The late J. Chris Leach was professor of finance, the W.W. Reynolds Capital Market Program Chair and formerly Robert H. and Beverly A. Deming Professor in Entrepreneurship at the Leeds School of Business, University of Colorado Boulder. He received a finance Ph.D. from Cornell University, began his teaching career at the Wharton School and was a visiting professor at Carnegie Mellon, the Indian School of Business and the Stockholm Institute for Financial Research (at the Stockholm School of Economics). His teaching experience included courses for undergraduates, MBAs, Ph.D. students and executives. He was recognized as Graduate Professor of the Year and received multiple awards for MBA Teaching Excellence. His research on a variety of topics was published in The Review of Financial Studies, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Journal of Business, Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance, Review of Economic Dynamics and Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, among other journals. Chris's business background included various startups, dating back to his early teens in the 1970s. During his transition to the University of Colorado, he was the chairman of a New Mexico startup and later, as an investor and advisor, participated in a late 1990s Silicon Valley startup that subsequently merged into a public company. His consulting activities included business and strategic planning advising, valuation and deal structure for early-stage and small businesses. He was a faculty advisor for the Deming Center Venture Fund. MBA teams Chris advised qualified for 12 international championships of the Venture Capital Investment Competition.