GORDON ALEXANDER is a Professor of Finance and holds the John Spooner Chair in Investment Management at the Carlson School of Management. He is President of the Midwest Finance Association, and has been a Director of the Financial Management Association and a Senior Research Economist at the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Alexander has published in numerous journals, including the Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Monetary Economics, Review of Financial Studies, Journal of Business, Financial Management, and Journal of Portfolio Management. He is the co-author of three books on investments and portfolio analysis; one of his co-authors is Nobel Laureate William F. Sharpe of Stanford University. Alexander received his BS in Business Administration from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and his MBA, MA in Mathematics, and PhD in Finance from The University of Michigan.
	JAMES GAHLON is a Senior Lecturer in Finance at the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota. He is a four-time recipient, most recently in spring 2005, of the Curtis Cup for excellent teaching in the Carlson Executive MBA Program and has been recognized as an outstanding teacher in Business Week’s Guide to the Best Business Schools. In 2005, Gahlon was awarded the Carlson School of Management’s Excellence in Teaching Award by the faculty. In 2006, the graduating full-time MBA students voted him Most Outstanding Core Faculty Member. Previously he held the Endowed Chair in Finance position in the College of Business, University of St. Thomas. He received both his MS and PhD in Finance from the University of Illinois,
	EDWARD JOYCE is Associate Dean of MBA Programs and Professor of Accounting at the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota. Previously he was a faculty member at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. Joyce also has lectured at the University of Illinois, the University of Michigan, the University of Glasgow, Scotland, the Warsaw School of Economics, Kasetsart University in Bangkok, Thailand, Fudan University in Shenzen, China, and Lingnan University in Guangzhou, China. He has work experience with General Motors, Rockwell International and the public accounting firm of Ernst & Young. He received a BSBA from Ohio State University and an MA and PhD in accounting from the University of Illinois.
	TIMOTHY NANTELL is a Professor of Finance at the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota. He has held numerous positions with the Carlson School: Faculty Director of the Carlson Funds Enterprise (a student-run $15 million investment fund), Finance Department Chairperson, Faculty Director of MBA Programs, Associate Dean of Faculty, Associate Dean of MBA Programs, and Acting Dean. Nantell was named Dedicated Faculty Member of the Year by the MBA Classes of 2002 and 2003. He also initiated the Center for the Financial Services Industry. Previously he was an Associate Professor of Finance at the University of Michigan Graduate School of Business.
	RICHARD NELSON is Director of Undergraduate Finance Programs, Department of Finance, Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota. He was also a Lecturer at the Carlson School where he taught, developed course lectures and case problems for the Finance Department. He was a frequent speaker on Derivatives, and a Guest Lecturer. Professor Nelson received his BSBA and his MBA from the University of Minnesota. Previously, he held positions with ReliaStar, MTS Systems Corporation, Lerch Brothers Inc., Norwest Bank, and St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Company.
Executive Presenter
	KAYE O'LEARY is Principal of Tevera Consulting, a management consulting firm. Previously she was Vice President and CFO of Buca Inc. Prior to joining Buca she was Vice President of Finance at Navitaire, leading the organization in developing its planning and forecasting capabilities. She also served as Vice President and CFO for OneLink, Inc., and as Vice President of Corporate Business Planning for Carlson Companies, Inc. O’Leary has also held financial positions with PepsiCo and Dannon. She has a Bachelor of Science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an MBA in Finance from Pace University in New York.