CFTC Commissioner Sharon Brown-Hruska to Join NERA Economic Consulting

19 July 2006

Washington, DC/July 19, 2006 -- NERA Economic Consulting, a leading global provider of economic research and analysis in business, legal, and regulatory matters, announced today that Dr. Sharon Brown-Hruska will be joining the firm as a Vice President in the Securities and Finance Practice. She will be based in NERA's Washington, DC office. Dr. Brown-Hruska has served as a commissioner of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) since 2002.

"As a former Commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission who also served as Acting Chairman, Sharon Brown-Hruska is one of the nation's leading experts on securities, options, futures, and energy risk issues," said NERA President Dr. Andrew Carron. "In addition to her 16 years of distinguished research and economic policy-making experience, she brings to NERA an exceptional understanding of the current regulatory environment and its implications for our clients."

He continued: "Sharon's deep understanding of global financial markets will further enhance NERA's leading position as a foremost authority on securities and finance issues, and will expand our already considerable expertise in international futures and options."

Dr. Brown-Hruska has given congressional testimony on futures market regulatory issues, and has served as a member of the President's Working Group on Financial Markets alongside the Secretary of the Treasury, as well as the Chairmen of the Federal Reserve Board and Securities and Exchange Commission.

As part of her role at the CFTC, she evaluated legislation and economic developments affecting the nation's energy markets. She has addressed the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Energy Bar Association, Edison Electric Institute, and the World Forum on Energy Regulation on energy issues.

Dr. Brown-Hruska has published research papers on economic policy, international finance, securities, futures, and derivatives. Her articles have appeared in International Commodities Review, Journal of Futures Markets, Futures and Derivatives Law Report, and Barron's.

President George W. Bush nominated Dr. Brown-Hruska to the CFTC in 2004, as one of five commissioners. She served as Acting Chairman from July 2004 until July 2005. Prior to that, Dr. Brown-Hruska was a Research Fellow at George Mason University's Mercatus Center, and an Assistant Professor of Finance at George Mason University's School of Management and the A.B. Freeman School of Business at Tulane University. She holds a PhD in economics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute (Virginia Tech).

If you would like to arrange an interview with Sharon Brown-Hruska or are interested in learning more about NERA's Securities and Finance practice, please contact us or visit us on the web at www.nera.com.

NERA Economic Consulting (www.nera.com), founded in 1961 as National Economic Research Associates, is a subsidiary of Mercer Specialty Consulting, an MMC company.

About NERA

NERA Economic Consulting (www.nera.com) is a global firm of experts dedicated to applying economic, finance, and quantitative principles to complex business and legal challenges. For more than six decades, we have been creating strategies, studies, reports, expert testimony, and policy recommendations for government authorities and the world’s leading law firms and corporations. We bring academic rigor, objectivity, and real-world industry experience to issues arising from competition, regulation, public policy, strategy, finance, and litigation.

NERA’s clients value our ability to apply and communicate state-of-the-art approaches clearly and convincingly, our commitment to deliver unbiased findings, and our reputation for quality and independence. Our clients rely on the integrity and skills of our unparalleled team of economists and other experts backed by the resources and reliability of one of the world’s largest economic consultancies. Continuing our legacy as the first international economic consultancy, NERA serves clients from major cities across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific.