Charlotte Østergaard

Charlotte Østergaard is a Professor of Finance at Copenhagen Business School (CBS), where she has been since 2022. She holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in Economics from Brown University and a B.A. in Economics from the University of Copenhagen. Her research focuses on corporate governance, family firms, entrepreneurship, and banking. Notably, she has examined governance structures in historical Norwegian firms, the impact of banking deregulation on small businesses, and the role of social capital in stakeholder-oriented institutions.

Previously, she served as Director of the Centre for Corporate Governance Research at BI Norwegian Business School (2019–2024), and held visiting positions at Norges Bank and the University of Salerno. Her work spans theoretical and empirical analyses of corporate governance mechanisms, family succession challenges in businesses, and the real effects of financial market shocks.

Her recent publications explore topics such as board design without corporate law, liquidity-driven shareholder activism, and the underperformance of family firms during leadership transitions. She is affiliated with multiple research institutes, including the European Corporate Governance Institute and the Danish Finance Institute.

Professional activities include roles on the Norwegian Research Council’s Financial Markets Fund board and as Executive Director of the European Financial Association (2018–2021). Her research bridges historical institutional analysis with contemporary corporate governance challenges, emphasizing practical implications for policy and business strategy.