Programme

Stephen Sedgwick co-anchors CNBC's flagship program "Squawk Box Europe ." Sedgwick is also CNBC's OPEC reporter, covering major meetings and interviewing top OPEC oil ministers, non-OPEC ministers and heads of bodies such as the IEA and EIA. In addition, Sedgwick has reported from across Europe throughout the European debt crisis and has attended all the major G8 and G20 gatherings in recent years. Prior to joining CNBC, Sedgwick worked for the UK Press Association on the City desk and at Dow Jones on the European Markets desk. At Dow Jones, Stephen regularly broke market-moving stories and was a contributor to The Wall Street Journal Europe. Before his career in journalism, Stephen spent 11 years trading in the financial markets, specialising in equity and bond market derivative products. In 1988, Stephen joined Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (formerly Kleinwort Benson Securities) and worked as an equity option marketmaker before moving on to Credit Lyonnais where he became Head of the London option market-making team on Liffe. Sedgwick studied politics at the University of London, with a focus on world economic development, IMF, World Bank and WTO; and journalism at the National Council for Training Journalists.

Alexey Kudrin is currently Dean of School of Liberal Arts and Sciences of St. Petersburg State University. Since May 2000 till September 2011 he served as Finance Minister of Russia. His financial policies received international recognition; he was named "Finance Minister of the Year 2004" by The Banker magazine and "Finance Minister of the Year 2010" by Euromoney magazine. In years 2000-2003 and 2008-2011 Alexei Kudrin also held the post of Deputy Prime-Minister. In 2005 he was awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland.Before joining the government, Alexei Kudrin worked for Saint-Petersburg City government, holding positions of Deputy Mayor of St. Petersburg and Chairman of the Committee for Economy and Finances.Alexei Kudrin has academic degree of Candidate of Economic Sciences (PhD in Economics). He is professor, author of more than 30 research papers and articles on economics and finance, delivering lectures in many universities and colleges around the globe and providing his expertise to the government of Russia.