Our Team
Thomas Walker
DirectorThomas Walker is a full professor of Finance at Concordia University. Prior to his academic career, Dr. Walker worked in the German consulting and industrial sector at such firms as Mercedes Benz, Utility Consultants International, and KPMG. His research interests are in sustainability & climate change, aviation, corporate governance, and risk management and he has published over seventy articles and edited books in these areas. He previously served as Director of the David O’Brien Centre for Sustainable Enterprise, as Laurentian Bank Professor in Integrated Risk Management, as Chair of the Finance Department, and as Associate Dean, Research, at Concordia University.
Yunfei Zhao
Research AssociateYunfei is a doctoral candidate in finance at the John Molson School of Business at Concordia University. His research focuses on financial institutions (banks and insurance companies) and how they are affected by natural disasters. Based on his results, he examines the need for new banking regulations that link a bank’s capital requirements to the natural disaster exposure of firms and households in its lending portfolio.
Moein Karami
Research AssociateMoein Karami is a Postdoctoral Fellow at Concordia University. He obtained his doctoral degree from John Molson School of Business, in 2021. His PhD research was funded by several prestigious awards including the National Bank Initiative in Entrepreneurship and Family Business Fellowship. He also has served as the instructor of finance core undergraduate courses at Concordia University since 2016. His research interests include corporate finance, litigation, entrepreneurial finance, fintech, and behavioral finance.
Rajesh Kumar Tharumar
Research AssociateRajesh is a M.Sc. student in the department of Finance at John Molson School of Business. He has 2+ years banking experience spanning credit analysis, monitoring and relationship management. His research interests include stability and sustainability of financial institutions, financial and corporate risk management and impact of disasters on the financial institutions.
Meaghan Landrigan-Buttle
Research AssociateMeaghan holds a master’s degree in History from Concordia University (Montreal), with a focus in Irish Studies. Meaghan has experience in project management, conference planning, tutoring, and holds a professional development certificate in Professional Editing from the University of Waterloo. She has worked as a teaching assistant in the History department and at the School of Irish Studies at Concordia. Her research interests include the First World War, the uses and misuses of history, the consumption of history via popular culture and commemoration, memory studies, and genealogy. Meaghan will begin her PhD research this fall at Concordia University under the supervision of Dr. Jane McGaughey, where she will explore the uses and misuses of war commemoration in Ireland.
Sherif Goubran
Academic PartnerSherif Goubran joined in as an instructor in the department of Architecture (School of Sciences and Engineering) at the American University in Cairo. He completed his PhD at the Individualized Program (INDI) at Concordia University in 2021. His PhD research was funded by several prestigious grants and awards including the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship. He is conducting interdisciplinary research within the fields of design, architecture, building engineering and real-estate finance. His work investigates the alignment between sustainable building practices and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Sherif completed a MASc in building engineering in 2016 with a focus on energy efficiency in commercial buildings. Before that, he completed a BSc in Architecture at the American University in Cairo (AUC-Egypt).
Thomas Kaspereit
Academic PartnerThomas Kaspereit is an Associate Professor in Financial Accounting at the University of Luxembourg. He obtained his doctoral degree from the University of Oldenburg, Germany, in 2013. His research focuses on the effect of corporate sustainability and sustainability disclosure on the market value of firms. In addition, he is interested in water risk, corporate governance, and firms’ accounting choices.
Tyler Schwartz
Research AssistantTyler Schwartz is a MSc candidate at HEC Montreal studying Data Science and Business Analytics. He currently serves as a research associate in the Department of Finance at Concordia University. Tyler completed his undergraduate degree at the John Molson School of Business in which he received an Honors in Finance. He was also presented with the CUSRA scholarship in 2016, which is awarded to undergraduate students who have an interest in pursuing research activities. His research interests include predictive modelling, bio-statistics, sports analytics, and machine learning
Gabrielle Machnik-Kekesi
Research AssistantGabrielle Kathleen Machnik-Kekesi (she/elle/sí) is a Hardiman Research Scholar at the University of Galway (2021-2025). She holds an Individualized Program master’s degree from Concordia University, which was funded by both the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the Fonds de recherche du Québec en Société et Culture, and a master’s in Information Studies from McGill University, which was supported by the Margery Trenholme Fellowship. Her research interests include women’s history, cultural geography, and food studies.
Maya Michaeli
Research AssistantMaya Michaeli currently works as a Research Assistant in the Department of Finance, at Concordia University, Montreal. She has a natural passion and enthusiasm for financial markets, which has led her to further pursue her studies in this field. She has a keen personal interest in portfolio management. Her research focuses on risk management, speculative investing, real estate investment trusts, and sustainable investment opportunities.
Victoria Kelly
Research AssistantVictoria Kelly holds a BSc in Biology with an additional major in Irish Studies. She has worked with the Emerging Risks Information Center at Concordia University since 2020, where she has been involved in numerous book projects and research papers in the area of sustainability, climate change, and with management. Her research interests include diaspora studies, medical history, and immunology. She plans to continue her studies with an independent master’s degree examining the 1832 Cholera epidemic in Montreal and its management on a social, urban, economic, and medical level, drawing parallels with the recent COVID-19 pandemic.
Luying Yang
Research AssistantLuying is a MSc student in Finance at Concordia University, she holds a BCom in Finance and a Diploma in Hotel Management. Working in the research department of a securities firm gave her an interest in financial analysis and inspired her to pursue higher academic goals. Her research interests are in financial institutions and corporate governance, with a particular interest in understanding financial markets through the study of the COVID-19 epidemic.
Elaheh Nikbakht
Research AssistantElaheh Nikbakht is an MSc candidate at John Molson School of Business, Concordia University where she studies finance. She currently serves as a teaching assistant and research assistant in the Department of Finance at Concordia University. Elaheh completed her undergraduate degree and MBA at Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Iran. She has been awarded several scholarships and awards for her remarkable academic performance, including the Arbour Foundation Scholarship and the Bourse D'études D'excellence du Centre Desjardins D'innovation en financement D'entreprises. She is also cooperating with other professors to hold conferences related to mathematics and statistics at Concordia University. Her research interests include capital markets, portfolio management, Fintech, and machine learning.
Miles Murphy
Research AssistantMiles Murphy is a graduate of the School of Irish Studies at Concordia University. He has been a researcher, writer and editor on a variety of projects and publications. He is a former Professional Test Developer and Standards Manager and was Director of Exam Design and Development with Moody’s Analytics. He has experience in areas of adult education, finance, the built environment, mining, energy, health and public safety.
Mauran Pavan
Research AssistantMauran is an undergraduate student in Computer Science-Web Services and Applications at Concordia University. He has previous experience working at a start-up in the entertainment and tourism sector. His interests lie in FinTech, sustainability, and emerging new technologies.
Simone Donders
Research AssistantSimone Donders is an MA candidate in the Department of History at Concordia University, Montreal. Her research interests include Irish country house architecture and Napoleonic Era cavalry. She has a passion for sustainability studies and supports the team at the Emerging Risks Information Centre (ERIC) as both an editor and research associate.