Lawrence Summers

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  • Economic & Financial Thought Leader
  • President, Harvard University (2001-2006)
  • Director, White House National Economic Council (2009-2010)
  • Secretary of the Treasury (1999-2001)

An expert on domestic economics and a leading authority on international finance, Larry Summers is one of the most distinguished voices on the issues and policy impacting the global economy. His frequent commentary is regarded as essential input to crafting economic policy, and he has remained for decades a well respected statesman of the American economy.

Prior to serving in the Obama Administration as Director of the National Economic Council, Dr. Summers was 71st Secretary of the Treasury during the Clinton Administration, President of Harvard University, and Vice President of Development Economics and Chief Economist of the World Bank. Dr. Summers’ tenure at the U.S. Treasury coincided with the longest period of sustained economic growth in U.S. history. He is the only Treasury Secretary in the last half century to have left office with the national budget in surplus. During his tenure in the Obama Administration, Larry Summers emerged as a key economic decision-maker and continues to be called upon as the number one resource for the most pressing economic debates of the day. 

 


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Past Hosts Include:
  • American Property Casualty Insurance Association
  • BCA Research
  • PIMCO
  • Institutional Investor
  • Commonfund
  • BTG Pactual
  • Doosan
  • BCA Research
  • Dueto Talentos, on behalf of Global Agriculture Forum event
  • Conexus Financial
Rave Reviews About Lawrence Summers
People will look back and say in the late 20th century, Henry Kissinger was the guru people looked to on international affairs and in the early 21st century, Larry Summers was the guru people looked to for understanding and enlightenment with regard to the economy here and internationally.

A Tight Hot Labor Market: Summers | Bloomberg - Get Sharable Link
Talks & Conversations with Lawrence Summers
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Global Economic Outlook: Beyond the Headlines

Drawing on his broad perspective and extensive experience as a senior public official in both the U.S. and abroad, LARRY SUMMERS evaluates key global economic trends, decoding what they will mean for investors and corporate strategies moving forward. Shedding light on the major forces shaping the ec ...

Drawing on his broad perspective and extensive experience as a senior public official in both the U.S. and abroad, LARRY SUMMERS evaluates key global economic trends, decoding what they will mean for investors and corporate strategies moving forward. Shedding light on the major forces shaping the economy that go far beyond the breaking news cycle of government shutdowns, tax reform, and midterm elections, Summers will provide an illuminating near and midterm outlook for businesses. Taking a deep dive into crucial, overriding issues such as the continuing evolution of globalization and trade; revolutions in technology and the means of production; and the growing polarity in global systems, Summers’ insights will leave individuals and organizations equipped to navigate, and profit from, the future global economy.

Economic Possibilities for Our Children

Dr. LARRY SUMMERS believes what we have seen so far is only the beginning of profound changes in the global economy that will arise from technological innovation. He describes how the world will be different a decade and a generation from now and he offers advice on how businesses, investors, manage ...

Dr. LARRY SUMMERS believes what we have seen so far is only the beginning of profound changes in the global economy that will arise from technological innovation. He describes how the world will be different a decade and a generation from now and he offers advice on how businesses, investors, managers, and governments should prepare. Dr. Summers foresees great opportunities, but warns that success cannot be taken for granted.

The American Future

Dr. LARRY SUMMERS draws on his extensive experience to present a compelling vision for what the United States must do to restore to prosperity at home and strengthen its influence abroad. At a moment when American strength and vitality is both more in question and more essential than ever before, Dr ...

Dr. LARRY SUMMERS draws on his extensive experience to present a compelling vision for what the United States must do to restore to prosperity at home and strengthen its influence abroad. At a moment when American strength and vitality is both more in question and more essential than ever before, Dr. Summers discusses the key challenges and opportunities facing America.

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Lawrence H. Summers’ column on Project Syndicate covers economics, geopolitics, and more

As US Secretary of the Treasury (1999-2001), Chief Economist of the World Bank (1991-93), Director of the US National Economic Council (2009-10), and President of Harvard University (2001-06), where he is currently University Professor, LAWRENCE H. SUMMERS is uniquely qualified to write on global issues in his Project Syndicate column:

Read Lawrence H. Summers’ writing on Project Syndicate here >>

Larry Summers is in high demand for his insight on the intersection of economics and foreign policy

Most recently, LARRY SUMMERS has provided insight on the geopolitical landscape, especially in terms of the effectiveness of economic sanctions on Russia in response to the crisis in the Ukraine. Appearing on CNN’s GPS with Fareed Zakaria, Summers said, “We have inflicted more damage, more quickly with more unity on our side on the Russian economy that almost anyone would have expected. There is more we can do to cut off Russian financial institutions and energy production and we need to keep those threats in reserve to exert maximum leverage.” While acknowledging the complexity of this strategy, the former U.S. Treasury Secretary offers his expert analysis of how these sanctions will impact the markets, supply chains, and inflation, pivoting to focus on the preservation of world order.

With his breadth of experience, Summers is a highly regarded voice in this dynamic conversation, and as a keynote speaker he receives rave reviews such as, “Larry was insightful, brilliant, provocative, and very engaging,” (Commonfund) and “the conference was extremely successful. Larry’s speech was extremely well received. He is a master speaker!” (Chinese Financial Association).

Watch Larry Summers on CNN’s GPS here >>

Watch Larry Summers on Bloomberg here >>

Larry Summers is a leading voice on the global economy

LAWRENCE SUMMERS' tenure at the U.S. Treasury coincided with the longest period of sustained economic growth in U.S. history, and during the Obama Administration he emerged as a key economic decision-maker who worked directly in crafting policy solutions to respond to the economic crisis.

Summers has been in-demand to speak everywhere from the World Economic Forum to Federal Reserve Banks nationwide. Drawing on his broad perspective and extensive experience as a senior public official in both the U.S. and abroad, Summers evaluates key global economic trends, decoding what they will mean for investors and corporate strategies moving forward. He sheds light on the major forces shaping the economy that go far beyond the breaking news cycle to provide an illuminating near and midterm outlook for businesses. His rave reviews from recent events include: "Larry was great and delivered exactly what we wanted from him. He is a professional and he comes across very authoritative and thoughtful." (BCA Research).

Watch some of Lawrence Summer's talks here  >>

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Biography

Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence H. Summers is one of America’s leading economists. In addition to serving as 71st Secretary of  the Treasury in the Clinton Administration, Dr. Summers served as Director of the White House National Economic Council in the Obama Administration, as President of Harvard University, and as the Chief Economist of the World Bank.

Dr. Summers’ tenure at the U.S. Treasury coincided with the longest period of sustained economic growth in U.S. history. He is the only Treasury Secretary in the last half century to have left office with the national budget in surplus. Dr. Summers has played a key role in addressing the major financial crisis for the last three decades.

During the 1990s, he was a leader in crafting the U.S. response to international financial crises arising in Mexico, Brazil, Russia, Japan, and Asian emerging markets. As one of President Obama’s chief economic advisors, Dr. Summers’ thinking helped shape the U.S. response to the 2008 financial crisis, to the failure of the automobile industry, and to the pressures on the European monetary system. Upon Summers’ departure from the White House, President Obama said, “I will always be grateful that at a time of great peril for our country, a man of Larry’s brilliance, experience and judgment was willing to answer the call and lead our economic team.” The Economist recognized his influence when it defined the “Summers Doctrine,” an approach to economic policy during financial crises that fuses a microeconomic “laissez faire” mentality with macroeconomic activism. “Markets should allocate capital, labour and ideas without interference, but sometimes markets go haywire, and must be counteracted forcefully by government.”

Summers’ five years as President of Harvard represented a time of major innovation for the University. He focused on equality of opportunity and removing all financial obligation from students with family incomes below $60,000 a year. He launched a major effort to make Boston, and Cambridge in particular, the global leader in life sciences research, with the formation of major programs for stem cell research and genomics. Perhaps most importantly, he led efforts to renew Harvard College with dramatic increases in study abroad programs, faculty-student contact, and collaboration across the University during his tenure.

Currently, Dr. Summers is the President Emeritus and the Charles W. Eliot University Professor at Harvard University, where he became a full professor at age 28, one of the youngest in Harvard’s recent history. He directs the University’s Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government. Summers was the first social scientist to receive the National Science Foundation’s Alan Waterman Award for scientific achievement and, in 1993, he was awarded the John Bates Clark Medal, given to the most outstanding economist under 40 in the United States. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2002. He has published more than 150 papers in scholarly journals.

Summers chairs the board of the Center for Global Development and serves as vice chair of the Peterson Institute for International Economics and as a board member or advisory board member to a number of other non-profits and public policy organizations. He is a contributor to Bloomberg’s Wall Street Week and a contributing columnist to The Washington Post. He is an advisor to businesses and investors and serves on the board of Square, States Title/Doma and SkillSoft Corporation. He also consults with or advises a range of companies in the finance and technology sector, including D. E. Shaw & Co and Citi.

He has co-chaired major international panels ranging from the G20s High Level Independent Panel on Pandemic Preparedness and Response to the Council on Foreign Relations study group on the Transatlantic Relationship to the Center for American Progress’ Commission on Inclusive Prosperity. He launched a Task Force on Fiscal Policy with Mayor Bloomberg and chaired the Commission on Global Health, lauded by the UN Secretary General who noted that it “will bring more than health – it will bring equity, and contribute to a life of dignity for all.”

President Bill Clinton said that Larry Summers “has the rare ability to see the world that is taking shape and the skill to help to bring it into being.” He has been recognized as one of the world’s most influential thinkers by Time, Foreign Policy, Prospect and The Economist magazines among many others. In his speeches, television appearances, newspaper columns and public commentary, he continues to move forward the debate on national and global economic policy.