His empirical and practical research attempts to answer challenging societal and economic questions about how firms create value, especially in settings that might otherwise be overlooked. To that end, he is the author of a number of teaching case studies that examine entrepreneurship and finance in underserved markets domestic and abroad. He is currently working on a multi-year project to examine the field of community-development finance funded by a research grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Fairchild teaches strategic management, entrepreneurship and ethics in Darden's MBA and executive education courses. He has received a number of awards for teaching excellence at The Darden School, including being selected by the graduating class to be a Faculty Marshall. Before joining the Darden faculty in 2000, Fairchild taught at Columbia University. He worked for many years in marketing positions at Procter & Gamble; Kraft General Foods, and Saks Fifth Avenue.

M.Phil., Ph.D., Columbia University; M.B.A., University of Virginia; B.S., Virginia Commonwealth University