Dr. John Beyer, FORMER Board Member
Dr. Beyer (1940-2020) served as a Board Member of Five Talents, helping to champion economic development among poor communities in Eastern Africa. His dedication and leadership inspired many to support economic empowerment through community-led microfinance and business development programs.
He was the former chairman and chief executive officer of Nathan Associates, having served the company for almost 45 years as a consultant, economist, and expert witness. He retired from active employment with Nathan in December 2015. As chairman since 2008 and as CEO for the previous 30 years, Dr. Beyer guided Nathan's application of economics to domestic and international problem solving and conflict resolution, and led the firm's expansion in staff, services, and geographical reach.
Dr. Beyer's analysis focused on the impacts of structural adjustment, foreign exchange and trade liberalization, and changes in domestic pricing, taxes, and related regulations. He carried out assignments for key government agencies in India, Indonesia, and Nepal, as well as other nations.
Dr. Beyer had a deep appreciation of the economics of competition, which guided his expert testimony in antitrust cases, including those alleging global cartels. He testified on behalf of Netflix subscribers, retirement plan customers of Nationwide Life Insurance Company, and purchasers of Roundup herbicide, in addition to dairy farmers and buyers of blood-testing products, commodity chemicals, and industrial materials. He also estimated damages from alleged violations of patent law. He and Nathan's Stephen A. Schneider wrote Forced Labor Under the Third Reich (1999), a damage assessment used in negotiations between lawyers representing survivors of forced labor and representatives of German corporations. A $5 billion compensation fund resulted.
Dr. Beyer served as professor of economics at the American University in Washington, D.C., where he contributed to research on international trade and emerging market economies. He also worked for the Ford Foundation and was a guest scholar at the Brookings Institution. He held a Master's Degree and Ph.D. in International and Development Economics from The Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy, Tufts University.