NERA Economic Consulting Announces Five Officer-Level Promotions

17 August 2006

7 August 2006 -- NERA Economic Consulting, an international firm of over 550 professionals operating in 21 offices worldwide, is pleased to announce the following officer-level promotions:

Dr. Francesco Lo Passo has been promoted to the position of Director, based in Rome.

Dr. Lo Passo is an expert in the practical application of regulatory economics in the energy, transport, and telecommunications industries. While at NERA, his recent projects in Italy have included the design and implementation of electricity procurement for non-eligible customers, support to the major Italian gas transportation company on the proposals to be submitted for the second regulatory period, the definition of alternative capacity payments schemes to be applied to electricity producers, the design of proposals of airport regulation, the analysis of toll road regulation, regulation of railways passengers fares, and the pricing of services of mobile and fixed telecommunications operators.

He has also worked on tariff design for a regulated utility in Romania, on wholesale electricity prices for a local construction company in Turkey, on price cap design and implementation in South Africa for both the airports and weather forecast companies, and on regulation of mobile operators in Algeria, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, among other projects.

Dr. Lo Passo is a former member of the Council of Experts of the Italian Treasury. He has been Senior Advisor on energy to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He has represented the Italian Treasury at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, where he advised on privatization and restructuring programs. He received a PhD and MA in economics from the University of Chicago.

Sean Gammons has been named NERA Associate Director, based in London and Brussels.

Mr. Gammons specializes in electricity and gas market regulation, restructuring, litigation, and valuation. His recent work for NERA includes an electricity merger case in the Netherlands; an appraisal of interconnector trading schemes and market integration in Ireland; litigation support relating to locational transmission pricing in Great Britain; and studies of gas balancing and gas storage investment incentives in north-west European gas systems. He holds an MSc in economics from University College in London, a BA from Oxford University, and a Diplôme d'Ingénieur from Ecole Nationale Supérieure du Pétrole et des Moteurs (ENSPM) in Paris.

Daniel Radov has been named Vice President in NERA's Energy, Environment, Transport, and Water Global Practice, based in London and Boston.

Mr. Radov is a specialist in environmental economics. He is an expert on economic issues relating to emissions trading, climate change, and air quality regulations. Mr. Radov led NERA's work assisting the UK Government in the development of its National Allocation Plans under the European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). He has conducted comprehensive analyses of recent proposals to limit greenhouse gas emissions in California, the "zero-emissions vehicle" requirements in California, and new NOx emissions standards for long-haul, heavy-duty trucks. Mr. Radov received an MSc in economics from University College in London, an MPhil in history and philosophy of science from Cambridge University, and a BA in chemistry and philosophy from Williams College.

Dr. John Montgomery and Dr. Patrick Conroy have been named Vice Presidents in NERA's Securities and Finance Practice, based in New York.

Dr. Montgomery specializes in economic issues concerning equity and fixed-income securities, options and mutual funds, as well as valuation and commercial damages. He has submitted expert reports and testified on materiality, damages, and market manipulation. Prior to joining NERA, Dr. Montgomery was Vice President and Senior Global Economist at Morgan Stanley. He has also worked as a staff economist at the Federal Reserve Board and the International Monetary Fund, and has served as a Senior Staff Economist for the President's Council of Economic Advisers. Dr. Montgomery holds a PhD in economics from Princeton University. He earned a BA from Yale University and an MSc from the London School of Economics.

Dr. Patrick Conroy specializes in economic analysis involving securities fraud, mutual funds, suitability of investments, derivatives, and company valuation. Prior to joining NERA, Dr. Conroy was an economist at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), where he conducted research on electronic communications networks, foreign securities, IPOs and underwriting, mutual funds, securities fraud, Social Security, and broker/customer disputes. Dr. Conroy also has taught international finance, financial management, and securities regulation at Georgetown University. His dissertation explored limit order trading on the NYSE, and he has published articles on Initial Public Offerings on the Nasdaq in the Journal of Finance. He holds a PhD in economics from the University of Miami and a BA in foreign policy from American University.


Additional biographical and contact information for these practice members is available via our expert search.

NERA Economic Consulting (www.nera.com), founded in 1961 as National Economic Research Associates, is a unit 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.