Skip to main content
Official Logo of Columbia Business School
Academic Programs
  • Visit Academic Programs
  • MBA
  • Executive MBA
  • Master of Science
  • PhD
  • Undergraduate Concentration
Faculty & Research
  • Visit Faculty & Research
  • Academic Divisions
  • Faculty Search
  • CBS Research
  • Research Resources
  • Research Opportunities
Executive Education
  • Visit Executive Education
  • For Organizations
  • For Individuals
  • Program Finder
  • Online Programs
  • Certificates
Alumni
  • Visit Alumni
  • Alumni Clubs
  • Alumni Benefits
  • Alumni Events
  • Lifetime Network
  • Women's Circle
  • Career Management
About Us
  • Visit About Us
  • The CBS Experience
  • Leadership
  • Our History
  • CBS Directory
  • Newsroom
  • Magazine
CBS Insights
  • Visit CBS Insights
  • AI & Business Analytics
  • Business & Society
  • Climate
  • Finance
  • Entrepreneurship
  • More on CBS Insights

Breadcrumb

  1. Directory
  2. Faculty
  3. Omar Besbes

Omar Besbes

Vikram S. Pandit Professor of Business
Decision, Risk, and Operations Division
Omar Besbes
Areas of Expertise
AI and Business Analytics , Marketplace Design, Operations & Supply Chain Management
Contact
Office: 982 Kravis
E-mail: [email protected]
Links
Curriculum Vitae

Omar Besbes's primary research interests are in the area of data-driven decision-making with a focus on applications in e-commerce, pricing and revenue management, online advertising, operations management and general service systems. His research has been recognized by multiple prizes, including the 2019 Frederick W. Lanchester Prize, the 2017 M&SOM society Young Scholar Prize, the 2013 M&SOM best paper award and the 2012 INFORMS Revenue Management and Pricing Section prize. He serves on the editorial boards of Management Science and Operations Research.

He has taught core MBA courses in Operations Management and Business Analytics, an MBA elective on advanced Business Analytics, as well as various Ph.D. seminars on stochastic models, revenue management and data-driven decision-making. He is a recipient of the Dean's award for teaching excellence in the core at Columbia Business School.

Omar is a graduate of Ecole Polytechnique (France) and received a M.Sc. from Stanford University in 2000 and a Ph.D. from Columbia University in 2008. Before joining Columbia, he was on the faculty at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

Education
Ingenieur de l'Ecole, Polytechnique, France, 1999; MSc, Stanford University, 2000; PhD, Columbia University, 2008
Joined CBS
2009

All Activities

  • Research
  • Teaching
  • Awards and Honors
  • Press
  • Journal articles
  • Working papers
  • Articles
  • Books
  • Chapters
Type
Journal Article
Besbes, Omar, Francisco Castro, and Ilan Lobel
. “Surge Pricing and Its Spatial Supply Response.”
Management Science
vol.
67
, (March 01, 2021):
1329
-
1992
.
Read More about Surge Pricing and Its Spatial Supply Response
Download PDF on Surge Pricing and Its Spatial Supply Response
Type
Journal Article
Allouah, Amine and Omar Besbes
. “Prior-Independent Optimal Auctions.”
Management Science
vol.
66
, (October 01, 2020):
4417
-
4432
.
Read More about Prior-Independent Optimal Auctions
Download PDF on Prior-Independent Optimal Auctions
Type
Journal Article
Besbes, Omar, Yonatan Gur, and Assaf Zeevi
. “Optimal Exploration-Exploitation in a Multi-armed Bandit Problem with Non-stationary Rewards.”
Stochastic Systems
vol.
9
, (December 01, 2019):
319
-
337
.
Read More about Optimal Exploration-Exploitation in a Multi-armed Bandit Problem with Non-stationary Rewards
Download PDF on Optimal Exploration-Exploitation in a Multi-armed Bandit Problem with Non-stationary Rewards
Type
Journal Article
Chan, Tian, Francis de Vericourt, and Omar Besbes
. “Contracting in Medical Equipment Maintenance Services: An Empirical Investigation.”
Management Science
vol.
65
, (January 01, 2019):
1136
-
1150
.
Read More about Contracting in Medical Equipment Maintenance Services: An Empirical Investigation
Download PDF on Contracting in Medical Equipment Maintenance Services: An Empirical Investigation
Type
Journal Article
Balseiro, Santiago R. and Omar Besbes
. “Dynamic Mechanism Design with Budget Constrained Buyers Under Limited Commitment.”
Operations Research
vol.
67
, (January 01, 2019):
711
-
730
.
Read More about Dynamic Mechanism Design with Budget Constrained Buyers Under Limited Commitment
Download PDF on Dynamic Mechanism Design with Budget Constrained Buyers Under Limited Commitment
Type
Journal Article
Besbes, Omar, Dan Iancu, and Nikos Trichakis
. “Dynamic Pricing under Debt: Spiraling Distortions and Efficiency Losses.”
Management Science
vol.
64
, (October 01, 2018):
4572
-
4589
.
Read More about Dynamic Pricing under Debt: Spiraling Distortions and Efficiency Losses
Download PDF on Dynamic Pricing under Debt: Spiraling Distortions and Efficiency Losses
Type
Journal Article
Besbes, Omar and Marco Scarsini
. “On Information Distortions in Online Ratings.”
Operations Research
vol.
66
, (January 01, 2018):
597
-
610
.
Read More about On Information Distortions in Online Ratings
Download PDF on On Information Distortions in Online Ratings
Type
Journal Article
Besbes, Omar and Denis Saure
. “Product Assortment and Price Competition under Multinomial Logit Demand.”
Production and Operations Management
vol.
25
, (March 01, 2016):
114
-
127
.
Read More about Product Assortment and Price Competition under Multinomial Logit Demand
Type
Journal Article
Besbes, Omar, Yonatan Gur, and Assaf Zeevi
. “Optimization in Online Content Recommendation Services: Beyond Click-Through-Rates.”
Manufacturing & Service Operations
vol.
18
, (January 28, 2016):
15
-
33
.
Read More about Optimization in Online Content Recommendation Services: Beyond Click-Through-Rates
Download PDF on Optimization in Online Content Recommendation Services: Beyond Click-Through-Rates
Type
Journal Article
Besbes, Omar and Assaf Zeevi
. “On the (Surprising) Sufficiency of Linear Models for Dynamic Pricing with Demand Learning.”
Management Science
vol.
61
, (April 01, 2015):
723
-
739
.
Read More about On the (Surprising) Sufficiency of Linear Models for Dynamic Pricing with Demand Learning
Download PDF on On the (Surprising) Sufficiency of Linear Models for Dynamic Pricing with Demand Learning
Type
Journal Article
Balseiro, Santiago R. and Omar Besbes
. “Repeated Auctions with Budgets in Ad Exchanges: Approximations and Design.”
Management Science
vol.
61
, (April 01, 2015):
864
-
884
.
Read More about Repeated Auctions with Budgets in Ad Exchanges: Approximations and Design
Download PDF on Repeated Auctions with Budgets in Ad Exchanges: Approximations and Design
Type
Journal Article
Besbes, Omar and Ilan Lobel
. “Intertemporal Price Discrimination: Structure and Computation of Optimal Policies.”
Management Science
vol.
61
, (January 01, 2015):
92
-
110
.
Read More about Intertemporal Price Discrimination: Structure and Computation of Optimal Policies
Download PDF on Intertemporal Price Discrimination: Structure and Computation of Optimal Policies
Type
Journal Article
Besbes, Omar, Yonatan Gur, and Assaf Zeevi
. “Non-Stationary Stochastic Optimization.”
Operations Research
vol.
63
, (January 01, 2015):
1227
-
1244
.
Read More about Non-Stationary Stochastic Optimization
Download PDF on Non-Stationary Stochastic Optimization
Type
Journal Article
Besbes, Omar and Denis Saure
. “Dynamic Pricing Strategies in the Presence of Demand Shifts.”
Manufacturing & Service Operations Management
vol.
16
, (January 01, 2014):
513
-
528
.
Read More about Dynamic Pricing Strategies in the Presence of Demand Shifts
Type
Journal Article
Besbes, Omar and Alp Muharremoglu
. “On implications of demand censoring in the newsvendor problem.”
Management Science
vol.
6
, (June 01, 2013):
1407
-
1424
.
Read More about On implications of demand censoring in the newsvendor problem
Type
Journal Article
Besbes, Omar and Costis Maglaras
. “Dynamic Pricing with Financial Milestones: Feedback-Form Policies.”
Management Science
vol.
58
, no.
9
(September 01, 2012):
1715
-
1731
.
Read More about Dynamic Pricing with Financial Milestones: Feedback-Form Policies
Download PDF on Dynamic Pricing with Financial Milestones: Feedback-Form Policies
Type
Journal Article
Besbes, Omar and Assaf Zeevi
. “Blind Network Revenue Management.”
Operations Research
vol.
60
, (January 01, 2012):
1537
-
1550
.
Read More about Blind Network Revenue Management
Download PDF on Blind Network Revenue Management
Type
Journal Article
Besbes, Omar and Assaf Zeevi
. “On the minimax complexity of pricing in a changing environment.”
Operations Research
vol.
59
, (January 01, 2011):
66
-
79
.
Read More about On the minimax complexity of pricing in a changing environment
Type
Journal Article
Besbes, Omar and Assaf Zeevi
. “Testing the Validity of a Demand Model: An Operations Perspective.”
Manufacturing & Service Operations Management
vol.
12
, (January 01, 2010):
162
-
183
.
Read More about Testing the Validity of a Demand Model: An Operations Perspective
Type
Journal Article
Besbes, Omar and Costis Maglaras
. “Revenue Optimization for a Make-to-Order Queue in an Uncertain Market Environment.”
Operations Research
vol.
57
, no.
6
(November 01, 2009):
1438
-
1450
.
Read More about Revenue Optimization for a Make-to-Order Queue in an Uncertain Market Environment
Type
Journal Article
Besbes, Omar and Assaf Zeevi
. “Dynamic Pricing Without Knowing the Demand Function: Risk Bounds and Near-Optimal Algorithms.”
Operations Research
vol.
57
, (November 01, 2009):
1407
-
1420
.
Read More about Dynamic Pricing Without Knowing the Demand Function: Risk Bounds and Near-Optimal Algorithms
Type
Journal Article
Besbes, Omar and Sergei Savin
. “Going Bunkers: The Joint Route Selection and Refueling Problem.”
Manufacturing & Service Operations Management
vol.
11
, (January 01, 2009):
694
-
711
.
Read More about Going Bunkers: The Joint Route Selection and Refueling Problem
Type
Working Paper
Besbes, Omar, Juan Manuel Chaneton, and Ciamac Moallemi
. The Exploration-Exploitation Trade-off in the Newsvendor Problem. November 04, 2021.
Read More about The Exploration-Exploitation Trade-off in the Newsvendor Problem
Type
Working Paper
Allouah, Amine, Achraf Bahamou, and Omar Besbes
. Pricing with Samples. June 01, 2021.
Read More about Pricing with Samples
Type
Working Paper
Besbes, Omar and Omar Mouchtaki
. How Big Should Your Data Really Be? Data-Driven Newsvendor and the Transient of Learning. March 15, 2021.
Read More about How Big Should Your Data Really Be? Data-Driven Newsvendor and the Transient of Learning
Type
Working Paper
Besbes, Omar, Yuri Fonseca, and Ilan Lobel
. Contextual Inverse Optimization: Offline and Online Learning. January 01, 2021.
Read More about Contextual Inverse Optimization: Offline and Online Learning
Type
Working Paper
Allouah, Amine, Achraf Bahamou, and Omar Besbes
. Optimal Pricing with a Single Point. January 01, 2021.
Read More about Optimal Pricing with a Single Point
Type
Working Paper
Allouah, Amine and Omar Besbes
. Auctions in the Online Display Advertising Chain: A Case for Independent Campaign Management. June 05, 2017.
Read More about Auctions in the Online Display Advertising Chain: A Case for Independent Campaign Management
Type
Working Paper
Besbes, Omar, Juan Manuel Chaneton, and Ciamac Moallemi
. The exploration-exploitation tradeoff in the newsvendor problem. November 01, 2014.
Read More about The exploration-exploitation tradeoff in the newsvendor problem
Download PDF on The exploration-exploitation tradeoff in the newsvendor problem
Type
Newspaper/Magazine Article
Singal, Raghav, Omar Besbes, Antoine Desir, Vineet Goyal, and Garud Iyengar
. “Shapley Meets Uniform: An Axiomatic Framework for Attribution in Online Advertising.”
Management Science
. Forthcoming.
Read More about Shapley Meets Uniform: An Axiomatic Framework for Attribution in Online Advertising
Type
Newspaper/Magazine Article
Besbes, Omar, Francisco Castro, and Ilan Lobel
. “Spatial Capacity Planning.”
Operations Research
. Forthcoming.
Read More about Spatial Capacity Planning
Type
Newspaper/Magazine Article
Besbes, Omar, Adam N. Elmachtoub, and Yunjie Sun
. “Static Pricing: Universal Guarantees for Reusable Resources.”
Operations Research
. May 02, 2019.
Read More about Static Pricing: Universal Guarantees for Reusable Resources
  • Courses
  • Case Studies
Type
Course
B9150: Foundations of Operations Management
View Course on Foundations of Operations Management
Type
Course
B6101: Business Analytics
View Course on Business Analytics
Type
Case Study
Besbes, Omar
. testing. 
test
:
Academic Press
, 2018.
Read More about testing
Download PDF on testing
Type
Case Study
Olivares, Marcelo, Trevor Harris, Omar Besbes, and Gabriel Weintraub
. Lean Operations: From Efficiency to Profit. 
Columbia University
:
CaseWorks
, 2011.
Read More about Lean Operations: From Efficiency to Profit
Type
Case Study
Harris, Trevor, Omar Besbes, and Marcelo Olivares
. Lean Operations: From Efficiency to Profits. 
tk
: 2011.
Read More about Lean Operations: From Efficiency to Profits
  • Awards & Honors
  • In the Media
  • Ideas
  • Research In Brief
  • Press Releases
Official Logo of Columbia Business School

Columbia University in the City of New York
665 West 130th Street, New York, NY 10027
Tel. 212-854-1100

Maps and Directions
    • Centers & Programs
    • Current Students
    • Corporate
    • Directory
    • Support Us
    • Recruiters & Partners
    • Faculty & Staff
    • Newsroom
    • Careers
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy & Policy Statements
Back to Top Upward arrow
TOP

© Columbia University

  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn