Rate My Professor Jacquelyn Pless

Jacquelyn Pless has been appointed as an assistant professor of strategic management at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management and will join the school on July 1, 2026. Currently an assistant professor in the Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management Group at the MIT Sloan School of Management, she holds the Fred Kayne (1960) Career Development Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship Chair. Her research focuses on innovation economics, energy and environmental economics, and public finance. She is an honorary research associate with the University of Oxford, a research affiliate of CESifo, and an invited researcher with J-PAL’s Science for Progress Initiative. In 2024, Professor Pless was named a “Best 40-Under-40 Business School Professor” by Poets & Quants. She holds PhD and MS degrees in Mineral and Energy Economics from the Colorado School of Mines and a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from the University of Vermont. Prior to her academic appointments, she held various positions in the public and private sectors.

Professor Pless is particularly interested in how public policy and market forces can accelerate innovation in clean energy and climate change mitigation technologies. She has expressed enthusiasm for exploring topics at the intersection of innovation economics and energy markets in Canada, noting Toronto’s status as a global tech, finance, and policy hub as an ideal setting for studying how innovation can address major societal challenges. As a first-generation college student who attended public schools, she values making education and research accessible and looks forward to contributing to the University of Toronto’s diverse student community.

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