Banco Popular de Puerto Rico

Gene Saffold was appointed Chief Financial Officer of the City of Chicago by Mayor Richard M. Daley on March 12, 2009. Prior to his appointment, Saffold was Managing Director–National Accounts for JP Morgan Chase & Co. In this capacity, Mr. Saffold was responsible for the delivery of the JPMC’s products and services to the company’s public sector and pension fund clients nationally.He previously served as Head of Public Finance Investment Banking for J.P. Morgan Securities, Inc. where he had leadership responsibility for Tax-Exempt Capital Markets’ (TECM) origination and advisory activities within the Investment Bank’s Global Credit Markets Group. He joined Banc One Capital Markets in May 2002 as Managing Director and the National Head of Public Finance. Prior to joining Banc One, Mr. Saffold was a Managing Director in the Public Finance Department of Salomon Smith Barney (now Citigroup). He currently serves as a Board Member on the Laborers’ and Retirement Board Employees’ Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago, the Policemen’s Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago, the Chicago Development Fund and the Chicago Low-Income Housing Trust Fund. He is a board member and also serves as Co-Chair of the Labor Management Coordinating Committee of the Chicago Labor Management Trust and the Commission to Strengthen Chicago’s Pension Funds.He is actively involved in a variety of civic, cultural and philanthropic activities, and currently serves as a board member of Window to the World Communications, Inc. and the Erikson Institute. Previously, he served for ten years as Trustee of the Chicago Board of Education and of the Teachers Pension and Retirement Fund of Chicago.He has been honored for his public service by organizations such as the Chicago Youth Centers, National Conference for Community and Justice and the Urban Financial Services Coalition of Chicago. Mr. Saffold received his B.A. in Economics from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota and holds an M.B.A. in Finance and Accounting from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business.

As the Executive Director of the Illinois Finance Authority, Christopher Meister leads a staff of finance and legal experts that provide hands-on support to help Illinois businesses get the capital they need for growth.Meister was appointed to head the IFA in July 2009 after two years as the agency�s General Counsel and Deputy Director. His focus at IFA has been to develop creative new financing tools to help meet the needs of Illinois businesses seeking to create and retain jobs around the state. A frequent speaker and panelist before business groups, Meister actively markets IFA programs and services to reach the broadest possible sector of the business community.Meister has a record of leadership in strengthening economic development statewide. He served as Legislative Director/Associate General Counsel for the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity, where his most notable achievement was drafting and securing passage of legislation for the Illinois Film Tax Credit.His private practice experience focused on municipal law and litigation with the firm Holland & Knight LLP. He also served as a law clerk under Illinois Supreme Court Justice McMorrow.Meister is a graduate of DePaul University and the University Of Illinois College Of Law. He and his family live in Oak Park, Illinois.

Judy is the Director of Credit Research and is a member of the Investment Committee at Samson where she� is responsible for the credit approval and oversight process for the firm’s $7 billion assets under management. Samson’s investment strategies emphasize preservation of capital and tax efficiency, so her credit analyses focus on state and local governments and investment grade revenue bond issuers including transportation, health care, higher education and utilities.� Judy is the author of The Fundamentals of Municipal Bonds, 5th Edition (John Wiley and Sons, 2001), and has lectured and written extensively about municipal credit and other aspects of the market. Prior to becoming a founding principal of Samson she was with Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers and the New York City Comptroller.� She is currently a member of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority Inspector General Management Advisory Board and has also served as a Board Member of the New York City Municipal Water Finance Authority. Judy received a B.S. from Cornell University, and� an M.P.A. from New York University.