Best 40-Under-40 Professor Bradley Staats

Bradley Staats of UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School is among the 40 best business school profs under 40

Bradley Staats

Associate Professor of Operations

Age: 38

Institution: University of North Carolina, Kenan-Flagler Business School

Since: 2009

Before current institution: Before going back to get my doctorate, I worked in investment banking (Goldman Sachs), strategic planning (Dell) and venture capital

Hometown: Austin, Texas

Marital status: Married for 15 years

Children: three boys – 9, 7, 5

Education:

Harvard Business School, DBA, Technology and Operations Management

Harvard Business School, MBA

University of Texas at Austin, BS Electrical Engineering, BA Plan II and Spanish

Courses currently teaching:

Operations

Global Operations Strategy

Project Management

Fun fact: We had all three of our boys while I was a doctoral student, so my wife and I would joke that even if the academic career didn’t work out, we knew it had been a productive time.

Professor I most admire: Rob Huckman–a remarkable scholar and teacher who lets his exceptional work speak for itself.

Most memorable moment as a professor: That moment in a case discussion when someone asks a question or brings up a point that sends the discussion in a new, unexpected, and fruitful direction. Thankfully that happens in most classes.

“If I weren’t a b-school professor…” I’d have started a software company

Bradley Staats’ passion for all things related to teaching, research, and service can be summed up by one of his recent tweets: “Love my job. Gave ops final yesterday. Today to NY to talk worker development & op performance w/ a leading retailer.”

This two-time MBA teaching all-star uses his research to investigate what characteristics lead to better outcomes at work. At the cross-section of operations and organizational behavior is where you’ll find Staats, studying ways organizations can have satisfied employees while steadily improving overall productivity.

At 38, this top professor obtained tenure two years early in two disciplines: operations and organizational behavior.