Faculty

Berkeley MFE faculty members are renowned groundbreakers and thought leaders in the field of quantitative finance. In addition to undertaking preeminent research that feeds directly into the curriculum, many of these scholars also have practical experience in the creation of financial instruments and software, as well as the implementation of innovative financial strategies.

Pioneers of Financial Engineering

Many Haas School faculty members have long stood at the forefront of the quantitative finance industry. For example:

  • Professor Mark Rubinstein is renowned for his work on the binomial options pricing model (also known as the Cox-Ross-Rubinstein model), as well as his early work on asset pricing in the 1970s. He is currently an associate editor of eight journals in these areas. In 1993, he served as President of the American Finance Association. Many of Rubinstein's papers are frequently reprinted in survey publications, and he has won numerous prizes and awards for his research and writing on derivatives including International Financial Engineer of the Year for 1995.
  • Faculty Director John O'Brien was an early innovator in the investment consulting space. Before joining Haas, O'Brien served as Chairman of the Capital Market Fund, and the S&P 500 SuperTrust, the first exchange-traded fund. He later co-developed the O'Brien 5000 common stock index, later renamed the Wilshire 5000 index, currently the nation's broadest-based index, considered by many to be the most accurate reflection of the overall market. In 1987, O'Brien was named one of Fortune Magazine's Men of the Year.

Professional Faculty Drawn From Business

In addition to having early innovators and scholars, the Berkeley MFE faculty also draws from some of the most successful minds in today's business community. For example, the faculty includes:

  • Lecturer Eric Reiner, managing director of firm-wide risk control at UBS AG
  • BlackRock executives Ronald Kahn, managing director and global head of equity research; Michael Melvin, managing director and head of currency research; and Jeff Shen, managing director and head of Asia/EM equity
  • Moody's Analytics executives Jing Zhang, divisional managing director and global head of MKMV research, and Amnon Levy, managing director and head of portfolio research
  • Lecturer Julia Belford, head of electronic market making at Infinium Securities

Berkeley MFE faculty have also played important roles in the national and international business communities, serving as consultants, board members, and speakers at major business conferences and seminars. Professor Dwight M. Jaffee has been an advisor to the World Bank, the Federal Reserve System, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.

First-Person

Oliver Williamson

Oliver Williamson

Haas Professor Emeritus Oliver E. Williamson was awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for his work in the area of economic governance. The Edgar F. Kaiser Professor Emeritus of Business, Economics, and Law at UC Berkeley is a pioneer in the multi-disciplinary field of transaction cost economics, and one of the world's most cited economists.

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