Rüdiger Fahlenbrach
SFI Senior Chair, Professor of Finance, EPFL
Rüdiger Fahlenbrach is Professor of Finance at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. Previously, Professor Fahlenbrach taught at the Ohio State University. His research has been published in the top finance journals worldwide and the international press.
Expertise
Professor Fahlenbrach studies the ongoing unicorn phenomenon—private firms whose valuation exceeds USD 1 billion. From 2010 to 2021, 639 US venture capital (VC)– funded firms achieved unicorn status. He tackles the critical questions of knowing why there are so many unicorns and why founders grant investors privileges to obtain unicorn status. Results show that unicorns rely more than other VC-funded startups on intangible assets and network effects that can be better developed while in private hands. The increase in unicorns is also explained by the growth in available funds in private markets. Professor Fahlenbrach actively participates in SFI Knowledge Exchange activities on private markets.
Expertise Fields
- Financial Markets
- Financial Crises
- Financial Institutions
- Banks
- Venture Capital and Private Equity
- Corporate Finance and Governance
- Capital Budgeting and Investment Policy
- Corporate Governance and Managerial Compensation
- Financial Risk and Risk Management
- Financial Valuation
- Mergers and Acquisitions
- Frontier Topics
- Sustainable Finance