Hear from national, state, and local experts who provide insights that drive strategic growth and forecasting. This cornerstone event gives the region’s business community a clear view of today’s economic landscape, future projections, and actionable strategies for success.

The day kicks off at 8:30 a.m. with networking over a light breakfast and coffee/tea bar, followed by the 9:00 a.m. Economic State of the Region address. Attendees will gain valuable insights from high-profile economists and local business leaders, relevant for organizations of every size—from major corporations to small enterprises.

Walk away with practical guidance on workforce retention, benefits costs, and other post-COVID challenges—plus connections with peers and industry leaders. Whether you want to understand national trends or local market dynamics, the Economic Summit gives you the tools and perspective to plan confidently for the year ahead.

Keynote Speaker - Tom Barkin, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond

Tom Barkin is the president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. He has held this position since 2018.

Tom serves on the Fed’s chief monetary policy body, the Federal Open Market Committee, and is also responsible for the Richmond Fed’s 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.

Tom earned his bachelor’s, MBA and law degrees from Harvard University.

Featured Speaker - Juan Pablo Segura, Secretary of Commerce and Trade Economic Outlook for the State of Virginia

Juan Pablo Segura is the Secretary of Commerce and Trade for the Commonwealth of Virginia.  He oversees 13 agencies with 1,300 team members and a $3B budget.  Juan Pablo leads economic growth through a variety of initiatives and agencies to generate an environment that makes Virginia the best place to start, grow, or relocate a business.  Agencies include the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation, Virginia Housing, Virginia Energy, Activation Capital, Small Business Finance Authority, and Virginia Tourism.

Juan Pablo is a Virginia native and has spent a majority of his career focused on starting businesses and transforming antiquated industries. He is one of the founders of Babyscripts, a next generation maternity monitoring company that over the last 10 years has become one of the largest maternity management platforms in the world, recently being named one of the 150 most innovative healthcare technology companies in the world by CB Insights.

Since 2014, Juan Pablo has been named a Healthcare Transformer by the Startup Health Academy in New York, a Wireless Lifechanger by CTIA for his work in detecting problems in pregnancy faster, selected as a finalist for the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2019 Mid-Atlantic Award, and named to the inaugural class of the Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s Hispanic Business Hall of Fame.

Juan Pablo is also involved locally in the nonprofit space. He is on the board of Youth for Tomorrow, was on the board of Volunteers of America, the Business School at Catholic University, and the Spanish Catholic Center in Washington DC.

Juan Pablo is a CPA holder and a proud graduate of the University of Notre Dame. He currently resides in Henrico, Virginia with his wife Cecilia and sons Luca and Teodoro.

Panelist of Regional Business Leaders:

Scott Hamberger, Entrepreneur, Blue Hill Proprietary

Beth Lewin, President, Carroll Construction                                                                                             

Ed McKay, President & CEO, Shentel