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To book Leo Tilman or for more information, please contact: Mel Blake (617) 252-2472 or Meghan Fennell (617) 252-2923.

Awarded Young Global Leader of Tomorrow
— World Economic Forum

“The world’s political and economic uncertainties, exacerbated by a serious lack of financial transparency, can lead business leaders to feel like they may be virtually flying blind in a rapidly changing global economy. Leo Tilman offers some important tools to address the clear imperative of better strategic and systemic risk management.”

— William E. Brock
former US Senator, US Trade Representative, and US Secretary of Labor

“A masterful treatise on piloting complex financial institutions through the newer and tougher challenges imposed on them by the evolving marketplace. Tilman presents a unified conceptual framework that not only resonates with one's intuition, but also offers specific structural approaches to the decisions made by financial executives. This book is a must for anyone interested in improved strategies for risk management and economic performance.”

— Dr. Darrell Duffie, Dean Witter Distinguished Professor of Finance, The Graduate School of Business, Stanford University

"Tilman has distilled the larger pattern from the seemingly endless reorganizations of financial institutions, some strategic and others quite foolish. Financial Darwinism articulates a framework for understanding and, for financial executives and practitioners, initiating strategic choices."

— Dr. Bennett W. Golub, Vice Chairman, BlackRock, Inc.

Leo Tilman

Advisor to CEOs, Financial Market Strategist, Authority on Risk Management

BIG IDEAS

Financial Darwinism: A New Evolutionary Perspective on Finance
Financial Darwinism, Leo's recently released book, explores the origins and drivers of the ongoing tectonic financial shift, explaining that the 2007-2008 financial crisis is a culmination of these changes. Leo starts with an evolutionary thesis: economic value creation in finance has undergone a fundamental transformation, with active risk-taking becoming a dominant factor in how financial institutions create (and destroy) shareholder value. He then shows how an actionable decision-making framework can help institutions and investors create lasting economic value across complex, uncertain, and evolving environments. Leo argues that institutions need to redesign the business models, redefine their strategic vision, enable their evolution, and position themselves for sustainable value creation.

SNAPSHOT BIO

Called "The Man Who Predicted This Crisis" by CNN International, Leo Tilman is a widely recognized authority on financial markets and risk management. Leo is the President of L.M. Tilman & Co., a strategic advisory firm that serves governments, financial institutions, corporations, and institutional investors worldwide. L.M. Tilman & Co. helps its clients create real and lasting economic value in finance. Prior to founding the firm, Mr. Tilman held senior positions with BlackRock as well as Bear Stearns, where he was Chief Institutional Strategist and Senior Managing Director.

Mr. Tilman teaches finance at Columbia University—his graduate as well as undergraduate alma mater. He is the author of Financial Darwinism: Create Value or Self-Destruct in a World of Risk, co-author of The Risk Paradigm (forthcoming 2009), co-author of Risk Management, and editor of Asset/Liability Management of Financial Institutions.

Mr. Tilman is a contributing editor of The Journal of Risk Finance and a frequent speaker at leading business schools and conferences worldwide. He serves on the advisory board of the Center on Capitalism and Society at Columbia University and on the board of directors of Atlantic Partnership. Mr. Tilman was honored by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader, joining a select group of executives, public figures and intellectuals recognized for “their professional accomplishments, commitment to society and potential to contribute to shaping the future of the world.”

A Closer Look at Leo

FOCUS AREAS
What's on Leo's current research agenda?

Leo is currently researching and advising on:

Financial Reform
Risk-Focused Regulation
Business Models and Strategic Decision-Making of Financial Institutions
Risk Management
Economic Policy and Economic Dynamism
The Future of Capitalism and Globalization

ENGAGEMENTS
How have other organizations utilized Leo's expertise, and what's ahead on his schedule?

Leo has been a strategic advisor to some of the world's largest financial institutions, global corporations, governments, and regulators. In the upcoming months, he will be speaking to the Courant Institute at NYU, the Society of Security Analysis, and Columbia University. Recent events include addresses made to the New American Foundation, International Association of Financial Engineers, Professional Risk Managers International Association, the keynote address at the Kellogg Finance Conference, and the NCUA Risk Summit.

SPHERE OF INFLUENCE
Who shapes Leo's thinking and inspires his work?

Edmund Phelps
Henry Kissinger

RECOMMENDED READING
What's on Leo's must-read list?

Blue Ocean Strategy, Chan Kim & Renée Mauborgne
The Moral Consequences of Economic Growth, Benjamin M. Friedman
Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny, Robert Wright
Building Cross-Cultural Competence: How to Create Wealth from Conflicting Values, Charles M. Hampden-Turner, Fons Trompenaars, David Lewis
The Daily Drucker: 366 Days of Insight and Motivation for Getting the Right Things Done, Peter F. Drucker

OUTREACH
What are Leo's pressing questions, and on which topics does he seek your feedback?