Phil Levy, chief economist at Flexport, will be the keynote speaker next month at the QCBJ’s 2022 Mid-Year Economic Review event in Davenport.
The first-time event, hosted by the Quad Cities Regional Business Journal, will be from 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m., Wednesday, June 15, at Rhythm City Casino Resort.
The event, which also will include a panel of Quad Cities business leaders, will examine how the local economy has changed in the first six months of the year as well as the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for area businesses.
“The economy is such a dynamic and ever changing force. Gaining insight from economists with a national and international perspective is always helpful to me and the business community,” said John Lohman, Group Publisher of the QCBJ. “This event is a nice mid-year update on the economy, complimenting the Quad Cities Chamber’s Economic Forecast event held in December.”
Mr. Levy’s research informs the market on global trade trends and helps the teams at Flexport, a platform for global logistics, make product and business strategy decisions to best service clients. Before joining Flexport, he spent two decades researching and forming global trade policy. He also previously served as senior fellow on the Global Economy at Chicago Council on Global Affairs and as an adjunct professor of strategy at Northwestern Kellogg.
Mr. Levy has served twice at the White House on the President’s Council of Economic Advisors including most recently as senior economist for trade. He also was a member of Policy Planning Staff for U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The author of “Rebuilding a Bipartisan Consensus on Trade Policy,” he holds a Ph.D. in economics from Stanford University.
“National Economist Phil Levy is the perfect speaker for this year’s event. He had spoken at our economic events in the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City Corridor and has a deep background on international economics and trade, as well as new focus on international shipping and logistics that should be of interest to the business community with the supply chain challenges many have faced in the past several years,” said Mr. Lohman, founder of the Corridor Media Group.
The company is a family-owned media company based in North Liberty, Iowa. It publishes the bi-weekly QCBJ and Corridor Business Journal (CBJ).
After Mr. Levy’s keynote speech, Mr. Lohman will moderate a panel of local business leaders including:
- Guiyou Huang, president of Western Illinois University, Macomb and Quad-Cities.
- Stacey Moon, operations manager, director of quality assurance, Parr Instrument Co., Moline.
- John Ruhl, president and designated managing broker of NAI Ruhl Commercial Co., Davenport.
- Mary Pat Tubb, general manager of John Deere Davenport Works.
- Rob Woodall, GRP Europe & Asia president for Arconic.
Registration for the Mid-Year Economic Review is $60 per person, $580 for a table of 10. For information or to register, visit www.quadcitiesbusiness.com/events or e-mail CBJ Events Director Jenni Hatz at jenni@quadcitiesbusiness.com.
The event is sponsored by Huiskamp Collins Educational Planning LLC, platinum sponsor; Travero, silver sponsor; and Shive-Hattery, bronze sponsor. For sponsorship information, contact Rhonda Roskos at rhonda@quadcitiesbusiness.com.
