NERA Announces Appointment of New Energy, Environment, and Network Industries Practice Chair

13 June 2013

Washington, DC -- NERA Economic Consulting, a leading global provider of economic advice and analysis in business, legal, and regulatory matters, announced today the appointment of Dr. Chantale LaCasse as Chair of the firm's Global Energy, Environment, and Network Industries (EEN) Practice.

Dr. LaCasse replaces Mike King, who has announced his retirement from NERA. Mr. King will remain with the firm as a Special Consultant.

"On behalf of all of us at NERA, I would like to thank Mike for his exceptional service to the firm as Practice Chair," said NERA President Dr. Lawrence Wu. "He has been instrumental in building the EEN Practice into the global leader it is today. I look forward to working with Chantale in continuing and building on Mike’s great work."

Dr. LaCasse has extensive experience in matters related to competition, regulation, and market design, and has played a central role in expanding NERA's Auctions Practice. She specializes in the design and implementation of auctions, procurement, and bidding processes. She provides advice to governments, regulatory agencies, and utilities, and has testified as an expert witness before state regulatory commissions and regulatory agencies. Dr. LaCasse has advised on all aspects of the design and implementation of competitive bidding processes, and has helped clients in a variety of areas, including capacity markets, renewable energy, solar generation projects, allocation of radio spectrum, and legal services. She has worked with clients around the world, including the United States, Canada, Spain, Ireland, Belgium, and Singapore.

Before joining NERA in 2001, Dr. LaCasse was an established academic in Canada and conducted research in antitrust, auctions, and other issues in economic policy. She held the TD MacDonald Chair at the Canadian Competition Bureau. She holds a PhD and MA in economics from the University of Western Ontario, as well as a BA in mathematics and a BSocSc in economics from the University of Ottawa.

About NERA

NERA Economic Consulting (www.nera.com) is a global firm of experts dedicated to applying economic, finance, and quantitative principles to complex business and legal challenges. For more than six decades, we have been creating strategies, studies, reports, expert testimony, and policy recommendations for government authorities and the world’s leading law firms and corporations. We bring academic rigor, objectivity, and real-world industry experience to issues arising from competition, regulation, public policy, strategy, finance, and litigation.

NERA’s clients value our ability to apply and communicate state-of-the-art approaches clearly and convincingly, our commitment to deliver unbiased findings, and our reputation for quality and independence. Our clients rely on the integrity and skills of our unparalleled team of economists and other experts backed by the resources and reliability of one of the world’s largest economic consultancies. Continuing our legacy as the first international economic consultancy, NERA serves clients from major cities across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific.