‘The Mooch’ and other finance giants are coming to Little Havana. Here are the details
A group seeking to bring together the multitude of finance, economic, technology and policy professionals now living in South Florida will have its largest event so far on Friday, hoping to start an annual tradition.
The almost 3-year-old Economic Club of Miami has put together an all-day discussion on investing in Miami, Latin America and emerging markets.
The inaugural Miami Economic Forum “will put a heavy emphasis on the role Miami plays in bridging economic interests of the United States and Latin America,” the group said.
Here’s what to know about the event and the club:
About the Economic Club conference
Time: The event runs 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Friday, with welcoming remarks by Jon Hartley, co-founder and chairman of the Economic Club of Miami, and Francisco Gonzalez, its executive director.
Place: The conference is at Miami Dade College’s Padrón Campus in Little Havana at 627 SW 27th Ave., Building 6, 15th floor.
Cost: The finance event is open to the public but costs $300 for non-members and about $149 for members.
Who is speaking? The Mooch and more than 30 others
More than 36 speakers will take the stage. The lunchtime keynote speaker is Anthony Scaramucci, head of SkyBridge Capital, longtime American financier who also briefly served as White House communications director during the Trump presidency, but now is a vocal critic of the former president and much of today’s GOP. The evening keynote will be given by Jorge Quiroga, former president of Bolivia.
Asset managers and private equity investors are expected to attend as are family office managers and private wealth leaders. The crowd will include professionals who work in technology or policy, too.
Other speakers include those with policy backgrounds like Mary Kissel, senior advisor to former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and Tomas Philipson, former Acting Chairman of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers. Both worked in the Trump administration.
The conference also includes a conversation with Ricardo Mora, Goldman Sachs Co-Head of Latin America.
Topic panels at the Miami finance event
A panel on private wealth will be moderated by Michaeljohn Green of the Miami Downtown Development Authority.
Other discussion topics are “Outlook For The Latin American and Global Economy” and “China and Latin America Foreign Relations.”
“Our goal is to build the signature emerging markets finance conference that brings financiers from around the world to talk about the trajectories of Latin American economies,” Hartley said in an interview with the Miami Herald. “And both ways: outsiders investing in Latin America and Latin Americans investing elsewhere.”
Recent growth and opportunities in South Florida will be a topic of discussion but without skipping over the emerging challenges, said Hartley, also an economics PhD candidate at Stanford University.
For example, a panel on Global Real Estate Opportunities, moderated by Charles Foschini of Berkadia, will have John Catsimatidis Jr., of Red Apple Group; Jonathan Lonsdale of Ender; and Andrew Velo-Arias of The Related Group, among speakers with experience in affordable housing development.
“It won’t be just about investing,” Hartley said. “We will discuss housing issues in many different respects including the supply of affordable housing.”
Not attending but likely to be talked: new Argentine president Javier Milei.
“Milei is sort of a catalyst agent for economic liberalization in Argentina,” said Hartley, 34, the chairman of the Economic Club of Miami, and so, “with that, you’ve seen a resurgence of interest in investing in Latin America.”
The Miami Herald is a sponsor of the event.
How the Economic Club of Miami started
The Economic Club of Miami was started in 2021. Hartley had started coming down from New York to visit his parents in South Florida and felt like while finance professionals were moving to Miami, they did not have the same type of events or programs they had up North.
Hartley reached out to Jeb Bush Jr. who he got to know working as economic advisor to Jeb Bush’s presidential campaign in 2016, and in January 2021, they put together a Google document to brainstorm about creating the group. Lourdes Castillo, a veteran public relations professional and executive, and Jeremy Schwarz, joined, too. All four are co-founders and Hartley serves as chairman.
The co-founders and board members are unpaid positions, and the organization is a nonprofit. Schwarz, for example, who is also general counsel and senior aide to the Miami mayor, receives no compensation from the Economic Club of Miami, said Hartley.
And while the group’s founders have extensive ties to GOP politicians, Hartley says the club is “100% non-partisan” and that “we’re 100% independent of the Florida GOP or any arm of it.”
Asked if the group would host an event featuring or including the economic advisors of Chile’s leftist president Gabriel Boric, Jeb Bush Jr. told the Miami Herald in an interview that they would.
“Our dream is to being a forum where major policymakers come and present their ideas,” he said.
Hartley added that “we would want to have balance and someone asking difficult questions,” but said that is no different from its other events.
How to join the Economic Club of Miami
Membership: To join the Economic Club of Miami, one has to apply.
Cost: It costs $500 per year. There are about 100 members.
More information: www.econclubmiami.org
