Events

The Chicago Women Investment Professionals organization invites you to join us at our Annual Economic Forum to learn what experts have to say about the 2021 Economic Outlook. We will begin with a Keynote Address from Dr. Dambisa Moyo. Dr. Moyo will lead us in an address regarding current and upcoming macroeconomic trends and themes, as well as provide insights on world affairs. With her global perspective, her expertise will bring clarity to the complexity of our current and upcoming environment. The Hon. Stephanie D. Neely will then lead a Fireside Chat with expert panelists on the implications of the pandemic, U.S. Policy, global economic trends in Europe and China, and help us to steer a path forward with respect to portfolio implementation.

Keynote Speaker

Dr. Dambisa Moyo
Global Economist and Author

Dr. Moyo is a pre-eminent thinker, who influences key decision-makers in strategic investment and public policy.  She is a top-tier opinion former and trusted advisor on Macroeconomics, Geopolitics and Technology themes.  She serves on a number of global corporate boards including: 3M Corporation, Chevron and Conde Nast.  She worked at the World Bank and Goldman Sachs for nearly a decade.  Dr. Dambisa Moyo was also named by TIME Magazine as one of the “100 Most Influential People in the World”, and was featured on Oprah Winfrey’s “O” Power List.

She is the author of four New York Times bestselling books, most recently, “Edge of Chaos: Why Democracy Is Failing to Deliver Economic Growth – and How to Fix It,”(2018).  Dr. Moyo’s newest book, “How Boards Work – And How They Can Work Better in a Chaotic World” is scheduled to be published in Spring of 2021.  Dr. Moyo holds a PhD in Economics from Oxford University and a Master’s Degree from Harvard University.

FIRESIDE CHAT

Moderator

Honorable Stephanie D. Neely
Managing Director – Head of North America Institutional Central & Canada
J.P. Morgan Asset Management

Hon. Stephanie D. Neely, Managing Director, is the Head of North America Institutional Central & Canada team for J.P. Morgan Asset Management. Stephanie has spent 3 decades in the financial services arena.  Most recently, she was a Vice President and Assistant Treasurer of the Allstate Insurance Company, where she was responsible for the strategic direction and management of liquidity, capital, ratings, corporate finance and corporate structure issues. In addition, she was the chair of Allstate’s pension investment committees and a member of the 401 (k) investment committee.

Prior to Allstate, Stephanie was appointed to serve as Treasurer of the City of Chicago in December 2006, elected in February 2007 and re-elected to a second term in February 2011. As the Treasurer of Chicago, she raised reporting efficiencies and reinvented the Office with innovative programs and community outreach, including Small Business Development Loans and financial literacy programs reaching more than 240,000 Chicago Public School students.  Stephanie also managed the city’s $7 billion financial portfolio and consistently beat the 90-day Treasury bill benchmark while conducting 60% of trades with minority, women and disabled veteran broker dealers.  She was also a Trustee on all five city pension plans.

Stephanie began her career as a financial analyst with Smith Barney in municipal finance and subsequently held municipal finance management positions at different firms in New York and Chicago, including First Chicago/Bank One. She was also a vice president of institutional sales at Northern Trust Global Investments.  Stephanie earned an BA in economics from Smith College, where she formerly served as the treasurer of the alumna board and a member of the endowment committee, and an MBA in finance from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She also holds FINRA Series 3, 7 and 63 licenses.

Panelists

Leslie McGranahan
Vice President and Director of Regional Research
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago

Leslie McGranahan is a Vice President and Director of Regional Research in the Economic Research Department at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Her primary research interests relate to the effects of federal, state, and local government policy on individuals and households. She closely follows regional and national developments in government spending and revenues. She received a bachelor’s degree in politics from Princeton University and master’s and doctorate degrees in economics from Northwestern University.

Hetal Mehta
Senior European Economist
Legal & General Investment Management

Hetal Mehta, is Senior European Economist with responsibility for providing macroeconomic analysis and forecasts for the UK and euro area economies. She joined LGIM in 2011 from Daiwa Capital Markets where she held the role of UK economist and topped the Sunday Times economics league table for best UK forecast. Prior to that, she was a senior economic adviser to the Ernst & Young ITEM Club and an economist at the Oxford Economics Consultancy where she led coverage for a number of European and Asian countries as well as working on numerous bespoke economic modelling projects. Hetal has also worked for HM Treasury and the Office for the Deputy Prime Minister. Hetal graduated from the University of Bath and holds a BSc and MSc in Economics.