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Distinguished Professor, Inaugural Director of the Initiative for Global Business Impact and Citizen Well-Being

A conversation with John Lynch is a delightful glimpse into the inner workings of an active, curious mind. You might expect someone with his curriculum vitae—filled with prestigious awards and honors—to regularly be found in a suit and tie. But more often than not, you’ll find him in jeans and a button-down shirt, exuding a relaxed intellect and a warm humility.

Lynch is the quintessential scholar, dedicated to asking the big “why” and “how” questions, even when the answers might challenge prevailing views. Talking with him, it’s almost as if you can see the wheels turning, and a discussion can take lively detours. Ask him a question, and he’s likely to ask a couple of his own, eager to explore deeper layers of understanding.

Take, for example, his influential work at Duke �Թ��� between 1996 and 2009, where he laid out a roadmap for understanding why consumers, retailers and manufacturers might choose online versus brick-and-mortar retail channels. At a time when the dominant belief was that e-commerce would eliminate intermediaries, Lynch predicted a more complex evolution—much of which has since been validated.

His contributions have not gone unnoticed. Lynch has received numerous accolades, including being listed as the most admired active consumer researcher in the world in the Journal of Consumer Research (JCR) in . In 2015, JCR named him one of the 10 most-published authors in the journal’s history and honored him with its Outstanding Reviewer Award for the second time.

Most recently, Lynch earned the American Marketing Association’s 2025 McGraw-Hill Irwin Distinguished —the highest honor in the field of academic marketing—recognizing a career of remarkable teaching, research and mentorship.

Catalyzing a new field

Lynch joined Leeds in 2009 to start the Center for Research on Consumer Financial Decision Making (CFDM), which launched in 2010. Under his guidance, the center has become a globally recognized hub for interdisciplinary research at the intersection of psychology, marketing, economics and finance.

Having witnessed his former colleagues at the �Թ��� of Florida shape the field of consumer behavior, Lynch was confident he could take that example to help Leeds follow suit, building upon CU Boulder’s well-established reputation in the topic of decision-making. Lynch and his CU colleagues sought to bring meaningful insights to questions with real-world impact in consumer financial decision-making—studying how and why people make important decisions about things like buying cars or homes, saving for retirement, financing college, managing debt and more.

“We began with two major efforts. First, we launched the Boulder Summer Conference on Consumer Financial Decision Making, which was unique in bringing together dozens of academic disciplines with government and industry leaders," he said. And then Leeds brought in strong talent.

”Today, we’re one of the world’s leaders in this field [of consumer financial decision-making]. .... Some of the brightest stars at Leeds are working on this topic now, and I’m really proud of what they’ve accomplished.”

John G. Lynch Jr.

“When we started, we didn’t have many people who had published significantly in this area. But today, we’re one of the world’s leaders in this field.”

He’s especially proud of his colleagues: “Some of the brightest stars at Leeds are working on this topic now, and I’m really proud of what they’ve accomplished.”

Lynch pointed to the center’s focus on topics that resonate with people the world over. In spring 2025, for example, Lynch delivered the keynote address at the 20th Anniversary Conference of Netspar—the Network for Studies on Pensions, Aging and Retirement in the Netherlands—attended by the country’s Queen Máxima.

“The Netherlands has the best retirement system in the world,” he noted. “It’s fascinating to see how different countries tackle similar challenges like retirement, debt or funding education. Everyone’s trying to solve the same problems, but their approaches vary widely—and we can learn a lot by comparing them.”

Leading with a global perspective

Building on this ethos, Lynch was appointed the inaugural director of the Initiative for Global Business Impact and Citizen Well-Being, which will launch in fall 2025, made possible by an anonymous gift.��

Consumer finance and sustainability are the center’s first two priorities—global topics of concern that resonate with everyone and that cross multiple academic disciplines.

“We’re especially interested in cases where interventions aimed at improving well-being are implemented through business,” Lynch said.

One early priority is strengthening ties with researchers in the Netherlands, particularly in retirement policy, where that country is a leader. But the scope is broad. “Water management is another area with enormous global relevance,” explained Lynch.��“That’s the level of impact we would like to have.”

“Our role is to offer scientific insights grounded in rigorous research that policymakers and practitioners can trust.”

John G. Lynch Jr.��

At the core of the initiative is a belief in evidence-based, apolitical research. “We’re not pushing an agenda or trying to make policy. Our role is to offer scientific insights grounded in rigorous research that policymakers and practitioners can trust.”

A lasting legacy

In addition to his scholarly impact, Lynch’s legacy includes mentoring more than 100 PhD students—many of whom now hold faculty positions at top business schools and who serve as department chairs, journal editors and industry leaders.

“Many of them have gone on to extraordinary careers,” Lynch said. “What’s most gratifying is the ongoing relationships. Anyone who’s had me as a dissertation chair gets what I call the ‘lifetime guarantee’—I’ll always be there for advice or collaboration.”

Reflecting on his full career of teaching and working with exceptional colleagues, Lynch is deeply grateful.

“I have worked only at amazing places. And I've had amazing students.”