A Conversation with Ken Griffin and Mayor Francis Suarez

300 Northeast 2nd Avenue,Miami FL 33132

07 November, 2022

Description

The Economic Club of Miami invites you to a conversation between Mayor Francis Suarez and Citadel Founder and CEO Ken Griffin on November 7 at the Miami Dade College Wolfson Auditorium (300 NE 2nd Avenue, Building 1, Room 1261, Miami, FL 33132). The conversation will be the first public forum where Ken has spoken in Miami since deciding to move Citadel’s headquarters here earlier this year. He and Mayor Suarez will discuss the key factors driving markets, the importance of maintaining U.S. competitiveness on the global stage and the implications of the upcoming election, and how Miami can continue to position itself as a top destination for technology and business. Please join us for a networking reception from 5:30 to 6:30pm, with the discussion to follow from 6:30 to 7:30pm. Kenneth C. Griffin is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Citadel, a global alternative investment firm. Ken began trading from his dorm room at Harvard in 1987, installing a satellite dish on the roof to receive real-time stock quotes. Three years later, he founded Citadel, believing that the integration of exceptional talent, advanced quantitative analytics and leading-edge technology would generate consistent, strong long-term performance. Today, the firm is recognized as one of the most successful alternative investment firms in the world, investing on behalf of capital partners that include preeminent public, private and non-profit institutions. In 2002, the team at Citadel established Citadel Securities, now one of the leading market markers in the world. Citadel Securities has been at the forefront of the modernization of markets and market structures, which has delivered enormous benefits to investors globally. Its institutional business serves more than 1,600 clients, including many of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds and central banks. Over the past two decades, Citadel Securities has advocated for and created more open, transparent, competitive and resilient markets, both in the US and abroad. Ken has contributed more than $1.5 billion philanthropically in recent years, including catalytic giving to expand access to high-quality education at every level, advance medical research, reduce recidivism and violent crime, enhance public spaces and support our country’s world-renowned cultural institutions. Ken holds an A.B. in Economics from Harvard College and serves on a number of boards that reflect both his commitment to driving upward mobility through economic and educational opportunities and his passionate support for cultural institutions that enrichen our lives and communities. Francis X. Suarez is the 33rd Mayor of the City of Miami. As the first Miami-born mayor, he is committed to working diligently to serve the residents of the community where he was born and raised. Prior to being elected with 86 percent support from Miami residents, Mayor Suarez served as Miami Commissioner for District 4 during eight years. Mayor Suarez had many legislative accomplishments as Commissioner, including implementing ShotSpotter technology in the City, a state-of-the-art gunshot detection system, setting up a transportation trust fund, which allocates funds for current and future transit projects, and passing the Reverse Redline legislation, authorizing lawsuits against several major banks for discriminatory mortgage lending practices. As a result, the City’s lawsuit reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that cities have standing to sue banks under the Fair Housing Act for such discriminatory practices. Mayor Suarez also serves as Chair of the Environment Committee, as well as on the Advisory Board of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. In these capacities, Mayor Suarez takes a leading role in collaborating with fellow mayors from around the country to preserve the environment and develop programs and policies that directly benefit the City of Miami. He also serves as Vice-Chair of the Miami-Dade Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) and is the former President of the Miami-Dade County League of Cities. In his role at the TPO, Mayor Suarez championed the Strategic Miami Area Rapid Transit (SMART) Plan, which was unanimously approved. The SMART Plan expands mass transit options in Miami-Dade County through six main corridors and new bus routes to ease traffic congestion and support future population growth. Mayor Suarez helped negotiate the Tri-Rail connection to Downtown, offering free ridership to Overtown residents for life. He also ushered in the free trolley system in Miami, which carries an average of 450,000 passengers per month. Mayor Suarez is dedicated to elevating the quality of life of the residents he serves by focusing on transportation and connectivity, resiliency, and job creation by nurturing the growth of technology and innovation. He is also committed to expanding affordable housing, tackling the poverty pandemic and, as a corollary, reducing crime. The oldest of four siblings, Mayor Suarez was born into a family where, as he describes, “being socially conscious was a kind of requirement.” As the son of former City of Miami Mayor, Xavier Suarez, he was also exposed to public service since he was a child, growing up around his father’s office at City Hall, the same one he works out of today. Mayor Suarez earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from Florida International University, graduating in the top ten percent of his class. He went on to receive his law degree from the University of Florida Frederic G. Levin College of Law, where he graduated cum laude. He is currently an attorney with the law firm Greenspoon Marder, specializing in corporate and real-estate transactions. Mayor Suarez is married to Gloria Fonts Suarez. They have a son, Andrew Xavier, and a daughter, Gloriana Pilar. They consider themselves honored and blessed to be raising their family in the City of Miami. PARKING INFORMATION Parking: Complimentary parking will be available at Garage 1 in Building 7. 500 NE 2nd Avenue Miami, FL 33132 Entrances are on N.E. Fifth Street and N.E. Sixth Street. MDC's Wolfson Campus Auditorium 300 N.E. Second Ave. Building 1, Floor 2, Room 1261