In light of the Nov. 6 elections, the issue of America’s economy is prime conversation for every citizen. Republican Chief Economist for the Senate Banking Committee, Mike Piwowar, will discuss the financial future for the United States at 11 a.m. Friday, Nov. 9, in Gerdin Business Building, Room 1148.

The lecture entitled “Financial Regulation: The Unfinished Business” will discuss a major piece of legislation passed in financial services industry, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

“When President [Barack] Obama signed the act in 2010, rather than being the end of a financial reform, it was just the beginning of change in financial regulation,” Piwowar said.

As well as the major effect of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, Piwowar will discuss the future of the United States with the results of the 2012 elections.

“The status quo is the Democrats control the White House and Senate, and the Republicans control House of Representatives. [We’ll look at how] the impact of changes to existing law and new laws being enacted [will look for the future],” Piwowar said.

Piwowar received his Bachelor of Arts from Pennsylvania State University in 1990, a Master of Business Administration from Georgetown University in 1994, and doctorate in finance from Pennsylvania State in 1998.

From here, Piwowar was assistant professor of finance at Iowa State from 1998-2004. He then continued on to be a senior financial economist for the Securities and Exchange Commission Office of Economic Analysis. Piwowar later went on to work at an economics and consulting firm, Securities Litigation and Consulting Group, Inc.

The White House was Piwowar’s next stop on the ladder of his many accomplishments. He joined the White House with a one-year program in 2008. Working with regulatory reform issues, the first six months were spent working with the President George W. Bush administration and six months with Obama’s administration.

Just when his year was up, in the fall of 2008, something bad happened; America had a full-fledged financial crisis. Piwowar said he found the financial aspect riveting.

“When my year was up at the time, the Obama administration was going to start working on that [financial crisis]. I found it fascinating, and that’s how I ended up on Senate Banking Committee. I’ve always followed my interests,” Piwowar said.

As to how his chain of important positions began, Piwowar’s journey began with an early spark of interest in market micro-structure research.

“I found it fascinating to understand how markets actually worked. I sort of followed my interest in terms of research. Academic appointment at Iowa State allowed me to do this research. I’d like to give a shout out to the outstanding finance professors,” Piwowar said.