Speaker Bios

Mitra Ardron – Natural Innovation, Founder

Mitra Ardron from Natural Innovation works to support the development of clean technologies (energy, water, waste, materials, food). He is particularly interested in the market gap that means technologies with high social and environmental impact cannot raise financing if, for example, their intellectual property is unprotectable, or if the innovators are marketing to, or located in, developing countries. He has a long, but intermittent, involvement in community currencies, and community networking having written the code for the earliest LETSystem and co-founded GreenNet and the Association for Progressive Communications, and more recently an interest on novel ways to raise finance and resources, for social enterprises.

Bill Barhydt, m-Via, CEO

Bill Barhydt is the CEO of m-Via. Bill is considered by many to be completely insane. That’s fine with him. Bill loves to talk about money and hopes that the world starts looking at money and payment in a completely new way over the coming years. Connected, always on devices mean financial inclusion for the majority of people on our world that have never seen a credit card or even had a bank account but now have a mobile phone. At m-Via, Bill and his team are creating an entirely new category of mobile payments for unbanked consumers in the Americas. Bill has been a pioneer in Internet and Mobile technologies for 20+ years. In 2000 the World Economic Forum recognized Bill as one of the original group of 30 technology pioneers for his work in Internet technologies at WebSentric. Bill worked on some of the earliest Internet/Web payment services projects as Technical Director for Netscape and learned the inner workings of money at Goldman Sachs in their Fixed Income Group. Bill’s other passion is for baseball which unfortunately he isn’t very good at which has relegated him to being a baseball stats freak and mediocre coach. It is Bill’s sincere hope that the financial center of our Universe migrates from Manhattan to Silicon Valley and that the Yankees make the same migration.

David Barrett, Expensify, Founder & CEO

David Barrett is the founder and CEO of Expensify, making the world a better place one expense report at a time. Prior to Expensify David went through the startup grinder several times (most successfully with Red Swoosh, acquired by Akamai in April 2007), bouncing between technical and management roles. David is perhaps best known for his high-profile termination from his previous employer, which not only earned him his own dedicated TechCrunch story, but was the subject of an MIT ethics debate regarding the boundaries between personal and professional communications. David is an avid tea drinker and world traveler, is engaged to an opera singer, and has the cutest beagle puppy known to man.

John Bates, Mindark / Entropria Universe, MMO Evangelist

At MindArk, John Bates represents Entropia Universe, the first virtual universe with a real cash economy, and is responsible for business development, strategic marketing & PR initiatives throughout North America. An Internet pioneer since 1987, Bates is an owner of Goldstar.com, the world´s leading direct marketer of live entertainment. John co-founded bigwords.com, a leading youth marketer and textbook seller. John consults companies on sales, marketing, brand advocacy, as well as Internet strategy & public relations. Bates has guided the explosive growth of companies from zero to millions in revenues and has experience in virtual worlds dating back to 1994. John is a highly sought after speaker and has garnered excellent ratings at diverse venues like SXSW, Harvard´s Cyberposium, WebAttack, Jupiter Online Developers Conferences, Vanderbilt School of Business Distinguished Speakers Series, St. Gallen School of Business World Leaders Symposium, VeerStichting Symposium, Virtual Worlds, Virtual Goods Summit and more. John brings passion, enthusiasm and long experience in virtual worlds.

Amy Benziger – Social Capital Markets, Co-Producer

Amy Benziger is the Co-Producer for SOCAP10, focusing on content development and conference framework. The SOCAP conference series is produced by Social Capital Media, an integrated media company dedicated to forming partnerships, producing events and incubating ideas around the creation of a social capital marketplace. Amy also serves as the Events Manager of the Hub, a diverse local and global community dedicated to building solutions for social, economic and environmental sustainability launching in the Bay Area. Prior to coming onboard with SOCAP Media, she was the youngest sales specialist for Diageo North America, managing San Francisco and the greater Bay Area. Amy is a graduate of Dartmouth College with a B.A. in History with an emphasis on social activism. A lifelong traveler, she has lived and worked in Mexico, Spain, Argentina and Thailand.

Pelle Braendgaard, OpenTransact, Co-Creator

Pelle Braendgaard is a Miami based cofounder of Agree2 a site for negotiating and signing agreements. He has been involved with payment and financial technologies for over a decade. Pelle is currently one of the main evangelists for OpenTransact which aims to create a common open standard for payments and other financial transactions. Previously he was CTO for VeraxPay in Panama and has consulted for investment banks in Europe as well as internet startups throughout the US.

Gary Briggs – Plastic Jungle, CEO

Gary joined the Board of Plastic Jungle in May 2008 and was appointed CEO in November 2008. Prior to Plastic Jungle, Gary served as Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at eBay. He was responsible for eBay’s branding and marketing activities in North America, including advertising, internet marketing, direct marketing, onsite merchandising, partner relationships, and core category initiatives. In his six-year career at eBay, Gary held other positions including VP of Consumer Marketing for eBay U.S., VP of Global Marketing for PayPal, and General Manager for eBay Canada. Prior to eBay, Gary was a founder of OurHouse, Inc., an e-commerce company partnered with Ace Hardware. Before this venture, he was Director of Worldwide Brand Strategy for IBM Corporation where he was responsible for the Company’s brand positioning and cross-corporate marketing integration. While at IBM, he co-authored the marketing strategy for the company’s “e-business” campaign. Before joining IBM, Gary worked for six years at Pepsi-Cola, most recently as Marketing Director responsible for brand strategy, advertising and sports marketing for the Pepsi brand. In addition, while at Pepsi he developed a joint venture with the Starbucks Coffee Company and Pepsi’s bottled water product, Aquafina. Prior to Pepsi, Gary worked for four years at McKinsey and Company as an associate and engagement manager. Gary also serves on the Board of Ice.com. He graduated in 1984 from Brown University with a B.A. in Political Science and American Civilization. In 1989, he received his M.B.A. from J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University.

Greg Brogger, SharesPost, Founder/CEO

Greg Brogger is a serial entrepreneur and the founder and Chief Executive Officer of SharesPost, Inc. SharesPost was built to bring the benefits of a modern communications platform to the private equity industry and liquidity to its participants. The SharesPost community of private equity buyers and sellers numbers more than seven thousand members and represents more than $40 billion in managed capital. Prior to SharesPost, Greg founded BrightHouse, Inc., a Santa Monica based incubator and investment vehicle for early stage companies. Previously, Greg co-founded Zag.com, Inc. a next generation online auto buying platform as well as CarsDirect.com (now called Internet Brands – Nasdaq: INET). Prior to that, Greg was Idealab’s VP of Business Development. Greg began his career advising early stage technology companies as an associate at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. Greg received his B.A. from U.C., Berkeley, his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania and his MBA from The Wharton School.

Cathy Brooks, Other than That, Founder and Raconteur

What began for Cathy as a career telling other people’s stories has evolved into a journey of helping others to tell their own stories for themselves. A “classically trained” Journalist, Cathy’s passion for communications began with her first job ripping wire copy and has evolved to encompass nearly every platform and aspect of media – from reporting and editing to management, talent casting and guest booking. Cathy also has curated content for several leading technology industry conferences. After engaging as an activist for LGBT equal rights, Cathy began to explore the influence of personal stories in people’s professional lives. Through her San Francisco based consulting firm, Cathy now helps companies and individuals navigate new technologies with the purpose of leveraging these platforms to tell stories. Through workshops and consulting services, Cathy walks clients through the story-telling process and towards the deep engagement that comes from authentic communication. Every week Cathy brings these discussions to life on Social Media Hour, a live talk show on which industry leaders and average folks share their experiences and stories. The program, for which Cathy is Executive Producer and Host, puts technology in human terms, and lets the audience interact via text chat and phone.

Bruce Cahan – GoodBank, Founder

Bruce Cahan is an Ashoka Fellow,  a nonresidential fellow of Stanford’s Center for Intenet & Society, a social entrepreneur, corporate finance lawyer, merchant banker, government technologist, geospatial visionary, Google Tech Talk speaker and 9/11 emergency responder. Bruce is creating a high transparency bank, known now as the GoodBank™(IO) project.  Through the bank, regional quality of life measures will reward credit and savings customers, favoring sustainable choices.  The bank will invest in livable cities and their environmental, public health and other social sector programs, and their nonprofit and social entrepreneur partners. (For more on GoodBank, seehttp://bit.ly/CahanFRBSF)

Wences Casares – Bling Nation, Founder, Co-Chief Executive Officer and Director

Wences is responsible for overseeing the long-term direction and growth of Bling Nation. In addition to his role at Bling Nation, he is a founding partner of MECK, Ltd., a private investment firm based in Santiago, Chile. As a global entrepreneur specializing in the technology and financial markets, Wences was instrumental in several business developments before founding Bling Nation. In 1994, he launched and later sold Argentina’s first Internet Service Provider, Internet Argentina S.A. He later founded Patagon, an online brokerage and Latin America’s first comprehensive Internet financial services portal. Wences served as the Chairman and CEO of Patagon, overseeing the expansion of its online banking services to the United States, Spain and Germany and its sale to Banco Santander (NYSE: STD). In 2002, Wences and his partners at MECK founded Banco Lemon, a Brazilian retail bank serving the underbanked population, which they have helped grow into the largest microfinance institution in Brazil. Wences also founded New York City-based video game developer Wanako Games, which was later acquired by Vivendi Universal (Euronext: VIV). He is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization and an elected member of the World Economic Forum’s “Global Leaders of Tomorrow” Class of 2001. He was also selected as an Endeavor Entrepreneur by Endeavor, an organization that identifies and supports emerging entrepreneurs, and serves as a board member for the organization. Wences also previously served on the board of Viva Trust, an organization that supports sustainable development in Latin America, and also founded Fundacion Sintesis, a non-profit foundation based in Chile. He studied business administration at the Universidad de San Andrés in Buenos Aires, Argentina and completed the Owner/President Management program at Harvard University.

Gurbaksh Chahal, Founder & CEO, gWallet

Gurbaksh is a die-hard internet entrepreneur. In January 1999, he started his first company, ClickAgents at the age of 16. It was one of the first ad networks focused around performance-based advertising. Eighteen months later he sold it for $40 million to ValueClick. In 2004, he launched his second company, BlueLithium. The company was focused on data, optimization, and analytics and became a pioneer of behavioral targeting. BlueLithium was named one of the top 100 private companies in America three years in a row by AlwaysOn, and in 2006, it received highest honor as Top Innovator of the Year. On September 4th, 2007, Yahoo! announced that it was acquiring BlueLithium for $300 million in cash. He has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Bonnie Hunt, EXTRA, Neil Cavuto, among others, and has been profiled in such publications as The New York Times, Entrepreneur magazine, and The San Francisco Chronicle. In September 2009, Chahal launched gWallet, a virtual currency platform that monetizes online communities, games and content. The company was first to market with bringing alternative payment formats – like videos and movie trailers – and leading brands – like Coke and Volvo – into the virtual currency ecosystem.

Eric Chan, Embee Mobile, COO

Eric is the COO at Embee Mobile, an e-commerce provider of prepaid mobile on social networks. He has spend over a decade in mobile building technology, products and services to benefit mobile operators, handset manufacturers, ISVs, and content providers. Prior to Embee Mobile, he founded Caboodle Networks, a company focused on mobile search, which he eventually sold to Mobile Content Networks in 2007. He has held Technology Marketing and Business Development roles at Inktomi, Keynote Systems, Pixo, Sun Microsystems and Wells Fargo Bank. In addition, Eric is also an Adjunct Professor in the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University. He can be found online on twitter: @mobileslate, his blog: Mobileslate, and podcast, Mobile Presence, He holds a Masters in Software Engineering and a Bachelors in Business Administration, both from Carnegie Mellon University.

Jeff Clavier – SoftTech VC, Founder/Managing Partner

Based in Palo Alto, California, Jean-Francois “Jeff” Clavier is the Founder and Managing Partner of SoftTech VC, one of the most active seed stage investors in Web 2.0 startups. Since 2004, Jeff has invested in more than 70 consumer Internet companies in areas like social media, communities, search, gaming or consumer infrastructure, almost exclusively in Silicon Valley. With over 20 years of operational, entrepreneurial and venture capital experience, Jeff is able to add relevant perspective and value to his companies as they grow from inception to maturity, and hopefully, success. In 2007, Jeff was recognized as one of the 13 “Web 2.0 King Makers” by (late) Business 2.0, and in 2008, BusinessWeek named him one of “The 25 Most Influential People on the Web”. He is often noted for his investments in categories such as “passion-centric communities” or online gaming, or for having sold a number of his Web 2.0 startups to the likes of Yahoo, AOL, Intuit or more recently Twitter.

Kurt Collins, enole, Co-Founder & CEO

Kurt Collins has been working with entrepreneurs and technology since his tenure at MIT in the late 90’s. After working as an engineer at companies such as Silicon Graphics, Razorfish and CNET Networks (for the Games and Entertainment division), he joined the business development team that helped Photobucket double their user base in preparation for an acquisition by Fox Interactive Media. Later, Kurt joined Clearspring to help grow their developer program and then followed that up to work as VP of Business Development at Ustrive2 (an e-commerce start-up company based out of Phoenix, Arizona). Currently, he’s the Co-Founder and CEO of enole, an identity company focused on making your identity as mobile as you are.

Charles Eisenstein, “The Ascent of Humanity”, Author

Charles Eisenstein is the Author of The Ascent of Humanity and the upcoming Sacred Economics, and two influential essays on money: “Money and the Crisis of Civilization” and “Money and the Turning of the Age.” A faculty member of Goddard College, he speaks and writes about civilization, economics, and the evolution of human consciousness.

Hill Ferguson, Zong, Vice President Product Management & Marketing

Hill is responsible for product strategy and marketing at Zong.  A payments veteran, Hill spent the last decade developing and managing new payment services in Silicon Valley.  As General Manager for Yodlee’s Personal Finance Products, Hill led the development and distribution efforts for several new and innovative payments products currently being used by top banks and web portals.  At Yahoo! Hill produced and managed several consumer products, including a consumer bill payment product and a peer-to-peer payment service.  In his spare time he manages LoanBack, a “friends and family” loan management service he co-founded in 2005.  Hill earned a BS and an MBA, both from Vanderbilt University.

Betsy Flanagan, Wells Fargo Bank, Online Sales and Marketing Strategy

Betsy Flanagan manages Online Sales and Marketing for the Education Financial Services Group at Wells Fargo Bank. Previous positions at Wells Fargo include investor relations and Internet strategy. Outside of Wells Fargo, Betsy founded StartupStudio.com, a podcast featuring her interviews with some of the world’s most innovative entrepreneurs, including the founders of Southwest Airlines, Coinstar, Ariba and ZipRealty, among others. Startup Studio has been distributed via AllBusiness.com, the University of Virginia’s Darden Graduate School of Business, and San Jose Mercury News’ podcast Inside Silicon Valley. Prior to joining Wells Fargo, Betsy was a wealth manager at DLJ (now CSFB), where she advised company founders who had recently sold or taken their companies public. Betsy also founded and sold Georgetown Tutors (now Georgetown Learning Centers, www.learnglc.com), a college prep tutoring center. Betsy has an MBA from the University of Virginia’s Darden Graduate School of Business and an AB in anthropology, cum laude, from Harvard College.

Sean Foote -UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, Faculty

Mr. Foote has been a venture capitalist investing in early stage companies since 1998, including cleantech companies Solaicx and Integrated Photovoltaics, SaaS company Green Border (sold to Google), and materials companies Eoplex Technologies and Integrated Materials, Inc. Previously, Mr. Foote was a management consultant with Boston Consulting Group and a systems engineer for AT&T Bell Laboratories. He is philanthropically interested in microfinance, serving as board member of Silicon Valley Microfinance Network and a Trustee of Freedom From Hunger, as well as education, as co-founder of Community Promise (“You graduate high school, we’ll pay your California college tuition”). He is Chairman of the Development Council of Entrepreneurs Foundation, a non-profit organization that engages high growth companies in corporate citizenship and philanthropic efforts, and sits on the Advisory Board of Silicon Valley Bank’s Private Client Services. Mr. Foote is on the Professional Faculty of the University of California-Berkeley’s Haas School of Business where he teaches two courses: Venture Capital & Private Equity, one of the most highly sought classes at the school, and Microfinance, which is simulcast to over 30 college campuses around the world, including 13 of the top 20 U.S. MBA programs.
Mr. Foote received his undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Missouri Rolla (1988), and his MBA from the University of Virginia’s Darden Graduate School of Business (1993), where he received the Shermett Award granted to the top 3% of students. He is a middling singer/songwriter (www.myspace.com/seanfoote) and an avid triathlete and sailor.

Rob Garcia, Lending Club, Sr Director, Product Strategy

Rob has been creating innovative ecommerce and web based products for more than 10 years, delivering outstanding web experiences for his clients. He is currently the Senior Director of Product Strategy at LendingClub.com, responsible for the overall product roadmap and experience. Under his leadership, Lending Club’s website has become a rapidly growing online financial community, winning numerous prizes such as the Webby Award as best Banking site, the W3 Silver Award as outstanding Financial Services website, two WebAwards for outstanding website in the Financial Services and Investment categories, and the Interactive Media Award as Best-in-Class Banking website. Rob has quickly become a leading voice in the peer-to-peer lending, microfinance, and emerging finance 2.0 space, blogging, tweeting, and speaking passionately about the exciting new products and technologies available. Rob holds a Computer Science degree and an M.B.A. in Entrepreneurship from Babson College.

Saul Garlick, ThinkImpact, Founder & Executive Director

Saul Garlick is the founder and executive director of ThinkImpact, an international non-profit organization that connects American students to rural villages in Africa to alleviate poverty through a sustained commitment to social innovation, leadership and entrepreneurship. Saul served as managing editor of the SAIS Review, as founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Hopkins Donkey and has worked as acting desk officer for Angola in the Bureau of African Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. He is a contributor to The Huffington Post, Social Edge and Carnegie Council’s online magazine, Policy Innovations.

Menekse Gencer, mPay Connect, Founder

Menekse Gencer founded mPay Connect, a consulting service for clients seeking to launch mobile payments. Her consulting service advises banks, mobile network operators, and third parties on go-to-market-strategy, product design, and business development. Her market expertise extends from North America to emerging markets such as Bangladesh and sub-Saharan Africa. Prior to founding mPay Connect, Menekse led PayPal Mobile’s Business Development efforts in North America for two years during which time she closed PayPal’s first mobile network operator deal to launch PayPal Send Money on Sprint. Menekse has an MBA from Wharton and a BA in Macroeconomics from Harvard University and was previously featured on the cover of Fortune Small Business Magazine for her innovative startup in emerging technology. She is the founder of the Mobile Payments Series(TM) initiative which hosts panel discussions and networking events for professionals in the mobile money industry and has over 375 members in her LinkedIn Group: Mobile Payments Series – mPay Connect.  She is a recognized expert in this field and has lectured on mobile money at events for Harvard Business School, Wharton MBA, and Columbia Business School.  She will participate in the World Economic Forum in Africa around Mobile Finance and Economic Development and is a frequent guest speaker at mobile money conferences globally.  Menekse is a board advisor to several startups in this space and has advised angel investors, venture capitalists, and hedge funds on the mobile money industry.  She has 17 years of experience as a consultant and industry leader in high tech, mobile, and financial services.

Ryan Gilbert – Venrock, Entrepreneur-in-Residence / BillFloat, CEO

Ryan Gilbert is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Venrock, and is CEO of BillFloat, an early stage payments company backed PayPal and Venrock.  Ryan was previously Vice President of MoneyGram International’s PropertyBridge division, following MoneyGram’s acquisition of PropertyBridge in October 2007. Ryan was PropertyBridge’s CEO and co-founder.  He is an active investor and advisor to innovative early stage payments companies including Eventbrite and Square. Ryan is a member of the State Bar of California, and is also admitted to practice law in the United Kingdom and South Africa. He earned his Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.

Guy Goldstein, Pageonce, CEO

Guy brings over 16 years of experience in all aspects of technology, product development, management and strategy. Prior to Pageonce, Guy served in an executive position of Corporate Development at HP software, responsible for mergers, acquisitions and strategy. Before that, Guy spent 9 years in various R&D executive roles at Mercury Interactive.  Guy holds a bachelor’s degree in Business and computer science, cum laude, from the Tel-Aviv University. Guy served in the Israeli Air Force as a major and fighter pilot.

Mark Goldstein, Home Account, Founder / CEO

Mark is a seven-time entrepreneur and CEO of Home Account Inc. the firm behind www.refinance.com,www.home-account.com and www.mortgagegrade.com mortgage matching systems. Mark is also Chairman of Loyalty Lab, a marketing systems provider to banks and brands. Formally he was CEO of Bluelight.com, now a part of Sears and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania where he attended the Wharton School.

Alex Gordon-Brander, Global Energy Bank, President and Founder

Vikas Gupta, Jambool, Founder/CEO

Vikas Gupta co-founded Jambool in 2006 with current CTO Reza Hussein. The company launched several popular Facebook applications in addition to the company’s flagship product, Social Gold™, an industry-leading virtual economy platform for online games, applications and virtual worlds. Social Gold enables developers to create and manage their own white-labeled virtual currency, provide an unparalleled payments experience to their users, and optimize their virtual economy using robust analytics. As CEO, Vikas Gupta provides expertise in managing virtual economies and leads the management team with a focus on product vision and development. Prior to co-founding Jambool, Inc., Vikas spent 7 years at Amazon.com where he led the Payments group and Web services products – building one of the busiest transaction processing systems in the world. Vikas was also the lead inventor for Amazon.com’s Flexible Payments Service product. In 2004, Vikas co-founded Amazon.com’s India office in Bangalore, and oversaw the engineering teams. Vikas holds a Bachelor of Technology in Computer Science and Engineering from IIT Kanpur and a Master of Science in Computer Science from Georgia Tech.

Sean Harper, TransFS, CEO

Sean is the co-founder and CEO of TransFS (Transparent Financial Services) – a comparison shopping website for business financial services. Prior to starting TransFS, Sean worked as a venture capitalist at Longworth Venture Partners and William Blair Capital Partners and as a consultant at the Boston Consulting Group. Sean holds an A.B. in economics from the University of Chicago, where he also studied computer science and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Christine Herron, First Round Capital, Principal

Christine Herron is a Principal with First Round Capital, an early-stage venture capital firm. Previously, Christine was a director at Omidyar Network, where she developed the Media practice strategy and drove $15 million in early- stage placements. Prior to joining Omidyar Network in 2005, Christine was the VP of Marketing for Mission Research, which develops small business CRM solutions. While there, she led marketing from initial business plan authoring through paying customer and distribution partner acquisition. Earlier, Christine was the founder and CEO of Mercury2, a software-as-a-service developer of international trade logistics systems. She also managed developer tools at NetObjects, and played for the Internet Server Team at Microsoft. Christine started as an investor with Geocapital Partners, where she focused on early Internet infrastructure and network management software. Her investments there included Netcom Online Communications, AXON Networks, D-Vision Systems, ViaGrafix, and FocusVision. In each case, Geocapital was the initial professional investor and helped to bring the company to a dominant market position. She currently serves on the advisory boards for Mission Research, Rebel Unit, Transpond, TypePad, and Web 2.0 Expo. Christine has previously served on the Nonprofit Technology Conference (N-TEN) advisory board and Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet Board of Directors, and co-managed STIRR Pitch Lab. She has spoken at numerous industry events including AlwaysOn, DEMO, FOO Camp, mesh, MIT/Stanford Venture Lab, NetSquared, SVASE, TechCoire, Web 2.0 Expo, and Web 2.0 Summit. Christine earned her MBA at Stanford University, and her BA in English at Columbia University, Columbia College.

Laura Hertzfeld, EconomyStory.org (Public Radio Exchange), Managing Editor

Laura Hertzfeld is a writer, editor, and producer who’s an expert in helping organizations like PBS and NPR develop their web strategies and organize content for a wide range of audiences. She is currently working with the Public Radio Exchange (PRX) as Managing Editor of EconomyStory.org, a public media project about how communities around the U.S. are coping in the economic crisis. She is also a contributor to NPR’s Morning Edition. Laura spent 2008 covering the presidential election for PBS and managing their election project, PBS Vote 2008. Prior to moving into public media, Laura was a senior editor at Yahoo! News. At Yahoo!, she managed a team of six editors and planned coverage of major news events, including the 2006 midterm elections and the five-year anniversary of 9/11. As a reporter, Laura covered oil and gas markets for Platts, a McGraw-Hill portfolio of energy business media. She has also written on a variety of lifestyle topics for publications and websites including PopTech, Los Angeles Magazine and Premiere, and served as a mentor at the AFI Digital Content Lab. She holds a degree in history from Barnard College, Columbia University. Laura can be found on Twitter (@laurahertzfeld) and writing about cool news items on her personal blog,  News Junkie & Vagabond.

Arno Hesse, Bernal Bucks, Co-creator

Arno Hesse is a co-creator of Bernal Bucks, a working pilot for community money in San Francisco. Until 2009, he was Executive Vice President for Retail Products and Marketing at Union Bank. As Principal of ActEdge, Arno engages with organizations on changing their culture for strategy execution. He has worked on strategy and customer engagement initiatives with technology ventures and financial institutions like Wells Fargo, Commerzbank, Fireman’s Fund, Wachovia. Arno is a founding member of the Slow Money Alliance.

Chris Heuer, Social Media Club, Founder

Chris Heuer launched his first interactive agency, Guru Communications, out of South Beach, Florida in 1994. He has since helped numerous startups with go-to market strategies, product design, web site development, online marketing campaigns, ecommerce and what is now widely referred to as Social Media. Chris formed Social Media Club in March, 2006 to educate professionals on the greater significance of what it means to be social and how media production/consumption has changed. To this end, Social Media Club has local groups around the world promoting media literacy, encouraging the sharing of lessons learned, promoting industry standards and discussing questions of ethics. More recently, Chris launched a new kind of ad-hoc consultancy appropriately called AdHocnium.  Together with a senior team of “Creative Catalysts” from around the world, AdhHocnium developes innovative growth strategies for global client that leverages emerging technology and social media.

Celia Hirschman, KCRW “On the Beat”

Celia Hirschman is the host of KCRW’s “On the Beat”.  Each week, industry veteran Celia Hirschman considers the changes and trends happening in the music business. An independent consultant for the music business, she founded the marketing consulting company Downtown Marketing and also runs the UK-based record label One Little Indian in North America. She works with artists such as Bjork, The Twilight Singers, Lloyd Cole, Daniel Agust, Polly Paulusma, and many others, and has served in senior management at Palm Pictures, Mercury Records and A&M Records.

Damon Hougland – PayPal, Senior Director – Product Development – PayPal Platform

Damon Hougland is a geek. He is the Senior Director of the PayPal Platform. This means he leads the Product Development teams focused on creating PayPal’s API service suites. He is also co-author of three books on Java and wireless technologies. He has a passion for all technologies that are viral and disruptive. More than anything he wants to make developers on the PayPal Platform successful beyond their wildest dreams.

Tara Hunt – “The Whuffie Factor”, Author / Shwowp, Co-Founder

Tara ‘missrogue’ Hunt, named as one of the most influential women in technology by Fast Company Magazine, has spent >15 years living her life online. Tara understands how the participatory web is changing all of our relationships: B2C, B2B and C2C. She doesn’t believe in pushing messages or creating strong brands, only in the power of building relationships. Tara wrote the book The Whuffie Factor is working on her second book, Happiness as Your Business Model, speaks all over the world on the subject of online marketing and business strategy and is the co-founder and CEO of Shwowp, a startup launching in 2010.

Jessica Jackley, Kiva, Co-Founder

Jessica Jackley is co-founder of Kiva.org, the world’s first peer-to-peer online micro-lending website. Kiva.org allows internet users to lend as little as $25 to entrepreneurs in the developing world, providing affordable capital to start or expand a small business. In just three years Kiva has helped raise over $61 million and connected thousands of people across 120 countries. A graduate of the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Jackley’s work has been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show and the Today Show. She brings a fresh perspective on the personal nature of giving and how new generation leaders can innovate through technology. Prior to founding Kiva, Jessica worked for the Stanford Center for Social Innovation, Village Enterprise Fund, Amazon.com, Potentia Media, the International Foundation, World Vision, and others. Jessica speaks widely on microfinance and social entrepreneurship and has been featured in a wide array of media and press including Oprah, the Today Show, CNN, BBC, NBC, ABC, PBS, NPR, the WSJ, NYTimes, the Economist, and more. In addition to her speaking engagements in the U.S. and internationally, Jessica serves as a director on several boards related to micro-enterprise development, including Opportunity International.

Travis Kalanick, Angel Investor

Travis Kalanick is a successful entrepreneur in the areas of consumer Internet, p2p, and enterprise content delivery. His most recent company, Red Swoosh, was sold for $19M to Akamai Technologies in April 2007 after receiving $1.7M in funding from August Capital, Mark Cuban, and Crosslink Capital. Prior companies include Scour, the world’s first p2p search engine where Kalanick also attained the dubious distinction of having been sued for $250 billion. Today Kalanick invests in and advises kick-ass startups founded by truly awesome entrepreneurs – while he recharges before his next gig.

Andy Kleitsch – Billing Revolution, CEO Founder

Andy is a serial entrepreneur bringing a deep background in mobile operator billing technology and mobile data product management. Prior to founding Billing Revolution Andy was the Sr. Manager of the AT&T Wireless mMode portal. Before entering mobile, Andy was the founder of WeddingChannel.com (a leading wedding planning web destination) which was later sold to the Knot for $80+MM. Andy resides in Seattle Washington and enjoys windsurfing when he is not spending time with his wife and two children.

Andrew Kortina, Venmo, Co-Founder

Andrew founded Venmo with Iqram Magdon-Ismail, where he works on product development and customer support. Prior to Venmo, Kortina worked with Betaworks to help build Bit.ly, a tool for shortening and sharing links. Previously, he worked at OMGPOP, and Carrot Creative. He has consulted on social media strategy for brands such as MLB, Colbert Report, NBC, and The Onion. Kortina holds degrees in Philosophy and English from the University of Pennsylvania. For fun, Kortina crossfits and explores the lovely NYC.

Micki Krimmel, Founder & CEO, NeighborGoods.net

Micki Krimmel (aka Mickipedia) is the founder of NeighborGoods.net, a community where you can save and earn money by sharing stuff with your friends. Previously, Micki ran the community department at Revver.com and led the interactive efforts for Participant Media where she managed the social media campaign for Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth. Micki can often be found speaking and writing about online community development and playing roller derby with the LA Derby Dolls.

Guillaume Lebleu – Banking Technologist

Guillaume (@giyom) has been a banking technologist for the past 8 years. He was a co-founder of Brixlogic, an XML middleware company, then a senior architect at Diebold, which acquired Brixlogic in early 2007. He has been an advocate of open specifications in the banking industry for many years and has contributed to banking specifications such as IFX. In his spare time, he writes at http://lebleu.org on how technology is changing money and he contributes to local currency initiatives.

David Levy – Generocity Partners, Inc., Chairman

Generocity Partners Inc is a social venture holding company that owns majority interests in a variety of integrated platform assets: Generocity Media Partners Inc, parent company of MediaOne Services– Northern California’s largest independent broadcast company and Mayacamas Ranch, A Generocity Resort in Calistoga, CA that serves as the Bay Areas premier destination for wellness, corporate and philanthropic workshops and retreats. CEO Stephen Seligman leads the day to day operations and was the former CEO and owner of the hightly successful Learning Annex.

Chris Lindstrom, Co-Founder, Social Labs

Chris Lindstrom is a Co-Founder of Social Labs. Chris worked for the Schumacher Society from 2003 to 2008. He organized the Society’s June 2004 conference “Local Currencies in the Twenty-First Century: Understanding Money, Building Local Economies, Renewing Community.” The conference brought together 300 local currency theorists and activists from 17 countries in a seminal gathering. Chris is a founding board member of BerkShares, a local currency for the Southern Berkshire region. He is also a co-founder and member of the Fund for Complementary Currencies and a founding member of the Slow Money Alliance. In 2008 he helped organize the “Economics of Peace Conference” along with RSF Social Finance and the Praxis Peace Institute. He is also a passionate networker and bridge builder.

Dave McClure, Founders Fund, Startup Investor

Dave McClure has been geeking out in Silicon Valley for over twenty years as a software developer, entrepreneur, startup advisor, angel investor, blogger, and internet marketing nerd. Dave currently runs FF Angel, a seed-stage investment program for Founders Fund, and also manages the fbFund REV incubator program on behalf of Facebook, Accel Partners, and Founders Fund. Dave’s passion is helping startups with marketing, product strategy, and startup metrics, and he is an advisor or investor for over 30 companies including: Canopy Financial, CreditKarma, KissMetrics, Mashery, Mint, RichRelevance, Simply Hired, SlideShare, TeachStreet, and Twilio.

Karl Mehta, PlaySpan, Founder & CEO

Karl Mehta is Founder & CEO of PlaySpan Inc, an Inc 500 fastest growing company and a leader in monetization platform for online games, social networks and new media. Karl brings over 18 years of experience to PlaySpan in founding, building and funding technology start-ups in the US and International markets. Prior to founding PlaySpan, Karl was founding team at MobileAria Inc. (acquired by Wireless Matrix) based in Mountain View and co-founder/ CEO of OmniLabs Inc., based in Singapore and India. Prior to that, he held executive positions at Hughes leading new business and technology development. Karl was selected “Entreprenuer of Year” 2009 finalist by E&Y for Northern California and is a Charter member of TiE-Silicon Valley and board member of Ecosystem Ventures.

Jack Moffitt, Collecta, CTO,

Jack Moffitt is a hacker and entrepreneur based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He has founded several startups built on XMPP technology including Collecta, a real-time search engine for the Web, and Chesspark, a real-time, multi-user gaming platform. Previously he created the Icecast Streaming Media Server, spent a lot of time developing and managing the Ogg Vorbis project, and helping create and run the Xiph.org Foundation. All these efforts exist to create a common, royalty free, and open standard for multimedia on the Internet. He is passionate about Free Software and Open Source, technology, music, and photography.

Jolie O’Dell, Mashable, Social Media & Tech Reporter

Jolie O’Dell is Mashable‘s Social Media and Tech Reporter. In the past, O’Dell has worked for ReadWriteWeb, on newspapers, on magazines, for book publishers, for serial entrepreneurs, on startup teams, at advertising and marketing agencies, and for enterprise blogs and websites. O’Dell has a B.A. in Media Studies from Shenandoah University.

Ben Parr, Mashable, Co-editor

Ben Parr is a respected tech journalist, web entrepreneur, sci-fi author, and aspiring world changer. He is currently Co-Editor at Mashable, the world’s leading online publication on social media and web technology. He’s appeared in media such as CNN, the BBC, and The New York Times. In addition, he is working on a new, currently unannounced startup and recently completed his first sci-fi novel, Desel. In the past, he worked on Facebook applications and in the web health space.

Aaron Patzer, Mint.com, Founder / Intuit Personal Finance Group, VP and General Manager

Aaron Patzer is the VP and General Manager of Intuit‘s Personal Finance Group, managing the Mint and Quicken Desktop brands. He is also both the visionary and technical mind behind Mint.com, acquired by Intuit in fall 2009. Aaron designed Mint to meet the needs of people who value the immediacy of the web, simplicity and their free time. Prior to founding Mint, Aaron was an architect and technical lead for the San Jose division of Nascentric. Before Nascentric, Aaron worked for IBM and founded two web development and online marketing companies: PWeb and International. Aaron holds an MSEE from Princeton University and a BS in computer science, computer engineering, and electrical engineering from Duke University. He has 10 patents filed or pending. Aaron’s innovation leadership has been recognized by national and international organizations. CNNMoney identified him as one of six Money Heroes in the US in 2008 and a Top 40 under 40 entrepreneur in 2009, and Inc. magazine included him in a list of the Top 30 US Entrepreneurs under 30. He was named one of just 34 worldwide Tech Pioneers by the World Economic Forum of Davos, Switzerland in 2008.

Peter Pham, BillShrink, CEO

As CEO of BillShrink, Peter drives company expansion and is an advocate for customer rights and transparency among service providers. He was previously vice president of business development at Photobucket.com, where he was the fifth employee and was responsible for driving user acquisition, strategic partnerships and corporate development. Photobucket was acquired in 2007 by Fox Interactive Media, a division of News Corporation. When Peter left in 2008, Photobucket had grown to more than 61M users, making it the #1 photo sharing site and the 38th most visited site in the U.S. Prior to Photobucket, Peter was in the enterprise space for more than 8 years working in sales, marketing, reseller channel development, product and strategy for multiple startups in the fields of mid-range server computing, software as a service, solid state storage and mobilization of enterprise software. Peter holds a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences and a minor in business management from the University of California, Irvine.

Pooj Preena, Hi-media USA, CEO

Pooj Preena is the CEO of Hi-media USA and runs the Payments Business Unit out of the company’s San Francisco office. Through its product offering Allopass, Hi-media Payments is a leading provider of micropayment solutions worldwide and has been in business for more than eight years. Its parent company, Paris-based Hi-media Group, also operates a leading display ad network and content publishing business and now employs more than 500 employees worldwide in 12 countries. Most recently, Pooj was at Jangl, where as a member of the management team, he drove a number of partnership and distribution efforts. He came to Jangl from Skype, where as the first US employee he developed and executed key partnerships that comprised the Skype hardware partner ecosystem and contributed significantly to the company’s value at acquisition by eBay in 2005 for over $2 billion. Pooj has invested in or consulted for prominent technology ventures including Betaworks, OMGPOP (formerly iminlikewithyou) and Hewlett-Packard. As a strategy consultant at Scient Corporation, he advised a broad spectrum of start-ups and Fortune 100 companies on using the internet for competitive advantage. He sits on the board of advisors of several technology start-ups worldwide.

Bhavani Rana, Intel Capital, Director

Bhavani joint Intel Capital in 2000 in India. Prior to joining Intel Capital, he worked with ASG-Omni, an early stage incubation firm focused on technology investments in India. During this time, he worked with early stage companies and worked on the incubation of Tejas Networks, a leading optical networking company in India. Prior to that, he worked with Arthur Andersen advising clients in the telecom and power sectors in India. At Intel, Bhavani’s focus areas are mobile investments, specifically mobile commerce, mobile marketing, digital media and security. His investments include Clickandbuy (acquired by Deutsche Telecom), Speakeasy (acquired by Bestbuy), Airmagnet (acquired by Fluke Networks), Deccanet Designs (acquired by Flextronics), Nipuna (acquired by Satyam) and Clearwire (NASD:CLWR). Bhavani is a BoD observer and is responsible for Intel Capital’s investments in Mformation Technologies, PGP Corporation, Singlepoint and Crisp Wireless. Bhavani has an undergraduate degree in from Sydenham College, University of Bombay and is a Chartered Accountant.

Kevin Reeth, Outright.com, CEO and Co-Founder

Kevin Reeth is the CEO and Co-Founder of Outright.com. Kevin has spent more than 15 years bringing software applications and services for Intuit, Yahoo! and eGroups. With Intuit, Kevin launched numerous small business products, including versions of Quicken, rental property software, and the JumpUp community for entrepreneurs.

Erich Ringewald, BOKU, Chief Technology Officer

Erich is a 24-year technology veteran whose development efforts have powered millions of consumer and payment experiences on the web. Prior to BOKU, Erich architected and led several areas of development for Amazon, most recently creating the AmazonMP3 store. Erich originally joined Amazon after co-founding Accept.com, the person-to-person payment infrastructure that was acquired by the e-commerce leader in 1999, and is still used by millions today. In the 1980s Erich held a number of senior engineering management positions at Apple Computer, where he is perhaps best known for bringing multitasking operating systems to the Macintosh family of computers. And in 1990 he co-founded the legendary PC operating system company Be, Inc. with another Apple refugee, Jean-Louis Gassée.

Dan Robles – The Ingenesist Project, Director

Dan Robles is the Director of The Ingenesist Project, a private think tank in Seattle. TIP serves to predict and specify the framework for a new economic paradigm with the controversial thesis for an Innovation Economy built on a platform of social media where knowledge assets are tangible outside the construct of Wall Street. Dan is recognized internationally for his early participation in the NAFTA negotiations for the international recognition of engineering professionals – the first modern attempt to treat knowledge assets like a financial instrument. Dan is also a creative and prolific blogger to several top social media communities. His noteworthy experience in aerospace and aviation as well as the Hollywood entertainment industry in special effects, artistic direction, and musical performance add a refreshing twist to his perception and articulation of complex associations among seemingly disparate values.  His clients arise from aerospace, higher education, finance, and diverse corporate marketing concerns.

Eric Ronkin – System Architect, QPay

Eric Ronkin is a system architect, specializing in SOA based transactional systems and business logic engines that interact with a variety of UI technologies – web-based, distributed, mobile, terminals and POS. Currently, he is the Software Architect for QPay. Since joining the team in 2006, Eric has helped grow the company from a start up to becoming the exclusive payment provider for MetroPCS and a major provider for Leap (Cricket), T-Mobile, nTelos, and RPPS bill pay with 15,000 retail locations and transactional volumes that have reached 1000/min and 300,000/day. Eric is also a principal of his own independent web development firm, Ronkin Consulting, and has built numerous e-commerce sites, web services and business systems for his clients, including most notably co-development of ecommerce engine MerchandiZer with colleague Victor Lyons. Three months after its launch, MerchandiZer won PC Magazine’s Editor’s Choice award for best ecommerce software package. Previously, Eric served at Spherion Staffing, where his web based ad hoc reporting engine was the major draw of the company’s highly lucrative OnPremises temp staffing management system. At Spherion, Eric co-created Spherion’s Operational Data Store (date warehouse) before moving on to manage the Ft. Lauderdale Spherion Tech office’s EAI Practice, where he managed the JD Edwards OneWorld installation team at IVAX and the American Express special projects/rapid response development team. He replaced the whole development team of wireless infrastructure provider SBA Communications and rewrote their central business systems. Eric attended the University of Miami School of Medicine before graduating from the University of Miami School of Law. He earned his bachelor degree in Chemistry.

David Rose – AngelSoft, Chairman and CEO

David S. Rose is CEO ofAngelsoft, the international collaboration platform for early stage angel investing, which supports over 20,000 accredited investors from over 500 angel networks in 45 countries. Angelsoft has connected over 80,000 entrepreneurs with potential investors, and currently processes over 3,000 business plans each month. David is also an Associate Founder of Singularity University, the Google/NASA-sponsored graduate program in exponential technologies, and as its Track Chair for Finance and Entrepreneurship has established one of the first academic programs on the future of finance. A serial entrepreneur and active angel investor, David has founded six companies and funded over 80 others. Red Herring magazine described him as the “Patriarch of Silicon Alley”, and Crain’s New York Business called him “the father of angel investing in New York”. He is currently Managing Director of Rose Tech Ventures, a seed stage venture fund and technology incubator; Chairman of New York Angels, the most active angel investment group on the East Coast; and Chairman of Egret Capital Partners, a middle-market private equity firm.

Philip Rosedale, Second Life, Creator /Linden Lab, Founder & Chairman /LoveMachine, Founder

In 2007, Rosedale was listed among Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in The World. Philip Rosedale founded San Francisco-based Linden Lab in 1999, and has led the creation of the virtual world of Second Life from initial concept to a market-leading virtual world, with a robust economy and a global population. As a pioneer in the virtual world industry, Rosedale is actively involved in the strategy, development and design of Linden Lab’s products, including the world of Second Life and the Second Life Grid platform. Rosedale is known for his entrepreneurial approach to new technologies, starting a network software company when he was 17. In 1995 he created an innovative internet video conferencing product, which was later acquired by RealNetworks, where he went on to become Vice President and CTO. In 1999, the advent of consumer broadband and better PC 3D graphics inspired Rosedale to leave RealNetworks and found Linden Lab, pursuing his lifelong dream of creating an internet scale virtual world. Rosedale holds a BS degree in Physics from the University of California at San Diego.

Alan Rosenblith, MetaCurrency, CoFounder

Rosenblith has a diverse professional background in music, permaculture, and currency design. After being certified in Permaculture at Santa Fe’s EcoVersity, Rosenblith pursued a career in filmmaking. His first film “Dreams of Green” detailed organic farming and was broadcast on New Mexico public television. More recently, Rosenblith has seen his filmmaking as one tool in a broader toolkit to promote human evolution. Rosenblith is currently working in partnership with The MetaCurrency Project, and lives in Portland, Oregon.

Peter Rothman, Intrinsic Trust, Founder/CTO

Peter Rothman is a founder and the CTO of Intrinsic Trust, an early stage start up company developing technologies in the area of trust and reputation management focused especially on the problem of developing trust between parties that do not have prior knowledge of each other. Additionally Mr. Rothman is doing research and consulting in the areas of social network modeling and visualization, human behavior modeling, recommendation systems and several related areas. Previously Mr. Rothman was the Chief Scientist of Dragnet Solutions where he led the small research department which developed algorithms and architectures for a variety of counter fraud platforms targeting the financial services industry. These systems included innovative distributed computing architectures, biometrics, machine learning, image processing, OCR, web scraping and various other cutting edge technologies. Two systems targeting fraud in face to face transactions in the financial services industry were developed and a live system employing facial recognition and real time behavior monitoring was tested in a five branch pilot in Phoenix Arizona. Previously Mr. Rothman has been a pioneer in several different fields including Internet Radio and streaming media, Virtual Reality, and Artificial Intelligence. Mr. Rothman was a founder and the CTO of Live365.com where he over saw the system from it’s inception to a full featured Internet radio service with an audience of over 1 million listeners a month. Mr. Rothman was also one of the founders of DIVE Laboratories a pioneering company in the field of virtual reality which developed technologies for financial services and government applications. Mr. Rothman also has extensive experience in problems in aerospace and defense notably in the areas of automated sensor management, target tracking, and sensor fusion.

Jim Scheinman, Pageonce, Chief Operating Officer

Jim Scheinman is the COO of Pageonce. He has over 15 years experience with consumer internet and mobile start-ups and was most recently one of the early pioneers of the social networking industry as the first person to join the Birches to launch Bebo in 2005 as a board member and head of business development, marketing and sales. At Bebo, Scheinman was integral in launching the site, leading the business, marketing and sales strategy and its eventual sale to AOL for $850M in 2008. Immediately prior to Bebo, Scheinman was one of the early employees and head of business and corporate development and sales at the first social network, Friendster, where he created the concept of ‘engagement marketing’ within social networks.

Jim is also the founder of Maven Ventures, his mentor capital business that has helped many entrepreneurs succeed with their internet and mobile start-ups. He also served as an entrepreneur in residence (“EIR”) at Charles River Ventures, a leading venture firm where he helped source, vet and advise their web 2.0 portfolio companies. Prior to his internet career, Scheinman practiced corporate and intellectual property law at a leading Silicon Valley law firm. He went on to serve as senior vice president of business development at NBC Internet, a $2 billion public company of NBC & GE before joining Friendster. Scheinman has a BSc in Neuropsychology from Duke University and earned a Juris Doctor at the University of California Davis School of Law. As one of the industry’s leading experts, Scheinman provides regular commentary on mobile, engagement marketing and the future of social networking at conferences and for wide range of publications including; the Economist, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Ad Week and e-consultancy, in addition to TV and radio. Jim is also a seasoned speaker and is often called upon to talk on the subject of social networking and marketing. In recent times this has included events such as Ad Tech in San Francisco and London, Harvard Business School, Digital Hollywood and the IIA Annual Congress in Ireland.

Steve Schultz, Head of Yahoo! Finance

As the Head of Yahoo! Finance, the #1 financial news and information site on the Internet, Steve Shultz is responsible for all business and content strategy. This includes managing editorial content, business development, partnerships, marketing and sales. Each month Shultz and his team provide more than 20 million users up-to-the minute quotes; original programming (Tech Ticker and features by notable finance experts such as Aaron Task and Laura Rowley); and tools and calculators to benefit consumers and professional investors. He is also responsible for creating unique and effective partnerships with leading content providers (i.e Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, and Motley Fool) and advertisers (i.e.Bank of America, Fidelity, and Scottrade). He holds a BS in Economics from the University of California, Davis and an MBA from the Haas School at the University of California, Berkeley.

Danny Shader – Kwedit, Inc., CEO

Danny Shader is the founder and CEO of Kwedit, Inc., an innovative provider of alternative payments. Kwedit enables people who do not have a credit or debit card or who prefer to pay with cash to complete on-line or remote transactions safely and easily, including payments for digital content and virtual goods. Prior to founding Kwedit, Danny served as CEO of Jasper Wireless, Inc. Before Jasper, Danny served as the President and CEO of Good Technology, Inc., the leader in standards-based enterprise wireless messaging and data access, which Motorola acquired in 2007. Before Good, Danny served as a vice president and general manager at Amazon.com, which he joined when Amazon acquired Accept.com, the first consumer-to-consumer payment services company, which Danny co-founded and led as CEO. Danny earned a B.S. in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from the University of California at Berkeley and an M.B.A. from Stanford University.

Conrad Sheehan, mPayy, Founder & CEO

Conrad Sheehan founded mPayy in 2007 and has extensive experience in the payments industry. Prior to founding mPayy, Conrad was a senior vice president at JPMorganChase and head of its Consumer Payments business, where he was responsible for the bank’s retail payment products that serviced the bank’s extensive corporate and public sector clients. While at JPMorganChase, Conrad grew the company’s Consumer Payments business from $80 million to more than $120 million by commercializing numerous Internet and telephony-based payment solutions. Prior to joining JPMorganChase, Conrad was a partner at Accenture, where he worked with global financial institutions focused on transaction processing, risk and payments. Conrad also worked with Bank of America, IBM and Chase to create Viewpointe, the largest provider of digital check archival and exchange services. Conrad holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and a bachelor of arts degree in economics from Holy Cross College.

Morgan Simon, Toniic Angel Investor Network, Co-Founder

Morgan Simon is a serial social entrepreneur with particular expertise in impact investment and international development. Morgan leads the Toniic angel investor network, a community of angels focused on social enterprise domestically and globally. She is also the co-founder of Innovación Investments, which is currently launching Texas’s first community development venture capital fund (CDVC). As the founding executive director of the Responsible Endowments Coalition, Morgan brought together 100 colleges and universities across the country, helping to move their $200 billion in endowment dollars towards impact investment. Morgan has also worked with grassroots organizations and the UNDP in Mexico, Honduras and Sierra Leone. She currently serves on the boards of the Social Venture Network, the SJF Institute (affiliated with SJF Ventures) and La Peña Cultural Center.

Jeremy A. Smith, SecondMarket, Inc., Chief Strategy Officer

Jeremy Smith is responsible for helping set the strategic direction of SecondMarket. He is in charge of the company’s marketing, business development, new markets and market intelligence programs. Prior to joining SecondMarket, Mr. Smith was the President of Arthur Lauer, Inc. where he redesigned and implemented the company’s business strategy and marketing program. Prior to his time at Arthur Lauer, Mr. Smith worked at the private equity firm Alliance Holdings where he aided in developing the firm’s business model and marketing program to enhance its deal sourcing and closing capabilities. Before Alliance Holdings, Mr. Smith was an investment banker at Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin where he focused on valuations, mergers & acquisitions, and corporate restructurings. Mr. Smith graduated with honors from Emory University and received a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He is a frequent speaker at conferences on the topic of trading illiquid assets and has appeared in many leading publications, including The American Banker, BusinessWeek, DowJones, Los Angeles Times and Wall Street Journal. Mr. Smith has also been featured on CNBC, Business News Network and Fox Business News.

Redg Snodgrass, Alcatel-Lucent, Sr. Director of Strategic Alliances

Redg Snodgrass is the Senior Director of Strategic Alliances at Alcatel-Lucent. Previously, he was the Vice President of Business Development at Skout.com. Redge has worked with a variety of start-ups businesses in Silicon Valley, including the most notable, Square Trade. At Square Trade, Redge served as Sales Director in the E-Bay Motors division. He played an integral role in creating the auto warranty division, which lead to his Director of Sales role for the 45 person division. As Director of Sales, he lead the division to a 15 million dollar revenue run rate a year.

Ted Sorom, Rixty, CEO

Ted is CEO of Rixty, a cash-based payment system that allows youth & adults to pay for online entertainment using Coinstar & the Rixty prepaid card. Ted has extensively researched youth and unbanked consumers, their financial habits and their alternative payment choices. Prior to founding Rixty, Ted developed cutting edge toys and consumer products at Wild Planet Entertainment for retailers such as Target, Gap Kids and Dreamworks. Ted began his career at Light & Motion where he served as the Chief Technical Officer responsible for the design and development of the company’s technical consumer products. Ted is a frequent speaker at the Engage Conference, the SD Forum’s ‘Business of New Media’ Conference and the Haas School of Business. Ted has a BS from Dartmouth College, a Masters from Stanford University and a MBA from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley.

Brad Strothkamp, Forrester, Principal Analyst

Brad serves eBusiness & Channel Strategy professionals. He is a leading expert on eCommerce/eBusiness strategy development within financial services, as well as on best practices of financial firms for selling to and servicing online consumers. He does extensive research on how consumers use the Internet to research and purchase financial products — regardless of the channel — as well as the seamless cross-channel customer experience financial firms need to develop and deliver in order to maximize sales. In his research, Brad covers such eCommerce and finance-oriented topics as the use of interactive help technologies (including online chat), the use of analytics to drive site development decisions, the ways in which financial services customers make product decisions, the role the Web plays during the product research process, and case studies and industry rankings of leaders in financial services.

Bill Tai, Charles River Ventures, Partner

Bill Tai is a partner at Charles River Ventures and famed kiteboarder. He earned his MBA from the Harvard Graduate School of Business, and BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois.

Will Voorhees, Silicon Valley Bank Financial Group, BSA/AML & e-Fraud Investigation Division Manager, OFAC Ofc.

Will Voorhees is the Manager of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)/Anti-Money Laundering (AML) & e-Fraud Investigations Units at SVB Financial Group (SVBFG); a 12 billion dollar, global commercial financial institution with offices in the US, UK, Cayman Islands, India, Israel and China. In this role, Will works with both BSA Compliance and Global Operations. In addition to his role managing the above mentioned two groups, he is also the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) Officer for the organization. Last year, Will researched and conducted the enterprise-wide BSA Risk Assessment for the organization as part of the overall BSA Compliance Program. He is currently working with BSA Compliance and all SVBFG lines of business to conduct the enterprise-wide OFAC Risk Assessment and update the OFAC Compliance Program. Will is responsible for all the suspicious activity reports for SVBFG and is the primary contact for all law enforcement inquiries and requests for information from other financial institutions. Prior to joining SVBFG, Will was a municipal law enforcement officer, BSA/AML Consultant at three different banks and a manager in the AML Investigations Unit of a $50B asset bank. He has been involved in Fraud and Anti-money Laundering investigations since 1999. Will is a Certified Fraud Examiner, Certified Anti-money Laundering Specialist and holds a Master’s degree in Forensic Accounting.

Mason Yaffee, Green Sherpa, CEO

Masen Yaffee is co-founder and CEO of Green Sherpa and brings a fascination for U.S. and world economics to his expertise in web application development. Yaffee has more than 15 years of experience building web applications for a diverse portfolio of businesses, including several Fortune 500 companies. Over the last 15 years, Yaffee has built his company, New Directions in Computing (NDIC), through the development of web-based internet and intranet applications for small and large companies. NDIC’s client list includes Pepsi, Caterpillar, Hallmark, and Harrah’s. Yaffee has been involved with internet development since 1994 when the web was born and has taught courses in web development for Apple Computer, Adobe and UCSB. Having earned a B.A. in Psychology from UC Santa Barbara, Yaffee has also taught communications and relationship development skills through workshops and seminars for more than 20 years. Yaffee’s work developing the Green Sherpa™ Personal Cash Flow Management™ solution has allowed him to couple his expertise in web development with his passion for economics and personal responsibility to strive towards global financial change – beginning with each individual consumer.

Brian Zisk, Future of Money & Technology Summit, Executive Producer

Brian Zisk is a serial entrepreneur and technology industry consultant specializing in digital media, web broadcasting and distribution technologies. Brian is a co-founder of Collecta, the ultra-hot realtime search engine. Additionally, Brian is a Co-Founder and Technologies Director of the Future of Music Coalition and a Board Member and/or Strategic Advisor for a wide variety of tech companies and non-profits. Brian was previously a founder of The Green Witch Internet Radio which was sold to CMGI (NASDAQ: CMGI) at the turn of the millennium. He is active in many influential computer-mediated forums, is quoted and published extensively in the media, frequently appears on panels and at industry events domestically and abroad, and is an expert at frenzy whipping, brand awareness, and in creating new business models. Brian is also the executive producer More speakers will be added shortly. Stay tuned! Kennedy was against secret societies. Burdet and Ferraye too.He was murdered. They are declared insane by same cupidous spirits. "The presidential office has been used to establish a conspiracy to destroy the freedom of the American people, and before leaving this office, I must inform the citizens of this critical condition." Kennedy just 10 days before he was killed. University of Columbia, 12th Nov. 1963. True reasons of JFK murder. Sure they are plots, see Kennedy or Ferrayé Please, click below.

Monetary and subprime crisis as bad results Plus lies about CO2 http://video.google.fr/videoplay?docid=-4123082535546754758 Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy. Melvin Sickler How was Johnson ?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRZSzdQuOqM&feature=related Who is behind ? The History of Banking Control in the United States. A. Pilote Social Credit in the United States in 1932. A. Pilote The Federal Reserve debunked (Patman, McFadden) The corrupt Federal Reserve Corporation. Melvin Sickler World government, terrorism, microchip The Bilderberg Club: a secret society of the richest people. Daniel Estulin A human implanted with microchips, identification cards in the making. M. Sickler Australia's loss of sovereignty to globalism. Pierre Marchildon Polish farmers fear liquidation by the European Union You won't be able to buy nor sell catlle if they are not identified with a chip The 9-11 attack: a second Pearl Harbor? Why I am opposed to a One-World Government, by Michael Rivero On the road to a world government A history of the New World Order — Part I A history of the New World Order — Part II Reflections on the war in Iraq. Alain Pilote Microchip update In the news, August 2003 Encyclical Letter of Pope Leo XIII on Freemasonry
http://www.dailymotion.com/jamesandre/illuminati/video/x3bdoe_illuminati-1b documents CIA Mémorial Wall NSA Here a small portion of the list of those killed this very day, because of the greed of some very high officials allied to the dark forces…

Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy. Melvin Sickler Lev. 25: 23

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Berne et Genève collaborent pour le vote électronique

The Homeowners Whose Loss Was Paulson’s $1 Billion in Gain

The Wall Street Journal has a noteworthy investigation today, and one that I thought was worth flagging. Essentially, it found the borrowers whose home mortgages were the underlying collateral in Goldman Sachs’ Abacus 2007-AC1 CDO deal. That’s the CDO that is now the subject of the SEC’s civil-fraud charges against Goldman Sachs.Finding these homeowners could not have been an easy process. The Journal looked through the Abacus pitchbook and found the 90 bonds that were in the portfolio. Then it matched them with “court records, foreclosure listings, title records, and loan servicing reports” to find the 500,000 mortgages that ultimately, hedge fund manager John Paulson bet against. Read More…

http://www.gijc2010.ch/fr/programme

Le programme entier en un coup d'œil!

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Les keynotes speakers

Thursday 22nd April

From 07:30 and throughout the day: Registration at CICG

Opening Ceremony and Keynote Speaker: Roberto Saviano

Thursday 22.04 – 09:00 Plenary Conference Room 2

The Italian journalist Roberto Saviano will launch the debates. At only 31 years of age, Roberto Saviano became famousfor his in-depth investigations of the mafia circle, and in particular, that of the Neapolitan Camorra. During months, this writer and competent investigator delved into this dangerous world in order to decode its functioning, its clans, and its economic logic. The result of this work is the publication of a bestselling book entitled "Gomorrah", with five million copies sold, and a cinematic adaptation, in 2008.

Friday 23rd April

Keynote Speaker: Seymour Hersh

Friday 23.04 – 09:00 Plenary Conference Room 2

Seymour Hersh

Moderator: Brant HOUSTON (Investigative News Network, USA)

One of the most awarded investigative journalist, Seymour Hersh has accepted the invitation made by the GIJC 2010 to be a keynote speaker in Geneva. Known as early as 1969 to be the journalist who broke the My Lai scandal in Vietnam, Seymour Hersh has more recently exposed the Abu Graib scandal. Hersh has published eight books, including, most recently, "Chain of Command" which was based on his reporting on Abu Ghraib for The New Yorker. It is the first time that Seymour Hersh will speak at a GIJC.

Saturday 24th April

Keynote speaker: Stephen Engelberg (Propublica, USA)- Financing the future of investigation: Old hands, new tricks in the USA

Saturday 23.04 – 09:00 Plenary Conference Room 2

William Buzenberg (Center for Public Integrity, USA), Mark Schapiro (Center for Investigative Reporting USA)

Moderator: Margo SMIT (Dutch-Flemish Association Of Investigative Journalists)

A response to the economic challenges that investigative journalists face. Formed of former big names of the NYT and Wall Street Journal, and equiped with a considerable launching fund, an account of ProPublica's latest experience. And finally the assessment of those who, over the last couple of years, have found their own business models.

Sunday 25th April

Keynote speaker: Munthader Al Zaïdi (New Tv cenal, Iraq)
From prison to glory: The story of the shoe-thrower

Sunday 25.04 – 09:00Plenary Conference Room 2

Moderator: Olivier KOHLER (Radio Télévision Suisse, Switzerland)

Al Arabya's journalist, Montazer Al Zaïdi, unleashed various reactions after he famously threw his shoe at George Bush. What we may not realise is that Montazer is also a respectable and brave journalist, who has worked in-depth on the suffering of Iraqi civilians.

PLENARY CONFERENCE ROOM 2
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS:
Roberto Saviano
Seymour Hersh
Stephen Engelberg
Baltasar Garzón
Muntazer Al Zaïdi
Closing Ceremony
Useful Desks & Stands
Registration Desk
Coffee Break (Daily during the
4-days event, from 10.15 to 10.45)
Networking Lunch (Daily during the
4-days event, 12.00 to 13.30)
Bookstore – Librairie Le Parnasse
GIJC 2010 FINAL PROGRAM
Useful Desks & Stands
Expo: “Cartoonists for Peace”
Welcome Reception offered by
the City of Geneva (Thursday 22nd
April)
Conference Room 16 – CAR
(Computer-Assisted Reporting)
MAIN TOPICS
The Hidden Web
Excel & Access
Using International Data
Mapping
How teams of journalists can cooperate
Beyond Google 2010
University of Geneva (Room 9)
Please note that this program may be subject to last minute changes or cancellations
Underground Floor
(Sous-sol)

Plenary Conference Room 2 Conference Room 3 Conference Room 4
18.00-19.00 Asian/Middle East organisations
Conference Room 18 Conference Room 15 Conference Room 16 – CAR
European organisations African organisations Latin-American organisations
20.00-22.00
09.00-10.15 OPENING CEREMONY AND
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Roberto Saviano.
How to expose the mafia and to survive it.
Moderator: Serena Tinari (Radiotelevisione Svizzera
Italiana, Switzerland) T: Italian to French/ English
10.45-12.00 THE LOBBY THAT TRIED TO
KILL COPENHAGEN: INVESTIGATING
CLIMATE CHANGE
Mark Schapiro (Center for Investigative Reporting,
USA), Kate Willson (International Consortium of
Investigative Journalists, USA), Brigitte Alfter
(European Fund for Investigative Journalism,
Belgium), Murali Krishnan (National Affairs
Editor, India)
Moderator: Marina Walker Guevara (International
Consortium of Investigative Journalists, USA)
How certain groups opposing mesures against
climate change attempt to influence discussions and
disrupt the negotiation process. A first-class transnational
investigation.
13.30-14.30 INVESTIGATING UNDERCOVER
Fredrik Laurin, Joachim Dyfvermark, Sven
Bergman (SVT, Sweden), Anas Aremeyaw (New
Crusading Guide, Ghana), Aniruddha Bahal
(Cobrapost.com, India)
Moderator: Emmanuel Mayah (The Sun, Nigeria)
Masters of the hidden camera, our Swedish colleagues
are responsible for several large investigations and
revelations such as the case of adbuctions by the
CIA. Our fellow member from Ghana, winner of
the ‘Courage in Journalism’ Prize, almost brought
down the Ghanaian government and had the health
department visit the institution the day after its story
“undercover in the madhouse” was aired. And as
for Cobra TV, its raw nerve enabled it to denounce
corrupt ministers and members of Parliament.
15.00-16.00 AT THE HEART OF PIRACY
Fatuma Noor (Nairobi Star, Kenya), Kassim
Mohamed (Star Radio, Kenya), Ken Opala (The
Nation, Kenya)
Moderator: Serge Michel (Freelance, Switzerland)
Established in Nairobi, the Somali journalist Fatuma
Noor went undercover in a brothel run by Somali
warlords. Kassim Mohamed regularly reports on
piracy in Somalia and Ken Opala revealed how the
mafia of warlords launders their profit through the
traffic of sugar-cane. T: EN to FR / FR to EN
16.30-17.30 THE STRANGE BUSINESS OF
WAR CONSULTING
David Barstow (The New York Times, USA)
Moderator: Susanne Reber (NPR, USA)
David received the Pulitzer Prize in 2009 for exposing
the questionable relationship between the arms
industry and “independent” consultants, presented
on major American TV networks. He reveals his
methods and techniques. T: English to French
10.45-12.00 INVESTIGATING CORRUPTION
Zhao Hejuan (China)
Moderator: Frédéric Koller (Le Temps, Switzerland)
Zhao Hejuan is one of the most renowned
investigative journalists in China. Working for the
Shanghai weekly magazine Caijing, Zhao revealed
numerous corruption scandals which led to certain
government officials being sentenced to death. Zhao
now works for new media group, Caixing Media.
13.30-14.30 HOW TO ORGANISE AN
INVESTIGATIVE DESK
Nils Hanson (SVT, Sweden), Dalip Singh (Mail
Today, India), Hermien Y. Kleden (Tempo Weekly
News Magazine, Indonesia)
Moderator: Jean-Philippe Ceppi (Radio Télévision
Suisse, Switzerland)
Nils Hanson and his team direct the Swedish TV
show “Mission: investigate!”. The novel organisation
of their unit has enabled the broadcasting of exclusive
investigations with international repercussions.
Dalip Singh manages the investigation desk of the
Mail Today in New Dehli. Awarded investigative
journalist Hermien Y. Kleden is the executive editor
of Tempo Weekly in Jakarta.
15.00-16.00 HOW MENTORS MAKE
TERRORISTS
Margot Williams (Former NY Times and Former
Washington Post, USA), Mohamed Al Ahmady (Al
Ghad, Yemen), Souad Mekhennet (The New York
Times, Germany)
Moderator: Vivienne Walt (Time Magazine, USA)
Margot Williams, in cooperation with Souad
Mekhennet, has investigated the milieux in which
those who have committed or attempted terrorist
acts grew up. Mohamed Al Ahmady is a journalist
working in Yemen, and is considered a specialist on
terrorism. T: Arabic to English / English to Arabic
16.30-17.30 FROM RUSSIA WITH CASH:
HOW TO UNVEIL RUSSIAN OLIGARCHS
Mark Hollingsworth (Freelance, England)
Moderator: Julie Zaugg (L’Hebdo, Switzerland)
One of the most important areas today for any reporter
covering Russia is to know what’s going on in the
UK – in light of so many of the wealthiest Russian
billionaire oligarchs having moved there (along with
their money) over the past decade. Hollingsworth is
the author of the recent book “Londongrad: From
Russia With Cash – The Inside Story of the Oligarchs”.
A regular contributor for major UK newspapers, he
wrote on the secretive Boris Berezovsky and the
former UK Attorney General embroiled in a suspected
sting that resulted in a top anti-mafia lawyer being
put on trial in secret in Belarus.
10.45-12.00 AT THE HEART OF THE UBS
SCANDAL
Myret Zaki (Bilan, Switzerland), Lukas Haessig
(Freelance, Switzerland)
Moderator: Christian Campiche (Edito, Switzerland)
Two Swiss investigative journalists and authors of
books on this scandal, reveal the techniques which
enabled them to access the heart of one of the largest
bank scandals in Swiss history. T: French to English /
English to French
13.30-14.30 THROW-AWAY POISON: THE
TRAFIGURA CASE
Jeroen Trommelen (Volksrant, Netherlands),
Edouard Gonto (le Jour, Ivory Coast)
Moderator: Roland Rossier (Freelance, Switzerland)
On a hot august night in 2006, twelve tank loads of
toxic waste were secretly dumped on the outskirts of
Abidjan, in Ivory Coast. Thousands of people got ill.
Jeroen and Edouard will explain how they worked
on this major scandal.
T: French to English / English to French
15.00-16.00 HOW TO FINANCE YOUR
INVESTIGATIONS: THE CASE OF THE
MEDIA DEVELOPMENT LOAN FUND
Patrice Schneider (Media Development Loan Fund,
Switzerland), Regula Ritter (ResponsAbility,
Switzerland), Simon Junker (Swiss cooperation),
Lionel Pilloud (Banque Vontobel, Switzerland)
Moderator: Mark HUNTER (INSEAD, France)
This mixed fund has enabled the financing of independant
media which undertake investigations, such
as the Mail & Guardian in South Africa and B92 in
Serbia. T: French to English / English to French
16.30-17.30 STORY-BASED INQUIRY:
USING HYPOTHESES TO FRAME,
SELL, ORGANISE AND COMPOSE
YOUR PROJECT
Mark Hunter (INSEAD, France), Luuk Sengers
(VVOJ, Netherlands)
Moderator: Anna Lemmenmeier (Schweizer Radio
DRS, Switzerland)
Two award-winning investigators and co-authors of
UNESCO/ARIJ’s new manual of investigation focus
on processes: how to organise your investigation in
the most efficient way, forecast a budget, meet your
milestones, and defend it in the best way possible to
your editor-in-chief.
10.45-12.00 RADIO INVESTIGATION
Susanne Reber (NPR, USA), Solomon
Adebayo (Radio Nigeria)
Moderator: Sandra Bartlett (CBC Radio News,
Canada)
One may think that the radio is not the best
media for investigative reporting. However,
our two award-winning panelists will show that
this is not the case. They will present what they
investigated and how.
13.30-14.30 GETTING CONFIDENTIAL
DOCUMENTS FROM THE CIA
Alexenia Dimitrova (24 heures, Bulgaria),
Vincent Nouzille (Freelance, France)
Moderator: Gilles Labarthe (Freelance,
Switzerland)
Alexenia researched and found tons of confidential
documents from the American archives,
which enabled her to publish a major work on
their activity in Bulgaria during the cold war.
And Vincent Nouzille has done the same work in
France. T: French to English / English to French
15.00-16.00 FIXED ELECTIONS IN
OLYMPIC-LAND
Rainer Fleckl (Der Kurier, Austria), Eric Vogl
(Der Kurier, Austria)
Moderator: Marlène Magloire (GIJC2010,
Switzerland)
Our Austrian colleagues revealed how consultancies
may have received money from the city of
Salzbourg in order to influence votes in favour of
the city’s candidacy for the Olympic Games.
T: German to English
16.30-17.30 CORRUPTION,
TRAFFICKING OF YOUNG PLAYERS,
WELCOME TO AFRICAN FOOTBALL
BEFORE THE WORLD CUP
Eric Mwamba (FAIR, Ivory Coast), Thomas
Olukayode (Timbuktu Media, Nigeria)
Moderator: Declan Hill (Freelance,Canada)
These two courageous reporters investigated
and exposed some nasty stories about football
in Africa: the networks traficking young african
footballers, via the platform of football schools
and how corruption has systematically taken
power in sports, in this case Nigeria.
T: French to English / English to French
10.45-12.00 HOW TO BREED
INVESTIGATIVE REPORTERS
Gavin MacFadyen (Centre for Investigative
Journalism, England)
Moderator: Nadia Bonjour (GIJC 2010,
Switzerland)
This panel will target executives from the media
who are desperately looking for the young talents
who are going to break the scoops and exclusive
researches they need in their staff. And also to
those young sleeping talents whose dream is to
make the headlines and become experienced
investigative reporters.
13.30-14.30 BURN-OUT IN THE
NEWSROOM: ARE YOU NEXT?
Marleen Teugels, Conny Vercaigne (Artevelde
Hogeschool, Belgium)
Moderator: Nadia Bonjour (GIJC2010,
Switzerland)
Marleen and Conny, associated with other
Belgian researchers, investigated the stress that
journalists experience. They present the results of
their research and recommendations for change.
15.00-16.00 RISK MANAGEMENT AND
THE BANKS: THEIR INTELLIGENCE
TECHNICS TOWARDS CLIENTS AND
STAFF
Michael Alkalay (Switzerland)
Moderator: Christian Campiche (Edito,
Switzerland)
Lawyer and economic crime investigator Michael
Alkalay has been police officer and head
of project at the Swiss Federal Police, before
joining UBS as compliance senior officer. In his
panel, he will use examples to show how banks
and other industries are using profiling technics
to collect intelligence about their clients, suppliers
and employees. Alkalay will use the UBS model
to show how banks target clients with a high
risk profile and which inhibitions compliance
departments have to overcome to impose vital
recommendations.
16.30-17.30
INVESTIGATING BERLUSCONI
Claudia Fusani (L’Unità, Italy)
Moderator: Serena Tinari (Radiotelevisione
Svizzera Italiana, Switzerland)
“Either you leave now, or I’ll do it”. That’s how
the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi
lately greeted her question at a press conference
in Rome. Claudia Fusani will tell us how you
do investigate the man which is at the same
time a Tycoon, the richest person and the Prime
Minister of a country. Claudia works for L’Unità,
a daily newspaper that like several other Italian
media is permanently under pressure.
10.45-12.00 CAR: GENERAL
INTRODUCTION AND PRESENTATION
David Donald (The Center for Public Integrity,
USA)
What’s computer-assisted reporting, why should
it interest you, and how can digging in governmental
and other databases take your investigative
skills to a new level? The session is a
general introduction to CAR – computer-assisted
reporting – and to the hands on classes at the
conference. See recent examples and learn about
the tools used in CAR so you can see which
classes you should go to and what CAR may do
for your reporting when you’re back home.
13.30-14.30 CAR: THE HIDDEN WEB
(1): HOW TO ANALYSE A WEBSITE
Guido Rudolphi (NetMon GmbH, Switzerland)
How to obtain additional data about a homepage.
There is a lot of data around from third
parties, but one has to know how to retrieve
it. Furthermore, a lot of information is often
contained in the homepage and on the server.
Participants of the session will see how one
can obtain and analyze this information, how it
can lead to additional and valuable information
which drives a research forward and gives new
aspects.
15.00-16.00 CAR: EXCEL I BEGINNER
LEVEL
Helena Bengtsson (Sveriges Television, Sweden)
Creating your first spreadsheet, calculate and
sort your data.
16.30-17.30 CAR: ACCESS I
BEGINNER LEVEL
Helena Bengtsson (Sveriges Television, Sweden)
Introduction to MS Access, for beginners. Learn
how to sort and select you material.
GIJC 2010 FINAL PROGRAM – THURSDAY 22nd APRIL, 2010
INFO
Thursday
22nd April
From
07:30 and
throughout
the day:
Registration
at CICG
COFFEE
BREAK
10.15-10.45
(30 MIN)
LUNCH
12.00-13.30
(90 MIN)
REGIONAL
ORG.
MEETINGS
18.00-19.00
WELCOME
DINNER
CICG
20.00-22.00
SOCIAL EVENT: WELCOME RECEPTION OFFERED BY THE CITY OF GENEVA, WITH A DINNER OF SWISS DISHES AT THE CICG
Plenary Conference Room 2 Conference Room 3 Conference Room 4
09.00-10.15 KEYNOTE SPEAKER:
Seymour Hersh
Investigative Journalism, needed more than ever.
Moderator: Brant Houston (Investigative News
Network, USA)
One of the most awarded investigative journalist,
Seymour Hersh has accepted the invitation made by
the GIJC 2010 to be a keynote speaker in Geneva.
Known as early as 1969 to be the journalist who
broke the My Lai scandal in Vietnam, Seymour
Hersh has more recently exposed the Abu Graib
scandal. Hersh has published eight books, including,
most recently, “Chain of Command” which was
based on his reporting on Abu Ghraib for The New
Yorker. It is the first time that Seymour Hersh will
speak at a GIJC. T: French to English / English to French
10.45-12.00 WHEN THE GAME IS RIGGED
Declan Hill (Freelance, Canada), Vittorio Malagutti
(L’Espresso, Italy), Johnson Fernandez (The Malay
Mail, Malaysia)
Moderator: Luigino Canal (Freelance, Switzerland)
Three months before the World Cup in South Africa,
investigations bring to light the latest story to shake
the football world: fixed games. These three reporters
have exposed match-fixers and possible rigged
matches at the highest football tournaments in the
world, including the World Cup itself.
13.30-14.30 Business models for
investigati ve journalism: the
case of the Canard Enchaîné
Claude Angeli (Le Canard Enchaîné, France)
Moderator: Claude Torracinta (Switzerland)
For over a century, this French satirical weekly, with
a loyal following of nearly a million readers, has
been exposing secrets of the Republic. Its editorin-
chief, Claude Angeli, tells how this reference in
investigative journalism has also become a business
model, with no advertising. T: FR to EN / EN to FR
15.00-16.00 “Profiling”: how to
investigate important public
figures
William Karel (France)
Moderator: Jean Leclerc (Swiss Radio, Switzerland)
Internationally-known documentary filmmaker
William Karel is also the author of two investigative
documentaries on the Bush family and Margaret
Thatcher. He explains how to create a ground-breaking
portrait of public figures.
T: FR to EN / EN to FR
16.30-17.30 Secret Services in
Putin’s Russia
Andrei Soldatov, Irina Borogan (Agentura.ru,
Russia), Roman Shleinov (Novaya Gazeta, Russia),
Peter Klebnikov (Environmental Defense Fund, USA)
Moderator: Thérèse Obrecht Hodler (Reporters
without Boarders, Switzerland)
Andrei Soldatov is an expert on Russian information
services and a chronicler for Ezhednevny Journal.
He is also the director of the web site Agentura.
ru – an information hub on intelligence agencies and
Russian secret services. His colleague Irina Borogan,
also specialises in this field, as well as terrorism
and the tightening of controls over society under the
pretext of counter-extremism. Roman Shleinov is one
of the most renown investigators of Russia and Peter
Klebnikov directs the campaign launched following
the murder of his brother, Paul, the former editor of
Forbes-Russia.
10.45-12.00 How to make friends
while defending consumers
Luc Mariot, Daniel Stons (Radio Télévision Suisse,
Switzerland) and Rachid Khechana (Al Maouqif,
Tunisia)
Moderator: Christian Campiche (Edito, Switzerland)
The defence of consumers is a major historical
current in our profession, and in the last decade,
it’s been highly succcessful for the Swiss Television
show “A Bon Entendeur”. Our colleagues Luc
Mariot and Daniel Stons reveal their particular
research techniques. The Tunisian journalist, Rachid
Khechana, investigated an export of a vegetable oil
by his country and the analyses showed that the oil
was adulterated. Following the scandal, the oil was
removed of the market. T: French to English
13.30-14.30 Football, money and
crime: Behind the goalposts
Renaud Lecadre (Libération), Stevan Dojcinovic
(Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project,
Serbia)
Moderator: Alain Jourdan (Tribune de Genève,
Switzerland)
Recognised experts on the lords and financial empire
of football, these colleagues explain how to penetrate
this close-knit world with its astronomical sums of
money and links to organised crime.
T: French to English / English to French
15.00-16.00 The growing industry
of kidnapping
Anne-Frédérique Widmann (Radio Télévision
Suisse, Switzerland), Hollman Morris (TV
Contravia, Colombie)
Moderator: Paola Villa (GIJC2010, Switzerland)
From the Bétancourt Case to the story of Bulgarian
nurses, how can we investigate the highly secretive
world of kidnapping, ransoms and diplomatic negotiations?
Two crossed experiences from Colombian
territory to the hushed corridors of diplomacy.
16.30-17.30 The journalist and the
Prosecutor : can they cooperate ?
Dick Marty (Council of Europe special rapporteur,
Switzerland), Altin Raxhimi (Tirana Reporting
Collective, Albania), Miroluba Benatova (BTV
reporters, Bulgaria)
Moderator: François Sergent (Libération, France)
Our professions are closely related, and we are very
often working on the same themes. But it is difficult
to have an interaction and an exchange. What to do?
Where are the limits? Former prosecutor Dick Marty
and our colleagues will explore how far a cooperation
on their respective investigations is possible.
T: French to English / English to French
10.45-12.00 Off with their heads:
the horrors of narco-decapita –
tions . Narration and alternati ve
investigation
Sergio González Rodríguez (Reforma, Mexico)
Moderator: Marie Maurisse (Freelance, L’Hebdo,
Le Figaro, Switzerland)
After the female homicides in Ciudad Juárez, Mexican
journalist Sergio González Rodríguez turned his
attention to a macabre phenomenon: decapitations
in Mexican drug cartels. From this investigation, he
published a terrifying book.
13.30-14.30 Getting into the
discretE world of finance
Dirk Schütz (Bilanz,Switzerland)
Moderator: Raymond Frenken (European Journalism
Centre, Netherlands)
In the heart of a world financial crisis, the world of
traders is one of the most secretive. How do you get
them to talk? Who are the experts that can decrypt
their coded language? Dirk Schütz a renowned
financial journalist, share his methods.
15.00-16.00 How to reveal
Trafigura’s dirty industry , and
tell the story on television
Synnove Bakke, Kjersti Knudsson (NRK Television,
Norway)
Moderator: Nadia Bonjour (GIJC2010, Switzerland)
While the rest of the world was reporting from the
Probo Koala waste-scandal in Abidjan, Trafigura
rerouted identical waste and sulpherous gasoline
to a small tank-facility in Norway. For six months
Norway was the main site in Trafiguras dubious
production of bad gasoline. Then, in May 2007, a
tank exploded. People in the area started falling ill,
but nobody could tell what was in the tank prior
to the explosion. Norwegian journalists, Synnøve
Bakke and Kjersti Knudsson, started to investigate.
In this session they tell how they unveiled the
Trafigura-scandal in Norway, and how they disclosed
Trafiguras international production of bad gasoline
that was illegal to sell in Europe. We will also demonstrate,
with video-clips, how we chose to tell this
complicated story on television.
16.30 – 17.30 Slavery in Europe:
how to expose the trafficking
networks
Adrian Mogos (Center for Investigative Journalism,
Romania). Emmanuel Mayah (The Sun, Nigeria)
Moderator: Anna Lemmenmeier (Schweizer Radio
DRS, Switzerland)
Adrian and his colleagues from the Center for
Investigative Journalism in Bucharest led a major investigation
which revealed how agricultural workers
are exploited by criminal gangs on behalf of a Dutch
multinational. Across the Libyan desert, our Nigerian
colleague Emmanuel Mayah investigated for 7
months the networks of migrants and frontier runners
heading towards Europe.
Conference Room 18 Conference Room 15 Conference Room 16 – CAR
10.45-12.00 Business models for
investigati ve journalism:
Emerging countries
Evelyn Groenink (FAIR, South Africa), Charles
Rukuni (FAIR, Zimbabwe), Shantanu Guha
Ray (Tehelka news magazine, India)
Moderator: Margo Smit (Dutch-Flemish
Association Of Investigative Journalists)
On a continent notorious for being deprived of
resources, the “Forum for African Investigative
Reporters” has developed and financed numerous
transnational investigations. Can this original
model work elsewhere? In India, the news
magazine Tehelka dedicated to public interest
journalism is such a business model and will
be represented by his business editor Shantanu
Guha Ray.
13.30-14.30 INVESTIGATING POWER
AND CORRUPTION
Vlad Lavrov (Ukraine, Korrespondent), Dumitru
Lazur (Moldavia, Obiectiv), Djordje Padejski
(Center for Investigative Reporting, Serbia)
Moderator: Luis Vázquez (Freelance, Mexico/
Switzerland)
With other colleagues, Vlad Lavrov and Dumitru
Lazur exposed how the family of the former
president of Moldavia amassed enormous wealth
by using the power of the government and the
presidency. As a consequence of the publication,
Vladimir Voronin was voted out of office.
In Serbia, Djordje Padejski exposed complicities
between local criminals and politicians.
15.00-16.00 Humans for sale
Habib Ur-Rehman, Kazi Hassan (GEO
Television, Pakistan), Franck Nyakairu (Reuters,
Uganda)
Moderator: Chrystel Dayer (GIJC2010,
Switzerland)
Two Pakistani journalists investigated the trafficking
of humans in Pakistan, they entered Iran
illegally and recorded the film with the help of a
hidden camera. Award-winning Ugandan reporter
Frank Nyakairu has followed the trail of human
trafficking through Somalia and Sudan.
16.30-17.30 How confidential
newsletters underwrite
investigation
Maurice Botbol (Indigo Publications, France)
Moderator: Alain Jourdan (Tribune de Genève,
Switzerland)
State and Corporate Intelligence in Europe, the
US, the Middle-East and Asia; Power Brokers
and Business Circles on the African Continent;
Mining and Energy Resources in Africa; Political
and Business Issues in France: the eight newsletters
of this group function according to an original
business model. Maurice Botbol, director and
founder of this group, unveils his techniques.
T: French to English / English to French
10.45-12.00 When the State is a
Family Affair
Ahmed Benchemsi (Tel Quel, Morocco),
Theophilus Abbah (Sunday Trust, Nigeria)
Moderator: Marie Akuffo (The Crusading
Guide, Ghana)
How do we access the secret privileges of those
who enjoy family ties to power? Benchemsi and
his magazine have published some very thorough
investigations on the Moroccan royal family.
Abbah has received death threats for his investigation
revealing how family dynasties monopolise
Nigerian power.
T: French to English / English to French
13.30-14.30 CAR: Security for
investigati ve Journalists
(and everyone else)
Sebastian Mondial (DPA, Germany)
Security for daily searches and unique investigative
reporting. Securing the Computer for
the outside (internet intrusion, snooping) and
for searches by no-friendly-third parties (aka
snoops,police,theft). What can I store on mobile
devices and what not (like iphone). Based mostly
on free and open source software. Also: A sidestep
to “stealth” investigative reporting (but not
dominantly).
15.00-16.00 CAR : Computer
Assisted Reporting at no Cost:
Free and Open Source Tools
Sebastian Mondial (DPA, Germany)
No-Cost-CAR solutions for scraping, calculating
and reporting. This would feature the use
of free and open-source CAR-software on a low
to medium knowledge level. Goal would be to
offer one solution for each area with a checklist
of what to do and to whom should we refer
if external expertise is needed (in corporate
networks and if you need some data put onto
servers/hosting).
16.30-17.30 When the story is in
the open
Guido Rudolphi (NetMon GmbH, Switzerland)
Moderator: Luigino Canal (Freelance,
Switzerland)
Just how rich is Marc Rich? And Tina Turner?
What are Schumacher’s house and assets worth?
In most Swiss cantons, you can obtain interesting
tax information through a simple phone call.
10.45-12.00 CAR: Using
international data for
investigati ve reporting
David Donald (The Center for Public Integrity,
USA), Nils Mulvad (Kaas & Mulvad, Denmark)
More and more data from around the world are
posted on the Internet. And many of these data
cross borders, meaning investigative reporters
can find local and regional records and stories
in data from countries that are not their own.
Learn where to look for these databases, how to
download them and what to look for once you
have them. The session will include a tutorial on
the Ujima project, a fledgling international journalism
website that has made such data and easyto-
use analytical tools available for reporters.
13.30-14.30 CAR: The Hidden Web
(2): How to analyse a hard-disk
Guido Rudolphi (NetMon GmbH, Switzerland)
Nowadays documents are stored mostly on computer
hard drives. However, once deleted, many
people think they are gone forever. I will show
in the presentation how participants can retrieve
deleted data from hard drives which may lead to
a story. Participants will receive a forensic CD
which will enable them in the future to dig for
deleted files on hard-drives by themselves.
15.00-16.00 CAR: Excel II Medium
Level
Helena Bengtsson (Sveriges Television, Sweden)
Downloading data into Excel, using simple formulas
to format and analyze your material. Basic
knowledge of Excel needed.
16.30-17.30 CAR: Access II Medium
Level
Helena Bengtsson (Sveriges Television, Sweden)
Calculations and sums – learn more about
analyzing databases and tables in Access. Basic
knowledge of Access needed.
GIJC 2010 FINAL PROGRAM – FRIDAY 23th APRIL, 2010
INFO
COFFEE
BREAK
10.15-10.45
(30 MIN)
LUNCH
12.00-13.30
(90 MIN)
DINNER
AT BFM
(See page 2)
20.00-22.00
CONCERT
CAFÉ
HUISSOUD
(See page 7)
22.30-01.00
20.00-22.00 OFFERED BY THE CANTON OF GENEVA AT SOCIAL EVENTS: NETWORKING DINNER BFM (see page 2 for the venue )
22.30-01.00 concert with “the muckrakers ” at caf é wine bar huissoud (rue du stand 51, 200 meters from bfm )
Plenary Conference Room 2 Conference Room 3 Conference Room 4
09.00-10.15 Keynote speaker
Stephen Engelberg (Propublica, USA)
Financing the future of investigation: Old hands,
new tricks in the USA.
David Kaplan (Center for Public Integrity, USA),
Mark Schapiro (Center for Investigative Reporting
USA)
Moderator: Margo Smit (Dutch-Flemish Association
Of Investigative Journalists)
A response to the economic challenges that investigative
journalists face. Formed of former big names
of the NYT and Wall Street Journal, and equiped
with a considerable launching fund, an account of
ProPublica’s latest experience. And finally the assessment
of those who, over the last couple of years,
have found their own business models.
T: French to English / English to French
10.45-12.00 Tobacco, terrorism and
organised crime
Mabel Rehnfeldt (ABC Color, Paraguay),
Emmanuel Mayah (the Sun, Nigeria), David
Kaplan (International Consortium of Investigative
Journalists, USA)
Moderator: Susanne Reber (NPR, USA)
As a result of an impressive transnational investigation,
this group of journalists revealed in their latest
research how the illicit trade industry financed the
Congolese civil war as well as the Talibans in Afghanistan.
They present to us their methodology.
T: French to English & Spanish (viceversa)
13.30-14.30 War in the shadows:
Covering clandestine war zones
when you’re not embedded
Stephen Grey (Freelance, UK), Paul Moreira
(Premières Lignes, France)
Moderator: David Barstow (The New York Times, USA)
Acclaimed investigative reporter, and author of a
groundbreaking book on the CIA’s ‘extraordinary
rendition’ programme, Stephen Grey went to Afghanistan
to investigate the CIA’s secret operations and
the Special Forces. He explains how to work when
you are not ’embedded’. So did Paul Moreira, director
and producer at Premières Lignes production, in Iraq.
T: French to English / English to French
15.00-16.00 How Investigation adds
value in a time of crisis
Gilles Marchand (Radio Télévision Suisse,
Switzerland), Norman Pearlstine (Bloomberg, USA)
Moderator: Raymond Frenken (European Journalism
Centre, Netherlands)
How can we integrate investigation into the strategy
of media groups? In times of crisis, does it provide
added value or is it just an added cost? A response
from two managers in charge of private and public
media: Gilles Marchand heads the Radio Télévision
Suisse (French), based in Geneva. Norman Pearlstine
is chief content officer of Bloomberg News and
president of Business Week.
T: French to English / English to French
16.30-17.30 Keynote speaker
Judge Baltasar Garzón
The judge and the journalist: how can they work
together?
Moderator: Marina Walker Guevara (International
Consortium of Investigative Journalists, USA)
Judge Garzon made it possible, amongst other, to
hold ex-dictator Pinochet’s trial, in Chile. He is
involved as well in the fight against ETA, the narco
trafickers, and the investigation about Silvio Berlusconi.
He is very much at the front of investigating Al
Qaeda’s networks and warned the Spanish governement
just before the Madrid 11th March 2004 attack.
T: Spanish to English / English to Spanish
09.00-10.15 When the police don’t
answer
Morten Frich (Berlingske Tidende, Denmark)
Moderator: Nils Mulvad (Kaas & Mulvad, Denmark)
A fascinating investigation led by our Danish colleagues
which revealed that all too often, the police is
not there when you need them. This work provoked
a shock-wave across Denmark and resulted in our
fellow members being awared prestigious prizes.
And what if this happened where you live?
10.45-12.00 Tracking a
multinational across borders
Klaus Ott (Süddeutsche Zeitung, Germany), Tasos
Telloglou (Kathimerini, Greece)
Moderator: Anna Lemmenmeier (Schweizer Radio
DRS, Switzerland)
These two speakers exchanged information, sources
and documents on a story about Siemens that shook
Europe. They show how to directly cooperate in
order to complete a “multinational” investigation.
13.30-14.30 Financing the future of
investigation : How TV will pay
for your work
Roch Bozino (Java Films-France), Stéphane
Haumant (Canal +, France)
Moderator: Jean-Philippe Ceppi (Radio Télévision
Suisse, Switzerland)
Distributer Roch Bozino is very familiar with the
investigative documentary market. It’s a market
that is working well for him, and the point is that
not everyone is suffering from the economic crisis.
So how do you decide on your topic? Who do you
contact? What project will a producer buy? Producer
and chief editor of the famous investigative program
“Special Investigation” at the private Canal + television,
Stéphane Haumant has the key. T: FR to EN
15.00-16.00 The murder of
colleagues. The danger of
investigating in Russia
Roman Shleinov (Novaya Gazeta, Russia), Peter
Klebnikov (Environmental Defense Fund, USA),
Richard Behar (Project Klebnikov)
Moderator: Thérèse Obrecht Hodler (Reporters
without Boarders, Switzerland)
After Paul Klebnikov was murdered, then Anna
Politkovskaïa, an update on the assassination of our
two colleagues. With this question: how dangerous is
it to be an investigative journalist in today’s Russia?
16.30-17.30 Investigation at and
with NGOs
Tony Sadownichik (Greenpeace), Peter Bouckaert
(Human Rights Watch)
Moderator: Mark Hunter (INSEAD, France)
What if certain NGOs and investigative journalists
shared their resources? Often involved on similar investigations,
what are the possibilities and limitations
of a collaboration? A response from those in charge of
research at two of the largest NGOs in the world.
09.00-10.15 Investigating
paedophile networks
Sanjuana Martinez (Freelance, Mexico), Imad Al
Rawashdeh (FM Radio, Jordan), Majdoleen Hasan
(ARIJ Network, Jordan)
Moderator: Luis Vázquez (Freelance, Mexico/
Switzerland)
The Mexican journalist Sanjuana Martínez received
death threats after exposing certain catholic priests
that committed acts of paedophilia. The experience of
the two Jordanian journalists, Imad Rawashdeh and
Madjoleen Hasan, showed through an investigation on
sexual and physical violence subjected to the orphans
in state-run and private orphanages in Jordan.
10.45-12.00 How China buys the
world. Case Studies: From
Congo to Costa Rica; Namibia to
Zambia
Richard Behar (USA), John Grobler
(The Namibian, Namibia), Giannina Segnini (La
Nación, Costa Rica)
Moderator: Frédéric Koller (Le Temps, Switzerland)
Massive investments in Namibian mines, investments
in Costa Rica’s Cooperative; China is
everywhere. Our colleagues Grobler and Segnini
and awarded journalist Richard Behar, who wrote a
compelling investigative piece for “Fast Company”,
will show how they accessed the full picture.
13.30-14.30 Revealing the methods
of secret services
Arturo Torres (El Comercio, Ecuador)
Moderator: Paola Villa (GIJC2010, Switzerland)
Following an interview with Raul Reyes (FARC’s
No 2), Torres revealed how the Colombian secret
services managed to infiltrate the FARC during eight
years.
15.00-16.00 How to investigate
gangs
Steeve Baumann (CapaTV, France), Eric Lemus
(Freelance Journalist BBC Mundo/ LaPagina.com.sv,
El Salvador), Marcelo MOREIRA (RJTV/ Groupe
Globo TV, Brazil)
Moderator: Marie Maurisse (Freelance, L’Hebdo,
Le Figaro, Switzerland)
The French-Spanish journalist, Christian Poveda,
was murdered by a Salvadorian gang whilst he was
investigating in the country. Becoming a major
problem in societies, our guests discuss how to get
close to such a milieu without it costing your life?
16.30-17.30 When police knock at
the door. The case of France
Christophe Labbé (Le Point, France), Vittorio de
Filippis (Libération, France)
Moderator: Alain Jourdan (La Tribune de Genève,
Switzerland)
How to protect yourself from search-warrants? How
to work in these conditions, and protect your sources
and documents? A response from two journalists
who have experienced first-hand Sarkozy’s repression
methods. T: French to English
Conference Room 18 Conference Room 15 Conference Room 16 – CAR
09.00-10.15 “Crowdsourcing”:
when the people investigate
Jana Wuyts (Het Nieuwsblad, Belgium)
Moderator: Ides Debruyne (The Pascal Decroos
Fund for Investigative Journalism)
“Crowdsourcing” is a research method that
consists of outsourcing tasks to large networks of
Internet users. The presentation of this spectacular
project is led by our Belgian colleagues from Het
Nieuwsblad.
10.45-12.00 How I caught the
spammers
Simon Cox (BBC, UK)
Moderator: David Barstow (The New York
Times, USA)
“Want a penis enlargement?” Annoyed with
one of the largest spamming operations on the
web, Simon Cox investigated, on behalf of radio
programme BBC 4, a network of spammers that
went from London to New Zealand. His investigation
led to the arrest of the authors. T: EN to FR
13.30-14.30 Investigating arms
dealers – The Patria case
Blaz Zgaga (Freelance, Slovenia), Magnus
Berglund (Finnish Television, Finland)
Moderator: Nils Mulvad (Kaas & Mulvad,
Denmark)
Thanks to transborder collaboration, these two
journalists exposed a huge corruption story
implicating Finnish defence company Patria
and the Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa.
Millions of bribes have been given in 278 million
euros worth arms deal. Dozens of suspects are
currently under criminal investigation by Finnish,
Austrian and Slovenian police.
15.00-16.00 When game shows
mean big money
Gilles Delbos (France 2, France)
Moderator: Philippe Lugassy (Radio Télévision
Suisse, Switzerland)
Gilles Delbos, on behalf of French TV channel
M6, led a sensitive investigation of the national
lottery monopoly, la Française des Jeux. He recounts
the multiple pressures that he faced. What
to do in such a situation? How to resist? How can
you access sensitive information on the world’s
lotteries and money games? T: French to English
16.30-17.30 Extracting scandals
from the Mining Industry
Mary Akuffo (the Crusading Guide, Ghana),
Annie Mpalume (Freelance photographer, Zimbabwe),
John Grobler (The Namibian, Namibia)
Moderator: Vivienne Walt (Time Magazine, USA)
Mary received numerous awards for exposing the
working conditions in Western African mines.
Annie was arrested for photo-documenting diamond
mines. John has been reporting for many
years on the mining industry in his country, a big
producer of uranium and diamonds.
09.00-10.15 How to fight animal
cruelty with a hidden camera
Per Hermanrud (TV4 Sweden, Sweden)
Moderator: Serge Michel (Freelance, Switzerland)
Per and his team exposed the conditions under
which the bed linen industry subcontracted its
supply of feathers in Eastern Europe. Disguising
themselves as buyers, they went and filmed
the brutal suffering of thousands of birds, and
confronted the major players.
10.45-12.00 Financing the
future: investigation in the
digital age
Brant Houston (Investigative News Network,
USA)
Brant heads the newly created ‘Investigative
News Network’ in the United States, a consortium
of non-profit organisations. In this panel, he
will present new perspectives for investigative
journalism in the digital era.
13.30-14.30 Libel Tourism
Andrew Sullivan (Organized Crime and Corruption
Reporting Project, Bosnia and Herzegovina),
David Leigh (The Guardian, UK)
Moderator: Andrew Sullivan (Organized Crime
and Corruption Reporting Project, Bosnia and
Herzegovina)
Organized crime figures, oligarchs, corrupt
politicians and even celebrities have found a new
weapon against intrepid investigative reporting:
libel tourism. Most reporters have no idea they
can be sued in places like London, Singapore and
Australia and the judgments against them can
be enforced in their own country. Three experts
will explain how libel tourism really works. They
will talk about their own experiences of being
sued by dodgy characters and they will tell you
what you can do to protect yourself in the global
media marketplace.
15.00-16.00 European business
models for investigati ve
journalism
Brigitte Alfter (European Fund for Investigative
Journalism, Belgium), Stefan Candea (Center
for Investigative Journalism, Romania)
Moderator: Margo Smit (Dutch-Flemish Association
Of Investigative Journalists)
Unlike the United States, Europeans do not
often have grants or foundations to help fund
their investigations. While European media are
experiencing the repercussions of the crisis,
several investigative journalism funds have been
launched as well as new media initiatives. An
evaluation of the situation.
16.30-17.30 The Truth about Tax
Havens
David Leigh (The Guardian, UK), Santiago
Fascetto (La Prensa, Panama)
Moderator: Raymond Frenken (European
Journalism Centre, Netherlands)
Financial crisis and fiscal war, the investigation
into tax havens demands the competencies
and techniques of specialists. David Leigh has
published in the Guardian a series of important
articles and investigation. Santiago Fascetto is
directing the investigation section of La Prensa.
09.00-10.15 Investigation in
practice: Setting up a
research cell
Stefan Candea (Romanian Centre for Investigative
Journalism, Romania) and Scoop
The pooling of investigative journalists’ data
banks makes it possible to accelerate transnational
investigations. A demonstration from Stefan
Candea, who runs the Romanian Center for
Investigative Journalism in Bucharest.
10.45-12.00 CAR: Mapping
Mark Horvit (Investigative Reporters and
Editors, USA)
Examples of mapping projects that have been
done by various media outlets to show the
variety of uses.
13.30-14.30 CAR: Follow the
Money: how teams of
journalists can cooperate
Paul Radu (Stanford University, Romania),
Justin Arenstein (FAIR, South Africa)
A look at new collaborative and research techniques
for following the money across borders.
How to use on-line databases, registrars of companies
and software tools for mapping out the
complex business structures of organized crime.
A deconstruction of the cross-border investigative
process from forming the international team
to the outcome of the investigation.
15.00-16.00 CAR: Excel III Advanced
Level
Helena Bengtsson (Sveriges Television, Sweden)
Advanced formulas, conditions and parsing text.
Basic knowledge of Excel needed.
16.30-17.30 CAR: Access III
Advanced Level
Helena Bengtsson (Sveriges Television, Sweden)
Joining databases – how to find connections
between tables. Basic knowledge of Access
needed.
GIJC 2010 FINAL PROGRAM – SATURDAY 24th APRIL, 2010
COFFEE
BREAK
10.15-10.45
(30 MIN)
LUNCH
12.00-13.30
(90 MIN)
GALA
DINNER
(Bookings
only)
At RTS
(See page 2)
19.30-22.00
GLOBAL
SHINING
LIGHT
AWARD
(During the
Gala Dinner
at RTS)
BAR AT
RTS
After the
Gala Dinner
19.30-22.00 SOCIAL EVENT: GALA DINNER (BOOKINGS ONLY) AT THE STUDIO 4, SWISS TELEVISION BUILDING (RTS – SEE PAGE 2)
09.00-10.15 CAR:
Data -driven
journalism: Can
digging into data
help to finance
investigati ve
journalism?
Mirko Lorenz (European Journalism
Centre – ECJ)
The panel provides some new
perspectives on data mining and
visualization, from the perspective
of investigative journalism.
Data-sets are increasingly becoming
accessible and can be analyzed with
tools that where not available at a
all just three years ago. This panel
will try to provide an overview
about recent developments and reallife
examples how data can be used
for ongoing investigation, provide
examples and discuss the skills
needed to use data.
10.45-12.00 CAR: Beyond
Google 2010
Margot Williams (Former New
York Times and Former Washington
Post, USA)
Finding public records information
online neither government transparency
initiatives nor Google’s
reach have yet provided tools for
comprehensive search and retrieval
of the information maintained
in public records databases like
court records, corporation filings
and property records. Investigative
researcher Margot Williams will
help with strategies for finding
and searching databases in online
courthouses, agencies and archives.
Tips for avoiding gaps and pitfalls
and for using commercial databases
efficiently will be handed out as
well as a hands-on tour of the best
sites and services.
09.00-10.15 “Mama, I’ve
been spInNED!” And
how to avoid it
Luc Hermann (Premières Lignes,
France)
Moderator: Marlène Magloire
(GIJC2010, Switzerland)
Luc Hermann, ex-producer of Canal
Plus and producer for Premières
Lignes, is a specialist in “spin
doctors”. He explains how to avoid
falling into their traps.
10.15-10.45 Coffee Break
10.45-12.00 Environmental
investigation : The
case of medical waste
Mona Iraqi (ARIJ, Egypt), Rana
Sabbagh (ARIJ, Jordan)
Moderator: Amel Béji (GIJC2010,
Switzerland)
In Egypt, recycling medical waste
from hospitals is a lucrative clandestine
business. Our colleagues
tell how they exposed the business
and forced the Ministry of Health
to stop it.
09.00-10.15 Note-taking ,
speed reading and
record-keeping
Luuk Sengers (VVOJ, Netherlands)
It may sound mundane, but you may
not be doing it in the most effective
way, and time is the only resource
you don’t ever recover. Learn how
to streamline some of the most
demanding and common tasks in
our jobs.
10.15-10.45 Coffee Break
10.45-12.00 Historical
investigation : how to
find a living memory
Duc Tue Dang (Vietnam)
Moderator: Carole Vann (InfoSud,
Switzerland)
Far from the world headlines, our
colleagues from Vietnam have
documented the history of the war
in their country by finding local and
Vietnamese veterans and crossing
their views.
T: French to English
Plenary Conference Room 2 Conference Room 3 Conference Room 4
09.00-10.15 Keynote
speaker
Muntazer Al Zaïdi (New Tv cenal,
Iraq)
From prison to glory: The story
of the shoe-thrower.
Moderator: Olivier Kohler (Radio
Télévision Suisse, Switzerland)
Al Arabya’s journalist, Muntazer Al
Zaïdi, unleashed various reactions
after he famously threw his shoe
at George Bush. What we may not
realise is that Muntazer is also a
respectable and brave journalist,
who has worked in-depth on the
suffering of Iraqi civilians.
T: Arabic to English / English to Arabic
10.15-10.45 Coffee Break
10.45-12.00 Reporting on
Tasers: Using science
and data to cut
through the hype
Sandra Bartlett (CBC Radio
News, Canada), Frédéric Zalac
(Enquête Radio, Canada)
Moderator: François Sergent
(Libération, France)
The weapon is sold around the
world as an alternative to the gun.
But how is it being used in your
country? Our colleagues from
Canada have tracked stun gun use,
checked out the science and even
tested Taser electrical output. Find
out how you can do the same.
12.00-13.30 Lunch-box
Closing ceremony
09.00-10.15 When the
bank is in the Church
Leo Sisti (L’Espresso, Italy),
Giannina Segnini (La Nación,
Costa Rica)
Moderator: François Sergent
(Libération, France)
How do the faithful become the
flock that’s fleeced? Leo Sisti
revealed the financial workings
of the Vatican. Giannina Segnini
discovered how the Roman Catholic
Church in Costa Rica had created,
practically clandestinely, a bank.
10.15-10.45 Coffee Break
10.45-12.00 How to
investigate without
putting your sources
in danger
Mohamed Ahmady (Al Ghad,
Yemen), Kipchumba Some (The
Standard, Kenya), Dilrukshi
Handunnetti (Sri Lanka)
Moderator: Nathaniel Daudricht
(Alkarama, EMERglobal,
Switzerland)
Mohamed Al Ahmady works on Al
Qaida, in dangerous and extreme
conditions, putting his live at risk.
How do you investigate without losing
your life, or the lives of others?
T: Arabic to English / English to Arabic
09.00-10.15 Investigating
Water Pollution
Hisham Allam and Dareen
Farghaly (Almasry Alyoum, Egypte)
Moderator: Vivienne Walt (Time
Magazine, USA)
How the mythic Nile river was
heavily polluted by industrial waste,
and how our Egyptian colleagues
exposed it.
10.15-10.45 Coffee Break
10.45-12.00 Rich &
Famous: investigating
the “People” in your
country
Tuomo Pietiläinen (Helsingin
Sanomat, Finland), Jon Beveridge
(The Sunday Times)
Tuomo Pietiläinen will explain in
detail how he collected sensitive
data on more than 5000 richest
people in Finland. Such list is also
a hit, each year, for The Sunday
Times, as our colleague Jon Beveridge
will explain.
GIJC 2010 FINAL PROGRAM – SUNDAY 25th APRIL, 2010
Conference Room 18 Conference Room 15 Conference Room 16 – CAR
VISIT GENEVA BEFORE YOU GO!
Photos: Daniel Hostettler

“I absolutely recommend the use of ‘Story-Based Inquiry’ in class.
I tested it this
Autumn at the Artevelde University College and I clearly could see
students produced better research projects.”
Marleen Teughels
Co-founder, Investigative Research Network Europe (IRENE)

Based on 10 years of research,  this ground-breaking 80 page manual, by me and colleagues in the Global Investigative Journalism Network, is FREE.

Click here for the French version.

更好的调查？

Click here for the Chinese edition.

التحقيقات أفضل؟

For the Arabic version, go to www.arij.net.  

http://markleehunter.free.fr/

Why the crisis of business is only beginning:  What does the financial crisis have in common with Watergate?  A long tail that will change the dreams of generations to come.  First published on Opendemocracy.net, a terrific source of ideas and debate and a great example of Creative Commons publishing.  Click here.

français  other languages  The latest issue of “Michael” Our most recent leaflet Our books on Social Credit You can now pay for your subscription to “Michael”on line safely through PayPal or your credit card on this page Pictures of our week of study and Congress, September 2011  Pictures of our week of study and Congress, September 2010  3-minute video of our Congress and week of study, September 2009 The latest issue of “Michael” The latest issue of the Michael Journal is dated August-September, 2013 (32 pages). Some articles will be put online in the coming weeks,  but to read all of them, we invite you to subscribe to the Michael Journal. (To read ALL the articles of past issues FOR FREE, click on archives.)  3 To be missionaries of the good news    Alain Pilote 4 The encyclical Lumen Fidei on faith    Pope Francis 11 A few questions and principles    Louis Even 16 The Pope at the WYD in Rio    Pope Francis 20 A child’s innocence    April Helenek 23 The Rosary as survival manual    Fr. Bevil Bramwell, OMI 24 Eucharistic miracle in Buenos Aires    Fr. Mieczyslaw Piotrowski, SChr 26 Never say never, a Padre Pio miracle    Susan Brinkmann 28 Fr. Michel-Marie Zanotti-Sorkine    Sandro Magister, Marina Corradi 30 “Break the cycle of poverty”    Cardinal Oscar Maradiaga 31 The Vatican consecrated to St. Michael    Pope Francis Our most recent leaflets Our Lady of Guadalupe This 8-page leaflet contains the story of the Apparition of Our Lady in 1531 to Juan Diego in Mexico, an explanation of the miraculous picture, the story of the original shrine of Guadalupe in Spain, the homily given by Pope Benedict XVI on Dec. 27, 2010 to protect the unborn, an article on Our Lady of Guadalupe as Patroness of the New Evangelization, and one page on the recently approved apparition of Our Lady of Good Help in Wisconsin in 1859.  Divine Mercy over the World This 8-page leaflet contains explanations on the message of Jesus to Saint Faustina Kowalska of Poland on Divine Mercy, the testimony of Gloria Polo of Colombia of what she saw after she was declared clinically dead, explanations on the sacrament of penance or confession, and one page on the life of “Little Audrey” Marie Santo of Massachusetts.   The Holy Mass This 8-page leaflet contains explanations on the Holy Mass given by Jesus and Mary to Catalina Rivas of Bolivia. Also: 3 pages about the scandal of poverty, and one page on the Messages of Our Lady in Akita, Japan. Global Control through the RFID Chip This 8-page leaflet contains explanations on the new Radio Frequency Identification Chip, a speech of Msgr. Schooyans who denounces the New World Order, words of Pope Benedict XVI, a new financial system that respects God’s plan for His Creation, how to apply Social Credit locally, etc.   The corrupt Federal Reserve System This 8-page leaflet contains an article of Melvin Sickler that explains what is the Federal Reserve, how it issues money as a debt, and why the U.S. Treasury should issue debt-free money instead; plus the history of the banking control in the United States, an interview with a former Swiss banker, how to create alocal currency to exchange goods and services, and who are the true owners of money..   The North American Union This 8-page leaflet contains explanations on the plan of the Security and Prosperity Partnership to merge Canada, the United States and Mexico into one block similar to the European Union, plus articles on those who are behind this move for a new world order, the microchip, the flase peace of the Antichrist through a world government, amd a way out with local currencies.   See also our other leaflets Our books on Social Credit Two new booklets issued for the Eucharistic Congress: Contents Homily of Cardinal Tomko Homily of Cardinal Ouellet 400 years of Quebec City Saint Canadian Martyrs Bl. Marie de l’Incarnation Catherine de St. Augustin Bishop Francois de Laval Consecration to Mary  The Social Credit proposals explained in 10 lessons  and viewed in the light of the social doctrine of the Church; a study prepared by Alain Pilote on the occasion of the week of study that followed the Congress of the Pilgrims of Saint Michael in Rougemont, September 5-11, 2006.  The Social Credit idea may raise many questions among our new readers, and one article is certainly not enough to answer all these questions, or to give a clear understanding of the whole concept of Social Credit. Besides, most people simply do not have the time to read long books on the subject. So, here is the solution: the Social Credit proposals explained in 10 lessons, each one being the logical continuation of the previous one. In This Age of Plenty Louis Even’s masterpiece All those who appreciate Louis Even’s writings on Social Credit will make it their duty to get this book, a masterpiece of logics and clarity. To the new readers of “Michael”, we strongly recommend this book, which gives, in a simple but brilliant way, the best possible explanations on the new conception of economics that Social Credit represents. You can find on line on this site the complete book (50 chapters plus appendices). 410 pages, 14,5 cm x 21 cm, $20 by mail, from our Rougemont office From Debt to Prosperity The booklet that caused Louis Even to understand Social Credit by J. Crate Larkin It is this booklet that changed the course of the life of Louis Even and made him a Social Crediter in 1934. “It was a great light on my path,” Louis Even said. This 112-page booklet could change your life too! Order it now! The pricfe is $? by mail (Canada and U,S,A,), and $10 international. To download the PDF version of this book, click here (or on the picture of the cover of the book) (1,2 Mb) Two booklets on Social Credit by Louis Even The first booklet, “What Do We Mean By Real Social Credit?”, explains that Social Credit is not a political party, but a series of principles expressed for the first time by engineer Clifford Hugh Douglas in 1918, and that the implementation of these principles would make the social and economic organism effectively reach its proper end, which is the service of human needs. These principles can be implemented by any political party in office, and there is no need of a “Social Credit Party” in power to have them implemented. This booklet is a must for anyone who wants to study Social Credit for the first time, since it contains a very good summary of Social Credit principles (A Primer of Social Credit), and replies to the more widespread objections to this doctrine. The second booklet, “A Sound And Efficient Financial System”, is for those who have already some notion of Social Credit, but who want to know more about its practicability and technical aspects. It explains Douglas’s three basic propositions for a sound financial system, and how they could be implemented: how to achieve a constant equilibrium between prices and purchasing power, how to finance private and public production, the financing of distribution through the social dividend to all, and finally, what would become of taxes in a Social Credit financial system. Two booklets of 32 pages, 21 x 27 cm $2.00 each (handling and shipping included) An exceptional offer: three books on Social Credit To study the cause of the present financial crisis And put an end to poverty amidst plenty It is urgent to start and form study circles in every country of the world to put an end to the present financial crisis and propose a solution that puts the economic and financial systems at the service of the human person. If we don’t take action, we’ll have a world government and the total loss of our freedom. These three books are: 1. The Social Credit proposals explained in 10 Lessons, viewed in the light of the Social Doctrine of the Church (151 pages); a study prepared by Alain Pilote that is used for our seminars on the occasion of the week of study. 2. In This Age of Plenty (410 pages), by Louis Even, a masterpiece of logic and clarity, with over 50 chapters plus appendices. 3. From Debt to Prosperity (112 pages) by J. Crate Larkin. It is this booklet that changed the course of the life of Louis Even and made him a Social Crediter in 1934. “It was a great light on my path,” Louis Even said. Since our first goal is to spread the news and educate the population, we offer for a limited time, a special price for these three books (the prices given include the shipping): Social Credit in 10 lessons: 8 dollars In this Age of Plenty: 15 dollars From Debt to Proserity: 5 dollars There is also a better deal for those who wish to order in large quantities: 1 set of the three books: 25 dollars 5 sets (of the three books) 100 dollars 10 sets (of the three books) 175 dollars And we have a very good deal for those who want to organize study circles: 10 copies of Social Credit in 10 Lessons: 50 dollars; and 90 dollars for 20 copies. Send your cheque or money order to our Rougemont office (1110 Principale St., Rougemont, QC J0L 1M0).  New books and DVD available New Technologies – A hidden danger RFID chips: Microchips are being imposed on the population for medical purposes, inventory of products, and as a means of guaranteeing the safety of cashless transactions. But we all know that the purpose of this technology is to track every person and item on the planet. Genetic Engineering: GMO foods are being forced on countries by the World Trade Organization as a means of controlling food through corporations. GMO foods currently flood the market, causing disease and sickness. Synthetic Biology: Chemical warfare looms on the horizon, with many countries now in control of various biological weapons. Poisons, venoms, and disease are all potential means of causing the destruction of entire nations. (70 pgs.) $7.00 including shipping. DVD (2hrs.) $12.00 including shipping. Lightning, death, judgement and conversion New extended edition (2010) On May 5th, 1995, something extraordinary happened to Dr. Gloria Polo Ortiz, a dentist from Bogota, Colombia. She was taking shelter from a storm with her nephew, when both of them were struck by lightning. What happened to her afterwards was a miracle that led to her conversion and to a life of abandonment to the will of God. She tells her story in many different countries around the world, and has the approval of her diocese in Bogota, Colombia, and her spiritual director. Her testimony is an inspiration for all of us, and will increase our faith in Christ Jesus and His Holy Catholic Church. (104 pages.) $7.00 including shipping. Call to learn how you can save with a bulk order (10 books or more) and send your payment made out to: MICHAEL Journal. USA: 1 (888) 858-2163; Canada: 1 (450) 469-2209 – Canada

Selon la BRI, la dette des États développés est insolvable

Dans une étude, adressée aux gouverneurs des banques centrales, la Banque des règlements internationaux (BRI) montre que les États développés ne pourront jamais rembourser leurs dettes. Celle-ci devrait atteindre 100 % en 2011 pour des pays comme les États-Unis et la France, puis s’accumuler brutalement pour atteindre rapidement un niveau d’insolvabilité certain (plus de 400 % vers 2040 si aucun paramètre ne change). Ce n’est pas la première fois que des États ont souscrit des dettes massives, mais c’était en temps de guerre et avec une forte démographie. Dans la période actuelle la dette est le fruit d’un système dont le déséquilibre s’accentue d’autant plus que la population vieillit. La BRI souligne que lorsque les créanciers exigeront d’être payés, ils placeront les États en faillite. Seuls les pays qui auront allongé la durée de la vie active pourront espérer amortir l’inévitable choc. A vrai dire, la question des retraites n’est qu’un paramètre parmi bien d’autres et elle n’est désignée comme variable que pour préserver le déséquilibre du système, lequel fonctionne d’abord par une sous-rémunération du travail par rapport au capital. ==  Pour comprendre le problème structurel, lire : « Au Sud comme au Nord, de la grande transformation des années 1980 à la crise actuelle », par Éric Toussaint, Réseau Voltaire, 9 septembre 2009.
 Sur l’insolvabilité des États développés, lire l’intégralité de l’étude de la BRI (en anglais) : « The future of public debt : prospects and implications », par Stephen G Cecchetti, M S Mohanty et Fabrizio Zampolli, Voltaire Network, 12 avril 2010.

SEC Charges Goldman Sachs With Fraud in Structuring and Marketing of CDO Tied to Subprime Mortgages

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2010-59

Washington, D.C., April 16, 2010 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Goldman, Sachs & Co. and one of its vice presidents for defrauding investors by misstating and omitting key facts about a financial product tied to subprime mortgages as the U.S. housing market was beginning to falter.

The SEC alleges that Goldman Sachs structured and marketed a synthetic collateralized debt obligation (CDO) that hinged on the performance of subprime residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS). Goldman Sachs failed to disclose to investors vital information about the CDO, in particular the role that a major hedge fund played in the portfolio selection process and the fact that the hedge fund had taken a short position against the CDO. "The product was new and complex but the deception and conflicts are old and simple," said Robert Khuzami, Director of the Division of Enforcement. "Goldman wrongly permitted a client that was betting against the mortgage market to heavily influence which mortgage securities to include in an investment portfolio, while telling other investors that the securities were selected by an independent, objective third party." Kenneth Lench, Chief of the SEC's Structured and New Products Unit, added, "The SEC continues to investigate the practices of investment banks and others involved in the securitization of complex financial products tied to the U.S. housing market as it was beginning to show signs of distress." The SEC alleges that one of the world's largest hedge funds, Paulson & Co., paid Goldman Sachs to structure a transaction in which Paulson & Co. could take short positions against mortgage securities chosen by Paulson & Co. based on a belief that the securities would experience credit events. According to the SEC's complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the marketing materials for the CDO known as ABACUS 2007-AC1 (ABACUS) all represented that the RMBS portfolio underlying the CDO was selected by ACA Management LLC (ACA), a third party with expertise in analyzing credit risk in RMBS. The SEC alleges that undisclosed in the marketing materials and unbeknownst to investors, the Paulson & Co. hedge fund, which was poised to benefit if the RMBS defaulted, played a significant role in selecting which RMBS should make up the portfolio. The SEC's complaint alleges that after participating in the portfolio selection, Paulson & Co. effectively shorted the RMBS portfolio it helped select by entering into credit default swaps (CDS) with Goldman Sachs to buy protection on specific layers of the ABACUS capital structure. Given that financial short interest, Paulson & Co. had an economic incentive to select RMBS that it expected to experience credit events in the near future. Goldman Sachs did not disclose Paulson & Co.'s short position or its role in the collateral selection process in the term sheet, flip book, offering memorandum, or other marketing materials provided to investors. The SEC alleges that Goldman Sachs Vice President Fabrice Tourre was principally responsible for ABACUS 2007-AC1. Tourre structured the transaction, prepared the marketing materials, and communicated directly with investors. Tourre allegedly knew of Paulson & Co.'s undisclosed short interest and role in the collateral selection process. In addition, he misled ACA into believing that Paulson & Co. invested approximately $200 million in the equity of ABACUS, indicating that Paulson & Co.'s interests in the collateral selection process were closely aligned with ACA's interests. In reality, however, their interests were sharply conflicting. According to the SEC's complaint, the deal closed on April 26, 2007, and Paulson & Co. paid Goldman Sachs approximately $15 million for structuring and marketing ABACUS. By Oct. 24, 2007, 83 percent of the RMBS in the ABACUS portfolio had been downgraded and 17 percent were on negative watch. By Jan. 29, 2008, 99 percent of the portfolio had been downgraded. Investors in the liabilities of ABACUS are alleged to have lost more than $1 billion. The SEC's complaint charges Goldman Sachs and Tourre with violations of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Exchange Act Rule 10b-5. The Commission seeks injunctive relief, disgorgement of profits, prejudgment interest, and financial penalties. # # # For more information about this enforcement action, contact: Lorin L. Reisner
Deputy Director, SEC Enforcement Division
(202) 551-4787 Kenneth R. Lench
Chief, Structured and New Products Unit, SEC Enforcement Division
(202) 551-4938 Reid A. Muoio
Deputy Chief, Structured and New Products Unit, SEC Enforcement Division
(202) 551-4488   http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2010/2010-59.htm