Dr. Chen Zhang joins the Schwartz School of Business at St. Francis Xavier University as an Assistant Professor of Finance. She holds a Ph.D. in Finance from Concordia University’s John Molson School of Business—where she was the 2025 Valedictorian—an M.S. in Finance from Tulane University, and a B.A. in Economics from Tianjin University of Commerce.

Her research explores topics in corporate finance, with a focus on CEO behavior, ESG performance, shareholder activism, and analyst forecasts. Her job market paper, “Can CEO Activism Boost ESG Ratings?”, received the Best Paper Award at the Sustainable Financial Innovation Conference in 2023 and is currently under Revise & Resubmit at Corporate Governance: An International Review. Her work has also been presented at leading academic platforms such as the ENTFIN Conference and the Montreal Business Schools PhD Symposium.

Dr. Zhang is passionate about integrating analytical rigor and real-world relevance in finance education. At Concordia University, she taught undergraduate finance courses and consistently earned strong student evaluations for her clarity, engagement, and mentorship.

Outside academia, she enjoys hiking, cooking, and spending time with her cat, Dun.