About Wells Fargo Economics

Jay Bryson is a managing director and the Chief Economist for Wells Fargo Corporate and Investment Banking, a position he has held since August 2018. In this role, Jay leads the Economics Group, which provides analysis on economic and financial developments in the major economies of the world as well as forecasts of macroeconomic variables in these economies. He was Wells Fargo’s Global Economist between 1998 and 2018.

Before joining Wells Fargo in 1998, Jay was an economist in the Division of International Finance at the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, DC. He started his career as an assistant professor of economics at the University of Alabama. Jay has also lectured on international economics and macroeconomics at the School for Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University and Georgetown University. He has published in academic and popular economic journals, and his comments on the economy regularly appear in The Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and USA Today. He makes frequent appearances on CNBC and Bloomberg TV.

Sam Bullard is a managing director and senior economist for Wells Fargo Corporate and Investment Banking. Based in Charlotte, Sam provides analysis on the macro U.S. economy and financial markets. His work has been published in academic journals, including the American Economic Association, and is cited by major media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, U.S. News & World Report, Bloomberg News, and Reuters. He co-authored the book, "Economic and Business Forecasting" (2014).

Sam is a member of the American Economic Association, the National Association for Business Economics and the Charlotte Economics Club. Sam received his BBA in finance from the University of Georgia, an MBA from Wake Forest University and holds the Certified Business Economist designation.

Nick Bennenbroek is a managing director and international economist for Wells Fargo Corporate and Investment Banking, based in New York. With more than two decades of experience as a market economist and in policy analysis, Nick provides commentary on global macroeconomic developments and foreign exchange markets through several Wells Fargo publications, with a focus on both developed and emerging economies. Nick’s analysis of international economics, central banks and currency markets helps to support clients as they operate in global markets. Nick also appears frequently on business television and in media such as Bloomberg and CNBC, and his research is often quoted in financial publications such as The Wall Street Journal.

Prior to his current position, Nick was a senior currency strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman in New York. He began his career as an analyst with the New Zealand Treasury in 1994. He then spent six years as an international economist for Bankers Trust and Deutsche Bank in London, New York, and Auckland, New Zealand.

A native of New Zealand, Nicks holds a bachelor’s degree in management studies, where he received first-class honors, and a master’s degree with distinction with a concentration in economics from the University of Waikato in Hamilton, New Zealand.

Tim Quinlan is a managing director and senior economist for Wells Fargo Corporate and Investment Banking. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, he provides analysis on U.S. economy and major foreign economies.

Tim’s work has been published in academic economic journals and his comments on the economy regularly appear in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and USA Today. He is also a frequent guest on Bloomberg TV, CNBC, and National Public Radio.

Tim first joined the company in 2002 and previously held positions as a trust account portfolio manager and investment strategist before joining the economics group in 2007. Prior to joining the company he worked for Putnam Investments in Boston.

Tim is a member of the National Association for Business Economics. Tim has a B.A. from Siena College in Albany, New York.

Sarah House is a managing director and senior economist for Wells Fargo Corporate and Investment Banking. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, she covers the U.S. macro economy, including the labor market, inflation trends, and monetary policy. Sarah frequently speaks about the economy to the national media, including The Wall Street Journal , Bloomberg News , CNBC, and National Public Radio. Prior to joining Wells Fargo in 2010, Sarah worked as a research associate for the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond .

Sarah earned a B.A. in economics from Tulane University in New Orleans and M.Sc. in local economic development from the London School of Economics. She has co-authored two books, Economic and Business Forecasting (2014) and Economic Modeling in the Post Great Recession Era (2017), both published by Wiley.

Sarah currently serves on the board for the Charlotte Economics Club, the local chapter of the National Association of Business Economics (NABE), and was president of the organization from 2020-2021. She is a member of NABE and has previously served as chair for the association’s healthcare industry committee.

Azhar Iqbal is a director and econometrician for Wells Fargo Corporate and Investment Banking. In this role, Azhar provides quantitative analysis to the Economics group and modeling and forecasting of macro and financial variables. He is based in New York, New York.

Before joining Wells Fargo in 2007, Azhar was an economist and course instructor at the Applied Economics Research Center at the University of Karachi in Pakistan, teaching econometrics, microeconomics, and urban economics. 

Azhar received his bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Punjab and has three master’s degrees. He earned his master’s degree in economic forecasting from the University at Albany, State University of New York, where he also earned a Certificate of Graduate Study in economic forecasting. He also has master’s degrees in applied economics from the University of Karachi, and in econometrics and mathematics from the University of Punjab, Pakistan.

Azhar won the 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2018 NABE Contributed Paper Award as well as the 2010 and 2016 Edmund A. Mennis Contributed Paper Award for best papers from the National Association of Business Economics (NABE). A strong supporter of education, Azhar has taught a graduate course, Advanced Business and Economic Forecasting, at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Azhar’s co-authored book, Economic and Business Forecasting: Analyzing and Interpreting Econometric Results, was published by Wiley in March 2014. His second book, Economic Modeling in the Post Great Recession Era, was published by Wiley in March 2017.

His interests focus on forecasting, time series, machine learning and big data, business cycles analysis, and macroeconomics. Azhar has presented research papers at the American Economic Association, Econometric Society meetings, the Panel Data Conference, and other international conferences. He has published over three dozen papers in the Canadian Journal of Economics, Global Economy Journal, Business Economics, Journal of Business Forecasting, and others listed in the Journal of Economic Literature. Azhar writes economic commentary/special reports which have been excerpted or republished in print media sources such as The Financial Times, Forbes, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and NPR.

Charlie Dougherty is a director and senior economist for Wells Fargo Corporate and Investment Banking. Based in New York City, he covers the U.S. economy with a focus on commercial real estate, housing, construction, and regional sectors of the economy. He regularly writes indicator reports, produces special commentary, and contributes to the company's Weekly Economic & Financial Commentary. His commentary on the U.S. economy has been featured in various regional and national media publications, including Bloomberg News, Yahoo Finance, and The Washington Post.

Before joining Wells Fargo in 2017, Charlie worked as a regional economist and consultant for IHS Markit and more recently for CertainTeed, one of the largest building product manufacturers in North America.

Charlie holds a B.A. and B.S. in economics and finance from the University of Pittsburgh and a M.A. in economics from Temple University in Philadelphia. 

He is a member of the National Association of Business Economics, Philadelphia Council of Business Economics, and Charlotte Economics Club.

Michael Pugliese is a director and senior economist for Wells Fargo Corporate and Investment Banking. Based in New York City, Michael covers the U.S. economy with a primary focus on the labor market, inflation, monetary policy, and fiscal policy. Michael plays a lead role in producing the economics team’s U.S. and international interest rate forecasts. His work has been published in academic journals and cited by major media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal , Politico , and Bloomberg News . Michael’s contributions have been recognized in two books: The New York Times best seller The Kennedy Half-Century and Economic Modeling in the Post Great Recession Era .

Previously, Michael worked as a research analyst under Dr. Larry Sabato at the University of Virginia Center for Politics and was a presidential fellow at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress.

Michael graduated from the University of Virginia with a B.A. in economics and a second major in American government. He earned a M.A. in economics from New York University.

Brendan McKenna is a director and international economist for Wells Fargo Corporate and Investment Banking. Based in New York City, he provides commentary on global macroeconomic developments and foreign exchange markets through several Wells Fargo publications, with a primary focus on emerging markets. Before joining Wells Fargo, he worked as a macro strategist for Citigroup in New York, where he was responsible for identifying thematic macroeconomic trends as well as analyzing individual economies with a particular focus on emerging markets.  

Brendan graduated from Fairfield University with a B.S. in finance and received his M.B.A. with a dual concentration in capital markets and investments as well as corporate finance from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Jackie Benson is a vice president and economist for Wells Fargo Corporate and Investment Banking Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, she covers the U.S. macroeconomy, including residential housing, commercial real estate, construction and regional economies. She regularly writes economic indicator reports and contributes to the group’s Weekly Economic & Financial Commentary.

Prior to joining Wells Fargo in 2022, Jackie served as a senior economist at the U.S. Senate Joint Economic Committee. Before that, she was a policy director at the American Action Forum, a policy research organization in Washington, D.C. 

Jackie holds an M.S. in applied economics from Johns Hopkins University. Previously, she earned a B.S. in economics and a B.A. in political science from the University of Florida.

Shannon Grein is a vice president and economist for Wells Fargo Corporate and Investment Banking. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, she provides analysis on the U.S. macro economy, with a primary focus on consumer spending, business investment and international trade.

Shannon regularly contributes to the group’s economic commentary and her perspectives have been shared in The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg News, and on National Public Radio. Her work has also been published in major academic journals.

Shannon earned a B.S. in economics from St. John’s University in New York and a M.A. in economics from New York University.

Nicole Cervi is an economist for Wells Fargo Corporate and Investment Banking. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Nicole covers the U.S. macro economy and assists with quantitative analysis. She also contributes to the group’s Weekly Economic & Financial Commentary and various special reports. 

Nicole joined the group in 2020 after graduating with highest distinction from Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a B.S. in business administration.

Jeremiah Kohl is an economic analyst for Wells Fargo Corporate and Investment Banking. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Jeremiah covers the U.S. macro economy, including business investment and personal consumption. He also contributes to the group’s Weekly Economic & Financial Commentary and various special reports. 

Jeremiah joined the group in 2022 after graduating with a B.A. in Economics with minors in Data Science and Poverty Studies from Washington and Lee University.

Aubrey George is an economic analyst for Wells Fargo Corporate and Investment Banking. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Aubrey covers the U.S. macro economy, including the labor market, inflation trends, and monetary and fiscal policy. She also contributes to the group’s Weekly Economic & Financial Commentary and various special reports. 

Prior to joining Wells Fargo in 2023, Aubrey worked as a research associate for the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Aubrey earned a B.A. with International Honours in economics through The Joint Degree Programme between William & Mary and the University of St Andrews.

Delaney Conner is an economic analyst for Wells Fargo Corporate and Investment Banking. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Delaney covers the U.S. macro economy and assists with quantitative analysis. She also contributes to the group’s Weekly Economic & Financial Commentary and various special reports.

Delaney joined the group in 2023 after graduating with a B.S. in Economics and a B.S. in Statistics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Anna Stein is an economic analyst for Wells Fargo Corporate and Investment Banking. Based in New York City, Anna covers international economies and foreign exchange markets. She contributes to the group’s Weekly Economic & Financial Commentary and various special reports. 

Anna joined the group in 2023 after graduating from the University of Virginia with a B.A. in Economics and minors in Data Science and Government.

Ali Hajibeigi is an economic analyst with Wells Fargo’s Corporate and Investment Banking. Based in New York City, Ali covers the U.S. macro economy, with emphasis on housing, commercial real estate, and regional economies. He also contributes to the group’s Weekly Economic & Financial Commentary and various special reports. 

Ali joined the group in 2024 after graduating with a B.S. in Economics and a B.A. in Mathematics from the University of Texas at Austin.