Ilitch School welcomes Daniel Kao, associate professor of Global Supply Chain Management
My name is Daniel Kao. I was born in Taiwan, a beautiful island in East Asia. I received my PhD in Operations Management from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Before joining Wayne State University, I was a senior assistant professor at University of Michigan – Dearborn.
What are your primary teaching interests?
My teaching interests include Business Logistics, Operations Management, and Business Analytics.
What are your primary research interests?
My research interests include Supply Chain Networks, Social Media Platforms, and Efficiency Analysis
Tell me about your background in technology?
I earned a PhD minor in Management Information Systems. One of my research streams is to understand how technology-enabled social networks (e.g., social media platforms) determine participants’ behavior and their performance.
Why did you come to the Ilitch School of Business?
Ilitch School of Business is known for its cutting-edge research in supply chain management. Moreover, located in the Detroit business community, Ilitch School of Business connects students and faculty members to local, national and international businesses. I am honored to join this family.
What makes you passionate about business education?
It’s truly rewarding to see how my classes influence students’ career paths and decisions. I enjoy learning students’ success stories when they reach out.
What is one thing you wish all your students would do?
Confucius once said, “They who know the truth are not equal to those who love it, and they who love it are not equal to those who delight in it”. I wish my students not only love what they learn but delight in applying the knowledge to address business challenges.
What are you excited about seeing in Detroit?
As a 7-year Michigander, I am fortunate to witness Detroit’s revival. It is exciting to learn that WSU, as a member of the University Research Corridor, contributes to projects that improve education delivery and economic revitalization. Detroit is now recognized as the number one emerging start-up ecosystem in the world, and I can’t wait to learn more about this exciting Detroit transformation.
The Wayne State University Mike Ilitch School of Business prepares students for challenging and rewarding careers, advances the boundaries of scholarly and practitioner knowledge, and enhances the economic vitality of the city of Detroit, the state of Michigan and beyond through its programs, research and community engagement. Established in 1946, the business school was renamed in 2015 in recognition of a $40 million gift from Mike and Marian Ilitch. Thanks to this lead investment, the school moved to a new state-of-the-art building in the heart of the District Detroit in 2018, and academic programming and collaboration with city businesses are expanding. For more information, visit ilitchbusiness.wayne.edu.
