A discussion with a visiting researcher last summer ultimately led Florian Peters (pictured), who graduated from the Swiss Finance Institute doctoral program at the end of 2007, to follow up his doctoral research at the Department of Economics, University of California, Berkeley.
Florian's doctoral work had initially focused on so-called agency problems that arise when a company takes on significant debt. But more recently he shifted to another issue in corporate finance, namely executive compensation.
"My latest paper investigates whether part of the [rise in] CEO pay can be attributed to an increased risk of getting fired," explains Florian. Results from this work were included in a research presentation at the Swiss Finance Institute 2007 Annual Meeting.
A visit last summer to Zurich by UC Berkeley Assistant Professor Ulrike Malmendier marks the start of Florian's journey to the West Coast. Malmendier, who has published widely on the impact of senior executives on corporate decisions, advised Florian on his recent research work and invited him over to Berkeley earlier this year.
Florian will continue his research at UC Berkeley until the end of the year and start applying for US faculty positions in January 2009.
