WITS 2022 Panel

Academic Panel

Clouds on the Horizon and Silver Linings – How to Continue Innovating the Information Systems Discipline?
It is undeniable that the Information Systems (IS) discipline has entered a golden age with record-breaking enrollment in IS educational programs and a robust job market for newly minted IS graduates. With the growth in pedagogical demands, we are also witnessing expansion in the IS academic community with new colleagues joining us on an annual basis. Yet, despite the positive outlook, there are clouds on the horizon. A large number of elite business schools still do not have a formal IS program while a handful of business schools are scaling down their IS departments. Amidst this, WITS 2022 will be organizing a panel to openly discuss challenges for the IS discipline in the foreseeable future and reflect on how we, as a collective, can continue innovating to address these challenges.
 
Bios of the five panelists:
Andrew Burton-Jones
Editor-in-Chief, MIS Quarterly (MISQ)
Professor, School of Business, University of Queensland

Bio: Andrew Burton-Jones is a Professor of Business Information Systems at the UQ Business School, University of Queensland, Australia. He has a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) and Master of Information Systems from the University of Queensland (UQ), and a Ph.D. from Georgia State University. Before returning to UQ, he was on the faculty of the Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia (UBC).  Andrew conducts research on systems analysis and design, the effective use of information systems, and improvements in research methodology.  Much of his research on these topics is situated in the healthcare context, where he seeks to understand and help facilitate the digital transformation of healthcare.  He is also extensively involved in education and service activities in the digital health domain.  Prior to his academic career, he was a senior consultant in a big-4 accounting/consulting firm. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences of Australia, Fellow of the Association for Information Systems, and the current Editor-in-Chief of MIS Quarterly.

Alok Gupta
Editor-in-Chief, information Systems Research (ISR) ,
Senior Associate Dean, Carson School of Management, University of Minnesota

 

Bio: Alok Gupta, currently, serves as Senior Associate Dean of Faculty, Research and Administration at the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota. He holds Curtis L. Carlson Schoolwide Chair in Information Management. From 2006 to 2014, he served as the Department Chair of Information and Decision Sciences department at Carlson School. He served two terms as the Editor-in-Chief of the premier IS journal, Information Systems Research, from 2017-2022. His service contributions to the field were recognized with INFORMS ISS President’s Service Award in 2021. He was chosen as INFORMS ISS Distinguished Fellow in 2014 and as AIS Fellow in 2016. He was awarded lifetime achievement award, LEO Award, by AIS in 2021.

Dipak C. Jain
President (European) of CEIBS (China Europe International Business School) from 2017-2022
Dean of INSEAD (2011-2013)
Dean of Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University (2001-2009)

Bio: Dr. Dipak C. Jain is the Co-Chair of Academic Council of China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) Social Security and Aging Finance Institute. He is also Professor of Marketing at CEIBS. Dr. Jain was the President (European) at CEIBS from 2017 to 2022. Prior to being named as President (European) at CEIBS, he served from 2014 to 2017 as the Director of Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration of Chulalongkorn University (Thailand). He also served from 2011 to 2013 as Dean of INSEAD, an international business school with campuses in France, Singapore and Abu Dhabi. Before joining INSEAD, Dr. Jain was the Dean of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management from 2001 to 2009, and the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs from 1996 to 2001. In recognition of his many scholarly achievements and outstanding teaching, he also was named in 1994 the Sandy and Morton Goldman Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies and Professor of Marketing at Kellogg, whose Marketing Department he joined as a faculty member in 1986.

Sam Ransbotham
Professor of Business Analytics, Carroll School of Management, Boston College


Bio: Sam Ransbotham is a professor of analytics at the Carroll School of Management at Boston College, as well as a guest editor for MIT Sloan Management Review’s Artificial Intelligence and Business Strategy Big Ideas initiative. Sam earned a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering, an MBA, and a PhD, all from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Jackie Rees Ulmer
Dean College of Business, Glenn E. Corlett Professor of Business, Ohio University


Bio: Jackie Rees Ulmer is the Dean of the Ohio University College of Business and a Professor of Information Systems. Previously, she served the Ivy College of Business at Iowa State University, as the Associate Dean for Professional Masters Programs, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs, and Chair of the Department of Supply Chain and Information Systems. Before joining Iowa State, she was a tenured faculty member in Management Information Systems in the Krannert School of Management at Purdue University for 17 years. Her doctorate is in Decision and Information Sciences from the Warrington College of Business at the University of Florida.

 

Industry Panel

Embracing a Digital Asset Future

Digital assets in the likes of cryptocurrencies and Non-Fungible Token (NFTs) are hailed as the engines of growth in the metaverse by giving rise to unprecedented opportunities for value creation that would not have existed otherwise. But at the same time, notable debacles such as the bankruptcy of the cryptocurrency exchange, FTX, and the collapse of the stablecoin, Terra Luna, have eroded investors’ confidence in digital assets and culminated in calls for greater regulatory oversight of the industry. Amidst this, WITS 2022 will be organizing a panel, which comprises leading experts in the digital assets space, to discuss opportunities and challenges for the industry in the foreseeable future as well as the role of regulatory oversight in light of this future.

Jonas Valbjørn Andersen (Moderator)
Associate Professor, IT University of Copenhagen

Bio: Jonas Valbjørn Andersen is Associate Professor of digital methods and data in organisations with the Information Systems research group at the IT University of Copenhagen (ITU). He has a background in strategy and IT and holds a Ph.D. in Information Systems and Management from Warwick Business School.

His research focuses on coordination in distributed information systems such as blockchain and DLT systems, online communities, and data ecosystems as well as organisational processes related to algorithmic decision-making. He primarily employs digital trace data analysis in combination with system modelling and simulation based on systems thinking in general and more specifically on a complex adaptive systems approach.

His work aims to contribute with insights on strategy, management, and organising related to distributed information systems such as algorithmic decision-making, blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT), and digitally distributed organisations.

Simon Ousager
Co-Founder and CEO, Januar

 

Bio: Simon is the co-founder and CEO of Januar. He was the first non-technical full-time hire at Chainalysis, where he started out as an account executive and ended up as Lead Training Specialist, training global top crypto exchanges, international banks and law enforcement entities all over the world. Simon is thus one of the top experts on crypto currency technology and compliance. He founded Januar with a vision of making IBAN services available to businesses across Europe. Alongside building a great business, Simon is committed to building a great workplace, with room for employees to follow their professional passion and maintaining work-life balance. His educational background is a BSc in Molecular Biology.

Kristian T. Sørensen
Co-Founder, Norfico

Bio: Kristian’s work within financial services has made him an acknowledged fintech thought leader and speaker at conferences worldwide. He is the co-founder of Norfico – the first agency in the Nordics to combine strategic advisory and communication services with a dedicated focus on fintech. Norfico serves clients mainly in Europe and North America, delivering both content and context in the increasingly complex financial services industry. In 2019 Kristian co-founded The Tokenizer, the world’s leading news and data platform dedicated to tokenization of real-world assets. Kristian holds a master’s degree in communication and psychology but has worked with financial services and digital payments for the past 20 years.

Jonas Kasper Jensen
NFT Visual Artist at https://www.jonaskasperjensen.com 


Bio: Jonas is a writer and a visual artist based in Copenhagen. In his work, Jonas is inspired by blockchain technology. He studied at The Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Copenhagen with Prof. Carsten Juhl and at Städelschule, Frankfurt with Prof. Willem de Rooij. In conjunction with his own practice, Jonas Kasper Jensen is part of the artist group Lehman Brothers. In addition, Jonas is the editor of NFTs at The Tokenizer and an Assistant Researcher at ITU.