Alon Brav

Alon Brav is the Bratton Family Distinguished Professor of Finance at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. He holds a Ph.D. in Finance from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business (1998) and has been a faculty member at Fuqua since 1997. His research focuses on corporate governance, shareholder voting mechanisms, hedge fund activism, and the interplay between rational and behavioral finance theories. Professor Brav’s work has been published in leading journals such as the Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, and Review of Financial Studies.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Finance, University of Chicago Booth School of Business, 1998

Research Interests:

• Corporate Governance Mechanisms
• Hedge Fund Activism Strategies and Outcomes
• Shareholder Voting Dynamics
• Behavioral Finance and Limits to Arbitrage

His studies on governance by persuasion and wolf pack activism have reshaped understandings of institutional investor influence. Recent work explores the implications of indexing growth for corporate governance and retail shareholder participation in proxy contests.

Scientific Awards:

• 1998 Smith Breeden Prize (Journal of Finance)
• 2003 & 2016 Barclays Brennan Award (Review of Financial Studies)
• 2005 & 2018 Jensen Prize (Journal of Financial Economics)

These accolades highlight his contributions to corporate finance and governance literature.

Teaching & Professional Activities: Teaches Financial Management in executive MBA programs. Serves as a Fellow at the European Corporate Governance Institute and Associate Editor at the Journal of Finance. Active as a faculty research associate at NBER’s Corporate Finance Program.

Labs/Teams: Collaborates with researchers at NBER on corporate finance and governance projects. His work often involves interdisciplinary teams analyzing large-scale datasets on institutional investors and corporate behavior.