After three decades in global finance, Rich Excell could have easily stayed in the markets. He worked across investment banking, hedge funds, trading, and asset management at firms including Barclays and UBS, building a career that took him around the world.

Instead, he found his next chapter in the classroom.

In a recent Poets&Quants Faculty Spotlight conversation with John Byrne, the Gies College of Business finance professor reflected on his unconventional path into academia and why experiential learning has become central to modern finance education.

“It was not my plan,” Excell admitted of becoming a professor.

The transition happened gradually. After connecting with former Gies Business Dean Jeff Brown at a university event, Excell began speaking to classes, mentoring students, and leading practicum projects with real corporate clients. Before long, he was teaching portfolio management courses while still working full time in finance.

Eventually, the decision became obvious.

“I’m happier after a day of teaching than I am after a day of chasing around the markets,” he said.

Now in his seventh year at Gies, Excell says teaching is the best role of his career. What makes it rewarding is not just discussing financial markets, but also helping students bridge the gap between theory and practice.

That philosophy is especially evident in the Derivatives and Trading Academy he launched at Gies. The program was designed to expand beyond traditional finance coursework and better reflect how modern markets actually operate.

Chicago has long been the center of the derivatives world, home to major exchanges and trading firms. Excell believed business students needed stronger preparation for that environment, particularly as finance becomes increasingly quantitative and data-driven.

The academy combines finance with data science and hands-on market experience. Students work with trading simulators and professional software tools that mirror what they will encounter in industry roles.

For employers, that blend is increasingly valuable.

Excell explained that many firms discovered pure quantitative candidates often excel at solving technical problems but lack the market intuition to identify which questions matter most. Students with both analytical training and market understanding are becoming more attractive hires.

“They know how to answer a question very well,” Excell said of quantitative specialists. “The problem is they don’t necessarily know what question to answer.”

That focus on critical thinking also shapes how he teaches advanced finance concepts.

One misconception students often bring into class is the belief that financial models produce definitive answers. Once students learn discounted cash flow analysis or valuation modeling, they can begin treating those frameworks as formulas that solve every problem.

Excell pushes them to think differently.

In the real world, he explains, outcomes depend heavily on assumptions, expectations, and market psychology. Models are tools, not guarantees. Teaching students how to question assumptions and interpret uncertainty is just as important as technical proficiency.

He often draws upon stories from his own trading career to reinforce the lesson. Early in his career, he vividly remembers seeing currency markets move in ways that contradicted what textbooks suggested should happen. That experience taught him that markets react not simply to events, but to expectations surrounding those events.

It is a perspective that only comes from experience.

As business schools continue evolving, Excell’s approach reflects a broader shift in finance education. Technical skills still matter, but employers increasingly want graduates who can combine analytics, judgment, communication, and adaptability.

For students entering today’s financial world, understanding how markets behave may matter just as much as understanding how models work.

Listen to the full conversation here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/221123/episodes/18875844

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