Finance Professor Appointed Interim Dean at Stanford GSB

Stanford Graduate School of Business has announced that long-time finance professor Peter Demarzo will serve as the interim dean beginning August 1, as current dean Jonathan Levin transitions to the university presidency. Demarzo, who has been a fixture at the B-school for over 25 years, will hold the position until a permanent replacement for Levin is found.

Having earned his Ph.D. and a master’s in operations research from Stanford in the 1980s, Demarzo has been teaching at the school since 2000. He is known for his expertise in corporate finance and financial modeling, teaching MBA and Ph.D. courses in these subjects. Additionally, he is the founder and faculty co-director of the Stanford LEAD Online Business Program.

Prior to his time at Stanford, Demarzo held faculty positions at UC-Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and Northwestern’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management. He has also served as president of the Western Finance Association and the American Finance Association, showcasing his leadership in the field.

Levin, who has been the dean of Stanford’s business school since 2016, will take on the role of university president on August 1. During his tenure as dean, Levin was recognized for bringing stability to the school and leading efforts to promote diversity and inclusion. Under his leadership, Stanford became the first major institution to publish an annual report on its diversity progress.

As Stanford looks towards the future, Levin expressed his excitement to strengthen the university’s commitment to academic excellence and freedom, emphasizing the importance of openness, curiosity, and mutual respect in advancing knowledge and making meaningful contributions to the world.