I am currently the David W. Zalaznick
Associate Professor of Business (w/o tenure) at Columbia Business School.
Broadly, I am interested in how the legal and psychological barriers surrounding layoffs affect how firms innovate, compete, and respond to technological change, and what these dynamics mean for policy.
My recent research examines whether good (or “prosocial”) CEOs who care for their employees are good for business and broader society (it’s complicated…). I show that CEO prosociality can have negative effects in unexpected ways, including slower automation and technological innovation.
I have received recognition for my teaching, including being named to Poets and Quants’ 40-Under-40 (2021) and voted by the graduating EMBA classes of 2023 and 2024 of CBS for the Commitment to Excellence Teaching Award.
I received my PhD from NYU Stern School of Business and AB with high honors in economics and mathematics from Dartmouth College. Prior to pursuing a career in academia, I worked at McKinsey & Company for four years. My primary industry experience is in retail, fashion, and corporate portfolio restructuring.
I have been living in New York for the past 14 years, now with my wife, my son, and two cats. I like to run, read comics, eat Korean-style fried chicken (splurge occasionally on dry aged steak and omakase), and travel.
CEOs are perceived to be highly selfish both by business school professors (!!) and the general public.
D. Daniel Keum 