Local CEOs: Recession may be on its way but it won’t be as bad as first predicted
Inflation is finally showing signs of slowing. Data released Tuesday show the Consumer Price Index is up 7.1% over the past year, down from 7.7% in October.
President Biden said he thinks the positive trend will continue into the new year, but also said prices are still too high.
“Make no mistake prices are still too high and we have a lot more work to do,” he said. “But things are getting better and we’re heading in the right direction.”
So what does all this mean for you and your bottom line? Some of Charlotte’s top CEOs got together Tuesday to talk about the economic outlook in the city.
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Hundreds of local business leaders all addressed the same question: Will we see a recession in 2023? The answer may not be as bad as you think.
Nearly 600 people gathered Tuesday for the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance annual outlook. Some brand new executives were in attendance as well, including Robert Rolle and Chris Wascak.
After meeting eight years ago while working for a recruiting firm, Rolle and Wascak thought they could do it better themselves. They founded their own startup firm in July. What HTD Talent does is in the name: Hire, train, deploy.
“That focuses on taking these pools of talent and custom training them for companies with the specific skills they need to be successful, mostly at the junior level,” Rolle said.
Billing itself the first Black-owned business in that space, HTD Talent also helps increase minority candidates in tech jobs.
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“It’s a different way of approaching this model, to be able to provide opportunities not just for the talent, but also for the companies that we’re supporting,” Rolle said.
That message of representation was echoed at the event by some of Charlotte’s Fortune 500 company CEOs.
“We run the company to deliver on profits and purpose, that’s not a new concept,” said Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan.
The top CEOs of our area say when it comes to next year, a recession may be coming but probably won’t be as bad as previously thought.
“For the U.S. I see a tougher economy, but similar to Marvin, I don’t see a meltdown -- far from it in 2023,” said Honeywell CEO Darius Adamczyk.
The CEOs of Lowe’s hardware stores, Honeywell and Bank of America all said they see a tougher economy next year than this year, but none see any kind of massive economic shock or big recession -- both locally or nationwide.
Interestingly, Lowe’s CEO Marvin Ellison said he sees housing prices going up next year.
(WATCH BELOW: Dilworth Soup Kitchen seeing more people in need of food as inflation increases)
