New director named for Mendoza’s Business on the Frontlines program

Alfonso Pedraza-Martinez will serve as the faculty director of the Meyer Business on the Frontlines program at the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business as of July 1. 

“Frontlines has been a distinctive, mission-focused component of the Notre Dame MBA since the program began in 2008,” said Martijn Cremers, Martin J. Gillen Dean of the Mendoza College of Business. “Alfonso will strengthen Frontlines’ research while continuing the program’s contribution to building stable and prosperous communities worldwide.” 

Pedraza-Martinez, the Greg and Patty Fox Collegiate Professor of IT, Analytics, and Operations, brings a wealth of experience in humanitarian operations to the position. His pioneering research has informed the practices of humanitarian and faith-based relief organizations, and he has received multiple academic recognitions, including the 2022 Luk Van Wassenhove Career Award from the European Working Group on Humanitarian Operations. 

After joining the Mendoza faculty in 2021, Pedraza-Martinez founded the Humanitarian Operations (HOPE) Lab to develop research and share knowledge that organizations such as the Red Cross could implement in the field. He has edited special issues in three flagship academic journals: Production and Operations Management, Journal of Operations Management and European Journal of Operational Research. 

Pedraza-Martinez previously served as president of the College of Humanitarian Operations and Crisis Management at the Production and Operations Management Society. 

The Meyer Business on the Frontlines Program has as its mission the belief that there is dignity in work and everyone has the power to contribute to society. Graduate students, faculty and alumni partner with organizations to develop pragmatic solutions that create jobs or set the conditions for economic growth. By applying the dynamic practice of business to address complex and challenging societal problems like violence, poverty and exclusion, teams work together to advance economies and security. Since 2008, Frontlines teams have worked in more than 35 countries on more than one hundred projects focusing on agriculture, entrepreneurship, infrastructure, education, finance, tourism and technology.