New Faculty Join the Wake Forest School of Business for Fall 2025

The Wake Forest University School of Business welcomed five new full-time faculty members for the 2025-2026 academic year.

Full-time Faculty:

Aric LaBarr, Ph.D., Associate Teaching Professor, Business Analytics

LaBarr’s research interests include credit modeling, microfinance, and insurance in developing nations. Prior to his appointment at Wake Forest, he served as an Associate Teaching Professor at the Institute for Advanced Analytics at North Carolina State University. LaBarr earned a Ph.D. in statistics with a minor in economics from NC State University, where he also received his master’s in statistics and dual bachelor’s degrees in statistics and economics.

Kyre Lahtinen, Ph.D., Associate Teaching Professor, Finance

Lahtinen’s research focuses on behavioral finance, empirical asset pricing, and data analytics. Before joining Wake Forest as a full-time faculty member, he served as a Visiting Associate Professor from 2023-2025 and was previously an Associate Professor of Finance at Wright State University. Lahtinen holds a Ph.D. in finance with a support area in econometrics from Florida State University.

Jaelynn Oh, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Operations Management

Oh’s research examines how companies and customers interact in service settings such as online platforms, airlines, reservations, and queues. She studies why people make certain choices—for example, whether and what to purchase, whether to wait in line, accept the risk of being bumped from a reservation, or whether to take advantage of unusual pricing. Her work analyzes consumer behaviors and choices to explain unexpected business outcomes and provide recommendations to improve pricing strategies and service practices. Before her current role at Wake Forest, Oh served as an Assistant Professor in Operations and Information Systems at the David Eccles School of Business at University of Utah. Oh earned a Ph.D. in operations management from the University of Pennsylvania, a master’s in management science and engineering from Stanford University, and a bachelor’s in applied mathematics from KAIST.

Elizabeth Ricks, MSBA, Associate Professor of the Practice, Business Analytics

Ricks specializes in data storytelling, data visualization, and the implications of Generative AI for business analytics and higher education. Prior to her current role, she served as an adjunct instructor from 2021-2023 at the School of Business and a visiting faculty member from 2023-2024. She previously worked as a Workshop Facilitator for Storytelling with Data, Assistant Vice President for Small Business Analytics at Bank of America Merchant Services, and held various analytical roles at IMS/SDI Health and Merck. Ricks earned a master’s in business analytics from St. Joseph’s University.

David Robertson, MBA, Assistant Professor of the Practice, Marketing

Robertson’s areas of expertise include brand strategy, digital marketing, public relations, content marketing, corporate social responsibility, and cross-functional leadership. His professional career spans brand management and general management roles at Procter & Gamble, Celestial Seasonings, and HanesBrands. Before his current role, he served as an Assistant Professor of the Practice in the Wake Forest Department of Communication. He earned both his bachelor’s degree in business and MBA from Wake Forest.