Her Story
About Gabby
R. Gabrielle Swab, also known as Gabby Swab, is a tenured Associate Professor of Management at Georgia Southern University's Parker College of Business, where she brings a rare and compelling combination of corporate expertise and academic rigor to her students. Before entering academia, she built a distinguished industry career spanning retail leadership at Juicy Couture and nearly five years at Dell Technologies, where she progressed through roles in sales, global operations, and project management — earning her Project Management Professional (PMP) certification along the way. Driven by a passion for scholarship and student development, she pursued her Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration from the University of Mississippi, with a concentration in management, which launched her into academic appointments at Towson University before joining Georgia Southern in 2022. She also holds a Master of Business Administration in Human Resources from Morehead State University and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from Belmont University in Nashville.
Swab's scholarly work sits at a dynamic intersection of organizational behavior, entrepreneurship, and family business, with a particular focus on how competition and cooperation shape outcomes within teams, startups, and family firms. Her research has appeared in distinguished publications including the Journal of Organizational Behavior and the Journal of Business Research. She is also a pioneer in experiential pedagogy, having co-founded the Association of Gaming Academics, an organization dedicated to advancing the use of board games and play-based learning in higher education classrooms. In addition to her research and teaching, she directs the Parker Business Scholars honors program at Georgia Southern, reflecting her deep commitment to nurturing the next generation of business leaders.
Beyond the classroom and her research, Swab is a prominent voice in her professional communities, serving as President of the Eastern Academy of Management and Secretary of the Southern Management Association — two roles that speak to the respect and trust she has earned among her peers. In 2026, she was recognized as one of Statesboro, Georgia's Influential Women, a testament to the impact she has made both inside and outside the university. She attributes her success to a balance of relentless personal work ethic and the power of a strong, reciprocal professional network — a philosophy she actively models and shares with her students and mentees. Whether in the boardroom, the classroom, or the conference hall, Swab exemplifies what it means to lead with both excellence and authenticity.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Gabby
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to a balance of internal drive and external support. I work hard for myself so that I can build and maintain a network of people who want to collaborate and grow together. That network, in turn, makes me better — and I hope I make them better as well. Ultimately, it is the combination of a strong personal work ethic and surrounding myself with people who genuinely build me up that has brought me to where I am today.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I received came from two women who led me early in my career. They showed me that you truly can "have it all" — just perhaps not all at the same moment. Watching them navigate their careers with both respect and warmth taught me that being taken seriously and being genuinely likable are not mutually exclusive. That lesson has shaped how I approach both my professional relationships and my own leadership style.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My advice is to be proactive about seeking guidance — reach out to a professor you admire and ask for their perspective. There are also wonderful opportunities like pre-doctoral consortiums, such as the one offered through the Southern Management Association, where you can learn firsthand what a career in academia looks like. On a personal level, I would say develop thick skin and be prepared to work exceptionally hard. This field requires a genuine passion for writing, for students, and for lifelong learning. You have to be comfortable not always being the smartest person in the room — and actually enjoy that — while still owning your own area of expertise with confidence.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest challenges in academia is simply getting started — breaking into the field is difficult and involves navigating frequent rejection. Resilience is not optional; it is essential. At the same time, I see a tremendous opportunity in expanding scholarship and pedagogical innovation, particularly at the intersection of board games, management, and entrepreneurship. There is real potential to shape how business concepts are taught experientially, and that is an area I find both exciting and deeply meaningful.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Being a good person is at the core of everything I do. Beyond that, I genuinely value humor — because life, and especially academic life, can be hard. I work hard first, and then I give myself permission to find the lightness in setbacks and rejection. I do not think you can lead with humor without the work ethic behind it, but once that foundation is there, not taking yourself too seriously can be one of the most powerful tools you have.
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