On Friday, March 7, international leaders from the public and private sectors joined Georgetown University scholars in Madrid for the first-ever Georgetown Global Forum on Competitiveness.  Participants at the forum gathered to share research, foster collaboration, and mobilize resources to address pressing issues in the areas of global finance, international relations, global health, regional development, international law, and interreligious and intercultural understanding.

At the forum, McDonough School of Business Dean George Daly led a panel discussion on the growth of alternative assets, private equity and hedge funds, and their impact on the financial strategies of corporations and the competitiveness of international capital markets.  Participants in Dean Daly's panel included Richard Frank, Chief Executive Officer of Darby Overseas Investments; Catherine Kinney, president and co-chief operating officer of NYSE Group, Inc.; Martin Halusa, Worldwide Chief Executive Officer of Apax Partners; and Ernest-Antoine Seillière, President of Business Europe and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Wendel Investissement.

The day-long forum featured presentations by dozens of U.S. and European experts including José María Aznar, former president of the Government of Spain and current distinguished scholar in the practice of global leadership at Georgetown.  Anthony Lake, U.S. National Security Advisor from 1993 to 1997 and a distinguished professor in the practice of diplomacy at Georgetown, delivered the keynote address.

For more information about the Georgetown Global Forum on Competitiveness, or to watch video highlights of the day's events, visit the forum website at www.georgetownglobalforum.com.