Business Forecast Luncheon
The 29th Annual Business Forecast event will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Friday, January 27, 2023 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 27th for an informative event.
Each year, the Center for Business & Economic Research hosts the Arkansas Business Forecast event, bringing together national and international experts to discuss the economic outlook for Arkansas, the nation and the world. The event typically draws more than 1,200 business and community leaders. Make plans to attend the 28th Arkansas Business Forecast event on January 27, 2023. The luncheon will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Friday, January 27, 2023 at the Rogers Convention Center in the World Trade Center District in Rogers. For questions, please call 479-575-4151.
This year’s luncheon was preceded by a networking event for the speakers and attendees from 10:45 a.m. to 11:20 a.m. in the Rogers Convention Center.
2023 Presentations from the Arkansas Business Forecast
Registraton Closed
Moderator Todd Simmons, is the chief executive officer and co-vice chair, Simmons Foods.
Global Forecaster, Julia Coronado is founder of the economic research firm MacroPolicy Perspectives and a clinical associate professor at the McCombs School of Business.
Domestic Forecaster, John List is the the Kenneth C. Griffin distinguished service professor in economics at the University of Chicago, and chief economist at Walmart. His research focuses on combining field experiments with economic theory to deepen our understanding of the economic science.
State and Regional Forecaster, Mervin Jebaraj, is the director of the Center for Business and Economic Research. He is an exceptional source of business and economics-related expertise that journalists and business people alike rely on to understand how national and regional issues impact Northwest Arkansas and Arkansas as a whole.
Detailed biographies of the speakers are below.
Individual tickets are $85 each. Tables are $850 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. Additional sponsorship information can be found below.
Thank you to 2023 Business Forecast Luncheon Sponsors!
Details about sponsorship opportunities are available here.
For more information contact
Center for Business and Economic Research
CBER-WCOB-WJWH 549
Sam M. Walton College of Business
1 University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701
PH: (479) 575-4151
2023 Business Forecast Speakers
Todd Simmons
Todd Simmons is chief executive officer and co-vice chair, Simmons Foods. He joined Simmons in 1990. Todd attended Georgetown University where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management. Simmons is currently serving, or has served, in the following positions: vice chairman of the National Chicken Council, executive committee and board of the Pet Food Institute, Arkansas Executive Forum at the University of Arkansas, U.S. Poultry and Egg Association board, American Heart Association of NWA, Walton Arts Foundation, Signature Bank of Arkansas, Work Matters, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Ozark Natural Science Center; and the Poultry Federation board of directors. Simmons has also been named to Arkansas Business’ 40 Under 40.
Julia Coronado
Julia Coronado is founder of the economic research firm MacroPolicy Perspectives and a Clinical Associate Professor at the McCombs School of Business. Julia received her Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Texas then served as an economist at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors for eight years forecasting the US economy and publishing scholarly articles on pension finances and market valuations, retirement saving, and digital currency and monetary policy. She is Vice President of the National Association of Business Economists, and serves on the Board of Directors of Robert Half International and Dynex Capital, the Advisory Boards of the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Pension Research Council at the Wharton School and the Cleveland Fed’s Center for Inflation Research.
John List
John List is the Kenneth C. Griffin Distinguished Service Professor in Economics at the University of Chicago, and chief economist at Walmart. His research focuses on combining field experiments with economic theory to deepen our understanding of the economic science. In the early 1990s, List pioneered field experiments as a methodology for testing behavioral theories and learning about behavioral principles that are shared across different domains. To obtain data for his field experiments, List has made use of several different markets, including charitable fundraising activities, the sports trading card industry, the ride-share industry, and the education sector, to highlight a few. This collective research has lead to collaborative work with several different schools and charities, as well as firms including: Lyft, Uber, United Airlines, Virgin Airlines, Humana, Sears, Kmart, Facebook, Google, General Motors, Tinder, Citadel, Walmart and several non-profits. His research includes over 200 peer-reviewed journal articles and several published textbooks. He co-authored the international best seller, The Why Axis, in 2013, and is author to a new best seller, The Voltage Effect. List was elected a Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2011, and a Fellow of the Econometric Society in 2015. List received the 2010 Kenneth Galbraith Award, the 2008 Arrow Prize for Senior Economists for his research in behavioral economics in the field, and was the 2012 Yrjo Jahnsson Lecture Prize recipient. He is a current Editor of the Journal of Political Economy.
Mervin Jebaraj
Jebaraj is the director of the Center for Business and Economic Research. 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, the Northwest Arkansas Council, the Walton Family Foundation, Arvest Bank, the University of Arkansas and many others. He has contributed to economic thinking and public policy discussion that journalists, business people, and community leaders alike rely on to understand how national and regional issues impact Northwest Arkansas and Arkansas as a whole. Arkansas Business and the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal recognized Mervin in their 40 Under 40 lists and on the Arkansas 250 list. 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 TV, radio and print media. Jebaraj serves on the Community Development Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, on the Board of Directors of the Association for University Business and Economic Research and on the Board of Directors of the Walton Arts Center. He is also a member of the National Association for Business Economics.
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
