His research interests span:

• Corporate finance: corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, dividend policy, remuneration contracting, network analysis

• Corporate social responsibility, socially responsible investing

• The economics of art, markets for art, paintings, diamonds and other alternative investments

• Financial Litigation related to corporate fraud, employment conflicts, and cyber security

• Experimental economics: managerial overconfidence, bonus systems

On these topics, he has published in the Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Review of Financial Studies, Management Science, Organization Science, American Economic Review, Review of Finance, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Journal of Financial Intermediation, Journal of Corporate Finance, Journal of Law and Economics, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Banking and Finance, and others.

Former positions:

• Aug. 2016 - June 2020: Head of Department ( Dept of Finance), Tilburg University
• Sept. 2003-July 2009: Academic Director of Master in Finance (executive programme), Tias Business School, Tilburg University.
• April 2006-August 2009: Coordinator Mhil and PhD programmes in Business - Finance.
• June 2001-March 2005: tenured Associate Professor in Finance (hoofddocent): Tilburg University, Department of Finance.
• Sept.1998-May 2001: Assistant Professor in Finance: Tilburg University, Department of Finance.
• Jan.1996-Sept.1998: Assistant Professor in Finance (docent): Catholic University of Leuven (KULeuven)
• May 1994-Jan.1996: Marie Curie Fellow of the European Commission (EC grant ERBCHICT941057); London Business School
• June 1992-May 1994: Doctoral Research Fellow of the Interuniversity Centre for Doctoral Studies in Management Sciences (I.C.M., Brussels); London Business School
• Oct.1991-Sept.1993: Salomon Brothers International (London) - Doctoral Fellow in Finance; London Business School
• Oct.1990-Sept.1991: Research/Teaching Assistant in Financial Economics; Catholic University of Leuven (KULeuven)
• Aug.1989-Oct.1990: Financial Analyst in Procter & Gamble Company, Brussels, Nenagh (Ireland), Rotterdam

Visiting positions:

• At Oxford University, Cambridge University, University Paris-Dauphine, HEC Paris, Cardiff University, CUNEF Madrid, Venice International University, European University Institute, Ghent University.

At Tilburg University

• BSc in Business Economics: The Economics of Art
• MSc in Finance: Sustainable Finance and Value Creation
• MSc in Finance: Corporate Valuation
• PhD in Finance: Corporate Finance 2
• Executive Master in Finance: Mergers and acquisitions, and corporate governance
• Executive Master in Finance: Advanced Corporate Finance
• MSc in Financial Management/ MSc in Investment Analysis: Corporate restructuring and governance
• Honours Programme (BSc) : Art and Art Markets (2011)
• MSc in Business Economics: Mergers and Acquisitions
• MSc in Business Economics: Real Options 
• BSc in Business Economics: Corporate Finance II

Teaching Awards:

• 10 Teaching Awards in the Msc in Finance and Executive Msc in Finance

Supervision of PhD students:

1. Jana Fidrmuc (1999-2003): The impact of large shareholders on information signalling, factor productivity, and managerial disciplining. Defence: 27 June 2003. Hired by the University of Warwick, UK.
2. Greg Trojanowski (2000-2004): Ownership structure as a mechanism of corporate governance. Defence: 12 November 2004. Hired by the University of Exeter, UK.
3. Annabel Sels: Foreign direct investment as an entry mode: An application to emerging economies, Defence, 9 June 2006. Hired by HUBrussel, KULeuven, Belgium. 
4. Chendi Zhang (2001-2006): Ethics, Investments, and Investor Behaviour. Defence: 8 November 2006. Hired by the University of Warwick, UK. Currently, chair at University of Exeter, UK.
5. Marina Martynova (2001-2006): The Market for Corporate Control and Corporate Governance Regulation in Europe. Defence: 8 November 2006. Hired by Cornerstone Research, Boston. Currently at the SEC, US.
6. Peter Szilagyi (2003-2007): Corporate Governance and the Agency Costs of Debt and Outside Equity. Defence: Funded by the European Corporate Governance Institute Network. 17 December 2007. Hired by Cambridge University, UK. Currently at Edhec, France.
7. Yang Zhao (2005-2010): The Role of Directors’ Professional and Social Networks in
   CEO Compensation and the Managerial Labour Market. Defence: 22 December 2010. Hired by the University of Cardiff, UK. Currently at Liverpool University, UK.
8. Mieszko Mazur (2006-2010): Essays on Managerial Remuneration, Organizational Structure, and Non-Cash divestitures. Defence: 22 December 2010. Hired by IESEG, University of Lille, France.
9. Eric Engesaeth (2007-2011): Managerial Compensation Contracting. Defence: 21 June 2011. Partner and CEO of the Managerial Remuneration practice at the Korn Ferry Hay Group, the Netherlands.
10. Christophe Spaenjers (2006-2011): Essays in Alternative Investments; Funded by the Netherlands Science Foundation. Defence: 19 September 2011. Graduated Cum Laude and awarded the Best PhD dissertation at Tilburg University (university-wide). Honorable Mention (top 3) for Christian Huygens Best PhD Disssertation Award; within top 3 for KVS Pennning; Runner-up for Mees Pierson Best PhD thesis Award. Hired by HEC Paris, France.
11. John Glen (2009-2012): Essays on the UK Residential Property Market. Defence: 19 March 2012. Professor at Cranfield University, UK.
12. Peter Cziraki (2007-2012): Insider Trading, Shareholder Activism and Corporate Policies. Defence: 10 Sept. 2012. Graduated Cum Laude and Best PhD Thesis award at Tilburg University. Hired by the Department of Economics of the University of Toronto, Canada.
13. Philipp Geiler (2008-2012): Essays on Executive Remuneration Contracting: Managerial Power, Corporate Payout, and Gender Discrimination. Defence: 14 September 2012. Hired by EM Lyon Business School, France.
14. Yaping Mao (2007-2013) (with Marco da Rin and Fabiana Penas, co-supervisors; funded by the European Investment Bank): Essays on leveraged buyouts. Defence 15 November 2013. Hired by Aalto University, Helsinki, Finland.
15. Elena Pikulina (2009-2014) (with Philippe Tobler, co-supervisor; Funded by Axa Research Fund): Incentives, Behavioural Biases and Risk Taking. Defence: 24 November 2014. Hired by University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
16. Julien Pénasse (2010-2014) : (joint PhD with Essec/Univ. Cergy-Pontoise). Asset Prices and Priceless Assets. Defence: 2 December 2014. Asset Prices and Priceless Assets. Hired by the University of Luxembourg.
17. Joaquim Miranda Sarmento (2010-2014): Public-Private Partnerships. Defence: 16 December 2014. Employed by ISEG (University of Lisbon) and the Catholica University of Lisbon, Portugal.
18. Saverio Stentella Lopes (2011-2015) (joint PhD Univ of Rome Tor Vergata; with Franco Fiordelisi, co-supervisor): Bank Performance and Corporate Culture. Defence: 19 January 2015. Hired by Bangor University, Wales. Currently at Liverpool University, UK.
19. Carlos Eduardo Leon Rincon (2012-2015): Financial Stability from a Network Perspective. Defence: 23 February 2015. Employed by the Central Bank of Colombia.
20. Ljubica Djordjevic (2012-2015): Retail Banking and Household Finance. Defence: 2 June 2 2015. Hired by Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany. Currently at the IMF, US.
21. Bernardus van Doornik (2011-2015): (with Olivier De Jonghe, co-supervisor). Essays on the Behaviour of Foreign Banks in Brazil. Defence: 2 June 2015. Employed by the Central Bank of Brazil.
22. Hao Liang (2010-2015): The Foundations of Corporate Social Responsibility. Graduated Cum Laude. Defence: 23 June 2015. Hired by Singapore Management University. (Co-)Winner of: (i) 2016 Moskowitz Prize for best paper on Socially Responsible Investing, (ii) Best paper on Sustainable Finance (Geneva 2014 CSR conference on Finance and Sustainability), (iii) FIR-PRI European Research Award for best PhD nive on Finance and Sustainability, (iv) Best PhD Thesis award at Tilburg University 2015 (niversity-wide).
23. Yiyi Bai (2011-2015) (with Steven Ongena; funded by CSC grant): Banking M&As. Defence: 9 September 2015. Hired by Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, China.
24. Geraldine David (2012-2016) (joint PhD ULB; with co-supervisor Kim Oosterlink): Art as an Investment in a Historical Perspective. Defence 27 June 2016. Postdoc at Yale University, US. Currently director and curator of the Bibliotheca Wittockiana, Belgium.
25. Elisabeth Kempf (2011-2016) (as co-supervisor; with supervisors Alberto Manconi and Oliver Spalt): Essays in Corporate Finance and Financial Intermediation. Graduated Cum Laude. Winner of: (i) Best PhD Thesis award at Tilburg University 2016 (niversity-wide); (ii) Ruijgrok PhD Award (5-yearly Netherlands-wide award); (iii) KVS-penning of the Koninlijke Vereniging voor Staatshuishoudkunde of the Netherlands (Royal Society for Economics); and (iv) Cubist Systematic Strategies award for the best PhD paper at the WFA (with job market paper). Hired by Booth School of Business, University of Chicago, US. Currently at Harvard Business School.
26. Anna Faelten (2013-2016): Essays on Mergers and Acquisitions. Defence 6 December 2016. Employed by EY, UK.
27. Tamas Barko (2011-2018): Essays on Stakeholder Relations and Firm Value. Defence 26 February 2018. Hired by the University of Mannheim, Germany.
28. Cara Vansteenkiste (2013-2018). Essays on Corporate Acquisitions. Defence: 18 June 2018. Hired by University of New South Wales (UNSW), Australia.
29. Ekatarina Neretina (2014-2019) (funded by the Netherlands Science Foundation, NWO; with co-supervisor Alberto Manconi): Essays in Corporate Finance, Political Economy, and Competition. Defence: 3 June 2019. Hired by the University of Southern California (USC), US.
30. Andinet Worku Gebreselassie (2013-2019) (with co-supervisor Roger Bougie): On communicating about taboo social issues in least developed countries: The case of Ethiopia. Defence: 4 June 2019. Employed by University of Addis Abeba, Ethiopia.
31. Marshall (Xiaoyin) Ma (2014-2019): Essays on Alternative Investments: Defence 24 June 2019. Hired by Erasmus University, Netherlands. Currently working in fintech: Ant Group, China.
32. Filip Bekjarovski (2015-2019) (joint PhD Toulouse University; funded by French Cifr grant). Active Investing. Defence 24 June 2019. Fund manager at NN Investment Partners – Goldman Sachs, Netherlands. 
33. Emerson Schmitz (2015-2019) (with Olivier De Jonghe, co-supervisor). Banking and International Trade. Defence 10 September 2019. Employed by the Central Bank of Brazil.
34. Camille Hebert (2014-2019) (joint PhD Paris-Dauphine; co-supervisor Edith Ginglinger): Essays on Corporate Ownership and Human Capital. Winner of Cubist Systematic Strategies award for the best PhD paper at the Western Finance Association conference. Winner of the Prix en Sciences Economiques et de Gestion 2020, Rectorat de l’Académie de Paris. Winner of the best PhD thesis award of Tilburg University. Honorable mention (top 3) for the KVS Award (best PhD thesis defended in the Netherlands over the past 5 years). Defence: 11 October 2019. Graduated Cum Laude. Hired by the Rotman School, University of Toronto, Canada.
35. Yuexin Li (2016-2021): Funded by a CSC grant. Pricing Art: Returns, Trust, and Crises. Defence: 31 Aug. 2021. Hired by the Renmin University, Beijing, China.
36. Frederik Verplancke (2017-2021) (joint PhD University of Ghent, co-supervisors Klaas Mulier and Olivier Dejonghe): Essays on Corporate Finance. Defence 26 October 2021. Postdoc Ghent University, Belgium.
37. Emil Uduwalage (2016-2022): (PPP student, co-supervisor Kamil Nazliben). Essays on Corporate Governance in a Country Torn by Civil War. Defence: 7 October 2022. Employed by Wayamba University of Sri Lanka.
38. Daniel Karpati (2018-2023) (co-supervisors Julio Crego and Jens Kvaerner). Financial and Health Economics. Defence September 2023. Hired by Erasmus University, the Netherlands.

 In progress

1. Tal Straus (2021-…): (PPP student; co-supervisor Jasmin Gider), The Impact of Cyber Breaches on Financial and Economic Corporate Performance. Employed by the European Central Bank.
2. Jeroen Verbouw (2021-…): (joint PhD with University of Ghent; co-supervisors Sophie Manigart and Tom Vanacker), Family firms and Private Equity.
3. Luis Antonio Ettore (2021-…): (joint PhD with University of Sao Paulo), Minority Shareholder Empowerment.
4. Hulai Zhang (2020-…): (joint PhD with ESCP, co-supervisors Jasmin Gider and Alberta Di Guili): Financial litigation.
5. Jack (Xiaowei) Lu: (co-supervisor Igor Loncarski): Financial Litigation in China.

Supervision Master students:

>250

Click here for my courses.