Dr. Burcu Esmer joined The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, in 2017 and currently serves as a Senior Lecturer. Over her time at Wharton, Dr. Esmer has held various academic roles, starting as a Visiting Assistant Professor and advancing to senior positions, including Academic Co-Director of the Harris Family Alternative Investments Program .
Dr. Esmer earned her BSc in Economics with a Minor in Mathematics, graduating with Highest Honor (Summa Cum Laude) from Middle East Technical University (Türkiye). She completed her MA in Economics and PhD in Finance at the Tippie College of Business, University of Iowa. Dr. Esmer’s primary areas of research are empirical corporate finance, banking and private equity. She investigates agency conflicts, and their impact on corporate policies. Her work has been published in leading academic journals such as The Accounting Review, Journal of Banking & Finance, and Applied Mathematical Modelling, and have earned recognition, including an Honorable Mention for the Best Paper Award at the FARS Conference.
Known for her engaging teaching style and use of real-world applications, she teaches popular courses such as The Finance of Buyouts and Acquisitions and Advanced Topics in Private Equity to undergraduates, MBAs, and executives. She is also the Academic Director of Wharton – Wall Street Prep Private Equity Certificate Program. Her dedication to teaching excellence has earned her Wharton’s Teaching Excellence Award in Undergraduate Teaching (2024, 2023, 2019) and in Executive MBA Teaching (2024, 2023). Dr. Esmer is also recognized as one of Poets & Quants’ Best Undergraduate Business Professors of 2024.
Dr. Esmer works closely with various non-profit organizations that aim to increase diversity in asset management and alternative investments. She is the Academic Director of Girls Who Invest Summer Intensive Program and Wharton-AltFinance Institute. She has served on the advisory board of Girls Who Invest since 2018.
A frequent presenter and keynote speaker at academic and industry conferences worldwide, Dr. Esmer’s insights are regularly featured in publications such as Wharton Magazine, Marketplace, and Financial Times’ FundFire Alts. She is also a member of the American Finance Association and the European Finance Association, furthering her engagement with the global finance community.
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Recent Media Mentions
Dollars and Sense: How Wharton and AltFinance Carve New Opportunity, Wharton Stories, January 22 2024
Not a Single Female CEO, But Private Fund Managers Make C-Suite Moves, FundFire Alts (a Financial Times publication), December 13 2023
What is APR and How Does it Work? Guide for 2023, WalletHub, August 7 2023
Wharton Global Allocators Summit Convenes World-Class Investors, Wharton Magazine, June 20 2023
Private equity firms to invest $1 trillion in 2021, Marketplace, December 20 2021
Women in finance – has the pandemic set them back?, Wharton Business Daily, June 2 2021
How Firms Use Pre-IPO Confidentiality to Fend Off Lawsuits, Knowledge@Wharton, August 24 2020
Does Reducing Disclosure Mean Fewer Pre-IPO Lawsuits?, The CLS Blue Sky Blog, Columbia Law School’s Blog on Corporations and the Capital Markets, June 12 2020
Girls Who Invest Scholars From 63 Colleges and Universities Secure Internships at Elite Investment Firms in U.S., Canada, UK, Business Wire, August 7 2019