George (Yiorgos) Allayannis

George (Yiorgos) Allayannis

Robert F. Bruner Distinguished Professor of Business Administration

Office

FOB 291A

Academic Area

Areas of Expertise

Corporate Finance, Risk Management, Financial Institutions, FinTech, International Finance

Education: Diploma, National Technical University of Athens; MBA, University of Massachusetts; MPhil, Ph.D., New York University 

Professor Allayannis is the Robert F. Bruner Distinguished Professor of Business Administration and former associate dean of Darden's Global Executive MBA (GEMBA) program. He is an expert in corporate finance, risk management, financial institutions and international finance. His work has examined the impact of derivatives on risk and firm value, corporate governance and its influence in a firm's use of derivatives for hedging, as well as firms' financial and operational hedging strategies. Other work has examined volatility and its implications for firm value distinguishing between earnings and cash flow volatility. His research has been published in leading finance journals, such as the Journal of Finance, the Journal of Financial Economics and the Review of Financial Studies. His case-writing activity focuses in the areas of financial institutions, fintech, capital markets and international finance.

Professor Allayannis has taught the First Year (corporate) "Finance" course for the MBA and GEMBA programs and elective courses in "Portfolio," "Valuation," "Financial Institutions and Markets" and "Global Capital Markets," as well as in programs in Darden's Executive Education, the CFA Institute and the World Bank. He was the recipient of the University of Virginia Alumni Association Distinguished Professor Award in 2011; the Outstanding Faculty Award six times; and was elected faculty marshal six times by the graduating MBA classes. He was also the recipient of The Case Center award in 2014 in the area of finance, accounting and control, for his case on global banking and the impact of Basel III regulation.

During 2005-07, Allayannis was a director in Citigroup's Global Financial Strategy Group in the Investment Banking Division. He worked extensively with clients in the financial institutions and industrial sectors advising on a broad range of issues such as capital structure, credit ratings, capital distribution policies, valuation and risk management.

Selected Publications

The Use of Foreign Currency Derivatives, Corporate Governance, and Firm Value Around the World, with Ugur Lel and Darius P. Miller, Journal of International Economics, Vol. 87, No. 1 (May 2012): p. 65-79. 

Do Investors value smooth performance? with Brian Rountree and James P. Weston, Journal of Financial Economics, Vol. 90, No.3, December 2008, 237-251.

The Impact of Negative Cash Flow and Influential Observations on Investment-Cash Flow Sensitivity Estimates with Abon Mozumdar (Virginia Tech), Journal of Banking and Finance 28 (2004), pp. 901-930.

Capital Structure and Financial Risk: Evidence from Foreign Debt Use in East Asia with Greg Brown (Chapel Hill) and Leora Klapper (World Bank) (October 2003), Journal of Finance December 2003, vol. LVIII, no.6].

The Use of Foreign Currency Derivatives and Firm Market Value, with James Weston (Rice), Review of Financial Studies, Spring 2001 Vol. 14, No. 1, pp. 243-276.

Exposure and Markups with Jane Ihrig (Board of Governors), Review of Financial Studies, Fall 2001 Vol. 14, No. 3, pp. 805-835.

Exchange-Rate Hedging: Financial vs. Operating Strategies with Jane Ihrig (Board of Governors) and James Weston (Rice) (May 2001), American Economic Review Papers & Proceedings, 91 (2) 2001, pp. 391-395.

Exchange-Rate Exposure, Hedging and the Use of Foreign Currency Derivatives, with Eli Ofek (NYU), Journal of International Money and Finance 20 (2001) 273-296.

 

Selected Working Papers

Financial Policies and Hedging with Michael Schill (Darden) (2014).

Discretionary Earnings Smoothing, Credit Quality, and Firm Value with Paul Simko (Darden) (2020).

 

Case Studies

Advancing knowledge through research that shapes business, Darden professors are recognized thought leaders in their fields. They are not only master case method teachers, they also author many of the cases used in Darden classrooms and around the world.

George (Yiorgos) Allayannis' cases are available in the Darden Business Publishing website.

 

Media

What makes a master B-school professor?, February 28, 2012

Darden: Where Great Teachers Are Gods, February 24, 2012

"Causes, Characteristics and Consequences of the Financial Crisis" with Professor Yiorgos Allayannis, June 30, 2009