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NERA Announces Five Officer-Level Promotions
14 February 2008
New York City/14 February 2008 -- NERA Economic Consulting is pleased to announce the following officer-level promotions:
Chudozie Okongwu has been promoted to Senior Vice President; Adrian Kemp has been promoted to Associate Director; and Nihan Mert-Beydilli, Thomas Porter, and Bryan Ray have been promoted to Vice President.
Dr. Chudozie Okongwu is a member of NERA's Securities and Finance Practice. Based in NERA's New York City office, he directs projects in the areas of securities economics, finance, and valuation. He has consulted in cases involving the valuation of various fixed income and equity products, options, convertible securities, and exotic financial structures. He has analyzed the risks and profitability of trading strategies employed by hedge funds and the effects of the alleged mis-marking of hedge fund portfolios on investors. Dr. Okongwu has substantial experience directing projects to detect mutual fund market timing and to analyze its effects on other fund investors. He also has extensive experience directing projects that analyze the costs of trade execution. In addition, he has consulted in cases involving regulatory disputes and the valuation of contracts. He has published articles in the International Journal of Finance and Economics and Wall Street Lawyer. Dr. Okongwu holds a PhD and MA in economics from the University of California, Berkeley, and an SB in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Mr. Adrian Kemp, based in NERA's Sydney office, has over 10 years of specialized experience in the regulation of the energy, water, and transport industries. Mr. Kemp has expertise in regulatory design, demand-side participation, the analysis of risk and business incentives, pricing structures, and market analysis. He has led projects on energy, water, and road pricing, electricity smart metering infrastructure, demand-side participation in the energy market, and regulatory design for the water and electricity industries. Mr. Kemp holds a Masters of economics from Australian National University.
Ms. Nihan Mert-Beydilli is a member of NERA's Transfer Pricing Practice. Based in NERA's Chicago office, she specializes in intercompany pricing and valuation analyses. Her areas of expertise include designing pricing methodologies, determining appropriate intercompany prices (e.g., arm's length royalty rates), assisting clients with negotiating and implementing Advance Pricing Agreements with tax authorities, and supporting clients in tax controversy situations. She has advised multinational corporations in a variety of industries, including clients in the automotive, construction and industrial machinery, information technology services, and power generation sectors. She holds an MBA from Brandeis University and an MSc in environmental engineering from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne.
Dr. Thomas Porter, based in NERA's Boston office, is a Certified Public Accountant and serves as NERA's in-house expert on Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), Generally Accepted Auditing Standards (GAAS), SEC Filings, and tax matters. He consults on a variety of cases spanning all areas of NERA's practices, including securities and finance, mass torts and product liability, and energy. Dr. Porter has written expert reports and provided testimony. He has held academic positions at Boston College and Georgia State University and has experience working at national and local CPA firms. Dr. Porter received his PhD in accounting from the University of Washington, and holds an MBA from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Mr. Bryan Ray, based in NERA's White Plains office, has been a member of NERA's Antitrust and Intellectual Property Practices for 12 years. He has consulted on a variety of projects involving antitrust claims, merger review, damage calculation, valuation, and business operations and strategy. These projects have ranged across many industries, including computer networking equipment, petroleum, chemical products, industrial gases, fibers, consumer products, health care, financial services, media, and entertainment. His work has been used for expert testimony, as well as presentations to mediators and regulatory agencies. Mr. Ray has published articles in the International Tax Journal, Managing Intellectual Property, and the Global Intellectual Property Asset Management Report, among other publications. Mr. Ray received his BA, magna cum laude and with High Honors in economics, from Haverford College.
Additional biographical and contact information for these practice members is available on our website.
NERA Economic Consulting (www.nera.com), founded in 1961 as National Economic Research Associates, is a unit of the Oliver Wyman Group, 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.