Moore Impact: The Darla Moore School of Business Podcast

Season 2 Episode 35 

Center for Sales Success Creating Student Success

• Host
  • Kasie Whitener, Clinical Assistant Professor
• Guest:
  • Chris Pardi, Assistant Director, Center for Sales Success

Lecturer

Christopher Pardi is a marketing alumnus of the Darla Moore School of Business. After 28 years of experience in marketing and sales, he returned to the Moore School as a lecturer and Assistant Director for the Center for Sales Success. During his career with Fisher-Price and Mattel, Pardi led both global brand marketing and national sales teams. He spent 22 years in marketing, driving growth for iconic brands such as Power Wheels and Imaginext, where he developed global strategies, managed multimillion-dollar budgets, and delivered record-breaking results. He later transitioned into sales, managing major national accounts and ultimately leading the Fisher-Price sales team responsible for Walmart. Pardi also holds an MBA from The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business.

This is Chris Pardi’s first appearance on the Moore Impact Podcast. 

Topics include:

• Chris Pardi’s goal to come back to Darla Moore to teach
• Sales Concentration’s 4 classes
• More active learning activities in the classroom
• Using headlines/ current events in the classroom
• Teaching students how to sell themselves
• Highlighting hidden talents and accomplishments
• Positioning solutions to fit objections
• Student participation in sales competitions
• Symbiotic relationship between sales classes and corporate partners

To learn more about the Center for Sales Success, click here.

To learn more about Darla Moore School of Business, click here.

Photo Courtesy: Center for Sales Success.

Moore Impact is a product of the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina. For episodes, notes, and links visit sc.edu/moore

Season 2 Episode 34 

Foreign Direct Investment with Visiting Fellow Ellen Lenny- Pessagno

• Host
  • Kasie Whitener, Clinical Assistant Professor
• Guest:
  • Ellen Lenny-Pessagno, Sonoco Visiting Fellow, Folks Center for International Business

Ellen Lenny-Pessagno was hosted in September as a Sonoco Visiting Fellow by the Folks Center for International Business. A former U.S. diplomat and Albemarle executive, she recently joined Veracity Worldwide, a leading global risk advisory firm specializing in critical minerals, the energy transition, and advanced technology.

With over 20 years of experience across Latin America and Europe, Ellen has deep expertise in international trade policy, sustainability, and government engagement. At Albemarle, she served as Global Vice President for External Affairs and Sustainability and as part of the Energy Storage (Lithium) leadership team, following her role as Country Manager in Chile.

A frequent speaker at international forums such as the UN Global Compact Leadership Summit, she was named one of the “100 Global Inspirational Women in Mining” (2020) and Executive of the Year by Chile’s Antofagasta Industrial Association (2021).

Topics include:

• South Carolina fifth ranked state for Foreign Direct Investment 
• Governments critical role in protecting and facilitating flourishing economy 
• Government layoffs in crucial areas of knowledge needs 
• International relationships large role in commerce 
• Who’s looking out for overseas investments? 
• Regular citizens 401ks and IRAs in foreign investments 
• Necessity in understanding social and geopolitical contexts for long term investment projects 
• USC’s student representation in Chile 
• Importance of critical minerals
• Entrepreneurial opportunities in renewable energy space 
• Current administrations investment in equity of MP materials 
• Modern technology’s dependence on lithium batteries and critical minerals

To learn more about Sonoco Visiting Fellows Program, click here.

To learn more about Ellen Lenny-Pessagno, click here. 

Photo Courtesy: Folks Center

Moore Impact is a product of the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina. For episodes, notes, and links visit sc.edu/moore

Season 2 Episode 32

Unpacking Darla Moore’s Visit to the Moore School

• Host
  • Kasie Whitener, Clinical Assistant Professor
• Guest:
  • Keven Cohen, Radio Talk Host and Owner at 100.7 Make The Point Radio

This week's episode features Kasie’s weekday morning radio cohost Kevin Cohen at Make the Point Radio recapping September 15th’s special visit to the Moore School from namesake, Ms. Darla Moore. 

Kasie is joined by her weekday morning cohost, Kevin Cohen, from Make the Point Radio, to recap a special September 15th visit to the Darla Moore School of Business by none other than its namesake, Darla Moore.

During her visit on Monday, September 15, 2025, Ms. Moore participated in a fireside chat with students, faculty, and Ph.D. candidates, where she highlighted the transformative role of artificial intelligence and the importance of process-based learning in shaping the next generation of business leaders.

Topics include:

• Need to be ready for AI driven world
• Getting local business community involved with Moore School
• Improvements to business efficiency
• Choices about your business your own 
• What does Darla Moore expect out of her business school? 
• Reputation, relevance and financial factors of a successful business school 
• Philanthropy for the sake of investment 
• How do we learn to properly prompt AI? 
• How do we keep classroom settings relevant? 
• Consumption culture in preventing engagement 
• Trifecta in foundation of a successful life 

To learn more about Darla Moore, click here.

To learn more about the Darla Moore School of Business, click here.

Visit MakethePointRadio.com

Photo Courtesy: LinkedIn

Moore Impact is a product of the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina. For episodes, notes, and links visit sc.edu/moore

Season 2 Episode 32

Built @ Darla Moore Vision with Dean Verma

• Host
  • Dr. Kasie Whitener, Clinical Assistant Professor, Management
• Guest
  • Dr. Rohit Verma, Dean, Darla Moore School of Business

Rohit Verma is the Dean and USC Educational Foundation Distinguished Professor at the Darla Moore School of Business since August 1st 2023. He holds a Ph.D. in Business Administration and an M.S. in Metallurgical Engineering from the University of Utah, and a B.Tech. from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. Previously, he served as Founding Provost of VinUniversity in Vietnam, and held leadership roles at Cornell University, including Dean of External Relations and Executive Director of multiple research centers. Recognized as a Fellow of both the Production and Operations Management Society and the Decision Sciences Institute, Verma has received numerous awards for leadership, research, and teaching excellence. His work has been honored with top research paper awards, industry recognition, and lifetime achievement distinctions in service operations.
 

Dean Verma previously appeared on Moore Impact in October 2024. After completing his first year as Dean of the Darla Moore School of Business, he shared reflections on his experience, his vision for the school’s future, and how to build on its history of success.

Some topics include:

• Stronger reputational brand for the whole school 
• Darla Moore Alumni features 
• Developing leadership certificate program 
• Formalizing leadership training in the classroom 
• Learning to be a follower, team member and peer in leadership initiatives
• Creating pathways for USC students outside of business school to gain business knowledge 
• Cross college partnerships in bringing diversity to the classroom 
• Progress in new faculty hires 
• Dean Verma’s own research developing index for aging society

Learn more about Dean Rohit Verma here

Learn more about the Darla Moore School here

Photo Courtesy: LinkedIn

Moore Impact is a product of the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina. For episodes, notes, and links visit sc.edu/moore

Season 2 Episode 31 

Translating Military Research into Corporate Impact

• Host
  • Kasie Whitener, Clinical Assistant Professor
• Guest:
  • Paul Bilese, Professor of Management
  • and Department Chair

Dr. Paul D. Bliese is the Jeff B. Bates Professor of Management and Chair of the Management Department at the Darla Moore School of Business. A former U.S. Army Colonel and research psychologist, he spent 22 years at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, where he directed studies on stress, leadership, and soldier well-being, including oversight of the Army’s Mental Health Advisory Team program in Iraq and Afghanistan. His academic work bridges military and corporate contexts, advancing organizational research, leadership development, and statistical methods, and he currently serves as the incoming Editor-in-Chief of Organizational Research Methods.

This is Paul’s first appearance on the Moore Impact Podcast. 

Topics include:

• Data transparency and speedy application in military setting
• Feedback decision making in military
• Should academic research be operating faster? 
• Using research data sets for instructional method 
• Understanding engagement data as early warning sign for turnover 
• Parallels between military research and corporate research when looking at group dynamics 
• How much of an individual's morale is influenced by a group? 
• Toxic individuals effect in workplace
• Emerging leaders versus intentional leaders in corporate setting 
• Developing undergraduate leadership skills 
• Social aspect of work performance 

To learn more about Paul Bilese, click here.

To learn more about the Darla Moore School of Business, click here.

Photo Courtesy: Babbel

Moore Impact is a product of the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina. For episodes, notes, and links visit sc.edu/moore

EPIC Policy Briefs: Recent Research in School Free Lunch Programs and Baby-Friendly Hospital Designations

• Host
  • Kasie Whitener, Clinical Assistant Professor
• Guest:
  • Dr. Orgul Ozturk, Department Chair, Economics

Dr. Orgul Demet Ozturk is the department chair and professor of economics in the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina. Her academic research interests are in applied microeconomics fields, specifically labor economics and health economics. Ozturk has written articles on the effects of labor market regulations and minimum wages on female employment, effectiveness of supported employment programs for developmentally disabled, the relationship between occupation choice and welfare independence, and the effects of maternal employment and welfare use on children’s cognitive outcomes. 

Orgul was on Season 2 Episode 1 to talk about long term impact of teacher incentive pay programs. In this visit, she focused on the two recent papers she had accepted for publication. But first, we talked about the academic structure of approved research, methodologies, submission for publication, peer review, and the importance of the structure. 

Topics include:

• Where data comes from and how research is designed
• The Review & Resubmit (R&R) process in academic research
• What academic journals are and what their business model consists of
• Peer Reviewers and what their incentives are
• Community Eligibility Provision (free school lunch) and recent findings
• The connections between free school lunch and community food banks
• The Economic Policy Center’s purpose and products
• Baby-friendly certified hospitals and the outcomes therein.

To learn more about Centers at the Darla Moore School, click here.

To learn more about the Darla Moore School of Business, click here.

Photo Courtesy: University of South Carolina 

Moore Impact is a product of the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina. For episodes, notes, and links visit sc.edu/moore

Season 2 Episode 29

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and Recent International Business Changes Associated with it

• Host
  • Dr. Kasie Whitener, Clinical Assistant Professor, Management
• Guest
  • Dr. Chris Yenkey, Associate Professor, International Business

Chris Yenkey is an associate professor in the Sonoco International Business Department at the Univ. of South Carolina Darla Moore School of Business and a core faculty member of the Rule of Law Collaborative at the Univ. of South Carolina School of Law. Prior to joining the Moore School in 2016, Prof. Yenkey was an assistant professor of organizations and markets at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business from 2011-2016, where he was the John E. Jueck Faculty Fellow from 2015-2016 and held courtesy appointments in the departments of Sociology and African Studies.
 

Chris appeared on Moore Impact Season 2 Episode 6 when we talked about government interference in markets and corruption in African nations. In this episode, Dr. Yenkey revisits some of the corruption symptoms but we start with neoliberalism and how the policies of Reagan and Thatcher shaped the globalism that blossomed in the 1990s and early 2000s. 

Some topics include:

• Global trade fueled by neoliberalism
• The Corrupt Foreign Practices Act
• The Blanche memo and how the Justice Department will now address the Corrupt Foreign Practices Act
• Challenges for businesses given the administration’s new stance
• Expectations in international markets
• Consequences of international businesses changing their behavior
• The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund
• China’s approach to international lending and how it has changed the global lending landscape.

Learn more about Dr. Chris Yenkey here

Learn more about the Darla Moore School here

Photo Credit: Corporate Compliance Insights

Moore Impact is a product of the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina. For episodes, notes, and links visit sc.edu/moore

Season 2 Episode 28

Qatalyst Health and other Startups Fostered into Fruition at the Moore School

• Host
  • Dr. Kasie Whitener, Clinical Assistant Professor, Management
• Guest
  • Brandon Mendez, Clinical Assistant Professor, Finance

Brandon Mendez is a clinical assistant professor of finance at the Darla Moore School of Business. He teaches courses in corporate finance and investments. His professional experience includes time in financial services, internal auditing, controllership, and management consulting. He has previously served in the U.S. Navy as a naval flight officer.

Brandon earned his Ph.D in finance from Florida State University. His research interests are in corporate and labor finance. He has a particular interest in the art market and its function. Brandon teaches courses in corporate finance and investments.

We discussed SOS eCharging and I couldn’t remember the partner’s name, only Mac Whittle. Don Mills is the business partner and Founder and President of SOS eCharging. Watch the demo video here.

Some topics include:

• Brandon’s involvement with Qatalyst and the challenge posed by Jeff Savage
• The evolution of Qatalyst through contest wins and grant funding
• The future for Qatalyst and the opportunity for DMSB to stay engaged
• SOS eCharging and the evolution through project work of that idea
• Comparable businesses and how companies get off the ground
• SC Nexus and energy grid infrastructure
• The business model for SOS eCharging and the possibilities

To learn more about Qatalyst Health click here

To learn more about SOS eCharging click here

To learn more about the Faber Center for Entrepreneurship click here.

Learn more about the Darla Moore School here

Photo Credit: KMS Software

Moore Impact is a product of the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina. For episodes, notes, and links visit sc.edu/moore

Season 2 Episode 27

What is the Fed? with Jason DeBacker

• Host
• Dr. Kasie Whitener, Clinical Assistant Professor, Management
• Guest
• Dr. Jason DeBacker, Associate Professor, Economics

When last we had him on Moore Impact, Jason DeBacker helped us understand the On Big Beautiful Bill’s positives and negatives. He also talked about the impact of protectionist policies on trade. In this episode, we ask him to explain the Federal Reserve and its role in economic policy.

Jason M. DeBacker is an associate professor in the Department of Economics at the Darla Moore School of Business. His research interests lie in the areas of public finance and macroeconomics. He has published papers on these topics in the Journal of Financial Economics, the Journal of Law and Economics, the Journal of Public Economics, the Brookings Papers on Economic Activity and other outlets. From 2009 to 2012, he worked as a financial economist in the Office of Tax Analysis at the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Topics in this discussion include:

• What is the Federal Reserve
• The Federal Reserve’s mandate and the tools it uses to fulfill it
• Treasury bonds and interest rates
• The 2008 economic crisis and the Fed’s response
• COVID and the Fed’s behavior
• How the consumer is affected by the Fed’s behaviors
• The structure of the Federal Reserve
• Jason’s newest book project on the economics of longer lifespans

To learn more about Jason DeBacker click here.

Learn more about the Darla Moore School here

Episode picture courtesy TheBalance.com

Moore Impact is a product of the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina. For episodes, notes, and links visit sc.edu/moore

Season 2 Episode 24

Case Competitions, Study Abroad, and other ways the Moore School prepares Graduates for their Future Careers

• Host
  • Dr. Kasie Whitener, Clinical Assistant Professor, Management
• Guest
  • Grantland Rogers, recent alum from DMSB

The Moore School experience was covered in Episode Season 2 Episode 17 with Laurel and Trey, both Real Estate majors with some entrepreneurship coursework. Here we hear from Grantland Rogers, a recent graduate of the Moore School’s International Business program with a major in Finance and also the South Carolina Honors College. The general business principles are easily accessible across the Moore School but the application of those principles varies widely depending on the coursework, the activities, and the careers our students choose.

Topics in this discussion include:

• Finding his way to the Moore School with some help from former Dean, Dr. Peter Brews
• The Honors College connection and special courses
• The liberal arts education and its value
• Study abroad and the opportunities and challenges therewith
• Case competitions and how they complement the academic experience
• How the general principles of business are applied across a spectrum of opportunities at the Moore School
• Grantland’s Honors thesis work on implementing AI in small financial advisory firms
• Software implementations and how firms can approach AI projects
• Grantland’s new job in consulting with EY
• Technical and case study interviews and how the Moore School prepares students for them

To learn more about the International Business major at the Moore School click here.

To meet Grantland Rogers on LinkedIn click here.

Learn more about the Darla Moore School here

Moore Impact is a product of the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina. For episodes, notes, and links visit sc.edu/moore