Advising

I advise PhD students in Stanford MS&E whose work intersects entrepreneurship, institutional design, industrial policy, AI's effects on innovation, or the global political economy of technology. The list below covers students and postdocs I've worked with directly. For prospective students considering applying, see the MS&E PhD page.

Current PhD students
3 students currently advising or co-advising.
  • Wajeeha Ahmed · co-advised with Erik Brynjolfsson
    September 2020 – present · Finishing Summer 2026 · joining Columbia Business School (Management Division)

    The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Content Consumption and Production

  • Yikai Cao
    September 2024 – present · Anticipated 2029

    Semiconductors, Export Controls and Technology Entrepreneurship (preliminary)

  • Xilan Zhang
    September 2024 – present · Anticipated 2029

    Randomized Field Experiments and Entrepreneurship (preliminary)

Incoming postdoctoral researchers
  • Postdoctoral researcher (King Center sponsored) · Starting Fall 2026

    PhD candidate at Cornell Dyson School of Applied Economics & Management; previously Research Analyst at IFPRI and the World Bank. Research focuses on development economics, labor economics, and economics of education.

Former postdoctoral researchers
  • Postdoctoral researcher · February 2020 – July 2025

    Co-author on Learning-by-Advising (working paper); led field operations for the Thailand AIS/KBank accelerator RCT.

Former PhD students
11 students who completed their doctoral work under my advisement or co-advisement, in reverse chronological order by graduation year.
  • Zahra Hejrati · co-advised with Kathleen Eisenhardt
    September 2018 – August 2025 · Graduated 2025

    The Impact of Digital Technologies on Entrepreneurial Venture Formation

    Now: Research Fellow, The AMENA Center for Entrepreneurship and Development in Asia, the Middle East and North Africa (2025 – present)

  • September 2015 – June 2023 · Graduated 2023

    The Development of Entrepreneurial Skills and Motivation: The Role of Institutions

    Now: Assistant Professor of Management, University of Oregon Lundquist College of Business

  • Ayinwi Muma · co-advised with Sarah Soule
    September 2017 – 2023 (co-advised from November 2021) · ABD (did not complete dissertation)

    Additive Manufacturing and Entrepreneurship

    Now: Partner at (c)AYA (since 2025); previously Senior Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Duke University (Aug 2023 – Jul 2025)

  • September 2017 – September 2022 · Graduated 2022

    Managing External and Internal Change: Lessons from Entrepreneurship

    Now: Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship, Carnegie Mellon University Tepper School of Business

  • September 2014 – June 2021 · Graduated 2021

    Entrepreneurial Finance: From Accelerators to IPOs

    Now: Product Lead at Project Eleven (previously Senior Associate, Floodgate)

  • September 2015 – June 2021 · Graduated 2021

    Entrepreneurial Strategies in Institutional Changes: Tackling the Conflicts Between New and Old Rules

    Now: Assistant Professor, Department of Management, CUHK Business School

  • September 2012 – June 2018 · Graduated 2018

    Online Sellers' Offline Environment: Implications for Platform Strategy

    Now: Assistant Professor of Management & Organization, Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School (previously INSEAD)

  • September 2010 – September 2017 · Graduated 2017

    Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies: Institutions and Relationships

    Now: Assistant Professor, National University of Singapore Business School (previously INSEAD)

  • Daniel Armanios · co-advised with Kathleen Eisenhardt
    September 2009 – June 2015 · Graduated 2015

    What is the Role of the State in Entrepreneurship and Venture Performance?

    Now: BT Professor of Management and Chair of Major Programme Management, University of Oxford Saïd Business School; Professorial Fellow, St Anne's College, Oxford

  • September 2010 – May 2015 · Graduated 2015

    Discovering Entrepreneurial Opportunities

    Now: Associate Professor, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; Academic Director, EPIC Lab

  • Robert Eberhart · co-advised with Kathleen Eisenhardt
    September 2010 – June 2013 · Graduated 2013

    Institutional Change and Entrepreneurship

    Now: Associate Professor of Management and Faculty Director, Ahlers Center of International Business, University of San Diego

Pulled from my Stanford School of Engineering CV (last updated January 2026), with current affiliations verified as of May 2026. The list focuses on PhD students and postdoctoral researchers I've directly advised or co-advised. It does not yet include undergraduate research assistants, predoctoral researchers, or external collaborators who deserve mention — those additions are coming.
© 2026 Chuck Eesley