The 2026 conference of the Academy of International Business US Northeast Chapter, brought 135 scholars from 84 institutions and 14 countries to Boston to discuss more than 100 papers across 23 sessions. Hosted by Suffolk University’s Sawyer Business School, the conference ran from a pre-conference Doctoral Consortium on Thursday, October 1, through an award ceremony on Saturday afternoon, October 3.
The most striking number of all: Half of this year’s attendees came to AIB US Northeast for the first time. This year’s theme asked how multinational firms can build strategies that are resilient, adaptive, and oriented toward renewal in an era of persistent uncertainty. In their welcome, Conference Co-Chairs Ari Van Assche (HEC Montréal) and Anna Lamin (Northeastern University) pointed to great power competition, rising government involvement in business, active conflicts, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) as forces challenging two decades of assumptions about global business. The program reflected that moment: Geopolitics, resilience, AI, and sustainability ran through nearly every session, all centered on how firms stay global in a fragmenting world.
Keynotes and Plenary Sessions
Two keynotes, one from the academy and one from industry, framed the conference theme from complementary angles.
Academic Keynote: William Kerr, Harvard Business School. On Friday afternoon, William Kerr, D’Arbeloff Professor of Business Administration and Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Research at HBS, delivered “Rethinking Global Strategy: The Case of Global Talent.” Drawing on his book The Gift of Global Talent: How Migration Shapes Business, Economy & Society, Kerr examined how the cross-border movement of skilled people shapes where firms innovate and how they compete.
Industry keynote: Spencer Lake, 13books Capital. On Saturday, Spencer Lake, Co-Founding General Partner of 13books Capital and former Vice Chairman of Global Banking and Markets at HSBC, spoke on “The Ongoing Quest for Resilience in Global Banking and FinTech.” A Suffolk alumnus (BSBA ’83) with 29 years at JPMorgan, Merrill Lynch, and HSBC, Lake brought a practitioner’s view of resilience in the financial industry, from global capital markets to early-stage fintech.
Meet the Editors. Moderated by Jonathan Doh (Villanova University), this plenary gave attendees direct access to editors from leading IB journals: Ari Van Assche (HEC Montréal), Dan Li (Indiana University), William Newburry (Florida International University), Margaret Goralski (Quinnipiac University), Jane Lu (City University of Hong Kong), and Jeffrey Reuer (Purdue University). The lively discussion covered what editors look for, how to position work for impact, and how different journals view the use of AI in the current context.
Lunch & Learn with the Fellows. Over Friday lunch, attendees sat down with AIB and SMS Fellows, including Ari Van Assche, Alvaro Cuervo-Cazurra, Jonathan Doh, Dan Li, Jane Lu, William Newburry, Attila Yaprak, Ravi Ramamurti, and Jeffrey Reuer, for informal career and research advice.
Expert panelists featured at the AIB US Northeast 2026 Junior Faculty Consortium
Developing the Next Generation of IB Scholars
AIB US Northeast’s 2026 Chapter Conference invested heavily in early-career scholars, with dedicated programming before and during the main conference.
Doctoral Consortium (Thursday, October 1). Organized by Crystal Jiang (Bryant University) and Attila Yaprak (Wayne State University), the consortium and career development workshop paired doctoral students with faculty mentors Elie Virgile Chrysostome (Ivey Business School), Anna Lamin (Northeastern University), Elizabeth Napier (University of Toledo), and Rimi Zakaria (University of Wisconsin & University of Maryland).
Junior Faculty Professional Development Workshop (Friday morning). Organized by Program Co-Chairs Soni Jha (Purdue University, Fort Wayne) and Omer Gokalp (Suffolk University), three candid panels tackled “How to Survive AI Fatigue as a Junior Scholar” (moderated by Soni Jha), “Finding Mentorship and Being Heard” (moderated by Alvaro Cuervo-Cazurra), and “Relevance and Impact Beyond Academics” (moderated by Ari Van Assche), with panelists including Dan Li, William Newburry, Mohammad Faisal Ahammad, Attila Yaprak, Anna Lamin, Jane Lu, Jonathan Doh, Ravi Ramamurti, and Jeffrey Reuer.
Teaching Workshop (Friday afternoon). Organized by Alex Settles (University of Florida), with panelists Alvaro Cuervo-Cazurra and Mohammad Faisal Ahammad, facilitators Omer Genc and Soni Jha, and discussants Pallavi Shukla (Rutgers University) and Mohammad Elahee (Quinnipiac University).
AIB Insights Paper Development Workshop (Saturday). William Newburry (Florida International University) guided authors on writing short, practice-relevant pieces for AIB Insights.
AIB Ethics Workshop (Saturday). Organized by Valentina Marano and Elizabeth Moore (Northeastern University).
CIBUL Best Paper Awards
The conference closed on Saturday, October 3, with the Award Ceremony, where AIB US Northeast recognized outstanding scholarship through the CIBUL Best Paper Awards. The awards are generously sponsored by the Centre for International Business at the University of Leeds (CIBUL), UK, and honored papers, including the Best Conference Paper and the Best Conference Theme Paper.
CIBUL Best Paper Awards Ceremony, 3 October.
Community Beyond the Sessions
AIB US Northeast has always been as much about community as content, and 2026 was no exception. A memorable Gala Dinner on Friday evening brought participants together for conversation and celebration. Early on Saturday, conference-goers laced up for the Run for Equity, gathering under a “Gender Equity: For a Better Future” banner to start the final morning.
AIB US Northeast’s 2026 Chapter Conference was made possible by the dedication of many colleagues. Special thanks go to Chapter Chair Jun Li (University of New Hampshire); Conference Co-Chairs Ari Van Assche (HEC Montréal) and Anna Lamin (Northeastern University); Program Co-Chairs Soni Jha (Purdue University Fort Wayne) and Omer Gokalp (Suffolk University); the 20 track chairs; and the chapter’s officers and advisory board. We also thank Tracey Riley, Interim Dean of the Sawyer Business School, for welcoming us to Suffolk University.
This chapter conference report was composed by Pallavi Shukla and Jun Li on behalf of the AIB US Northeast Chapter.
