Francesca Cornelli Named Dean of Kellogg School of Management
Kellogg School of Management has a new dean, and her name is Francesca Cornelli. Professor Cornelli is currently a professor of finance, deputy dean of degree education, and director of private equity at London Business School. Cornelli’s term begins August 1, 2019. She succeeds Sally Blount, who served as dean from 2010-18.
In a statement announcing the appointment, Northwestern President Morton Schapiro lauded Cornelli’s scholarly accomplishments and role as a leader in business education. “She’s uniquely suited to take our Kellogg School to the next level — and to continue building a genuinely global model for business education and scholarship,” he said.
As Poets & Quants points out in their coverage of this story, with this appointment, Kellogg has become the only major business school in the world to have two back-to-back female deans.
“The Italian-born, 56-year-old Cornelli has broken barriers before,” P&Q notes. “She is the first woman to become a full professor at London Business School and one of the relatively few female scholars in one of the more male-dominated business disciplines of finance.”
A new dean with extensive experience in finance
Cornelli joined London Business School 25 years ago and has held positions or taught at some of the top business schools in the world. This list includes the Wharton School, the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University, The London School of Economics, the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad and the New Economic School in Moscow.
Her research interests include corporate governance, private equity, privatization, bankruptcy, IPOs and innovation policy.
“I have always admired Kellogg as a school full of ideas, of creativity and innovation. I am very excited and honored to join a community of such talented people. I know that together we can continue raising the bar while staying true to the Kellogg spirit,” Cornelli said in the school’s announcement.
Cornelli received her bachelor’s degree from Università Commerciale Bocconi in Milan, Italy. She earned her master’s degree and Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University.
“She is an exceptional leader and talented scholar who is committed to fostering excellence for faculty, staff and students,” said Provost Jonathan Holloway. “Her enthusiasm for Kellogg, proven track record of collaboration and clear-eyed focus on the future made her the obvious choice.”
“I’m thrilled that Francesca Cornelli will be the next dean of Kellogg.”
