2026 Best 40-Under-40 Business Professors: Daniela Cristian, Bayes Business School, City University of London

 

Daniela Cristian
Bayes Business School
City University of London

“Arriving in a foreign country without knowing anyone was one of the most difficult things I have ever had to do. But having Professor Daniela completely transformed my experience. She is kind, caring, and incredibly patient, but what truly sets her apart is her contagious love for life. The passion she brings to everything she studies and teaches is unlike any other professor I have ever had. It’s something you feel immediately, and it stays with you. She didn’t just make my experience better, she changed it entirely. Her presence, her energy, and the way she connects with her students made all the difference for me. I truly miss being there, and a big part of that is because of her. I hope she is still watching her wonderfully obscure films and continuing to live life with the same joy and curiosity we all came to admire so much. She is beyond deserving of this recognition.” – Sofia Rabassa

Daniela Cristian, 37, is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at Bayes Business School. Her academic work focuses on consumer well-being and decision-making, with a particular interest in prosocial behavior, price perception, and consumer privacy.

Her research has been published in leading international journals such as the International Journal of Research in Marketing and Social Science & Medicine. 

Daniela has received a graduate travel award from the Association of Consumer Research and has been a Fellow at the AMA-Sheth Foundation Doctoral Consortium as well as the Max Planck Institute for the Summer Institute on Bounded Rationality. 

Beyond her research, she is an active member of the scholarly community, having co-chaired the Consumer Behavior track of the European Marketing Academy Conference, the largest marketing conference in Europe, for the past three years. 

 At Bayes Business School, she has been teaching across the Executive Master’s in Medical Leadership, the Modular Executive MBA program, and the Marketing Strategy and Consumer Insights MSc program. In the classroom, she has been recognized for enabling students to develop practical skills required to address real-world business challenges with the use of business simulations such as Markstrat. Her “Marketing Strategy” module achieved the second-highest evaluation score in the history of the Marketing Strategy MSc program at Bayes.  

BACKGROUND 

At current institution since what year? September 2018 

Education: 

• Ph.D. in Business and Economics with a Marketing specialization at BI Norwegian Business School.  
• M.Sc. in Strategic Marketing Management at BI Norwegian Business School. 
• B.Sc. in Economics, Major in Marketing at Bucharest School of Economics.  

List of MBA/graduate business courses you currently teach: Marketing Strategy and Practice, Marketing and Machine Learning for Healthcare.  

TELL US ABOUT LIFE AS A BUSINESS SCHOOL PROFESSOR 

I knew I wanted to be a business school professor when …  My PhD advisor, Professor Luk Warlop, gave a guest lecture in my Marketing Communication MSc class. Learning that behavioral experiments can be so useful beyond academia was super eye-opening! I was instantly intrigued and set up a meeting with him to learn more about the PhD prospects and what books to read. I’ll never forget his reaction, a few months later, when he noticed that I was using the Handbook of Consumer Psychology to elevate my monitor (after having read it, of course).    

What are you currently researching and what is the most significant discovery you’ve made from it? My current research focuses on consumer well-being and decision-making. I was puzzled by the fact that although pleasure constantly inhabits our minds, relatively limited research examined its positive consequences. In one of my papers, I explored whether consumers are more likely to help others after engaging in hedonic consumption. The key insight? Consumers behave more altruistically only when the hedonic experience is intentional (i.e., driven by their own choice). This effect occurs because when a hedonic experience is self-chosen (vs. chosen by others) consumers infer that they’re cultivating self-compassion, which extends into compassion towards others. Therefore, hedonic experiences can enhance well-being in meaningful ways, and we may benefit from being more intentional about our pleasures.  

If I weren’t a business school professor…  According to some of my students, I’d be a terrific career coach. I could see myself being happy in other roles as long as they are intellectually stimulating, offer a lasting sense of fulfillment, and have a positive societal impact. For instance, as an architect or a writer. 

What do you think makes you stand out as a professor? Teaching and researching with “meraki” = a Greek word meaning that you’re putting a piece of yourself into what you do. I like to think that my curiosity and passion for learning are contagious.    

Here’s what I wish someone would’ve told me about being a business school professor:  The fact that we can have a profound impact on our students, at a professional and personal level, is incredibly rewarding. Also, the most memorable lectures oftentimes come down to enabling students to sharpen their thinking beyond the classroom rather than merely sharing knowledge.  

Professor I most admire and why:  I have been incredibly fortunate to learn from several professors whom I deeply admire, not only as impactful scholars and exceptional teachers, but also as inspiring human beings. They have shaped both my personal and professional growth. Beyond their intellectual prowess and rigor, I value their perspectives on life, endless curiosity, and their ongoing support and mentorship. In chronological order, I am thankful to: Laurentiu Anghel, Luk Warlop, Simona Botti, Stefano Puntoni, Peeter Verlegh, Irene Scopelliti, Anirban Mukhopadhyay, and Nailya Ordabayeva.     

What do you enjoy most about teaching business students? I’m lucky to have had a diverse portfolio of students ranging from young executives to medical doctors. I love the fact that I am constantly learning from my students. Most of them are growth oriented and I very much enjoy engaging with the students who are unafraid of deep thinking and embracing new perspectives. They stretch me to be the most creative version of myself, and in turn, I nudge them to update their beliefs when necessary: a win-win.  

What is most challenging? Hybrid teaching can be complex, especially keeping students engaged online for many hours, but it’s also an opportunity to innovate and rethink the course design.  

When it comes to grading, I think students would describe me as…  Clear, constructive, and fair.  

 LIFE OUTSIDE OF THE CLASSROOM 

What are your hobbies? I grew up surrounded by books, so I’ve always loved reading. Traveling, art, hiking, and tennis all make me feel more alive and open-minded. 

How will you spend your summer? Working, traveling, visiting friends and family, volunteering. 

Favorite place(s) to vacation:  Italy, Norway, Greece, Romania (in no particular order). I love nature respites whether it’s hiking or beach reading. I’m always excited to explore new places, but there’s beauty in rediscovering old favorites, too.  

Favorite book(s):  “The Master and Margarita” by Mikhail Bulgakov and “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger have stayed with me for long time. “Crime and Punishment” by F. Dostoyevsky was heart-wrenching and sparked my curiosity about psychology. An all-time favorite is “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry because it always makes me feel wiser and I love finding new meanings every time I re-read it.  

What is currently your favorite movie and/or show and what is it about the film or program that you enjoy so much?  I tend to prefer films over TV shows. Some of my favorite directors include Federico Fellini, Yorgos Lanthimos, Paolo Sorrentino, Joachim Trier and Emir Kusturica because their films make me feel more self-knowledgeable and more creative through their complex characters and colorful worlds. “Cinema Paradiso” and “La Grande Bellezza” hold a special place in my heart thanks to their emotional depth, exploration of meaning, and breathtaking cinematography. I also enjoy discovering music through film soundtracks. 

What is your favorite type of music or artist(s) and why? It depends on what I’m doing and whether I feel like singing along. While working, classical music (particularly piano) helps me focus. Outside of work, my preferences are quite eclectic, ranging from indie and rock to pop and electronic. I enjoy Kings of Convenience, Belle and Sebastian, Leonard Cohen, the National, as well as Meute, Raye, and Dua Lipa. I’m lucky because the office is just five minutes away from the Barbican, and London is second to none when it comes to concerts and culture more broadly.  

THOUGHTS AND REFLECTIONS 

If I had my way, the business school of the future would have much more of this… opportunities for students to engage in experiential learning and a higher focus on critical thinking vs. decisions based purely on analytics.  

In my opinion, companies and organizations today need to do a better job at… incorporating research into business practices and recognizing the value behavioral scientists bring. Equally important is cultivating environments that support continuous learning and a sense of purpose, where employee well-being and growth extend beyond financial incentives.  

I’m grateful for… my health, my family’s health, my friends and loved ones, and my job. It’s a true privilege to have a profession that brings so much meaning.  

 

DON’T MISS: THE ENTIRE 2026 ROSTER OF THE WORLD’S BEST 40-UNDER-40 GRADUATE BUSINESS PROFESSORS 

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