Dr. Lacy H. Hunt, an internationally known economist, is Executive Vice President of Hoisington Investment Management Company, a firm that manages $5.5 billion for pension funds, endowments, insurance companies and others.  He is also Chief Economist of the Wasatch Hoisington Treasury Bond Fund, a no load mutual fund that invest in U.S. Treasury securities, and Vice-Chairman of Hoisington Management’s strategic investment policy committee.

He earned his BA from the University of the South (1964), his MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (1966), and his Ph.D. in Economics from the Fox School of Business and Management of Temple University (1969).  Lacy Hunt is the author of two books, and numerous articles in leading magazines, periodicals and scholarly journals.

He received the Abramson Award from the National Association for Business Economics for “outstanding contributions in the field of business economics.” He is a life member of the American Finance Association.  He was a member of the Economic Advisory Board of the American Bankers Association and Chairman of the Economic Advisory Board of the Pennsylvania Bankers Association.  He served on the Monetary and Fiscal Policy Affairs Committee of the National Chamber of Commerce.  He was a member of The Money Marketeers of New York University.

Michael Atkin is Managing Director and Director of Sovereign Research at Putnam Investments, where he and his team are responsible for evaluating investment opportunities in government securities in G7 countries and emerging markets. He is intimately involved with the firm’s assessment of government and Central Bank policies, with the level and shape of yield curves, with inflation–linked securities and with foreign exchange rates. He also directs research into longer term economic trends to assess their investment implications.   He is a Portfolio Manager of four Putnam mutual funds – Diversified Income Trust, Global Income Fund, Premier Income Trust and Master Intermediate Income Trust and is also part of the team responsible for managing institutional accounts that invest in global fixed income markets.

He was an undergraduate at Oxford University in the UK, and received his graduate education at Cornell University and New York University in the USA. Prior to joining Putnam in 1997, he was Director of the Latin America Department at the Institute of International Finance, and held a number of economics positions at the International Finance Corporation, part of the World Bank Group, in Washington DC. He has published three books and numerous articles.

Robert Stheeman was appointed as Chief Executive of the UK Debt Management Office (DMO) in January 2003. He previously was Director of the Debt Capital Markets of Deutsche Bank in London, England since 1986 and spent most of his career there working on debt market issues.  Prior to that he worked in the Correspondent Banking and International Lending division of Vereins-und Westbank in Hamburg. He is married with four children.

In institutional terms, the DMO is legally and constitutionally part of HM Treasury (HMT), but as an executive agency, it operates at arm's length from Ministers. The Chancellor of the Exchequer determines the policy and financial framework within which the DMO operates, but delegates to the Chief Executive operational decisions on debt and cash management, and day-to-day management of the office.

The Chief Executive is accountable for the DMO's performance and operations, both in respect of its administrative expenditures and the Debt Management Account (DMA) which records all the DMO’s issuance and trading transactions. The DMO publishes its Business Plan in April each year and this sets out a series of long-term targets for the year derived from the DMO's strategic objectives.

Jonathan Tepper is a founding partner of Variant Perception.  Jonathan started his career as generalist equity analyst at SAC Capital.  After SAC, Jonathan worked in London at Bank of America as a Vice President on the proprietary trading desk where he traded a rates and currency book.

Jonathan is a Rhodes Scholar with a M.Litt. in modern history from Oxford University. He graduated with highest honors in History and Economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1998.

Variant Perception is an independent, original voice in economic analysis. Variant Perception uses leading indicators of growth and liquidity to deliver global, forward-looking insights enabling clients to make informed and timely investment decisions.  Using a broad set of tools that are openly shared with clients, Variant Perception offers a refreshing new angle on a wide range of investment issues.  Variant Perception strives to be like The Economist, but for economic research, with anonymous writers who all share the same crisp style and rigorous thinking and analysis.  The firm writes broadly about stocks, bonds, commodities, and derivatives across geographies.  Variant Perception is not afraid to make bold market calls, and has called the beginning and the end of the current recession in the US in December of 2007 and June of 2009 before any mainstream economists did.  It has also warned about the insolvency of the Irish banking sector before it imploded and has been a frequent critic of the problems in the Spanish banking sector, comparing them to a Japan type scenario.

Martin Barnes joined BCA Research in 1987 and, since 1993, has been Managing Editor of the flagship monthly Bank Credit Analyst publication.  From 1987 to 1993 he was Managing Editor of the U.S. Fixed Income Analyst publication. Prior to joining the firm, he spent ten years as Chief International Economist with a major U.K. securities firm and five years as an economist with British Petroleum. He speaks frequently at conferences in North America and overseas, and is quoted widely in the financial press. He holds a B.A. in Economics from Strathclyde University, Scotland. 

BCA Research is one of the world's leading independent providers of global investment research. Since 1949, the firm has provided its clients, on a monthly basis, with leading-edge analysis and forecasts of the major financial markets, with clear and focused recommendations for investment strategy backed by time-tested proprietary indicators. BCA Research provides its services to investors in more than 90 countries through a range of products, consulting and conferences.

After receiving his bachelor's degree from Duke University and studying Mandarin at Nanjing University, Louis-Vincent joined the French Army where he served as a second lieutenant in a mountain infantry battalion. After a couple of years, Louis-Vincent left the army and joined Paribas Capital Markets where he worked as a financial analyst first in Paris, then in Hong Kong. In 1999, he launched GaveKal Research with Charles Gave and Anatole Kaletsky in London. Louis-Vincent contributes frequently to the research and was the main author of three books Our Brave New World, The End is Not Nigh and Roadmap For Troubling Times. Louis-Vincent is CEO of Gavekal and has resided in Hong Kong since 2002. Louis-Vincent is a French national who speaks French, English and is rusty in Spanish and Mandarin. He is married with two sons and one daughter. 

GaveKal Research is a financial services firm that offers institutional investors and high net worth individuals three different services: fund management, independent research on global macro-economic trends and events, and independent advisory work on China and its impact on the global economy.

John Parisella is President of BCP.  He is responsible for all of BCP’S operations across the country. He is also President of BCP Consultants.

A well-known figure in the political and business sectors, John Parisella has worked in the field of communication for over 30 years. Few people in Canada have as vast an experience in strategic communications as he does. He acts as strategic communication consultant and crisis manager both for leaders in the private sector, and those in the public and para-public sectors.

In recent years, he has often appeared as a political analyst on major TV networks, and has contributed articles for national daily newspapers. He is frequently asked to give speeches on such varied topics as ethics, governance and Canada-US relations. He also teaches Political Science and Strategic Communications at Concordia University and has lectured at Queen’s University in Kingston.

After graduating from Concordia University (Loyola, B.A. 1967), McGill University (M.A. Political Science, 1971, Diplomas in Education, 1973 and Administration, 1977), and from Harvard University (Senior Government Management, 1988) John embarked on a career as a teacher, eventually serving as head of a social sciences department. In 1980, he became regional co-ordinator for the Québec Liberal Party.

From 1982, he was employment and commerce program director with Alliance Québec and became regional director (Québec) of the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages in 1983. From 1986 through 1994, he held the position of Director General of the Québec Liberal Party, Deputy Chief of Staff, and later Chief of Staff to Premiers Robert Bourassa and Daniel Johnson.

He is the co-author of Élections, Made in USA in 2004 and in 2008. He also holds a blog about American politic on Macleans’ website.