Professor Jeffrey Coles

Jeffrey L. Coles is Professor of Finance and the Samuel S. Stewart, Jr. Presidential Chair of Business at the David Eccles School of Business, University of Utah. Professor Coles taught previously at the University of Rochester, Stanford University, and Arizona State University where he served for six years as the Chair of the Department of Finance.

Professor Coles received his B.A. from Pomona College, in mathematics (with distinction) and economics (with distinction), cum laude, in 1979. He received his Ph.D. in January 1984 from Stanford University. While at Stanford, he was an associate at the Institute for Mathematical Studies in the Social Sciences, the holder of the Henry J. Newell Honors Fellowship, and a research associate with the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Dr. Coles has teaching and research interests in compensation, boards of directors, corporate governance and control, tax, corporate investment and financial policy, asset pricing, organization structure, and the utility industry. He has published numerous academic papers in premier journals, including the Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Finance, American Economic Review, Review of Financial Studies, Journal of Accounting and Economics, Journal of Accounting Research, and Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis. Professor Coles is Advisory Editor Emeritus of Financial Management, Co-Editor of the Journal of Economics and Management Strategy, Associate Editor of the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, and Advisory Editor of the Journal of Financial Research. His work is featured in a wide spectrum of business publications, including the Economist, Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Fortune, and Investor’s Business Daily, and in the broadcast media, including Wall Street Week, CNN News, and National Public Radio. He has presented his work to numerous conferences, universities, and industry groups. Professor Coles has received awards for both research and teaching, including from the Honor Society of the Financial Management Association. Dr. Coles is active in executive education, delivering programs most recently to Pinnacle West Capital (APS), Motorola, Honeywell, and Central Newspapers Inc. Dr. Coles also delivered for more than 15 years a course on corporate governance and mergers and acquisitions to executives of large Chinese SOEs.

Professor Coles has advised both industry and government. Scientific consulting clients and partners include Utah Power and Light, the Utah State Department of Community Affairs, Arizona Public Service, the U. S. Department of Energy, The Directors’ Council, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Pinnacle West Capital, Central Newspapers, Inc., Honeywell, Gradient Analytics, Verus Research, and Institutional Shareholder Services. Dr. Coles served as Co-Chief Scientist of Incentive Lab before selling the company to Institutional Shareholder Services. He serves as an expert in legal actions for Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP, Werner & Ayers, LLP, and Gibbs & Bruns, LLP. Dr. Coles has served or currently serves: as a director on the boards of the Financial Management Association and the Western Finance Association; on the steering committee of the Arizona Chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors; on the investment committees of the Emma Eccles Jones Endowment (University of Utah), Arizona State University (ASU) Foundation, Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust, and ASU Operating Funds; on the awards committee of the Financial Executives Institute, and as judge for the Corporate ESG Awards, Global Markets Media. Dr. Coles is Past President of the Financial Management Association and serves on the Board of Trustees of the FMA.