Odongo Kodongo

ByWBSComms

Odongo Kodongo

Current title
Associate Professor: Finance, Wits Business School

Course at Wits Business School
Doctor of Philosophy, 2012

A defining moment in my career
Bali Island, Indonesia, was in its usual element in December 2013 – beautiful and tranquil with the warm Indian Ocean waters and hospitable local inhabitants blending seamlessly with the hot and humid weather. Yet, enjoying the warm Bali weather was only peripheral to my visit.

I was in Bali on an academic mission to present my paper with my colleague Professor Kalu Ojah, Conditional Pricing of Currency Risk in Africa’s Equity Markets, at the First Indonesian Financial Management Association Conference.

By now, following my presentation of a proposal by the same title earlier at the December 2011 AERC workshop, whose audience included renowned finance professor, Lemma Senbet, I was getting accustomed to enthusiastic receptions of my scholarly work by peers. However, the highlight of the Bali conference, for me, was the unexpected one-to-one encounter over lunch with legendary asset pricing scholar, Bruno Solnik.

The discussion focused, expectedly, on my paper as the professor sought a deeper understanding of my research and provided insights for its further development. Professor Solnik went beyond the usual conference calling, inviting me to send the paper over to him for a formal critique. In the end, his magnanimity shaped the paper immensely, improving its appeal to journal reviewers and editors, and bolstering my research confidence.

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