A Meandering Path from Investment Banking to Academia

Sharon D. James, PhD, CFA

Professor of Practice in Strategy and Entrepreneurship
Olin Business School, Washington University-St. Louis

Agenda:

11:00 am – 12:15 pm – Networking, Welcome, and Lunch
12:15 pm – 1:00 pm – Presentation and Final Announcements

Key Take-A-Ways:

• The most rewarding careers can take a meandering path. Be open to opportunities that may on the surface look less appealing.
• Be willing to invest in yourself, even if it means taking a pay cut. Such apprenticeship opportunities prepare you for future promotion and higher compensation.
• Pay it forward in your financial support and your involvement in causes or issues that you value. Volunteer your professional expertise in the community – personally and professionally rewarding

More about Sharon:

Dr. Sharon James is a Professor of Practice in the Strategy and Entrepreneurship area at the Olin Business School. She has over 11 years of industry experience in corporate finance, private equity investing, equity research, and institutional equity investing, with an emphasis on strategic consulting, corporate restructuring, and value investing expertise.

She is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and a member of the CFA Institute. She has a BSBA in finance from the School of Business and Industry at Florida A&M University, an MBA in finance from the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis, and a PhD in strategic management from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. Her 20 years of teaching experience include strategy, international management, industry and competitor analysis, and corporate restructuring.

Dr. James’ research focuses on the intersection of corporate strategy and financing issues and their relative influences on firms’ strategic choices and performance. Her work is published in the Academy of Management Discoveries, Family Business Review, Journal of Applied Business and Economics, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Management, Long Range Planning, and Strategic Management Journal. Prior to joining Olin, Dr. James was an Associate Professor of Management (with tenure) at Arkansas State University and an Assistant Professor of Strategy at Ohio State University. She is a Golden Life member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., an international service organization. Community service is very important to her, and Dr. James has extensive experience serving on not-for-profit boards of directors.

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