Opening Keynote
Dr. Michael Piwowar
Former Acting Chairman and Commissioner at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Dr. Michael S. Piwowar served as a Commissioner at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from August 15, 2013 to July 6, 2018. Dr. Piwowar was first appointed to the SEC by President Barack Obama and was designated Acting Chairman of the Commission by President Donald Trump from January 23, 2017 to May 4, 2017. Previously, Dr. Piwowar was the Republican chief economist for the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs under Senators Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Richard Shelby (R-AL). He was the lead Republican economist on the four SEC-related titles of the Dodd-Frank Act and the JOBS Act. Dr. Piwowar also worked on a number of important SEC-related oversight issues under the jurisdiction of the Committee, such as securities, over-the-counter derivatives, investor protection, market structure, and capital formation. He is exclusively represented by Leading Authorities speakers bureau.
During the financial crisis and its immediate aftermath, Dr. Piwowar served in a one-year fixed-term position at the White House as a senior economist at the President’s Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) in both the George W. Bush and Barack Obama Administrations. While at the CEA, Dr. Piwowar also served as a staff economist for the Financial Regulatory Reform Working Group of the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board. Before joining the White House, Dr. Piwowar worked as a Principal at the Securities Litigation and Consulting Group (SLCG). At SLCG, he provided economic consulting to law firms involved in complex securities litigation and technical assistance on market structure, regulatory policy, and risk management issues to domestic and international securities regulators and market participants. He is currently the executive director of the Milken Institute Center for Financial Markets.
Dr. Piwowar’s first tenure at the SEC was in the Office of Economic Analysis (now called the Division of Economic and Risk Analysis) as a visiting academic scholar on leave from Iowa State University and as a senior financial economist. In those roles, he provided economic analyses and other technical support to the Commission and other SEC Divisions and Offices on a wide range of rulemaking, compliance, and enforcement matters.
Dr. Piwowar was an assistant professor of finance at Iowa State University where he focused his research on market microstructure and taught undergraduate and graduate courses in corporate finance and investments. He published a number of articles in leading academic publications and received several teaching and research awards.
Dr. Piwowar received a B.A. in Foreign Service and International Politics from the Pennsylvania State University, an M.B.A. from Georgetown University, and a Ph.D. in Finance from the Pennsylvania State University.
Fireside Chat
Kevin Depew
Deputy Chief Economist, RSM US LLP
Kevin Depew is Deputy Chief Economist at RSM US LLP, an Emmy Award-winning writer, and producer. Prior to joining RSM, Depew worked in economics for Bloomberg LP. Depew has also worked for Dorsey Wright and Associates, PaineWebber and AG Edwards. His former roles include chief strategist, director of research, financial markets analyst and portfolio manager.
Depew attended St. John's College in Annapolis, MD and graduated from the University of Kentucky with a BA in Philosophy.
About RSM US LLP: RSM’s purpose is to deliver the power of being understood to our clients, colleagues and communities through world-class audit, tax and consulting services focused on middle market businesses. The clients we serve as the engine of global commerce and economic growth, and we are focused on developing leading professionals and services to meet their evolving needs in today’s ever-changing business environment. RSM US LLP is the U.S. member of RSM International, a global network of independent audit, tax and consulting firms with more than 43,000 people in over 120 countries. For more information, visit rsmus.com.
Emcee / Closing Keynote
Rachana Bhide
Organizational Psychologist and Broadcaster
Rachana Bhide is a 21-year organizational psychologist and broadcaster, most recently with Bloomberg Radio and Bloomberg Live. As moderator and emcee, Rachana interviews influential market leaders live on stage including CEOs, founders and financiers.
Rachana spent 14 years as a management consultant for Accenture, in a leadership role with the Austria/Switzerland/Germany change management practice. A client-facing leader, Rachana has implemented leadership workshops and management strategies for multiple Fortune 100 companies.
Rachana is a frequent speaker about topics related to empathy and product design; she served as opening keynote speaker at Women of Silicon Valley (2019), with featured appearances at companies including Google, LinkedIn, FOX Sports and the Los Angeles Chargers. Through her global media presence, she has hosted fireside interviews with international leaders including parliamentary ministers from France and Canada, and the Former Prime Minister of Denmark.
Rachana holds a master's degree in organizational psychology from Columbia University and lives in New York City.
