The Dynamics of Distress and Debt in Emerging Markets

Andrew Karolyi is the Charles Field Knight Dean of the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business. He is a Professor of Finance and International Business as well as holder of the Harold Bierman Jr. Distinguished Professorship in the Johnson Graduate School of Management. Dr. Karolyi is also a Professor of Economics in Cornell’s College of Arts and Sciences.

A scholar in the area of investment management, with a specialization in the study of international financial markets, Dr. Karolyi has published extensively in journals in finance and economics, including the Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, and Review of Financial Studies. He has also published several books and monographs, and his research is featured in print and electronic media such as the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, The Economist, Time, New York Times, Washington Post, Forbes, BusinessWeek, and CNBC. Dr. Karolyi recently completed a four-year term as executive editor of the Review of Financial Studies, one of the top-tier journals in finance. He has also served as an associate editor for a variety of journals, including the Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Empirical Finance, Journal of Banking and Finance, Review of Finance, and the Pacific Basin Finance Journal.

Dr. Karolyi is a recipient of the Michael Jensen Prize for Corporate Finance and Organizations (2017), the Fama/DFA Prize for Capital Markets and Asset Pricing (2005), the William F. Sharpe Award for Scholarship in Finance (2001), the Journal of Empirical Finance’s Biennial Best Paper Prize (2006), and Johnson School’s Prize for Excellence in Research (2010). Dr. Karolyi leads various executive education programs in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia, and he is actively involved in consulting with corporations, banks, investment firms, stock exchanges, and law firms. He is president-elect/program chair of the Western Finance Association, has served as a director of the American Finance Association, and is past chairperson of the board of trustees and past president of the Financial Management Association International. Dr. Karolyi received his B.A. (Honors) in Economics from McGill University and worked at the Bank of Canada for several years in its research department. He subsequently earned his MBA and Ph.D. degrees in Finance at the Graduate School of Business of the University of Chicago.

Lourdes Casanova is the Gail and Roberto Cañizares Director of the Cañizares Center for Emerging Markets and a Senior Lecturer at Cornell University’s Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management. Formerly of the strategy department at INSEAD, Dr. Casanova specializes in international business with a focus on Latin America and multinationals from emerging markets.

In 2014 and 2015, Dr. Casanova was named one of the 50 most influential Iberoamerican intellectuals by Esglobal. She is a member of the board of directors of Boyce Thompson Institute.

Dr. Casanova is a Fulbright Scholar who holds a Ph.D. from Universidad de Barcelona and an M.A. from the University of Southern California.

Dr. Mark Mobius is synonymous with emerging and frontier markets, investing with a reputation as one of the most successful and influential money managers over the past 30 years. He is Chairman of Mobius Emerging Opportunities Fund.

Dr. Mobius is widely known as a pioneer in emerging market investing. In 1987, he was appointed by Sir John Templeton to run one of the world’s first emerging market funds. Dr. Mobius went on to spend more than three decades at Franklin Templeton Investments, most recently as Executive Chairman of the Templeton Emerging Markets Group. Under his leadership, the group’s assets under management grew from US$100 million to a whopping US$50 billion with the successful launches of numerous investment funds focused on Asia, Latin America, Africa, and Eastern Europe.

Dr. Mobius has also contributed to developing international policies for emerging markets. He served on the World Bank’s Global Corporate Governance Forum as a member of the Private Sector Advisory Group and as co-chairman of its Investor Responsibility Task Force in 1999.

Dr. Mobius has won numerous industry awards and has authored 13 books, including “The Inflation Myth” and “The Wonderful World of Deflation,” which has gained international acclaim. In October 2022, World Economic Forum selected the book as one of the five must-read books on inflation. Dr. Mobius earned his Ph.D in Economics and Political Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1964. He has also studied at Boston University, University of Wisconsin, Syracuse University, Kyoto University, and the University of New Mexico.

Mihika Badjate is a senior studying Economics in the Cornell College of Arts & Sciences. At the Emerging Markets Institute, she is involved in both research and marketing. Beyond emerging markets, Ms. Badjate’s interests include reading, hiking, and traveling.

Ravin Nanda is a senior studying Economics in the College of Arts & Sciences. Mr. Nanda is interested in pursuing a career in financial services and will be joining Lazard’s TMT group as an analyst following graduation. At Cornell, he is involved in Cornell’s Investment Banking Club, the Johnson Museum Club, and the Emerging Markets Society. Mr. Nanda is originally from the greater Boston area and enjoys learning about art, playing golf and squash, and cooking.

Bill Montgomery is currently a two-year, full-time MBA student at the Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management. Prior to Johnson, he was an accredited diplomat within the United States Foreign Service, focused predominantly on South Asian and Middle Eastern affairs.

During his six years as a diplomat, Mr. Montgomery provided foreign policy support on a variety of political, economic, and security-related issues. Overseas diplomatic postings included the U.S. mission to Afghanistan in Kabul and the U.S. mission to Sri Lanka and Maldives in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Prior to transitioning to the Foreign Service, Mr. Montgomery served as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army, with one combat deployment to Afghanistan in support of a Special Operations Task Force.

Mr. Montgomery will be joining the M&A advisory practice of Evercore Partners in New York City during summer 2022 as an Investment Banking Summer Associate. In this role, he will further his understanding of capital-raising activities, while supporting the firm’s activities in advising clients on the formulation and execution of strategic priorities. Mr. Montgomery earned a B.A. in Political Science from Azusa Pacific University and is currently in New York with his wife and two children.