ICMA Blog

Global Economist Forecasts Future at ICMA EXPO

Keynote Daniel Altman Analyzes Global Marketplace at March 27-30 Event in Orlando, Florida

PRINCETON JUNCTION, N.J.—Feb. 9, 2017—The International Card Manufacturers Association (ICMA), a global trade association for card manufacturers, personalizers, issuers and suppliers, announced today that global economist Daniel Altman will be the keynote speaker at the 27th annual ICMA Global Card Manufacturing and Personalization EXPO.

The tradeshow will be held March 27-30 at the Renaissance Orlando in Florida.

Altman, an international bestselling author, is widely hailed as one of the most perceptive long-term economic forecasters in contemporary society. He masterfully examines power structures, cultural patterns and complex data in order to illuminate the underlying trends that make our global economy tick.

“ICMA is pleased for the opportunity to present global economist Daniel Altman, a data scientist and respected author, as the keynote speaker of the 27th annual ICMA EXPO,” said Jeffrey Barnhart, executive director and founder of ICMA.

He continued, “Altman will be providing ICMA EXPO attendees with a fearless, fresh perspective into the economic trends that shape our daily lives, ultimately offering members a path forward for future growth and success across the global marketplace.”

“His depth of knowledge in economics, coupled with thought leadership, is unparalleled when following patterns across history,” Barnhart added. “He deeply understands ingrained and variable factors impacting global economies – offering quintessential forecasts to a diverse and ever-changing world audience.”

Altman serves as an adjunct associate professor of economics at New York University’s Stern School of Business, where he teaches long-term macroeconomic forecasting and sports analytics. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the expert advisory board at Dalberg Global Development Advisors.

He previously wrote economic commentary on the staffs of The Economist, The International Herald Tribune and The New York Times, where he was also one of the youngest-ever members of the editorial board. In between stints as a journalist, he was an economic advisor in the British government. He now writes a global economics column as senior editor for economics at Foreign Policy magazine and he publishes articles on soccer analytics online for The New Yorker.

Born in Connecticut, Altman received his doctorate in economics from Harvard University. He has lived and worked on four continents and is a citizen of the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

With his broad range of knowledge and expertise in the field of analytics, Altman is known for sharing insights on diverse topics, including delving into the risks inherent in emerging economies, how factors such as elections and oil prices shape economic trends and the role a booming China plays in the current global economy.

Barnhart continued, “As always, attendees will be invited to educate, learn and network while gaining valuable insight on card manufacturing and issuing trends and new technologies in security and payments, as well as market forecasts.”

The ICMA EXPO is being co-located for the second consecutive year with the Payments Summit run by the Smart Card Alliance (SCA), a multi-industry association working to stimulate adoption of smart card technology and advanced payment technology, to create a synergistic experience for the industry.

The events will include an opening general session, as well as separate educational tracks on card manufacturing and personalization trends, emerging payment applications and new technologies involving mobile and transportation payments. ICMA and SCA will also hold separate networking events for attendees and organization members.

Explained Barnhart, “With the future in mind, our card industry members will have diverse, contemporary and unique opportunities to explore at the 2017 ICMA EXPO in Orlando.”

The global card industry generated $26.5 billion in revenues in 2016, equating to the production of 35.4 billion cards worldwide and representing a 0.8 percent increase compared to 2015. Last year, the industry earned $19.8 billion USD in the manufacturing of cards, which is 3.1 percent more than earned in 2015. The 2016 data will be released in full by ICMA this February.

To register for the ICMA EXPO, visit www.icmaexpo.com.

To learn more about the benefits of ICMA membership, visit www.icma.com.

###

About ICMA 
Based in Princeton Junction, New Jersey, ICMA is a nonprofit association of card manufacturers, personalizers, suppliers and related industry participants. With 225 members globally, ICMA acts as a resource for industry issues, including the production, technology, application, security and environmental issues of cards. More information is available at www.icma.com.