Introducing the Two New Marketing Advisory Board Members: PearAivey Street and Nathan Lavinka  

Pear Aivey Street, an entrepreneur from Bangkok, Thailand, graduated from Purdue in 2005 and has launched several successful businesses in Blacksburg, Virginia. She currently serves as the Director of Marketing and PR for First and Main and the CMO for Street Investment Group, while also consulting for the Interiors Group in Southwest Florida. Passionate about mentoring and supporting small businesses, Aivey is dedicated to community initiatives.  

Nathan Lavinka, a 2011 Virginia Tech graduate, is a sales manager at Rippling who currently serves as the Immediate Past President of the Virginia Tech Alumni Association (VTAA) Board of Directors. He has also served as a member of the Virginia Tech Foundation Board of Directors. Nathan was instrumental in restructuring the VTAA Board and is the founder of the Alumni Big Event, where alumni chapters across the country participate in “One Big Day, One Big Thanks.” 

Join Us: 2025 Marketing Spring Seminar Series   

The VT Marketing Department will be organizing its Spring Seminar Series, featuring six accomplished professors from leading universities. This distinguished group includes Tat Chan (Wash U) on February 12th, Peggy Liu (U. Pitt) on February 21st, Blair Kidwell (North Texas) on March 19th, Aaron Garvey (Kentucky) on March 28th, Brad Shapiro (U. Chicago) on April 18th, and Xiao Liu (NYU) on May 16th. 

These professors will be visiting Blacksburg to present their cutting-edge research, engage in dynamic discussions with our faculty and PhD students, and foster collaboration across institutions. The initiative underscores the department’s commitment to advancing marketing research and building academic partnerships. Join us in celebrating this vibrant exchange of ideas and innovation. Special thanks to our faculty organizers: Shreyans Goenka, Broderick Turner, Boya Xu, and Yan Xu. For more information, email us at vtmktg@vt.edu. 

Announcing the Marketing Department’s Inaugural PHD Research Development Grant Winners

The marketing department launched the PhD Development Grant program this academic year to support PhD students in testing ideas independently, fostering academic growth and grant-writing skills. The proposals selected by the MKTG Graduate Committee are: “Navigating Life Transitions: Exploring Decision-Making Shifts from Joint to Solo Decision” (Shifan Gu); “When Is a Picture Not Worth a Thousand Words? The Effect of Photos on the Growth of Friend vs. Follower Networks on Online Review Platforms” (Bingqing Li); “Disorganized Retail Environments and Sense of Control” (Daniel Todorovic). They were awarded a total of $6,400 in the inaugural grant call. The recipients will present their plans and preliminary findings at an upcoming brown bag seminar.   

Scaling Up: Student Experiential Learning Initiative with Virginia Economic Development Program

Building on the successful pilot in Fall 2024, this Spring, 40 student teams will collaborate across three marketing courses to provide strategic marketing for twelve VA-based businesses. Four of these will be served through the partnership between Virginia Economic Development Program (VEDP) and the Virginia International Trade Alliance (VITAL) to help with international expansion. Steve Matuszak, Assistant Professor of Practice, is leading this cross-course, project-based learning initiative by acquiring and serving clients, and overseeing student team strategic plans and presentations through MKTG 4304 (Marketing Communications), MKTG 4154 (Marketing Research) and Carolyn Kogan’s MKTG 4164 (Social Media and Content Marketing). For more information on VEDP.