In her welcoming remarks, the U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic, Robin S. Bernstein, gave a shout out to the Miami Hurricanes football team, as well as to the ’Canes alumni community, which includes her husband, Robert Bernstein. “It’s all about the U,” she said, before introducing John Quelch, Dean of Miami Herbert Business School.
Quelch emphasized the School’s mission and strong ties with the Dominican Republic and Caribbean region.
“The Miami Herbert mission of developing innovative ideas and principled leadership that transform global business and society is at the core of everything we do,” he said. “From our unique position at the crossroads of the Americas, we are creating relationships that promote leadership development, particularly during these trying times.”
Quelch emphasized the School’s mission and strong ties with the Dominican Republic and Caribbean region.
“The Miami Herbert mission of developing innovative ideas and principled leadership that transform global business and society is at the core of everything we do,” he said. “From our unique position at the crossroads of the Americas, we are creating relationships that promote leadership development, particularly during these trying times.”
Paulo Leme, a Miami Herbert finance professor and former Chairman of Goldman Sachs Brazil, addressed the current financial markets, growth environment and challenges. He indicated that the global economic recovery (wide V-shaped) is better than expected considering the magnitude of the COVID-19 shock. This is in part due to the financial response of governments, particularly in developed economies.
Leme added that while the current crisis is deemed less severe than the 2008 financial crisis, uncertainty continues to loom—loss of economic momentum, increase in the number of COVID cases, renewed lock downs, the end of stimulus programs in many countries, as well as unknowns regarding vaccines—which contributes to the risks.
He continued to say that with limited reserves and stagnant economies, the Latin American and Caribbean region was unable to support robust fiscal programs. This negatively effects countries that had been faring well such as Dominican Republic. The economic impact for 2020, particularly for countries highly reliant on tourism, is -9.9, but with a significant growth for recovery in 2021.
Pivoting to the financial market trends, Leme projected that the U.S. stock market will continue to attract investment, once the presidential election uncertainty is resolved.
