Stewart Clay Myers ("Stew") is the Robert C. Merton (1970) Professor of Financial Economics at the MIT Sloan School of Management.[1] He is notable for his work on capital structure and innovations in capital budgeting and valuation, and has had a "remarkable influence" on both the theory and practice of corporate finance. [2]
His contributions are seen as falling into three main categories:[3]
Work on capital structure, focusing on "debt overhang" and "Pecking Order Theory".
Contributions to capital budgeting that complement his research on capital structure. He is notable for the adjusted present value (or APV) approach as well as for recognizing the "option-like" character of many corporate assets (and in fact coined the term "real option").
Work on estimating fair rates of return for public utilities.
Recent projects include the valuation of investments in R&D, risk management, and the allocation of capital in diversified firms, and the theory of corporate governance.
He is the co-author with Richard A. Brealey and Franklin Allen of "Principles of Corporate Finance", a widely used and cited business school textbook, now in its 9th edition. He is also the author of dozens of research articles. [4]
He is a past president of the American Finance Association,[5] a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research,[6] and a director of the Cambridge Endowment for Research in Finance.
He holds a Ph.D. and MBA from Stanford University and an A.B. from Williams College.[7]