Leo M. Tilman

Leo M. Tilman is President of L.M. Tilman & Co., a strategic advisory firm that serves governments, financial institutions, corporations, and institutional investors worldwide. Prior to founding the firm, Mr. Tilman held senior positions with BlackRock as well as Bear Stearns, where he was Chief Institutional Strategist and Senior Managing Director.

Mr. Tilman teaches finance at Columbia University—his graduate as well as undergraduate alma mater. He is the author of Financial Darwinism: Create Value or Self-Destruct in a World of Risk (Wiley, 2008), co-author of The Risk Paradigm (forthcoming from Oxford, 2009), co-author of Risk Management (Wiley, 2000), and editor of Asset/Liability Management of Financial Institutions (Institutional Investor, 2003).

Mr. Tilman is a contributing editor of The Journal of Risk Finance and a frequent speaker at leading business schools and conferences worldwide. He serves on the advisory board of the Center on Capitalism and Society at Columbia University and on the board of directors of Atlantic Partnership. Mr. Tilman was honored by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader, joining a select group of executives, public figures and intellectuals recognized for “their professional accomplishments, commitment to society and potential to contribute to shaping the future of the world.”

Leo M. Tilman's Posts

The Imperative of Financial Innovation

Posted by Leo M. Tilman, June 8th, 2010, 10:59pm

Financial innovation can be an important contributor to economic growth, inclusion, and prosperity. This HBR article discusses how to spot potentially viable financial innovations and a setting that encourages companies and investors to use financial products responsibly.


Wanted: A First National Bank of Innovation

Posted by Leo M. Tilman, January 12th, 2010, 7:47pm

U.S. faces no challenge more urgent than reviving its economic dynamism. Nobel Laureate Edmund Phelps and Leo Tilman argue in HBR that business innovation should be declared a public policy objective. Deficiencies of the current financial system warrant the creation of a new institution that would invest in and lend to innovative projects.


Responding to Pressures

AllianceBernstein Is Back in the Capital Markets Business
Posted by Herb Addison, Leo M. Tilman, January 12th, 2010, 7:35pm

Response to competitive and earnings pressures speaks volumes about a company’s financial and cultural DNA. Some firms respond to pressures by blindly taking on more risk. Others embark on business model transformations that leverage their brand and core competencies to deliver sustainable performance. AllianceBernsetein seems to be on the right path.


Needed: Strategic Vision, Not More Regulation

Risk management and other lessons learned – one year after Lehman’s collapse
Posted by Herb Addison, Leo M. Tilman, September 20th, 2009, 7:28pm

Many believe that in response to the financial crisis, we need better regulation – and more of it. Unfortunately, regulation is unlikely to address a fundamental behavioral dynamic at play that leads to bad decisions and value destruction. A fundamental reform of how corporate executives shape strategic vision and use risk management is needed.


Evolution is Hard Work

UBS Exits Businesses While Blackstone Adapts to the New World Order
Posted by Herb Addison, Leo M. Tilman, May 31st, 2009, 8:25pm

Multiple rounds of job cuts at UBS and its exit from important businesses pose sharp contract to actions of Blackstone and others. The concept of a static business model helps interpret these behaviors and their potential impact on future profitability.


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Financial Darwinism explores the origins, drivers, and implications of the ongoing tectonic financial shift. It then equips executives and investors with actionable approaches to creating lasting economic value amidst complexity and uncertainty.