Programme

Peter John Lavelle is a senior journalist and host of “CrossTalk”, presented by the English-language channel RT, a global multilingual television news network (formerly "Russia Today"). Lavelle, from California, is now based in Moscow. Prior to “CrossTalk”, Peter Lavelle hosted RT's programs “IMHO” (In My Humble Opinion), “In Context”, and a business program called "On the Money." Lavelle received a B.A. in International Economic Relations, an M.A. in European history, and completed Ph.D. courses in Studies in European Economic History from the University of California, Davis. He was a Fulbright Research Fellow at the Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw, Poland. He has been living in Eastern Europe and Russia for over 25 years, working as a lecturer at the University of Warsaw, a market researcher for Colgate-Palmolive, and an investment analyst for brokerage firms, including Russia’s Alfa Bank. Lavelle has contributed articles to a number of publications including Asia Times Online, The Moscow Times, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, United Press International, The National Interest, and Current History. Lavelle also was the author of "Untimely Thoughts", an electronic newsletter.

Yaroslav Lissovolik joined the Eurasian Development Bank as its Chief Economist in 2015. In 2001-2004 he worked in the International Monetary Fund, where he was Advisor to the Executive Director for the Russian Federation in Washington. In 2004 Yaroslav Lissovolik joined Deutsche Bank as Chief Economist; in 2009 he became Head of Company Research in Russia and in 2011- a member of the Management Board of Deutsche Bank in Russia. Yaroslav Lissovolik earned a BA in Economics from Harvard University; an MA in International Economic Relations from Moscow State Institute of International Relations; an MSc in Economics from the London School of Economics, holds a PhD in Economics and is a professor at the department of World Economy at the Diplomatic Academy. Yaroslav Lissovolik is a member of the Advisory Council of the Central Bank of Russia, a member of the Council on foreign and defense policy and a member of the Bretton Woods Committee. In 2012 Yaroslav Lissovolik became a member of the Expert Council of the Russian government as well as the Working group on macroeconomic policy of the Presidential Economic Council. He has published books on Russia's entry to the WTO and on Russia's integration into the world economy, as well as numerous articles and papers on economic and policy issues.

International Current Affairs and Legal expert and analyst. Commentator and expert on Russian economics, politics and society. 2016 - Chief Editor The Duran. 2014 to 2016 - International Affairs Editor, Russia Insider. 2013 to date - Commentator for Sputnik Website. Regular appearances and commentaries on RT TV, Sputnik Radio & Voice of Russia, Press TV, First Channel (Russian TV channel), Russia First (Russian TV channel). 2012 to date - Senior Legal Adviser Hyde Park Agencies Limited. 1994 to 2006 - Senior Duty Solicitor Royal Courts of Justice. 1984 to 1994 - Legal work for various law firms and NGOs. 1982 to 1984 - Assistant to Minister of Culture Greece Carried out work for European City of Culture and Cultural Month. 2006 - Bar Vocational Course. 1982- First Class Degree, Modern History, University College London.

Xavier Moreau is an independent analyst and businessman. Based in Moscow since 2000, he has conducted consulting assignments for numerous French and European groups in the entire post-Soviet space (mainly Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine) and Central Europe. As part of its business in Russia he worked for the French military-industrial complex from 2010 to 2014, during negotiations on military-industrial cooperation. He is graduated of the Military Academy of Saint-Cyr (1995), Xavier Moreau was captain in the 1st Parachute Chasseur Regiment (1996-1999). He holds a Master of International Relations dealing with international relations between the USSR and Yugoslavia from 1945 to 1960 (summa cum laude), realized in the University of Paris IV-Sorbonne. He is founder of the site www.stratpol.com and author of "The New Great Russia" (2012) and has just published "Ukraine. Why France is mistaken. " He is a regular guest on television Russian channels and radio, and it is very present on the French Internet. On the occasion of the publication of his book on Ukraine, he gave a series of lectures throughout France between September 2015 and January 2016, which were a great success. These conferences were held in Paris, Montpellier, Toulouse, Vichy, and Angers. He continues his speaking tour in Switzerland, France, Russia and Germany. Xavier Moreau is trilingual French-English-Russian.

Jim Rogers, a native of Demopolis, Alabama, is an author, financial commentator, adventurer, and successful international investor. After attending Yale and Oxford University, Rogers co-founded the Quantum Fund, a global-investment partnership. During the next 10 years, the portfolio gained 4200%, while the S&P rose less than 50%. Rogers then decided to retire – at age 37. Continuing to manage his own portfolio, Rogers kept busy serving as a full professor of finance at the Columbia University Graduate School of Business. In 1990-1992, Rogers fulfilled his lifelong dream: motorcycling 100,000 miles across six continents, a feat that landed him in the Guinness Book of World Records. As a private investor, he constantly analyzed the countries through which he traveled for investment ideas. He chronicled his one-of-a-kind journey in Investment Biker: On the Road with Jim Rogers. Jim also embarked on a Millennium Adventure in 1999. He traveled for 3 years on his round-the-world, Guinness World Record journey. It was his 3rd Guinness Record. Passing through 116 countries, he covered more than 245,000 kilometers, which he recounted in his book Adventure Capitalist: The Ultimate Road Trip. His latest memoir Street Smarts: Adventures on the Road and in the Markets was published in February 2013.

Dr Andy Xie is Shanghai-based independent economist specialising in China and Asia. He is currently director of Rosetta Stone Advisors. He is also a guest columnist for the South China Morning Post and Century Weekly. Dr Xie is one of the few economists who has accurately predicted economic bubbles including the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis and the more recent subprime meltdown in the United States. He joined Morgan Stanley in 1997 and was Managing Director and Head of the firm’s Asia/Pacific economics team until 2006. Prior to that he spent two years with Macquarie Bank in Singapore, where he was an associate director in corporate finance. He also spent five years as an economist with the World Bank. Dr Xie earned a PhD in economics in 1990 and an MS in civil engineering in 1987 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Stefan Schaible (born in Munich, Germany in 1968) was appointed Deputy CEO within the Global Executive Committee (GEC) of Roland Berger in June 2014. He has been a member of the committee since July 2013. Schaible is also responsible for Germany and the Central European region (Switzerland, Central and Eastern Europe and the CIS countries). Stefan Schaible was a member of the Supervisory Board at Roland Berger between July 2010 and September 2013, ultimately serving as Deputy Chairman. Stefan Schaible studied Chemistry and Law at the University of Konstanz. He started his career in 1997 at Roland Berger in Hamburg and was elected partner in 2001. He has been successfully managing the Public Services Practice Group since 2004 and served as Head of the International Competence Center for Civil Economics, Energy & Infrastructure until 2014. Stefan Schaible specializes in advising public sector institutions, overseeing major infrastructure projects and bringing about digital transformation. Schaible is a renowned expert in global trends, such as the changing role of government, sustainable development, green technologies and renewable energies.

EDUCATION DEC. 2000 – DEC. 2003: Doctor of Philosophy in East European History, University of Cologne OCT. 1992 – SEPT. 1993: London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), Master of Science (Econ) APR. 1989 – SEPT. 1992: Studies at the University of Cologne and at the Volgograd State University, USSR CAREER OVERVIEW JUN. 2007 – PRESENT: Chief Executive Officer, Association of European Businesses in the Russian Federation (AEB) JUL. 2001 – JUN. 2007: Advisor, Foreign Policy to the Party Executive of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), Berlin OCT. 2001 – APR. 2005: Lecturer, Institute for East European Studies, Free University, Berlin JULY 1999 – JUNE 2001: International Secretary, Young Socialists, Bonn/ Berlin DEC. 1998 – DEC. 2003: Chairman, German Youth Council (DNK) JULY 1996 – JUNE 1999: Managing Director, Social Democratic Youth Organisation in the Rhineland, Cologne SEPT. 1995 – AUG. 1996 Research in the Russian Archives, Moscow MAY 1995 – MAY 1996 Project Manager, Association for Social Security Policy and Research (GVG), Cologne APR. 1994 – MAY 1995 Clerk, City Administration of Cologne PUBLICATIONS Monography and articles