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Clyde F. and Ruth E. Williams Professorship

Carey Business School

Established in 1997 by the estate of Clyde F. and Ruth E. Williams

CLYDE FRANKLIN WILLIAMS and RUTH E. (Gatton) WILLIAMS, made an estate gift to Johns Hopkins that enabled the creation of an endowed professorship as well as a scholarship in their names. Mr. Williams served as an infantry staff sergeant in the U.S. Army during WWII. He and Ruth married in 1945. Mr. Williams graduated from JHU with a BS in Business (1956) and a MA in Liberal Arts (1965). He went on to establish a career at the Bendix Radio facility in Towson, MD. The couple relocated to Houston, Texas. Mr. Williams retired as treasurer and director of Allied Signal Corporation, an aerospace, automotive, and engineering company that subsequently merged with Honeywell International. Mrs. Williams worked for a Baltimore law firm and served as a volunteer with her local chapter of Meals on Wheels, as well as with the Houston Symphony League.

Held by David Godes

DAVID GODES holds a Ph.D. and S.M. in Management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a B.S. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania. He was previously on the faculties of Harvard Business School and the Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland. His teaching experiences include undergraduate, graduate and executive courses ranging from Introduction to Marketing to Brand Management to CRM Analytics and Business-to-Business Marketing.

Dave’s academic research focuses on three areas: social interactions, organization economics, and platform economics. His work has appeared in top journals like Marketing Science, Journal of Marketing Research, Management Science and Quantitative Marketing & Economics and he has authored numerous case studies on leading global firms like Federal Express, Avon Products, Terumo (Japan), SKF (Sweden), XM Satellite Radio, BMW, IBM, Hasbro, BzzAgent and Lincoln Financial. His research has been a finalist for, and winner of, numerous honors including twice being awarded the prestigious INFORMS Long-Term Impact Award. His research and opinions have been cited in a wide range of popular press outlets including The New York Times, Forbes, The Economist and The Boston Globe. He has consulted, advised and/or delivered executive education training to many firms, small and large, located in the U.S. and abroad.

Prior to returning to MIT to pursue doctoral studies, David started and ran his own market research and consulting firm which served a range of clients throughout the Northeast drawn from banking, mortgage lending, health care management and venture capital. Prior to that, he was a marketing manager in consumer banking.