Samuel Weaver

Professor Weaver joined the full-time faculty at Lehigh in January 1998. He held the position of Director MBA and Professional Education (2003-2005) and the John C. Swartley ’24 Professorship (2004-2005 and 2012-2013). Prior to 1998, Dr. Weaver was the Lauer Adjunct Professor of Finance at Lehigh University (1986 - 1997) and the Director, Financial Planning and Analysis at Hershey Foods Corporation for almost 20 years. That position combined the theoretical with the pragmatic and involved the analysis of many different facets of finance including: mergers and acquisitions, strategic planning, performance measurement, operational plans, industry group comparisons, divestiture assessment, alternative financing evaluations, dividend policy, capital expenditure analysis, and the determination of cost of capital and divisional hurdle rates.

His personal research revolves around areas of corporate finance, valuation and investment analysis, financial performance measurement, and supply chain (working capital) management. Dr. Weaver is the sole author of The Essentials of Financial Analysis (McGraw-Hill, 2011). He also is the co-author (with J. Fred Weston) of four books including: Strategic Financial Management: Applications of Corporate Finance (South-Western, February 2007) - along with its study guide and Finance and Accounting for Non-Financial Managers and Mergers and Acquisitions (McGraw Hill - Executive MBA Series – 2001).  Both of these McGraw-Hill books have been translated for China, Russia, India, and Malaysia.

He has published in numerous leading academic and practitioner journals, provided chapters for five books, appeared in numerous textbooks discussing applications of corporate finance, and co-authored two cases published by the Darden Graduate School of Business. He serves as an associate editor for four journals and is a regular reviewer. His work has been presented at numerous professional conferences.

He currently serves as the chair of the Board of Regents - CMA/CFM Exam – Institute of Management Accountants. Additionally, he is a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and Certified Financial Manager (CFM). His consulting includes both large (Fortune 200) and small clients from a variety of industries on numerous topics as well as customized professional educational workshops.

In 2011, 2012,  and 2014 he was honored as the core faculty MBA Professor of the year. He, also, was honored by the 2012, 2013 and 2014 MBA graduating classes for his Excellence in Teaching.

Educaion

Lehigh University, B.S., M.B.A., Ph.D.

Research Interests

Corporate Financial Management

Mergers and Acquisitions

Valuation

Capital Investment

Capital Structure and the Cost of Capital

Divisional Investment Hurdle Rates

Financial Performance Metrics

Financial Performance Benchmarking

Supply Chain Finance

Strategic Planning

Planning and Budgeting