Associate Vice Chancellor for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, UC Berkeley | Professor & Former Dean | William & Janet Cronk Chair in Innovative Leadership
Economic Analysis & Policy | Finance

About

Rich Lyons currently serves in UC Berkeley’s Office of the Vice Chancellor of Research (VCRO) as the Associate Vice Chancellor for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. He is also a Professor of Economics and Finance at the Haas School of Business, where he served as dean from 2008 to 2018. In his VCRO role, Lyons oversees development of the campus-wide ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship, including patenting and technology licensing. In 2023 he was appointed by the President of the 10-campus University of California system to chair the new President’s Council for Entrepreneurship, which will focus on the biggest opportunities for ecosystem development system-wide.

As dean of the Haas School, Lyons led a sweeping culture initiative that drove the school’s historic strengths more deeply into admissions and other critical processes with a set of four Defining Leadership Principles: Question the Status Quo, Confidence Without Attitude, Students Always, and Beyond Yourself. He oversaw the development of Connie & Kevin Chou Hall—a new academic building funded entirely by alumni and friends—as well as attracting eight of the 10 largest gifts in school history. Lyons forged stronger ties with other UC Berkeley colleges and departments, a path he called structural interdisciplinarity, with a focus on dual degree programs combining business with STEM fields, including the new Management, Entrepreneurship, and Technology program with Berkeley Engineering. In 2018, he was awarded with the Berkeley Citation, given to individuals whose contributions to UC Berkeley go beyond the call of duty and whose achievements exceed the standards of excellence in their fields. Lyons also received the Distinguished Teaching Award, Berkeley’s highest teaching honor, in 1998.

Lyons’ research and teaching are mostly in international finance, though his more recent work explores how business leadership drives innovation and the importance of culture in shaping organizations, including vis-a-vis equity and belonging. From 2006 to 2008, he took a leave from Berkeley to serve as Goldman Sachs’ Chief Learning Officer, focusing on leadership development for managing directors. Prior to joining the faculty at UC Berkeley in 1993, he was an assistant professor at Columbia Business School. He received his BS in finance from Berkeley and PhD in economics from MIT.

Expertise and Research Interests

  • Leadership and Culture
  • Cryptocurrencies
  • Microstructure Finance
  • Exchange Rate Economics
  • International Finance