Steel Market Update has expanded the scope and focus of this year’s Steel Summit Conference which will be held on Monday, October 8, 2012 in Rosemont, IL conveniently located next to Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. Our 3rd Annual Steel Summit Conference will be held the day prior to the beginning of METALCON which will be at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center located across the street from the Embassy Suites Hotel where our conference will be conducted.

As in past years, our conference will begin with an economic forecasting program and we will have two talented members of our kick-off team returning – Ms. Timna Tanners, Metals & Mining Analyst for Bank of America Merrill Lynch Research and John Anton, Director Steel Services, IHS Global Insight.

Joining Ms. Tanners and Mr. Anton this year will be Zbyszko Tabernacki of IHS Global Insight as the world has become a subject which cannot be ignored by those attending our conference. Mr. Tabernacki will provide us insights into the working of the world as well as the major industries which impact the steel industry.

Zbyszko Tabernacki, CFA, Vice President, Country and Industry Research and Forecasting at IHS, is a recognized expert on country risk, emerging markets economics and finance. He manages a global team of 165 country analysts, economists and industry specialists based in eight offices on five continents. His team is responsible for daily coverage, analysis and forecasts of political, economic and security developments as well as risk assessment of 204 countries globally. In addition, his team provides detailed analysis of regional economies in the US, Canada, China and South Africa, as well as assessment of global pricing conditions. Most recently, he was actively involved in the development of IHS Global Scenario Framework, a unique set of narratives and accompanying databases outlining three different visions of the world to 2030.

Prior to assuming his current position, Mr. Tabernacki managed Global Insight's Country Intelligence team. From 2002 to 2004, he served as Managing Director for Emerging Europe Research at Global Insight. From 1995 to 2002, he was Senior Economist, Director of Bank Services and Chief Financial Officer at PlanEcon, a consultancy specializing in analysis and forecasting of economic and political developments in the emerging markets of Central Europe and the CIS.

Mr. Tabernacki has 23 years of experience in economic, political and financial analysis and forecasting, geopolitical risk and country risk assessments, as well as policy advice in the emerging economies. For most of this time, he has been heavily involved in analysis and research on developments in emerging markets. He has written extensively on evolving fiscal, monetary and exchange rate policies in individual countries with special emphasis on European emerging markets. He managed and participated in a number of consulting projects financed by the European Commission, the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development, and many private sector clients. He speaks frequently at seminars and conferences.

In addition, Mr. Tabernacki gained substantial experience in financial analysis, mergers and acquisitions, privatizations and corporate restructurings, working as a Manager in the Corporate Finance department of Price Waterhouse in Warsaw, Poland.

He received his M.Sc. degree in Economics from the Warsaw School of Economics (SGH), and received a Certificate in International Finance and Global Markets from the Georgetown University School of Business in Washington, DC. He is also a charter holder of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, and a member of the National Association of Business Economists in Washington, DC, and the CFA Institute.

Registration for our conference will begin on our website by mid-week next week. You can also register through the METALCON website.

We will have more information about other speakers and the expansion of our program over the next few issues of Steel Market Update. Sign up now for a free trial by clicking the 'free trial' button below this post. Or click the subscribe now button to get an annual membership.

The date to remember: October 8, 2012

The location: Embassy Suites Hotel – Rosemont, IL (next to the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center and next to Chicago’s O’Hare Airport).

Time: Registration begins at 9 AM – 11 AM. During that time we will have a “free” Pre-Summit Workshop and our full program begins at 11 AM.

Included in your registration: Free Pre-Summit Workshop, Full Conference Access, Lunch, Breaks and Networking Cocktail Party at the end of the formal program.

Cost will be $395 per person. SMU member companies (and all of their employees) receive a discount and we will have an early bird discount available for those who register through our website.

More details to come.