Panelists

The Economy 2013:

'Rebuilding the Economy to Last Beyond 2013'

Richard A. Ciccarone
Managing Director & Chief Research Officer
McDonnell Investment Management , LLC

Richard Ciccarone, who has 35 years of investment industry experience, is responsible for managing the McDonnell investment research resources, including the management of research analysts and analytical tools to support client portfolios. McDonnell is an institutional fixed income Investment management firm located in Oak Brook, IL with responsibility for over $13 billion in fixed income assets. McDonnell Investment is a subsidiary of Natixis Asset Management L.P. In addition, Mr. Ciccarone is the President and CEO of Merritt Research Services, LLC — a municipal bond credit database research company serving institutional clients throughout the U.S.

Prior to September 2001, Mr. Ciccarone served as Senior Vice President and Co-Head of Fixed Income at Van Kampen Investments Inc. Prior to that position, he served at Van Kampen as Senior Vice President and Co-Head of Municipal Investments and Director of Research. From 1989 to 1996, Mr. Ciccarone was Executive Vice President at EVEREN Securities Inc. (Chicago) and served in various capacities at its predecessor firms (Kemper Securities Inc. and Blunt Ellis & Loewi, Inc.) as an Executive Vice President and Director of Tax Exempt/Fixed Income Research. From 1983 to 1989, Mr. Ciccarone was a Vice President and Director of Unit Investment Trust Research for Van Kampen Merritt Inc. Prior to 1983, he was manager of municipal research at Harris Bank (Chicago), where he started his career as a municipal bond analyst in 1977.

Mr. Ciccarone has received numerous awards and distinctions as the top Buyside research director and top municipal generalist analyst on multiple occasions from Smith’s Research & Gradings and The Bond Buyer as well as a first team All American Fixed Income Analyst from Institutional Investor magazine. He also received a Life Time Achievement Award from Smith’s in 2007 and a Career Achievement award from the National Federation of Municipal Analysts in 2011. He earned his B.A. degree in Political Science at Miami University (Ohio) and his MA degree from The University of Akron in public administration and urban studies with a concentration in public budgeting.

Barry R. James, CFA, CIC
President and Portfolio Manager, James Investment Research
President, James Advantage Funds

Barry received his undergraduate degree from The United States Air Force Academy and his Master’s Degree from Boston University. He joined James Investment Research in its beginning years before a tour of duty as an officer with the United States Air Force. He returned to the company in 1986. Barry currently oversees the management of James Investment Research and is a senior member of the Investment Committee.

Barry James was chosen as the “Dayton Business Leader of the Year” in 2007 by the Dayton Business Journal. As company spokesman, he is often interviewed on TV and radio and quoted in print.

About James Investment Research: James has been successfully managing client portfolios since 1975. The client base includes corporations, foundations, hospitals, financial institutions, and private investors. James is committed to an investment philosophy which focuses on a single objective: to grow our clients’ assets while stressing the preservation of principal and the reduction of risk.

Stuart Lichter
President and Chairman of the Board
Industrial Realty Group, LLC

Stuart Lichter is a nationally recognized leading force behind the adaptive reuse of commercial and industrial real estate throughout the country. Primarily through Mr. Lichter’s efforts, IRG and its affiliated companies have acquired and developed over 100 industrial and commercial properties and has made the IRG portfolio one of the largest private holders of industrial and commercial real estate in the nation. These properties represent virtually every area of real estate, such as office buildings, industrial and warehouse buildings, shopping centers, business parks, hotels, mini-storage facilities, marinas, apartments, mobile home parks and mixed-use developments, with a primary emphasis on industrial and commercial.

Mr. Lichter has a Bachelor of Science degree from Hunter College, a part of the City University of New York. He completed all course work for a Masters Degree in Business Administration from Pace University with a major in finance. Mr. Lichter also attended New York University School of Law. Mr. Lichter began his real estate career with the General Services Administration (GSA) of the US Government where he focused on solving challenges facing governmental-owned real estate. Mr. Lichter subsequently performed loan workouts, completed unfinished construction projects and leased and sold foreclosed projects for Midland Bank and New York Life Insurance Company.

With over forty years of experience, Mr. Lichter is a national leader in transforming former military bases and industrial sites into thriving retail, residential and business communities while creating thousands of jobs and solving some of America’s most difficult real estate challenges. Notable projects in NE Ohio are Canal Place, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company and the Hoover Company.

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Event program

This seminar qualifies for 1.25 hours of CPE credit for Certified Professional Accountants, 1.25 hours of CLE credit for Attorneys, and 1.5 hours for Certified Financial Planners.

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Quaker Station at Quaker Square Inn
The University of Akron
135 S. Broadway St.
Akron, OH, 44325-9002
(parking off Mill St.)

For more information about Economy 2013, please contact Susan Smith at svs10@uakron.edu or by phone at 330-972-5691.