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Finance

Dean, Kellogg School of Management

Donald P. Jacobs Chair of Finance

Professor of Finance

Portrait of Francesca Cornelli, Faculty at the Kellogg School of Management
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Francesca Cornelli is the dean of Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, and is also a professor of finance and holds the Donald P. Jacobs Chair of Finance.

Since joining Kellogg in 2019, Dean Cornelli has crystalized the school’s mission to shape empathetic, inclusive leaders who can operate globally, unite diverse perspectives, and lead through rapid change and constant disruption.

Under Cornelli’s leadership, Kellogg has amplified its focus in areas of critical importance for business and society. She has helmed the expansion of Kellogg’s programming on sustainability, including the creation of new courses, scholarships, and co-curriculars. She has brought the same focus to advancing Kellogg’s commitment to fostering an inclusive environment and equitable outcomes through numerous initiatives.

Cornelli has also increased Kellogg’s focus on preparing today’s leaders to operate effectively at the intersection of business, science and technology. She spearheaded the creation of Kellogg’s MBAi Program, a joint degree between Kellogg and Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering, and led the expansion of Kellogg’s private equity focus.

A global educator, Cornelli has vast international experience and has taught at some of the top schools in the world, including the London School of Economics, the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad, the New Economic School in Moscow, the Wharton School, and the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. Immediately prior to Kellogg, Cornelli was a professor of finance and deputy dean at London Business School.

Cornelli is widely respected as an accomplished scholar and a leader in business education. Her research interests include corporate governance, private equity, privatization, bankruptcy, IPOs, and innovation policy. She has been an editor of the Review of Financial Studies, one of the top three finance journals, and previously served on the board of editors of the Review of Economic Studies and as an associate editor at the Journal of Finance.

Cornelli helped create and became a board member of AFFECT, a committee of the American Finance Association designed to promote the advancement of women academics in the field of finance. She serves on several boards, including Edizione, GSM Grosvenor Inc., Civic Consulting Alliance, Ryan Specialty Holdings, Inc., and Lyric Opera of Chicago.

About Francesca
Research interests
  • Private Equity
  • Entrepreneurial Finance
  • Innovation Policy
  • Privatization
  • IPOs
  • Corporate Governance
  • Bankruptcy.
  • PhD, 1992, Economics, Harvard University
    Laurea, 1987, Economics, Bocconi University, Italy, Summa cum Laude
  • Deputy Dean (Programmes), London Business School, 2018-2019
    Director of Private Equity, London Business School, 2009-2019
    Professor, Finance, London Business School, 2000-2019
    Visiting Professor, ISB, Hyderabad, 2006
    Associate Professor, Finance, Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, 2000-2001
    Assistant Professor, Finance, London Business School, 1994-2000
    Visiting Assistant Professor, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, 1999-2000
    Visiting Assistant Professor, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, 1997-1998
    Visiting Professor, New Economic School, Moscow, Russia, 1994
    Lecturer, Economics, The London School of Economics & Political Science, 1992-1994
  • Member of the Board of Directors, Edizione, 2022-present
    Member of the Board of Directors, Lyric Opera of Chicago, 2021-present
    Member of the Board of Directors, GCM Grosvenor Inc, 2020-present
    Member of the Board, Civic Consulting Alliance, 2019-present
    President, Financial Intermediation Society (FIRS), 2020-2021
    Vice-President, Financial Intermediation Research Society (FIRS), 2018-2019
    Member of the Advisory Board, LT Institute, 2017-present
    Fellow, European Corporate Governance Institute, 2017-present
    Member of the Board, Financial Intermediation Research Society (FIRS), 2016-present
    Member of the Board, Financial Management Association (FMA), 2016-2019
    Member of the Board, Banca Intesa SanPaolo, 2016-2019
    Editor, The Review of Financial Studies, 2014-2019
    Member of the Board, Telecom Italia, 2014-2018
    Member of the Board of Directors, American Finance Association, 2013-2016
    Member of the Board, Swiss Re International and Swiss Re Holdings, 2013-2019
    Member of the Academic Board, European School of Management and Technology (ESMT), 2011-2019
    Member, American Finance Association, 2011
    Member, 2011 Ross Prize, 2011
    Member of the Board, COFIDE spa, 2010-2016
    Editor, Private Equity Findings, 2009-2016
    Member of the Scientific Committee, Banque de France Foundation, 2007-2016
    Member of the Search Committee for the editor, Journal of Finance, 2015
    Member of the Search Committee for the editor, Journal of Finance, 2005
    Member of the Advisory Board, Trapezia EIS II, a private equity fund by Stargate Capital, 2009-2013
    Member of the Editorial Board, Journal of Financial Intermediation, 2007-2014
    Associate Editor, The Journal of Finance, 2003-2012
    Member of the Board of Editors, The Review of Economic Studies, 1998-2007
    Member of the Council, Royal Economic Society, 2003-2007
    Research Fellow, Centre for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), 1999-present
    Fellow, CESifo, 1999-present
    Fellow, William Davidson Institute, University of Michigan, 1997-present
    Member of the Council, European Economic Association, 2002-2007
    Programme Chair, Royal Economic Society Conference, 2004
    Member of Nominating Committee, American Finance Association, 2002
    Research Affiliate, Centre for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), 1992-1999
    Member of the Executive Committee, Centre for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), 1996-1998
    Program Committee Member, Summer Research Conference in Finance, 2007-2012
    Program Committee Member, Paris Spring Finance Symposium, 2008-2012
    Program Committee Member, European Finance Association, 2004
    Program Committee Member, European Finance Association, 2003
    Program Committee Member, European Finance Association, 2000
    Program Committee Member, European Finance Association, 1999
    Program Committee Member, European Finance Association, 2009-2019
    Program Committee Member, European Finance Association, 1998
    Program Committee Member, European Econometric Society Meetings, 2003
    Program Committee Member, European Econometric Society Meetings, 2000
    Program Committee Member, European Econometric Society Meetings, 1999
    Program Committee Member, European Econometric Society Meetings, 1998
    Program Committee Member, European Economic Association, 2010
    Program Committee Member, European Economic Association, 2005
    Program Committee Member, European Economic Association, 2004
    Program Committee Member, European Economic Association, 2000
    Program Committee Member, European Economic Association, 1998
    Program Committee Member, European Financial Management Association, 2017
    Program Committee Member, European Financial Management Association, 2013
    Program Committee Member, European Financial Management Association, 2004-2007
    Program Committee Member, Financial Intermediation Research Society, 2004-2019
    Program Committee Member, Utah Winter Finance Conference, 2001-2019
    Program Committee Member, Tel Aviv Conference, 2012-2019
    Program Committee Member, Western Finance Association, 1998-2019
    Program Committee Member, American Finance Association, 2008
    Program Committee Member, American Finance Association, 2003