Events

Connect with colleagues and prepare for the year ahead by attending our annual Economic Outlook Luncheon

MODERATOR:

Nimisha Srivastava, CAIA
Global Head of Credit Research
Willis Towers Watson

Nimisha Srivastava, CAIA is Global Head of Credit Research at Willis Towers Watson. She oversees 25+ credit researchers globally focusing on traditional, alternative, smart beta and illiquid credit working on strategy, client portfolio construction and research efforts. Prior to joining WTW in 2014, Nimisha helped manage the credit portfolio for the Universities Superannuation Scheme, one of the largest pension schemes in the UK. Before moving to the UK, she was a senior member of the hedge fund and alternatives research team at Segal Rogerscasey, a US investment consultant focused on Taft-Hartley, Public and Corporate pension plans. She began her career at Deutsche Bank in Sales & Trading, working across hedge fund/structured products sales and advising institutional clients on hedge fund allocations. She has also worked with the KAUST Endowment helping to launch their hedge fund portfolio and was selected as one of ten 100 Women in Hedge Funds/CAIA Scholars in 2012. Nimisha graduated with honors from Carnegie Mellon University with a B.S. in Mathematical Sciences and holds an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management

PANELISTS:

Robin J. Anderson, Ph.D.
Senior Global Economist
Principal Global Investors

Robin Anderson is a Senior Economist for Principal Global Investors. She works closely with the Chief Global Economist to develop and disseminate macroeconomic strategy, not only for Principal Global Investors but Principal Financial Group® as a whole. In this role, Robin presents, writes commentary, assists in forecast development, and advises investment professionals on current economic trends and outlook.  She also works closely with the Principal Portfolio Strategies team within Principal Global Investors.  In that capacity, Robin develops macroeconomic and quantitative research to assist in asset allocation decisions. Robin joined Principal Financial Group® in 2011.  Prior to that, she worked as an economist at the U.S. Census Bureau.

She received her Ph.D. in economics in 2008 from the University of Washington and a bachelor’s degree in economics in 2002 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Robin has numerous speaking engagements in the U.S., from Deadwood, South Dakota to New York.  She was one of two Principal Financial Group® employees selected to attend Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Next Gen Conference in 2014.  Robin is frequently quoted in the financial news media including CNBC and Bloomberg.

Anna Paulson, Ph.D.
Executive Vice President, Director of Research and Executive Committee Member
Federal Reserve Chicago

Anna Paulson is executive vice president and director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. She leads the Bank’s research and policy analysis work, overseeing the department that provides analytic support for monetary policymaking and conducts research on banking and financial markets, macroeconomics, microeconomics and regional economics. Paulson also has responsibility for the Bank’s Public Affairs and Community, Development and Policy Studies departments. She attends meetings of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the group responsible for formulating the nation’s monetary policy, and serves on the Bank’s Executive Committee.

Paulson is an expert on financial markets and institutions, with particular expertise on the insurance industry. Her research investigates how households and firms adapt to incomplete financial markets and how household financial decision-making is influenced by exposure to institutions and economic events, including financial crises. Paulson’s research has been published in leading scholarly journals, including the Journal of Political Economy, the Review of Economics and Statistics and the Review of Financial Studies. She is a past member of the American Economic Association’s Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession and a past board member of the Western Economic Association International. Paulson received a Bachelor of Arts from Carleton College and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago.

Paulson joined the Chicago Fed as an economist in 2001 after serving as an assistant professor of finance at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. In 2009, she was promoted to vice president in the Financial Markets Group and established the Insurance Initiative, which analyzes financial stability and regulatory issues in the insurance industry on behalf of the Federal Reserve System. She became associate director of research in 2017 and was promoted to director of research in 2019.

Vivian Lin Thurston, CFA
Partner, Portfolio Manager
William Blair

Vivian Lin Thurston is a Partner and portfolio manager for William Blair’s China A-Shares Growth strategy and a global research analyst covering Chinese equities. Previously, she was a global research analyst covering Chinese equities and large-cap consumer stocks. Before joining William Blair, Vivian was vice president and consumer sector head at Calamos Investments. Before that, she was an executive director and senior investment analyst at UBS Global Asset Management/Brinson Partners, where she was responsible for stock selection and research for consumer sectors in the United States and emerging markets. Vivian also held roles at Mesirow Financial, China Agribusiness Development Trust and Investment Corporation, and Vanke. She is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Chicago. She is also the founder and chairman of the board of the Chinese Finance Association of America, a 501(c) nonprofit organization. Vivian received a B.A. in sociology from Peking University and an M.A. in sociology and M.S. in finance from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Karyn Williams, Ph.D.
Founder and Managing Partner
Hightree Advisors, LLC

Karyn is the founder and managing partner of Hightree Advisors, an independent consultancy committed to helping institutional clients identify and create sources of value through improved governance, risk, and lifecycle cost management. Drawing upon her significant experience transforming institutional investment programs, Karyn offers clients comprehensive services such as custom investment education, non-complex and risk-aware portfolio design and analytics, and strategic counsel oriented to investment lifecycle efficiency. Hightree’s ultimate objective is to help institutional investors identify and implement opportunities to regain and sustain real dollar value improvements in investment performance.
Prior to establishing Hightree, Karyn was the chief investment officer of Farmers Group Inc., head of client solutions at Two Sigma Advisers, and a partner and managing director at Wilshire Associates. Over the course of her career, Karyn has built a demonstrated track record of success in designing and implementing effective investment programs for a wide variety of organizations.
Karyn is an independent public company director, NACD Governance Fellow, and serves as finance chair, treasurer and trustee for public and private foundations. She is an industry leader, author, innovator and educator. Karyn graduated from Arizona State University, where she earned a B.S. in Economics and a Ph.D. in Finance.