Description

The Aurora Regional Chamber of Commerce is pleased to partner with the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce and Calamos Investments to co-host the Regional Economic Forecast. This year’s event will take place Thursday, Oct. 24, from 7-9 a.m., at Hotel Arista, located at 2139 CityGate Lane in Naperville. The event features a panel of industry experts who share their unique insight and analyses of market conditions for the coming year and provide attendees with economic perspective to help them better manage their business.

As Mike Evans stated in a recent Naperville Sun Column, “There are few certainties in life, and we are vividly reminded daily that economic conditions can change rapidly, but the worst decision a business owner can take is to be paralyzed by the fear of the unknown.”

Moderating this year’s discussion is financial guru Terry Savage. Her columns, blogs and TV appearances have helped Americans make sense of markets and the economy for years. She is a regular guest on CNN and CBS and has authored two best-selling books.

This year’s panel includes experts John P. Calamos Sr., CEO and global co-CIO of Calamos Investments; Blu Putnam, managing director and chief economist for the CME group; and J.D. Foster, chief deputy economist for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the world’s largest business federation.
 
Registration and a buffet breakfast will be available at 7 a.m., with the program beginning promptly at 7:30 a.m.

About the Panelists

John P. Calamos Sr., Calamos Investments
Calamos provides investors with innovative strategies for building and protecting wealth over market cycles. He is a member of the Investment Analysts Society of Chicago and the boards of trustees for the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago and Benedictine University in Lisle, Ill. Calamos is the author of two books on securities investment and has been published in numerous financial journals. In 2006, he won the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for the financial services sector. Calamos earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s of business administration in finance from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Blu Putnam, CME Group
Putnam has served as Managing Director and Chief Economist of CME Group since May 2011. He is responsible for leading economic analysis on global financial markets by identifying emerging trends, evaluating economic factors and forecasting their impact on CME’s business strategy. Putnam has more than 35 years of experience in the financial service industry, including founding a financial risk management and portfolio advisory service in 2000. He has authored five books on international finance, as well as many articles that have been published in academic journals and business publications. Putnam earned a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from Eckerd College (formerly Florida Presbyterian College), and a Ph.D. in economics from Tulane University.

J.D. Foster, Ph.D., U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Foster works with the Chamber’s chief economist exploring and explaining developments in the U.S. and global economies. He also participates in discussions around the country regarding the economy and economic policy. Foster’s experience spans from research organizations, to several offices in government including the Office of Management and Budget for the White House, the Office of Tax Policy for the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Committee on Ways and Means in the U.S. House of Representatives. Foster writes extensively on tax policy as well as on matters of monetary policy and international economics. He received a bachelor’s in economics and mathematics from the University of Colorado, a master’s in economics from Brown University, and a Ph.D. in economics from Georgetown University.

About the Moderator

Terry Savage
Savage is a nationally known expert on personal finance, the markets, and the economy.
She is a regular blogger at the Huffington Post, a frequent guest on television and
radio shows, including CNN, CBS, and she made several appearances on the Oprah Show. Savage was named a “Top 5 Speaker” in 2012, in the topics of Economics/Finance as a result of popular votes at the Speaking.com web site. She has authored two best-selling books, was the first woman trader on the Chicago Board Options Exchange, is a current member of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and has won numerous awards for her writing and TV appearances including two Emmys. She is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Michigan, where she won a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship in American Studies.