The State of the Economy with Jeff Korzenik

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Jeff Korzenik, Senior Vice President, Chief Economist, Fifth Third Commercial Bank

Jeff Korzenik is the Chief Economist for Fifth Third Commercial Bank. As Chief Economist, Jeff provides research and analysis that impacts the Bank’s key markets as well as business leaders and policymakers throughout the country. He is an award-winning author whose writings have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, the Harvard Business Review, Newsweek, Forbes and many other national and regional publications, and Jeff has appeared regularly on CNBC, Bloomberg and Fox Business News. Jeff’s insights are also featured in the Empowering American Cities initiative, a collaboration with Fifth Third and the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Empowering American Cities delivers local economic information for business leaders looking to grow their companies and their communities. It explores data on why some cities thrive while others fall behind, helping to identify policies and business practices that are working or not working. Policymakers have sought Jeff’s expertise on a variety of topics leading to his testifying before state legislatures and on Capitol Hill. Most recently, Jeff has been recognized as a leading expert on private sector models for hiring people with criminal records and advancing public safety through employment. His book, “Untapped Talent,” published by HarperCollins in 2021, is widely recognized as the authoritative text on the subject. 

Jeff earned both a bachelor’s degree in economics and a certificate of proficiency in Near Eastern studies from Princeton University. 

Jeff serves as a member of the Board of Advisors of the Peabody Essex Museum.

Bernie Jaworski, Drucker Chair in Management and the Liberal Arts (Moderator)

Bernie Jaworski is the Drucker Chair in Management and the Liberal Arts, which is named in honor of Peter Drucker, the founder of modern management and the namesake of the Drucker School. Bernie is a ISBM and American Marketing Association Fellow. He is recipient of the three major Journal of Marketing awards - the Alpha Kappa Psi award (received twice), the Maynard award, and the Sheth award. He also received the Converse award and the Vijay Mahajan lifetime achievement award for contributions to marketing. His 2020 book on Organic Growth (with Bob Lurie) received the Leonard Berry AMA book of the year award. His most recent book (with David Sprott) is the Soul of Strategy: Building Customer Centric Organizations, Wiley, 2025).. He has been voted MBA teacher of the year (both at USC and Drucker).

Jaworski came to the Drucker School from the Switzerland-based IMD, a highly regarded international business school. Prior to working at IMD, Jaworski spent a decade as a senior partner of the Monitor Group, a global management consulting firm. During his Monitor career, he co-founded and co-led two of the global practice areas, the e-commerce practice and the executive education unit.