Richard DeKaser is the Deputy Chief Economist at The Parthenon Group. Prior to joining Parthenon, Mr. DeKaser served as President of Woodley Park Research, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist for National City Corporation (now PNC Financial), and Senior Financial Economist at Bank of Boston (now part of Bank of America). Before that he was a senior associate at DRI/McGraw-Hill (now part of IHS Global Insight) and a staff economist at the Bureau of Economic Analysis. He has held numerous leadership positions in the economics profession, including director of the National Association of Business Economics, Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council of the American Bankers Association, and President of the New England Economic Project. Mr. DeKaser received his B.A. and M.A. in Economics, with honors, from New York University.