Elizabeth “Beta” Mannix, PhD

Ann Whitney Olin Professor of Management
SC Johnson College of Business, Cornell University

Speaking Thursday, June 27, 9:00 a.m.–9:45 a.m.
Plenary: Building Inclusive Communities

Beta is the Ann Whitney Olin Professor of Management. Her research, teaching and consulting focuses on leading with purpose, managing organizational change, leading and coaching teams, and diversity and inclusion. She has worked with professionals around the globe, and across a variety of industries, including healthcare, consulting, government and the military, finance, education, engineering, consumer products and manufacturing.

Beta’s research has been published in leading psychology and management journals. Her work has been recognized by awards from organizations including: The Academy of Management, Small Group Research, and the International Association for Conflict Management. Beta served as the Associate Dean for Executive MBA programs at Cornell University and the Director of the Institute for the Social Sciences, established to promote interdisciplinary research and to increase the university’s prominence in the social sciences. She is a fellow of the American Psychological Society, the Society for Organizational Behavior, and The Academy of Management.

Alex Susskind, PhD

Professor and Senior Director of Programs
Nolan School of Hotel Administration, SC Johnson College of Business, Cornell University

Speaking Friday, June 28, 8:45 a.m.—9:45 a.m.
Keynote

Professor Susskind joined the faculty at Cornell’s Nolan School of Hotel Administration in 1998. He is a Professor of Food and Beverage Management and is currently serving as the Senior Director of Programs. Professor Susskind earned his Ph.D. in Communication from Michigan State University with a specialization in organizational communication and his MBA with a concentration in personnel and human relations. Susskind earned his undergraduate degree at Purdue University in Restaurant, Hotel, and Institutional Management and is also a trained chef with a degree in Culinary Arts from The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. Prior to starting his career in Academia, Susskind was a chef and restaurant operator for both independent and multi-unit restaurant companies in the Northeastern and Southeastern United States.

At Cornell, Professor Susskind teaches undergraduate and graduate courses addressing the operational and strategic elements of the food and beverage business. He also teaches in the School’s Executive Education Program to managers and executives both on and off campus and has developed and launched an eight-course online certificate program in Food and Beverage Management with eCornell.

Through his active research program, Professor Susskind is currently examining how: (1) customer-service provider interaction with guests and managers influences organizational performance; (2) organizational communication networks are influenced by elements such as teamwork and organizational change; (3) organizational technology is influencing/changing the relationship between guests and service-based employees and managers; and (4) nutrition information provided by restaurants on menus (as required by the Affordable Care Act starting in May 2018) is influencing guests’ food choices when they dine out in full service restaurants.

Susskind released a book through Cornell Press entitled The Next Frontier of Restaurant Management: Harnessing Data to Improve Guest Service and Enhance the Employee Experience, with Mark Maynard of Union Square Hospitality Group.

On a personal note: Professor Susskind and his wife Carrie have two boys and live happily in Ithaca, NY. Alex studies Chun Do Kwan Tae Kwon Do and holds a 3^rd Degree Black Belt; he is an enthusiastic collector of fine wines with around 1400 bottles in his personal wine cellar; and is drummer who practices nearly every day.