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Joel C. Peterson

Joel C. Peterson
Consulting Professor, Finance
Contact Info
JoelC.Peterson
The Robert L. Joss Consulting Professor of Management
Academic Area: 
Finance

Research Statement

Since 1992, Joel Peterson has taught courses in real estate, entrepreneurship, and leadership at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University. Peterson’s course focus is presently on the effective management and leadership of growing businesses. His abiding interest, however, is in students and the important decisions they will make in the business world and in their personal lives.

Bio

Mr. Peterson founded Peterson Partners (PPLP), a Salt Lake City-based private equity group with some $1/2 Billion under management. PPLP focuses on providing growth and buyout capital to businesses with strong management teams and a track record of success. Peterson Partners has invested in local Utah businesses such as Winder Dairy, Making Memories, EnergySolutions, Diamond Rental, Asphalt Zipper and 3form, as well as national businesses such as JetBlue Airways, Cranium and Asurion, and international ones such as Azul Linhas Aereas Brasileiras, Packsize, D&S Investments, and K.P.R. Mill Limited.

Separate from this private equity business, Mr. Peterson founded JCP Capital to fulfill a passion for partnering with talented entrepreneurs in earlier stage or smaller ventures.

Mr. Peterson has been on the faculty at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University since 1992 where he has taught courses in real estate investment, entrepreneurship and leadership. He was selected by students to receive the 2005 Distinguished Teacher Award. He currently serves as a Director at Stanford’s Center for Leadership Development and Research, as a member of the Dean’s Advisory Group, and as an Overseer at the Hoover Institution.

Between 1973 and 1991, he was Treasurer, CFO, Board member and CEO of Trammell Crow Company, the world’s largest private real estate development firm.

Mr. Peterson is currently Chairman of the Board at JetBlue Airways, and on the boards of Franklin Covey and Ladder Capital Finance, a billion-dollar real estate investment company, and Bonobos, a New York based apparel start-up. Over the past 35 years, he has served on dozens of public and private boards including Asurion, the Dallas Market Center, Texas Commerce Bank (Dallas), the Advisory Board at the GSB at Stanford, and on the President’s Council at his alma mater. He was valedictorian at his undergraduate institution, Brigham Young University, and earned an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1973.

He and his wife, Diana, have been married for 38 years and have 7 children and 14 grandchildren.

Academic Degrees

  • MBA, Harvard Business School, 1973
  • BS, Brigham Young University, 1971

Academic Appointments

  • At Stanford University since 1992.
  • Consulting Professor of Management, Stanford GSB, 2011-present
  • Lecturer, Stanford GSB, 1992-1995, 1997-present

Professional Experience

  • Founder, CEO, Chairman, Peterson Ventures, Inc., 1991-present
  • Managing Partner, Trammell Crow Company, 1988-1991
  • Regional Partner, TCC Pacific Northwest, 1988-1989
  • CoManaging Partner, TC Group, 1987
  • President, Trammell Crow Residential, 1986
  • CFO, Trammell Crow Company, 1976-1985
  • Founder, Trammell Crow Services, 1985
  • Treasurer, Trammell Crow Company, 1975
  • Project Manager, Trammell Crow International (France), 1973-75
  • Student Body President, Valedictorian, Hinckley Scholar, Brigham Young University

Awards and Honors

  • MBA Distinguished Teaching Award, Stanford GSB, 2005

Courses Taught

Degree Courses

2015-16

What does it mean to be a principled leader? What role do values play in an organization, and how do successful leaders apply their values in their daily business lives? This course examines the concept of principled leadership and the various...

In the Managerial Skills Labs we examine several common managerial challenges faced by executives. Together with Faculty, students explore these topics using four case examples, each asking students to evaluate a series of situations, develop...

This course is offered for students who, in the near term, aspire to the management and full or partial ownership of a new or newly-acquired business. The seminar, which is limited to 45 students, has a strong implementation focus, and deals in...

2014-15

What does it mean to be a principled leader? What role do values play in an organization, and how do successful leaders apply their values in their daily business lives? This course examines the concept of principled leadership and the various...

In the Managerial Skills Labs we examine several common managerial challenges faced by executives. Together with Faculty, students explore these topics using four case examples, each asking students to evaluate a series of situations, develop...

This course is offered for students who, in the near term, aspire to the management and full or partial ownership of a new or newly-acquired business. The seminar, which is limited to 40 students, has a strong implementation focus, and deals in...

Stanford Case Studies

Bonobos Inc. Early Management Challenges | E368
Joel Peterson; Bethany Coates2009
Bonobos Inc. | E297
Bethany Coates, Joel Peterson2008
TodaysMama | E294
Katherine Bose, Joel Peterson2008
Amanda's Restaurants | E306
Katherine Bose, Joel Peterson2007
Bruce Wallace | E256
Patrick Arippo, Joel Peterson2007
CPG Inc. (Supplement A): Linda Lane's Private Information | E307 Supplement A
Katherine Bose, Joel Peterson2007
CPG Inc. (Supplement B): Brian Gordon's Private Information | E307 Supplement B
Katherine Bose, Joel Peterson2007
CPG Inc. Public Information | E307
Katherine Bose, Joel Peterson2007
Cross Link Software | E250
Bethany Coates, Joel Peterson2007
Three Common CEO Missteps (A Perspective From The Boardroom) | E201
Harold Grousbeck, Joel Peterson, Jeffrey Pfeffer, Alex Tauber2006
JetBlue Executing the Plan (A) | E182A
H. Grousbeck, Joel Peterson, Alex Tauber2005
JetBlue Executing the Plan (B) | E182B
H. Grousbeck, Joel Peterson, Alex Tauber2005
Tom Dixon and Macho Taco, Goal Setting Vignette | E199
Joel Peterson, Joshua Spitzer2005
Valley Fire Protection (B) | E137B
Mike Harkey, Joel Peterson2005
Blackwell Consulting Services | E173
Joel Peterson, Alex Tauber2004
JetBlue | E150
Harold Grousbeck, Joel Peterson, Alicia Seiger2003
Russell Poore | E164
Joel Peterson, Alicia Seiger2003
Lambda Healthcare Investors | RE131
Craig Blanchard, Jack Kolodny, Joel Peterson2002
Figueroa @ Wilshire | RE127
Joel C. Peterson, Kevin Taweel1993

Stanford University Affiliations

Service to the Profession

Board of Directors

  • Lazard Freres Realty
  • Dermody Properties
  • Asurion, Inc.
  • ACCU Docs
  • Bay Logics, Inc.
  • Franklin Covey, Inc.
  • Jet Blue
  • Rentwi

Past Member

  • BYU President's Roundtable
  • Young Presidents' Organization
  • Urban Land Institute
  • Stanford Graduate School of Business Advisory Council
  • Texas Commerce Bank Dallas Board
  • Trammell Crow Company Board

In the Media

Forbes, 12 10, 2012
Joel Peterson offers tips for entrepreneurs on laying a foundation for trust-building.
Forbes, November 17, 2012
Joel Peterson, the Robert L. Joss Consulting Professor of Management, explains the value of building high-trust organizations.

Insights by Stanford Business

October 20, 2015
Scoreboards work better than ever in this wired world, but be careful.
April 11, 2014
The founder of Trunk Club discusses shopping for men, on-the-job challenges, and his greatest achievement.
July 16, 2013
The Stanford GSB lecturer and chairman of JetBlue airlines explains how to bring the best people on board.

School News

May 1, 2005
Students honored professors Andrzej Skrzypacz and Ron Kasznik, and lecturer Joel Peterson with three outstanding faculty awards.