Shaping the Conversation

December 3, 2025
By WashU Olin Business School
2 minute read

WashU Olin professors are at the forefront of influential research and expert perspectives, allowing them to regularly influence the national discussion in top-tier media outlets across the country and the globe. Check out some of their contributions to the business conversation this past year.

Patrick Aguilar

Managing Director of Business of Health

Map Shows Where Walgreens Is Closing Locations (Newsweek, 8/11/25)

Peter Boumgarden

Koch Family Professor of Practice in Family Enterprise

Why tariff uncertainty hits small businesses especially hard (Fast Company, 8/6/25)

Ashley Hardin

Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior

Will telling lies damage your brain? (Psychology Today, 4/8/25)

Panos Kouvelis

Emerson Distinguished Professor of Supply Chain

Trump’s tariffs hit Main Street as small businesses raise prices (Financial Times, 8/11/25)
Trump steps up his 2018 tariffs on steel and aluminum, risking inflation on promise of more jobs (Associated Press, 2/11/25)

Hannah Perfecto

Associate Professor of Marketing

How to Say “Yes” to Good Decision-Making (Shondaland, 7/23/25)

Patrick Rishe

Professor of Practice in Sports Business

Why this professor says WNBA revenue model is ‘almost criminal’ (Yahoo Finance Sports Report podcast, 7/25/25)
Louisiana is poised to hike its sports betting tax to help colleges pay their athletes (Associated Press, 6/17/25)

Anjan Thakor

John E. Simon Professor of Finance

Creating a Purpose-Driven Organization (HBR’s 10 Must-Reads on Leading with Purpose*, 5/6/26)
*Co-written with Robert E. Quinn, University of Michigan

Margarita Tsoutsoura

Associate Professor of Finance

Want to Start a Business? Maybe Begin by Being a Gig Worker. (The Wall Street Journal, 5/5/25)

Get the Point

We’re excited to introduce POP: Professors on Point, our new video series! In each short, two-to-three-minute video, an Olin professor breaks down current business and culture topics, giving you an expert perspective — quickly and clearly.

About the Author

WashU Olin Business School

WashU Olin has been a leader and innovator in business education and research for over a century. We offer a global education in the heart of America that transforms the way students look at business. Our esteemed faculty produces research that makes an impact on the world of business and beyond. We are proud to collaborate with organizations in our home community of St. Louis and worldwide to effect meaningful, constructive change.

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Sara Savat
Senior News Director, Business and Social Sciences