Zhe Zhang

Professor Zhe Zhang's research initiated, established, and advanced the scholarly domain of "The Business of Nicknames." The David G. Burgoyne Faculty Fellow and an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the Ivey Business School, he holds dual doctoral degrees – a PhD in Marketing from C.T. Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston, and a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Vermont.

The foundational impact of Professor Zhang's work was profiled in a dedicated article by The Economist ("The Business of Nicknames," December 19, 2024), which examines his research program in depth and draws exclusively on his findings to frame nicknaming as a business phenomenon in branding and organizational contexts. His research has been published in premier academic journals, including the Journal of Marketing, Journal of International Marketing, Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, Journal of Advertising Research, as well as leading practitioner outlets such as Harvard Business Review and MIT Sloan Management Review.

Professor Zhang's scholarship has established the foundational framework for understanding nicknaming in business – encompassing brand and product nicknames, nickname branding, and nicknaming in organizational management. Beyond The Economist, his research program has been the subject of multiple featured articles in leading business media, including The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, Newsweek, Harvard Business Review, MIT Sloan Management Review, World Advertising Research Centre (WARC), Fast Company, The Marketing Architects, Ivey Impact, Western News, among others. Leveraging his expertise in bridging academic inquiry with professional practice and public relevance, Professor Zhang is regularly invited by premier outlets such as CBC, The Globe and Mail and Financial Post to provide insights on contemporary business and branding challenges. 

Professor Zhang's broader research interests lie in branding and marketing communications, and his research program is supported by multiple Insight and Insight Development Grants from SSHRC (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada).

With his diverse background, Professor Zhang is excited to bring his multidisciplinary perspectives to the classroom and research. He is the recipient of the AMA BrandingSIG Young Scholar Award (2026), Ivey Research Merit Award (2023, 2026), Ivey David G. Burgoyne Teaching Award (2024), Ivey Early Career Impact Award (2025), and Best Paper Runner-Up from the Journal of Advertising Research (2025).

View CV

Prof. Zhang welcomes applications from prospective PhD students and is interested in supervising postdoctoral researchers. He is also open to hosting visiting PhD students and scholars who have secured external funding. If you are interested in joining his research team or exploring a potential collaboration, please feel free to reach out to him directly at zzhang@ivey.ca