Distinguished Keynote Speaker
Laura T. Starks, Ph.D.
Laura Starks is the Associate Dean for Research and the Charles E. and Sarah M. Seay Regents Chair of Finance at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin. Laura Starks has done extensive research on finance issues with her publications appearing in the leading academic journals. Her recent research focuses on corporate governance, including executive compensation and the role of institutional investors in corporate governance. She also conducts research on mutual funds and the effects of institutional investors in financial markets.
Laura Starks has presented her research at universities all over the world and has received a number of awards for her research including the 1996 Smith Breeden Distinguished Paper Award from the Journal of Finance, the 1997 Western Finance Association Best Paper in Corporate Finance Award, the 1997 CBA Foundation Award for Research Excellence from the University of Texas, the 1998 Financial Management Association Best Paper in Corporate Finance Award, the 2000 CBA Foundation Award for Outstanding Research Contributions, the 2003 and 2004 FMA European Meeting Best Paper Award, the 2004 Fama-DFA Second Prize from the Journal of Financial Economics and the 2010 China International Conference in Finance TCW Best Paper Award. She was named a Fellow of the FMA in 2002.
She is a co-Editor of the Review of Financial Studies and has served as Associate Editor of a number of finance journals. She has also served on the Board of Directors of the three national academic finance organizations: the American Finance Association, the Western Finance Association, and the Financial Management Association, where she also served as president.