Mark Pate graduated from the University of Tulsa with a B.S. in Petroleum Engineering and worked as an engineer for about ten years with Exxon, DeGolyer and MacNaughton, and Ashland Exploration.  In 1989, he moved into management with Ashland Exploration and held a variety of positions such as International Business Manager and Director, Business Development with duties including planning and budgeting, technical and economic evaluation of projects, contract negotiations, crude oil marketing and transportation, acquisitions and divestitures.  Mark was part of the management team that sold Ashland Exploration in 1997 for $660 million.  Mark then went to work as the Vice President of Finance and CFO for a division of Baker Hughes. He was responsible for the customary duties associated with the position, while also leading an initiative by the company to fund and invest in its customers’ oil and gas projects around the world.  With Ashland and Baker Hughes, Mark traveled to Africa, Europe, South America, and Canada and was involved in the operation or evaluation of projects in over 40 countries.  Mark became the President and CEO in 2000 of a privately held start up oil and gas company based in east Tennessee, and was responsible for securing funds from Duke Energy to drill gas wells in southeast Kentucky and southwest Virginia.  During his career, Mark has been involved in $2 billion of acquisitions and divestitures.  Mark entered the Ph.D., Finance program at the University of Tennessee in the fall of 2003 with a strong desire to teach corporate and personal finance to young adults, while at the same time encouraging future generations of management to conduct their business with values and integrity.  Mark’s research interests include corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, and behavioral influence on personal investing.

Mark is ABD and is teaching at King College in Bristol.

Laura Seery received both an undergraduate degree in finance and an MBA in management information systems from Auburn University .  Prior to joining the University of Tennessee ’s Finance Ph.D. program in fall of 2003, Laura was a full-time instructor of business at Macon State College, where she designed an online course which is still part of the curriculum.  Laura’s experience at the University of Tennessee includes teaching Financial Management and International Corporate Management.  Laura’s primary research interests are corporate finance and governance, and she currently is a co-author of a working paper entitled “Do Board Members Pay Attention When Institutional Investors ‘Just Vote No’?” with Tracie Woidtke and Diane DelGuercio, which has recently been presented at the 2006 WFA conference.  Laura’s personal interests include her role as a representative for the finance department on the Graduate Senate Council, membership of the National Hispanic Student Association (HOLA), and volunteering for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Race for the Cure Series.  Laura received the 2006 Chancellors for Professional Promise and the 2006 CBA Graduate Teaching Award, and was one of four recipients (out of 150 nominations) to receive the 2007 Chancellor’s Extraordinary Graduate Teaching Award.  Laura will be interviewing for the 2007-2008 job market.   

Kevin Min Zhao worked as an investment banker for many years in China after he graduated from Beijing (Peking) University in 1995. He is a CFA charter-holder and currently serves as University Relation Coordinator with the CFA Society of Knoxville. He is also a member of Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP) with FRM (Financial Risk Manager) certification. Prior to joining University of Tennessee’s Finance Ph.D. Program in the fall of 2004, Kevin earned his international MBA degree from University of South Carolina in 2004. He completed the investment banking program at Kellogg Graduate School of Business in 2001. Kevin’s primary research interests are investments, corporate governance, and risk management. He is a coauthor of “Audit Costs in Perspective” with John Corless and CaiXing Liu, which was recently presented at the American Accounting Association (AAA) 42^nd annual meeting of western region in April 2007. His dissertation proposal focuses on investigating the impacts of short sales restrictions on stock returns as well as informational efficiency of stock prices. He plans to defend his dissertation in January of 2008. Kevin has taught Investments (Fin 425) and Financial Markets and Institutions (Fin 435) for four semesters with consistent excellent evaluations. He is enthusiastic about not only teaching students fundamental finance theories and analytical skills, but helping his students to build their careers in finance area as well.  He completed the Best Practice in Teaching Program in 2007. Kevin will be interviewing for the 2007-2008 job market.