People

Hal S. Scott, Director

Hal S. Scott is the Nomura Professor and Director of the Program on International Financial Systems at Harvard Law School, where he has taught since 1975. He teaches courses on Capital Markets Regulation, International Finance, the Payment System, and Securities Regulation.

He has a B.A. from Princeton University (Woodrow Wilson School, 1965), an M.A. from Stanford University in Political Science (1967), and a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School (1972). He has been admitted to practice in Massachusetts and various federal courts including the Supreme Court. In 1974-1975, before joining Harvard, he clerked for Justice Byron White.

The Program on International Financial Systems engages in a variety of research. Its latest project is Capital Adequacy Beyond Basel (Oxford University Press 2004), an examination of capital adequacy rules for banks, insurance companies and securities firms. The Program also organizes the annual invitation-only U.S.- Japan, U.S.- Europe, and U.S.-China Symposia on Building the Financial System of the 21st Century, attended by financial system leaders in the concerned countries. The Program also directs Socratic style dialogues among financial leaders on issues of current interest, for example the 2005 program on The Current State of Corporate Governance in the Global Marketplace co-sponsored by Business Week and Standard & Poors. In addition, the Program directs a concentration in International Finance for LLM students at Harvard Law School.

Professor Scott is also the Director of the Committee on Capital Markets Regulation, a member of the Shadow Financial Regulatory Committee and an independent director of Lazard, Ltd. He is past President of the International Academy of Consumer and Commercial Law and past Governor of the American Stock Exchange (2002-2005). He has served as a consultant to a variety of financial institutions, multilaterals and governments.

Dan McCardell, Deputy Director

Prior to joining the Program on International Financial Systems, Dan served as Special Assistant to the President of the United States and Deputy Director of the White House Office of Public Liaison. In this capacity, Dan served as a key link to the American business community on policy and legislative issues on behalf of the White House, including on matters relating to taxes, trade, regulation, and competitiveness issues. In 2008 Dan played a central role in promoting the need for passage of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA), legislation that resulted in the establishment of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

Previous to his service at the White House Dan served as the liaison to the financial and business communities for two Secretaries of the Treasury and two Secretaries of Commerce while at each of these respective departments. In this capacity, he was active in working towards the passage of major pieces of tax and trade legislation, including landmark tax legislation of 2001 and 2003, numerous Free Trade Agreements, and other key legislative efforts. In these several positions, Dan additionally had the responsibility of maintaining communication with the American business community on the overall state of the economy and on issues of importance to business.

Prior to his service in government, Dan spent numerous years in the financial services field. He received his Masters Degree from the University of Virginia.

Don Kanak, Senior Fellow

Donald P. Kanak is Chairman (non executive) of Prudential Corporation Asia, Asia regional headquarters, and part of Prudential Group (United Kingdom). He is a Senior Fellow at the Harvard Law School, Program on International Financial Systems. His research is focused on climate change policy, with a focus on solutions for reducing deforestation and degradation of natural forests (REDD) and financial frameworks for achieving climate objectives. He is also Chairman of WWF's global Forest Carbon Initiative which aims to reduce deforestation as an essential part of a solution to climate change. 

Mr. Kanak has a B.A. degree in Economics with highest honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1975), a Juris Doctor degree with honors from the Harvard Law School (1980), and a Master of Letters degree in Management Studies from Oxford University (1989). He has been admitted to practice law in Massachusetts and New York.  

 After completing his graduate studies, Mr. Kanak began his career in management consulting where he became a partner focusing on financial services. He moved to Japan in 1986 and has resided in Asia for most of the past twenty-four years working in senior roles in the insurance industry.

Early in his career, Mr. Kanak worked at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and served as the Washington representative for a river conservation organization. 

During the past decade Mr. Kanak has held a number of outside leadership positions. He served as a director of the U.S.-China Business Council and the U.S.-Japan Business Council and as a member of the Executive Committee of the U.S.-Korea Business Council. He was also a member of the Seoul International Business Advisory Council (SIBAC). He served as President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan in 2002 and as its Chairman in 2003. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Asia Society, the America-Japan Society, the National Council of WWF-U.S., the Society of Financial Services Professionals, and the Global Leadership Circle of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He serves as a Trustee of WWF-Hong Kong and an advisor to WWF-China.