Thomas J. Trebat, an economist specializing in Latin America, is Executive Director of the Institute of Latin American Studies at Columbia University and of the Institute’s Center for Brazilian Studies. He joined Columbia as Adjunct Professor after a lengthy career on Wall Street dedicated to economic research on Latin America. Prior to joining Columbia in February 2005, Tom was Managing Director and Head of the Latin America team in the Economic and Market Analysis department of Citigroup. He joined Citicorp Securities in 1996 as the head of Emerging Market Research. Previously, he worked at Bankers Trust, the Ford Foundation, and Chemical Bank. As a senior international economist at Bankers Trust, he was involved in many aspects of country debt negotiations in Brazil, Chile, Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America during the 1980s. Tom has a Ph.D in economics from Vanderbilt University and is active in teaching, publishing, and consulting on issues related to economic problems and opportunities in Latin America. He is also a member of the Council of Foreign Relations. His book, “Brazil's State-owned Enterprises: A Case Study of the State as Entrepreneur,” was published by Cambridge University Press in 1983.