Olivier Dessaint

Olivier Dessaint is an Associate Professor of Finance at INSEAD, where he conducts research at the intersection of corporate finance and behavioral finance. He holds a PhD in finance from HEC Paris and previously served as a faculty member at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. Before entering academia, he worked as an investment banker at BNP Paribas, where he was part of M&A advisory teams in Paris and Madrid.

His research primarily focuses on corporate finance phenomena including mergers and acquisitions, corporate investment decisions, and market efficiency. His work examines how information flows through financial markets and impacts corporate decision-making, with particular attention to behavioral aspects of finance. His research has uncovered important patterns in acquirer returns over time, showing that while average returns appear stable, there are fundamental changes in the takeover market when controlling for bidder composition.

Dessaint's publications reveal a strong focus on empirical corporate finance with an emphasis on market dynamics, information processing, and corporate decision-making. His research spans theoretical development and empirical testing, with particular expertise in event study methodology and large-scale financial data analysis. His work has evolved from examining behavioral aspects of finance to more structural analyses of market mechanisms and information flows.

His scientific recognition includes the prestigious Michael J. Brennan Award for the best paper published in the Review of Financial Studies in 2021 for his work on CAPM-Based Company (Mis)valuations. He serves as an Associate Editor at the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis (JFQA) and the Review of Finance (RF), and is a CEPR Research Affiliate.

In addition to his research activities, Dessaint teaches Financial Markets and Valuation in the MBA program at INSEAD. He is actively involved in the academic community, presenting his work at major conferences including the American Finance Association annual meeting and organizing workshops such as the Adam Smith Workshop at London Business School.