Keynote Speaker: Norman Mains, Ph.D.
Managing Director
Forward Investing

Norman Mains serves as Forward’s head of new products and its chief risk officer. With more than 25 years of experience in the financial services industry, Mr. Mains has held leadership roles in the areas of research, product development and administration. He is the former chief economist and director of research at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and a former executive director and chief investment officer for Morgan Stanley’s Graystone Research. Mr. Mains began his professional career working for the mutual fund industry’s trade association and then held a senior economist position at the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, D.C

Jay Feuerstein
CEO and Chief Investment Officer
2100 Xenon

Jay Feuerstein founded 2100 Xenon in 2001 and is responsible for managing its futures portfolio and directing futures research. He began his investment career in 1980 as one of the earliest traders and arbitrageurs of financial futures. Prior to founding 2100 Xenon, he was a managing director and principal at Bear Stearns & Co. Inc., and before that, was a senior vice president for Paine Webber where he was responsible for national futures sales. Mr. Feuerstein also was director of global futures sales and marketing for fixed income at Kidder Peabody in the 1990s and was a first vice president of Drexel Burnham Lambert, where he established and ran the futures trading desk in the 1980s. Mr. Feuerstein has published in The Journal of Futures Markets, Corporate Finance Review, cnbc.com, and numerous other publications. He is a frequent guest on CNBC and has spoken at events sponsored by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the Chicago Board Options Exchange and the University of Chicago. Mr. Feuerstein earned his MBA in finance from the University of Chicago and his B.S. from the University of Illinois.

Russel Bernard
Managing Principal
Westport Capital Partners, LLC

Russ Bernard is the managing principal at Westport Capital Partners, LLC, an investment management company focused exclusively on opportunistic and distressed real estate investments. Founded in 2005, it invests in real estate through direct and indirect property ownership and through public and private real estate securities and financial instruments. Prior to founding Westport Capital Partners, Mr. Bernard was a principal at Oaktree Capital Management and the portfolio manager for Oaktree’s real estate funds. Prior to joining Oaktree in 1995, Mr. Bernard was a managing director at TCW and portfolio manager of the TCW Special Credits Distressed Mortgage Fund. Before that, he was a partner at Win Properties, Inc., a national real estate investment company for eight years and with Time Equities, Inc., a New York real estate company, for three years. He began his career as a staff accountant at Price Waterhouse in New York. Mr. Bernard has served on the boards of several corporate, university and charitable organizations. Mr. Bernard holds a B.S. in Business Management and Marketing from Cornell University.

Ric Dillon, CFA
CEO and Portfolio Manager
Diamond Hill Capital Management, Inc.

Ric Dillon founded Diamond Hill, an independent investment management firm with $9.7 billion in assets under management, in May 2000. He currently serves as a portfolio manager and chief executive officer. Mr. Dillon began his investment career in 1977 with Ohio Public Employees Retirement Systems. In 1993, Mr. Dillon founded Dillon Capital Management, an investment advisory firm, and served as the firm’s president and chief investment officer. In 1997, Dillon Capital Management was acquired by Loomis Sayles & Co., and Mr. Dillon worked as a portfolio manager with Loomis Sayles & Co. until April 2000. Mr. Dillon holds a B.S. degree in Finance, an M.A. from The Ohio State University, and an MBA from the University of Dayton. He also holds the CFA designation.

Perry Vieth
President
Ceres Farms

Perry Vieth, president of Ceres Farms, manages the financial, legal, accounting, hedging and investor relations services for the firm’s properties. He is the former chief investment officer of fixed income and currency at PanAgora Asset Management in Boston, where he was responsible for research, investment strategy and oversight of more than $7 billion in assets. In 2007, he was Pensions & Investments’ top-performing fixed income manager, with a return of 16.1%. Mr. Vieth also served as a portfolio manager at Fleet Investment Advisors, Fuji Securities, and Chicago Research & Trading Group. He began his trading career at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange in 1986. From 1982 to 1986, he practiced law in Chicago, specializing in securities and corporate law. He holds a B.S. in accounting from Marquette University, a JD from the University of Notre Dame Law School and the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. He is also a member of the Boston Securities Analyst Society. He serves on the University of Notre Dame Law School’s advisory council and several charitable organizations’ boards of directors.