Todd Gormley originally joined Olin in 2006 before moving to The Wharton School in 2009. Todd returned to Olin in 2016. His research focuses on why managers sometimes fail to act in the best interest of shareholders and what governance arrangements mitigate these conflicts. His most recent research has analyzed the impact of passive institutional investors on both firms’ governance structures and the strategic choices of outside activists.
Todd Gormley
Associate professor of finance
Contact Information
- Phone: 935-7171
- Email: gormley@wustl.edu
- Website: Website
Media Contact
In the media
Exxon board fight wasn’t about being woke. It was about poor performance
Todd Gormley, professor of finance
Being a public company is costly. For one St. Louis firm, private equity is beckoning
Todd Gormley, associate professor of finance
In Business, As In Life, The Greatest Risk Is Doing Nothing
Todd Gormley, associate professor of finance
These firms have an outsize influence on Corporate America. The SEC needs to regulate them
Radhakrishnan (Radha) Gopalan, professor of finance; Todd Gormley, associate professor of finance; and Todd Milbourn, the Hubert C. & Dorothy R. Moog Professor of Finance
The CEO’s Guide to Taking Risks
Todd Gormley, associate professor of finance
Stock Market Distress Signal: How Low-Cost Index Funds Are Taking Over
Todd Gormley, associate professor of finance
Stories
Shareholder influence more effective than mandates in diversifying boards
Olin Business School’s Todd Gormley discusses his research on efforts to increase gender diversity on governance boards through shareholder pressure, and the potential impact of a new policy proposed by Nasdaq.
Wanted: Board of directors’ member with bankruptcy experience
Olin Business School researchers were part of a team that learned firms take more risks after a member of their board of directors undergoes a bankruptcy at another firm where they serve as a director. The co-authors discovered such risk-taking usually occurs when this particular director both experienced a quick, less-costly bankruptcy elsewhere and serves in a position of greater influence.
Study: Passive investors facilitate activists’ ability to be aggressive
A new study led in part by Olin Business School’s Todd Gormley finds that increasing numbers of passive investors is encouraging activism targeted at board makeup changes, proxy settlements and the sale of the business or its parts.