Business Forecast Luncheon
The 30th Annual Business Forecast event will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Friday, January 26, 2024 at the Rogers Convention Center in Rogers, Arkansas. Registration will open soon. For questions or other registration options, please call 479-575-4151. We hope to see you on Friday, January 26th for an informative event.
Join us from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Friday, January 26, 2024 at the Rogers Convention Center in the World Trade Center District in Rogers.
Of note: This year’s luncheon will be preceded by a networking event for the speakers and attendees. All luncheon ticket holders are welcome to participate in the networking event with their fellow attendees from 10:45 a.m. to 11:20 a.m. in the Rogers Convention Center.
The cost of the luncheon program is $90 for an individual and $900 for a table of 10. Preregistration by Friday, January 19, is required. Reservations can be made for the luncheon at cber.uark.edu, registering above or by calling 479-575-4151. Additional sponsorship opportunities are available.To register, please use the button below or call 479-575-4151.
2024 Businesss Forecast Presentation Slides
The 30th edition of the Arkansas Business Forecast Luncheon will feature the following lineup of speakers:
.Moderator: Curtis Barnett, president and chief executive officer, Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield
Global Forecaster: Gregory Daco, chief economist, EY
Domestic Forecaster: Ellen Zenter, chief U.S. economist, Morgan Stanley
State and Regional Forecaster: Mervin Jebaraj, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research.
View speakers detailed biographies below
Individual tickets are $90 each. Tables are $900 for a table of 10. Pre-registration
is required. Reservations can be made by registering online or by calling 479-575-4151.
For sponsorships opportunities, please call our office or complete the Business Forecast Sponsor Packet. Thank you to our 2024 Business Forecast Sponsors.
Thank you to 2024 Business Forecast Luncheon Sponsors!
Details about sponsorship opportunities are available here.
For more information contact
Center for Business and Economic Research
CBER-WCOB-JBHT 404
Sam M. Walton College of Business
1 University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701
PH: (479) 575-4151
2024 Business Forecast Speakers
Curtis Barnett
Curtis Barnett is president and chief executive officer, Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Barnett serves on the board of directors for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association and the National Institute for Healthcare Management. He is chair of the Board of Managers for Blue Health Intelligence, a healthcare data analytics and solutions company, and is co-chair of the national Roundtable on Innovations in Mental and Behavioral Health for the Health Evolution. In Arkansas, Barnett serves on several industry and community boards of directors, including the Dean’s Executive Advisory Board for the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas, the University of Central Arkansas Board of Trustees, where he serves as chair, the Arkansas Research Alliance and the Executive Committee for the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce. Barnett received a bachelor's degree from the University of Central Arkansas, a master's degree in public administration from the University of Arkansas and is a graduate of the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management's Advanced Executive Program.
Gregory Daco
Gregory Daco is the chief economist at EY. Prior to joining EY, Daco was chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, where he led a team of high-caliber economists producing forecasts, analysis and research on the U.S. and global economy. Before Oxford Economics, Daco was director of U.S. Macroeconomics at IHS Global Insight, now IHS Markit. He also worked in the Economic Affairs Department of the Belgian Embassy in Australia and the Permanent Representation of Belgium to the United Nations and World Trade Organization in Geneva. Greg is the recipient of numerous forecasting awards, including the Consensus Economics Forecast Accuracy Award in 2019. He is a member of the National Association for Business Economics and the American Economic Association. He is former board director of the National Association for Business Economics, former president of the New York Chapter of NABE as well as founder and former president of the Boston Chapter of NABE. Greg is a frequent contributor to the Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Barron’s and other publications. He is also a regular guest of CNBC, Bloomberg, BBC and NPR. Daco holds a Master of Arts in economics from Boston University, and a Master of Science in Business Management from Université de Louvain in Belgium.
Ellen Zentner
Ellen Zentner is chief U.S. economist at Morgan Stanley, a managing director and a member of its Research Diversity and Inclusion Council. She joined the firm in 2013 from Nomura Securities International. From 2003 to 2011, Ellen worked for Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ as its senior U.S. economist. Before joining BTMU, she worked in the Revenue Estimating Division for the Texas State Comptroller. Zentner is president of the National Association for Business Economics, and currently serves on the Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee, as well as Geoeconomic Council of Advisers for the Center for Strategic and International Studies. She sits on the Economic Advisory Panel for the American Bankers’ Association and is a former member of the Economic Advisory Council for the Federal Reserve Banks of New York and Chicago, past chair of SIFMA’s Economic Advisory Roundtable and director of the National Association for Business Economics and the NABE Foundation. Zentner is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a trustee of the Graduate Center Foundation of City University of New York. In 2018 and 2020, her team received the Lawrence R. Klein Award for the most accurate economic forecasts over the past four years. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Master of Economics from the University of Colorado.
Mervin Jebaraj
Mervin Jebaraj is the director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Arkansas. During his time at the center, he has been instrumental in creating and executing economic studies for clients such as the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, Northwest Arkansas Council, Walton Family Foundation, Arvest Bank, University of Arkansas and many others. His work is regularly noted by the state's business media. Arkansas Business and the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal recognized Mervin in their 40 Under 40 lists and on the Arkansas 250 list. He is an exceptional source of business and economics-related expertise that journalists and businesspeople alike rely on to understand how national and regional issues impact Northwest Arkansas and Arkansas as a whole. He makes presentations that share the center's expertise directly to over 5,000 individuals annually and tens of thousands more hear and see his economic analysis and commentary through television, radio and print media. Jebaraj serves on the Community Development Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the Board of Directors of the National Association for Business Economics, and the Board of Directors of the Northwest Arkansas National Airport.
Video Archive
Forecast Speaker Archive
Business Forecast 2015
Friday, January 30, 2015
John Q. Hammons Convention Center
World Trade Center District - Rogers, Arkansas
- Moderator: John James, Founder, Acumen Brands
- International Speaker: Carl Tannenbaum, Chief Economist, Northern Trust
- Domestic Speaker: John Silvia, Managing Director & Chief Economist, Wells Fargo
- Regional Speaker: Kathy Deck, Director, Center for Business and Economic Research
Business Forecast 2016
Friday, January 29
John Q. Hammons Convention Center
World Trade Center District - Rogers, Arkansas
- Moderator: Bill Dillard, VP, Dillards, Inc.
- Global Forecaster: Michael Drury, Chief Economist, McVean Trading & Investments, LLC
- Domestic Forecaster: Kevin Kliesen, Business Economist and Bank Officer, Research Division, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
- Regional Forecaster: Kathy Deck, Director, Center for Business and Economic Research
Business Forecast 2017
Friday, January 27
John Q. Hammons Convention Center
World Trade Center District - Rogers, Arkansas
- Moderator: Shelley Simpson, Chief Marketing Officer, EVP, President of Integrated Capacity
- Global Forecaster: Stuart Mackintosh, Executive Director, The Group of Thirty
- Domestic Forecaster: Ellen Hughes-Cromwick, Chief Economist, Office of Secretary of Commerce
- Regional Forecaster: Kathy Deck, Director, Center for Business and Economic Research
Business Forecast 2018
Friday, January 26
John Q. Hammons Convention Center
World Trade Center District - Rogers, Arkansas
- Introductions: Jim Walton, Chairman and CEO, Arvest Bank Group
- Keynote: Michael Milken, Chairman of the Milken Institute
- Question and Answer Session: Ross DeVol, Walton Fellow, Walton Family Foundation
- State and Regional Forecaster: Mervin Jebaraj, Director, Center for Business and Economic Research
Business Forecast 2019
Friday, January 26
John Q. Hammons Convention Center
World Trade Center District - Rogers, Arkansas
- Moderator: Steve Gibbs, Senior Vice President, Chief Accounting Officer and Controller for Tyson Foods,
Inc.
- Global Forecaster: Carolyn Evans, Head Economist and Senior Data Scientist, Intel Corporation
- Domestic Forecaster: Ross DeVol, Walton Fellow, Walton Family Foundation
- State and Regional Forecaster: Mervin Jebaraj, Director, Center for Business and Economic Research
Business Forecast 2020
Friday, February 1, 2020
John Q. Hammons Convention Center
World Trade Center District - Rogers, Arkansas
- Moderator: Claiborne Deming, Chairman of the Board, Murphy Oil Corporation
- Global Forecaster: Constance Hunter, Chief Economist KPMG, United States
- Domestic Forecaster: Manuel Balmaseda, Chief Economist CEMEX
- State and Regional Forecaster: Mervin Jebaraj, Director, Center for Business and Economic Research
Business Forecast 2021
Friday, January 29, 2021
Zoom Virtual Meeting
Fayetteville, Arkansas
- Global Forecaster: Catherine Mann,Global Chief Economist, Citibank
- Domestic Forecaster: Mark Palim, Vice President and Deptuty Chief Economist, Fannie Mae
- State and Regional Forecaster: Mervin Jebaraj, Director, Center for Business and Economic Research
Business Forecast 2022
Friday, January 28, 2022
The Roger's Convention Center
World Trade Center District - Rogers, Arkansas
- Moderator: Brett Biggs: Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Walmart
- Global Forecaster: Juhi Dhawan Senior Managing Director, Partner, and Macro Strategist, Wellington Management
- Domestic Forecaster: David Altig Executive Vice President and Director of Research, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
- State and Regional Forecaster: Mervin Jebaraj, Director, Center for Business and Economic Research
