Cletus C. Coughlin

Senior Vice President and Policy Adviser to the President, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Cletus C. Coughlin is a senior vice president and chief of staff to the president at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. He is also a policy associate with the Leverhulme Centre for Research on Globalisation and Economic Policy at the University of Nottingham, Nottingham, England and serves on the editorial board of the Review of Regional Studies. Mr. Coughlin joined the Bank as a senior economist in 1987 and was promoted to vice president in 1994. He served as deputy director in the Bank’s Research Division until July 2011. Mr. Coughlin has published numerous articles in leading journals ... Read More

Blair L. Fortner

Chief Economist, Monsanto Company

Blair Fortner serves as Monsanto’s chief economist and as a member of the company’s global strategy team. He directs the company’s proprietary modeling, forecasting and analysis which serve as the basis for corporate planning and evaluation of new opportunities in developed and emerging agricultural markets. He also speaks extensively on how to feed an increasingly hungry world. Prior to joining Monsanto, his career included positions at the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. House of Representatives, Smith Barney and the US Soybean Export Council. He received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Arkansas. He lives with his wife ... Read More