IBOR USA

Mark Cabana is the head of US Short Rates Strategy at BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research, based in New York. In this role, he publishes research and trade recommendations covering US short-term interest rates and macro strategy. He also meets regularly with a broad range of clients to discuss the firm’s views on Fed policy, interest rates and financial regulation. He has been with the firm and in this role since 2015.
Before joining the firm, Cabana worked as an officer in the Markets Group at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which he joined in January 2007, analyzing global macroeconomic conditions and financial markets. Prior to that role, he was a senior trader/analyst on the Fed’s Treasury Market Policy staff.
Cabana earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and Asian studies at Furman University and a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University in international relations. He is a CFA charterholder.

Chris Ekonomidis is a Director at BNY Mellon focusing on the enterprise transition away from Libor. He has over 15 years of experience supporting financial market structure reforms and transformation efforts across fixed income, equities and derivatives. He worked at consultancies including Sapient Global Markets and EY where he managed risks to drive innovative strategies and improve business performance.

Gennadiy Goldberg is a US Rates Strategist at TD Securities, conducting research and providing market commentary on interest rates and the US economy. Gennadiy focuses on Treasuries, swaps, TIPS, supranationals and agencies, as well as the SOFR transition. Prior to joining TD in 2012, Gennadiy worked as a Fixed Income Strategist at independent research firm Continuum Economics (formerly 4Cast Inc), concentrating on trade idea generation in the US interest rate space. In addition, Gennadiy contributed to the firm’s Federal Reserve outlook and provided insight on the US budget and Treasury issuance dynamics.

Chris is responsible for SIFMA’s securitization advocacy and other activities related to housing and securitization. SIFMA has a special focus on agency MBS markets and maintains a collection of market standards and trading practices governing the TBA market. For the last few years, primary mandates in this area have been regulatory reform, the implementation of a single security for TBA trading, FINRA 4210 margin requirements, securitization capital requirements, and the broader world of GSE/housing finance reform.

In the fall of 2018 Chris took over SIFMA’s corporate credit activities in addition to the securitization responsibilities. This includes issues such as fixed income market structure and execution of SIFMA’s Insurance and Risk-Linked Securities Conference.

He is also the primary staffer for SIFMA’s activities related to LIBOR and the transition to alternative reference rates in the US and participates on the Federal Reserve’s Alternative Reference Rates Committee and a number of its subcommittees.

He also helps to coordinate SIFMA’s activities related to fintech.

Chris joined the Bond Market Association (predecessor to SIFMA) in 2005 as the analyst for the MBS and Securitized Products Division. He became head of the Securitization Group in 2013. Prior to joining SIFMA, he was an accountant in the Retail Securitization Accounting and Investor Reporting group at JPMorgan Chase & Co., and was responsible for investor reporting and other administration of auto, student loan, and mortgage securitization transactions.

Chris holds Bachelor’s Degrees in Economics and Government from Franklin and Marshall College.

Sheryl King will be presenting at IBOR USA

Xiaobo Liu currently is a managing director of Corporate Model Risk Management at Wells Fargo with responsibilities for the validation of models used in derivative pricing, counterparty credit risk, and market risk. Prior to joining Wells Fargo, he was a managing director and head of Model Risk Management for Americas, Deutsche Bank A.G. with responsibilities for the regional model risk management policies, procedures, and validation. Previously, he was co-head of Model Validation Group for the Institutional Clients Group at Citi.

He has a P.h.D in Mathematics and a CFA charter holder. His other working experiences include supporting Commodity Business at Morgan Stanley, FX Business at JP Morgan, and being an assistant professor at Clarkson University.

Priya Misra is head of Global Rates Strategy at TD Securities. Based in New York, Priya is responsible for the US and global interest rate markets and provides investment advice for clients. She ranked in the top three for U.S. Governments Strategy and Federal Agency Debt Strategy in Institutional Investor’s All-America Fixed Income Research team surveys in 2014 and 2015 and from 2003 to 2008. Priya joined TD Securities in September 2015. Prior to this she ran US rates strategy research at BofA Merrill Lynch for 6 years. From 2001 to 2008, she worked at Lehman Brothers as an interest rate strategist, at Barclays Capital as a mortgage strategist and at Nomura Securities, where she was head of U.S. rates strategy. Priya graduated from the Lady Sri Ram College, University of Delhi, with a bachelor’s degree in economics. She has a postgraduate diploma in management, majoring in finance, from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, India.

Alexis Pederson is Senior Company Counsel in the Wells Fargo Legal Department where she leads a team of attorneys responsible for providing counsel to the company-wide LIBOR Transition Office, a program office established to develop and direct a coordinated strategy to transition numerous LIBOR-linked Wells Fargo products and processes to new benchmarks. Alexis represents Wells Fargo on the Alternative Reference Rates Committee (ARRC) and a number of the ARRC’s working groups, as well as other industry working groups focused on benchmark reform.

Alexis joined the company in 2006 and most recently served as Capital Markets Counsel in the Derivatives & FX Section of the Legal Department where her primary responsibilities included support of the swap dealer business on regulatory and transactional matters. She is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School and Cornell University. She is a member of the New York Bar and is based in New York City.

Gaurav Shukla currently leads the Regulatory Affairs Strategy Implementation team at Morgan Stanley. Gaurav joined Morgan Stanley in June 2008 and has been in a number of strategy and execution roles over the last 10 years. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Gaurav has worked in corporate strategy and execution roles across other key financial services firms. Gaurav earned a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, graduating in 2001 from MIT.

Sonali Das Theisen is head of Fixed Income Market Structure and E-Trading at Bank of America. Ms. Theisen oversees Fixed Income, Currencies & Commodities (FICC) electronic trading initiatives in her role, and works with senior management to drive new business opportunities. Ms. Theisen contributes to her firm’s strategic efforts in LIBOR transition, data intelligence, Fixed Income ETFs, fintech investments, and the new issue process.
In the US, Ms. Theisen was appointed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to serve on its Fixed Income Market Structure Committee (FIMSAC). In Europe, Ms. Theisen served as the Chair of the Secondary Markets Practices Committee of the International Capital Markets Association (ICMA) from 2016 to 2019. In August 2019, Ms. Theisen became her firm’s representative on the Federal Reserve Board’s Alternative Reference Rate Committee (ARRC).
Prior to joining Bank of America in 2018, Ms. Theisen spent five years at Citi as Global Head of Market Structure and Data Strategy for Credit and Securitized Products. Prior to that, she was head of Credit E-Trading at Barclays. She began her career as a CDS trader at Goldman Sachs, and has also held positions at Bear Stearns and Bloomberg.
In the industry, Ms. Theisen collaborates with market participants, regulators, policy makers, and trading venues to promote responsible evolution in Fixed Income markets. Over the course of her career, she has written data-driven comment letters on proposed legislation such as MiFID II and Dodd-Frank, as well as presented analysis on market liquidity in several regulatory forums. She speaks regularly at industry conferences, and has been cited in the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Risk Magazine, Bloomberg News, Markets Media, and Business Insider.
Ms. Theisen graduated cum laude from Harvard in 2000 with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Citation in Spanish, where she played Division I Varsity Water Polo. She graduated Valedictorian of Ramsey High School as well as from the American College of Musicians National Guild of Piano in 1996. Since 2014, she has served on the board of the Lulu & Leo Fund, a creative education non-profit dedicated to helping children and families develop creative confidence. She resides in Manhattan with her husband and two children.

Tess Virmani is Associate General Counsel & Executive Vice President, Public Policy of the Loan Syndications and Trading Association (LSTA).

Tess focuses on developing market standards and maintaining LSTA documentation. She also leads the LSTA’s sustainable finance and ESG efforts. In addition, Tess participates in the LSTA’s policy initiatives, including market advocacy and spearheading industry solutions to market developments, such as the transition to replacement benchmarks.

Prior to joining the LSTA, Tess practiced as a finance attorney at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in New York. She received a B.S. in International Politics from the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and a J.D. from Fordham University School of Law. She is admitted as an attorney in New York.

Tom Wipf is Vice Chairman of Institutional Securities.

Tom is responsible for Morgan Stanley’s transition efforts to alternative reference rates to replace LIBOR through the firm’s Global LIBOR Transition Steering Committee. This group, spanning ISG, Wealth Management and Investment Management, will ensure that all businesses and infrastructure organizations have a consistent set of Firm-level guidelines, their own transition plans and accountability for transition readiness before year-end 2021.

Additionally, Tom leads the firm’s Global Business Continuity Management Organization, which is responsible for strategic planning and risk management for potential cyber and physical disruptions.. He is a member of the firm’s Securities Operating Committee, Risk Management Committee and Asset/ Liability Management Committee.

Prior to being named Vice Chairman, Tom was the Global Head of the Bank Resource Management Division where he was responsible for the firm’s secured funding, securities lending, global hedging and collateral management activities.

Beginning his career in the industry in 1977, Tom joined Morgan Stanley in 1986 and has been engaged in the Firm’s funding, collateral and hedging activities throughout his career at the firm. Based in New York, Tom has also completed multi-year assignments in Morgan Stanley’s London and Tokyo offices.

In April, 2019, Tom was named Chair of the Alternative Reference Rates Committee (ARRC) by the Federal Reserve Board. The ARRC is a group of private-market participants convened to help ensure a successful transition from USD LIBOR to a more robust reference rate.

Tom was appointed Chair of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Market Risk Advisory Committee (MRAC) Interest Rate Benchmark Reform Subcommittee in October, 2018.

Tom served as Chair of the Treasury Market Practices Group (TMPG) until May 2019. The TMPG is sponsored by the New York Federal Reserve and is an industry group committed to supporting the integrity and efficiency of the U.S. Treasury and Agency Mortgage Securities Markets.

Tom serves on the board of directors of International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (ISDA). Tom was appointed to the Alternative Reference Rate Committee, sponsored by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve in 2014. Tom previously served on the Financial Research Advisory Committee to the US Treasury Office of Financial Research from 2012 to 2017.

Josh Younger is a Managing Director and Head of U.S. Interest Rate Derivatives Strategy as well as leading Quant Fixed Income Strategy. He is responsible for views in interest rate swaps, futures, options and exotics, as well as more thematic work in market design, bank regulations and financial plumbing, payment systems, cryptocurrency, and machine-learning in fixed income markets. He has been consistently ranked among the top analysts by Institutional Investor, including #1 positions in Interest Rate Derivatives and Quantitative Analysis. Prior to J.P. Morgan, Josh was an astrophysicist at the Institute for Advanced Study, and holds an AB from Princeton and PhD from Harvard.

Yes, the Center for Financial Professionals are happy to discuss speaking opportunities at the IBOR USA Forum. For further information on this please contact alice.kelly@cefpro.com or call us on +1 888 677 7007.

Business attire is requested. The Forum is a formal opportunity to network with like-minded professionals and to gain knowledge from the industry’s finest risk management experts.

We offer incentives for ‘early bird’ registrants of the Forum, as outlined on our pricing structure. Registration includes breakfast, refreshment breaks, lunches, full access to the sessions and exhibition area. Presentations from sessions are also available, subject to speaker approval.

All registered attendees will receive an email with access to documentation and speaker presentations after the Forum* We will work with our presenters to include as many presentations as possible on our Risk Insights App during the Forum. *Please note that our speakers often have to gain permission from their relevant compliance departments to release their presentations. On rare occasions compliance may not allow presentations to be distributed.

Yes. As with all of our events the Center for Financial Professionals will be providing brilliant coffee, breakfast, lunch, refreshments, and smaller bites during the networking breaks.

There are ample opportunities for networking and interaction throughout the Forum, such as

• Breakfast, lunch and refreshment breaks
• Cocktail reception at the end of the day (Subject to confirmation)
• Q&A, panel discussions and audience participation technology available through the Risk Insights App

Certainly! We are pleased to offer you a 50% discount on the third registration or provide a fifth registration for free. If you would like to register more than five colleagues please contact us on +1 888 677 7007 Please note:

• Registrations must be made at the same time
• Registrations must come from the organisation
• The lowest registration will be discounted

Yes there are plenty of opportunities for the Center for Financial Professionals to share thought-leadership to the attendees of IBOR USA Forum and our wider risk professionals community. At the event We can distribute your material to the attendees, offer you an exhibition booth, and provide speaking opportunities so that you may enjoy a more prominent presence at the Forum. Visit the Sponsor tab for further information or contact sales@cefpro.com / +1 888 677 7007 . Risk Insights Feature your content on our Risk Insights website and supporting Risk Insights monthly newsletter.

Yes. As part of a media partnership we can offer a variety of options to increase the branding and awareness of your association, company, certificate, publication or media. We are flexible with what we can offer however, we usually offer:

• Provide a discounted rate to attend
• Place your logo and profile on the Forum website
• Place your logo on the Forum brochure
• Place your logo on promotional content where applicable
• Distribute your media/marketing at the Forum
• Promote through social media channels

To discuss this further please contact amy.greene@cefpro.com or call +1 888 677 7007