LBS faculty member appointed to Gresham College

Professor of Finance Alex Edmans to present series of lectures for Gresham College

 

London Business School (LBS) Professor of Finance Alex Edmans has been appointed the Mercers’ School Memorial Professor of Business at Gresham College, London’s oldest higher education institution.

Professor Edmans is an internationally recognised expert on corporate finance, in particular corporate governance and responsible business. As Professor of Business, he will continue Gresham College’s 420-year-old tradition of delivering free lectures open to the public within the City of London and beyond.

His first lecture series will explore the many ways in which business interacts and impacts upon society and our lives.

Professor Edmans said he was “thrilled to take on this new role.”

“I strongly share Gresham’s mission to make complex research freely available to the general public in a clear, accessible manner,” he said.

“My first series of lectures will be on 'The Role of Business in Society' because I strongly believe that businesses should create long-term value for society rather than focusing on short-term profit. However, perceptions of business are often shaped by the most extreme outliers and are not representative of businesses as a whole, so many proposed remedies are shooting at the wrong target.

“I aim to use large-scale evidence to accurately diagnose the problem and, based on this diagnosis, suggest evidence-based reforms to ensure that business better serves society.”

Provost of Gresham College, Sir Richard Evans FBA, expressed his delight that Professor Edmans would be joining the educational institution.

“As Professor of Finance at London Business School, he has experience in teaching at one of the world's top institutions in the field, and he will be bringing all his expertise and authority to his lectures for Gresham College,” the Provost said.

“In his first lecture series, Professor Edmans will discuss a crucial question in our world today: What role does and should business play in society? Looking at topics such as executive pay and corporate governance, he will explore how business can better serve us all.”

Gresham College’s ten Professors each deliver a series of six lectures a year. These are augmented by series presented by several Visiting Professors and as many as 40 individual lectures from a range of illustrious speakers appointed for their intellectual authority and academic expertise. All Gresham lectures are live streamed and made available on YouTube after the event.

Professor Edmans’ lectures for 2018-19 will be:

• 'Purposeful Business: The Evidence and the Implementation' - Wednesday 3 October 2018, 6 pm at the Museum of London
• 'Executive Pay: What’s Right, What’s Wrong and What Could Be Fixed?' - Wednesday 12 December 2018, 6 pm at the Museum of London
• 'Reforming Corporate Governance' - Wednesday 23 January 2019, 6 pm at the Museum of London
• 'The Stewardship Role of Investors' - Wednesday 6 March 2019, 6 pm at the Museum of London
• 'Does Finance Benefit Society?' - Wednesday 24 April 2019, 6 pm at the Museum of London
• 'Do Mergers and Acquisitions Create or Destroy Value?' - Wednesday 5 June 2019, 6 pm at the Museum of London