Dr. Rui Zhong is an Associate Professor in finance at the UWA Business School, University of Western Australia, where he serves as Master of Applied Finance Program Coordinator and Principal Contact for the University Affiliated Programs with the CFA Institute and Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP). He holds a Ph.D. in finance from the joint Ph.D. program at Concordia University’s John Molson School of Business with McGill University, HEC Montréal, and UQAM (2008–2013), a Master’s in Financial Risk Management from Simon Fraser University (2005–2006), and a Bachelor’s in Economics from Nankai University (2001–2005). A Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Certified Financial Risk Manager (FRM), his prior appointments include Associate Professor in finance at Central University of Finance and Economics (2017–2018), Assistant Professor there (2014–2017), and Scholar-in-Residence at Concordia University (2013–2014).

Rui Zhong’s research focuses on sustainable finance, ESG, energy finance, credit derivatives, financial risk management, investments, and corporate finance. He has published over 20 articles in top journals including Journal of Accounting Research, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Journal of Financial Markets, Journal of Banking and Finance, and Journal of Financial Stability. His co-authored paper “The Effects of Mandatory ESG Disclosure Around the World” ranked as the third most read business school sustainability research article by Financial Times in 2023 and was cited in the U.S. SEC’s final rules on mandatory climate risk disclosure in March 2024. Recent publications include “Is green revenue vanity or sanity? Evidence from corporate cash holdings” (Guo & Zhong, 2025, International Review of Financial Analysis) and “Biodiversity risk and payment methods in mergers & acquisitions” (Liu, Qin & Zhong, 2025, Finance Research Letters). With 1032 citations and an h-index of 11, his work has earned the UWA Business School 2024 Mid-Career Research Award Commendation, GRASFI Best Paper Award (2021), and AFAANZ Best Paper in Finance (2019). He has presented at over 60 conferences and institutions worldwide, including the American Finance Association, UNDP China, FDIC, and Bank of Canada, and secured over $1 million in grants as chief investigator from sources like the National Foundation of Australia-China Relations and National Natural Science Foundation of China.

Professional Email: rui.zhong@uwa.edu.au