IESE PhD Student Profile

IESE PhD students come from diverse academic backgrounds and share a strong commitment to pursuing academic research and academic careers.

Students in the PhD in Management program hold research-oriented master’s degrees or equivalent training, and many have experience as research assistants or predoctoral fellows. Our doctoral candidates share a curiosity, a passion for research, and an appetite to go beyond the established, and to develop new ideas and paradigms, using rigorous quantitative and qualitative methods.

29

being the average age

25

countries represented

712

average GMAT score

29

being the average age

25

countries represented

712

average GMAT score

+38

students

45%

female students

+90%

placement in academic careers

+38

students

45%

female students

+90%

placement in academic careers

Geographic origin of students

26% - Europe
10% - Latin America
5% - North America
52% - Asia
5% - Africa
90%

International Students

90%

International Students

Academic Background & Meet IESE PhD Students

Our current cohort reflects a wide range of academic preparation, with students bringing strong analytical and quantitative skills in areas relevant to management research. Many have already engaged in research projects or have served as research assistants prior to joining IESE.

IESE’s PhD students are immersed in our distinctive research culture. Working closely with faculty, they are conducting innovative research and laying the groundwork for lifelong careers in management research and education.

Meet our Students

Research Engagement and Publications

PhD students at IESE actively collaborate with faculty on research projects that are presented at international academic conferences and published in peer-reviewed journals.

Nature

  • Halil Sabanci (IESE PhD-22) with Prof. Marta Elvira (and others): “Immigrant–native pay gap driven by lack of access to high-paying jobs.” Nature (2025).

Journal of Financial Economics

  • Zhiqiang Ye (IESE PhD-24) with Prof. Xavier Vives: “Fintech Entry, Lending Market Competition and Welfare”. Journal of Financial Economics (2025).
  • Zhiqiang Ye (IESE PhD-24) with Prof. Xavier Vives: “Information Technology and Lender Competition”. Journal of Financial Economics (2025).

Strategic Management Journal

  • Giacomo Marchesini (IESE PhD ‘23) with Prof. Valentini. “When creation and capture diverge: Why breakthrough inventions do not break through alike” (2026).
  • Liudmila Alekseeva (IESE PhD ‘23), Azar, J., Giné, M., & Samila, S. (2026). “Artificial intelligence adoption and the demand for managerial expertise” (2026).
  • Anastasiia Sergeeva (IESE PhD ‘20) with Prof. Christoph Zott: “How founders’ values enable business model innovation in new ventures: The case of Magnum Photos”. Strategic Management Journal (2025).

Journal of Accounting and Economics

  • Jiyuan Dai (IESE PhD ‘19) with Prof. Ormazábal, Prof. Peñalva and Prof. R. Raney. “Mandatory investor disclosure, sustainability commitments, and portfolio decarbonization” (2026).
  • Donald N’Gatta (IESE PhD ’21) with Prof. Gaizka Ormazábal and Prof. Robert Raney: “Trading of emission allowances and reporting incentives”. Journal of Accounting and Economics (2025).

Management Science

  • Abhishek Deshmane (IESE PhD ‘23) with Prof. Martínez de Albéniz, “Play it again, Sam? Reference-point formation and product differentiation in the music industry” (2025).
  • Abhishek Deshmane (IESE PhD ‘23) with Prof. Víctor Martínez-de-Albéniz and Aouad, A.: “Designing layouts for sequential experiences: Application to cultural institutions”. Management Science. (2025).

Journal of Management

  • Giacomo Marchesini (IESE PhD ‘23) with R.Conti and Prof. Valentini. “More light but less sight? The Dual effect of information transparency on firm innovation” (2025).

Journal of Management Studies

  • Clinton Ofoedu (IESE PhD-24) with Prof. Thomas Klueter: “Understanding the link between postacquisition resource reconfiguration and technology out-licensing”. Journal of Management Studies (2024).

Psychological Science

  • Shiyao Bao (IESE PhD ’24) with S., Bajet, A., Martínez, and Prof. Müller-Trede, J., Engeler, I., & Prof. Hafenbrädl, S. (2026). “Commentary: On the Equal-Opportunity Jerk “Defense: Rudeness Complicates Sexism Attributions but Comes at a Cost” (2026).

Journal of Organizational Behavior

  • Gouri Mohan (IESE PhD ‘20) Dorothy R Carter, Cynthia K Maupin, Prof. Yih‐Teen Lee, Nathan T Carter, “Rapid Rise Versus Slow Recognition: Motivation to Lead and the Emergence of Informal Leaders in Self‐Managing Teams Over Time” (2026).

Business and Professional Ethics Journal

  • Diego Arias (IESE PhD ‘22) with Prof. Fontrodona, “Exploring the Interplay Between Gift and Exchange in Corporate Giving” (2026).

Academic Placements

IESE PhD graduates pursue academic careers at universities and research institutions worldwide. Recent placements reflect the international scope of the program.
  • Ann-Sophie Kowalewski – Assistant Professor at IE University, Spain
  • Rocío Martínez – Assistant Professor at IE University, Spain
  • Guillermo Ramírez – Assistant Professor at Universidad de Piura, Perú
  • Ludovica Castiglia – Assistant Professor at Emory University, USA
  • William Fawson – Postdoctoral Researcher at LBS, London
  • Ewa Kochanowska – Postdoctoral Researcher at The New School for Social Research, New York, USA
  • Zhiqiang Ye – Assistant Professor, Zhejiang University, Zijin’gang Campus, China
  • Clinton Ofoedu – Assistant Professor, Lagos Business School, Lagos, Nigeria / Neoma Business School, Rouen, France
  • Mert Çetin – Assistant Professor, Erasmus University, Rotterdam School of Management, Netherlands
  • Winslow Robertson – Postdoctoral Fellow at EMLyon Business School’s STORM Research Center, France
  • Giacomo Marchesini – Assistant Professor, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark
  • Abhishek Deshmane – Assistant Professor, Georgia TECH, Atlanta, USA
  • Liudmila Alekseeva – Assistant Professor, KU Leuven, Belgium
  • Shagun Tripathi – Assistant Professor at IE, Madrid, Spain
  • Juan Pablo Gorostiaga – Assistant Professor at Universidad Católica de Chile, Chile
  • Eriselda Danaj – Postdoctoral Researcher at Macquarie University, Sidney, Australia
  • Dandan Xia – Assistant Professor, Utrecht University; School of Economics Utrecht, Netherlands
  • Diego Arias – University of Detroit Mercy, USA
  • Andrea Cavicchini – Católica Lisbon School of Business & Economics, Portugal
  • Nana Yaa Antwi-Gyamfi – China Europe International Business School Africa, Ghana
  • Maria Giulia Trupia – UCLA Anderson School of Management, USA
  • Halil Sabanci – Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, Germany
  • Alice Mascena – EADA Business School, Spain
  • Luca Xianran Lin – HEC Montreal, Canada
  • Donald N’Gatta – MDE Business School, Ivory Coast
  • Xabier Barriola – INSEAD, France
  • A-Sung Hong – Aarhus University, Denmark
  • Teng Huang – LUISS, Guido Carli University, Italy
  • Ganqi Tang – University of Fribourg, Switzerland
  • Susanna Kislenko – Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
  • Van Nguyen – UEB, Vietnam National University, Vietnam
  • Gouri Mohan – IÉSEG School of Management, France
  • Pedro Silva Belisário – ISE Business School, Brazil
  • Caleb Bernacchio – California State University, USA
  • Anastasia Sergeeva – Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, Netherlands
  • Marie Noëlle N’Guessan – MDE Business School, Ivory Coast
  • Fang Li – Lancaster University Management School, United Kingdom
  • Ruo Mo – Montpellier Business School, France
  • Ali Samei – University of Sheffield, United Kingdom
  • Xavier Sobrepere – Tilburg Uiversity, Netherlands
  • Susanne Koster – Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, Netherlands
  • Alberto Ibarra – IPADE Business School, México
  • Yan Bai – EADA Business School, Spain
  • Jiyuan Dai – Universidad de Navarra, Spain
  • Eren Akkan – KEDGE Business School, France
  • Farah Shakir – Equity & Inclusion Office, The University of British Columbia, Canada
  • Pablo Escribano – Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Chile
  • Daniela Iubatti – SKEMA Business School, France
  • Mahsa Memarian – INCAE Business School, Costa Rica
  • Felipe Guzmán – IÉSEG School of Management, France
  • T. Ching Liao – Neoma Business School, France
  • José Abel DeFina – IDE Business School, Ecuador
  • Anil Kumar – Aarhus University, Denmark
  • Horacio Rousseau – Florida State University, USA
  • Stephen Smulowitz – Wake Forest University School of Business, USA
  • Nuno Lopes – EADA Business School, Spain
  • Diogo Prado Zanata – ISE Business School, Brasil
  • Tony Silard – LUISS Guido Carli University, Italy
  • Shipeng Yan – City University of Hong Kong, China
  • Anna Bayona – ESADE – Ramon Llull University, Spain
  • Federica Foce Massa Saluzzo – EADA Business School, Spain
  • Bilgehan Uzunca – ESADE – Ramon Llull University, Spain
  • Daniel Ferrés – Universidad de Montevideo, Uruguay
  • Carlos Folle – IESE Business School, Spain
  • Iván Guitart – EMLYON Business School, France
  • Ignacio Osuna – INALDE Business School, Colombia
  • Yuliya Snihur – IESE Business School, Spain
  • Burçin Güçlü – ICN Business School Berlin, Germany
  • Inés Alegre – IESE Business School, Spain
  • Patricio Rojas – ESE Business School – Universidad de Los Andes, Chile
  • Alejandro Moreno – IESE Business School, Spain
  • Minna Paunova – Copenhagen Business School, Denmark
  • Fernando Ruiz – PAD-Universidad de Piura, Peru
  • Ciro Gómez – INALDE Business School, Colombia
  • Marlene Castro – Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal
  • Lorenzo Massa – Aalborg University Business School, Denmark
  • Uchenna Uzo – Lagos Business School, Nigeria
  • Mª José Bosch – ESE Business School, Chile
  • Aadhaar Chaturvedi – University of Auckland, New Zealand
  • Matteo Prato – ESADE – Ramon Llull University, Spain
  • Tomislav Rimac – Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Sociali Guido Carli, Italy
  • Roberto Martin Galang – John Gokongwei School of Management, Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines
  • Wei He – Chinese University of Hong Kong, China
  • Kerem Gurses – Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Sociali Guido Carli, Italy
  • Kandarph Mehta – IESE Business Schook, Spain
  • Jordi Ross Comas – Bucknell University – Pennsylvania, USA
  • Dror Etzion – Desautels Faculty of Management – Mcgill University, Canada
  • Elena Golovko – Tilburg School of Economics and Management, Netherlands
  • Ignacio Martí – ESADE – Ramon Llull University, Spain
  • Caterina Moschieri – IE Business School, Spain
  • David Pastoriza – HEC Montréal, Canada
  • Niccolò Pisani – IMD Business School, Switzerland
  • Erica Salvaj – School of Business and Economics, Universidad del Desarrollo, Chile. Publications
  • Jasmijn Bol – A.B. Freeman School of Business, Tulane University, USA
  • J. Ignacio Canales – University of Aberdeen – School of Business, United Kingdom. Publications

What Are We Looking For?

Passion

Passion

Solid understanding

Solid understanding

Collaboration and independence

Collaboration and independence

Great communication skills

Great communication skills

Credentials and potential

Credentials and potential

International outlook

International outlook

Research Highlights

Research Highlights

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