HSB Introduces New Chairs for Economics, Finance, Marketing

Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business (HSB) announced three new chairs for the Economics, Finance and Marketing departments. 

Van Pham, PhD; Antonio J. Macias, PhD; and Keith Richards, PhD, bring a distinct blend of industry experience, scholarly achievement and a shared dedication to equipping students for meaningful impact in their fields. 

“These leaders exemplify the heart of Baylor Business – excellence grounded in faith and purpose,” said David M. Szymanski, the William E. Crenshaw Endowed Dean of the Business School. “Their vision for their departments will further empower our students to think critically, act ethically and lead meaningfully in a rapidly changing world.”

Pham was named chair of the Department of Economics in the summer of 2025. He joined HSB in 2006 as an assistant professor, becoming a full professor in 2015. He is a non-resident fellow with the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C., and a research fellow with the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty. 

Pham earned a bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering and a master’s in Mechanical Engineering from MIT before earning a PhD in Economics from Cornell University. 

As chair, Pham hopes for prospective students to see economics as a strategic choice that opens doors across finance, tech, energy, healthcare, law and policy. 

“We live in an exciting time of technological transformation, and economics provides what tomorrow’s leaders need,” Pham said. “I want to position economics at the forefront of the current rapid technological and market changes. We are educating the problem-solvers and decision-makers who will shape the modern economy.”

Macias was named chair of the Department of Finance prior to the fall 2025 semester. He joined Baylor as an assistant professor of Finance in 2014 after more than a decade in global mergers and acquisitions, internal investment banking and strategic consulting with CEMEX. He also gained engineering experience at Procter & Gamble and Colgate-Palmolive. 

Macias received a bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering from Monterrey Institute of Technology, master’s degrees in Industrial Engineering and Engineering Economics Systems from Stanford University, and a PhD in Finance from Purdue University. 

In his role as chair, Macias said he seeks to foster a culture of integrity, diligence and collaboration to serve students and prepare them to excel in life and the workplace. 

“Leading the Department of Finance is both a privilege and a calling – to unite academic excellence with a clear Christian purpose, glorifying God in all our work in finance,” Macias said. “Drawing on my experience in global mergers and acquisitions and my academic research, I seek to integrate real-world insight, scholarly rigor and Christian values to prepare graduates who lead and serve with integrity, competence and character.”

Richards returned to Baylor in 2015 as an associate professor of Marketing after having served as a student recruiter for the University from 1990-1993. He has served as the department’s undergraduate program director until his promotion to chair in October 2025. In April 2024, Richards received the Teaching Excellence Award from HSB.  

Richards has a bachelor’s in Journalism from Baylor, an MBA from Indiana University Bloomington and a PhD from the University of Houston. 

In his role, Richards desires to prepare Marketing students for exciting roles in the digital world. 

“I am excited about where we are as a department with respect to research and teaching,” Richards said. “We have top scholars in both consumer behavior and sales research. We also have two excellent programs in our department – Professional Selling and Sales Strategy in Sports and Entertainment. All that we do is focused on students and their outcomes.”

HSB is grateful for the service of the previous department chairs – Jim Henderson, PhD, Shane Underwood, PhD, and Chris Pullig, PhD – as they transition out of office. Henderson and Underwood return to full-time faculty responsibilities, while Pullig is now serving as the associate dean of Faculty Excellence for the Business School.