Masahiro Watanabe is an Associate Professor of Finance at the University of Alberta, and formerly an assistant professor at Rice University. Addressing issues in asset pricing and market microstructure, he has published his theoretical and empirical research in leading finance journals such as the Journal of Finance and the Review of Financial Studies. He serves as Associate Editor of International Review of Finance and Japan and the World Economy.

He holds a Ph.D. from Yale University and an MBA from the University of Chicago. Prior to joining the academic circle, he was a research and sales associate at what is now Sumitomo Mitsui Bank, where he structured foreign-exchange and interest-rate derivative products. He is a chartered member of the Securities Analysts Association of Japan.