The Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County will hold its 16th annual Economic Outlook Luncheon from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. on Friday, May 17, at the Hyatt Regency Sarasota. 

The luncheon's keynote speaker will be Sean Snaith, Ph.D., Director of the University of Central Florida’s Institute for Economic Competitiveness. Snaith's perceptive insights and hilarious observations about our local, regional, national and global economy are as entertaining as they are informative.

Snaith is a nationally recognized economist in the field of business and economic forecasting. He is the recipient of multiple awards for the accuracy of his forecasts, his research and his teaching. He has served as a consultant for local governments and multinational corporations such as IBM, Dell and Compaq. Snaith has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The New York Times, the Economist and the London Guardian, and has appeared on CNBC, Fox Business Network, the Nightly News, the BBC, China Central TV, Sky News and Nippon TV.