People
Ralph D. Christy
Director, Emerging Markets Program
Ralph D. Christy is Director of the Emerging Markets Program and Professor of Emerging Markets at Cornell University, where he teaches and conducts food marketing research and leads various educational programs focused on the economic performance of markets and distribution systems. He has advised industry leaders and public policymakers on food marketing strategies, economic development, and the organization of the global food economy. He is past President of the American Agricultural Economics Association and currently serves as a Board Member of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, Winrock International, and the Agribusiness Capital Fund. Ralph has authored numerous publications, including three books: A Century of Service: Land Grant Colleges and Universities, 1890-1990 (1992); Achieving Sustainable Communities in a Global Economy (2004); and Emerging Markets (2020). His most recent research calls attention to the role of creating an enabling environment for accelerating agro-industries contributions to sustain economic growth and development. He holds a Ph.D. degree from Michigan State University’s Department of Agricultural Economics.
Fridah Mubichi-Kut
Executive Director, SMART Program
Fridah Mubichi-Kut is Professor of Practice in Applied Economics at the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management. Perplexed by the paradox of the hungry farmer, her work and research are focused on understanding the role development policies and social networks play in promoting and adopting new agricultural innovations, economic development, and gender equity within emerging markets. Fridah values and understands the responsibility multidisciplinary teams have in solving complex problems and developing sustainable solutions. Trained first as an international business administrator and later as a social scientist, she has over 25 years of experience in international development and is excited to mentor and educate the next generation of international leaders.
Lin Fu
Research Fellow, Emerging Markets Program
Lin Fu is a research fellow with the Emerging Markets Program and was the director of the recently completed Cornell-Walmart Foundation China Food Safety Research Project. She was previously a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution. Her research interests include political economy, economic development, entrepreneurship, and food and agricultural policy. She has been a consultant on projects for various organizations, including the Grameen Foundation, Economist Intelligence Unit, the Asian Productivity Organization, and Control Risks. Prior to Cornell, she worked for a number of years in finance and project management consulting. Lin holds graduate degrees from the London School of Economics and Cornell University.
Edward Mabaya
Research Professor & Director, Humphrey Fellowship Program
Edward Mabaya is a scholar and a development practitioner with more than two decades of experience working on development, agribusiness value chains, and food security issues with a regional focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. He is Research Professor in the Department of Global Development where his teaching, research, and outreach work focuses on economic development in Africa. He previously served as the Division Manager of Agribusiness Development at the African Development Bank where he managed continent-wide investments, partnerships, and research in support of the Feed Africa strategy. Ed’s applied research work is anchored around food marketing and distribution, enabling environments for agribusiness, seed systems, digital agriculture, and the role of efficient agricultural markets in Africa’s economic development. He holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Zimbabwe and a Ph.D. degree in Agricultural Economics from Cornell University.
Iwan Azis
Professor, Applied Economics and Policy, Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management
Iwan Azis is Professor of Emerging Markets within the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management and was the Director of Graduate Studies, Regional Science program (2005-2010), Cornell University where he has taught since 1992. Prior to that, he was the Chair of the Department of Economics and the Director of the Inter-University Center for Economics at the University of Indonesia. Iwan has served as a consultant to several governments and organizations in Asia and taught as a visiting professor in Japan, Australia, Singapore, and Indonesia. He previously served as the appointed Head of the Office of Regional Economic Integration at the Asian Development Bank (ADB), during which he became the Interim Chair of the Board of Directors of the Trust Fund-Credit Guarantee Investment Facility (CGIF), and member of the International Policy Advisory Group. He is currently advising the Indonesian Central Bank and the Deposit Insurance Corporation, and a member of the International Advisory Panel of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
Han Kim
Executive in Residence, Emerging Markets Program
Han Kim brings more than 25 years of global leadership in business and technology strategy development with a focus on driving innovation and growth. Han is currently the founder and CEO of a start-up venture with a synergistic business model and a digital platform solution that helps to solve the biggest challenges in the hospitality industry. At Samsung, Han was the Vice President of leading Global Strategy Expansion in Digital Innovation Solutions and Smart Cities. Prior to Samsung, Han held various strategic leadership positions with Cisco, IBM, Deloitte & Touche, and KPMG Peat Marwick’s management consulting organizations. At Cisco, Han was one of the key leaders responsible for driving the Cisco Entrepreneur Institute, a strategic business incubator. Within 4 years, the start-up program was launched in over 28 countries, focusing on growth and innovation and making an impact on the economic and social prosperity of over 18,000 SMEs in emerging market countries. Han received both his Bachelor of Science and Masters degrees in Engineering from Cornell University.
Alvin Pratama
Visiting Fellow, Emerging Markets Program
Alvin Pratama teaches Managerial Economics to graduate students and Financial and Investment Management to undergraduate students at Gunadarma University, Indonesia. Currently serving as the Chairman of the Gunadarma Education Foundation, Alvin oversees the strategic management of Gunadarma University, a leading private university in Indonesia. In 2015, he established the Investment Gallery at Gunadarma University, an inter-institutional learning center dedicated to educating students on stock investments in Indonesia, a responsibility he continues to manage. Alvin’s research interests include topics such as the impact of income polarization and local conflict in Indonesia, the relationship between income polarization and crime in Indonesia, and equity valuation modeling. Beyond academia, in 2017, Alvin founded a SME committed to providing electric mobility scooters for the elderly and disabled in Indonesia. He holds a PhD degree in Regional Science from Cornell University.
Rizal Siddik
Visiting Fellow, Emerging Markets Program
Rizal Siddik is a professional based in Jakarta with more than 10 years of experience in management consulting and direct selling industry. He holds a Master of Public Administration and a Master of Arts in Asian Studies from Cornell University. Currently he is a commissioner at PT Orindo Alam Ayu, the Indonesian branch of Oriflame, a Swedish cosmetics direct-selling company. He was also a consultant at Qunie Corporation, a Japanese consulting firm. Previously he worked with PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting Indonesia and Trimitra Consultants. Prior to consulting, he had internship experiences in various think tanks and international institutions, including CSIS, the Heritage Foundation, and the Islamic Development Bank, among others.