Business Forecast Luncheon

The 31st Annual Business Forecast event will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Friday, January 31, 2025 at the Rogers Convention Center in Rogers, Arkansas. Registration will open soon. For questions or other registration options, please call 479-575-4151. Please joint us on Friday, January 31st for an informative event.

31st Annual Arkansas Business Forecast Luncheon

2024 Business Forecast  Header

Join us from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Friday, January 31, 2025 at the Rogers Convention Center in the World Trade Center District in Rogers, Arkansas.

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 $95 for an individual and $950 for a table of 10. Preregistration by Friday, January 24, is required. Reservations can be made for the luncheon by registering below or by calling 479-575-4151.
Additional sponsorship opportunities are available. To register, please use the button below or call 479-575-4151. 

Register Here

 

2025 Business Forecast Speakers

The 31st edition of the Arkansas Business Forecast Luncheon will feature the following lineup of speakers:

Moderator: Rupal Pollack, chief executive officer, Walton Enterprises

Global Forecaster: Dana Peterson, chief economist and leader of the Economy, Strategy & Finance Center at The Conference Board.

Domestic Forecaster:  Sam Khater, vice president, chief economist, leads Freddie Mac’s Economic & Housing Research department

State and Regional ForecasterMervin Jebaraj, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research.

View speakers detailed biographies below.

Individual tickets are $95 each. Tables are $950 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 2025 Business Forecast Sponsors.

Thank you to 2025 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


 

2025 Business Forecast Speakers   

2025BFsponsorlogo

 

         Rupal Poltack

Rupal Poltack

Moderator: Rupal Poltack is the chief executive officer of Walton Enterprises. She oversees the Walton family office, Walton Family Foundation and Private Family Trust Company for a single, multi-generational family. Poltack previously served as senior vice president of Fidelity Family Office Services and Fidelity Enterprise Technology. She has over thirty years of financial services experience, including 16 years of working with family offices and seven years at PricewaterhouseCoopers L.L.P. Poltack serves on the Board of Regents and Council for Women at Boston College, where she advises the college trustees and faculty and mentors young adults to define their impact and own success. She also serves as a member of the Northwest Arkansas Executive Council in support of the region’s long-term growth and development and on advisory boards for business families. Poltack holds an undergraduate degree in finance from her alma mater, Boston College.

       Dana Peterson

Dana Peterson

International Speaker: Dana Peterson is the chief economist and leader of the Economy, Strategy & Finance Center at The Conference Board. Prior to that, she served as a global economist at Citi. Peterson has worked at the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, D.C., with her research being featured by U.S. and international news outlets, including CNBC, FOX Business, Bloomberg, BBC, Thomson-Reuters, CNN Finance, Yahoo Finance, TD Ameritrade, Harvard Business Review, Barron’s, the Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal. Dana is a member of the Board of Directors of NBER and the Global Interdependence Center, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the New York Association for Business Economics, the National Business Economic Issues Council and the Forecasters Club. She received an undergraduate degree in Economics from Wesleyan University and a Master of Science degree in Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

 

          Sam Khater

Sam Khater

 

Domestic Speaker: Sam Khater is vice president and chief economist at Freddie Mac and is responsible for the research, analysis and forecasts of the macroeconomy with a special focus on housing and mortgage markets. Previously, Khater served as vice president of research and deputy chief economist at CoreLogic. Before joining CoreLogic, Khater was a senior economist at Fannie Mae and an economist at the National Association of Realtors®. Khater holds a master’s degree in network economics from Georgetown University and a bachelor’s degree in economics and finance from George Mason University.

 

      Mervin Jebaraj
Mervin Jebaraj-Director

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.


 

 

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