Alan Greenspan to Be BEA Keynote Speaker

Former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board Alan Greenspan will be the keynote speaker at this year's BookExpo America. Greenspan, whose memoir The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World will be published by Penguin in September, will be interviewed by his wife, Andrea Mitchell, chief foreign affairs correspondent for NBC News. The keynote event will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, June 1, at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City.

"We are enormously honored that Dr. Greenspan has agreed to appear at BEA," said Lance Fensterman, event director for BookExpo America. "Dr. Greenspan is one of the leading figures of the latter half of the 20th century and his insight, leadership, and impact has affected citizens in the U.S. and the world at large. We couldn't be more proud to have this opportunity to host such an accomplished and respected individual, and to have his name associated with BEA and our conference program."

Mitchell's interview of Greenspan, which will be in a Q & A format, is expected to draw a large audience and media turnout. All other programming at BEA will be suspended for the duration of Greenspan and Mitchell's presentation.

Greenspan was born in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City, studied clarinet at Juilliard, and while working as a professional musician, earned his B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Economics from New York University. In 1954, he cofounded the economic consulting firm Townsend-Greenspan & Co. From 1974 to 1977, Greenspan served as chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Gerald Ford. In 1987, President Ronald Reagan appointed him chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, a position Greenspan held until his retirement in 2006.

Mitchell reports on evolving foreign policy issues in the U.S. and abroad for NBC News broadcasts, including NBC Nightly News With Brian Williams, Today, and for both CNBC and MSNBC. A native New Yorker, Mitchell graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, where she currently serves as a trustee, a member of the executive committee, and chairman of the Annenberg Advisory Board. She joined NBC News in 1978 and, over the years, has appeared on Meet the Press as a panelist and substitute host. An acclaimed political reporter, she has covered every presidential election since 1972.