Fintech: AI & Machine Learning in Finance

Dr. Cesare Fracassi serves as Associate Professor of Finance and Director of the Blockchain Initiative at the University of Texas at Austin's McCombs School of Business, where he combines expertise in corporate finance with innovative research in financial technology. After completing his BS and MS in Electrical Engineering from Politecnico di Milano and PhD in Finance from UCLA Anderson, he has established himself as a highly cited researcher with over 3,800 citations. His work spans multiple areas including corporate governance, credit rating agencies, and the impact of social networks on financial decision-making. As Director of the Fintech Research Lab and through his groundbreaking research on data autonomy and corporate culture, he continues to advance understanding of how social connections and technology influence financial policies. His expertise particularly shines in analyzing how social networks affect corporate decision-making, demonstrated through his influential work on external networking and internal firm governance. Through his teaching of fintech, corporate finance, and valuation across multiple programs and his visiting professorship at Wharton, he helps bridge theoretical research with practical applications while maintaining active investigation of emerging financial technologies. Before entering academia, he gained practical experience as a strategic management consultant at Booz Allen and Roland Berger in Italy and as an intern at the United Nations in New York.