ATLANTA — A Mercer University forum next week will bring together financial experts and practitioners for a unique and timely discussion on the global financial crisis. Titled “Global Economic Crisis: Taking Stock,” the event will be held Oct. 21 at 7:30 pm in Day Hall on Mercer’s Cecil B. Day Graduate and Professional Campus, 3001 Mercer University Drive.
Sponsored by Mercer University’s Eugene W. Stetson School of Business and Economics, the forum will offer an up-to-the-minute view of the global financial crisis, with economic experts in Latin America, Asia and the U.S., and practitioners from the front lines of the credit crisis. Panelists include a research economist the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, a senior manager for Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP, the director of the China Research Center, an expert in the regional Atlanta economy and housing, a former mortgage broker and the managing director of Capital Markets Origination for SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, SunTrust Banks’ investment banking division.
“In all of my finance classes, I have been asked to talk about the crisis and the details,” said Vijaya Subrahmanyam, Ph.D., a professor of finance at Mercer and event organizer and moderator. “Since the students had heard so much from me and were keen for more information about it, I thought it would be helpful for them to hear different perspectives on the topic in a global context. So we organized this forum and I am extremely pleased with the depth and breadth of the expertise represented on this panel – it promises to be a remarkable and informative discussion.”
The forum speakers include:
Mark to Market Issues
J. Bosco Hama, CPA, is a senior manager in the dispute and forensic consulting practice of Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP, in Atlanta. Hama focuses on dispute advisory services, complex securities litigation, technical accounting support and review and forensic analysis. He has more than 14 years of financial and audit experience in industry and in public accounting, and has assisted counsel in the investigations, derivative class action lawsuits, breach of contract, stock option backdating and purchase price disputes. In addition, he has provided audit, review and internal control assessments over financial reporting for a variety of companies.
Commercial Banking
John Gregg is the managing director and head of Capital Markets Origination for SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, SunTrust Banks’ investment banking division. Gregg is responsible for loan syndications, high grade and high yield fixed income, derivatives, foreign exchange, tax-exempt finance, asset securitization and equity capital markets. Prior to joining SunTrust in 2006, Gregg spent 17 years at Bank of America, where he was instrumental in growing the loan syndications business over a 13-year period. He held a variety of leadership positions in both the origination and sales and trading groups in syndications during his career at Bank of America, including managing the bank’s European loan syndications business in London for three years and leading the floating rate high-grade syndicate desk for five years. Gregg John earned a bachelor’s degree from North Carolina State University in 1984 and a Master of Business Administration from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business in 1989.
Mortgage Banking
Gaines Harrell is a former mortgage broker. He left the information technology sector for mortgage banking in 2004. During his time as a broker, he worked closely with real estate investors who bought residential properties for renting and lease/purchase. Additionally, he assisted these investors in formulating business plans and strategies for their investments, not just providing the financing. In 1 1/2 years at Dividend America Mortgage, he worked his way up to be become part owner and senior manager in charge of marketing. In December 2007, Harrell left the business because of the general industry down turn. In 2008, he went to work with a start-up recruiting firm, and he also saw first hand, as a recruiter, how businesses were delaying filling open positions.
Latin America and the European Union
Myriam Quispe-Agnoli, Ph.D., is a research economist and assistant policy adviser in the Latin America Research Group of the research department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. At the Fed, Dr. Quispe-Agnoli is responsible for research on economics issues in Latin America. Her current research interests include international trade and income distribution, dollarization, immigration, and international capital flows in emerging markets. She holds a Ph.D. for the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill.
Asia
Penelope B. Prime, Ph.D., has more than 30 years of experience studying the dynamic Chinese economy. After majoring in Chinese studies and studying Mandarin as an undergraduate, she earned a Ph.D. in economics at the University of Michigan. Dr. Prime is a professor of economics at Mercer’s Stetson School of Business and Economics in Atlanta, she teaches international economics and business in the MBA and Executive programs, and is the director of the China Research Center (www.chinacenter.net). Dr. Prime’s research focuses on China’s economy and business environment, including topics such as China’s foreign trade and investment, domestic market reforms, and provincial and local-level development, as well as applied business and economics cases on China and Asia.
Housing Market and Regional Economy
Roger Tutterow, Ph.D., is a professor of economics at Mercer’s Stetson School of Business and Economics in Atlanta. Dr. Tutterow has served as a consultant on economic, financial and statistical issues for corporate clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to closely-held businesses. He has provided expert testimony on economic, financial and statistical matters in state and federal court and before the Georgia Public Service Commission. Dr. Tutterow has given several hundred speeches to professional and civic groups on various topics in the economic, business and political arenas. He holds a Master of Arts and Ph.D. in economics from Georgia State University.
About the Eugene W. Stetson School of Business and Economics at Mercer:
Established in 1984, the Eugene W. Stetson School of Business and Economics has bachelor’s, MBA, Professional MBA, Executive MBA and Master of Accountancy degrees. The School holds accreditation from the prestigious AACSB International — The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, considered the hallmark of excellence among the nation’s top business schools and placing it among the top 25 percent of all business schools in the world. For 2009, the Princeton Review recognized the School as No. 3 for “Greatest Opportunity for Women” and one of its “Best 296 Business Schools.”
About Mercer University:
Founded in 1833, Mercer University is a dynamic and comprehensive center of undergraduate, graduate and professional education. The University has more than 7,500 students; 11 schools and colleges – liberal arts, law, pharmacy, medicine, business, engineering, education, theology, music, nursing and continuing and professional studies; major campuses in Macon, Atlanta and Savannah; three regional academic centers across the state; a university press; two teaching hospitals — Memorial University Medical Center and the Medical Center of Central Georgia; educational partnerships with Warner Robins Air Logistics Center in Warner Robins and Piedmont Healthcare in Atlanta; an engineering research center in Warner Robins; a performing arts center in Macon; and a NCAA Division I athletic program. For more information, visit www.mercer.edu.
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