Mohamed A. El-Erian, chief economic adviser at Allianz, the corporate parent of Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO), and president-elect of Queens’ College Cambridge, will deliver the keynote address at CFC’s Special Membership Meeting on August 14.

The virtual meeting has been called to conduct a membership vote on proposed bylaw amendments, but it also affords attendees an opportunity to hear from El-Erian, who will provide timely insight on his global economic outlook and advice on how businesses can thrive in this new reality. He will be joined by CEO Sheldon Petersen for a candid conversation on the state of the economy and how electric cooperatives can adapt and succeed in a new normal.

After spending 15 years at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington, D.C., and later as managing director at Salomon Smith Barney/Citigroup in London, El-Erian joined PIMCO in 1999 as a senior member of its portfolio management and investment strategy group. He left the company in 2006 to become president and CEO of Harvard Management Company, the entity that manages Harvard University’s endowment and related accounts, before returning to PIMCO at the end of 2007 as CEO and co-CIO.

El-Erian has published widely on international economic and finance topics. His 2008 best-seller, “When Markets Collide,” won the Financial Times/Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award and was named a book of the year by The Economist. His latest work, “The Only Game in Town: Central Banks, Instability and Avoiding the Next Collapse,” published in 2016, was a New York Times bestseller.

El-Erian also writes a column for Bloomberg Opinion, works as a contributing editor for the Financial Times and has served on the U.S. Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee and the New York Federal Reserve Investor Advisory Committee on Financial Markets. From 2012 to 2017 he headed President Obama’s Global Development Council. Foreign Policy magazine named him one of the world’s 100 top global thinkers three years in a row.

Members can Vote During the Special Membership Meeting to Amend the CFC Bylaws

The official notice of meeting and delegate registration information were mailed to all CFC voting members in late June. The primary purpose of this Special Membership Meeting is to give members the opportunity to vote to amend the CFC bylaws to allow for remote participation in annual, district and special meetings. This will enable CFC to conduct official business and director elections in unusual circumstances where it is not possible to convene in-person business meetings. More information about the proposed amendments, which are supported by the CFC Board of Directors, and the Special Membership Meeting can be found on the CFC Member Website homepage.

Members Should Register for the Special Membership Meeting by August 12

Members can register for the special membership meeting until Wednesday, August 12. Members are encouraged to invite staff and board members to register and attend the special meeting.

In order to transact business at the Special Membership Meeting, a quorum of at least 10 percent of membership must be established. Member CEOs and general managers can certify voting and alternate delegates for their system by Wednesday, August 12. Even if a member system votes by mail ballot, delegates are asked to attend the virtual meeting so the member can be counted toward the quorum.