2025 Best 40-Under-40 MBA Professors: Emanuele Colonnelli, Booth School of Business, University of Chicago

Emanuele Colonnelli
Booth School of Business, University of Chicago 

“I grew up in an emerging economy, Nigeria. Professor Colonnelli’s class had a deep impact on me. He demonstrated the breadth and depth of intricacies of doing business across different emerging markets. He was able to contrast practices in emerging markets with different flavors of developed economies (e.g., US vs the EU) through both cases, insightful reviews of current news and structured curriculum.

Professor Colonnelli was an advocate for me and many students looking to get connected to emerging market PE and VC firms where we sought out internships. He’s a phenomenal instructor and is very focused on the 3-dimensional development of his students. I am thankful for the privilege of experiencing his class and teaching. I think he’s a genius and Chicago Booth is absolutely lucky to have him in the fold.” – Chukwudi (Chudi) Ilozue

Emanuele Colonnelli, 37, is Professor of Finance and Entrepreneurship at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He serves as board member and Co-Chair of the Finance Sector at the Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), and leads the Finance and Entrepreneurship Theme at the CEPR-FCDO’s PEDL initiative. He is the co-director of Becker Friedman Institute (BFI) LATAM, a Research Associate at the NBER, and a Research Affiliate at CEPR, BREAD, and J-PAL. He is the recipient of a number of grants and awards, such as the 2023 Carlo Alberto Medal, a biennial prize given to the best Italian economist under 40. 

Colonnelli’s research focuses on the intersection between finance, development, and political economy, with a special interest in high-growth entrepreneurship and the interaction between governments, firms, and investors. Specific interests include a range of topics such as venture capital and private equity, corporate governance, corruption, ESG and impact investing, public procurement, and corporate bankruptcy. He has research and work experience in several emerging economies, including Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malawi, Mexico, Myanmar, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, and Vietnam and regularly conducts world-wide surveys and field experiments with entrepreneurs, firms, and investors. 

His research has been published in various top academic journals, such as the American Economic Review, the Journal of Political Economy, the Review of Economic Studies, the Journal of Finance, and the Journal of Financial Economics. 

Colonnelli joined Booth in 2018 as an Assistant Professor of Finance, and from 2022 to 2024 he was Associate Professor of Finance and MV Advisors Faculty Fellow. He was also a Visiting Associate Professor of Business Administration in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit at Harvard Business School, where he taught the MBA elective on Entrepreneurial Finance. At Booth, he developed and teaches the first MBA class focused on venture capital and private equity in emerging markets.

Colonnelli holds a PhD in Economics from Stanford University, an MSc in Economics from Bocconi University, a BSc in Economics from the University of Siena, and he spent an academic year visiting Pembroke College, Oxford University.

BACKGROUND

At current institution since what year? 2018

Education: PhD in Economics, Stanford

List of MBA courses you currently teach: Emerging Markets Finance and Entrepreneurship; Entrepreneurial Finance

TELL US ABOUT LIFE AS A BUSINESS SCHOOL PROFESSOR

I knew I wanted to be a business school professor when… I realized I wanted to be an academic focused on global development, but also to tackle big questions through the lens of the business and investment worlds. Being a business school professor offered the perfect balance.

What are you currently researching and what is the most significant discovery you’ve made from it? I focus on emerging markets. A lot of my work so far has studied how the behavior of private sector agents—i.e., firms, investors, and talent—is affected by government, political, and societal forces. For example, I’ve shown that top venture capitalists in China value government capital less than private capital due to fears of political interference. In Brazil, I’ve found that entrepreneurs discriminate against job seekers based on political preferences. Lately, I’m studying what drives or blocks private capital—angel, VC, PE—from flowing to emerging markets, and how to predict who will become high-growth entrepreneurs in these environments.

If I weren’t a business school professor… I would be an entrepreneur. 

What do you think makes you stand out as a professor? I bring energy and have fun in the classroom—and I love engaging with students. 

One word that describes my first time teaching: Messy. 

Here’s what I wish someone would’ve told me about being a business school professor: You’d better understand how the real world works—students are quick to call you out if all you know is a fancy academic paper they don’t care about. 

Professor I most admire and why:  Too hard to pick one! Let’s say it’s some combination of (most of) my advisors and colleagues.

TEACHING MBA STUDENTS

What do you enjoy most about teaching business students? Learning from some of the brightest and most interesting young minds in the world—at a time when they’re bursting with energy and ambition. It gives me motivation and inspiration. 

What is most challenging? As an economist, I like to teach material grounded in rigorous data. But in emerging markets finance and entrepreneurship, data can be incomplete. Students often want definitive answers that may not exist—so it’s about finding the right frameworks and blending data with real-world examples. That’s not always easy. 

In one word, describe your favorite type of student: Ambitious.

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

When it comes to grading, I think students would describe me as… Generous.

LIFE OUTSIDE OF THE CLASSROOM

What are your hobbies? I have too many, and they come and go. Long-term favorites include basketball and anything ocean-related—freediving, scuba diving, kiteboarding, sailing. 

How will you spend your summer? Research trips in Africa and South America, and some sailing with family in Sardinia, Italy. 

Favorite place(s) to vacation: Anywhere near the ocean, with beautiful nature and great food—ideally somewhere far from home and new to me. 

Favorite book(s): It depends on my mood and life stage. The Stoics are always worth reading. I also often recommend I by Frankl, The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Kundera, and Poor Economics by Banerjee and Duflo.

What is currently your favorite movie and/or show and what is it about the film or program that you enjoy so much? Recently, I’ve enjoyed Succession and The White Lotus as TV series and Parasite as a movie. 

What is your favorite type of music or artist(s) and why? I’m no expert, but I enjoy working to jazz or blues.

THOUGHTS AND REFLECTIONS

If I had my way, the business school of the future would have much more of this… More courses, resources, and opportunities focused on underserved markets. Business schools also have untapped potential to shape global entrepreneurship ecosystems—through teaching, venture acceleration, commercialization, funding, and partnerships with investors, firms, and policymakers. 

In my opinion, companies and organizations today need to do a better job at…  Making the world a better place.

I’m grateful for… So many things.

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