Arthur B. Laffer is the founder and chairman of Laffer Associates, an economic research and consulting firm that provides global investment-research services to institutional asset managers, pension funds, financial institutions, and corporations. Dr. Laffer's economic acumen and influence in triggering a world-wide tax-cutting movement in the 1980s has earned him the distinction in many publications as "The Father of Supply-Side Economics." Years of experience and success in advising on a governmental level have distinguished Dr. Laffer in the business community as well. He sits on the board of directors of several public and private companies.

Dr. Laffer is also a founding member of the Congressional Policy Advisory Board, a select group of advisors who assist in shaping legislative policies for the 105th, 106th and 107th United States Congress. He was a member of President Reagan's Economic Policy Advisory Board for both of his two terms, a member of the executive committee of the Reagan/Bush Finance Committee, and a founding member of the Reagan executive advisory committee for the presidential race of 1980. Dr. Laffer was formerly the distinguished university professor at Pepperdine University and a member of the Pepperdine Board of Directors. He has also been the Charles B. Thornton Professor of Business Economics at the University of Southern California and an associate professor of Business Economics at the University of Chicago. From 1972 to 1977, Dr. Laffer was a consultant to Secretary of the Treasury William Simon, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld and Secretary of the Treasury George Shultz. He was the first to hold the title of Chief Economist at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under Mr. Shultz from October 1970 to July 1972.

Dr. Laffer has been widely acknowledged for his economic achievements. He was noted in TIME magazine's 1999 cover story "The Century's Greatest Minds" for inventing the Laffer Curve, which was deemed "one of a few of the advances that powered this extraordinary century. The awards that Dr. Laffer has received for his economic work include two Graham and Dodd Awards from the Financial Analyst Federation for outstanding feature articles published in the Financial Analysts Journal; the Distinguished Service Award by the National Association of Investment Clubs; the Adam Smith Award for his insights and contributions to the Wealth of Nations; and the Daniel Webster Award for public speaking by the International Platform Association.

Dr. Laffer received a B.A. in Economics from Yale University in 1963. He received a MBA and a Ph.D. in Economics from Stanford University in 1965 and 1971 respectively.