PALO ALTO, Calif. - June 16, 2008 Carl Spetzler, chief executive officer of management consulting firm Strategic Decisions Group, has been named by Treasury & Risk magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in finance.

The publication named Dr. Spetzler in the risk management category for helping leaders "cope with the lack of explicit strategic alternatives and the complexities of uncertainty and risk."

The 100 honorees were profiled in the June issue and included CFOs, treasurers, and risk managers, among others. During a year of "upheavals and sudden surprises," Treasury & Risk said, this year's list was notable. "By showing others the way ahead, the leaders and innovators who populate the 2008 list are leaving their marks on the world of finance."

In his consulting career, Dr. Spetzler has led hundreds of clients through major strategic transitions, including decisions to enter new markets, to exit or invest in businesses or technologies, and to realign corporate priorities and portfolios to create additional shareholder value. During the 1970s, Dr. Spetzler was a member of the consulting team at Merrill Lynch that designed the first Cash Management Account, fundamentally changing the landscape of the banking and financial industries.

Recently, Dr. Spetzler's work has emphasized two areas: an approach to Enterprise Risk Management that satisfies the "C-Suite's" need for a comprehensive, top-down perspective; and a new model of board of director participation in game-changing corporate decisions. Dr. Spetzler recently gave the keynote address at The International Risk Management Conference in Toronto, and he co-authored "Bringing Quality to Board Decisions," which appeared in The Corporate Board magazine.

Dr. Spetzler will speak on Enterprise Risk Management at a web conference Wednesday, July 9. For more information, visit SDG's Executive eBriefing web page.

In addition to his work at SDG, Dr. Spetzler is the program director for the Strategic Decision and Risk Management program at Stanford University's Center for Professional Development, and he is on the board of the Decision Education Foundation, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving the skills of young people.

Dr. Spetzler, 66, founded Strategic Decisions Group in 1981 after several years as director of the Financial Industries and Strategic Methodologies Center at SRI International. He resides with his wife, Leitha, in Portola Valley, Calif.

Founded in 1981, Strategic Decisions Group is a strategy consulting firm renowned for its expertise in strategic decision-making, risk management, and value-based leadership. Through a collaborative, team-based approach, the firm helps its clients find innovative, creative strategies to thrive today, while also helping them build internal competencies and more effective decision-making processes to meet competitive challenges in the future.

SDG is headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif., and has offices in Europe, the Middle East, and India.