Samuel Mamede has traveled from investigating corruption in Brazil, to investigating corruption in the United States.
Mamede is in his first year at Taylor as a professor of management. He holds two doctorates in management and business administration from the University of Minho and Mackenzie Presbyterian University, respectively.
He grew up in a Christian household in Brazil. Mamede said when praying about what direction God had planned, he felt called to receive a graduate degree in the business field.
“My mom told me something like ‘Sam, I will provide for you two different books. A math book, and the Bible,’” Mamede said. “‘The Bible is your guide in terms of our life, and math is probably your support in terms of your future.’”
Mamede said that his mother felt that numbers would allow God to open several doors to his future. He now holds two Master’s degrees. One in statistics and the other in financial accounting, both from the Federal University of Uberlandia. He later received a doctorate in business administration.
When Mamede started his doctoral program in Brazil, he began to research corruption and fraud, exploring the impact of these issues in the government and private companies.
In 2019, he had the chance to talk at conferences at Columbia University, the University of Arizona and Illinois State University (ISU). Several scholars were excited to attend his lectures and seminars. Unfortunately, around the time that Mamede completed his doctorate and was giving guest seminars and traveling for research, the coronavirus changed his plans.
The lockdown limited the quality and frequency of research that could be done at this time.
“What I did was, I started a specific international webinar with the best authorities in terms of corruption and fraud,” Mamede said.
Mamede created a specific algorithm that looks into federal and state websites and company debts, finding patterns to find potential corruptors. He explained how this algorithm is based on historical evidence that has been observed for different courts, platforms, investigations and backgrounds.
“First, most of the guys that were arrested in terms of corruption, they don’t have an education,” Mamede said.
Secondly, many of the suspected corruptors had gone through divorces.
Mamede encourages prayers for them and their families.
“So in other words, I try to combine … social, demographic, education and all the information put together and provide a single body in terms of a warning: ‘Be careful if you are moving this way,’” he said.
Mamede assured that this algorithm was not to warn people who would become potential corruptors. However, based on the background patterns the algorithm observes, it hints that these people are going down a dark path.
Mamede said that having more believers in the business world can reduce the corruption rate. Business administrators and financers who believe in God will follow his morals and have a public policy that centers around Christian values. These are people who could provide for local churches, society, governments and low profit organizations.
While researching at ISU, Mamede was given the opportunity to teach at Taylor University. He believed that God provided this opportunity not only for him to share his research but also his faith.
“Taylor University is God’s answer for me and my family,” Mamede said. “This is an amazing place where I have the chance to connect my faith, to connect the results and my knowledge in terms of classes, and my research as well altogether.”
A piece of advice Mamede gave to students is that they are not often aware of the seeds God has put in their hands, but they should use their talents to plant their futures.
