Inspires a passion for knowledge and growth.
Makes even hard topics easy to grasp.
Annette Poulsen, the Augustus H. “Billy” Sterne Professor of Banking and Finance and Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Department of Finance at the University of Georgia's Terry College of Business within Business & Economics, has shaped finance education and scholarship for over three decades. She earned her Ph.D. in Economics from Ohio State University in 1983, M.A. in Economics from Ohio State University in 1980, and B.A. in Economics summa cum laude from Washington State University in 1978. Prior to joining UGA in 1987 as Assistant Professor of Finance, she held positions at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from 1983 to 1987, including Senior Financial Economist, Deputy Chief Economist, and Acting Chief Economist. At UGA, she advanced to Associate Professor in 1991, full Professor in 1995, and has held the Sterne Chair since 1994. Additional appointments include Head of the Department of Banking and Finance from 2002 to 2011, Director of the Center for Enterprise Risk Management from 2000 to 2002, and Ph.D. Coordinator in Finance.
Poulsen's research specializations encompass international finance, corporate contracting, corporate control, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, shareholder voting, and executive compensation. Her key publications include "Event-study methodology under conditions of event-induced variance" (Journal of Financial Economics, 1991), "Free cash flow and stockholder gains in going private transactions" (Journal of Finance, 1989), "Asset sales, firm performance, and the agency costs of managerial discretion" (Journal of Financial Economics, 1995), "Shark repellents and stock prices: The effects of antitakeover amendments since 1980" (Journal of Financial Economics, 1987), "Target-firm information asymmetry and acquirer returns" (Review of Finance, 2009), and the recent "Dual-Class Shares and Firm Valuation: Market-Wide Evidence from Regulatory Events" (The Financial Review, 2025, Best Paper Award). She has garnered major awards such as the Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor (2017, UGA's highest teaching honor), Terry College Distinguished Research Award (1994), Distinguished Service Award (2014), Distinguished Teacher Award (1997), Journal of Financial Economics All-Star Paper Awards (2001), 2013 Hoeber Memorial Award for Outstanding Article, and 2023 Hugh O. Nourse MBA Teaching Award. Poulsen served as President of the Financial Management Association International (2001-2002), Managing Co-Editor of the Journal of Corporate Finance (2001-2018), and Associate Editor for Financial Management (1999-2018) and Journal of Financial Research (1993-2015), underscoring her profound influence on the field.