George A. Akerlof is Koshland Professor of Economics at the University of California, Berkeley and 2001 co-recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. He is co-author of the book Animal Spirits: How Human Psychology Drives the Economy, and Why It Matters for Global Capitalism. Professor Akerlof has served as senior economist at the White House Council of Economic Advisers, as a member of the council of the Econometric Society, and as past president, vice president, and member of the executive committee of the American Economics Association. He holds a BA degree from Yale University and a PhD degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Mark J.P. Anson, CFA, is president and executive director of investment services at Nuveen Investments. Previously, he was CEO of Hermes Pensions Management and chief investment officer of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System. Dr. Anson has published a number of textbooks and award-winning research articles on topics ranging from alpha and beta separation to corporate governance. He serves on several advisory boards including the CFA Institute Board of Governors and the editorial boards of several financial journals. Dr. Anson holds master’s and PhD degrees in finance from Columbia University and a JD degree from Northwestern University.

Dan Ariely is James B. Duke Professor of Behavioral Economics at Duke University, with appointments at the Fuqua School of Business, the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, and the Department of Economics. He is the author of the book Predictably Irrational, and he has won numerous scientific awards. Professor Ariely’s work has been featured in leading scholarly journals and a variety of popular media outlets, including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and Scientific American. He holds master’s and doctorate degrees in cognitive psychology from the University of North Carolina and a doctorate degree in business administration from Duke University.

Clifford S. Asness is managing and founding principal at AQR Capital Management, LLC. Previously, he was managing director and a director of quantitative research for the asset management division at Goldman Sachs. Dr. Asness serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Portfolio Management and the Financial Analysts Journal and the governing board of the Courant Institute of Mathematical Finance at New York University. He has received the James R. Vertin Award from the Research Foundation of CFA Institute for producing a body of research notable for its relevance and enduring value to investment professionals in addition to other awards given for his written articles. Dr. Asness holds a BS from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, a BS from the Moore School of Electrical Engineering, and an MBA and a PhD from the University of Chicago.

Richard Bookstaber is a senior policy adviser for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Previously, he worked at Bridgewater Associates and ran the Quantitative Equity Fund at FrontPoint Partners. Dr. Bookstaber is the author of A Demon of Our Own Design: Markets, Hedge Funds, and the Perils of Financial Innovation as well as three other books and a number of articles on finance topics. In 1989, he was co-recipient of a Graham and Dodd Scroll from the Financial Analysts Federation for the article “An Information-Based Model of Market Volatility.” Dr. Bookstaber holds a PhD degree in Economics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Ian Bremmer is president of Eurasia Group. He is the author of the book The J Curve: A New Way to Understand Why Nations Rise and Fall and has co-authored and co-edited a number of other books, including The Fat Tail: The Power of Political Knowledge for Strategic Investing. Dr. Bremmer’s work has also been published in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Newsweek, Foreign Affairs, and Harvard Business Review. He has taught at Columbia University, the EastWest Institute, and the World Policy Institute. Dr. Bremmer holds a PhD degree in political science from Stanford University.

James S. Chanos is founder and managing partner of Kynikos Associates, a short-selling investment firm that provides investment management services for both domestic and offshore clients. Previously, he worked as a financial analyst for Paine Webber, Gilford Securities, and Deutsche Bank. Mr. Chanos has successfully executed short sales on a number of companies, including Boston Chicken, Sunbeam, Tyco International, and Enron. He is active in many charitable foundations and educational institutions. Mr. Chanos holds a BA degree in economics and political science from Yale University.

Niall Ferguson is Laurence A. Tisch Professor of History at Harvard University and William Ziegler Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. He is also a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. Professor Ferguson has written several best-selling books, including War of the World: Twentieth Century Conflict and the Descent of the West and, most recently, The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World. He is a contributing editor for the Financial Times and writes regularly for Newsweek. He is a frequent contributor to television and radio on both sides of the Atlantic. Professor Ferguson was educated at Madgalen College, Oxford, and holds MA and DPhil degrees.

Tom Hourican is a managing director of the Société Générale Securitization Group, where he is the head of risk management for securitization globally and advises Société Générale management on all aspects of ABS credit issues. He also acts as the credit officer for approval of all securities purchased into the Pace and Trident arbitrage conduits. Previously, Mr. Hourican ran his own ABS consulting firm and worked as head of ABS Research at Chase Securities. He holds an undergraduate degree from Fordham College and a master’s degree in economics from Fordham University.

Seth A. Klarman is president of The Baupost Group, LLC. He is the author of the book Margin of Safety and was chosen as lead editor for the sixth edition of Security Analysis. Mr. Klarman is a member of the board of dean’s advisors at Harvard Business School, where he has been a senior lecturer on value investing and has served as a member of the alumni board. He is national chairman of Facing History and Ourselves, a teacher training organization. Mr. Klarman holds a BA degree in economics from Cornell University and an MBA degree from Harvard Business School.

Dambisa Moyo is an economist specializing in the geopolitics of emerging markets. Previously, she worked as a global economist at Goldman Sachs and as a consultant at the World Bank. Dr. Moyo’s past work has focused on global macroeconomics and the debt capital markets, her doctorate research focused on savings behavior in developing countries and political business cycles, and she is the author of the book Dead Aid. In 2009, Time magazine named Dr. Moyo as one of the world’s 100 most influential people. She holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and an MBA in finance from American University, a master’s degree from Harvard Kennedy School, and a doctorate degree in economics from Oxford University. 

Laird P. Pendleton is co-founder and principal of the Cairnwood Cooperative Corporation. He is also co-founder of CCC Alliance LLC, a private consortium of wealthy families. Mr. Pendleton serves as chairman of the advisory board of the Wharton Global Family Alliance, a joint venture between CCC Alliance and the Wharton School. He is active on various corporate and charitable boards and is the president of The Glencairn Foundation. Mr. Pendleton is a graduate of Lehigh University and the Babson Graduate School of Business.

Richard L. Peterson is managing director of MarketPsych Capital LLC, a psychology-based market research and asset management firm. His financial psychology research has been published in leading academic journals and textbooks as well as profiled in the financial media including CNBC, NPR, and the BBC. Dr. Peterson is author of the book Inside the Investor’s Brain: The Power of Mind Over Money. He holds degrees in electrical engineering, arts, and medicine from the University of Texas, has performed post-graduate neuroeconomics research at Stanford University, and is board-certified in psychiatry.

Scott F. Powers is president and CEO of State Street Global Advisors, the investment management arm of State Street Corporation, and he is a member of State Street's Operating Group, the company's senior strategy and policy-making team. Previously, he served as CEO of Old Mutual U.S. and held senior management positions at Mellon Institutional Asset Management and The Boston Company Asset Management. Mr. Powers began his career as a financial services adviser with Dean Witter Reynolds. He holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Harvard College.

Jeffrey T. Prince, CFA, is managing director at Babson Capital Management LLC and a member of the firm's structured credit team. Previously, he was a senior CDO strategist at Citigroup, and prior to that he was a CDO research analyst and CDO banker at Wachovia Securities. Mr. Prince's CDO industry experience includes work in CDO security analysis and selection and CDO portfolio strategy and management. He holds a BS degree in mechanical engineering and MS degrees in financial engineering, computer engineering, and mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan.

Kenneth Rogoff is Thomas D. Cabot Professor of Public Policy and Professor of Economics at Harvard University. Previously, he served as chief economist and director of research at the International Monetary Fund and director of the Center for International Development at Harvard. Dr. Rogoff is co-author of the books Foundations of International Macroeconomics and This Time Is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly and writes a monthly syndicated column on global economic issues. He is on the economic advisory panel of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Central Bank of Sweden. Dr. Rogoff holds a BA degree in economics from Yale University and a PhD degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Mary L. Schapiro is chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Previously, she was CEO of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and served as chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and as a commissioner of the SEC. Ms. Shapiro was named the Financial Women’s Association Public Sector Woman of the Year in 2000 and received a Visionary Award from the National Council on Economic Education in 2008. She is an active member of the International Organization of Securities Commissions. Ms. Schapiro holds a degree from Franklin and Marshall College and a Juris Doctor degree from George Washington University.

Ted Seides, CFA, is the co-founder and senior managing director of investments at Protégé Partners, LLC. Previously, he was a senior associate at J.H. Whitney & Company before working as a research analyst for their long/short hedge fund, the Green River Fund. Mr. Seides has written guest columns for Peter L. Bernstein’s Economics & Portfolio Strategy newsletter and was a subject of the Harvard Business School case study "Protégé Partners: The Capacity Challenge." He also serves as chairman of the programming committee of the Greenwich Roundtable. Mr. Seides holds a BA degree in the economics and political science major from Yale University and an MBA degree from Harvard Business School. 

Antoine W. van Agtmael is a director of Emerging Markets Management, LLC, and Strategic Investment GroupSM. Previously, he held positions as deputy director of the capital markets department of the International Finance Corporation and as division chief in the World Bank's treasury operations. Mr. van Agtmael is author of the book The Emerging Markets Century and co-editor of The World’s Emerging Stock Markets. He holds a BA degree from the Netherlands School of Economics, an MA degree in Russian and Eastern European Studies from Yale University, and an MBA degree from New York University.