BERNARD LEON SCHWARTZ is chairman and CEO of BLS Investments, LLC, a private investment firm. He also manages the investments of the Bernard and Irene Schwartz Foundation, which mainly supports higher education, medical research, and New York City-based cultural organizations. He promotes the development of U.S. economic policy initiatives through investment in educational institutions, think tanks, and advocacy organizations. Prior to establishing BLS Investments in March 2006, Mr. Schwartz served for 34 years as chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Loral Space & Communications and its predecessor company, Loral Corporation.
He has also been active in civic and political affairs. Mr. Schwartz serves as a trustee of the New York University Hospitals Center, the New York Historical Society, Thirteen/WNET Educational Broadcasting Corporation, and Baruch College. He is also vice president of the New York Film Society.
In addition, Mr. Schwartz is a director of the New America Foundation, where he supports its fellowship program; chairman of the board of trustees of Third Way, a progressive advocacy organization; and a supporter of the Democratic Leadership Council.
He has received many honors, including the 1995 Man of the Year award of the Weitzmann Institute of Science, the Townsend Harris Medal for civic achievement, and the Eisenhower Award from Business Executives for National Defense. A longtime friend of Hopkins, Mr. Schwartz has served on the Nitze School of Advanced International Studies Board of Advisors. He provided for the Bernard L. Schwartz Distinguished Professorship in Urologic Oncology and the Bernard L. Schwartz Professorship in Political Economy. He was presented with the Founder’s Award at SAIS in 2009.
Dr. DEBORAH BRÄUTIGAM is the Bernard L. Schwartz Professor of Political Economy, Director of the International Development Program, and Director of the China Africa Research Initiative at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). Her most recent books include The Dragon’s Gift: The Real Story of China in Africa (OUP, 2010) and Will Africa Feed China? (OUP, 2015). Before joining SAIS in 2012, she taught at Columbia University and American University. Dr. Bräutigam’s teaching and research focus on international development strategies, governance, and foreign aid. She has twice won the Fulbright research award and is a recipient of fellowships from the Council on Foreign Relations, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and research grants from the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the UK Centre for Economic Policy and Research (CEPR). She has served as a consultant for Transparency International, the United Nations, the World Bank, DFID, GIZ, DANIDA, the African Development Bank, and USAID, and has provided commentary to the Financial Times, the New York Times, the Guardian, CNN, NPR, Al-Jazeera, VOA, CCTV, and MSNBC. Dr. Bräutigam has been a visiting scholar at the World Bank, a senior research fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), and advised more than a dozen governments on China-Africa relations. Her PhD is from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University.