Some of the world's leading experts on global risk will be attending Fidelity Bank's fifth annual conference Cayman Business Outlook (CBO) on Thursday, 17 January 2008 at the Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman.
The annual event has become a major business conference for professional leaders, policy makers and academics giving opportunities for networking and exposure to expert views on global issues.
With the theme "Turbulent Times: Confronting Global Risk", the conference aims to equip delegates with the knowledge and tools to shape business decisions for the coming year. According to Fidelity the theme was chosen 'in response to global developments and events that have shaken the global economy and political landscape'.
Partner sponsors of the event are Admiral Administration Limited, Campbells Attorneys-at-law, Consolidated Water Company Limited, Digicel Cayman Limited, Five Continents Financial Limited, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and the Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, 5 December Brett Hill, President and CEO of Fidelity Bank (Cayman) Limited said it was important to keep the conference as broad in content as possible, ensuring wide appeal to a range of professional disciplines thereby guaranteeing something for everyone.
Representatives of sponsoring companies present at the press conference endorsed the event as an important occasion on the business calendar. Ross McDonough, Partner at Campbells Attorneys-at-Law, described the conference as a, 'unique and exceptional event' whilst Frazer Lindsay from PricewaterhouseCoopers commended Fidelity for the 'innovativeness of topics' and the quality of the speakers.
In a release from the Bank Brett Hill is reported as saying, "As one of the world's leading financial centres, it is important that we have access to high calibre speakers."
"Fidelity's organising committee has spent many months identifying and securing the right individuals to address these broad but timely topics. Through the generous support of our sponsors we have been able to bring, year after year, top international experts and intellectuals to inform, educate, and enlighten our community."
The keynote speaker Ian Bremmer, is recognised as a leading authority in the field of geo-political risk. His book, the 'J - Curve: a New Way to Understand Why Nations Rise and Fall,' was selected by The Economist in 2006 as one of the best books of the year.
Bremmer is the founder of Eurasia Group which is now the preeminent global political risk consultancy firm, which advises international leaders and top multinationals, such as AIG, Bear Stearns, Boeing, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Google, Merrill Lynch, Motorola, & PricewaterhouseCoopers.
In 2007, he was named 'Young Global Leader' of the World Economic Forum (WEF) and will be addressing world leaders and international delegates at the WEF in Switzerland in January just after CBO; thus giving CBO delegates an opportunity to hear his latest thoughts on the state of the political landscape just weeks before the international community hears him speak.
Also speaking at the conference is Robert Muir-Wood, whose subject matter will address Climate Change and the Cayman Islands and how businesses and individuals can prepare for changes in our environment.
Mr Muir-Wood, a world-renowned risk modeler, has been advising international governments on catastrophe risk for the past 20 years. He is highly regarded by the investment and re-insurance community having been the lead author on Insurance, Finance, and Climate Change for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. He has authored 6 books and 150 reports and has been modeling risk in the Caribbean since 1994.
Nouriel Roubini is an authority on international macro-economics and will be addressing the sub-prime meltdown and the resulting re-pricing of financial risk. Mr Roubini is a regular contributor to major news organisations and newspapers.
His website, RGE Monitor, provides economic and geo-strategic information and was named one of the best economic websites by BusinessWeek, Forbes, the Wall Street Journal and The Economist. Mr Roubini has also been asked to present to world leaders at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland in 2008.
Dr Robert J. Johnston will cover global energy risk and what is behind the energy and commodity boom. Dr. Johnston is currently doing a road show across North America on the role of oil in geo-politics. He has directed research teams on energy and commodity trading for UBS Warburg and Enron Global Markets. He is a regular contributor on energy matters for CNBC.
Dr. Elaine Pierce who is a leading specialist in medical and public health will cover the danger and threats of pandemics and bio-terrorism and why Cayman businesses should include pandemic contingency planning as part of their disaster preparedness. Dr. Pierce has designed and executed disaster preparedness training sessions for the medical and business community in relation to disease outbreaks and terrorist attacks.
The conference takes place from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm on Thursday, 17 January 2008. Early registration is advised at
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