Praveen Kumar

Professor - Interim Dean
Cullen Distinguished Professor of Finance

Praveen Kumar

Bio

Praveen Kumar is the Cullen Distinguished University Chair and Professor of Finance, Chairperson of the Department of Finance, and Faculty Director of the Gutierrez Energy Management Institute (GEMI) at the C.T. Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston. Professor Kumar received his Ph.D. in Economics from Stanford University and his A.B. and M.P.A. from Princeton University.

He is the recipient of:

  • University of Houston Excellence Award for Research and Scholarship
  • University of Houston Teaching Excellence Award

Dr. Kumar's research interests focus on the role of information in financial markets, corporate finance and governance, financial market microstructure, energy finance and risk-management, and industrial organization. His research has been widely published in the top scholarly journals in finance, economics and management, such as the Journal of Finance, Review of Financial Studies, Journal of Financial Economics, American Economic Review, Journal of Accounting and Economics, Journal of Accounting Research, Management Science, Rand Journal of Economics, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Strategic Management Journal and the Journal of Monetary Economics. It has also been discussed in major business publications like BusinessWeek, the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times.

He has received numerous awards for his research such as the Best Paper in Options and Futures Award by the Western Finance Association, the Best Corporate Finance Paper Award by the Financial Management Association, and the Best Finance Paper Award by the Association of Business Disciplines. Dr. Kumar is the past Co-Editor-in-Chief of Corporate Governance: An International Review, a leading interdisciplinary and international journal of corporate governance.

Dr. Kumar has taken a leading role in the establishment of the Gutierrez Energy Management Institute at the Bauer College of Business. He is an expert in the evaluation and financing of energy projects, especially in the valuation of embedded options, and in the analysis of industry structure and competitive advantage in the oil and gas industry. Most recently his research in energy finance has focused on the valuation of and risk-management approaches to the development of unconventional sources in oil and gas. He is a co-developer of one of the first graduate courses on the practice and future of carbon and emissions trading to be offered in business schools. He has also lectured for top executives in major energy corporations and consulted with leading investment banks, international lending institutions such as the World Bank, and regulatory agencies such as the CFTC.

Research Interests

  • Corporate Financial Policies and Governance
  • Asset Pricing
  • Information and Financial Markets
  • Incentives and Contracting

Areas of Expertise

  • Corporate Finance
  • Real Options
  • Investments
  • Industrial Organization
  • Contract Theory

Selected Publications

  • Leverage and the Cross-Section of Equity Returns (with H. Doshi, K. Jacobs, and R. Rabinovitch), Journal of Finance, 2019.
  • Optimal Capital Structure and Investment with Real Options and Endogenous Debt Costs (with V. Yerramilli), Review of Financial Studies, 2018.
  • Uncertainty, Capital Investment, and Risk Management (with H. Doshi and V. Yerramilli), Management Science, 2018.
  • The Real Effects of Forced Sales of Corporate Bonds (with H. Aslan), Journal of Monetary Economics, 2018. (Lead Article)
  • Voluntary Disclosure and Strategic Stock Repurchases (with N. Langberg et al., Journal of Accounting & Economics, 2017.
  • Capital Investment, Innovative Capacity, and Stock Returns,'' (with D. Li), Journal of Finance, 2016. The Product Market Effects of Hedge Fund Activism," (with H. Aslan), Journal of Financial Economics, 2016.
  • Boom and Gloom (with P. Povel et al.), Journal of Finance, 2016.
  • Voluntary Disclosure with Informed Trading in the IPO Market (with N. Langberg and K. Sivaramakrishnan), Journal of Accounting Research, 2016.

Contact Info

Phone:
713-743-4770 
Email:
pkumar@uh.edu
Room:
MH 220H
Website:
Visit Web Site

Education

Ph.D.
Stanford University
MPA
Princeton University
A.B.
Princeton University