Clinical Instructor of Marketing, Georgia State University

Christiane Palpant is a Clinical Instructor of Marketing and Faculty Advisor for the Professional Sales Program at Georgia State University. She teaches and mentors the next generation of sales professionals, blending three decades of experience in Marketing, Professional Sales, and Strategic Client Relationship Management with a passion for student success.

Before joining academia, Christiane was Senior Vice President and Head of Client Services at FIS, a Fortune 200 company and the world’s largest global provider dedicated to banking and payments technologies. At FIS, she also served as National Sales Director and Sales Executive for the Wealth Division, leading client meetings in all 50 U.S. states.

Her career began at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey’s Capital Markets division, where she focused on Marketing and Sales after studying in France. She later became an entrepreneur and founding member of FinTech Securities, LLC, an institutional broker dealer in Atlanta, Georgia. Under her decade of leadership as head of Marketing and Sales, the firm grew to serve nearly 200 banks in 36 states nationwide.

Christiane holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business, where she also earned a 2024 Certificate in Generative AI for Business Leaders. She completed additional graduate Certificates in Executive Leadership and Financial Management from Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management and the India Institute of Management. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Asbury University, graduating with highest academic honors.

Her leadership has extended to service on numerous boards, including SmartFox Technologies, SOAR Performance Group, Alliance Française d’Atlanta, Indiana University’s Center for International Business Education and Research, Junior Achievement of Georgia, Georgia Securities Association, and the Atlanta Association for Women in Securities.

Outside of the classroom and boardroom, Christiane is an accomplished fine art oil painter. Her paintings have been displayed around the world, and she is currently represented by Agora Gallery in New York City.  Christiane recently completed a journey in a van named Millicent, to paint the horizon in all 50 U.S. states. A lifelong learner and adventurer, she also pursues French language study, has summited Mt. Kilimanjaro, holds PADI scuba diving certification, and has traveled across five continents, more than 35 countries, and all 50 states.