Susan Athey is a Professor of Economics at Harvard University. She received her Bachelor of Science degree from Duke University and her Ph.D. in Economics from Stanford University's Graduate School of Business. After teaching at MIT for six years and Stanford for five years, she moved to Harvard in 2006.

Her research focuses on auction theory, the design of auction-based markets, and the statistical analysis of auction data. She is an expert in a broad range of economic fields - including industrial organization, econometrics, and microeconomic theory - and has used game theory to examine firm strategy when firms have private information. She advises governments and businesses on the design of auction-based marketplaces, most recently consulting for Microsoft Corporation in the role of chief economist, focusing on its online advertising auctions.

In 2007, Professor Athey was named the first female recipient of the American Economic Association's prestigious John Bates Clark Medal, awarded every other year to the most accomplished American economist under the age of 40 adjudged to have made the most significant contribution to economic thought and knowledge. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Econometric Society, and she serves as an elected member of the Council of the Econometric Society and the Executive Committee of the American Economics Association.