David Wessels

David Wessels serves as an Adjunct Professor of Finance at UCLA Anderson School of Management and faculty at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He teaches corporate valuation, venture capital, and performance management to undergraduate, MBA, and executive education students, leveraging extensive industry experience from McKinsey & Company and HarbourVest Venture Partners.

Education:

• Ph.D. Finance, UCLA Anderson School of Management
• B.S. Economics, University of Pennsylvania
• B.S. Computer Science, University of Pennsylvania

His research establishes foundational principles in corporate valuation, with seminal contributions through the textbook Valuation—the definitive resource for investment banking education. He investigates organizational structures' impact on financial performance, bridging academic theory with practical applications in venture capital and performance management systems.

Wessels' teaching excellence is documented through 13 major awards between 2004-2017, including four William G. Whitney Awards for Outstanding Teaching and repeated Excellence in Teaching Awards across Wharton's WEMBA San Francisco and Full-time MBA programs.

His industry background as a McKinsey management consultant and HarbourVest technology analyst directly informs his pedagogy, though specific current advising relationships or research grants remain unreported in available sources.