PhD Students
Daniel Armanios
(2009 - ) Daniel Armanios is a second year PhD student at the Stanford Technology Ventures Program in the Department of Management Science & Engineering at Stanford University. Daniel’s research interests lies around the effects of resource constraints on performance using the lenses of organizational theory, strategy, and sustainable development. He holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and a B.A. in Political Science with a minor in Economics from the University of Pittsburgh. He also holds a M.Sc. in Management Research and a M.Sc. in Water Science, Policy and Management from University of Oxford. Daniel has worked on projects for NASA, NOAA, the OHCHR, the General Motors Corporation, the Government of Malaysia, and variety of NGOs specializing in community-based infrastructural development. Daniel also periodically writes on the nexus between technology, the environment, and public policy in the Middle East with the aim of presenting lesser explored avenues for diplomacy in the region.
Michael Christensen
(2011 - ) Michael Christensen is a PhD student at the Stanford Technology Ventures Program within Stanford’s department of Management Science & Engineering. Michael’s research interests focus on understanding innovation trends within industries, as well as understanding how businesses identify and explore opportunities for innovation within their business and organization.
Michael received his MBA with High Distinction from the Harvard Business School, graduating as a George F. Baker Scholar, and also holds an AB, with Honors, from Harvard University in History of Art and Architecture. In addition to his academic accomplishments, Michael has spent a number of years working in management and innovation consulting, including time at Monitor Group, Innosight and IDEO, where he engaged in projects across numerous industries, including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, consumer goods and financial services.
Douglas Hannah
(2009 - ) Douglas Hannah is a Ph.D. student in the Stanford Technology Ventures Program. His research interests revolve around collaborative firm innovation processes and the formation of interfirm networks, particularly in the emerging electric vehicles sector. These phenomena are explored through a variety of analytical and simulation modeling tools.
Doug holds a B.A. in Environmental Studies with Honors from Dartmouth College and an M.S. in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University. Prior to doctoral work, Doug co-founded an environmental advocacy and outreach group (www.thebiggreenbus.org) and worked as an analyst at the Cadmus Group, a policy consulting firm based in Boston, MA. On any given weekend you may find him exploring the hills on his trusty Cannondale or searching San Francisco for the perfect cup of coffee.
Garrett Heath
(2010 - ) Garrett is a PhD Candidate at the Stanford Technology Ventures Program in the Management Science and Engineering Department at Stanford University. Garrett’s research interests include entrepreneurial finance, dynamic corporate strategy, as it applies to cultivating change and remaining flexible in fast-paced markets, and health policy.
Prior to his doctoral work, Garrett worked in marketing for the Fastenal Corporation and as a financial manager for the Beefeaters Eating Club. Additionally, Garrett currently competes as a professional runner for the Saucony Corporation and is involved with the decision making process for the shoes and apparel that they produce. Thus far, Garrett has achieved both B.S. and M.S. degrees in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University. In pursuing the B.S. degree he concentrated on decision and financial engineering, while in the M.S. program he focused on organizations, technology and entrepreneurship.
Michael Leatherbee
(2010 - ) Michael Leatherbee is a PhD student at the Stanford Technology Ventures Program. His interest in entrepreneurship and innovation research is inspired by a desire to increase start-up success rates and design tools that impact the development of societies through the empowerment of entrepreneurs. He is a recipient of the BecasChile Fellowship from Chile’s Ministry of Education.
In 2009 Michael was hired as Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship and Technological Innovation at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile where he co-founded the Innovation Factory think-tank and was instrumental in the design and implementation of an innovation and entrepreneurship education master plan for the School of Engineering and the University at large. In 2003 Michael co-founded Yx Wireless, a wireless hardware design and manufacturing start-up that is currently the leader in its industry in Latin America. In 2005 Michael co-founded OPTE, an educational foundation to deliver quality education to children from vulnerable families.
Michael enjoys spending time with his wife and two children, and occasionally searches for a different point of view through aerobatics.
Jian Bai “Jamber” Li
(2010 - ) Jian Bai “Jamber” Li is a PhD student at the Stanford Technology Venture Program in the Department of Management Science & Engineering at Stanford University. Jamber’s research interests include the influence of informal institutions on corporate strategy and management, the institutionalization of networks and connections, and entrepreneurship in China and Chinese communities. He holds a B.S. in Biological and Environmental Engineering from Cornell University.
Timothy Ott
(2010 - ) Tim Ott is a PhD student at the Stanford Technology Ventures Program in the Department of Management Science & Engineering at Stanford University. Tim is still narrowing his focus but his primary research interests are in hybrid economies (i.e. open source platforms) and social entrepreneurship with broader interests in organizational learning, adaptation, and experimentation.
Tim holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Computer Science and a Bachelor of Science in Economics with a minor in Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania's Jerome Fischer Management & Technology Program. Before returning for PhD studies Tim worked as an IT consultant for 5 years and completed his Masters in Management Science & Engineering at Stanford.
Henning Piezunka
(2008 - ) Henning Piezunka is a PhD student at the Stanford Technology Ventures Program in the Department of Management Science & Engineering at Stanford University. His research interests focus on platform-based industries. Methodologically he is particularly interested in simulation.
Henning received a Diploma in Business Administration from the University of Mannheim (Germany) and a Master of Science in Decision Science from the London School of Economics (UK). Moreover, he has been a visiting student at the Institut d’Etudes (Paris, France) and at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University (NC, USA). Prior to coming to Stanford he co-founded a web consulting firm who serves clients in more than 60 countries.
Sruthi Thatchenkery
(2010 - ) Sruthi Thatchenkery is a PhD student at the Stanford Technology Ventures Program in the Department of Management Science & Engineering at Stanford University. Her research interests include how competition and collaboration affect new product development and innovation, as well as the strategies firms use to protect their intellectual property.
Sruthi received a B.S. in Economics with high distinction from Duke University. Prior to doctoral studies, she worked as an analyst at Cornerstone Research, an economic consulting firm. At Cornerstone she worked on a variety of cases in the antitrust and intellectual property practice areas involving companies in pharmaceuticals, energy, and industrial manufacturing.
