Bluford Putnam

Bluford (Blu) Putnam is Managing Director and Chief Economist of CME Group. He is responsible for leading global economic analysis and monitoring developments in the price patterns, volatility and correlations of futures and options markets.

Prior to joining CME Group, Putnam gained more than 35 years of experience in the financial services industry with concentrations in central banking, investment research and portfolio management. He started his career as an economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and later moved to the Chase Manhattan Bank. He has served in London as Morgan Stanley’s Global Bond Strategist and Kleinwort Benson’s Chief Economist. Moving into portfolio management, he has held positions as Chief Investment Officer for Equities and Asset Allocation at the Bankers Trust Company in New York and President of CDC Investment Management Corporation.

Putnam holds a Ph.D.in economics from Tulane University. He has authored five books on international finance, as well as published in such academic journals as the American Economic Review and the Journal of Finance, among many others. In the past, he has served on the adjunct faculty of several business schools, including The Wharton School, New York University, and Columbia University.