Bob Easton, the former chairman and chief executive officer of Commodities Corporation, is one of the most visionary leaders of the managed futures industry. Easton joined the company in 1979 as senior vice president and served as chief executive officer from 1986 to October 2001. He also held numerous leadership positions on futures exchanges, self-regulatory organization boards, governmental advisory boards and industry associations, including a long stint as chairman of the Managed Futures Association and as a director of the Futures Industry Association. Easton recognized early on the value of expanding the managed funds' toolbox beyond futures to include a wide range of other instruments traded both on and off the exchanges. He also recognized the importance of working with Washington policy-makers to permit the growth of alternative investing, and he deserves a great deal of credit for the subsequent growth of the managed futures and alternative investment industry in general.
