- For the Community<\/a><\/li>
- For Students<\/a><\/li><\/ul>
\n\nBradley Distinguished Lecture Series<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The Bradley Distinguished Lecture Series provides our community the opportunity to hear internationally respected scholars, policy experts, and thought leaders who provide important insights into economic policies and actions that reinforce people\u2019s faith in American democratic capitalism and free enterprise, and foster America\u2019s global economic competitiveness, entrepreneurialism and innovation. Each year, several hundred business leaders, executives, academic leaders, and policy-makers attend the series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The series is sponsored by 51ÁÔÆæ’s Lubar College of Business and The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Private Equity and Venture Capital in the Age of Artificial Intelligence<\/strong>
Steven N. Kaplan<\/strong>, Neubauer Family Distinguished Service Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance, and Kessenich E.P. Faculty Director, Polsky Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, University of Chicago Booth School of Business<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nThursday, March 19, 2026
11:30am-1:30pm
Discovery World, Roger & Judy Smith Pilot House
500 N. Harbor Dr., Milwaukee, WI<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Steven](\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/business\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/554\/2026\/01\/Steven-N.-Kaplan-150x150.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe large increase in private equity, venture capital and private debt has generated widespread interest and scrutiny, particularly in light of the AI-boom and its financing. What is the history of private equity and venture capital? What do private equity and venture capital actually do to the companies they invest in? How have they really performed for investors? With the investment boom, how are they likely to perform in the future in the age of AI? Do these investors and their investment structures make us vulnerable to another financial crisis? Dr. Kaplan offers his analysis and perspectives on these issues and his views on potential implications for policymakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr. Kaplan\u2019s research focuses on private equity, venture capital, corporate governance and executive talent. He was elected a Fellow of the American Finance Association in recognition of distinguished contributions to the field of finance. He is the co-creator of the Kaplan-Schoar PME (Public Market Equivalent) private equity benchmarking approach. A Fortune Magazine article referred to him as “probably the foremost private equity scholar in the galaxy.\u201d Professor Kaplan is a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Professor Kaplan co-founded the entrepreneurship program at Booth. With his students, he helped start Booth\u2019s business plan competition, the New Venture Challenge (NVC), which has spawned over two hundred companies. The companies have raised over $1.2 billion from investors and have created over $10 billion in market value. Companies include GrubHub, Simple Mills, Braintree\/Venmo, Open Water and Tovala. Professor Kaplan serves on the board of Morningstar (MORN). He co-created the Lincoln Middle Market Index.
Professor Kaplan earned his PhD in Business Economics from Harvard University. He received his AB, summa cum laude, in Applied Mathematics and Economics from Harvard College.<\/p>\n\n\n\nRegistration is now closed. Please contact Kennedy Wiegel <\/a>for more information.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Past events have included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mortgage Finance Policy, Monetary Policy and Financial Crises
<\/strong>Featuring: Douglas W. Diamond, 2022 recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences and Merton H. Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance, University of Chicago \u2013 Booth School of Business<\/em>
View recording<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nInflation<\/strong>
Featuring: John H. Cochrane, Rose-Marie and Jack Anderson Senior Fellow of the Hoover Institution, Stanford University <\/em>
<\/strong>View recording<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nDebt, Deficits, and Sustainability: The US Fiscal Challenge<\/strong>
Featuring: James Poterba, Mitsui Professor of Economics at MIT and President of the National Bureau of Economic Research<\/em>
View recording<\/strong><\/a>
Reimagining Development: Possible Lessons from India and Implications for the U.S.<\/strong>
Featuring: Dr. Raghuram G. Rajan, Katherine Dusak Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance, University of Chicago Booth School of Business
View recording<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nIt\u2019s Time to Get Back to Rules-Based Monetary Policy<\/strong>
John B. Taylor, Mary and Robert Raymond Professor of Economics, Stanford University; George P. Shultz Senior Fellow in Economics, Hoover Institution; and Senior Fellow, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Anatomy of Government Failure:<\/strong> Making Government Effective and Affordable<\/strong>
Michael J. Boskin, Tully M. Friedman Professor of Economics and Wohlford Family Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
U.S. Fiscal Policy and Government Debt: Looking Beyond the Pandemic<\/strong>
James Poterba, Mitsui Professor of Economics at MIT, and President & CEO of the National Bureau of Economic Research
View recording<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nDisruption\u2019s Wake: The Wall and The Bridge<\/strong>
Glenn Hubbard, Dean Emeritus and Russell L. Carson Professor of Finance and Economics at Columbia Business School
View recording<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nU.S. Economic Outlook: Is Another Recession Looming?
<\/strong>Randall S. Kroszner, Norman R. Bobins Professor of Economics and Deputy Dean for Executive Programs at the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Administrative Threat to Civil Liberties<\/strong>
Philip Hamburger, J.D. Maurice and Hilda Friedman Professor of Law at Columbia Law School<\/p>\n\n\n\nIs Tax Reform the Impossible Dream?
<\/strong>James M. Poterba, Mitsui Professor of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,and President of the National Bureau of Economic Research<\/p>\n\n\n\nInequality, Human Capital and Growth: Implications for U.S. Economic Policy<\/strong>
Kevin M. Murphy, George J. Stigler Distinguished Service Professor of Economics, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Dodd-Frank Act and the Unending Growth of the Administrative State<\/strong>
Peter J. Wallison, Arthur F. Burns Chair in Financial Market Studies and
Co-director of American Enterprise Institute\u2019s (\u201cAEI\u201d) program on financial market deregulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cWhat Will Determine Our Economic Future?<\/strong>
Michael J. Boskin, Tully M. Friedman Professor of Economics & Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\nUndergraduate Certificate in International Business<\/div>Whatever you\u2019re studying \u2013 whether it be accounting, finance, marketing, supply chain, or something else \u2013 having an understanding of economic, political, and cultural differences will give you new perspectives that you\u2019ll bring with you to make you a more \u201cglobally savvy\u201d employee.<\/div>View Undergraduate Certificate in International Business<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n - For Students<\/a><\/li><\/ul>