Managing Director, Chief Economist

Wells Fargo Securities, LLC

John Silvia is a managing director and the chief economist for Wells Fargo. Based in Charlotte, N.C., he has held his position since he joined Wachovia in 2002 as the company’s chief economist.

Prior to his current position, John worked on Capitol Hill as senior economist for the U.S. Senate Joint Economic Committee and chief economist for the U.S. Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee. Before that, he was chief economist of Kemper Funds and managing director of Scudder Kemper Investments, Inc. John was awarded a National Association of Business Economics (NABE) Fellow Certificate of Recognition in 2011 for outstanding contributions to the Business Economics Profession and Leadership Among Business Economists to the Nation. In 2010, he was recognized for the Best Overall Forecast, Best Inflation Forecast, and Best Personal Consumption Expenditures Forecast by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. John is on the Bloomberg Best Forecast list for his forecasts of GDP, the Institute of Supply Management (ISM) manufacturing index, housing starts, and the unemployment rate.

John holds B.A. and Ph.D. degrees in economics from Northeastern University in Boston and has a master’s degree in economics from Brown University in Providence, R.I. John’s
book, Dynamic Economic Decision Making, was published by Wiley in August 2011.

John serves as a member of the Blue Chip Panel of Economic Forecasters and also serves on an informal advisory group for the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. He serves as chair for the Economic Advisory Committee of both the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) Economic Advisory Roundtable and the American Bankers Association.

John was formerly a director of the NABE and president of the Charlotte Economics Club. He has also served on economic advisory committees to the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, and the Public Securities Association.

A strong supporter of education and civic affairs, John serves as a member of the Business Advisory Council at the Walker College of Business at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C., and on the President’s Council for Charlotte’s Central Piedmont Community College. He has previously served as a board member of the British American Business Council of North Carolina and served on the Economic Development Board for the State of North Carolina, a special appointment by the governor. He also served on the Business Advisory Committee for the City of Charlotte.

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