Dr. Ernst is a Professor of Operations and Global Logistics and the former Deputy Dean of the McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University. He holds a Civil Engineering degree from the Universidad Católica Andres Bello and an MBA from the Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administración, both in Venezuela. He received an M.A. degree and a Ph.D. in Operations Management from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

His research interests include strategic analysis of logistics systems (supplier –manufacturing – distribution linkages) at both the macro (strategic positioning of logistics, marketing/manufacturing interfaces) and micro levels (models and methods of inventory control, inventory classification procedures). He has been involved in developing metrics and performance evaluations for the logistics requirements and challenges for coordinating complex supply chain projects including non-for-profit organizations like the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and EX-IM Bank.

He has consulted with several national and international firms, including General Motors, Michelin, Rockwool, Casa Cuervo, FEMSA (Coca-Cola), Wal-Mart, PAHO, and The World Bank.

Co-author of a book on “Global Operations and Logistics” (John Wiley and Sons, 1998) which includes an innovative framework as well as a series of cases from Europe, Asia, the United States, and Latin America and was translated to Chinese and Portuguese. Ernst is the author of more than 25 publications in academic journals including Management Science, Operations Research, Interfaces, European Journal of Operational Research, Transportation Science, IIE Transactions, Naval Research Logistics, Journal of Operations Management, Journal of the Operational Research Society, International Journal of Operations & Production Management. Dr. Ernst is the Editor-in-Chief of the new virtual Journal “Globalization, Competitiveness and Governability” (http://gcg.universia.net) published by Georgetown University and Universia.

Ernst has been awarded the Outstanding Teacher Award for the International Executive MBA program, the Joseph F. Le Moine Award for Graduate and Undergraduate Teaching Excellence at Georgetown University, and the MBA Core Curriculum Award at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He also has been listed as one of the Best Professors by Businessweek magazine. He is a frequent speaker in international conferences and executive seminars and has a weekly Editorial Commentary in CNN Spanish.