Mark Wolfson

Research Statement

Before becoming an investment professional, Mark published extensively on subjects ranging from the financial structure of, and incentive arrangements in, business organizations; to taxes and business strategy; to the effect of information disclosures on the valuation of financial claims. He has won research awards in each of these areas. His current interests, in addition to those stated above, include the dynamics of the philanthropic ecosystem and the industrial organization of the global private equity and investment management industries. He teaches courses on strategic philanthropy and investment management.

Bio

Mark A. Wolfson holds the title of Adjunct Professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he has been a faculty member since 1977, including a term as Associate Dean, and formerly held the title of Dean Witter Professor. He has also taught at the Harvard Business School and the University of Chicago and has been a Visiting Scholar at the Sloan School of Management at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. Dr. Wolfson has been a Research Associate at The National Bureau of Economic Research since 1988, serves on the Board of Advisors and Executive Committee of The Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, the Advisory Board of the Knight-Hennessy Scholars program at Stanford and as an Advisor to the Investment Committee of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

Mark is also a Founder and Managing Partner of Jasper Ridge Partners, a wealth management firm, and President of Jasper Ridge Charitable.  From 1995 to 2013, Mark was affiliated with the Robert M. Bass/Oak Hill organizations.  During his tenure with these organizations, he played key roles in the formation of Jasper Ridge Strategic Partners, Jasper Ridge Diversified, and Oak Hill Capital Partners, a private equity firm.  He has served on the Boards of Directors of numerous public and private companies.

Academic Degrees

• PhD, University of Texas, Austin, 1977
• MAS, 1974
• BS, University of Illinois, 1973

Academic Appointments

• Adjunct Professor and Former Professor and Associate Dean, 1977-present
• Thomas Henry Carroll-Ford Foundation Visiting Professor of Business Administration, Harvard University, 1988-1989
• Ford Foundation Visiting Associate Professor, University of Chicago, 1981-1982

Professional Experience

• Founder and Managing Partner: Jasper Ridge Partners
• Senior Advisor: Oak Hill Capital Management
• Research Associate: National Bureau of Economic Research, 1988

Awards and Honors

• Wildman Medal, 1991
• Notable Contribution Award (one given annually by AAA/AICPA) to Accounting Literature, 1989 and 1992
• Distinguished Teaching Award, Stanford Graduate School of Business, 1990
• Pomerance Prize (CBOE) for Excellence in Options Research, 1981

Publications

Journal Articles

• How Investors Can (and Can't) Create Social Value
• Paul Brest, Ronald Gilson, Mark A. Wolfson Journal of Corporation Law 2019 Vol. 44 Issue 2 Pages 205
• The Evolving Structure of the Private Equity and Venture Capital Industry
• Mark A. Wolfson Journal of Investment Management 2013 Vol. 11 Issue 4
• Earnouts: The Effects of Adverse Selection and Agency Costs on Acquisition Techniques
• Srikant Datar, Richard Frankel, Mark A. Wolfson Journal of Law, Economics and Organization 2001 Vol. 17 Issue 1 Pages 201-238

Books

• Taxes & Business Strategy (5th edition)
• Myron S. Scholes, Mark A. Wolfson, Merle Erickson, Michelle Hanlon, Edward Maydew, Terry Shevlin Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River 2015

Working Papers

• The Effects of Ownership and Control on Tax and Financial Reporting Policy
  Mark A. Wolfson 1993
• Taxation and the Dynamics of Corporate Control: The Uncertain Case for Tax Motivated Acquisitions
  Myron S. Scholes, Mark A. Wolfson, Ronald Gilson 1986
• Tax, Incentive and Risk-Sharing Issues in the Allocation of Property Rights: The Generalized Lease-or-Buy Problems
  Mark A. Wolfson 1984
• Decentralized Choice of Monitoring Systems
  James M. Patell, Mark A. Wolfson, Joel Demski 1983
• The Intraday Speed of Adjustment of Stock Prices to Earnings and Dividend Announcements
  James M. Patell, Mark A. Wolfson 1983
• The Ex Ante and Ex Post Price Effects of Quarterly Earnings Announcements Reflected in Options and Stock Prices
  James M. Patell, Mark A. Wolfson 1981
• The Intraday Timing of Corporate Disclosures
  James M. Patell, Mark A. Wolfson 1981
• Equilibrium Warrant Pricing Models and Accounting for Executive Stock Options Mark A. Wolfson, Eric Noreen 1980