2025 Best 40-Under-40 MBA Professors: Aymeric Bellon, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School

Aymeric Bellon
UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School

“I am a Nigeria-trained Physician and first year MBA. Last fall, I took Prof. Aymeric’s finance class, which prepared me for my investment banking recruitment processes despite my lack of prior finance experience.  I was fortunate to reach super-day interviews at Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Jefferies.  This summer, I will be an IB Summer Associate at Jefferies New York.

I am nominating Prof. Aymeric because of the extra time he spent after class, particularly during office hours, to help me understand different financial concepts and work through problems together. He went above and beyond to assist me in preparing for my Investment Banking interviews. Prof. Aymeric is an excellent professor who is very patient with his students.” – Dr. Samuel Ubechu

Aymeric Bellon, 34, is an Assistant Professor of Finance at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, where he teaches MBA courses in Sustainable Finance and Financial Management. His research explores the intersection of corporate finance, bankruptcy, and climate risk. He is particularly interested in how to design financial rules and contracts that reduce overall pollution while minimizing output distortions. His work has been published in leading academic journals, such as The Review of Financial Studies, and his research has been featured in many media outlets, including Bloomberg.

His dissertation shows that increasing the legal environmental liability of lenders can plausibly lead to better environmental practices from debtors. It earned the UN Principles for Responsible Investment Conference Best PhD Paper Award and was a finalist for the BlackRock Applied Research Award in 2021. In 2022, it received the ETF Global “Thought Leadership in Corporate Governance Award,” the Brattle Group WFA PhD Candidate Award for Outstanding Research, and the top prize in the FIASI-Gabelli School ESG Research Competition, and received an Honorable Mention for the E-Axes Prize in 2023. 

Aymeric earned his PhD in finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He also holds a master’s in data science from ENSAE ParisTech and a master’s in economics from École Normale Supérieure Paris-Saclay.

BACKGROUND

At current institution since what year? 2022

Education: PhD in finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania; Master’s in data science from ENSAE ParisTech; Master’s in economics from École Normale Supérieure Paris-Saclay

List of MBA courses you currently teach: Sustainable Finance, Financial Management

TELL US ABOUT LIFE AS A BUSINESS SCHOOL PROFESSOR

I knew I wanted to be a business school professor when…During my final year as an undergraduate, I took finance courses and quickly became captivated by the field. That interest motivated me to pursue a PhD to deepen my understanding. As I progressed through graduate school, it became clear that a career as a business school professor was the ideal path: It would allow me to continue exploring the questions I care about through research and teaching.

What are you currently researching, and what is the most significant discovery you’ve made from it? I do research on the relationship between climate change and finance. There is a consensus that massive investment is needed to decarbonize the economy. Some governments and impact investors are willing to make these investments. However, we still have little knowledge about how to finance these investments efficiently. 

My most recent work explores whether the financial strategies put in place by impact investors can affect environmental outcomes. For instance, in “Pollution-Shifting vs. Downscaling: How Financial Distress Affects the Green Transition,” which is joint work with Yasser Boualam, we explore whether divestment strategies, which aim to reduce the supply of capital to firms that pollute, can diminish pollution. We show, using both a theoretical and an empirical model, that firms with a higher cost of capital might have an incentive to reduce their investment in projects that aim to reduce pollution. This implies that initiatives to reduce pollution in the oil and gas sectors can actually backfire and lead to more pollution, the inverse of the intended effect. 

Some governments have put in place Residential Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) loans, which allow homeowners to fund investments in green residential projects through their property tax payments. In “Picking Up the PACE: Loans for Residential Climate-Proofing,” which is joint work with Cameron LaPoint, Francesco Mazzola, and Guosong Xu, we study these new types of contracts. We show that PACE loans fund projects that raise home values, supporting the view that they alleviate households’ financial constraints. Despite a slight uptick in default, we show that this leads to positive net local fiscal incomes for municipalities implementing these programs.

These diverse projects highlight the importance of considering the specific incentives of the financial actors and overall financial frictions in the economy when designing energy and environmental policies or implementing business practices that aim to have an environmental impact. 

If I weren’t a business school professor… I’d probably work in an energy-focused private equity fund or policy think tank, helping to bridge academic insights and real-world solutions to climate and financial challenges.

What do you think makes you stand out as a professor? I try to find the right balance between teaching the financial skills that students need for their job interviews and developing their ability to think independently and critically about energy finance or financial valuation issues. 

One word that describes my first time teaching: Welcoming 

Here’s what I wish someone would’ve told me about being a business school professor: It is one of the best jobs in the world. You keep learning new things every day. You can decide to work on the topic you like, with the people you want. 

Professor I most admire and why: I admire many professors, including those I met before, during, and after my PhD studies, and among my colleagues and peers. It wouldn’t do justice to name just one, as each has shaped my academic journey meaningfully.

TEACHING MBA STUDENTS

What do you enjoy most about teaching business students? They bring rich, real-world perspectives to the classroom and challenge me to keep my teaching relevant and grounded. I learn as much from them as they (hopefully) do from me. 

What is most challenging? Maintaining the same level of engagement and interest from every student when they have different backgrounds in finance. 

In one word, describe your favorite type of student: Curious

In one word, describe your least favorite type of student: Disengaged

When it comes to grading, I think students would describe me as…Fair and generous. I tend to emphasize effort and improvement, and I aim to create a learning environment where strong performance is recognized and rewarded.

LIFE OUTSIDE OF THE CLASSROOM

What are your hobbies? Hiking, reading, and trying to cook the perfect French omelet.

How will you spend your summer? I will spend time with my family and work on my research papers. 

Favorite place(s) to vacation: The French Alps, Vichy, and Bédoin. 

Favorite book(s): “Le Petit Chose” by Alphonse Daudet. 

What is currently your favorite movie and/or show and what is it about the film or program that you enjoy so much? I have been enjoying the TV show “Shark Tank” recently. I like the diverse innovations presented and the investor insights. 

What is your favorite type of music or artist(s) and why? I don’t have a specific type of favorite music or artist. I use Spotify, and the algorithm has been very successful in finding music that I like! 

THOUGHTS AND REFLECTIONS

If I had my way, the business school would have much more of this…
Researchers at business schools are conducting more research in sustainable finance. At the same time, more and more business schools are opening sustainable / climate finance courses. I hope these trends will consolidate. Also, it would be great to integrate these topics into traditional finance classes or research that are not explicitly focused on climate finance. 

In my opinion, companies and organizations today need to do a better job at…Making long-term investments in energy-efficient projects.

I’m grateful for…My students, mentors, colleagues, and my family. 

DON’T MISS: THE ENTIRE 2025 ROSTER OF THE WORLD’S BEST 40-UNDER-40 MBA PROFESSORS