Dana Bement ’24

Mays PhD candidate Dana Bement ’24 provides a fresh look at corporate governance, taking a deeper look into corporate boards. They make so many decisions that impact everyone—how are those decisions made? Which ideas ultimately come to fruition? Bement aims to find out.

Mays Business School management scholar, Dana Bement ’24, is a banner PhD candidate with early career placement at the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business, market-impacting research, and the considerable support and respect of her Mays mentors.

Born and raised in the Czech Republic, Bement visited the United States as an exchange student, returning to pursue undergraduate and master’s degrees at the University of Maine (UMaine). Before selecting Texas A&M for her PhD, she worked in graduate assistant and adjunct faculty roles at UMaine and University of North Texas. She also served on two nonprofit boards, experiences that would ultimately shape the research that brought her to Mays.

The focus of Bement’s research—which spans the intersection of strategic leadership and corporate governance in boards of directors—is both thought-provoking and increasingly relevant in a rapidly shifting landscape for corporate accountability. Her first board experience left her fascinated with how ideas diffuse in a board setting, “Who’s influential and who’s not?” and “How much of the process is fueled by inertia?” She began exploring “director voice” (who gets heard and how)—as well as the outsized impact of CEO and board-chair style  on influencing how decisions are made.

Bement’s mentor and research partner, Dr. Michael Withers, associate dean for research and scholarship, is impressed with her desire to “tackle challenging research and answer difficult questions.” Department Head Srikanth Paruchuri, Ph.D. agrees. “She’s taken initiative on theoretical research (versus empirical), which is rare for someone early in their career.” Bement attacks complex topics like ‘How should firms communicate with diverse stakeholder groups who may have different, if not competing, interests?’ Dr. Paruchuri was struck by her ability “to pull from different strands of research to develop a coherent and integrated idea.”

Withers and Bement research how boards can be better managed to improve the organizations they serve; help guide or manage executives they engage; and better represent shareholders to whom they have fiduciary responsibility. Withers’ notes research on corporate boards often relies on publicly available information and limited boardroom access—emphasizing the importance of Bement’s distinctive background. “Her practitioner experience is directly relevant to her studies—Dana has a unique perspective, by virtue of practical service on nonprofit boards.”

Bement speaks highly of Mays and management department leadership. “The program is designed to train students in high-quality research and help foster connections with other impactful scholars in their field.” For Bement, what stands apart is Mays’ application of the Aggie Network through its, “mentoring-focused culture that centers around student needs.” She describes an environment where advisors prioritize leadership development, rigor in research, and quality in teaching—while impressing upon mentees the priority to care deeply about their students. It’s what Withers calls, “a culture of cascading mentorship.” He unpacked the ways mentoring finds the intersection of Texas A&M Core Values of selfless service and leadership and shared the critical role PhD students have in imprinting Texas A&M culture on other institutions of higher education.

Paruchuri described parallel strengths, “Mays PhD students have a lot of freedom to generate and explore ideas.” He outlines a constructive and mutually supportive environment, creating a safe space for such exploration. “People feel comfortable saying ‘Here’s what I’m thinking about, what do you think?’” This is uncharacteristic of many universities, often marked by cutthroat competition (according to Paruchuri, Withers, and Bement), and sets Mays apart.

Bement is impressively scheduled to complete her PhD studies over the coming year remotely, beginning her placement at Notre Dame next fall. Withers is enthusiastic, “Dana will pass Texas A&M culture and training to the students, faculty, and staff of this distinguished institution.”