Executive in Residence, Wake Forest University School of Business
John Allison is an Executive in Residence at the Wake Forest School of Business. He is a member of the Cato Institute’s Board of Directors and Chairman of the Executive Advisory Council of the Cato Institute’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives. Allison was president and CEO of the Cato Institute from October 2012 to April 2015. Prior to joining Cato, Allison was chairman and CEO of BB&T Corporation, the 10th-largest financial services holding company headquartered in the United States. During his tenure as CEO from 1989 to 2008, BB&T grew from $4.5 billion to $152 billion in assets. He was recognized by theHarvard Business Reviewas one of the top 100 most successful CEOs in the world over the last decade.
Allison has received the Corning Award for Distinguished Leadership, been inducted into the North Carolina Business Hall of Fame, and received the Lifetime Achievement Award from theAmerican Banker. He is the author of The Financial Crisis and the Free Market Cure: Why Pure Capitalism Is the World Economy’s Only Hope and The Leadership Crisis and the Free Market Cure: Why the Future of Business Depends on the Return to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. In addition, he is a former Distinguished Professor of Practice at Wake Forest University School of Business, and serves on the Board of Visitors at the business schools at Wake Forest, Duke, and the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill.
Allison is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill. He received his master’s degree in management from Duke University and is also a graduate of the Stonier Graduate School of Banking. Allison is the recipient of six honorary doctorate degrees.
Former CEO, Wells Fargo
Mr. Richard M. Kovacevich, also known as Dick, serves as Vice President at San Francisco Symphony. Mr. Kovacevich serves as the Chief Executive Officer at Hudson Executive Capital LP. He served as the Chief Executive Officer at Wells Fargo & Company from November 1998 to June 2007 and also served as its President from November 1998 to August 1, 2005. Mr. Kovacevich served as the Chief Executive Officer of Norwest Corp. from January 1993 to November 1998 and as its Chief Operating Officer since 1989. He joined Norwest in March 1986, as Vice Chairman, Chief Operating Officer and Head of Norwest Banking Group. Mr. Kovacevich served as the President of Norwest Corporation from January 1993 to January 1997. Prior to Norwest, he served as a Group Executive of the Policy Committee of CitiCorp. and Division General Manager at General Mills. Mr. Kovacevich served as the President of The Financial Services Roundtable and serves as its Co-Chairman of Commission to Enhance Competitiveness. He served as the Chairman of the Board at Wells Fargo Bank Minnesota, National Association. Mr. Kovacevich served as the Chairman of Wells Fargo Bank, National Association. He served as the Chairman of the Board of Wells Fargo & Company from August 2005 to December 30, 2009. Mr. Kovacevich served as the Chairman of Norwest Corp. from May 1995 to November 1998. He serves as Vice Chairman of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Mr. Kovacevich served as the Vice Chairman of the American Bankers Council. He has been a Director of Norwest Corporation since 1986. He has been Director of Theranos, Inc. since May 12, 2016 and previously served as Director of Theranos, Inc. since July 29, 2013. He serves as an Independent Director of Cargill, Incorporated. Mr. Kovacevich serves as a Director of The Clearing House LLC. He served as a Director at Cisco Systems, Inc. since January 19, 2005 until November 19, 2013. Mr. Kovacevich served as a Director of Wells Fargo & Company from 1986 to December 30, 2009. He served as an Independent Director of Target Corp. from 1996 to December 31, 2010. Mr. Kovacevich serves as a Member of The Federal Reserve's Federal Advisory Council, California Business Roundtable and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's California Commission for Jobs and Economic Growth. He graduated from Stanford University where he earned his MBA and his Bachelors and Masters degrees in Industrial Engineering.
Research Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School
Timothy Massad is currently a Research Fellow at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, an Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown Law School and a consultant on financial regulatory and fintech issues.
Mr. Massad served as Chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission from 2014-2017. Under his leadership, the agency implemented the Dodd Frank reforms of the over-the-counter swaps market and harmonized many aspects of cross-border regulation, including reaching a landmark agreement with the European Union on clearinghouse oversight. The agency also declared virtual currencies to be commodities, introduced reforms to address automated trading and strengthened cybersecurity protections.
Previously, Mr. Massad served as the Assistant Secretary for Financial Stability of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. In that capacity, he oversaw the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), the principal U.S. governmental response to the 2008 financial crisis. During his tenure, Treasury recovered more on all the crisis investments than was disbursed. Mr. Massad was with the Treasury from 2009 to 2014 and also served as a counselor to the Treasury Secretary.
Prior to his government service, Mr. Massad was a partner in the law firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore, LLP. His practice included corporate finance, derivatives and advising boards of directors. He managed the firm’s Hong Kong office from 1998 to 2002 and represented governments and corporations on transactions throughout Asia. Mr. Massad was also one of a small group of lawyers who drafted the original ISDA standard agreements for swaps.
Of Counsel, Covington & Burling LLP
The Honorable Paul J. Ray is currently Of Counsel at Covington & Burling LLP where he advises clients on regulatory opportunities and challenges and helps them formulate and execute advocacy strategies for their regulatory policy priorities before the executive branch and Congress.
During the first Trump Administration, Paul held various senior positions at the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) within the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, including as acting, and then Senate-confirmed, head of the office. As OIRA Administrator (the "regulations czar"), Paul supervised the review of hundreds of regulations from across the government, drafted numerous executive orders governing the regulatory process, and led the Administration’s regulatory reform effort. As a result of this experience, Paul is well-positioned to help clients understand and achieve regulatory policy priorities in the context of the government’s regulatory agenda and ongoing reform efforts.
Most recently, Paul was also the Director of the Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation. In that role, he supervised the formulation of the Foundation’s economic and regulatory policy recommendations and provided technical assistance to congressional committees and staff regarding legislative changes to the regulatory process. In addition to his role at The Heritage Foundation, Paul also served as a Senior Advisor at a strategic advisory firm. Before his time in government, Paul practiced law at a law firm in Washington, specializing in administrative law matters.
Prior to his role at the White House, Paul was Counselor to the Secretary at the U.S. Department of Labor. There he led departmental efforts in high-profile rulemakings and helped formulate the Department’s legal positions and strategy.
Paul served as a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and as a law clerk to the Honorable Debra Livingston of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Paul is a thought leader in the conservative legal movement and is a frequent commentator and speaker on regulatory policy and reform matters, including at law schools, professional gatherings, and other venues. He is the Chairman of Innovations in Peacebuilding International and the Regulatory Process Working Group of the Federalist Society’s Regulatory Transparency Project and a public member of the Administrative Conference of the United States. Paul is also an adjunct lecturer at the Hillsdale College School of Government.
Regulation and Red Tape: Tax Inversions: Unpacking the Pfizer Case
John A. Allison, Richard M. Kovacevich, Timothy G. Massad, Paul J. Ray
In 2014, the pharmaceutical company Pfizer initiated a restructuring, only to encounter impediments from the...