University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business Launches Center for Financial Policy with Roundtable on Executive Compensation

College Park, Md. – October 12, 2009 — The University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business will launch a new Center for Financial Policy on Nov. 2 with a Roundtable on Executive Compensation event in Washington, D.C. Kenneth Feinberg, Special Master for Compensation of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, will keynote the event, which will explore executive compensation practices and policy reforms. The Center for Financial Policy promotes research and education in financial policy that impacts corporate governance, capital allocation and risk management, emerging markets, and the stability of the global financial system.

“It is crucial to tackle financial policy issues with input from deep thinkers who have been looking at the workings of financial institutions, capital markets and the corporate sector from an unbiased policy perspective. The goal of the Center for Financial Policy is to bring together the thought leadership of Smith School faculty, the vast experience and viewpoints of policy-makers, and experience and on-the ground capabilities of industry leaders to inform future regulation and help financial institutions operate more effectively,” said G. “Anand” Anandalingam, dean of the Robert H. Smith School of Business. “With the Roundtable on Executive Compensation, the center is engaging all parties on a topic of direct relevance and facilitating an open discussion that could have real impact on pay practices.”

The roundtable event, “Executive Compensation: Practices and Reforms,” will be held at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 2 from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. It will explore the rationale and practices for existing executive compensation structures as well as various alternatives for reform in view of policy and legislative proposals. The global financial crisis has generated extensive debate on the role of executive pay and the possibility that flawed compensation practices have contributed to financial excesses that brought down the entire financial system.

In addition to Feinberg, other speakers include: Daniel Tarullo, Federal Reserve Board governor; Steve Bartlett, president and CEO of the Financial Services Roundtable; Patrick McGurn, senior vice president, U.S. Corporate Governance Trends, RiskMetrics; Nell Minow, editor and co-founder of the Corporate Library; Franklin Allen, finance and economics professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania; Tony Santomero, former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and senior advisor at McKinsey; Chester Spatt, finance professor at Carnegie Mellon University and former chief economist with the Securities and Exchange Commission; and Gene Ludwig, founder and CEO, and Michael Dawson, managing director, both of Promontory Financial Group.

Located in Washington, D.C., at the Smith’s School’s campus in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, the Center for Financial Policy is well-situated to take a leadership role with its globally recognized faculty and its extensive relationships with key policy-makers, practitioners and academics.

Lemma Senbet, the William E. Mayer Chair Professor of Finance and a world-leading expert on corporate finance and financial sector reforms, heads the center as director. Senbet is joined by Managing Director Clifford Rossi, an industry leader with nearly 25 years experience in banking and government, most recently as Chief Risk Officer for Consumer Lending at Citigroup where he was intimately involved in TARP funding and stress tests performed on Citi. The center’s leadership is rounded out by finance industry veteran William Longbrake, the executive-in-residence and senior policy advisor who joined to work on a variety of business, policy, and governance issues with faculty, students, business leaders, government policy-makers, and executives of not-for-profit organizations.

The Center for Financial Policy will host a regular speaker series to explore financial policy and corporate governance issues, the first of which was held Oct. 5 with leading economist Henry Kaufman. The center will also host the yearly Directors’ Institute, an intensive two-day program for board chairs, corporate directors and senior executives of publicly traded companies to address critical issues facing corporate boards. The inaugural program will be held April 7-9, 2010 in Washington, D.C., run by Director Stephen Wallenstein, a senior fellow of finance and recognized expert in corporate governance and best practices for publicly traded companies in the U.S. and abroad.

More information about the Smith School’s Center for Financial Policy is available online.

Information an online registration for the Roundtable on Executive Compensation is available online.

About the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business
The Robert H. Smith School of Business is an internationally recognized leader in management education and research. One of 13 colleges and schools at the University of Maryland, College Park, the Smith School offers undergraduate, full-time and part-time MBA, executive MBA, executive MS, PhD and executive education programs, as well as outreach services to the corporate community. The school offers its degree, custom and certification programs in learning locations in North America and Asia.