Welcome Aboard, New NABE Members!

Please join the NABE Board of Directors and staff in welcoming new members who joined over the last two months. Since September 2007, 536 new members have joined NABE. New members are added to the on-line registry at http://www.nabe.com/mem/search.html at the beginning of each month.  The first issue of two IdeaLinks e-mailed to NABE members each month includes a listing of new members.   Here are selections from brief interviews, conducted by e-mail, with three new members:

Joshua Nacey
Financial Analyst
Wells Fargo HSBC Trade Bank
Chicago

What is your current position?
I am a financial analyst with the Wells Fargo HSBC Trade Bank.  My primary responsibilities include in-depth financial analysis of middle-market international firms with the intent to offer traditional debt financing and/or trade related services. I have held this position since June of 2008.

What is the main focus of your company or organization?
Wells Fargo HSBC Trade Bank, a Wells Fargo and HSBC joint venture, is dedicated to developing relationships with companies engaged in global commerce. We offer the personal attention and customized solutions customers expect from a smaller bank, backed by the combined domestic and global capabilities and reach of Wells Fargo and HSBC.

What are your career highlights and education before your current job?
As perhaps one of the younger members of NABE, I recently graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with a B.A. in Economics. In addition, I recently passed the first level of the Chartered Financial Analyst Program.

Why did you join NABE?
I joined NABE in order to stay current on economic issues and gain exposure to new ideas as well as to further my own analytical abilities.

What drew you to economics?
I've always found the interconnectedness of the global markets and its implication on international trade extremely fascinating.

Erik Tollefson
Consultant
PricewaterhouseCoopers-Korea
Seoul

What is your current position?
I am currently a consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Korea.  In addition to my responsibilities in the financial advisory services (M&A) practice, I am also involved in economic analysis and forecasting for a number of Asian economies.  I have held this position for exactly one year.

What is the main focus of your company or organization?
PwC is a global accounting firm that offers services in assurance, tax, human resources, transactions, performance improvement and crisis management to help resolve complex client and stakeholder issues worldwide.

What are your career highlights and education before your current job?
My career thus far has essentially mixed an interest in public policy issues with Asia. After graduate school, I worked at a boutique political risk and macroeconomic consulting firm in New York, primarily analyzing China’s political economy and global trade issues. After that, I moved to Korea, where I worked for one year at an economic think tank in Seoul before assuming my current responsibilities at PwC. 
 
Why did you join NABE?
I believe NABE is the preeminent organization for economists interested in business.  In particular, I joined for two main reasons.  One, NABE’s informational resources (e.g., conferences, surveys, and publications) are top-notch, and really help members to understand emerging economic trends on the ground.  Two, I believe NABE provides an excellent platform to develop one’s career through skill seminars and networking programs. 

What drew you to economics?    
I have always been drawn to public policy issues, and economics serves as the fundamental analytical framework to start understanding causality and potential solutions.  In addition, I believe no matter what field of economics one researches, there are constantly challenges for the practitioner.  I believe the current financial crisis is a fascinating example of this, forcing economists to go back in history to understand previous financial crises in order to understand what will happen moving forward. 

Kyla Wethli
Second Secretary Economic
British Embassy
Washington, D.C.

What is your current position?
I am the second secretary economic at the British Embassy. The role centers on reporting and analysis of the U.S. economy in order to create awareness of risks for and parallels with the United Kingdom economy.  I started this position in early October.

What is the main focus of your company or organization?
The embassy and our other posts in the United States work to develop and sustain the important and long-standing relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States. This involves dealing with a wide range of political, commercial, security and economic questions of interest to the United Kingdom and the United States.

What are your career highlights and education before your current job?
I studied at the London School of Economics, majoring in economics and political science. Prior to coming to the embassy I was at the UK Treasury, where I worked on a number of issues, including the Japanese economy, international energy markets, and taxation policy.

Why did you join NABE?
My predecessor recommended joining NABE as a way of linking into lively and comprehensive debates on the U.S. economy.

What drew you to economics?
I was attracted by economics' ability to distill complex information about the world into simple but powerful insights about what lies beneath economic events and people's choices.