Chen Liu, PhD

Associate Professor of Business; Director, MBA Program

Dr. Chen Liu is an an Associate Professor and Associate MBA Director at Trinity Western University. Dr. Liu received her PhD in Finance from Smith School of Business at Queen’s University in 2014 and holds a Bachelor of Management from the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, China since 2006.

Dr. Liu conducts empirial research in Corporate Finance, Financial Institutions, and Entrepreneurship. Specifically, her research areas span topics that include Private Equity, Venture Capital, Leveraged Buyout (LBO), Merger & Acquisition (M&A), Banking & Debt Contracting, Entrepreneurial Finance, and Fintech. Her work has been presented at numerous international conferences including Financial Management Association, Northern Finance Association, Eastern Finance Association, and Academy of International Business US-West Chapter meetings.

On a practical side, Dr. Liu is an expert on corporate valuation. She has assisted companies in identifying good domestic and cross-border acquisition targets for strategic purpose (M&As) and financial purpose (private equity deals), with a particular focuses on strategic synergies and valuation of target companies. Dr. Liu also conducts equity research in the global market and is the co-founder and faculty advisor of TWU's Student Managed Investment Fund. 

Dr. Liu teaches Corporate Finance at both undergraduate and MBA levels. She also teaches undergraduate courses in Financial Markets & Institutions and Advanced Corporate Finance with a particular focus on equity analysis and valuation. She was voted by business students as the Professor of the Year in both 2016 and 2017. Dr. Liu has previously taught at Smith School of Business of Queen’s University.

  • PhD in Finance (Smith School of Business, Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada; 2014)
  • Bachelor of Management (University of International Business and Economics, Beijing, China; 2006)

    

Expertise

Corporate Finance: Valuation, Merger and Acquisition (M&A), Leveraged Buyout (LBO), Corporate Debt Policy; Financial Intermediation: Private Equity, Venture Capital, Banking, Debt Contracting & Syndicated Loans; Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurial Finance, and Fintech; Languages: English, Chinese.

Scholarship Interests

  • Corporate Finance: Valuation, Merger and Acquisition (M&A), Leveraged Buyout (LBO), Corporate Debt Policy
  • Financial Intermediation: Private Equity, Venture Capital, Banking, Debt Contracting & Syndicated Loans
  • Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurial Finance, and Fintech

Ad hoc Journal Referee

  • Journal of Banking and Finance
  • Journal of Business Ethics
  • Thunderbird International Business Review
  • Journal of Teaching in International Business

Program Committee Member                                                       

  • Financial Management Association Annual Meeting (2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017)
  • Financial Management Association Applied Finance Annual Meeting (2017)
  • Financial Management Association European Conference (2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017)
  • Midwest Finance Association Annual Meeting (2015, 2016)
  • Academy of International Business US-West Chapter Annual Conference (2015)
  • Academy of International Business Annual Meeting (2016)
  • Northern Finance Association Annual Meeting (2014)
  • Eastern Finance Association Annual Meetings (2012, 2014, 2016, 2017)

Awards & Honors

  • Professor of the Year Award, Trinity Western University (2016, 2017)
  • TWU International Research Fund (2017)
  • School of Business Award, Queen’s University (2008-2011)
  • Graduate Award, Queen’s University (2008-2011)
  • DI McLeod Fellowship, Queen’s University (2008-2011)
  • International Tuition Award, Queen’s University (2008-2011)
  • Travel Award, Queen’s University (2008-2012)

Recent Publications

Working Paper

  • “Debt Structure, Private Equity Reputation, and Performance in Leveraged Buyouts”, (2014) Presented at:
    • Queen’s School of Business Brown Bag (2013)
    • Bank of Canada (2013)
    • University of Windsor (2013)
    • Midwest Finance Association Annual Meeting, Orlando (2014)
    • Eastern Finance Association Annual Meeting, Pittsburgh (2014)
    • FMA Applied Finance Conference, New York (2014)
    • Financial Management Association Annual Meetings, Nashville (2014)
       
  • “Herding Behavior in Bank Lending: Evidence from U.S. Commercial Banks” (2013) Presented at:
    • Financial Management Association Annual Meetings, Atlanta (2012)
    • Northern Finance Association Annual Meetings, Niagara Falls (2012)
    • Eastern Finance Association Annual Meetings, Boston (2012)
    • International Banking, Economics and Finance Association Meetings, San Francisco (2012)
    • International Finance and Banking Society Conference, Rome (2011)
    • International Conference on Credit Risk Evaluation: Stability and Risk Control in Banking, Insurance, and Financial Markets (poster presentation), Venice (2011)
       
  • “Private Equity Firms in LBO Value Creation: Selection vs. Treatment Effect” (2014) Please email me (chen.liu@twu.ca) if you are interest in my current work in progress.

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS:

  • Bank CEO Inside Debt and Loan Contracting, joint work with Wendy Wu (Wilfrid Laurier University). Presented at:
    • Financial Management Association Annual Meeting, Boston (2017)
    • Eastern Finance Association Annual Meeting, Jacksonville (2017)
    • Rimini Conference in Economics and Finance, Waterloo (2016)*
  • Lehman Sisters: Female Bank Executives and Risk-Taking, joint work with Wendy Wu (Wilfrid Laurier University) and Cindy Truong. Presented at:
    • Eastern Finance Association Annual Meeting, Jacksonville (2017)
  • Can Club Deals Reduce Institutional Barriers to Cross-Border Leveraged Buyouts? joint work with Lynnette Purda (Queen’s) and Hui Zhu (UOIT). Presented at:
    • “The Role of Financial and Legal Institutions in International Corporate Governance” Paper Development Conference, London (2016)*
    • Academy of International Business U.S. West Annual Conference, Seattle (2015)
    • Financial Management Association Annual Meeting, Orlando (2015)
  • Debt Structure, Private Equity Reputation, and Performance in Leveraged Buyouts, Presented at:
    • Financial Management Association Annual Meeting, Nashville (2014)
    • Financial Management Association Applied Finance Conference, New York, (2014)
    • Eastern Finance Association Annual Meeting, Pittsburgh (2014)
    • Midwest Finance Association Annual Meeting, Orlando (2014)
    • Queen’s School of Business Brown Bag (2013)
    • Bank of Canada (2013)
    • University of Windsor (2013)
  • Herding Behavior in Bank Lending: Evidence from U.S. Commercial Banks (2015) Presented at:
    • Financial Management Association Annual Meeting, Atlanta (2012)
    • Northern Finance Association Annual Meeting, Niagara Falls (2012)
    • Eastern Finance Association Annual Meeting, Boston (2012)
    • International Banking, Economics and Finance Association (IBEFA) Summer Meeting & Western Economic Association International (WEAI) Annual Conference, San Francisco (2012)
    • International Finance and Banking Society (IFABS) Conference, Rome, Italy (2011)
    • International Conference on Credit Risk Evaluation, Venice, Italy (2011)

* indicates presented by co-author

Affiliations & Memberships

  • Financial Management Associaiton
  • Northern Finance Association
  • Eastern Finance Association
  • Academy of International Business
  • Christian Business Faculty Association

  • BUSI 304 Financial Markets & Institutions
  • BUSI 342 Management Finance
  • BUSI 441 Advanced Topics in Business Finance
  • MBA 542 Managerial Finance