Our Team
Tom Robertson
ACADEMIC DIRECTOR
Thomas S. Robertson is the Joshua J. Harris Professor and Professor of Marketing at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. An expert in marketing strategy and competitive behavior, his recent research has focused on ephemerality in retailing and the forecasting of retail sales. Dr. Robertson is author, co-author or editor of a dozen books and almost 100 scholarly articles and book chapters. He has won numerous awards for his scholarship and has lectured widely in North and Central America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and Africa.
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In 2014, Dr. Robertson completed a seven-year term as Dean of the Wharton School. In this role he raised substantial financial resources for the School, while championing global engagement, a strong culture of innovation, and business as a force for good. Under his leadership Wharton implemented a new MBA curriculum, a new initiative in public policy, creation of modular courses which run in ten countries, a research and teaching campus in Beijing, a commitment to lifelong learning for Wharton alumni, and the design of a portfolio of online courses reaching over two million participants worldwide.
Prior to his Wharton deanship, Dr. Robertson held posts at Emory University. As Chair of International Strategy, he served as founding Executive Faculty Director of the Institute for Developing Nations, a joint-venture research initiative with The Carter Center and President Jimmy Carter. From 1998 to 2004 he was Dean of Emory’s Goizueta Business School and is widely credited with positioning the school to compete as an international leader in business education.
From 1994 to 1998, he served as Deputy Dean of the London Business School in charge of the School’s portfolio of degree and non-degree programs. In addition to his appointments at Wharton, Emory and London Business School, Dr. Robertson has held faculty positions at UCLA’s Anderson School and Harvard Business School.
Dr. Robertson is an active board member in the university and corporate domains. He serves on the Advisory Boards of the Sorbonne and Indian School of Business, and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Carlyle Group. Formerly, he was a director of CRA International, a trustee of Singapore Management University, and served on the Advisory Boards of Tsinghua University and Guanghua School of Management (Peking University).
Born in Scotland, Robertson holds an M.A. in sociology and a Ph.D. in business from Northwestern University. He is married to Diana C. Robertson, the Samuel A. Blank Professor in Legal Studies, Professor of Legal Studies & Business Ethics and the Vice Dean and Director of the Wharton Undergraduate Division. They have three grown children.
Santiago Gallino
Research Director
Santiago Gallino is The Charles W. Evans Distinguished Faculty Scholar, Assistant Professor at the OID Departament. He is a scholar of operations management (OM) with a particular interest in digital transformation and strategy execution. In regards to applications, Prof. Gallino is passionate about OM challenges in the retail industry. He studies both omni-channel integration and store execution issues in retail. In his research, Prof. Gallino uses field data and econometric tools to study existing operational practices as well as potential operational improvements.
Prof. Gallino holds a PhD in Operations and Information Management and a Master’s in Statistics from the University of Pennsylvania where he was a Fulbright Scholar, an MBA from IAE Business School, and a degree in Electrical Engineering from Universidad de Buenos Aires.
Contact: sgallino@wharton.upenn.edu
Mina Fader
Managing Director
Mina Fader is the Managing Director of Wharton’s Baker Retailing Center at the University of Pennsylvania. Since joining the Center in 2017, Mina has been instrumental in enhancing its reputation as a global leader in retail knowledge and education. Mina established the Directors’ Council, West Coast Board, and Innovator’s Circle to reflect today’s retail landscape accurately. Before joining the Center, she was Associate Vice President of the Facilities and Real Estate Services Division at the University of Pennsylvania. She also served as the CFO for several organizations, including INTECH Construction, Chestnut Hill Academy, and the Germantown Friends School. Mina received an SB in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Contact: faderm@wharton.upenn.edu
Susan McMullen
Director, Academic and Industry Partnerships
Susan McMullen has been a member of the Baker Retailing Center team since 2006. She has extensive experience in the post-secondary sector including prior positions in both Wharton’s Behavioral Laboratory and Wharton’s Reginald H. Jones Center. Her role in Wharton’s Behavioral Laboratory was a Senior Research Coordinator where she worked with Wharton faculty on research projects determining survey viability, recommending sampling frameworks and recruited research participants. As Associate Director of the Jones Center, Susan managed projects and programs as well as researching and analyzing data around the center’s focus on the concerns of the chief executive officer and the top management team. She has an undergraduate degree from Governors State University.
Contact: mcmullen@wharton.upenn.edu
Brittany Franklin
Senior Associate Director, Operations, Finance & Administration
Brittany Franklin is the Senior Associate Director of Operations, Finance & Administration at Wharton’s Baker Retailing Center at the University of Pennsylvania. She oversees the operational efforts of the Center including programs, events, financials, and HR related tasks. Prior to her role at the Center, Brittany worked as an Associate Director of Alumni Networks at Saint Joseph University where she was responsible for enhancing the overall engagement of alumni, specifically managing the Regional and Affinity Chapters as well as their volunteers. She was also responsible for integrating philanthropy into the alumni relations enterprise by developing connections between alumni engagement activities and the fundraising campaign. Brittany has an undergraduate degree from Central Michigan University and an MBA from Wagner College.
Contact: brfr@wharton.upenn.edu
Destinee Elliott
Program Coordinator
Destinee Elliott is the Program Coordinator at Wharton’s Baker Retailing Center at the University of Pennsylvania. She offers administrative support and project management for day-to-day communications, administration, and event planning activities for the Center. Recognized as a Gucci Changemaker and recipient of the Black Talent in Design and Fashion award, she is passionate about encouraging diversity and inclusiveness through her creative work in fashion and event curation. Prior to her role at the Center, she was an Associate for New Student Programs at Thomas Jefferson University where she also received her Bachelor of Science in Fashion Merchandising & Management with a concentration in Global Brand Strategy.
Contact: destell@wharton.upenn.edu
