An interview with Gail Fosler, president of The Conference Board, Inc., a global research and business membership organization.
As President, Gail directs the future of The Conference Board, an international, member-based, independent economic research organization representing 3,000 businesses located in 65 countries. The Conference Board publishes the Consumer Confidence Index, the Consumer Internet Barometer, the CEO Confidence Survey and other research. More specifically, as noted by Alan Greenspan, former Chairman of the Federal Reserve:
“The Conference Board has been an important institution in my life. It was here I started as an economist. It was here I came into contact with a business world I had never known before… What I learned during my five years at The Conference Board proved invaluable in my later life.”
Gail, as an economist, was twice named by the Wall Street Journal as America’s most accurate economic forecaster, was a member of the Advisory Panel of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, received the Annual Blue Chip Economic Forecasting Award and has appeared as a guest on news programs on ABC, BBC and CNN. She has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Deschner Corporation, Baxter International, Caterpillar, H.B. Fuller, Unisys, DBS Holdings and John Hancock Mutual Funds and served on the following committees: Bretton Woods, Council on Foreign Relations, Economic Club of New York and National Bureau of Economic Research.
Gail’s interest in economics began with her sophomore year paper on economics. She then earned an undergraduate degree in economics from USC and an M.B.A. in finance from New York University. She served on the Congressional staff of the United States Senate Budget Committee and as an assistant vice president/economist for Manufacturers Hanover Trust Division. Her spouse, R. Scott Fosler, is a leader in Innovations in Governance and the former president of the National Academy of Public Administration. He holds a degree from the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy and has served as a senior staff member of Institute of Public Administration and the U.S. National Commission on Productivity. Gail and Scott have one son, Michael.
Gail details her passion about dancing, athletics, weight training, creative writing and poetry, her influential adolescent experiences, her math background, and the common denominators among economists. Finally, she expresses what she views to be the impact on her life’s journey after the cheering stops.