About the Speakers

Changyong Rhee  assumed his current position as Director of the Asia and Pacific Department of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in February 2014. Prior to coming to the Fund Dr. Rhee was chief economist at the Asian Development Bank (ADB). He was the chief spokesperson for ADB on economic and development trends, and oversaw the Economics and Research Department. Dr. Rhee was the secretary-general of the G20 summit’s Presidential Committee in the Republic of Korea. Prior to his appointment at the FSC, Dr. Rhee was a Professor of Economics at Seoul National University and Assistant Professor at University of Rochester. He was also a frequent and active policy advisor to the Government of Korea, including in the Office of the President, the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the Bank of Korea, the Korea Securities Depository, and the Korea Development Institute. His key research interests include macroeconomics, financial economics, and the Korean economy. He has published many papers in these fields. Dr. Rhee obtained his Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University, and his Bachelor degree in Economics from Seoul National University.

Philip Suttle  is the Vice President and Director of Global Economics, Tudor Investment Corporation. Mr. Suttle joined Tudor in June 2013 and is based in the Washington D.C. office.  He works in the Global Research Department and is responsible for the analysis of global economic trends and related policy issues, as well as the development of Tudor’s new weekly publication: Tudor Market Notes.  Prior to joining Tudor, Mr. Suttle was (i) Chief Economist at the Institute of International Finance (“IIF”) in Washington D.C. (2007-2013); (ii) Global Head of Emerging Market Research at Barclays Capital (2005-2007); and (iii) Global Head of Foreign Exchange Research at JP Morgan Chase (2003-2005).  He also held various research positions at the World Bank (2002-2003), the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (2001), the Bank of England (1983-1985 and 1987-1988) and the IIF (1985-1987).  Mr. Suttle spent most of his early career as an Economist at the London and New York offices of JP Morgan Chase (1988-2001), where he developed the bank’s flagship economics product, Global Data Watch.  Mr. Suttle received his B.A. (First Class Honors) in History and Economics (1981) and his M.Phil. in Economics (1983) from Oxford University.

Thomas J. Byrne  (Moderator) joined The Korea Society as its President in August of 2015. He came to the Society from Moody's Investor Services, where he was Regional Manager, Spokesperson, and Director of Analysis for the Sovereign Risk Group in the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions. Before moving to Moody's in 1996, he was the Senior Economist of the Asia Department at the Institute of International Finance in Washington DC. Mr. Byrne has an MA degree in International Relations with an emphasis on economics from The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Before his graduate work, he served in South Korea for three years as a US Peace Corps volunteer.