Event Title: James D. Awad - Global Economic Issues

Who:  James D. Awad, Managing Director, Zephyr Management, L.P.
When: Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Where: Gainey Ranch Golf Club, 7600 Gainey Club Drive, Scottsdale, AZ 85258
Time: Cocktails 6:00 p.m. - Dinner 7:00 p.m. - Program 8:00 p.m.

To view Mr. Awad's biography, click here.


         

        Money, money, money-- that's the intriguing topic of the final meeting of our 2010-2011 season. How and where to invest globally, how to protect ourselves from financial chaos and why we must be informed-- are primary to our financial security. The Phoenix Committee on Foreign Relations has invited noted expert on international finance, Mr. James Awad, to help us understand the intricacies of worldwide capital markets.

        Mr. Awad will detail the pros and cons of investing globally--touching on such hot spots such as the Middle East and Japan. He will offer a worldwide investment perspective on Latin America, China, India, and Europe.  We are looking forward to his comments about the upside and downside of opportunities for investing outside the continental United States. 

        Having devoted much of  his successful career to international finance, James Awad currently serves as Managing Director at Zephyr Management, L.P., a global private equity and marketable securities firm specializing in the creation and management of highly focused and value added investment funds in the emerging markets.   Since its founding, Zephyr has sponsored twenty-two investment funds representing over US$1.8 billion in capital commitments.

        Prior to joining Zephyr Management, L.P., Mr. Awad was the Chairman of Awad Asset Management, a US$1.6 billion money management firm that he founded in 1992. Awad Asset Management is now a subsidiary of Raymond James Financial, Inc.  From 1980 to 1992, Mr. Awad served as the Chairman of BMI Capital, an investment advisory firm which he founded. Previously, Mr. Awad was a Portfolio Manager for all equity portfolios at First Investors Management from 1976 to 1980. From 1972 to 1975, Mr. Awad was a Portfolio Manager at Neuberger Berman working with Fred Stein. 

        Following graduation from Washington and Lee University where he majored in Commerce, Mr. Awad went on to earn an MBA from the Harvard Business School in 1969 and immediately began his career in investment management as a Portfolio Manager at Channing Management from 1969 to 1972, where he was responsible for small cap mutual funds.

        Mr. Awad has served the community by sitting on the boards of Seeds of Peace, The Abraham Fund, The Spence School in New York, and The Berkshire School in Massachusetts.  In addition, he is a retired member of the Foreign Policy Association, the Dean’s Council at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and a past Deacon at Brick Church.

        Currently a member of the Economic Club in New York, Mr. Awad also serves on the One East Avenue Board, is a member of the Investment Committee at Brick Church, and is a member of the Bank of America Global Wealth Management Administrative Committee.

        We have often seen Mr. Awad in his role as business expert with frequent media appearances on CNBC, Fox Business News, CNN, BBC, Bloomberg Financial News, Business News Network (BNN), RTT News, PBS, Market Watch, New Delhi TV (NDTV), and Reuters.  Mr. Awad is married, has four children and currently resides in New York City.
        The Phoenix Committee on Foreign Relations is delighted to welcome James Awad, and we look forward to spirited questions and answers following his remarks. Please join us for our last event of the season.

       

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