• Dr. Klaas P. Baks PhD is a recognized thought leader in alternative investments and entrepreneurial finance.
  • He is the Co-Founder and Director of the Emory Center for Alternative Investments and has been a Finance Professor at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School since 2002.
  • Dr. Baks is the Atlanta Chair with TIGER 21, one of North America’s premier peer-to-peer learning networks for high-net-worth investors. TIGER 21’s approximately 500 members collectively manage more than $50 billion and are entrepreneurs, inventors and top executives focused on improving investment acumen, as well as exploring common issues of wealth preservation, estate planning and family dynamics.
  • Dr. Baks serves as director or advisor for various companies and investment funds with over $1.5 billion in assets under management, including American Virtual Cloud Technologies (NASDAQ: AVCT) – acquired through a SPAC business combination, Buckhead One Financial, JOYN, Peachtree Hotel Group, and TWO Capital Partners. An active member of the Atlanta community, Dr. Baks serves on the board of the Investment Committee of the Westminster Schools Board of Trustees.
  • His research and teaching focuses on issues in alternative investments, entrepreneurial finance and investment management, and he has published papers in numerous academic and business journals, including the Wall Street Journal. He teaches courses in private equity, venture capital and distressed investing at Emory University and has been recognized with nine awards, including Emory University’s highest award for teaching excellence, the Emory Williams Distinguished Teaching Award, the Marc F. Adler Prize for Teaching Excellence awarded by alumni and the Donald R. Keough Award for Excellence.
  • Prior to joining Emory University, Dr. Baks held positions at Fuji Bank in Tokyo, Japan, Deutsche Bank in Hong Kong and the International Monetary Fund in Washington DC.
  • Dr. Baks studied at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania (PhD in Finance), Brown University (Master’s in Economics), Groningen University (Master’s in Econometrics, cum laude) and Leiden University (Diploma in Japanese Language and Business Studies). He spent two years at Harvard University as part of his doctoral research at Wharton on the performance of actively managed mutual funds.