Todd Milbourn

Todd Milbourn is an expert on valuation, corporate finance, and corporate governance, notably executive compensation and its impact on company stock price, corporate risk-taking, and firm performance. Professor Milbourn has been retained as an expert by private firms, the U.S. Department of Justice, and by individuals in cases related to fair rates of return, breach of contract damages, lost earnings, investment programs, and managerial/executive compensation, including employee stock option programs.

Professor Milbourn has addressed issues related to credit ratings and bank megamergers. He is a coauthor of the executive-level book, The Value Sphere: Secrets of Creating and Retaining Shareholder Wealth, and has published articles in leading scholarly journals, including Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Harvard Business Review, Sloan Management Review, Management Science, Journal of Accounting Research, and RAND Journal of Economics.

At Washington University in St. Louis, Professor Milbourn has taught finance-related courses for nearly two decades. An award-winning educator, he has been recognized numerous times for teaching excellence, and his faculty research has twice been honored with the Olin Award: Research That Transforms Business.

Professor Milbourn has experience as a board member of multiple hedge funds and is the current Audit Committee Chair of a hedge fund. He has experience as a board member on multiple special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), including serving as chair of the Audit Committee. Professor Milbourn also speaks extensively at professional and scholarly conferences in Canada, Europe, the United Kingdom, and across the United States.

Before joining the faculty of Olin Business School, Professor Milbourn taught at the University of Chicago and London Business School.

Area of Expertise:

• Corporate Finance, Corporate Finance

Research Interests:

• Corporate finance, managerial career concerns, management compensation, and economics of asymmetric information

Selected Publications:

• "Which Skills Matter in the Market for CEOs? Evidence from Pay for CEO Credentials", Management Science, Issue 12, with A. Falato, D. Li, 2015
• "CEO Equity Incentives and Financial Misreporting: The Role of Auditor Expertise", The Accounting Review, Issue 2, 603-623, with S. Jayaraman, 2015
• "How did increased competition affect credit ratings?", Journal of Financial Economics, 493-514, with B. Becker, 2011
• "Strategic Flexibility and the Optimality of Pay for Sector Performance", Review of Financial Studies, Issue 5, 2060-2098, with R. Gopalan, F. Song, 2010
• "Asymmetric Benchmarking in Compensation: Executives are Paid for Good Luck But Not Punished for Bad", Journal of Financial Economics, Issue 1, 197-225, with G. Garvey, 2006
• "Credit Ratings as Coordination Mechanisms", Review of Financial Studies, Issue 1, 81-118, with A. Boot, A. Schmeits, 2006
• "Incentive Compensation When Executives Can Hedge the Market: Evidence of Relative Performance Evaluation in the Cross-Section", Journal of Finance, Issue 4, 1557-1582, with G. Garvey, 2003

Academic/Professional Activities:

• Referee, The Review of Financial Studies; Journal of Business; Journal of Financial Intermediation; Journal of Banking and Finance; European Economic Review; Journal of Economics; Financial Management
• Member, Western Finance Association; Financial Management Association; American Finance Association; and American Economic Association
• Board Member, St. Louis Military Officer Support Foundation
• Board Member, The Xanthus Fund, Oppenheimer Asset Management

Awards/Honors:

• Olin Award Winner on Compensation Goals and Firm Performance, Olin Business School, 2016
• St. Louis Founder's Day Distinguished Faculty Award, Washington University, 2015
• Marcile and James Reid Chair, Washington University in St. Louis, 2002
• MBA Teaching Excellence Award, Indiana University School of Business, 1995
• Beta Gamma Sigma since 1996
• Phi Beta Kappa member since 1991
• Reid Teaching Awards: BSBA 2009, 2011, 2012; Full-Time MBA 2004; EMBA Fudan Class 9; EMBA 22, 23, 24, 25; EMBA-HSM IV; Washington University in St. Louis