PCAOB Names Former Kellogg School of Management Assistant Dean Patricia Ledesma as Program Leader of the Center for Economic Analysis

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board today announced that it has named Patricia Ledesma as the Program Leader of the Center for Economic Analysis at the PCAOB.

Dr. Ledesma, who most recently was an Assistant Dean and Director of Research Support at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, has joined the PCAOB to work with Founding Director Luigi Zingales to further develop and design the Center.

"Dr. Ledesma's academic credentials, as well as her experience with developing and managing research programs, will be a great asset to the Center and to advancing the PCAOB's commitment to the use of economic analysis," said James R. Doty, PCAOB Chairman.

The PCAOB established the Center for Economic Analysis to study the role and relevance of the audit in capital formation and investor protection, and to promote and encourage related economic research.

The Center will advise the Board on how economic theory, analysis, and tools can be better used to enhance the effectiveness of PCAOB program areas, including standard setting, inspections and other oversight activities.

"Dr. Ledesma, an economics PhD, has long experience supporting top level research. We are delighted that we can rely on her expertise at the Center and the PCAOB," said Professor Zingales.

Dr. Ledesma, who is based in the PCAOB headquarters in Washington, DC, will supervise and direct the staff of the Center, as well as identify and conduct research on auditing matters.

Dr. Ledesma joined Northwestern's Kellogg School in 2000. Prior to becoming an Assistant Dean in 2008, she served in various capacities, including as a research associate, lecturer and as the Director of Research Computing.

Her previous experience includes work as a research associate at the University of Notre Dame and as an economist at Apoyo Consultoría, a consulting firm in Peru.

She earned a BA in social sciences at Pontificia Universidad Catolica Del Peru in Lima, Peru, and received her MA and PhD in economics from the University of Notre Dame.