Speakers
- Rajeev Dhawan, Director and Professor, Economic Forecasting Center, Georgia State University
- Michael Drury, Chief Economist, McVean Trading & Investments, LLC
- Stephen Sexauer, Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer, Allianz Global Investors Solutions
- Bob Gunkel, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer,The Americas IHG
Conference Program
| 8:00 a.m. | Registration & Breakfast |
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| 8:30 a.m. | Words of Welcome | Peter A. Ashley Director of Communications and Marketing J. Mack Robinson College of Business Georgia State University |
| 8:35 a.m | Commodities, China and European Confusion » When one talks about commodities, he is talking about China and its prospects. These days, the economic crisis in Europe and the fiscal cliff in the U.S. have added a special twist to the commodity demand and supply equations. Micheal's talk will focus on unraveling some of the theoretical issues surrounding the U.S. and European policies to handle their growing debt levels along with the response of the Chinese authorities to manage inflation while simultaneously stimulating its economy. |
Michael Drury Chief Economist McVean Trading & Investment |
| 9:00 a.m. | Growth: When and How Much» Will the US economy return to trend growth of 2.5% to 3%? When? How? What are the effects of large fiscal deficits and rapidly increasing federal debt-to-GDP? Will the bond markets close on the United States as they have for Greece, Portugal, Spain, and Italy? Much like Tolstoy's opening lines in Anna Karenina, each recovery is unhappy in its own way. This recovery has seen the United States write off $1 trillion in assets and face down large fiscal imbalances at the federal, state, and local levels. The housing market is clearing. Profits continue at all-time highs. There is a boom in energy and manufacturing. But China is slowing and Europe is trapped in crisis mode. The race is on: Will the US recovery strengthen to offset China and Europe, and will the United States put its fiscal house in order before the bond markets close? |
Stephen Sexauer Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer Allianz Global Investors Solutions |
| 9:25 a.m. | Lodging Industry as an Economic Indicator in Atlanta » Bob Gunkel, SVP Finance & CFO, The Americas will address the subject of The Lodging Industry as an Economic Indicator in Atlanta and the Southeast. He will explore how economic trends in the hotel and lodging industry are used as a barometer for the Southeast region with emphasis in Atlanta. Bob Gunkel will address key drivers such as revenue per available room, occupancy and average daily rate, along with other key economic factors that influence hotel business activity. |
Bob Gunkel Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer The Americas IHG |
| 9:50 a.m. | Q & A | |
| 10:05 a.m. | Refreshments Break | |
| 10:30 a.m. | Forecast of the Nation, State and Region The European debt drama continues this Summer, with Spain and Italy also now under pressure apart from Greece, and coupled with China’s looming slowdown it has put a chill on the growth prospects of emerging economies and those of commodity producers.The question now on everybody’s mind is when and by how much the U.S. growth will falter in the coming months.The talk/conference will analyze the impact of global confusion on growth prospects at the national, local and sectoral levels. | Rajeev Dhawan Director and Professor Economic Forecasting Center J. Mack Robinson College of Business Georgia State University |
| 11:40 a.m. | Q & A Conclusion | |
| 11:50 a.m. | Light Lunch & Networking |
Industry Speakers
| Michael Drury Chief Economist McVean Trading & Investments, LLC  |
Michael Drury is the Chief Economist for McVean Trading & Investments, LLC. He joined the firm in 1992, after serving for five years as Vice President and Senior Economist with Allen Sinai at Shearson Lehman Brothers and his successor firm, The Boston Company Economic Advisors (both subsidies of American Express). Michael began his career in New York in 1982 as Senior Economist at A. Gary Shilling and Company. He completed his undergraduate education at the Georgia Institute of Technology and did his graduate work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Michael's primary responsibility is to develop investment strategies for futures market trading in Eurodollars, currencies and industrial materials. He is the author of McVean Trading's "Weekly Economic Update" which provides analysis of developing economic and financial trends around the world. Michael travels extensively within the United States and to China, Europe and Latin America. He has written on housing and real estate, consumer spending, capital spending, fiscal policy and federal budget issues, regional economic developments, demographics, agriculture and energy. Michael has directed projects on agriculture, retailing, the auto industry, electric power, real estate and financial services. He is Vice-President of the Economic Club of Memphis, Deputy Program Chair for the Global Interdependence Center, founder and past president of the MidSouth Association for Business Economics (a chapter of NABE), and a non-resident member of the American Chamber of Commerce in Beijing. Michael lives in Germantown, TN with his wife, Mahrou, and has three children. |
| Stephen Sexauer Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer Allianz Global Investors Solutions  |
Stephen Sexauer has been the Chief Investment Officer of AGI Solutions since inception in June, 2008, and has been a Managing Director of Allianz Global Investors of America LLC or one of its subsidiaries since May, 2003. Mr. Sexauer has overall responsibility for all investment functions at AGI Solutions and is directly responsible for portfolio risk profiles, asset allocation and fund selection. From 1989-2002, Mr. Sexauer was a portfolio manager at Morgan Stanley Investment Management. He worked at Salomon Brothers from 1986-1989, and previously worked in Economic Consulting at Merrill Lynch Economics and at Wharton Econometrics. Mr. Sexauer holds an MBA from the University of Chicago with concentrations in economics and statistics and a BS from the University of Illinois in economics. |
| Bob Gunkel Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer The Americas IHG  |
Bob Gunkel is Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for the Americas division of IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) PLC. Bob leads the Americas finance organization and is responsible for the management of financial operations for all properties in North and South America. Bob joined IHG in 1995 from Marriott. Since then he has held a number of senior positions in finance including the role of vice president, financial planning and analysis, for the Americas. Most recently, Bob served as vice president, global finance transformation. In this role, he led our work to improve efficiencies within the finance organization by making the most of our regional capabilities and global scale. Bob has over 17 years experience in the hospitality industry and earned a MBA in finance from the Wharton School of Business. He earned an undergraduate degree in accounting from the University of Virginia. |
