Mengnan "Cliff" Zhu
Corporate Finance, Financial Regulation, FinTech, Machine Learning

While technology is rapidly reshaping the financial world, the disruptions create opportunities and challenges simultaneously. I find my passion in applying newly developed machine learning techniques to investigate corporate finance-related issues. I concentrate on the financial decision-making of firms and financial intermediaries, and the impacts of public regulation on business. I answer questions in financial economics with an academically oriented, analytical, and reflective perspective.

 

Prior to my PhD life, I studied business at Shandong Technology and Business University in Yantai, China. After obtaining an MBA from The State University of New York at New Paltz, I worked as a full-time financial analyst in Beijing for five years. During my time with a private equity firm that focused on large-scale infrastructure projects, I gained extensive investment and negotiation experience from both the buy- and sell-side. I was fascinated by the sophisticated decision-making process and specific interpersonal skills on display. In 2015, my family and I moved to Boston, where I continued my finance journey by pursuing an MS in Finance degree at Brandeis University. Two years of systematic study in finance theory and practice trained me into a finance professional and equipped me with excellent analytical ability and a sharp understanding of the industry.

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Inspired by Dean Kathryn Graddy and Director of the Ph.D. program, Prof. Blake LeBaron, I successfully transferred to Brandeis International Business School's competitive Ph.D. program in 2017. Since then, I have devoted myself to the academic world. I am grateful to work closely with Prof. Debarshi Nandy, a good friend and a lifetime mentor, who supports me, believes in me, and always provides honest feedback. 

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With a keen understanding of academic literature and an acute sense of technology trends and business needs, I am prepared and excited to grapple with real-world challenges through a commitment to problem-centered research, a desire for continuous discovering, and a passion for contributing to both the academic and financial world.

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