Rich Lyons

Richard Kent Lyons (born 1961)^[1][2] is an American economist and academic who has been the 12th chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, since July 1, 2024. He is the first undergraduate alum to serve in this role. Prior to that, he was UC Berkeley’s first chief innovation and entrepreneurship officer from 2020–24 and the dean of its Haas School of Business from 2008–18.^[3][4] He joined the UC Berkeley faculty in 1993 after earning his Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and teaching at Columbia University for six years.

Rich Lyons
Lyons in 2024
12th Chancellor of University of California, Berkeley
Incumbent
Assumed office July 1, 2024
Preceded by	Carol T. Christ
Personal details
Born	Richard Kent Lyons (1961-02-10) February 10, 1961 (age 64) Palo Alto, California, U.S.
Education	University of California, Berkeley (BS) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (PhD)
Scientific career
Fields	Economics
Thesis	Three essays on exchange rate determination (1988)
Doctoral advisor	Rudiger Dornbusch

Early life and education

Lyons was born on February 10, 1961,^[5] in Palo Alto, California.

Lyons received a Bachelor of Science with a major in business and with highest honors from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1982. He received a Doctor of Philosophy in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1988 under the supervision of Rudiger Dornbusch.^[6]

Career

Before joining Haas in 1993, Lyons spent six years on the faculty at Columbia Business School. In addition to teaching, he held several leadership roles at Haas, including acting dean (2004–05), executive associate dean (2005–08), and dean (2008–18). Under his leadership as the chief innovation and entrepreneurship officer, UC Berkeley topped PitchBook’s list as the nation’s top university for the number of venture-funded startups founded by undergraduate alums. Lyons also served as the chief learning officer at Goldman Sachs in New York City from 2006–08.

Lyons’ teaching expertise is in international finance, currency markets, and financial market microstructure. He is fluent in French and, as an accomplished musician, owns several musical copyrights. He and Jennifer, his wife, have two children.

In 2018, Lyons received the Berkeley Citation, one of UC Berkeley’s highest honors, for contributions that go beyond the call of duty. In 1998, he received the Distinguished Teaching Award, Berkeley’s highest teaching honor, and he won the Earl F. Cheit Award For Excellence In Teaching at Haas six times.^[7]

Other professional activities

Lyons has served on the Board of Directors of the Matthews Asia Funds, Syntax Funds, and the Ashesi University Foundation in Ghana. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and has advised the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Federal Reserve Bank, the European Central Bank, and European Commission.^[8]