Charlotte Economics Club

US Rates Outlook, Mark Cabana, Bank of America
2025-01-28 07:00 - 09:00 (America/New_York) | The Charlotte City Club, 121W Trade St. 31st Floor, Charlotte, NC, 28202, United States
***THIS IS EVENT IS SOLD OUT*** The Charlotte City Club 121 W Trade St. 31st Floor Charlotte NC 28202 Tuesday, January 28th 11:30-1:30pm 11:30-Doors Open/12:00 Lunch Begins Mark Cabana Managing …

The Trump Administration’s Geoeconomic Agenda
2025-02-12 06:30 - 08:30 | The Charlotte City Club, 121W Trade St. 31st Floor, Charlotte, NC, 28202, United States
THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT! The Charlotte City Club 121 W Trade St. 31st Floor Charlotte NC 28202 Wednesday, February 12th 11:30-1:30pm 11:30-Doors Open/12:00 Lunch Begins Peter Tchir, Head of …

What can Bank of America data tell us about the economy? David Tinsley, B of A Institute
2025-03-13 07:30 - 09:30 | The Charlotte City Club, 121W Trade St. 31st Floor, Charlotte, NC, 28202, United States
The Charlotte City Club 121 W Trade St. 31st Floor Charlotte NC 28202

Thursday, March 13th

11:30-1:30pm

11:30-Doors Open/12:00 Lunch Begins

Dirty Money: The Economics of Illicit Finance
2025-06-17 07:30 - 09:30 | The Charlotte City Club, 121W Trade St. 31st Floor, Charlotte, NC, 28202, United States
Alex Zerden is the founder and principal of Capitol Peak Strategies, a DC-based risk advisory firm, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), and a senior advisor to WestExec Advisors, a geopolitical risk consultancy.

The Business of Sports: An In-Depth Look at the Intersection of Athletics, Finance, and Branding
2025-09-10 07:30 - 09:30 | The Charlotte City Club, 121W Trade St. 31st Floor, Charlotte, NC, 28202, United States
We are excited to officially announce the speakers for our September 10th luncheon, The Business of Sports: An In-Depth Look at the Intersection of Athletics, Finance, and Branding.
This event will bring together leaders at the forefront of sports marketing, branding, and athlete partnerships, offering unique insights into how business and athletics continue to shape one another.

Money in the Final Frontier: The Economics of Space
2025-10-07 07:30 - 08:00 | The Charlotte City Club, 121W Trade St. 31st Floor, Charlotte, NC, 28202, United States
Biography for Roy Bale Dalton, III
Bale is a seasoned aerospace and defense leader with a notable record in executive leadership, emerging technology adoption, and global strategic operations. His career spans across roles in the federal government at NASA, the U.S. Senate, and the State Department; military service in the U.S. Navy; and the aviation private sector. He brings experience in advancing critical national security initiatives, fostering innovation, and driving impactful collaborations between government, industry, and international partners.
A distinguished Naval Aviator, Bale served on multiple deployments supporting expeditionary strike groups and special operations assault and close air support for joint special operations forces through Iraq, Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa, and the Indo-Pacific theater of operations. His command tours include Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron EIGHT FIVE, the Navy’s dedicated special operations support squadron, and Training Wing FIVE Reserve Component Commander. He continues service as the Navy Reserve Lead at the Defense Innovation Unit in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
In his federal civil service, Bale was Military Legislative Assistant to Senator Bill Nelson of Florida in the U.S. Senate and a term appointee in the Secretary’s Office of Global Partnership at the U.S. Department of State. Most recently, he served as Chief of Staff of NASA, where he was responsible for coordinating the management and execution of initiatives, programs, and policies in critical areas of concern and ensuring that the strategic goals established by the administrator and deputy administrator were achieved.
Currently, Bale is Principal at Stella Maris Strategies, a strategic advisory firm at the intersection of national security, emerging technology, and global operations, specializing in helping innovative companies navigate the complex landscape of defense, aerospace, and dual-use markets.
He holds a Bachelor of Science in Ocean Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy, a Master of Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School, and a Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School.

Open Connect: Meet the CEC
2025-10-28 13:30 - 16:00
10/28/2025 • 5:30 PM – 8PM
The VUE Rooftop
215 N Pine St
Charlotte, NC 28202
The Charlotte Economics Club invites you to an inter- generational networking event where seasoned professionals and emerging leaders can share experiences, explore career paths, and gain practical advice. Guests will enjoy one complimentary drink, table food, and live jazz in a relaxed atmosphere open to students, young professionals, CEC members, and anyone interested in meaningful connections.
Must be +21 in order to attend

The World Ahead: The Economics Shaping 2026
2025-11-04 06:30 - 08:30 | The Charlotte City Club, 121W Trade St. 31st Floor, Charlotte, NC, 28202, United States
Our event is currently sold out! Please email cec@charlotteeconclub.org to join our waitlist!
11/04/2025 • 11:30 AM

Jan Hatzius
Global Investment Research
New York

Jan is chief economist and head of Global Investment Research. He is a member of the Management Committee and the Firmwide Client Franchise Committee. Prior to assuming his current role in 2020, Jan was head of Global Economics and Markets Research. He joined Goldman Sachs in the Frankfurt office in 1997 and transferred to New York in 1999. He was named managing director in 2004 and partner in 2008.
Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Jan was a research officer at the London School of Economics.
Jan is the only three-time winner of the Lawrence R. Klein Award (2009, 2011, and 2025), which has been awarded annually since 1981 to the economist with the most accurate US economic forecast over the prior four years. He is also the No. 1 ranked economist in the annual Institutional Investor Fixed Income survey in both the global and US Economics category. Jan or his team have held No. 1 positions in the II survey every year since 2012.
Jan earned a DPhil in Economics from Oxford University, as well as degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.

Banking and the Coming Digital Asset Revolution
2025-12-03 06:30 - 15:00 | The Charlotte City Club, 121W Trade St. 31st Floor, Charlotte, NC, 28202, United States
12/03/2025 • 11:30 AM

Ebrahim H. Poonawala
Managing Director – BofA Global Research
Head of North American Banks Research

Ebrahim H. Poonawala heads North American Banks research for BofA and serves as a Managing Director in US Equity Research. As part of his coverage, Poonawala covers approximately $2 trillion in market-cap spread across large-cap US banks and investment banks, regional banks, Trust banks and the Canadian lenders. Poonawala has spent over two decades in the financial services sector, both on the sell-side covering the banking industry and prior to that performing asset liability and risk management functions at a commercial bank.
Poonawala also hosts the Fintech Firesides series, inviting industry experts to discuss the digital innovation within the financial services sector.
Before moving to the US to pursue his graduate studies, Poonawala worked in the real estate investment sector in Mumbai, India. He has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Bombay University, India, and an MBA in corporate finance from Virginia Tech. He is based in New York. He has ranked among the top analysts covering US banks for
the US Institutional Investor
All-America Research poll. For more information about any awards cited, visit https://go.bofa.com/awards.

Labor Markets in Motion: Structural Shifts Defining America’s Workforce in 2026
2026-01-21 06:30 - 09:00 | The Charlotte City Club, 121W Trade St. 31st Floor, Charlotte, NC, 28202, United States
********SOLD OUT********
Become a member and unlock $60 event pricing, saving $30 every time you attend.
01/21/2026
11:30 – Doors Open
12:00 – Lunch Begins
The Charlotte City Club
121 W Trade St. 31st Floor
Charlotte, NC 28202
Laura Dawson Ullrich currently serves as the Director of Economic Research at Indeed, leading labor market research in North America. She performs this role from Rock Hill, South Carolina, where she has lived for 18 years with her husband and three sons. Prior to that position, Ullrich was a senior regional economist and senior manager at the Charlotte branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, primarily focused on research related to higher education and workforce dynamics Prior to joining the Fed, Ullrich was associate dean for undergraduate programs and a professor of economics at Winthrop University. She earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Georgia and a master’s and doctorate in economics from the University of Tennessee. Prior to graduate school, she worked as a business consultant for Ernst & Young, specializing in executive compensation determination. In 2014, she served as a Fulbright Scholar teaching economics in Kosovo and has spent considerable time working on local economic development issues in Bolivia.

Resolutions & Revolutions
2026-02-17 12:30 - 15:00 | The VUE Rooftop, 215 N Pine St, Charlotte, NC, 28202, United States
***Postponed due to extreme weather – New date 2/17/2026 and emails have been sent to attendees ***

February 17th from 5:30pm – 8:30pm
– 5:30pm – Event begins
– 6:00pm – Jazz performance begins (holiday jingles)
– 7:00pm – Reminder of membership benefits (~5 minutes)
– 8:30pm – Event concludes, and cleanup begins
Location: The VUE Sky Lounge – 215 N Pine St, Charlotte, NC 28202
Format: Social networking event with holiday spirits, accompanied by live Jazz performance
Price: Free for members and $20 for non-members (1 complimentary drink)
Celebrate the New Year with the Charlotte Economics Club! Kick off 2026 with an evening of networking, music, and celebration! The Charlotte Economics Club
invites you to our New Year Mixer, a relaxed after-work gathering for professionals in business,
economics, finance, and related fields.
– Live jazz music
– Hors D’oeuvres
– CEC’s signature cocktail: “The Policy Pivot”
Must be +21 in order to attend

Bulls or Bears: Market Forecast for 2026
2026-02-26 06:30, 2026-02-26 06:30 - 12:00 | The Charlotte City Club, 121W Trade St. 31st Floor, Charlotte, NC, 28202, United States
02/26/2026
11:30 – Doors Open
12:00 – Lunch Begins
The Charlotte City Club
121 W Trade St. 31st Floor
Charlotte, NC 28202
Mona Mahajan is a Principal and the leader of the Investment Strategy team at Edward Jones. She helps develop and communicate the firm’s macroeconomic and financial market views, and creates impactful thought leadership to help clients meet their long-term financial goals. She is also a voting member of the asset allocation team, supporting the firm’s strategic and opportunistic portfolio allocation decisions.
Mona’s experience in the financial services industry spans equity and fixed income analysis, global investment strategy, and portfolio management. Prior to joining Edward Jones, she served as U.S. Investment Strategist at Allianz Global Investors for nearly five years.
She appears regularly on financial media, including CNBC and Bloomberg TV, as well as in print publications such as The Wall Street Journal and Barron’s.
Mona holds bachelor’s degrees in finance and computer science from the Wharton School and the School of Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
She lives in New Jersey with her husband and two children, Rishi and Riya. She enjoys traveling and being actively involved in her children’s activities.

The State of the U.S. Consumer
2026-03-11 07:30 - 13:00 | The Charlotte City Club, 121W Trade St. 31st Floor, Charlotte, NC, 28202, United States
03/11/2026
11:30 – Doors Open
12:00 – Lunch Begins
The Charlotte City Club
121 W Trade St. 31st Floor
Charlotte, NC 28202
David Tinsley is the Senior Economist at Bank of America Institute. Established in 2022, the Institute is a think tank that draws on data and analyses from across the bank and the world to provide timely and original perspectives on the economy, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), and global transformation.
The Institute leverages the depth and breadth of the bank’s proprietary data, from 69 million consumer and small business clients, 59 million verified digital users, and $1.2T in consumer and wealth management deposits. From this robust data set, the Institute provides a unique perspective on the health of the economy. It also elevates thought leadership from throughout the bank that addresses long-term trends and shares these findings with the general public. Tinsley is responsible for developing economic insights and research, leveraging the extensive propriety data sources and expertise at the bank.
Previously at Bank of America, Tinsley was responsible for the design, implementation and review of the macro scenarios used by the bank in stress testing. He also managed a team of analysts responsible for forecasting US industry developments.
Prior to joining Bank of America, Tinsley worked in economic research at a variety of investment banks, including UBS and BNP Paribas. Earlier in his career he also worked at the Bank of England.
David graduated from Fitzwilliam College, University of Cambridge, where he studied Economics.

The New Capital Cycle: AI, Capex, and the Bond Market Boom
2026-04-21 07:30 - 09:30 | The Charlotte City Club, 121W Trade St. 31st Floor, Charlotte, NC, 28202, United States
04/21/2026
11:30 – Doors Open
12:00 – Lunch Begins
The Charlotte City Club
121 W Trade St. 31st Floor
Charlotte, NC 28202
Join the Charlotte Economics Club for an in-depth conversation with Guy LeBas, Chief Fixed Income Strategist and Head of Fixed Income for Janney Capital Management, as he explores the forces reshaping today’s capital markets.
As Janney’s Chief Fixed Income Strategist, Guy provides direction to the firm’s clients on the macroeconomic, interest rate, and bond market investing climate. He authors widely followed bond market research and oversees discretionarily managed bond portfolios designed to generate consistent income across varying rate environments. Earlier in his career, he served as Interest Rate Risk Manager for U.S. Trust, overseeing risk and return on $20 billion of bank assets and derivatives.
A frequent guest on CNBC, Bloomberg TV, and Fox Business News, and a regular speaker at financial industry conferences, Guy brings both analytical depth and real-world portfolio management experience to this timely discussion.

Commodities in a Fragmenting World: Repricing Risk in Resource Producers
2026-05-12 11:30 - 13:00, 2026-05-12 11:30 - 13:30 | The Charlotte City Club, 121W Trade St. 31st Floor, Charlotte, NC, 28202, United States
05/12/2026
11:30 – Doors Open
12:00 – Lunch Begins
The Charlotte City Club
121 W Trade St. 31st Floor
Charlotte, NC 28202
The Charlotte Economics Club welcomes William Thomson, Founder and Managing Partner of Massif Capital, for a discussion on current trends in global commodity markets.
Mr. Thomson will share insights on how geopolitical shifts, supply chain changes, and evolving market conditions are impacting resource producers and investment decisions across the real asset sector.
He brings experience from private equity, credit and political risk insurance, and advisory work with NATO leadership in Afghanistan. Prior to founding Massif Capital, he managed a portfolio of credit and political risk insurance policies at Chaucer, a Lloyd’s of London syndicate, with a focus on project finance and cross-border trade.
Mr. Thomson holds a degree from Trinity College and a master’s in government from Harvard University. He is also a member of the Value Investors Club and has been recognized for his work within the investment community.
Join us for an engaging conversation on the forces reshaping resource markets and what they mean for investors, operators, and policymakers alike.

War and Money: Economic Impacts of Defense
2026-06-24 11:30 - 13:30
06/24/2026
11:30 – Doors Open
12:00 – Lunch Begins
The Charlotte City Club
121 W Trade St. 31st Floor
Charlotte, NC 28202
Join us for a timely discussion on how defense spending shapes jobs, labor markets, manufacturing, innovation, and the broader U.S. and global economy. Our panel will explore where military investment is currently focused, how it supports U.S. policy abroad, and what the future landscape of defense spending means for business, industry, and economic growth.
Panelists:
Lieutenant General (Ret.) Robert S. Walsh – Brings decades of military leadership experience, including command roles within the U.S. Marine Corps and extensive expertise in defense strategy and operations.
Erik M. Berdy – Provides deep knowledge in government relations, public policy, and strategic advisory work, helping organizations navigate the intersection of business, regulation, and federal engagement.
Jeff Harrick – Leads Huntington Bank’s Aerospace & Defense vertical, with more than 25 years of experience in corporate and leveraged finance, capital markets, M&A advisory, and defense sector transactions across public and private companies.
Discover how defense priorities and economic realities are increasingly interconnected in today’s global environment, and gain insights into the opportunities and challenges for business and industry.
