I’m a finance professional, a behavioral economist, and an executive coach with over two decades of business and higher education experience, advocating for performance and well-being alignment and combining analytical precision with behavioral insight to solve complex business challenges. I am the FMI Program Director USA and an Associate Professor of Finance at SKEMA Business School. My work focuses on behavioral research and the analysis of human psychology as the central driver of success and failure in business, investments, and compliance.

I received my Ph.D. in Finance from the University of Florida and my Ph.D. in Economics from Middle Tennessee State University. I hold professional credentials that support my expertise in data analytics (AWS Fundamentals, Machine Learning, and Generative AI; SAS Certified Business Analyst; ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity) and human behavior (ICF Certified Executive Coach and an NBC-HWC). Across my career, I’ve worked at the intersection of corporate finance, capital markets, data, technology, and human behavior, turning complex information into clear, actionable strategy. My coaching work focuses on professional and personal performance, college and career direction, decision-making, sustainable routines, and aligning ambitious goals with well-being.

My work in higher education also increasingly focuses on student development and career strategies, helping students connect academic learning with professional direction, understand the changing role of AI in finance and business, and make more deliberate choices about the skills and capabilities they need to develop.

My research centers on two major areas: corporate wellness, with an emphasis on behavioral influences on performance and work-life harmony and their impact on corporate returns, and cybersecurity-related market anomalies, shadow trading, and data breach risks. I excel in Python, R, SAS, and Stata, and use advanced statistical, econometric, and machine-learning tools to address complex business challenges across multiple domains.

My experience includes:

• Applying AI and advanced analytical tools in finance through corporate projects, consulting engagements, research, and higher education,
• Working at the intersection of AI and human decision-making in finance, with a focus on how technology interacts with professional judgment, behavior, and performance,
• Conducting behavioral research across finance, investments, business decision-making, and professional performance,
• Providing executive and performance coaching focused on helping clients chart a clear path to their goals, create work–life harmony, and align professional growth, sustainable performance, and well-being,
• Combining behavioral insight with practical performance strategies to help high-performing professionals strengthen decision-making, develop sustainable routines, and perform effectively without sacrificing well-being.

An extension of my professional interest in the performance and wellness connection, I teach and practice eastern-style yoga and mindfulness. I have been a certified RYT200 yoga teacher with Yoga Alliance since 2017 and hold additional certifications in pranayama, meditation, yoga nidra, pre- and postnatal yoga, and children’s yoga through Yoga Vidya Gurukul, one of India’s leading yoga institutes recognized by AYUSH (Indian Ministry of Yoga and Ayurveda). I also enjoy mountain climbing, biking, and paddle boarding. I have traveled worldwide and enjoyed working in different cultures and locations.

Curriculum Vitae

Contact:
SKEMA Business School
920 Main Campus Dr., Ste 101
Raleigh, NC 27606 USA
Personal Webpage

E-mail: svetlana.petrova@skema.edu
LinkedIn
SSRN
Google Scholar
ResearchGate

Research Interests

Behavioral: Corporate Wellness, Professional Performance & Well-being Alignment (my Big Passion!)
FinTech: Cybersecurity and Capital Markets (very interesting to understand, especially in AI era)
​Real Estate Finance (a little side interest explored at the highest professional level)

EDUCATION

PhD in Finance, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
PhD in Economics, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN
MBA, Strategic Management, Moscow International Higher Business School, Moscow, Russia
MS in Finance, Finance University, Moscow, Russia
BA in Finance and Tax, Finance University, Moscow, Russia

CERTIFICATIONS

SAS Certified Business Analyst
Certified AWS Academy Educator
AWS Academy Graduate: Cloud Foundations, Machine Learning Foundations, Generative AI
ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity (CC)
Bloomberg: Market Concepts (BMC), ESG, BQL Spreadsheet Analysis
Certified Executive Coach - ICF accredited (ACC track)
National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC)

SEMINARS AND CONFERENCES

- Seminar, April 2025, Trading Ahead of the Disclosure: Cybersecurity Breaches, Middle Tennessee State University
Presenter, Contagion: Cybersecurity Market Reaction to Data Breaches, Southern Finance Association Annual Meeting, 2024, West Palm Beach, FL
- Presenter, Contagion: Cybersecurity Market Reaction to Data Breaches, Financial Management Association Annual Meeting, 2024, Dallas, TX
- Seminar, October 2024, Contagion: Cybersecurity Market Reaction to Data Breaches, Syracuse University
- Presenter, Going Greener? Urban Exodus and Green Buildings Market after COVID-19, American Real Estate Society Meeting, 2024, Orlando, FL
- Presenter, Contagion: Cybersecurity Market Reaction to Data Breaches, Southern Finance Association Annual Meeting, 2023, Fajardo, PR
- Seminar, Going Greener? Urban Exodus and Green Buildings Market after COVID-19, UNH ACFI Department Brown Bag Seminar Series, November 2023
- Seminar, Contagion: Cybersecurity Market Reaction to Data Breaches, UNH Paul College Work in Progress Series, November 2023
- Committee, Bretton Woods Accounting and Finance Ski Conference, 2023, Bretton Woods, NH
- Presenter, Are U.S. Public Pension Funds CIOs Overpaid? Understanding the Role of the CIOs Pedigree in the Pension Funds’ Performance, AFFECT Workshop, 2023, New Orleans, LA 
- Presenter, Trading Ahead of the Disclosure: Cybersecurity Breaches, Entrepreneurship, Finance, and Innovation Symposium, 2022, Hanoi, Vietnam 
- Presenter, Trading Ahead of the Disclosure: Cybersecurity Breaches, Southern Finance Association Annual Meeting, 2022, Key West, FL
- Discussant/Committee/Reviewer, Southern Finance Association Annual Meeting, 2022, Key West, FL
- Presenter, Do Firms Prefer Overqualified Employees? The Impact of Financial Crises on Returns to Education, Northeast Business and Economics Association, 2022, Portsmouth, NH
- Discussant/Committee/Reviewer, Financial Management Association Annual Meeting, 2022, Atlanta, GA
- Presenter, Trading Ahead of the Disclosure: Cybersecurity Breaches, Financial Management Association Annual Meeting, 2022, Atlanta, GA
- Executive Committee Member, FinTech track, Eastern Finance Association Annual Meeting, 2022, Washington, D.C
- Discussant/Committee/Reviewer, Financial Management Association Annual Meeting, 2021, Denver, CO
- Presenter, Cybersecurity Breaches: Firm Disclosures and Stock Market Responses, Northeast Business and Economics Association, 2020, Portsmouth, NH
- Presenter, Trading Ahead of the Disclosure: Cybersecurity Breaches, 8th Annual OptionMetrics Research Conference, 2019, New York City, Northeast Business and Economics Association 2020 
- Presenter, Cybersecurity Breaches: Firm Disclosures and Stock Market Responses, Southern Finance Association Annual Meeting, 2019, Orlando, FL
- Presenter, Cybersecurity Breaches: Firm Disclosures and Stock Market Responses, Financial Management Association Annual Meeting, 2019, New Orleans, LA
- Committee/Reviewer/Session Organizer, Financial Management Association Annual Meeting, 2019, New Orleans, LA
- Presenter, Cybersecurity Breaches: Firm Disclosures and Stock Market Responses, Eastern Finance Association Annual Meeting, 2019, Miami, FL
- Discussant/Committee/Reviewer, Eastern Finance Association Annual Meeting, 2019, Miami, FL - Discussant, American Finance Association Annual Meeting, 2019, Atlanta, GA
- Presenter, Cybersecurity Breaches: Firm Disclosures and Stock Market Responses, Florida Finance Conference, 2019, Tampa, FL
- Discussant, Financial Management Association Annual Meeting, 2018, San Diego, CA
- Discussant, Financial Management Association Annual Meeting, 2017, Boston, MA
- Committee/Reviewer, Eastern Finance Association Annual Meeting, 2017, Jacksonville, FL
- Presenter/Discussant, Are U.S. public pension funds CIOs overpaid? Understanding the Role of the CIOs Pedigree in the Pension Funds’ Performance, Eastern Finance Association Annual Meeting, 2017, Jacksonville, FL
- Discussant/Chair, Financial Management Association Annual Meeting, 2016, Las Vegas, NV
- Presenter, Whom Are You Working For? Regulation, 340b Drug Program, and the Healthcare Firm Performance, Midwest Economics Association, 2016, Evanston, IL
- Discussant, Midwest Economics Association, 2016, Evanston, IL
- Presenter, Are U.S. public pension funds CIOs overpaid? Understanding the Role of the CIOs in the Pension Funds’ Performance, Midwest Finance Association Annual Meeting, 2016, Atlanta, GA
- Discussant/Session Chair, Midwest Finance Association Annual Meeting, 2016, Atlanta, GA
- Presenter/Discussant/Session Chair, S.O.S.: Hiring and Compensation in the Shadow of an Economic Crisis, Southern Economic Association Annual Meeting, 2015, New Orleans, LA
- Presenter, Foreclosure Fears: Is Foreclosures Impact On House Prices Objective?, SAS Analytics, 2015, Las Vegas, NV
- Presenter, Dynamic Reporting Systems in Quantitative Portfolio Management and Financial using SAS and R, Financial Management Association Annual Meeting, 2015, Orlando, FL
- Presenter, Analysis of the Impact of Federal Funds Rate Change on US Treasuries Returns using SAS, South Eastern SAS Users Group Annual Meeting, 2015, Savannah, GA
- Presenter/Discussant What Makes Firms Survive an Economic Crisis? Some Evidence from REITs, Midwest Finance Association Annual Meeting, 2015, Chicago, IL