The Department of Economics Advisory Board was formed in 2007, in the midst of a very active effort to re-engage economics alumni with the department. The Board’s members are alumni who have excelled in a wide variety of careers and pursuits and have a clear understanding of how instrumental the UW-Madison Department of Economics has been in their individual successes. The Board’s mission is to:
- support a dynamic Career Services program and increase career
- internship and other opportunities for current students
- tap into vital alumni resources for the department
*Chairman of the Advisory Board
Mr. Davies is responsible for delivering AllianceBernstein’s investment services to large 401k and public DC plans in the U.S., and coordinates the firm’s global defined contribution strategy. Prior to 2003, he served as head of global marketing and product management for the company’s mutual funds group. He joined Alliance in 1995 from First Chicago Corporation, where he served as President of retail investment services and as a Managing Director of First Chicago Investment Management Company. Prior to joining First Chicago in 1989, he was a consultant and manager with The Boston Consulting Group. Mr. Davies received a BA in Economics, with Honors, from UW-Madison in 1979 and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.
Mr. Fetzer is a retired partner with Goldman, Sachs & Co. He has held corporate directorships with Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc, Sinofert Holdings Ltd., and Northern Star Broadcasting. He is also on voluntary boards with the Rush-Presbyterian St. Luke’s Medical Center, University of Wisconsin Foundation, Kellogg Alumni Advisory Board, and The Posse Foundation and is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago. Mr. Fetzer earned his BS in Economics from UW–Madison in 1959 and his MBA from Northwestern University in 1961.
Mr. Hartig is Managing Principal of Vista Capital LLC, a New York-based derivative market-making firm founded in 1999. The firm primarily engages in trading futures and options based upon a proprietary dispersion-based model while providing liquidity to the listed equity, ETF, and index option marketplace. In 1999, prior to founding Vista, he was the senior trader and risk manager at G&D Trading. Mr. Hartig received his BA in Economics from UW-Madison in 1995 and began his career at Timber Hill, trading equity and index options.
Mr. Highsmith founded Specialized Packaging (SPG) in 1983 in New Haven, CT as a package design and engineering firm. Today, SPG has grown to become the largest minority-owned manufacturer of paperboard packaging in North America with annual revenues of over $150 million. The company has received Supplier of the Year recognition from Colgate-Palmolive, S.C. Johnson, and Procter & Gamble. The company is an industry leader in innovation and has been on the leading edge in the deployment of new technologies and world class manufacturing techniques. From 1974 to 1983, Mr. Highsmith held managerial positions in corporate planning and marketing and product development at Rexham Corporation (Charlotte, NC) and Amstar Corporation (New York, NY). Mr. Highsmith received a BA in Economics from UW-Madison in 1973.
Until his retirement in March of 2008, Dr. Kleefeld was a Senior VP in Fixed Income Derivative Research at Lehman Brothers where he specialized in developing methods to decompose and hedge the risk of interest rate options. This position allowed him to make use of current developments in information theory and Bayesian econometrics. Prior to moving to Lehman Brothers in 1987, he held several positions on Wall Street, at Drexel Burnham and Nomura Research Institute. From 1974 to 1987 he worked as a demand and cost analyst for AT&T in New Jersey. He taught Economics at Hebrew University and Ben-Gurion Universities in Israel in 1973-1974. Dr. Kleefeld received his BA in 1965, his MS in 1967 and his Ph.D. in 1972, all in Economics from UW-Madison.
Mr. Liegl is a tax counsel for McKinsey & Company, a major management consulting firm, focusing almost exclusively on the international affairs of McKinsey and its owners in countries in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Prior to 1998, he was a tax associate with Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue, in Cleveland, OH and an international tax partner in Detroit. Having earned his law degree in the spring of 1973 from UW-Madison, he briefly worked in a Manitowoc, WI firm before joining the Appellate Section of the Tax Division in mid-1974. Mr. Liegl earned a BA from UW-Madison in Economics in 1970 and a JD from the Law School in 1973.
Dr. Mirrow's consulting expertise includes antitrust analysis in health care, banking, pharmaceuticals, intellectual property, and patent issues. She also has prepared expert testimony and has investigated competitive issues in a wide variety of other industries. She previously served as an economist at the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division. While at the Division, she participated extensively in investigations and developed specialized expertise in hospitals, defense, and banking. She also served as lead economist on a variety of other antitrust activities and served as long-term advisor for the Division to the competition agencies of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia in 1994. She provided analytical guidance to these agencies on competition issues during the privatization process and on regulatory issues in the banking, energy and broadcast sectors. Dr. Mirrow received her AB from the University of Michigan in 1986, and an MS in 1988 and a Ph.D. in 1991 in Economics from UW-Madison.
Mr. McCrockey presently serves as Federal Sales Manager at Network Appliance Inc. for the Western US and Pacific Rim. Prior to this he served as the International Marketing Manager for TRW Information Networks Division and Federal Sales Manager at Cisco Systems, Inc. Mr. McCroskey received his BS in Economics from UW-Madison in 1975. He is a member of the University of Wisconsin Alumni Association, the Bascom Hill Society, the UW Foundation, the University of Wisconsin Medical School Middleton Society, and a supporter of the UW Stem Cell Research Program.
Dr. Meese is a Managing Director at Barclays Global Investors (BGI) in San Francisco. He works in the Global Market Strategies Group, which is responsible for BGI's active currency and global macro hedge fund strategies. Prior to joining BGI, he was a Chaired Professor of Economic Analysis and Policy in the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley. Prior to his academic career, he served as a research economist in the International Finance Division of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve. Dr. Meese received his BS in Mathematics and Economics from the University of Michigan, and his MA in 1976 and Ph.D. in 1978 in Economics from UW- Madison.
Mr. Patterson was a Senior VP in investments with Lehman Brothers for 25 years prior to retiring a few years ago. He has numerous affiliations with the University of Wisconsin, including the Bascom Hill Society, the W Club, and the University of Wisconsin Foundation. He is also involved with the Chancellor’s Scholarship Fund, providing scholarships for minority students. Mr. Patterson received his BA in Economics from UW-Madison in 1970 and his MBA in Finance from the University Of Chicago Graduate School Of Business.
Mary Claire Aschenbrener Phipps
Mrs. Phipps has had a successful career with Northern Trust Co. in Chicago, in the Trust Department and as assistant to the Executive Vice President. Northern Trust sponsored her graduate school studies in Economics at Northwestern University, where she attended night classes. She eventually left to get married and raise a family. She now lives in Dallas where she is active with the Down Syndrome Guild of Dallas, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra League, the Santa Fe Opera Guild and is on the board of trustees and initiator of the Teacher of the Year Award with the Association of Retarded Citizens of Dallas. She is a member of the Bascom Hill Society and the Middleton Society of the University of Wisconsin. Mrs. Phipps graduated from UW-Madison with a BA in Economics in 1951.
Mr. Raaths is Chairman of the Board and former CEO of Great Northern Corporation (GNC) headquartered in Appleton, Wisconsin. Prior to GNC, Bill was the CEO of Anchor Foods and President of Wisconsin Tissue and later Georgia Pacific Tissue. Mr. Raaths graduated from UW-Madison with a BA in Economics in 1969. He earned his MBA from UW-Oshkosh in Marketing and Finance in 1974 and was recently selected as alumni of the year. Bill serves on the National UW-Madison Alumni Board of Directors, and on the Board of Directors of GNC, First National Bank-Fox Cities, and United Paper. He also contributes his time to nonprofit entities as a Board of Director for St. E’s Hospital Foundation, Relevant Radio and Valley Packaging Industries. Mr. Raaths represents Winnebago County on the Fox River Authority as it reopens the historic locks system on the Fox River in Northeast Wisconsin.
Dr. Roach is the founder and President of Boston Pacific Company, Inc., a consulting and investment services firm in Washington, DC. He has thirty-two years of experience with investments in, policies for, and litigation concerning the electricity and natural gas businesses. Currently, Boston Pacific’s primary line of business is designing and monitoring electricity markets and auctions. His previous positions include service as an economist at the Congressional Budget Office. Dr. Roach earned his Ph.D. in Economics from UW-Madison in 1983.
Dr. Roach is Chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia, serving as the firm’s senior representative to clients, governments, and regulators across the region. Prior to his appointment as Asia Chairman, he was Morgan Stanley’s Chief Economist. During his 25-year career as an economist at Morgan Stanley, Dr. Roach was widely recognized as one of Wall Street’s most influential thought leaders. His recent research focused on globalization, the emergence of China and India, and the capital market implications of global imbalances. Before joining Morgan Stanley in 1982, Dr. Roach was Vice President for Economic Analysis for the Morgan Guaranty Trust Company. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from New York University and received his BA in Economics from UW-Madison in 1968.
Dr. Rosengren became President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve
Bank of Boston on July 23, 2007. He serves as a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee. Previously, Dr. Rosengren was executive vice president and head of the Bank’s department of supervision, regulation, and credit. An economist by training, he joined the Bank in 1985 as a member of the research department. In his research, Dr. Rosengren has made significant contributions in the fields of banking and monetary policy, and he has written extensively on macroeconomics, international banking, bank supervision, and risk management. He has served as an advisor on Japanese banking issues, and a focus of his research has been how financial problems can impact the real economy. Dr. Rosengren holds a BA from Colby College and earned his MS in 1984 and his Ph.D. in 1986 in Economics from UW-Madison.
Mr. Rossmiller, Director of Fixed Income Research, is responsible for High Grade and High Yield Media, Cable and Telecom on the Fixed Income Team for MEMBERS Capital Advisors. He has over 20 years of experience in the fixed income investment business. Most recently, he served as Managing Director in the Fixed Income Research Department at Merrill Lynch, where he coordinated the High Grade and High Yield Telecom, Media and Technology research effort. Prior to joining Merrill Lynch, Mr. Rossmiller was a Vice President in the Corporate Bond Research Department at Deutsche Bank Securities, a Senior Associate at Barclays de Zoete Wedd, and a Senior Director at Fitch Ratings. He earned an MBA in Finance in 1989, a BA in Economics in 1987, and a BS in Education in 1984, all from UW-Madison.
Prior to her retirement in 2002, Ms. Scanlon was Deputy Associate Director of the Division of Research and Statistics at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Prior to joining the Federal Reserve, Ms. Scanlon was a lecturer at the University of Maryland and a research fellow at the Brookings Institution. Since retirement, she has been an active member of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at George Mason University. Ms. Scanlon received her BA in Mathematics from Duke University and her MA in Economics from UW-Madison in 1968.
Dr. Scanlon is a senior policy advisor with Health Policy R&D. He serves as a consultant to the National Health Policy Forum and is an affiliated faculty member of the Institute for Policy Studies, The Johns Hopkins University. He is also currently a member of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics, and the Visiting Nurse Service of New York Board of Directors. He served on the National Commission for Quality Long-Term Care, the 2005 White House Conference on Aging Advisory Committee and as co-chair of the 2004 Technical Panel to Review the Medicare Trustees Report. Dr. Scanlon was the Managing Director of Health Care Issues at the U.S. General Accounting Office from 1993-2004, was the Co-Director of the Center for Health Policy Studies and an Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at Georgetown University and has been a Principal Research Associate in Health Policy at the Urban Institute. He received his MA in 1969 and his Ph.D. in 1980 in Economics from UW-Madison.
Mr. Schemel is currently the Managing Director of Derivatives Financial Products at Societe Generale Bank in New York. Prior to Societe Generale he worked in the Exposure Management Group at Citicorp Investment Bank and as a floor broker for Dean Witter on the Chicago Board of Trade. Mr. Schemel received his BA in Economics and Political Science from UW-Madison in 1982 and his MBA in Finance from the University Of Chicago Graduate School of Business in 1987. Mr Schemel is the Co-President of the Wisconsin Eastern Alumni Scholarship Fund in New York. He lives in Connecticut with his wife and two children.
Mr. Skatrud is a Principal at OFI Institutional Asset Management (a subsidiary of OppenheimerFunds, Inc.) in Boston where he specializes in corporate bond research. Prior to joining OFI, he was Senior Vice President and high yield bond analyst at Putnam Investments. He began his career as an Investment Banking Associate at Firstar Bank Milwaukee and then worked as a fixed income Research Assistant at Miller Anderson & Sherrerd, an institutional investment management firm in Philadelphia. Mr. Skatrud earned a BS in Economics with Math Emphasis from UW-Madison in 1995 and an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 2000.
Todd E. Warnock, Chairman of the Advisory Board
Mr. Warnock is a Founding Partner of RoundTable Healthcare Partners, a leveraged buyout firm specializing in medical devices and pharmaceuticals. Prior to RoundTable, he spent 14 years in investment banking at Credit Suisse First Boston, ultimately serving as Managing Director and Head of U.S. Health Care Investment Banking. He also worked at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in Washington DC as a research assistant prior to entering graduate school. He is currently the Chairman of the Advisory Board of the UW-Madison Economics Department. Mr. Warnock earned a BA in Economics in 1983 from UW- Madison and an MBA from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business in 1988. He currently serves on the Board of Governors of The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, as Chairman of the Board of Ox-Bow School of Art, and as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Greater Chicago Food Depository, the nation’s second largest food bank.
Mr. Weil is Vice Chairman of Swiss-American, Inc. a national importer, processor and distributor of cheese to retailers and wholesalers. He has been involved with his family business since graduating from UW-Madison in 1970. He is joint owner of a cheese plant in Arena, Wisconsin as well as director of a food sales and marketing firm. Mr. Weil is past president of the St. Louis Culinary Society and currently serves on the Board of The First Tee of St. Louis. He was named Chevalier in 1985 and a Friend of Brie de Meaux in 2000 by the French government for his knowledge of French cheese and for working with the French cheese industry. He earned his BA in Economics in 1970 from UW-Madison.
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Last updated: April 23, 2008