RBA Annual Conference – 2015 Biographies of Contributors

Bill Allen

Bill Allen is Regional Director for NSW at the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and Branch Head of Macroeconomic Indicators, which produces statistics on building and construction, retail and finance activity, mineral and petroleum exploration, capital expenditure and company profits, inventories, sales and labour costs. He also leads the ABS response to the Australian Government's deregulation agenda. Until recently, he headed the Environmental Statistics and Integration Branch, which included producing environmental accounts for Australia, maintaining a list of all businesses in Australia, business demography and the use of taxation data in the ABS. He also has experience in market research for the public sector, having headed the Canberra office for ACNielsen. He holds an honours degree in statistics from the University of Melbourne.

Dan Andrews

Dan Andrews is a Senior Economist in the Structural Policy Analysis Division of the Economics Department at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. In this role, he undertakes cross-country research into the impact of structural policies on productivity performance, with a special focus on resource misallocation and innovation. Prior to this, he worked in the Economic Group of the Reserve Bank of Australia for the best part of a decade. He holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Economics (First Class Honours) from the University of Queensland and a Master of Public Administration from the John F Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

Mark Bryant

Mark Bryant is a Senior Research Economist at the Productivity Commission and is currently part of an inquiry team examining barriers to business start-ups and exits in Australia. Since joining the Commission in 2010, he has worked on a range of government-commissioned projects including into Australia's childcare and aged care systems, the performance of the resource exploration industry, and several projects focused on addressing regulatory burdens faced by small businesses. He holds degrees in Economics (Hons) and Business from the University of Newcastle.

Kate Carnell

Kate Carnell is Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. She is well known and respected in the not-for-profit and business communities having served two years as CEO of beyondblue and four years as CEO of the Australian Food and Grocery Council. She also served as Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory from 1995 to 2000, becoming the first Liberal woman to be elected as Chief Minister or Premier in Australian political history.

Having started her professional life as a pharmacist, she owned and managed pharmacies for some 20 years, was the inaugural chair of the ACT Branch of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia and went on to become National Vice President of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia. In 2006 she was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for her services to the community through contributions to economic development and support for the business sector, knowledge industries, the medical sector and medical technology advances.

Ellis Connolly

Ellis Connolly is Deputy Head of the Domestic Markets Department at the Reserve Bank of Australia. He has previously served in various roles in the Reserve Bank's Economic Analysis and Research Departments. Mr Connolly has written on a range of issues, including the determinants of productivity growth, the mining sector in Australia, the impact of superannuation on household saving and the effect of monetary policy transparency on financial markets. He holds a Bachelor of Economics (Hons) from the University of New South Wales, a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) from the University of Technology, Sydney, and a Master in Public Administration from Harvard University.

Chiara Criscuolo

Chiara Criscuolo is a Senior Economist in the Structural Policy Division of the Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), where she works on entrepreneurship, enterprise dynamics, productivity and policy evaluation. She is also a Research Associate at the Centre for Economic Performance (CEP) at the London School of Economics, and is currently coordinating large cross-country micro data projects on employment dynamics and on productivity. Prior to joining the OECD, she was a Research Fellow at the CEP. She has published in The American Economic Review, The Review of Economics and Statistics, the Journal of International Economics, the International Journal of Industrial Organization and the Canadian Journal of Economics. Dr Criscuolo holds an MSc in Economics (cum laude) and a PhD in Economics from University College London.

Mark Cully

Mark Cully is Chief Economist at the Department of Industry and Science. He has had a varied career in applied economic research at the intersection of government and academia. From 1992 to 1995 he was a British Council Commonwealth Scholar at the University of Warwick while working at the Warwick Business School. In 1995 he was appointed head of research on employment relations for the UK Government, where he ran what was the world's largest survey of working life. He returned to Australia in 1999 to join the National Institute of Labour Studies as Deputy Director and was then General Manager at the National Centre for Vocational Education Research for six years, running its statistical then research operations. In 2009 he was appointed Chief Economist at the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, and in that role chaired the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Working Party on Migration. He is a member of the CEDA Council on Economic Policy. He has a first class honours degree in Economics from the University of Adelaide and a Master of Arts in Industrial Relations from the University of Warwick.

Annalisa Ferrando

Annalisa Ferrando is Principal Economist in the Capital Markets and Financial Structure Division of the European Central Bank (ECB). Previously she worked in the Research Department at the Bank of Italy and the Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry at the European Commission. Her current research interests lie in corporate finance, firms' financial decisions and financing constraints. In these fields she has published numerous journal articles and working papers. More recently she has been closely monitoring the financial situation of small and medium-sized enterprises in the euro area and she is member of the ECB task force on Europe's Capital Markets Union. She has a degree in Economics from the Università Ca' Foscari, Venezia, a postgraduate diploma in Energy Economics and Management from the Scuola Superiore E Mattei, Milano, and an MPhil in Economics from Oxford University.

Geoff Francis

Geoff Francis is a Principal Adviser for the National Competition Policy Review. He has previously worked as a General Manager of the Competition and Consumer Policy Division in the Australian Treasury and at the International Monetary Fund. His work has covered areas such as taxation, international finance, industry, environmental and agricultural policy issues. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and a Master's Degree in Economics from Monash University.

Peter Gal

Peter Gal is an Economist in the Economics Department of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). He has worked on issues related to labour markets and productivity, both from micro and macro perspectives. He has also worked in the Directorate for Science, Technology and Industry as well as in the Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs. In the past, he was an Economist at the Economics Department of the central bank of Hungary, working on monetary policy and investment-related topics. He holds an MSc in Economics from the Corvinus University of Budapest and an MPhil in Economics from the Tinbergen Institute Amsterdam. He is also a PhD candidate at the Tinbergen Institute.

Roy Green

Roy Green is Dean of the UTS Business School at the University of Technology Sydney. He has worked in universities, business and government in Australia and overseas, published widely in the areas of innovation policy and management, and undertaken multi-country projects with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and European Commission. Professor Green has served as chair of the Australian Government's Innovative Regions Centre, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation's Manufacturing Sector Advisory Council and the NSW Manufacturing Council, and participated in the Prime Minister's Taskforce on Manufacturing and Australian Bureau of Statistics Innovation Reference Group. He conducted the government's review of the textile, clothing and footwear industries, led Australian participation in a global study of management and productivity, coordinated an Australian Business Deans Council initiative on the future of management education and has co-authored recent publications on productivity, skills and innovation. He graduated with first class honours from the University of Adelaide and has a PhD in Economics from the University of Cambridge.

Dhruba Gupta

Dhruba Gupta is the founder and Managing Director of DBM Consultants, one of Australia's top 10 market research organisations. He has advised senior leaders of major corporations and government departments in Australia and the Asia Pacific region. He developed Australia's largest business financial research program, used by all major banks and a number of government organisations and industry associations. He is an elected Fellow of the Australian Market & Social Research Society and is on the board of examiners for the accreditation of Australia's Qualified Practising Market Researchers. He holds an MCom in Market Research from the University of Western Australia.

David Hargreaves

David Hargreaves is a macroeconomist and Manager of Macro-financial Policy at the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. In recent years he has worked with colleagues on macroprudential policy and stress testing of the banking system, as well as financial stability surveillance more generally. He holds a Bachelor of Economics (Hons) from Victoria University and an MSc in Economics (with distinction) from the London School of Economics.

Michael Henderson

Michael Henderson is a rare combination of successful entrepreneur, philanthropist and humanist. Professor Henderson is Executive Chairman of Sandover Pinder, a successful architectural firm based in Perth with an impressive track record of major national and international projects. In 2010 he founded the not-for-profit International Skills and Training Institute in Health, which has developed significant training facilities in countries including Indonesia, Myanmar and Nepal. The training centres have had transformative impact on the communities they serve.

Throughout his career, Professor Henderson has made significant contributions to his field. He is a strong promoter of health care, education and research at an international level and has played an integral role in assisting Australian universities to establish ties with south-east Asian and global universities in the areas of health, law, agriculture, engineering, skills and training. Professor Henderson's appointments include: Founder and Chairman of MEDSCI International Healthcare (a not-for-profit healthcare advisory service); Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences at The University of Western Australia; Vice Chairman of Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation's (CSIRO) Digital Productivity and Services Flagship National Advisory Committee; and he is a past Chairman of the Technology and Industry Advisory Council.

Professor Henderson is a highly respected member of both the business and academic community. In 2011, he was recognised with the prestigious Ernst & Young ‘Social Entrepreneur of the Year’ Award. He has made significant contributions within the National Innovation System working closely with university groups, in particular The University of Western Australia, engaging and connecting widely within CSIRO, and taking an active role with the Committee for Economic Development of Australia.

Scott Holmes

Scott Holmes is Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Development) at the University of Western Sydney. He is also an Honorary Professor at the University of Queensland and a Life Member of the Small Enterprise Association of Australia and New Zealand, reflecting almost three decades of research and support for the small business sector. Professor Holmes is an internationally recognised researcher in business management and health economics. His economic and business background is extensive, having published six books and over 60 refereed articles. In 2006 he received the Business/Higher Education Round Table (BHERT) Award for Best Entrepreneurial Educator of the Year and in 2012 he received an Excellence in Innovation Award from the University of Newcastle. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Newcastle and a PhD in Economics and Commerce from the Australian National University.

Bruce Jeffreys

Bruce Jeffreys is Co-founder of GoGet CarShare, Australia's first and now largest professional car sharing service. In the 1990s, Bruce partnered with the Australian Government and Singapore Airlines to organise the first Australian film festival to be held in Turkey. After returning to Perth, he coordinated Australia's first university-to-school peer tutoring program, STAR, which was partly funded by BP Australia. After moving to Sydney, he was a founding member of the Interactive Division at the advertising agency Singelton Ogilvy & Mather, and then joined the newly formed Sustainability Unit within the NSW Department of Planning. In 2014, Bruce co-founded Dresden, a German-Australian partnership that, for the first time, manufactures high-quality eyewear on demand and in-store. Bruce also drives part-time for Sydney Buses on various routes operated out of the Leichhardt Depot.

Gianni La Cava

Gianni La Cava is a Senior Research Manager in the Economic Research Department at the Reserve Bank of Australia. He is currently the head of a team of economists that undertakes macroeconomic policy-relevant research using microeconomic data. His research is typically devoted to exploring the links between financial markets and the real economy, with a particular focus on housing markets and financial stability. Dr La Cava holds Arts and Commerce degrees from the University of Sydney and a PhD from the London School of Economics.

Carlo Menon

Carlo Menon is an Economist in the Structural Policy Division of the Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. In this capacity, he contributes to evidence-based policy analysis on enterprise dynamics, allocative efficiency and innovation. He has previously worked as a Research Economist at the Bank of Italy, where he authored a number of reports and research papers in the fields of policy evaluation, urban and regional economics, and industrial policy. He is also an affiliate with the Spatial Economics Research Centre at the London School of Economics. His research has been published in recognised academic journals, including the Journal of Economic Geography, The World Bank Economic Review and the Journal of Banking & Finance, and the findings from his work have often captured the attention of leading Italian and international media. Dr Menon holds a BSc (Econ) and an MRes from the University of Venice and a PhD from the London School of Economics.

Angus Moore

Angus Moore is a Research Economist in the Economic Research Department at the Reserve Bank of Australia. Prior to this, he was an analyst in the Payments Policy Department. He holds a Bachelor of Economics (Hons) with the University Medal and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Adelaide.

Warren Mundy

Warren Mundy is a Commissioner of the Productivity Commission and was recently appointed the Commissioner responsible for the Australian Government Competitive Neutrality Complaints Office. Since his initial appointment to the Productivity Commission as an Associate Commissioner in 2009, he has worked on a range of studies and inquiries, including being the Presiding Commissioner on studies into the role of local government as regulator and regulator engagement with small business, as well as its inquiry into access to civil justice. He is currently the Presiding Commissioner on the inquiry into business setups, transfers and closures. Dr Mundy is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He is also an Adjunct Professor in the School of Aviation at the University of New South Wales and a member of the University's Aviation Industry Advisory Committee. Since February 2014, he has been a director of the Sydney Desalination Plant and also provides advice to a number of Australian airports on pricing, regulatory and environmental issues. Previously he served on the Board of Airservices Australia, was a member of the joint NSW and Commonwealth Government Steering Group overseeing the development of the Aviation Strategic Plan for the Sydney Region and has been a Director of VicForests, the Airport Operators Association of the United Kingdom and James Watt College of Higher and Further Education in Scotland. He has also worked as an executive in airport companies in Australia and Europe, and has worked for McKinsey & Company, the Western Australian Treasury Corporation and the Reserve Bank of Australia. Dr Mundy holds an honours degree in statistics from the University of New South Wales, a Master of Environmental Law (Hons) from Australian National University and a PhD in Economics from Kings College Cambridge where he was a British Council Commonwealth Scholar.

Sam Nicholls

Sam Nicholls is an Economist at the Reserve Bank of Australia. He is currently part of the Bank's business liaison team, which meets regularly with businesses and associations across a range of sectors. Prior to this, he worked as an analyst in the Bank's Financial Stability Department. He holds a Bachelor of Economics (Hons) with the University Medal from the University of Tasmania.

Lars Norden

Lars Norden is Professor of Banking and Finance at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, Brazilian School of Public and Business Administration (FGV EBAPE) in Rio de Janeiro. Before joining FGV EBAPE he was Professor at the Rotterdam School of Management (RSM), Erasmus University, from 2009 to 2015. He is a Fellow at the European Banking Center and has been a Visiting Fellow at FGV EBAPE, Indiana University and the Research Centre of the Deutsche Bundesbank. His research interests include financial intermediation, empirical banking, corporate finance and credit risk. His work has been published in the leading academic journals in the field including The Review of Financial Studies, Management Science, the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, the Review of Finance and the Journal of Banking & Finance. He is a regular presenter at top conferences including the American Economic Association, American Finance Association, Western Finance Association, European Finance Association and the Financial Intermediation Research Society. Professor Norden holds graduate degrees from the University of Mannheim and ESSEC Business School in France and a doctoral degree in business administration from the University of Mannheim.

David Orsmond

David Orsmond is the Deputy Head (Domestic) of the Financial Stability Department at the Reserve Bank of Australia. Until recently, he headed up the Bank's Regional and Industry Analysis Section located within the Bank's Economic Group. Prior to his appointment at the Bank, Dr Orsmond worked at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). During 1999–2001, he was appointed as the IMF Resident Representative to Ukraine, based in Kiev, to help oversee their reform program. He has written on a range of issues, including global imbalances, the mining sector in Australia, and labour markets. Dr Orsmond holds a PhD from Duke University and degrees from the University of Sydney and the Kiel Institute of World Economics in Germany.

Alfons Palangkaraya

Alfons Palangkaraya is an Associate Professor at the Centre for Transformative Innovation at Swinburne University of Technology. His current research focuses on applied microeconometric studies of innovation, intellectual property rights, globalisation and firm performance. He is one of the foremost experts on Australian intellectual property and firm-level datasets. He has provided research consulting services to institutions such as the Department of Industry and Science, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretariat and the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia on topics such as innovation, patterns of international trade, and globalisation and regional integration. His academic research has appeared in The RAND Journal of Economics, The Review of Economics and Statistics, The World Economy, and many other journals. Dr Palangkaraya holds a BS in Statistics from the University of Missouri, an MA in Economics from Pennsylvania State University and a PhD in Economics from Oregon State University.

Matthew Read

Matthew Read is an Economist in the Economic Research Department at the Reserve Bank of Australia. Prior to this, he was an analyst in the Financial Stability Department. He holds a BSc/BCom (Hons) with the University Medal from the University of Sydney.

John Simon

John Simon is Head of Economic Research Department at the Reserve Bank of Australia. Prior to this he undertook a three-year secondment to the International Monetary Fund, where he worked on the World Economic Outlook. He was previously the Chief Manager in the Payments Policy Department of the Bank. He has published numerous articles on macroeconomics, including on the ‘Great Moderation’, monetary policy and payments policy. Dr Simon holds a Bachelor of Economics (Hons) and a Bachelor of Science from the Australian National University and a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Thomas Spurling

Thomas Spurling is Professor of Innovation Studies in the Centre for Transformative Innovation at Swinburne University of Technology. He is a physical chemist by training who in recent years has written extensively about innovation policy and the history of Australian science and innovation. His recent work includes a book on the development of Australia's polymer banknotes – The Plastic Banknote (with David Solomon) – and a paper ‘The Science and Industry Endowment Fund: Supporting the Development of Australian Science’ (with Susan Smith). He is a member of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation's Board and is Chairman of the Board of Advanced Molecular Technologies – a small to medium-sized enterprise that manufactures high-value specialty chemicals.

Gregory F Udell

Gregory F Udell is the Chase Chair of Banking and Finance at the Kelley School of Business, Indiana University. He is, or has been, a visiting economist, visiting scholar and/or consultant to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Bank of Japan, the Bank of Italy, the European Central Bank, the Federal Reserve Banks of Chicago and San Francisco, the International Finance Corporation, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the People's Bank of China, the Sveriges Riksbank and the World Bank. Before joining the Kelley School of Business in 1998 he was Professor of Finance and Director of the William R Berkley Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at the Stern School of Business at New York University. Prior to his academic career, Professor Udell was a commercial loan officer in Chicago. In addition to publishing in leading economics and finance journals, he is the author of a textbook on asset-based lending, Asset-Based Finance. He holds a BA in Economics from DePauw University, Indiana, an MA in Economics from Northern Illinois University, and an MBA and PhD in Finance from Indiana University.

Stefan van Kampen

Stefan van Kampen is a lecturer and PhD candidate at the Rotterdam School of Management (RSM), Erasmus University. His research focuses on empirical corporate finance, and he has published in the Journal of Banking & Finance. In addition, he is responsible for the master thesis supervision of approximately 40 RSM students per year. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a Master of Science in Finance and Investments from Erasmus University, Rotterdam.

Beth Webster

Beth Webster is the Director of the Centre for Transformative Innovation at Swinburne University of Technology. She is also an Honorary Professorial Fellow, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research at the University of Melbourne. She has authored over 100 articles on the economics of innovation and firm performance and has been published in The RAND Journal of Economics, The Review of Economics and Statistics, Oxford Economic Papers, The Journal of Law & Economics and the Cambridge Journal of Economics. She has been appointed to a number of committees including the Lomax-Smith Base Funding Review, CEDA Council on Economic Policy and the Advisory Council on Intellectual Property. She is also a Board Member of the European Policy for Intellectual Property, and founding President and Board Member of the Asia Pacific Innovation Network. Professor Webster holds a BEc (Hons) and a MEc from Monash University and a PhD in Economics from the University of Cambridge.