GLOBAL INTERDEPENDENCE CENTER - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Mr. Leavenworth has over 20 years of professional experience in Latin America, from governmental roles to entrepreneurial ventures and finance. He is a founding partner of Afina and is primarily focused on managing and developing the firm's relationships. Mr. Leavenworth also serves as Honorary Consul of Chile in Philadelphia with a jurisdiction that includes the states of Pennsylvania, Delaware and southern New Jersey.
Prior to co-founding Afina in 2011, he founded Chispa Group LLC, an international consulting services firm, where he was involved in many different sectors and consulted on multi-billion dollar mining, energy, agriculture, and government projects. Previously, Mr. Leavenworth developed the first Chilean branded beef program for the US market, successfully establishing it as the largest supplier of grass-fed beef to Whole Foods Market. In addition, he co-founded Cono Sur, an affiliate of Chile's largest wine company, where he developed distribution channels throughout Latin America and Canada. Cono Sur currently exports more than one million cases of wine per year and is one of the top four wine companies in Chile. Leavenworth also helped lead the creation of the small business banking unit at Citibank while based out of Santiago, Chile.
In 2005, the President of Chile appointed Mr. Leavenworth the Honorary Consul of Chile in Philadelphia. He also serves on the boards of the Chilean & American Chamber of Commerce, Global Interdependence Center, Pan American Association and the Consular Corps Association of Philadelphia. In 2016, Leavenworth was appointed president of the board of Pata Foods, a leading organic baby food manufacturer. Mr. Leavenworth graduated from Hamilton College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Latin American Studies. He was born in Mexico and is fluent in Spanish.
Benjamin has over 20 years of professional experience in Latin America, from governmental roles to entrepreneurial ventures and finance. He is a founding partner of Afina International and also serves as Honorary Consul of Chile in Philadelphia.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Principal of Rankin Law & Policy
Brian A. Rankin, principal of Rankin Law & Policy, has over 30 years of legal and corporate experience as a policy advocate and legal counsel, including as a senior legal executive for Comcast Corporation, a Fortune 30 global media and technology company. He is an attorney, MBA, experienced corporate executive and has served on multiple nonprofit boards.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England
Dr Catherine L Mann joined the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England on 1 September 2021.
She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the American Economic Association, among others. Previously she was Chair of the Economic Advisory Committee of the American Bankers Association. And she was also a member of the Executive Board of the Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession, of the National Association for Business Economics, and of the advisory committees of the Federal Reserve Banks of Chicago, Boston, and New York, among others.
Prior to her appointment, she was the Global Chief Economist at Citibank from February 2018 to May 2021, where she was responsible for thought leadership and cross-fertilisation of research. Prior to that she was the Chief Economist and G20 Finance Deputy at the OECD from October 2014 to November 2017. She has also held positions as the Rosenberg Professor of Global Finance at Brandeis University, Senior Fellow at the Peter G. Peterson Institute for International Economics and Assistant Director in the International Finance Division at the Federal Reserve Board.
Dr. Mann's research addresses the relationships between financial markets and real economies with a focus on spillovers, including climate; and structural policies and outcomes, with a focus on the nexus of globalisation, inequality and productivity. She has authored or co-authored seven books, 60-plus articles, and numerous shorter pieces and testimony.
She has a PhD in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and an undergraduate degree with honors in Economics from Harvard University.
Job Titles:
- Secretary of the Board of Directors
- Chief Economist
Dana Peterson is the Chief Economist & Center Leader of Economy, Strategy & Finance at The Conference Board. Peterson joins The Conference Board from Citi, where for many years she served as a North America Economist and later as a Global Economist. Her wealth of experience extends to the public sector, having also worked at the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, D.C.
Dana's wide-ranging economics portfolio includes analyzing global economic themes having direct financial market implications, including monetary policy; fiscal and trade policy; debt; taxation; ESG; and demographics. Her work also examined myriad US themes leveraging granular data. In addition, Dana conducted multi-asset research and wrote publications with other Citi research teams - both US and global - including strategists covering rates, equities, credit, foreign exchange, commodities, political analysis, and asset allocation.
Peterson's research has been featured by US and international news outlets, both in print and broadcast. Publications and networks include CNBC, FOX Business, Bloomberg, Thomson-Reuters, the Financial Times, and the Wall Street Journal. She is the rising 1st Vice Chair of the New York Association for Business Economics (NYABE), and a member of the Women's Bond Club.
She received an undergraduate degree in Economics from Wesleyan University and a Master of Science degree in Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Director of Research and Executive Vice President at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
Daniel G. Sullivan is director of research and executive vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Sullivan serves as chief economist and as a member of the Executive Committee. He also attends meetings of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the group responsible for formulating national monetary policy. His research is in the area of labor economics, especially issues related to displaced workers and alternative work arrangements.
Prior to joining the Chicago Fed, Sullivan was an assistant professor of economics at Northwestern University and has also taught at Princeton University. In addition he is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Chicago's Harris School of Public Policy. He has published articles in the American Economic Review, Econometrica, the Journal of Law and Economics, the Journal of Economic Perspectives, the Journal of Industrial Economics, the Journal of Political Economy and the Quarterly Journal of Economics.
Sullivan received a B.A. in mathematics and statistics from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. in economics from Princeton University.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- David Link Retired in 2015 After Serving in Senior Executive Leadership Positions for Sanford Health, Sioux Falls, South Dakota for over Three Decades.
Mr. Link received his master's in business administration from the University of South Dakota. He was a Bush Leadership Fellow and received his master's degree in Hospital and Health Care Administration from the University of Minnesota. Mr. Link has been a central figure in strategic planning, mergers and acquisitions, research and development for Sanford Health and, among other things, is responsible for the Sanford Initiatives.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
David Kotok co-founded Cumberland Advisors in 1973 and has been its Chief Investment Officer since inception. David's articles and financial market commentaries have appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Barron's, and other publications.
During his career, he has been a frequent contributor to Bloomberg TV and Bloomberg Radio, Yahoo Finance TV, and other media. He has authored or co-authored four books, including the second edition of "From Bear to Bull with ETFs" and "Adventures in Muniland". He holds a B.S. in economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, an M.S. in organizational dynamics from the School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania, and an M.A. in philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania.
David has served as Program Chairman and currently serves as a Director of the Global Interdependence Center (GIC), whose mission is to encourage the expansion of global dialogue and free trade in order to improve cooperation and understanding among nation states, with the goal of reducing international conflicts and improving worldwide living standards. David chaired its Central Banking Series and organized a five-continent dialogue held in Cape Town, Hong Kong, Hanoi, Milan, Paris, Philadelphia, Prague, Rome, Santiago, Shanghai, Singapore, Tallinn, and Zambia (Livingstone). He has received the Global Citizen Award from GIC for his efforts. David is a member of the National Business Economic Issues Council (NBEIC), the National Association for Business Economics (NABE), has served on the Research Advisory Board of BCA Research, and currently serves on the advisory board of RiskBridge Advisors. He has also served as a Commissioner of the Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA) and on the Treasury Transition Teams for New Jersey Governors Kean and Whitman. Additionally, he has served as a board member of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority and as Chairman of the New Jersey Casino Reinvestment Development Authority.
He has also written two monograph pamphlets. The first is, "Lessons from Thucydides," which details information asymmetries and their implications for investors and world affairs. The second is, "Zika," a work which compiles David's research, interviews, and personal experience concerning the Zika virus and its potential for serious damage in the way of health and monetary costs. The expense for individuals can be devastating and in the case of governments, ballooning health budgets may affect municipal bond ratings.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Mr. D'Ginto was conferred the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation in 1998, and holds an MBA and a bachelor's degree in finance from Villanova University. Mr. D'Ginto is a past president of the CFA Society of Philadelphia, where he also served as the treasurer and as the committee co-chair for education and community outreach (focus on financial literacy). Mr. D'Ginto remains active with the CFA Institute, serving as a volunteer for the CFA Program and as a topical specialist for derivatives. Mr. D'Ginto serves as a board member of the Global Interdependence Center and is a member of its executive committee.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Founding Partner of Strategas
Mr. Rissmiller is a founding Partner of Strategas and has directed the Firm's macroeconomic research efforts since 2006. He oversees Strategas' thematic research as well as high-frequency econometric forecasting.
Prior to co-founding Strategas in 2006, Mr. Rissmiller was an Economist and Managing Director at International Strategy & Investment (ISI) Group. Before joining ISI, he worked at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, focusing on the analysis of U.S. macroeconomic data and price/wage forecasting models. He is frequently quoted in the financial press. He has been the president of the Forecasters Club of New York, a local group of economists. He has been a winner of their economic forecasting competition. He also serves on the board of the Global Interdependence Center (GIC) based in Philadelphia, and was the chair from 2018-2019.
Mr. Rissmiller's research has been consistently recognized by Institutional Investor magazine in their annual survey. Mr. Rissmiller holds an AB magna cum laude in Economics from Harvard.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- President
- President of the Board of Directors
Dr. Ali A. Houshmand became Rowan University's seventh president in 2012 after serving for approximately six years as provost/senior vice president, CEO and interim president. Houshmand is a dynamic leader whose personal connection with students, employees, alumni, government leaders, the business community and the public has become a hallmark of his presidency. A lifelong believer in the power of education, Houshmand holds master's and doctoral degrees in industrial and operations engineering. His entrepreneurial approach to higher education has focused on four goals: increasing access, improving quality, ensuring affordability and promoting economic development. His success is evident. Under Houshmand, Rowan has evolved from a well-regarded state school to a rising Carnegie-classified national research university with two medical schools. Enrollment has grown from 11,000 students in 2012 to 19,600 students for Fall 2019, making Rowan the fourth fastest-growing research university in the U.S.
Job Titles:
- Advisory Council
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Adjunct Professor of Economics
- Executive Vice President and Director of Research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
Dr. David E. Altig is executive vice president and director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. In addition to advising the Bank president on monetary policy and related matters, Dr. Altig oversees the Bank's regional executives and the Bank's research department. He also serves as a member of the Bank's management and discount committees. He leads the Atlanta Fed's macroblog, which provides commentary on economic topics, including monetary policy, macroeconomic developments, and the Southeast economy.
Dr. Altig also serves as an adjunct professor of economics in the graduate school of business at the University of Chicago.
Prior to joining the Atlanta Fed, Dr. Altig served as vice president and associate director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. He joined the Cleveland Fed in 1991 as an economist before being promoted in 1997. Before joining the Cleveland Fed, Dr. Altig was a faculty member in the department of business economics and public policy at Indiana University. He also has lectured at Ohio State University, Brown University, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland State University, Duke University, John Carroll University, Kent State University, and the University of Iowa, and in the Chinese Executive MBA program sponsored by the University of Minnesota and Lingnan College of Sun Yat-Sen University.
Dr. Altig's research is primarily focused on monetary and fiscal policy issues. His articles have appeared in a variety of journals, and he has served as editor for several conference volumes on a wide range of macroeconomic and monetary-economic topics.
Dr. Altig was born in Springfield, Illinois, Aug. 10, 1956. He graduated from the University of Iowa with a bachelor's degree in business administration. He earned his master's and doctoral degrees in economics from Brown University.
He and his wife Pam have four children and six grandchildren.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- President of the Committee for Economic Development of the Conference Board
Dr. Lori Esposito Murray is President of the Committee for Economic Development of The Conference Board. Murray brings to CED extensive experience at the highest echelons of domestic and international policy. She most recently served as an adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations' (CFR). Prior to her role at CFR, she held […]
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Dean Emeritus
Tsetsekos has served on the advisory boards of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, the Penjerdel Council, the Pennsylvania Economic League, the Conference Board, the World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia, the Global Interdependence Center and other organizations. He holds a Ph.D. in finance (1986) from the University of Tennessee, an MBA in finance from Wright State University and a B.Sc./M.Sc. in electrical and mechanical engineering from the University of Athens, Greece.
George Tsetsekos is dean emeritus and the Francis Professor of Finance at Drexel University's LeBow College of Business. He served as dean of LeBow (2002-2012) and under his transformative leadership the College achieved important quality milestones including recognition by BusinessWeek, Entrepreneur-Princeton Review, Financial Times and U.S. News & World Report. In addition, during his deanship, LeBow commenced an ambitious capital campaign program that allowed for the completion of two business school buildings (total 225,000 square feet), naming of four new centers of excellence, the establishment of new endowed professorships and the launching of more than 30 student scholarships.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Executive Director of the NFIB Research Center
- Vice Chair of Programs
Holly Wade is the executive director of the NFIB Research Center, where she has 17 years of experience conducting original research on the small business sector focusing on small business economic conditions, business operations, and public policy issues impacting small firms. She produces NFIB's monthly Small Business Economic Trends publication, the Covid-19 Small Business survey series, and surveys on topics related to small business operations. She is also a frequent media spokesperson on the small business economy and related public policy issues. Since 2020, Ms. Wade has been offering a regular webinar series for small business owners nationwide, helping owners navigate through the federal loan and tax credit programs. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of the National Association for Business Economics (NABE).
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Independent International Market Economist
Paul Horne is an active independent international market economist since retiring as a managing director and European equity market economist at Salomon Smith Barney/Citigroup in London. He is on the boards of the Global Interdependence Center in Philadelphia; the Committee for the Republic in Washington, DC; and the American Library of Paris Foundation. He writes for The European Institute (supported by the University of Maryland and the Bertelsmann Foundation) and is on the forecasting and editorial panels of the National Association for Business Economics.
Previous positions: Smith Barney's chief international economist and Investment Policy Committee member based in Paris 1975-1998; the Rockefellers' IBEC group 1970-1975 and financial-economic correspondent of Newsweek and The Times (London) 1960-1970. He graduated from St. Paul's School and Yale University. He and Mrs. Horne divide their time between Alexandria, VA and Paris.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Executive Vice President and Deputy Head for Asia for Wells Fargo Global Financial Institutions
Jim Clancy is an executive vice president and deputy head for Asia for Wells Fargo Global Financial Institutions (GFI) - Asia. He also serves as regional manager for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD1) - Asia. Based in Philadelphia, Jim oversees team members in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Seoul, Sydney and Tokyo who manage relationships with financial institutions located in OECD Asia, which includes Australia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. GFI provides banking services to financial institutions and multilateral agencies across the globe, including payments, collections, trade services, deposits, credit, foreign exchange and liquidity and investment management. Jim began his banking career in 1982 with Philadelphia National Bank, a Wells Fargo predecessor company, as part of the management training program. In 1983, Jim joined the bank's international division as country officer for Western Europe, and in 1984, he was promoted to relationship manager for Canada and Eastern Europe. From 1987 to 1993, Jim practiced law with firms in Philadelphia and London.
Jim rejoined Wells Fargo in 1993. He relocated to Madrid in 1997 to serve as the relationship manager for financial institutions in the Iberian region. In 2000, Jim became the regional manager for OECD Asia.
Jim holds a B.A. from Swarthmore College and a law degree from Temple University in Philadelphia.
Jillian Fornito joined the Global Interdependence Center in 2008 as the assistant director with a broad scope of responsibilities including organizational and program management. In 2011, Jillian assumed the role of director of operations, focusing mainly on the planning and execution of GIC's domestic and international events.
Job Titles:
- in 2008 As the Assistant Director
Jillian Fornito joined the Global Interdependence Center in 2008 as the assistant director with a broad scope of responsibilities including organizational and program management. In 2011, Jillian assumed the role of director of operations, focusing mainly on the planning and execution of GIC's domestic and international events.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Dynamic Economic Strategy
John Silvia is enjoying the process of launching his firm, John E. Silvia, Dynamic Economic Strategy. John recently retired from his position as Managing Director and Chief Economist for Wells Fargo. Based in Charlotte, N.C., he held that position since he joined Wachovia in 2002 as the company's Chief Economist, this new launch will permit John to open his schedule for additional Speaking opportunities and Board positions while indulging in his passion for travel.
Prior to Wells Fargo, John worked on Capitol Hill as a senior economist for the U.S. Senate Joint Economic Committee and as Chief Economist of Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. Before that, he was chief economist of Kemper Funds and managing director of Scudder Kemper Investments, Inc. John was awarded a National Association of Business Economics (NABE) Fellow Certificate of Recognition in 2011 for outstanding contributions to the business economics profession and leadership among business economists of the Nation. In 2010, he was recognized for the Best Inflation Forecast, the Best Overall Forecast and the Best Personal Consumption Expenditures Forecast by The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. John was named one of the Top 10 forecasters for the last four years by Bloomberg News in 2009 and the No. 2 forecaster by USA Today for 2008.
John holds a B.A. and Ph.D. degrees in economics from Northeastern University in Boston and has a master's degree in economics from Brown University. John's first book Dynamic Economic Decision Making was published by Wiley in August 2011.
John serves as a member of the Blue-Chip Panel of Economic Forecasters and serves on an informal advisory group for the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. He serves as chair for the Economic Advisory Committee of both the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) Economic Advisory Roundtable and the American Bankers Association.
John was formerly a director of NABE and was the former president of the Charlotte Economics Club. He also served on economic advisory committees to the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, and the Public Securities Association.
A strong supporter of education and civic affairs, John served as a member of the Business Advisory Council at the Walker College of Business at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C., and on the President's Council for Charlotte's Central Piedmont Community College. He has previously served as a board member of the British American Business Council of North Carolina and served on the Economic Development Board for the State of North Carolina, a special appointment by the Governor. He also served on the Business Advisory Committee for the City of Charlotte.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Julia Coronado founded MPP because she believes independent research can provide the most objective and relevant analysis to inform decision making in an uncertain world. Julia is a Clinical Associate Professor of Finance at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin. She has more than a decade of experience as […]
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Head of Thematic Research at Rokos Capital Management
- Rokos Capital Management
Julian Callow is the Head of Thematic Research at Rokos Capital Management. He formerly was the Managing Director responsible for European and Chinese economic research at Element Capital LLC. Prior to that he was a Managing Director for Research at Barclays, including being Chief European Economist (2003-2012) & Chief Global Economist (2012-2014). He was also Chief Eurozone Economist at Credit Suisse (1999-03), & has also worked as an economist at Dresdner Kleinwort Benson, Chase (1990-92) & the Bank of England (1987-90).
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Co - Founder & CEO of Bronze Buffalo Club Companies
Justin Hyde is the Co-founder & CEO of Bronze Buffalo Club Companies and Chairman of The Bronze Buffalo Foundation.
He is also the Co-founder of the Rocky Mountain Economic Summit hosted by the Bronze Buffalo Foundation and the GIC and held at The Bronze Buffalo Ranch at Teton Springs each year.
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Vice Chair
- GIC Chair
- Vice Chair of the College of Central Bankers
Kathleen Stephansen is Vice Chair of the College of Central Bankers, GIC Chair Emeritus, Senior Economist for Haver Analytics and Trustee of EQAT Trust Funds. She is the former Chief Economist of Huawei Technologies, Chief Economist of the American International Group (AIG) and AIG Asset Management's Senior Strategist and Global Head of Sovereign Research. Prior to joining AIG in 2010, Kathleen was Chief Economist at Aladdin Capital Holdings, Credit Suisse's Head of Global Economic Research, and Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette Securities Corporation's co-head of Fixed Income economic research and Chief International Economist.
Kathleen serves on the board of the Global Interdependence Center (GIC) as the Chair Emerita. She is also a board member Economists for Peace and Security (EPS) and is a former board member of the National Association of Business Economics (NABE). She is a member of Chatham House and the Economic Club of New York.
Kathleen Stephansen is GIC Chair Emerita, Senior Economist for Haver Analytics and Trustee of EQAT Trust Funds. She is the former Chief Economist of Huawei Technologies, Chief Economist of the American International Group (AIG) and AIG Asset Management's Senior Strategist and Global Head of Sovereign Research.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Business Economist
Kevin L. Kliesen is a business economist in the supervisory policy and risk analysis unit at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, which is located in the bank supervision and regulation division. He came to the bank in 1988 after graduating from Colorado State University with an M.A. in economics. As a business economist, the bulk of his duties comprise reporting on and analyzing current U.S. macroeconomic developments and trends. Previously, he was part of the research division.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Co - Founder and CEO of China Beige Book
- Member of the National Committee
A leading authority on China's economy and financial system, Leland Miller is the co-founder and CEO of China Beige Book, the world's leading data analytics firm focused on China, as well as operator of the largest proprietary data-collection network and private database ever developed to track the Chinese economy.
Leland is a frequent commentator on media outlets such as CNBC, Bloomberg TV & Radio, CNN, BNN, BBC, and FOX Business, and he has served as a guest host of two of the financial world's top morning news shows, CNBC Squawk Box and Bloomberg Surveillance. His work is featured regularly in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, TIME, New Yorker, The Atlantic, Forbes, Foreign Policy, The Hill, and South China Morning Post.
Before co-founding China Beige Book in 2010, Leland was a capital markets attorney based out of New York and Hong Kong and worked on the deal team at a major investment bank. He holds a law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was Hardy C. Dillard fellow and editor-in-chief of the International Law Journal; a master's degree in Chinese History from Oxford University; a BA in European History from Washington & Lee University; and a graduate Chinese language fellowship from Tunghai University (Taiwan).
Leland is an elected member of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and Economic Club of New York, an elected life member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a board member of the Global Interdependence Center, and a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security at the Atlantic Council.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Lisa McIntire Shaw is a founding partner of Cygnus Asset Management, LLC based in Charlotte, NC. She has more than 30 years of experience in the financial arena. Her areas of special interest include international markets; charitable trusts; strategic wealth preservation; and domestic, corporate, government and municipal bonds. Lisa earned her Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) designation from the College of Financial Planning and her credentials as a Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA®) from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She also holds a bachelor's degree in international studies from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. A native Charlottean, Lisa is a member of the Financial Planning Association, the Investment Management Consultants Association and a dedicated volunteer for the American Cancer Society. Her personal interests include fly fishing, abstract painting and boating.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Chief Economist at CEMEX
Manuel Balmaseda is the former chief economist at CEMEX, a leading global building materials corporation. Previously he served as chief economist for Spain and Europe at BBVA, chief economist for Capital Markets at BBV, professor of economics at CEMFI and visiting researcher at the Federal Reserve Bank in Minneapolis. He has also taught at the IESE Business School in Madrid, the EOI (School of Industrial Organization) in Madrid and the Helsinki School of Economics. He collaborates with the IMF, the EU Commission, the OECD, the Secretaría General Sudamericana and other private organizations on topics related to the economics perspectives and policy action in the US, the Euro zone, Latin America and Spain, and particularly, issues related to the construction sector, real estate markets and fiscal and monetary developments. Mr. Balmaseda holds a Ph.D. and a master's degree in economics from Northwestern University and a B.A. in economics, government and mathematics-computer science from Colby College. He is a member of several international organizations: the ECB Shadow Council, ICBE (International Conference of Business Economists), EMNET (Emerging Market Network), the Global Interdependence Council, NBEIC (National Business Economic Issues Council), the Board of Directors of NABE (National Association of Business Economics) in the US and Grupo de Expertos de Coyuntura in Spain, among other economic organizations. His current professional interests focus on international economic developments, construction and real estate market evolution, economic impact of fiscal consolidation, crisis resolution, and institutional and market reform. Mr. Balmaseda participates in conferences on these and other topics and has published numerous articles in academic journals and books and in the press.
Manuel Balmaseda is the chief economist at CEMEX, a leading global building materials corporation. Previously he served as chief economist for Spain and Europe at BBVA, chief economist for Capital Markets at BBV, professor of economics at CEMFI and visiting researcher at the Federal Reserve Bank in Minneapolis.
Mary Caraccioli, MBA, is an EMMY™ award winning financial journalist who has hosted and/ or produced programs for ABC, CNBC, FOX and Comcast. Mary's track record for creating award-winning programs for broadcast, cable and digital mediums has led to her current assignment. She is currently the Chief Communications Officer for the Central Park Conservancy. In this role, Mary is responsible for the direction and leadership of the Conservancy's marketing, public relations, and internal communications across all platforms, and messaging for all institutional initiatives, programs, and events. Prior to joining the Conservancy, she served as Chief Communications Officer at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and worked as a reporter, broadcast anchor, and news executive at a variety of media outlets, including ABC, CNBC, FOX, Comcast, and Al Jazeera America.
Mary's financial journalism career started at CNBC, financial TV's industry leader. She later helped renowned business broadcaster Lou Dobbs, launch his nationally syndicated radio show The Lou Dobbs Financial Report and worked for several years as its lead content producer. Mary also created EMMY award winning live shows Good Day Philadelphia on FOX-TV, Money Matters Today for Comcast and two money themed programs for the ABC TV station group and ABC's LiveWell TV network.
She is the founder and lead contributor of the respected personal financial website TheMoneyConfidante.com. She has been quoted in O magazine, Parade, Parenting, Inside Edition and many other national and local media outlets. Mary's work as a communications expert has helped Fortune 100 companies and university clients achieve high level results across platforms and face to face.
Mary is a member of the Advisory Council of the Global Interdependence Center, and the Delaware Financial Literacy Institute, one of the nation's most comprehensive financial literacy non-profits. Mary has earned an MLA from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Drexel University's LeBow College of Business and BA from the University of Pittsburgh.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Mary Graham Davis founded the Davis Consulting Group LLC in 1996 to focus on the implementation of strategy through effective organization structure: the alignment of business units with the strategy, business unit mobilization and performance management to achieve annual operating plan objectives, and senior leadership coaching. Post-merger integration and strategic directional change are special areas of interest.
She previously served as managing vice president for PeopleTech, a division of Right Management Consultants, Inc. where she consulted to U.S. and global organizations implementing change processes resulting from restructuring, high growth opportunities or leadership transitions. Prior to the acquisition by Right, she served as the vice chair of Jannotta, Bray and Associates (Chicago), head of the Jannotta Consulting Group, and managing director of their New York Metropolitan Area Operating Group.
She began her career with CITICORP in the overseas equity investment Edge Act subsidiary. Relocating with her husband, she became a merchant banking partner with van Heyst and Company, Sydney, Australia. Returning to the United States, she founded her own management consulting business focusing on strategic planning and corporate finance. She joined Jannotta, Bray and Associates, focusing on senior executive coaching, corporate restructuring and change implementation in 1985.
She is currently chair of the Board of Trustees of Mount Holyoke College (Trustee 1996-present). She is a senior managing director of Brock Capital Group LLC, New York City. Previous board positions include president, the Alumnae Association of Mount Holyoke College (2006-2009), Graham-Windham Services to Families and Children, New York (President 1980-1982); The Board of Education, Winnetka Public Schools, Winnetka, Illinois (1985-1989), Jannotta, Bray and Associates, Inc. (1989-1994).
Her educational background includes a B.A. from Mount Holyoke College and a master's degree in international economics from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy/Harvard & Tufts Universities. She spent her junior year abroad at the University of Geneva and the Ecole des Hautes Etudes Internationales.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- First Vice President - Financial Advisor for RBC Wealth Management / Consulting Group
Maryanne Waldman is a First Vice President - Financial Advisor for RBC Wealth Management/Consulting Group and has been in the financial services sector serving private clients for over 30 years. Prior to her current position, Maryanne was a Vice President at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. After graduating from Brandeis University in 1975, Maryanne began her career in financial services at Merrill Lynch in New York City. From there she returned to graduate school at Columbia Business School, earning her MBA in finance in 1979. After graduation, Maryanne joined Citibank in New York and two years later, relocated to Miami as part of the team that launched the bank's first bond office outside of Manhattan. She later moved to Smith Barney as a full-service financial advisor before returning to the Northeast in 1991. Maryanne is also on the Advisory Council of the Women's Foundation of Boston. She currently resides in Boston, Massachusetts and has three grown daughters residing in the New York City area.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Chief Economist for McVean Trading & Investments
Michael Drury is the chief economist for McVean Trading & Investments, LLC. He joined the firm in 1992, after serving for five years as senior economist with Allen Sinai at Shearson Lehman Brothers and its successor firms. Michael began his career in New York in 1982 as senior economist at A. Gary Shilling and Company. He received his B.S. in economics from the Georgia Institute of Technology and did his graduate work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Michael assesses macroeconomic developments around the world to help develop hedging strategies using futures markets in interest rates, currencies and industrial materials. He travels extensively in the United States and China, as well as to Japan, Europe and Latin America. Michael is the author of McVean Trading's "Weekly Economic Update." He is on the Executive Committee of the Global Interdependence Center, president of the Economic Club of Memphis, was the founder and first president of the MidSouth Association for Business Economics (a chapter of NABE), and is a member of the National Business Economic Issues Council (NBEIC) and a non-resident member of the American Chamber of Commerce in Beijing. Michael lives in Germantown, Tenn. with his wife, Mahrou, and has three children.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- President of Veloric Holdings
Michael Veloric has served as the president of Veloric Holdings since 1997. He holds an MBA in health Care administration from Temple University and a bachelor's degree in economics from Drew University. He has long been an active member of his community, serving on boards of directors of a variety of organizations, including the Community Care & Development Corporation, the Health Care Association of New Jersey and the Burlington County Long-term Care Consortium.
Job Titles:
- Member of the National Association for Business Economics Board of Directors
Mine K. Yücel is the former senior vice president and director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. She has been with the Bank since 1989 and has been head of the Bank's micro/regional/energy group and director of publications for many years. Yücel analyzes the regional economy and energy markets on an ongoing basis and has published numerous articles on energy and regional growth.
Yücel is a member of the National Association for Business Economics board of directors and was president of the International Association of Energy Economics in 2011, an institution with 102 member countries. She is also past president of the United States Association of Energy Economics (USAEE). She has served on the executive boards of these two organizations, as well as Executive Women of Dallas, Dallas Area Business Economists, the Dallas Chapter of Women in Technology International, Inc. and the Greater Dallas Chamber's Board of Economists. In 2006, she was chosen as one of the recipients of the Key Women in Energy-Global Award. She received the USAEE Senior Fellow Award in 2007 and the Energy Journal Best Paper Award in 2009.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Treasurer of the Board of Directors
- President of Marion Street Capital
Mr. Sean Heberling, CFA is President of Marion Street Capital, a boutique investment firm. He is a Director at the CFA Society of Philadelphia, a member Society of the CFA Institute, the preeminent organization for Finance professionals. The CFA Institute is currently spearheading an initiative to encourage young women to pursue careers in Finance, an industry that has consistently demonstrated unusually poor participation rates for women, which led to Mr. Heberling's nomination as an Advisor for Girls Equal. Mr. Heberling has also held various positions in Finance for such organizations as Morgan Stanley, BNY Mellon, and Navigant Consulting. Mr. Heberling studied Finance at Villanova University, where he received a full four-year Presidential academic scholarship to this institution that Bloomberg recently rated the top undergraduate business school in the country, and he studied Mathematics at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Mr. Heberling currently teaches various topics in Finance and Math to professionals studying for all three levels of the CFA Exams.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Co - Editor
Philippa Dunne is co-editor of two independent macro-economic newsletters: The Liscio Report, with a trading focus, and Sightlines Bulletin, which takes a longer perspective.
She has a long history in independent research, has completed research and writing for the American Museum of Natural History and the office of Ray and Charles Eames, and has taught at the college level.
A graduate of the University of California, she has a graduate degree from Wesleyan University.
Job Titles:
- Manager of Operations
- in 2023 As the Manager of Operations
Sandra Levant joined the Global Interdependence Center in 2023 as the Manager of Operations. Prior to working with GIC, Sandra held multiple positions at Temple University's Fox School of Business. Most notably, she worked for the school's Center for Student Professional Development as the coordinator of employer partnerships. Sandra is passionate about mission driven work and has a strong understanding of event planning and experience in program logistics.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Federal Reserve Board of Governors Community Advisory Council
Stephanie has spent the last two decades in the nonprofit sector working as a social entrepreneur and nonprofit leader where she brings a strong voice to the table to promote solutions for the most vulnerable citizens in our communities. (http://www.linkedin.com/pub/stephanie-mackay/0/577/98/). She is the former Chief Innovation Officer at Columbus Community Center, a nonprofit agency that serves individuals with some of the most severe disabilities (www.columbusserves.org). For nearly two decades she has held positions that have given her unique insight into the day-to-day triumphs and struggles of families of all socio-economic levels who face many overwhelming obstacles to navigate family, employment, healthcare, education, and housing issues. She is currently serving a three-year appointment to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors Community Advisory Council (https://www.federalreserve.gov/aboutthefed/cac.htm), a 15-person council that meets twice yearly with the Federal Reserve Chairman and Board of Governors in Washington, D.C. She also sits on the Advisory Council of the Philadelphia-based Global Interdependence Center (www.interdependence.org); the board of Utah-based Switchpoint (www.switchpointcrc.org); the Salt Lake County Community and Support Service Advisory Council (CSSAC) (Boards and Commissions - Get Involved | SLCo); and the Salt Lake City CARES Community Advisory Panel. In 2015, Stephanie was recognized by Utah Business Magazine as one of "30 Women to Watch" (https://youtu.be/8MtM229Dl4o). In 2018 she was named a finalist for the Utah Region Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year (https://youtu.be/n-b7m6DMck0). She received her B.A. from Westminster College, her M.A. from Utah State University, and a Conflict Resolution Certificate from the University of Utah. Prior to joining the nonprofit field in 2004, she worked as a corporate communication consultant and writer in a number of capacities. She started her career at Shipley Associates, an internationally recognized consulting firm that specializes in communication training and customized writing. She served as project manager on a number of large documentation projects in a variety of governmental, business, medical and scientific disciplines in both the U.S. and Europe. She worked on a number of FDA-related documentation projects in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. Through her professional and volunteer work, she is committed to building strong, well-governed philanthropic organizations based on sound strategic planning and clearly defined organizational goals.
Stephen Sexauer is SDCERA's Chief Investment Officer and oversees SDCERA's $12 billion Trust Fund, investment team, and investment consultants. In addition to the day-to-day operation of SDCERA's Investment Division, he also assists SDCERA's Board with determining the Fund's investment policies, strategy and asset allocation.
Prior to joining SDCERA in 2015, Sexauer worked at Allianz Global Investors as Chief Investment Officer, US Multi Asset, of Allianz Global Investors Solutions, managing over $7 billion in multi-asset institutional portfolios and retirement income solutions. He is also the co-author of papers on retirement portfolios published in The Financial Analysts Journal, The Institutional Investor Journal of Retirement, and The Retirement Management Journal.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Sino - Consulting
Timothy Weckesser, Ph.D., co-founded Sino-Consulting, Inc. (s-c-i.com) in 1988 and serves as its president & CEO. The company has two offices in China and a representative office relationship with a company under the Tianjin Science & Technology Commission. SCI has completed over 400 assignments for some 100 clients. Weckesser was awarded Tianjin's Haihe River Prize for his long-term contributions to Tianjin's development. He was also appointed as economic consultant to the Tianjin Free Trade Zone and Tianjin Airport Industrial Park.
He has been a featured speaker at such forums as the Harvard Business School Club, Beijing Venture Capital Alliance, the Wharton School China Business Forum, the Columbia School of East Asian Studies, Coudert Brothers Annual Partners Conference, the China Institute, the International Wireless Packaging Consortium (IWPC), BioPharm 2003 and many others.
Prior to joining SCI, Dr. Weckesser was associate provost at Temple University in Philadelphia where he wrote Temple's patent policy and created its technology transfer program. He is a founding board member of the Japan-America Society of Greater Philadelphia. He received his Ph.D. in 1980 in political science from the New School for Social Research in New York City.
Job Titles:
- Dean
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Professor of Economics
Vibhas Madan, PhD, professor of economics, was appointed dean of Drexel University's LeBow College of Business in December 2020 after serving as interim dean since November 2019. He joined the Dean's Office in July 2018 as senior associate dean for academic programs. Prior to that, he served as the head of the Economics Department and then as the founding director of the School of Economics, which was launched as a new school within the College in 2013.
His research focuses on international trade theory with an emphasis on trade policy and multinational firms. His work has been published in many academic journals, including Canadian Journal of Economics, International Trade Journal, Journal of Quantitative Economics, Journal of Economic Integration and Review of International Economics. He has also published articles on price discounts and consumer behavior in Journal of Business Research and Journal of Product and Brand Management.
Dr. Madan has received several teaching awards, including the College of Business Teaching Award and the Executive MBA teaching Award. He serves on the board of the Global Interdependence Center. Dr. Madan received his Ph.D. in Economics from Michigan State University in 1989.
Vibhas Madan is the Dean and R. John Chapel Jr. Dean's Chair and Professor of Economics at the LeBow College of Business at Drexel University.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Managing Director at Guggenheim Partners
Mr. Costigan is a managing director at Guggenheim Partners with expertise in structured credit and private debt. He is a frequent speaker at investment conferences. Prior to joining Guggenheim in 2013, he working in investment banking at KeyBank and institutional strategy at Vanguard. He earned an M.B.A. from Loyola Marymount University.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- National Federation of Independent Business ( NFIB )
- Professor
William Dunkelberg is professor emeritus of economics in the College of Liberal Arts, Temple University, where he served as dean of the School of Business and Management from 1987 through 1994 and as director of the Center for the Advancement and Study of Entrepreneurship. He served as the Global Interdependence Center's Chairman for 20 years. He currently serves as chief economist for the National Federation of Independent Business (300,000 member firms; since 1971). His prior appointments were at the Krannert Graduate School of Management, Purdue University, the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University and the Survey Research Center at the University of Michigan. He has a B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. in economics from the University of Michigan.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Board of Directors
- Co - Founder, CEO, and Chief Investment Officer of RiskBridge Advisors
Bill Kennedy co-founded RiskBridge Advisors, an Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (OCIO) firm providing tailored investment management and unconflicted guidance and implementation to endowments & foundations, insurers, family offices, and their principals. As Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer, he oversees and is responsible for RiskBridge's strategic course and all investment decisions.
Mr. Kennedy has over 30 years of industry experience. He previously served as Chief Investment Officer with Fieldpoint Private from 2012-2019, where he was responsible for investment policy, asset allocation, and investment manager selection. Mr. Kennedy also chaired the bank's Investment Committee and served on the bank's Board of Directors. He spent 12 years with Citigroup Global Markets, Inc., where he was the Global Director of Research and served on Citigroup's Management Committee. Mr. Kennedy started his investment career at the Dupont Pension Fund and held senior positions at Century Atlantic Capital, Guy Carpenter & Co., and Conoco, Inc. Mr. Kennedy holds a B.S. in economics and MBA from Texas Christian University. He is a CFA® charterholder and a member of the CFA® Society of New York, The Economic Club of New York, the University Club, and serves as the Chair for the Global Interdependence Center in Philadelphia, PA.
William Kennedy is the co-founder, CEO, and Chief Investment Officer of RiskBridge Advisors, an independent, full-service investment office serving insurers, endowments and foundations, and individual investors. He is responsible for RiskBridge's business and investment activities and has over 30 years of capital market research and investment experience.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors