Faculty and Research

Belén Villalonga is an Associate Professor in the Finance Area at the Harvard Business School, where she has been teaching in the MBA, doctoral, and executive education programs since 2001. Professor Villalonga received her Ph.D. in Management and an M.A. in Economics from the University of California at Los Angeles. She also holds a Ph.D. in Business Economics from the Complutense University of Madrid and an undergraduate degree in Finance from the Colegio Universitario de Estudios Financieros in Madrid. Before entering graduate school she was an instructor at the Complutense University of Madrid and worked as an intern at McKinsey & Co. in Paris. Professor Villalonga serves on the board of directors of Acciona (IBEX35: ANA), a global infrastructure and renewable energy conglomerate.

Professor Villalonga specializes in corporate finance, corporate governance, and strategy. Her current research focuses primarily on the effect of family ownership, control, and management on firm value. She has also written articles about the diversification discount; acquisitions, alliances, and divestitures; ownership structure; and privatization. Her work has received multiple awards and has been published in leading academic journals including the Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Review of Financial Studies, Financial Management, and Strategic Management Journal.