Prof. L. Beril Toktay, Georgia Tech
Professor of Operations Management, Brady Family Chair, and ADVANCE Professor; Faculty Director, Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business
Sustainability – the Engine for Clean and Inclusive Innovation and Growth
Sustainability has historically been approached with primarily an environmental focus and with a “constrained optimization” approach. This talk will highlight the social dimension of sustainability, encompassing concepts such as livability, health equity, community development, and human rights, as equally important in engaging communities at all levels in creating a sustainable future locally and globally. It will speak to the role of innovation in decoupling economic growth from environmental impact. Examples of companies that are seeking to marry technology and business model innovation with a stronger focus on inclusive, socially-oriented strategies will be discussed, with implications for future research directions and for the skills and competencies that our universities should be imparting on students and future managers.
About the speaker:
Professor Toktay's primary research areas are sustainable operations and supply chain management. Her research has been funded by several National Science Foundation grants and has received distinctions such as the 2010 Brady Family Award for Faculty Research Excellence. Her research articles have appeared in refereed journals such as Management Science, M&SOM, Operations Research, Production and Operations Management and Industrial Ecology. She was formerly Associate Professor of Operations Management at INSEAD.
Professor Toktay is Area Editor (Environment, Energy and Sustainability) for Operations Research, and co-edited the M&SOM Special Issue on the Environment. She serves as Associate Editor for Management Science and M&SOM. She served as the President of the M&SOM Society and the VP of Finance of the POM Society. At Georgia Tech, she serves as the Scheller College of Business ADVANCE Professor, a role that is focused on supporting the advancement of women in academia. She is also the Executive Co-Director of Georgia Tech's Serve.Learn.Sustain Quality Enhancement Plan.
Professor Toktay has taught Supply Chain Management courses at the PhD, MBA, and Executive Education levels, as well as Operations Management and Operations Research courses at the PhD level. She has developed cases and pedagogical material for MBA and Executive Education audiences. She currently teaches Business Strategies for Sustainability in MBA and executive education programs.
