Speakers
 
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Peter Sanfey
 
 

Peter Sanfey, Lead Economist within the Office of the Chief Economist, EBRD in London

Peter's main responsibilities lie in the analysis of transition in South-Eastern Europe (SEE), with a focus on the western Balkans, and in research and publications on a range of topics covering the whole transition region. He also contributes to the Bank’s economic analysis of selected EBRD investment projects in SEE. He is an editor and author of the annual EBRD Transition Report and he also edits the EBRD Working Paper series.

Dr Sanfey graduated from Trinity College Dublin in 1985 with a B.A. (first class honours) in Economics, and received his Ph.D. in Economics from Yale University in 1992. He was a lecturer in economics at the University of Kent at Canterbury from 1992-97, teaching courses mainly in the fields of macroeconomics and labour economics, before joining the EBRD in October 1997.

Dr Sanfey’s main research interests are in the fields of transition economics, macroeconomics and labour economics. He was the lead author of a 2004 EBRD publication: Spotlight on South-Eastern Europe: an Overview of Private Sector Activity and Investment. More recently, he co-authored another EBRD monograph, Life in Transition: an Overview of People’s Experiences and Attitudes, published in 2007. He has published many articles in international refereed journals. His recent publications have covered the link between reforms and growth in transition countries, the interaction between subjective measures of individual well-being and progress in transition, and the causes and effects of informal activities.

Dr Sanfey has recently co-authored (with Christopher Cviić) a book entitled: South-Eastern Europe: From Conflict to Cooperation. The book was published in 2008, in Croatian translation, by Novi Liber publishers in Zagreb, Croatia; a revised and updated version (in English), with the title: In Search of the Balkan Recovery: the Political and Economic Re-emergence of South-Eastern Europe, will be published by C. Hurst & Co. publishers.

 

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Laza Kekic
 
 

Laza Kekic, Regional Director for Central and Eastern Europe, and Director for Country Forecasting Services, The Economist Intelligence Unit

Laza Kekic heads the Economist Intelligence Unit’s largest regional team of analysts who provide economic, political and business coverage for the 27 countries of eastern Europe, including the former Soviet Union. He also heads the Country Forecasting Services, which include the Economist Intelligence Unit’s main traditional product, the Country Reports, as well as the Country Forecasts (medium and long-term forecasts for 82 countries aimed at direct investors). He is also the main editor of the acclaimed World Investment Prospects annual report.

Over the past decade Laza has played a leading role in product development at the Economist Intelligence Unit, especially of products and services related to forecasting and data. Areas of main specialisation and interest are: Russia, the Balkans and other transition economies, foreign direct investment, economic forecasting; growth economics. He has written extensively for the Economist Intelligence Unit and other outlets on these topics. Laza is also a frequent speaker at Economist and external conferences and seminars.

Laza was educated at the London School of Economics (BSc and MSc Econ) and joined the Economist Intelligence Unit in 1993.
 
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Justin Patrie
 
 

Justin Patrie, Head of Emerging Europe, Country Risk & Financial Markets Analysis, Business Monitor International

Justin has been with Business Monitor’s emerging Europe team since 2006, specialising in the Russian and Turkish economies. Having completed the Canadian Securities Course, Justin previously worked in the Private Client Division of BMO Nesbitt Burns, the brokerage arm of the Bank of Montreal. He holds degrees in international relations from McGill University and the School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London). His academic experience also includes doctoral research at the University of Hawaii, during which time he was a lecturer in the Department of Political Science and a research affiliate at the Congressionally funded East West Centre.

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Mark P McGuigan
 
 

Mark P McGuigan, Group Risk, Head of Business Intelligence, HSBC Bank Plc UK

Mark McGuigan is Head of Business Intelligence at HSBC  in Canary Wharf, London.  He was educated at Queen's University, Belfast, where he read Russian and Politics, before joining the Royal Air Force in 1983.  Following his Service career, during which he travelled extensively, he taught International Security Studies at Leicester University while researching at Loughborough University.  He then took up an appointment as Senior Analyst with Assynt Associates, specialising in Middle Eastern politics and security issues, before joining HSBC in 2007 to focus on Russian and Central Asian affairs.
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Jason Mogg, Managing Partner, Kinstellar

Jason Mogg is the firm’s managing partner. He is Canadian law and English law qualified and a member of the New York bar and has over 14 years of transactional experience in Central Eastern and Southern Europe. He has led teams of foreign and local lawyers and has worked on many of the most significant international transactions including many privatisations across the region. He speaks English and French.
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