2009-12-03 15:16:53 -

Duncan Meldrum has been named managing director of IHS Global Insight's Center for Forecasting and Modeling Excellence, an in-house center for economic forecasting, modeling and computation aimed at ensuring IHS Global Insight maintains its innovative lead in the field.

Prior to joining IHS Global Insight, Meldrum was chief economist at Air Products and a client of IHS Global Insight for more than 20 years. He was president of National Association of Business Economists (NABE) in 2002-03, where he introduced a series of professional development seminars, and he served an additional six years on the NABE board. He has experience in macroeconomics, country risk, and industry modeling.
Meldrum earned a doctorate degree from Lehigh University, a master's in operations research from the

U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., and is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy

IHS Global Insight, the recognized leader in providing the most comprehensive global economic information, analysis and consulting services to corporations, financial institutions and governments around the world, established the Center for Forecasting and Modeling Excellence as a resource for the firm's economists and analysts, as well as clients. Using state-of-the-art techniques and software, and building on nearly five decades of successful and accurate econometric modeling, the new center will identify and spread best practices in processes and software; continue to streamline and upgrade scenario models; and develop a team of internal modelers.

An advisory board consisting of academics and clients, chaired by IHS Chief Economist Nariman Behravesh and including Joseph Kasputys, chairman emeritus of IHS Global Insight, and economist and 1980 Nobel laureate Lawrence R. Klein, will help set the Center's research agenda.

"We are making a renewed commitment to modeling, the groundbreaking initiative that launched this firm nearly 50 years ago, in order to give us and our clients new and better tools to improve on the degree of accuracy that already is among the most respected in the field," said Scott Key, IHS senior vice president, Insight.

"The Center of Excellence will be a key driver in ensuring that we stay on top of our game and that IHS Global Insight remains an innovation leader in econometric modeling," said Behravesh. "The new center will help us and our clients in dealing with the policy implications of a host of issues that didn't exist very long ago – climate change, cap and trade, fuel efficiency standards, universal health care, and the list goes on."


About IHS Global Insight ( www.ihsglobalinsight.com : )

IHS Global Insight, an IHS company, provides the most comprehensive economic and financial information available on countries, regions, and industries, using a unique combination of expertise, models, data, and software within a common analytical framework to support planning and decision making. IHS Global Insight founded the modern economic forecasting industry more than 40 years ago, and today the company is recognized as the most consistently accurate economic forecasting company in the world. Through the world's first same-day analysis and risk assessment service, IHS Global Insight provides immediate insightful analysis of market conditions and key events around the world, covering economic, political, and operational factors. IHS (NYSE.
IHS) is a leading global source of critical information and insight, dedicated to providing the most complete and trusted information and expertise. IHS product and service solutions span four areas of information that encompass the most important concerns facing global business today: Energy, Product Lifecycle, Security, and Environment all supported by Macroeconomics. By focusing on customers first, IHS enables innovative and successful decision-making for customers ranging from governments and multinational companies to smaller companies and technical professionals in more than 180 countries. IHS is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2009 and employs more than 4,150 people in 23 countries.

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