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Kenneth M. Lehn
Samuel A McCullough Professor of Finance
Office: 278B Mervis Hall
Phone: 412-648-2034
E-mail: lehn@katz.pitt.edu
Degrees
PhD in Economics, Washington University (1981)
MA in Economics, Miami University (1976)
BA in Economics, Waynesburg College (1975)
Courses Recently Taught
MBA—Valuation 1, Valuation 2, Creating Value through Restructuring
PhD—Corporate Governance
Area
Finance
Profile
Kenneth Lehn is the Samuel A. McCullough Professor of Finance in the Katz Graduate School of Business, where he teaches courses on business valuation and corporate restructuring. Lehn also is an adjunct professor of law in the School of Law at the University of Pittsburgh. Lehn joined the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh in 1991 after serving as chief economist of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for four years. Lehn also has taught at Washington University, UCLA, Miami University, and the Georgetown University Law Center. Lehn has won numerous teaching awards at the University of Pittsburgh and elsewhere.
Lehn’s research focuses on topics in corporate finance, including mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, and capital structure. In addition, he has written on topics relating to the economics of professional sports. Lehn has published in leading academic journals, including the Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Finance, Journal of Political Economy, American Economic Review, and Journal of Law and Economics. He also has published several op-ed pieces in The Wall Street Journal. Lehn is a founding editor of the Journal of Corporate Finance. He serves on the Shadow Financial Regulatory Committee at the American Enterprise Institute. He has served as a consultant for numerous firms and government agencies, including J.P. Morgan Chase, Lehman Brothers, The Walt Disney Company, Marriott, Procter & Gamble, AT&T Wireless, the National Hockey League, the Department of Justice, and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Research Interest Areas
Managerial Economics, Finance, and International Business
Publications
"Corporate governance in the deregulated telecommunications industry," Telecommunications Policy (May–June 2002), 225–242.
"Growth opportunities and corporate debt policy: the case of the U.S. defense industry, 1980–1995," with Vidhan Goyal and Stanko Racic, Journal of Financial Economics (April 2002), 35–59.
"Decentralization, incentives, and value creation: the case of JLG Industries," with Heidi E. Treml, Journal of Applied Corporate Finance (Fall 2000), pp. 60–70. Reprinted in Donald H. Chew and Stuart L. Gillian, Corporate Governance at the Crossroads, McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2005.
"Workforce integration and the dissipation of value in mergers: the case of USAir's acquisition of Piedmont Aviation," with Stacey Kole, Mergers and Productivity, edited by Steven Kaplan, National Bureau of Economic Research, University of Chicago Press, 239–279, 2000.
"Comment on 'Financial regulatory structure and the resolution of conflicting goals' by Larry D. Wall and Robert A. Eisenbeis," Journal of Financial Services Research (September/December 1999), 247–248.
"Some observations on Henry Manne's contributions to financial economics," Case Western Law Review (Winter 1999), 263–268.
"Deregulation and the adaptation of governance structures: the case of the U.S. airline industry," with Stacey Kole, Journal of Financial Economics (April 1999), 79–118.
Recent Working Papers
"CEO turnover after acquisitions: do bad bidders get fired?" with Mengxin Zhao.
"Determinants of the size and structure of boards: 1935–2000," with Sukesh Patro and Mengxin Zhao.
"Information shocks and stock market liquidity: a comparison of the NYSE and Nasdaq," with Sukesh Patro and Kuldeep Shastri.
"Executive compensation in family firms," with Tom Bates and Tomas Jandik.
Awards and Honors
MBA Teacher of the Year, 1992–95, 1997–98, 2000–01.
Second Jensen Prize for Journal of Financial Economics Best Paper in Corporate Finance and Organizations.
External Service and Assignments
Founding Editor, Journal of Corporate Finance.
Member, Shadow Financial Regulatory Committee at American Enterprise Institute.
Consulting Activities
J.P. Morgan, Walt Disney, Lehman Bros., Marriott, Procter & Gamble, U.S. Department of Justice, Securities and Exchange Commission, National Hockey League.
