Led by EDHEC’s Professor Pierre Mella-Barral, PhD, the class delved into such topics as Appraising Project Value, Calculating Risk and Return, Portfolio Selection, and the Capital Asset Pricing Model. These topics were explored through lecture format and - more challengingly - through case studies. Student teams assessed the appropriate tactics for evaluating the case studies, often in the midst of ambiguous and misleading information. In the end, after the computations were completed, teams still needed to execute a level of judgment regarding the information: did they actually believe the conclusions? And more importantly, which decision to make? 



Even as many MBA participants grappled with the mathematical proofs, all agreed that the topics covered were relevant and beneficial to their careers as managers. Those participants pursuing the Global Finance track eagerly await their next class with Prof Mella-Barral.



Prof Mella-Barral has taught at EDHEC for eight years. He earned his Doctorate in Economics from the University of Cambridge, and his main research projects involve corporate finance and asset valuation.