John G. Watson

John G. Watson is a Lecturer in Finance at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He joined Stanford in 2009 and has been a Financial Engines Fellow since 1996. His work focuses on retirement economics, investment management models, and optimization tools like the Excel Solver. Watson holds a PhD in Mathematics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (1978), alongside earlier degrees from the same institution.

• Education:
• PhD, Mathematical Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1978
• MS, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1973
• BS, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1971

His research explores retiree spending/investment decisions, portfolio optimization, and annuity design. Notable contributions include co-developing the Excel Solver and co-authoring influential papers on retirement finance. His articles analyze life-cycle models, retirement portfolio strategies, and risk-neutral pricing.

• Awards: 2010 INFORMS Impact Prize (Solver Team)

Watson co-teaches "Modeling for Investment Management" at Stanford, integrating professional investment techniques with Excel-based models. He has collaborated with institutions like Borland, Microsoft, and BARRA, and his work spans hydroelectric optimization and fingerprint-matching algorithms.