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 January 2008, 527 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:

Daphne Houston
Key Customer Manager
Eastern Regional Drug                                                             
Energizer, Inc.
Houston, Texas

What is your current position?
I serve as key customer manager for Eastern regional drug accounts.  My primary responsibilities include ensuring sales, share, and profit delivery.  I have held the key customer manager position for two years.

What is the main focus of your company or organization?
Energizer, Inc. is a global leader in portable power and personal care manufacturing and sales.

What are your career highlights and education--before your current job?
Career highlights include serving on cross-functional teams charged with strategy development and implementation.  My B.S. in Economics and MBA served as platforms for these accomplishments.

Why did you join NABE?
I joined NABE for the quality of economic analysis and professional networking the association provides.

What drew you to economics?
I was drawn to economics by the merging of critical thinking skills, behavioral science, and mathematics in deciphering data and developing solutions to broad-ranging business and policy issues.

Bart Malcom
Vice President - Due Diligence                
CNL Securities Corp.
Orlando, Florida

What is your current position?
Currently, I am vice president of due diligence for CNL Securities Corp., member FINRA/SIPC, a wholly owned subsidiary of CNL Financial Group (CNL).  In this role I am responsible for the internal due diligence reviews of the products syndicated through CNL Securities Corp.  I have been at CNL for four years.

What is the main focus of your company or organization?
CNL Financial Group, Inc. is one of the nation's largest privately held real estate investment and development companies. Headquartered in Orlando, Florida, CNL is a sponsor of a wide array of investment products. Since its inception in 1973, CNL and its affiliates have formed or acquired companies with more than $23 billion in assets, including hotel, retail, restaurant, seniors' housing, and lifestyle properties.

What are your career highlights and education--before your current job?
Prior to CNL, I worked for the AIG Advisor Group (AIG-AG) as the head of the Alternative Investment Group and was responsible for investment research and due diligence for all of their broker/dealer entities.  At AIG-AG, I covered non-traded REITs, 1031 programs, hedge funds, private equity, tax credits, oil and gas, equipment leasing, and managed futures funds.  In my research and due diligence role, I worked closely with senior executives of product sponsors in conducting due diligence on proposed new offerings.
Additionally, I wrote a number of white papers for the AIG Advisor Group on the alternative investment industry.  In addition to my research and due diligence responsibilities, I worked very closely with a number of product sponsors to structure new investment products for the retail investor channel.  Prior to the AIG Advisor Group, I spent six years at TD Waterhouse trading equity and derivative securities. 
I received my B.B.A. and M.B.A. in finance from Georgia State University.

Why did you join NABE?
I joined NABE primarily because of its focus on business economics. Prior to becoming a member, I was looking to join an organization with a blended focus of business, finance, and economics.  In my opinion, NABE does a great job of merging these fields of study into one association.

What drew you to economics?
I have always had a deep interest in the financial markets as well as investment research and analysis. My passion for economics is based upon its encompassing of data analysis beyond that of traditional finance. Much of the due diligence and investment analysis work I conduct is done at the micro level.  Economics does a great job of looking at the broader perspective from the macro level.   

Larry Teeling
Project Manager, Manufacturing Planning
Brunswick Corp./Mercury Marine
Fond du Lac, Wisconsin

What is your current position?
 I am project manager, manufacturing planning at Brunswick Corp./Mercury Marine. I have held this position for somewhat more than one year.  Prior to holding this position, I was a strategy analyst for more than two years.

What is the main focus of your company or organization?
Brunswick Corporation/Mercury Marine is a recreational marine boat and engine manufacturer.

What are your career highlights and education--before your current job?
I earned a B.A. in business administration and economics at Ripon College in Ripon, Wisconsin.  I am currently working on a M.S. in applied economics at Marquette University in Milwaukee and expect to complete the degree in May 2009.

Why did you join NABE?
It offers useful and timely information, including great presentations and podcasts from which to draw insight on the direction of the economy.

What drew you to economics?
Trade-offs.  The science of economics helps to understand (and sometimes reasonably quantify) the value of the opportunities available to us, all the while avoiding normative conclusions.