The latest from the workshop

Vice President

Mr. Mehdi Varzi began his career as a Senior Analyst at NIOC before serving as a diplomat for ten years. In 1982, he joined a firm of London stockbrokers, which subsequently merged with Kleinwort Benson, later becoming Dresdner Kleinwort Benson, where he held the position of Director, Oil and Gas Research. In 1998, Mr. Varzi…

Mr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah is a Ghanaian businessman, diplomat and politician. He is one of Africa’s preeminent public servants and an authority on mass communications, having held several high profile positions in the field. Mr. Spio-Garbrah is currently Ghana’s Minister for Trade and Industry after parliamentary confirmation. He is the former CEO of the Commonwealth Telecommunications…

Mr. Adrian Sender is an experienced investment banker with an in-depth knowledge of corporate and project finance in the Middle East. He has led and managed a number of transactions in the Gulf Cooperation Council and internationally, including an Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Co. (du) $500 million & $220 million club, DEWA Thor II $350 million…

Mr. Ton Schurink is a senior executive with extensive experience in trading commodities, risk management, barter, shipping, financial trading and structured finance acquired during a 32-year career with Cargill. In 2001, he founded his own consulting company, CFT Advisory Services, which focuses on overlaps between commodities, finance and trading. In 2008 Mr. Schurink founded, along…

Dr. Richard Sandor (Ph.D.) is Chairman and CEO of Chicago-based Environmental Financial Products (EFP), which specializes in inventing, designing and developing new financial markets. EFP was established in 1998 and was the predecessor company and incubator to the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX), the European Climate Exchange (ECX), the Chicago Climate Futures Exchange (CCFE) and the…

Ms. Nicole Rogers (nee Maus) hails from one of the largest and oldest farming operations in Canada. Both her grandfather and father were innovators in the domestic and international trading and marketing of agricultural commodities. Prior to its sale, the Maus family livestock trading business  enjoyed annual revenues in excess of C$100 million. Ms. Roger’s…

Governor David Paterson became New York’s 55th Governor on March 17, 2008. He immediately raised eyebrows when he warned off an impending fiscal crisis in his inaugural address. Governor Paterson was ahead of the national curve in predicting and acting on the State’s fiscal downturn. Despite the greatest economic crisis that New York State has…

Dr. William H Overholt is a fellow at the Asia Global Institute and has been a Senior Fellow at Harvard since 2008. From 2013-2015 he was also Senior Fellow and then President of the Fung Global Institute in Hong Kong. From 2002-2008 he was Distinguished Chair and Director of the RAND Corporation’s Center for Asia Pacific Policy….

Mr. Marshall Orson is a co-founder and partner in consulting firm Melbourne Partners, which provides business development services for transactions related to intellectual property licensing, acquisitions, and partnerships, with a specific focus on content. He also was a co-founder and partner in the media strategy and crisis management firm, Devonwood Media. From 1989 to 2001,…