My research sits close to questions that regulators, boards, and lenders face in practice.
I aim to keep that connection active in both directions.
Competition and Markets Authority
Since October 2024, I have been a member of the CMA's Corporate Finance Expert Panel, one of four appointed experts and the only academic. The panel provides specialised technical advice on cost of capital, profitability, and financial analysis across the CMA's competition and regulatory casework, including market studies, mergers, and price controls.
Engagement with regulators and international institutions
My research has been presented at the Bank of England, European Central Bank, Federal Reserve Board, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Deutsche Bundesbank, De Nederlandsche Bank, Central Bank of Chile, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, International Monetary Fund, LabEx ReFi, and the World Bank. My work on collateral law featured in the World Bank's Doing Business reports in 2019 and 2020. I have been a member of the Royal Economic Society's Conference of Heads of University Departments of Economics, which responds to consultations on behalf of the RES.
Advisory and professional work
I have advised private-sector clients on corporate debt ratings, cost of capital, and capital structure; on energy price forecasting and valuation; and on global bond market returns. I serve as External Examiner at the London School of Economics (since 2019) and London Business School (since 2022), and have taught executive education in corporate finance and valuation at London Business School.
Research with direct application
- Lending and the real economy. Work in the Journal of Financial Economics and Review of Financial Studies examines when lenders share credit information, how sharing systems form, and how banks manipulate ratings ahead of disclosure. These are central questions for the design of credit registries and open banking. Related research on collateral law, including a practitioner treatment in the Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, shows which legal reforms most cost-effectively expand the supply of credit.
- Investors, votes, and prices. My Journal of Finance research shows that institutional investors recall lent shares in order to vote, direct evidence that investors value the vote and use the proxy process to shape governance. Companion work examines how ownership structure constrains arbitrage and slows the correction of prices.
- Firms and their financing. Research on internal capital markets, acquisitions, and disclosure examines how firms allocate capital across their businesses, when acquisitions create value, and how boards, auditors, and lawyers hold management to account
Teaching cases
I co-author teaching cases on governance and private equity, including "Enigate (A): Are Independent Directors Really Independent?" and "Enigate (B): The Role of Journalism as an Independent Source" (Stigler Center, University of Chicago), and buyout cases including Yeti Holdings, Sushiro, and TigerRisk Partners (2024).
Media and commentary
My research has been covered in the Wall Street Journal, the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, the Harvard Law School Bankruptcy Roundtable, Kellogg Insight, VoxEU, and FTSE Global Markets.
Recognition
BlackRock Inc. and NACD Global Challenge for Innovation in Corporate Governance
CNMV (Spanish Securities Markets Commission) Prize for the Best Paper in Regulation
Review of Corporate Finance Studies Best Paper Award · Q Group research grant ·
British Academy/Leverhulme grant · best paper awards at CICF, FMA, and MFA
I welcome enquiries from policymakers, practitioners, and journalists working on corporate governance, banking, or corporate finance.