PhD Defence: Ghassan Chammas
In his dissertation ‘Portfolio Concentration’ Ghassan Chammas shows the relevance of the descriptors he introduces in understanding the nature and the constitution of each portfolio with respect to its concentration and specialization.
Ghassan defended his dissertation in the Senate Hall at Erasmus University Rotterdam on Thursday, 26 January 2017 at 10:30. His supervisor was Prof. Jaap Spronk. Other members of the Doctoral Committee were <link people onno-steenbeek>Prof. Onno Steenbeek (ESE), <link people mathijs-van-dijk>Prof. Mathijs van Dijk (RSM) and Prof. Willem Verschoor (VU Amsterdam).
About Ghassan Chammas
Ghassan Chammas is the director of International Business development at Capital Intelligence Rating, an ESMA regulated independent international credit rating agency established for over 30 years and specialized in emerging markets, especially in the Middle East and South East Asia regions. Ghassan is also the global director of the Islamic finance division at CI. An investment banker and a financial engineer with wide experience on the regulatory as well as the banking fronts, he advised the Central Bank of Lebanon as well as several Islamic banks boards on product innovation and corporate governance as well as on risk management.
Ghassan Chammas holds a Master’s degree in Finance from Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Paris (ESCP-EAP), France, A Master’s degree in International Finance and Treasury from Ecole Supérieure des Affaires (ESA) Beirut, Lebanon, a Master’s degree in International Marketing from EAFIT University, Colombia and an Electrical Engineering degree from the American University of Beirut, Lebanon.
A practitioner and an academic, Ghassan teaches at the American University of Beirut and Université Saint Joseph, Lebanon. He teaches and publishes on concentration measures in investment portfolios, diversification measures in Islamic investment and on filtering and depuration methodologies in Socially Responsible Investment universe.
Thesis Abstract
Globalization has led to a tremendous growth of international trade over the last century amounting to $18.8 trillion in 2014. Approximately 90% of non-bulk cargo is transported in shipping containers. The dominant mode in container transportation is maritime, in which containers are transported from a seaport to another seaport around the globe. Import containers are discharged in seaport container terminals and are destined to inland locations, a reverse process happens for export containers. The inland terminals can be close or far away from the seaport terminals where the containers were discharged. The container transport between the seaport and the inland locations is called port-hinterland transportation. Given the specific physical characteristics and infrastructure of each area this part of the transportation chain can be performed via trucks, trains or river vessels. The sequential use of multiple transport modes in port-hinterland transport is called combined transport. The main aim of this study is to analyze the port-hinterland transportation process and to develop models that support the design, planning and execution of port-hinterland transportation networks with high capacity modes such as barges and trains.
Photos: Chris Gorzeman / Capital Images
