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John Paglia Professor of Finance

John Paglia, PhD, CPA, CFA

Professor of Finance
Graziadio Business School
310.568.5590
Curriculum Vitae

Biography

Dr. John K. Paglia, a tenured Professor of Finance at Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business (PGBS), is an experienced administrative leader, independent board director, audit committee chair, advisor, consultant, angel investor, and financial expert. Dr. Paglia currently sits on two public company boards (NASDAQ: SLP and Nasdaq: ALMU) where he also chairs the audit committees and is a designated financial expert, and is an advisor to a number of startups. At Pepperdine, he sits on the advisory board of the Most Fundable Companies Competition and recently served as senior associate dean, where he oversaw the Graziadio business school faculty, support staff, and strategic business school initiatives. Prior to that appointment, he served PGBS in a number of other leadership roles, including inaugural executive director of the Institute for Entrepreneurship, associate dean for part-time programs, director of accreditation, chair of the accounting and finance department, and founding director of the Pepperdine Private Capital Markets Project. Collectively, Dr. Paglia has logged twenty-five years as a professor, including fifteen years in academic administrative roles, and over fifteen years in corporate governance as a board director for public, private, and not-for-profit entities.

A recognized expert on the topics of small business financing, business valuation, M&A, and financing and deal trends, Dr. Paglia has delivered over fifty industry presentations, including more than a dozen keynote addresses, at key investment banking, private equity, accounting, small business, exit planning, and valuation events. He was also honored with several awards including the “Industry Titan” award by the National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts, the “Thought Leader of the Year Award” by the Alliance for Mergers & Acquisitions Advisors and Grant Thornton, and the “Excellence in M&A Award” by the Association for Corporate Growth. He was also awarded with a consultancy contract with the Library of Congress Federal Research Division as a private equity and venture capital expert to conduct research on the economic impacts of the Small Business Administration’s Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) private equity program and subsequently provided expert testimony in front of US Congress on SBIC program operations. His research has received extensive media coverage in The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, USA Today, Businessweek, TIME, Bloomberg, Reuters, Inc., Forbes, Entrepreneur, MSNBC, ABC News, Huffington Post, Crain’s New York, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Financial Times, The New York Times, and many other news and media outlets.

His research has been published in a number of academic and practitioner journals and cited in congressional testimony and Small Business Administration (SBA) reports. Dr. Paglia holds a Ph.D. in business administration (major area: finance), an MBA, a B.S. in finance, and is a Certified Public Accountant, Chartered Financial Analyst, and NACD Certified Director.

Education

  • Doctor of Philosophy, University of Kentucky.  2000

  • Master of Business Administration, Gannon University. 1995

  • Bachelor of Science, Gannon University. 1990

 

Research

Paglia, J.K., TNT Assignment: Financial Ratio Code Cracker. Ivey Publishing, 2025.

Paglia, J.K., Risk, Returns and Wealth Creation: Insights from Private Market Instruments. Journal of Wealth Management, 2024. 

Paglia, J.K., Is it Time for Individual Investors to Look Beyond the Traditional 60/40 Portfolio? Journal of Financial Planning, 2024.

Paglia, J.K., Small Business Investment Company. The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Private Equity, 2024.

Paglia, J.K., Private Markets: A Staple for Financial Managers. Axxes Capital website, 2024.

Harjoto, Maretno Agus and Rossi, Fabrizio and Paglia, John, COVID-19: Stock Market Reactions to the Shock and the Stimulus. Applied Economic Letters, Volume 28.10 (2021).  

Paglia, J. K., Robinson, D. T. (2017). Measuring the Role of the SBIC Program in Financing Small Businesses (pp. 54). Washington, DC: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. Paglia, J. K., Robinson, D. T. (2017). Measuring the Role of the SBIC Program in Small Business Job Creation (pp. 28). Washington, DC: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress.

Paglia, J. K., Robinson, D. T. (2016). “Measuring the Representation of Women and Minorities in the SBIC Program.” Library of Congress, Federal Research Division (2016). 1-43.

Paglia, J.K. Part I: Appraiser vs. Real World Debates: How Many Appraisers Can Dance on the Head of the Private Capital Markets? Business Valuation Review, 35.1 (2016). Paglia, J.K. Part II: Appraiser vs. Real World Debates: The Case for Using Private Capital Markets Data. Business Valuation Review, 35.2 (2016).

Bowden, Adley, Maretno Harjoto, John Paglia, and Mark Tribbitt. "The Impact of Diversification on Private Equity Fund Returns." The Journal of Global Business Management 12 (2016): 49-66. Print. Bowden, Adley, Maretno Harjoto, John Paglia, and Mark Tribbitt. "On Venture Capital Fund Returns: The Impact of Sector and Geographic Diversification." Journal of Accounting and Finance 16.1 (2016): 1+. Print.

Paglia, J. K., Harjoto, M. A. (2014). The Effects of Private Equity and Venture in Small and Mid-Sized Businesses. Journal of Banking and Finance, October 2014.

Paglia, J. K. Everett, C. R., and Brooks, Chanel, Crafting a Strategic Plan: How Business Owners Should Think about Raising Financing and Capital. Graziadio Business Review. Summer 2014.

Paglia, J. K. Everett, C. R., Private Businesses Predict Limited Growth for 2013. Graziadio Business Review. 2013 - 16(1). 

Paglia, J. K., Harjoto, M. A. (2012). Cost of Capital and Capital Budgeting for Privately-Held Firms: Evidence from Business Owners Survey. Journal of Accounting and Finance, 12(5).

Paglia, J. K., Chopp, S. G., Furtaw, P. (2012). CEO Performance of 125 of Northern California’s Largest Companies: Not Everyone Deserves a Medal. Graziadio Business Review, 2012 - 15(2).

Paglia, J. K., Chopp, S. G., Furtaw, P. (2012). CEO Performance of 100 of Southern California’s Largest Companies. Graziadio Business Review, 2012 - 15(1).

Paglia, J. K., Harjoto, M. A. (2012). Funding Continuum for Private Business Owners: Evidence from the Pepperdine Private Capital Markets Survey. The Journal of Entrepreneurial Finance, 15(2), 22.

Paglia, J. K., Slee, R. (2011). Using the Private Cost of Capital Model. The Value Examiner, May/June 2011.

Paglia, J. K., Harjoto, M. A. (2010). Can Publicly Traded Company Multiples Shed Insights on Discounts for Lack of Marketability? Business Valuation Review, #29 (#1).

Paglia, J. K., Harjoto, M. A. (2010). The Discount for Lack of Marketability in Privately Owned Companies: A Multiples Approach. Journal of Business Valuation and Economic Loss Analysis, 5(1).

Paglia, J. K., Slee, R. (2010). The Private Cost of Capital Model. The Value Examiner, 9. “A Matched Pairs Approach. Trusts and Estates,” with M. A. Harjoto, October 2009.  

“An Overview of Financial Covenants in Commercial Bank Loans,” The Risk Management Association (RMA) Journal, July 2007. “Implementing a Dollar Cost Averaging Strategy: Does the Date of the Month Matter” with Xiaoyang Jiang. Journal of Wealth Management, Fall 2006.

“An Empirical Exploration of Financial Covenants in Large Bank Loans,” with Donald J. Mullineaux, Banks and Bank Systems, April 2006

“The Link Between Price and Profit Margin in a Global Market,” with William Smith, Graziadio Business Report, Spring 2005.

“Using Asset Allocation Strategies to Recover from a Bear Hug,” with Ivan C. Roten, Graziadio Business Report, Summer 2002.

“An Overview of Covenants in Large “Bank Loans,” The Risk Management Association (RMA) Journal, March 2002. 

“The New Basel Capital Accord: A Detriment to Small Banks and Consumers?” with Jacquelyn K. Phlegar, Bank Accounting and Finance, Winter, 2002.

“Build a Culture of Value Creation: Essential Steps for Value-Based Management” with Steve Chopp. Graziadio Business Report, Pepperdine University, Winter 2002. Reprinted in Accounting World (March 2002) by the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India and Better Management.com (feature story: March 18, 2002).

“Has the Dow Really Escaped the Bear?” Graziadio Business Report, Pepperdine University, Spring 2001.  

Sponsored Research

Paglia, J. K. (2022). Private Markets: A Staple for Financial Managers. https://axxescapital.com/private-markets-a-staple-for-financial-managers/ 

I authored over 15 reports on small businesses and the private capital markets through the Pepperdine Private Capital Markets Project, which I founded in 2007.

Everett, C., Paglia, J. K. (2014). Small Business Financial Health Analysis (pp. http://www.frbsf.org/community-development/files/small-business-financial-healthanalysis.pdf). Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

Paglia, J. K. (2013). IBBA Market Pulse Q1 2013 Report (5th ed., vol. 2013, pp. 50). Pepperdine University.

Paglia, J. K. (2013). Private Capital Access Q1 2013 Report (5th ed., vol. 2013, pp. 50). Pepperdine University.

Paglia, J. K. (2013). IBBA Market Pulse Q4 2012 Report (3rd ed., vol. 2013, pp. 50). Pepperdine University.

Paglia, J. K. (2013). Private Capital Access Q4 2012 Report (4th ed., vol. 2012, pp. 50). Pepperdine University.

Paglia, J. K. (2013). Survey Report Volume VI. Pepperdine Private Capital Markets Project, VI (Winter 2013), 150.

Paglia, J. K. (2012). IBBA Market Pulse Q3 2012 Report (2nd ed., vol. 2012, pp. 50). Pepperdine University. 

Paglia, J. K. (2012). Private Capital Access Q3 2012 Report (3rd ed., vol. 2012, pp. 50). Pepperdine University.

Paglia, J. K. (2012). IBBA Market Pulse Q2 2012 Report (1st ed., vol. 2012, pp. 50). Pepperdine University.

Paglia, J. K. (2012). Private Capital Access Q2 2012 Report (2nd ed., vol. 2012, pp. 50). Pepperdine University.

Paglia, J. K. (2012). Private Capital Access Q1 2012 Report (1st ed., vol. 2012, pp. 50). Pepperdine University.

Paglia, J. K. (2012). 2012 Economic Forecast (1st ed., vol. 2012, pp. 40). Pepperdine University.

Paglia, J. K. (2012). Survey Report Volume V. Pepperdine Private Capital Markets Project, V (Winter 2012), 150.

Paglia, J. K. (2011). Survey Report Volume IV. Pepperdine Private Capital Markets Project, IV (Winter 2011), 160.

Paglia, J. K. (2011). US Government Shutdown Survey Findings. 10 pages. Paglia, J. K. (2010). Survey Report Volume III. Pepperdine Private Capital Markets Project, III (Summer 2010), 140.

Paglia, J. K. (2010). Survey Report Volume II. Pepperdine Private Capital Markets Project, II (Winter/Spring 2010), 126.  

Paglia, J. K. (2009). Pepperdine Private Capital Markets Project Survey Report August 2009 (1st ed., vol. 1, pp. 67 pages, http://bschool.pepperdine.edu/research/pcmsurvey/).  

Areas of Expertise

  • Business valuation
  • Mergers & acquisitions
  • Venture capital and private equity
  • Corporate governance for public and private companies