BYU Marriott School of Business dean Brigitte C. Madrian has announced the appointment of Ryan Elder as the next chair of the Department of Marketing and Global Supply Chain. Elder took over for the previous department chair, S. Tom Foster, on July 1, 2023.
“Under Tom’s nine-year tenure, the marketing and global supply chain department has grown the size of both the marketing and the global supply chain undergraduate degree programs, hired several new faculty to both replace departing faculty and to increase the size of the faculty in the department, and secured significant funding to support the department’s students and programs,” says Madrian.
“I am confident that Ryan will continue this tradition of excellence,” adds Madrian. “He is an accomplished professor who is lauded by his students for his teaching and for being an excellent role model of someone who lives the gospel of Jesus Christ. I look forward to seeing what he will accomplish in this role.”
Elder earned his undergraduate degree in marketing from the University of Utah in 2004 and his PhD in marketing from the University of Michigan in 2011. He is a distinguished faculty fellow and professor of marketing at BYU Marriott.
He researches how sensory experiences affect consumers’ cognitions and behaviors as well as how visual cues affect persuasion. His work has been published in various esteemed journals like the Journal of Consumer Research and the Journal of Marketing Research, among others. Popular accounts of his work have appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, CBS This Morning, BBC World News, TIME Magazine, and the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
“I hope to continue the excellent work that Tom Foster has done as department chair for the last nine years,” Elder says. “We have phenomenal faculty in the marketing and global supply chain department who are dedicated to advancing scholarship and helping students reach their full potential. The students in each of the programs have cultivated a supportive and familial community and are amazing individuals. I’m looking forward to working with students and faculty to keep this momentum moving forward.”
The BYU Marriott School of Business aspires to transform the world through Christlike leadership by developing leaders of faith, intellect, and character. Named for benefactors J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott, the school is located at Brigham Young University. BYU Marriott has four graduate and nine undergraduate programs with an enrollment of approximately 3,300 students.