Leading Startups for a Better World

Andrew Karolyi is the Charles Field Knight Dean of the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business. He is a Professor of Finance and International Business as well as holder of the Harold Bierman Jr. Distinguished Professorship in the Johnson Graduate School of Management. Dr. Karolyi is also a Professor of Economics in Cornell’s College of Arts and Sciences.

A scholar in the area of investment management, with a specialization in the study of international financial markets, Dr. Karolyi has published extensively in journals in finance and economics, including the Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, and Review of Financial Studies. He has also published several books and monographs, and his research is featured in print and electronic media such as the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, The Economist, Time, New York Times, Washington Post, Forbes, BusinessWeek, and CNBC. Dr. Karolyi recently completed a four-year term as executive editor of the Review of Financial Studies, one of the top-tier journals in finance. He has also served as an associate editor for a variety of journals, including the Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Empirical Finance, Journal of Banking and Finance, Review of Finance, and the Pacific Basin Finance Journal.

Dr. Karolyi is a recipient of the Michael Jensen Prize for Corporate Finance and Organizations (2017), the Fama/DFA Prize for Capital Markets and Asset Pricing (2005), the William F. Sharpe Award for Scholarship in Finance (2001), the Journal of Empirical Finance’s Biennial Best Paper Prize (2006), and Johnson School’s Prize for Excellence in Research (2010). Dr. Karolyi leads various executive education programs in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia, and he is actively involved in consulting with corporations, banks, investment firms, stock exchanges, and law firms. He is president-elect/program chair of the Western Finance Association, has served as a director of the American Finance Association, and is past chairperson of the board of trustees and past president of the Financial Management Association International. Dr. Karolyi received his B.A. (Honors) in Economics from McGill University and worked at the Bank of Canada for several years in its research department. He subsequently earned his MBA and Ph.D. degrees in Finance at the Graduate School of Business of the University of Chicago.

Jamey Edwards is co-founder and CEO of Cloudbreak Health, a healthcare solutions enterprise dedicated to resolving healthcare disparities by providing innovative, unified telehealth solutions to hospitals nationwide. Cloudbreak was named by Entrepreneur magazine as one of the top entrepreneurial companies (#25) in the nation, received the Patrick Soon Shiong Innovation Award, and was a 2021 Greater Los Angeles Region Semifinalist for the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Prior to co-founding Cloudbreak, Mr. Edwards was CEO of Emergent Medical Associates (EMA), a multi-specialty medical group in the Southwest providing ER, hospitalist, and anesthesia services. He is currently an EMA board member, responsible for M&A and strategy. Prior to EMA, Mr. Edwards worked in the Investment Banking Division of Lehman Brothers. He graduated from Cornell University in 1996, earned his MBA from Cornell’s SC Johnson Graduate School of Management in 2003, and is currently a member of the Cornell University Council.

Natalie Grillon is Executive Director of the Open Apparel Registry, a free and open-source registry and interactive map of global apparel facilities. Championing access to open data and transparent practices, Ms. Grillon has worked for a decade to launch innovative solutions to complex problems in the apparel sector. She is the co-founder of Ethical Creators, training and supporting the next wave of content creators to become catalysts for change in the fashion, beauty, and lifestyle industries, and she co-founded Project JUST, an online platform to help bring transparency to fashion supply chains and empower consumers to shift their purchasing behavior. Ms. Grillon is an Acumen Fellow, an RPCV, and a graduate of Georgetown University (B.S.) and Cornell University (MBA).

Samay Bansal is a Hotelie at heart. With a passion for service and hospitality, Mr Bansal’s time at Cornell saw him navigate through co-founding student-run restaurant 2Stay2Go; serving as the Student Food and Beverage Director at the Statler Hotel; and furthering his philanthropic efforts with Million Meals Mission, a nonprofit organization he founded. Million Meals Mission aims to raise awareness about food insecurity and provide meals to food-insecure communities around the world. The organization achieves this through strategic partnerships with international donors and grassroots organizations in several communities. To date, Million Meals Mission has provided 226,000 meals. Outside of Million Meals Mission, Mr. Bansal chaired the SHA Dean’s Student Advisory Board and led the Hotel School Mentorship Program. He will be moving to Chicago to pursue consulting at McKinsey & Company after graduation.