Rate My Professor Adrian Melia

Associate Professor Adrian Melia is the Associate Dean Education and Innovation, Newcastle Business School (Accounting and Finance), College of Human and Social Futures, University of Newcastle. He earned a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Newcastle, a Master of Commerce from Macquarie University, and a Bachelor of Commerce from Macquarie University. Adrian has over 15 years' experience as both a practitioner and researcher. Before entering academia, he worked in the finance industry as an actuarial analyst and in management consulting for clients in financial services and government sectors. Fluent in English and Italian, he has taught and held short-term visiting and teaching positions in the UK, Italy, China, and Hong Kong.

Adrian's research specializations include corporate finance, asset pricing, and insurance studies. He is an award-winning researcher with publications in leading journals such as the European Journal of Finance, Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, and Australian Journal of Management. Notable works include 'Hedging quantitative easing' (2024, European Journal of Finance), 'Distributional properties of the book to market ratio and their implications for empirical analysis' (2023, European Journal of Finance), 'The impact of regulation on the seasoned equity offering decision' (2019, Australian Journal of Management), 'Subtle is the Lord, but malicious He is not: the calculation of abnormal stock returns in applied research' (2019, European Journal of Finance), 'Explanations of cycles in seasoned equity offerings: An examination of the choice between rights issues and private placements' (2018, Pacific Basin Finance Journal), and 'Net share issues and the cross-section of equity returns under a dividend imputation tax system' (2016, Accounting & Finance). His research translates into practical applications, recognized by the superannuation industry, and he collaborates and consults with investment and insurance firms. Adrian has obtained $72,818 in funding across seven grants, such as Private Health Insurance – Offset and Impact of Subsidies and Surcharges (2023 and 2022), Ownership Structure and Pension Fund Performance (2022), and nib Hospital Rate Inflation Project (2019). He led the EQUIS Academic project within the faculty, serves as a governance expert on higher education governing councils and advisory boards, and supervises PhD students, including principal supervision on theses in economics and accounting and finance.