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Personal Statement

Since joining Strathclyde Business School in 2019, my research and teaching activities have focussed on different areas of financial technology (fintech), primarily concerning the application of unstructured datasets to address financial theory and practice. I have co-authored papers that have been published in a number of journals such as Economics Letters, Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Journal of Comparative Economics, and the European Journal of Finance.

Alongside research, my commentary on financial events has been published by The Conversation UK, the World Economic Forum, MarketWatch and Business Insider.

I am actively engaged in teaching and have twice been shortlisted for the "Best in Faculty - Business" award at the Strathclyde Teaching Excellence Awards. I co-direct the MSc Financial Technology programme, and deliver the Financial Innovations, Applications and Considerations and Textual Analysis in Finance modules. I have previously led the honours year Corporate Financing module, and I currently supervise both undergraduate and postgraduate dissertations, primarily in the areas of applied AI and NLP for financial decision support.

Before starting my PhD, I worked for four years as a Senior Stock Research Analyst and Index Supervisor at Russell Investments (now FTSE Russell), and undertook an internship at Merrill Lynch in Illinois, USA. I have also worked as a Knowledge Transfer Associate at Bangor University. Outside of academia I enjoy athletics and am a keen road, cross-country and hill runner.

Research Interests

My research explores various aspects of financial technology and includes working with novel unstructured datasets such as text, audio and earth observation data in a finance context.

More recently, my research has investigate applications of Explainable, Generative and Agentic AI to financial problems. I also conduct research in more traditional areas of corporate finance and financial markets.

As a co-investigator within the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab (FRIL), funded by the UK Government via Innovate UK, I am responsible for the joint coordination of research activities undertaken Research Associates Hao Zhang and Kushagra Jain and Senior Research Fellow Steve Owens. FRIL produces industry-relevant research and white papers on the topic of financial regulation and regulatory technology.

I have succesfully supervised one PhD student through to completion, and I am currently supervisor for a number of doctoral students. Phindu Lipenga is investigating the determinants of fintech adoption in Sub-Saharan Africa. Ngoc Anh Chu is evaluating the application of explainable AI and text-audio analysis for transparent ESG reporting. Martin Kemmitt is investigating the hedging activity of firms listed on the AIM submarket of the London Stock Exchange. Zihong Chen is conducting research into the effectiveness of machine learning algorithms for the detection of money laundering. I supervise one MPhil student, Aliya Khan, who is applying transformer models to investigate the relationship between equity and bond markets in light of climate-related announcements.

I have acted as reviewer for manuscripts submitted to the European Journal of Finance, Business Strategy and the Environment, Intelligent Systems in Accounting, Finance and Management and Qualitative Research in Financial Markets.

My recent multimodal (text-audio) research has been made possible thanks to access to the Finnhub Stock API (a company affiliated with AAPL WACC & DCF), while my earth observation work generally employs open-source models for analysis.

Academic / Professional qualifications

PhD in Accounting and Finance, University of Dundee

MSc in Investment Analysis, University of Stirling

BA (Hons) in International Business, Nottingham Trent University

PG Cert in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education

 

Teaching Interests

I have delivered classes at Strathclyde Business School since joining at 2019, and I have had the pleasure of engaging with students who have gone on to pursue great careers in the financial technology ecosystem, and the broader financial services sector. I  have been co-director of the MSc Financial Technology at Strathclyde Business School since 2019. I created, and currently teach, the Fintech Innovations, Applications and Considerations and Textual Analysis for Finance postgraduate modules. Until 2025, I was responsible for delivering the Corporate Financing module for honours year students.

Each year I supervise end-of-year financial technology projects for postgraduate students, and finance-related undergraduate honours year dissertations. Previously, I delivered the Financial and Financial Management module to students in our Glasgow and Dubai campuses, and I previously taught the Future of Fintech module for the MSc Strategic Fintech in Bahrain.

I have been shortlisted for "Best in Faculty - Business" at the Strathclyde Teaching Excellence Awards in 2021 and 2022.

External positions

External Examiner, Newcastle University

26 Feb 2024 → …

External Examiner, University of West London

1 Oct 2021 → …

Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

  1. SDG 9 - Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
    SDG 9 Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
  2. SDG 13 - Climate Action
    SDG 13 Climate Action

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