Economic Outlook Conference

Special thanks to our presenting sponsor:
Bank of America

Our Economic Outlook

Get a clear look at whats shaping business in the year ahead. On Oct. 1 2025 our trio of speakers discussed the national economy, regional economy, and global markets at the Economic Outlook keynote lunch, part of Spark ILM.

For further event details, visit the 2025 Spark ILM Event Page.

Tom Barkin

President & CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond

Tom serves on the Fed’s chief monetary policy body, the Federal Open Market Committee, and is also responsible for bank supervision and the Federal Reserve’s technology organization. He is “on the ground” continually in the Fed’s Fifth District, which covers South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, D.C., West Virginia, and Maryland. His engagement in the region has brought real attention to areas facing economic challenges.

Prior to joining the Richmond Fed, Tom was a senior partner and CFO at McKinsey & Company, a worldwide management consulting firm, where he also oversaw McKinsey’s offices in the southern United States.

Brian Daley

Managing Director & Head of Equity Strategy for the Chief Investment Office (CIO), Bank of America
Corporation

Brian Daley oversees and develops the individual equity and industry analysis investment strategy supporting
Bank of America Private Bank. He monitors the CIO equity strategies and leads the development and promotion of the equity research process by working directly with portfolio managers.

Prior to joining Bank of America, Brian was an equity trader at Trident Investment Management, a global macro fund, where he managed and traded U.S. and non-U.S. equities, exchange-traded funds, futures, and options; provided oversight on global indexes and equity sectors, and was responsible for the country, sector, and individual security weightings for equities. Previously, he worked at Conifer Securities, Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch in equity research, trading, and research sales positions.

Brian earned his B.S. degree in Finance with a concentration in Economics from Villanova University.

Mouhcine Guettabi

Regional Economist, UNCW's Swain Center

Mouhcine Guettabi joined UNCW in August 2021 and is serving as both an Associate professor as well as the area’s regional economist.

Before joining UNCW, he was an associate professor of economics at the University of Alaska Anchorage. On the academic front, he is an applied microeconomist, with his recently published research being found in some of the leading economic journals such as the Review of Economics and Statistics, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, and the Journal of Regional Science. In addition to his academic work, during his time at UAA, he regularly produced economic forecasts, analyzed the state's finances, conducted analysis on key policy issues, and testified in front of the legislature.

The Swain Center has proudly hosted the Economic Outlook Conference since 2016

Outlook Keynote Lunch at the WilmingtonBiz Expo

2024 - Our Economic Outlook

• 2024 WilmingtonBiz Expo & Conference event page
• 2024 UNCW Economic Impact Report
• "UNCW Has $3.2 Billion Economic Impact statewide" - WilmingtonBiz
• "Economists Outline Global, National And Local Trends" -WilmingtonBiz
• National Outlook Video
• Global Outlook Video
• Regional Outlook Video
• Outlook Panel Video

2023 - Our Economic Outlook

• 2023 WilmingtonBiz Expo & Conference event page
• "Top Economists Share Outlook On Cape Fear Region And Beyond"-WilmingtonBiz 
• Our Economic Outlook Panel Video
• National Outlook Video
• Regional Outlook Video

2022 - Going Places

• 2022 WilmingtonBiz Expo & Conference event page 
• "Experts Share Insights On Economy, Region at Conference And Expo" - WilmingtonBiz

2021 - A Time for Agility

• 2021 WilmingtonBiz Expo & Conference Event page
• Economic Outlook Conference "A Time for Agility" video

Outlook Conference Remote

2020 - From Crisis to Opportunity

• Outlook Online open session video