Prof. Dr. Gabriel Bezchinsky, Professor, Department of Economics, National University of San Martín, Argentina

Prof. Dr. Gabriel Bezchinsky has a degree in Economics and is PhD candidate in Political Science. Specialist in development policies: industrial policy, innovation policies, SME policy. He is one of the leading specialists in public procurement in Latin America, and is currently the academic coordinator and professor of the Master Program in Public Procurement at UNSAM, the only one in this topic in the region. He is professor and researcher at the School of Politics and Government, and is a member of the Center for Research on Economic Development in South America (IDEAS Center) of the same academic unit. He has taught undergraduate and postgraduate courses at the University of Buenos Aires, the National University of General Sarmiento, the University of Bologna, the Latin American Institute for Economic and Social Planning (ILPES), among others. Consultant to international organizations (UNDP, ECLAC, IDB, IDRC, WB) on various issues related to economic development and public policies. Consultant to national and sub-national governments for the design, implementation and evaluation of development policies. He has published articles and has edited books in his area of expertise, a few selection of which are mentioned as: “Accelerating Effective Tobacco Taxes in Argentina: Fiscal and Productive Aspects” (Bezchinsky, Gabriel; Melamud, Ariel; Rozemberg, Ricardo, Document of the South American Network on Applied Economics/Red Sur, within the University of Illinois at Chicago-Red Sur project “Tobacco taxes in Latin America”. Monteviedo, 2019); “Diagnóstico del Sistema Nacional de Contratación Pública de Chile” (Documento de Trabajo, Centro de IdeAS, San Martín, 2017); “Las compras públicas en América Latina y el Caribe. Situación actual y perspectivas” (Rozenwurcel, Guillermo y Bezchinsky, Gabriel (Comp.), UNSAM – IDRC, Buenos Aires, 2015.)

Rehan Chaudhri, CEO, Peak XV Advisors, USA

Rehan Chaudhri is CEO of Peak XV Advisors and is a global investor in the technology, real estate, and emerging energy sectors. He was formerly a portfolio manager and principal at Altrinsic Global Advisors which had managed $14 billion of capital. Prior to Altrinsic, he was a portfolio manager for Lazard Asset Management, on its $30 billion international fund. His previous investment experience includes Brandywine Asset Management’s (Legg Mason group company) global and international funds as a Managing Director as well as a telecommunications equity research analyst for Morgan Stanley. He began his career as a technology and strategy management consultant and worked for Booz, Allen & Hamilton. Mr. Chaudhri has been an investor in private technology companies which were listed or sold through acquisitions. Additionally, he is a fellow with Global Federation of Competitiveness Councils based in Washington DC. A graduate of McGill University in Montreal, he received his M.B.A. from the Wharton School.

Prof. Dr. Travis K. Taylor, Professor, Department of Economics, Christopher Newport University, USA

Prof. Dr. Travis K. Taylor currently serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at Christopher Newport University. Dr. Taylor's research and teaching interests include the economics of contracting, international economic development, and public procurement. A scholar of countertrade and procurement contracts, Dr. Taylor’s research has appeared in outlets such as the Journal of Policy Modeling, Journal of Economic Integration, and Journal of Public Procurement. At CNU, he served as department chair of Accounting, Economics & Finance from 2008-2011, and led efforts to create an independent Economics degree program. Dr. Taylor has worked for the U.S. government as an international economist, and also served as a consultant for firms in Singapore, Seoul (South Korea), and Newport News, Virginia.