Our Experts

Carl Tannenbaum is the Chief Economist for The Northern Trust.  In this role, Mr. Tannenbaum briefs clients and colleagues on the economy and business conditions, prepares the bank’s official economic outlook and participates in forecast surveys.  He is a member of the bank’s investment policy committee, its capital committee, and its asset/liability management committee.

Mr. Tannenbaum publishes weekly commentaries and is frequently interviewed by media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and Reuters.

Prior to joining Northern Trust, Mr. Tannenbaum spent four years at the Federal Reserve, where he led the risk section.  He was deeply involved in the central bank’s response to the 2008 financial crisis, helped to create and conduct its stress testing program, and advised senior Federal Reserve leaders on developments in banking and the financial markets.

Mr. Tannenbaum began his career in banking at LaSalle Bank/ABN AMRO, a global banking organization with $1 trillion in total assets.  He served for more than 20 years there as the organization’s Chief Economist and Head of Balance Sheet Management.

Mr. Tannenbaum is a member and past Chairman of the American Bankers Association’s Economic Advisory Committee, the National Association for Business Economics, the Conference of Business Economists, and the North American Asset/Liability Management Association.

Mr. Tannenbaum also serves on the Board of Working in the Schools (WITS), a literacy organization that supports the Chicago Public Schools.

Mr. Tannenbaum holds an M.B.A. and a B.A. in finance and economics from the University of Chicago.

Ryan James Boyle is a Vice President and Senior Economist within the Global Risk Management division of Northern Trust. In this role, Ryan is responsible for briefing clients and partners on the economy and business conditions, supporting internal stress testing and capital allocation processes, and publishing economic commentaries.

Prior to joining Northern Trust, Ryan held multiple management roles at TransUnion. He researched and reported on trends and key topics in the consumer credit industry, and he led initiatives to improve the breadth, depth, and quality of data reported on consumer files. Before TransUnion, Ryan worked as an economic consultant at Navigant Consulting, supporting expert testimony in competition and securities litigation. He started his career as a business analyst at ABN AMRO/LaSalle Bank.

Ryan holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a bachelor’s degree in computer science, with highest honors, from DePaul University. In addition, Ryan completed the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Shundrawn A. Thomas serves as the President of Asset Management. In his previous role as Executive Vice President, Head of Funds and Managed Accounts Group he was responsible for the development, management and distribution of the firm's mutual funds, institutional mutual funds and exchange-traded funds as well as related business activities. He also oversaw the Managed Accounts practice which provides investment advisory solutions to existing clients and financial intermediaries. His broad executive responsibilities involved developing long-term strategy, executing operating plans, managing client and vendor relationships and developing and retaining talented professionals.

Previously, Shundrawn served as President and Chief Executive of Northern Trust Securities, Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of Northern Trust Corporation. In addition to his general management responsibilities, he was responsible for overseeing financial management and working with regulators including FINRA and the Securities and Exchange Commission. He also served as Head of Corporate Strategy for Northern Trust Corporation. As a direct report to the Chief Executive Officer, he supported executive management with key strategic planning initiatives. Prior to joining Northern Trust, Shundrawn served as a vice president for Goldman Sachs and held positions in sales, trading and research with Morgan Stanley.

Shundrawn received a B.S. degree in Accounting from Florida A&M University and an M.B.A. degree from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He has also completed executive education programs in corporate strategy at Chicago Booth School of Business and corporate governance at University of Notre Dame Mendoza School of Business. Shundrawn currently holds the FINRA series 7, 63 and 24 securities licenses.

Shundrawn currently serves as a trustee for Wheaton College and as a board director of the Florida A & M University Foundation. Shundrawn is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago. His civic involvement has afforded him the opportunity to speak and lecture nationally on topics including leadership, strategy, investment management and professional development.

Steve Potter is Vice Chairman of Northern Trust Corporation, a role he assumed in 2017. In this role, Steve is responsible for initiating and engaging with major strategic partnerships and client relationships; providing advice and input into corporate business strategy and execution; recruiting and mentoring talent; and serving as the firm's representative in a wide array of community and industry settings.

From 2008 until 2017, Steve served as President, Asset Management leading Northern Trust's asset management business which has grown to over $1 trillion of assets under management. In this capacity, he served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Northern Trust Investments, Inc., Northern Trust's principal investment subsidiary, and as the Interested Trustee of The Northern Funds and Northern Institutional Funds.

From 2001 until 2008, Steve was based in London and served as the Chief Executive Officer of Europe, Middle East and Africa overseeing all of Northern Trust's businesses in the region. He also served as Chairman and Chief of Northern Trust Global Services, Ltd. and Chairman of Northern Trust Global Investments, Ltd. He previously served in London as Segment Head of International and Global Fund Services.

Prior to moving to London, Steve served in Chicago as Managing Director of the Institutional Group within Northern Trust Asset Management. In this role he was responsible for global strategic planning, marketing, product development, client servicing and sales related to the institutional asset management business.

Steve holds a B.A. in economics and history from Duke University and an MBA with concentrations in marketing and finance from the J. L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.

He is a member of the board of Miami Corporation, and of the board and the executive committee of Rush University Medical Center. He also serves on the Duke University Trinity College Board of Visitors and the boards of the Solti Foundation, and the British American Business Council. He is a member of the Financial Services Roundtable and serves as the Chairman of the Retirement Security Coalition. He is also a member of the Economic Club of Chicago, the Chicago Commonwealth Club, the London Capital Club and the Worshipful Company of International Bankers.

Jim McDonald is an executive vice president and the chief investment strategist for Northern Trust. He is responsible for overseeing the strategic and tactical asset allocation policy for our institutional and wealth management clients globally. He chairs the Northern Trust Tactical Asset Allocation Committee and is a co-portfolio manager of the Northern Global Tactical Asset Allocation Fund. In addition, he is a member of the Investment Policy Committee and trustee of the 50 South Capital Alpha Strategies hedge fund.

Prior to joining Northern Trust in 2001 as the director of equity research, Jim was director of equity research at ABN AMRO in New York and Chicago (1994-2000) and an equity research analyst at ABN AMRO following the environmental services industry (1990-1994). He started his professional career in 1981 with Arthur Andersen & Co. in Detroit.

Jim received a BBA from the University of Michigan and an MBA degree with high distinction from Babson College. He is a member of the CFA® Society of Chicago and a registered CPA in the state of Michigan.

Bob Browne is executive vice president and chief investment officer for Northern Trust. He is a member of Northern Trust's Management Group. He is also a co-portfolio manager of the Northern Global Tactical Asset Allocation Fund.

Bob chairs the firm’s Investment Policy Committee, which sets investment policy for all Northern Trust groups in all asset classes. He is responsible for investment performance, process and philosophy across multiple investment strategies including fixed income, active equity and passive investments. Bob joined Northern Trust in January 2009 and has 30 years of investment experience.

From 2004 to 2009, Bob worked for ING Investment Management and was the firm’s chief investment officer for fixed income and proprietary investments. In this capacity, he oversaw $120 billion in assets under management across retail and institutional clients, as well as the firm’s own insurance assets. From 2002 to 2004, Bob was founder and managing partner of Picador Capital, an alternative investment firm. From 1999 to 2001, he was co-head of Americas fixed income for Merrill Lynch Investments and he also worked in the firm’s London office from 1997 to 1999 as a senior portfolio manager. Bob spent the first eight years of his career, from 1989 until 1997, at JP Morgan Investment working as a global fixed income and currency portfolio manager in the firm’s Tokyo and London offices.

Bob holds a bachelor’s degree with a major in economics from the College of the Holy Cross. He also has a master’s in international business studies from the University of South Carolina. Bob is a CFA^® charterholder.