Todd Milbourn


Hubert C. & Dorothy R. Moog Professor of Finance

Todd Milbourn

Todd Milbourn


Professor Milbourn previously taught at the London Business School and the University of Chicago before coming to Olin.

Area of Expertise


Corporate Finance

Education


  • Ph D 1995, Indiana University
  • BA 1991, Augustana College

Academic/Professional Activities


  • Referee, The Review of Financial Studies; Journal of Business; Journal of Financial Intermediation; Journal of Banking and Finance; European Economic Review; Journal of Economics; Financial Management
  • Member, Western Finance Association; Financial Management Association; American Finance Association; and American Economic Association
  • Board Member, The Xanthus Fund, Oppenheimer Asset Management
  • Board Member, St. Louis Military Officer Support Foundation

Awards/Honors


  • Beta Gamma Sigma since 1996
  • Phi Beta Kappa member since 1991
  • Reid Teaching Awards: BSBA 2009, 2011, 2012; Full-Time MBA 2004; EMBA Fudan Class 9; EMBA 22, 23, 24, 25; EMBA-HSM IV; Washington University in St. Louis
  • Olin Award Winner on Compensation Goals and Firm Performance, Olin Business School, 2016
  • St. Louis Founder's Day Distinguished Faculty Award, Washington University, 2015
  • Marcile and James Reid Chair, Washington University in St. Louis, 2002
  • MBA Teaching Excellence Award, Indiana University School of Business, 1995

Teaching Interests


Corporate finance, CEO compensation, valuation, credit ratings, and corporate governance.

Research Interests


Corporate finance, managerial career concerns, management compensation, and economics of asymmetric information

Selected Publications


  • "Product Market Peers and Relative Performance Evaluation", The Accounting Review, Issue 4, 341-366, with F. Peterse, Hojun Seo, 2021
  • "Targets That Work", Harvard Business Review, Issue 5, 102-107, with Radhakrishnan Gopalan, John Horn, 2017
  • "Compensation Goals and Firm Performance", Journal of Financial Economics, Issue 2, 307-330, with Radhakrishnan Gopalan, Benjamin Bennett, Carr Bettis, 2017
  • "Which Skills Matter in the Market for CEOs? Evidence from Pay for CEO Credentials", Management Science, Issue 12, with Antonio Falato, Dan Li, 2015
  • "The Effect of Auditor Expertise on Executive Compensation", The Accounting Review, Issue 1, with Sudarshan Jayaraman, 2015
  • "Duration of Executive Compensation", Journal of Finance, Issue 6, 2777-2817, with Radhakrishnan Gopalan, Fenghua Song, Anjan Thakor, 2014
  • "CEO Compensation and Corporate Risk-Taking: Evidence from a Natural Experiment", Journal of Accounting and Economics, Issue 2-3, 79-101, with David Matsa, 2013
  • "The Role of Stock Liquidity in Executive Compensation", The Accounting Review, Issue 2, 537-563, with Sudarshan Jayaraman, 2012
  • "How did increased competition affect credit ratings?", Journal of Financial Economics, 493-514, with Bo Becker, 2011
  • "Strategic Flexibility and the Optimality of Pay for Sector Performance ", Review of Financial Studies, Issue 5, 2060-2098, with Radhakrishnan Gopalan, Fenghua Song, 2010