Francesca Cornelli

Francesca Cornelli is the dean of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. She is also a professor of finance and holds the Donald P. Jacobs Chair of Finance at Kellogg.  

Since joining Kellogg in 2019, Dean Cornelli has crystalized the school’s mission to shape empathetic leaders who think globally, unite diverse perspectives and lead through rapid change and complexity.

As dean, Cornelli has increased Kellogg’s focus on preparing today’s leaders to operate effectively at the intersection of business, science and technology. She spearheaded the creation of Kellogg’s MBAi Program, a joint degree between Kellogg and Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering.  She has also helmed the expansion and enrichment of Kellogg’s programming in healthcare, sustainability and private equity.

A global educator, Cornelli has vast international experience and has taught at some of the top schools in the world, including the London School of Economics, the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad, the New Economic School in Moscow, the Wharton School and the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. Immediately prior to Kellogg, Cornelli was professor of finance and deputy dean at London Business School.  

Cornelli is widely respected as an accomplished scholar and a leader in business education. Her research interests include corporate governance, private equity, privatization, bankruptcy, IPOs and innovation policy. She has been an editor of the Review of Financial Studies, one of the top three finance journals, and previously served on the board of editors of the Review of Economic Studies and as an associate editor at the Journal of Finance.  

Cornelli helped create and became a board member of AFFECT, a committee of the American Finance Association designed to promote the advancement of women academics in the field of finance. She serves on several boards, including Edizione, GSM Grosvenor Inc., Civic Consulting Alliance, Ryan Specialty Holdings, Inc., and Lyric Opera of Chicago.