Wintrust Business Lunch 2/7/20: US Job Growth Surges In January, Travel Expert Peter Greenberg, Futurexecs Founders Chris Petersen and Dave Chonowski, & An Inside Look Into Marsh

Ji Suk Yi hosts this edition of the Wintrust Business Lunch for Friday, February 7th: Segment 1: (At 0:00) Washington Bureau Chief and Senior Economic Analyst of Bankrate.com Mark Hamrick, examined the robust jobs report from January 2020. The economy added 225,000 jobs. Milder winter weather sparked a surge in construction, while the education, health-care and […]

Ji Suk Yi hosts this edition of the Wintrust Business Lunch for Friday, February 7th:

Segment 1: (At 0:00) Washington Bureau Chief and Senior Economic Analyst of Bankrate.com Mark Hamrick, examined the robust jobs report from January 2020. The economy added 225,000 jobs. Milder winter weather sparked a surge in construction, while the education, health-care and leisure and hospitality industry continued with strong gains. Average hourly earnings increased 7 cents to $28.44 and labor force participation is noted at a 7-year high. Lagging industries included manufacturing and retail.

Segment 2: (At 7:39) Emmy Award-winning investigative journalist and travel expert Peter Greenberg shared his insider perspective on global travel. He advised canceling trips to Asia is unnecessary but recommends using common sense preventative hygiene and sanitizing routines. Greenberg analyzed the financial effect of the coronavirus, travel bans, suspended flights and quarantined cruise ships. Keeping perspective on the virus outbreak is key to understanding it’s safe to travel and that it’s currently a traveler’s market with great international flight and hotel deals for the next several months. You can meet Greenberg on Sunday at Chicago’s Travel and Adventure Show in Rosemont and listen to “Eye On Travel” from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on WGN Radio.

Segment 3: (At 17:04) Friends and former US Army officers, Chris Petersen and Dave Chonowski, felt that despite having hundreds of online connections, it was still too hard to find a job. These two entrepreneurs decided to launch the country’s first accelerator called, Futurexecs, for mid-career professionals who are looking to advance their careers. Networking events provide direct access to influential industry insiders and peers, career education and coaching, mentorship and exposure to new companies.

Segment 4: (At 25:32) Managing Director, Adrian Pellen, of Marsh stops by the studio to talk about the global leader in insurance broking and risk management and its pivotal role in helping clients in the infrastructure industry. Pellen’s discussion scrutinized why Illinois scored a “C-” on its infrastructure report card (ASCE) and what the state needs to prioritize in order to improve. Looking ahead, Pellen analyzed what he sees as critical and emerging risks in infrastructure development and the tools based on data, analytics, and technology that Marsh utilizes to provide comprehensive solutions.

https://serve.castfire.com/audio/3730750/3730750_2020-02-07-215950.64kmono.mp3