Ira Kawaller holds a Ph.D. in economics from Purdue University and has held adjunct professorships at Columbia University and Polytechnic University. For the bulk of his career, he focused on financial markets and derivative instruments. He ran the New York office of the Chicago Mercantile exchange from 1980 -1996 before founding three derivatives-related consulting business: Kawaller & Company, LLC, the Kawaller Fund, and Derivatives Litigation Services. In past years, Kawaller served on the board of Hatteras Financial Corp (which merged with Annaly Capital Management, Inc.) and participated on their risk committee and compensation committee. He also served on a variety of professional boards and committees, including the board of the International Association of Financial Engineers (now the International Association for Quantitative Finance) and the Financial Accounting Standard Board's Derivatives Implementation Group.lg...see more