Professor Lin Peng, PhD, is a professor and Krell Chair of Finance at the Baruch College of the City University of New York. She researches asset pricing, behavioral finance, market microstructure, and corporate governance. Peng has been published in The American Economics Review, Journal of Finance, Review of Financial Studies, Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Review of Finance, and more. She earned her Masters Degree from Wesleyan and her PhD from Duke University.

1. When you were a teenager, what was your dream for the future?

I wanted to attend a top college and go to the U.S. afterwards to explore new opportunities.

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2. What motivated you to pursue your current career? 

I found financial markets fascinating and conducting research on this satisfied my intellectual curiosity. This topic was also something I was good at.

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3. What were some of the biggest challenges you faced on the path to reach your current position?

It was challenging competing with extremely intelligent, hard-working people, solving complex problems, and dealing with the uncertainties associated with knowledge discovery.

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4. How did you overcome these challenges?

I had to be perseverant, learn from failures, and learn how to utilize the resources around me.

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5. What advice would you give to your younger self?

Have thick skin, don’t care too much of what others think, be perseverant, promote/defend oneself, learn good time management skills, and don’t be a perfectionist.

- Anjali Brunnermeier, August 2020