focused on the development of data and analytic products and solutions for over 15 years. He has led teams of data scientists and solution engineers, focused on new and novel uses of machine learning and AI. His charter is to simplify the complex, focus on performance, design with the end in mind, and shine a light on the black box.

He has conceived and brought to market over a dozen new products and solutions ranging from data- and decision-management tools to real-time investigative solutions to combat fraud. He has led R&D organizations to develop fraud and compliance solutions, as well as product management groups focused on data management, data science, and fraud solutions.

Ames received his BBA in Economics from the University of Georgia and MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.