Derek is a full professor at George Mason University School of Business, specializing in corporate finance. His research, which has garnered several awards, focuses on boards, governance and hedge fund activism. He is a monthly contributor to the Wall Street Journal, oversees the GMU Student Managed Investment fund, serves as Director of the new Financial Planning & Wealth Management major at GMU, and is consistently rated a top professor by his undergraduate/MBA/EMBA students who have honored him with several teaching awards. Derek has a BS in Mathematics and Economics from the University of Chicago, an MS in Financial Mathematics from Stanford University and a PhD in Finance from the USC Marshall School of Business. A Californian by birth and persuasion, and a Washingtonian by circumstance, Derek will never turn down a chance to debate whether P truly equals NP over a good bourbon, or a challenge to play squash.