Entrepreneurial Finance
J. Chris Leach is professor of finance and the Robert H. and Beverly A. Deming Professor in Entrepreneurship at the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He received a finance Ph.D. from Cornell University, began his teaching career at the Wharton School, and has served as a visiting professor at Carnegie Mellon, the Indian School of Business, and the Stockholm Institute for Financial Research. Dr. Leach's teaching experience includes courses for undergraduates, MBA students, executives, and Ph.D. students. He has been recognized as Graduate Professor of the Year and has received an award for MBA Teaching Excellence. His research on a variety of topics has been published in The Review of Financial Studies, Journal of Business, and Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, among others. Dr. Leach's business background includes various startups dating back to the 1970s. More recently, he served as chairman of a New Mexico startup and, as an investor and advisor, participated in a late 1990s Silicon Valley startup that subsequently was merged into a public company. His consulting activities include business plan advising, valuation, and deal structure for early stage and small businesses.Ronald W. Melicher is professor of finance and chair of the Finance Division at the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He earned his undergraduate, MBA, and Ph.D. degrees from Washington University in St. Louis. At the University of Colorado, he has received several distinguished teaching awards and was designated as a university-wide President's Teaching Scholar. Dr. Melicher also has held the William H. Baugh Distinguished Scholar faculty position, served two terms as chair of the Finance Division, served as the faculty director of the Boulder Campus MBA Program, and was the academic chair of the three-campus executive MBA program.  Dr. Melicher teaches corporate finance and financial strategy in the MBA and executive MBA programs and investment banking to undergraduate students. While on sabbatical from the University of Colorado, Dr. Melicher has taught at the INSEAD Graduate School of Business in Fontainebleau, France, and at the University of Zurich in Zurich, Switzerland. He has presented expert witness testimony on the cost of capital in regulatory proceedings and has provided consulting expertise in the areas of financial management and firm valuation. Dr. Melicher has published articles in the Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, and Financial Management.