Cliff Waldman

Cliff Waldman Speaker Biography

Leading Manufacturing Economist, CEO of New World Economics, Certified Business Economist, and Manufacturing Talk Radio Host

Cliff Waldman is a leading manufacturing economist, economic keynote speaker, and Founder and CEO of New World Economics, an economic consulting firm specializing in manufacturing and the forces shaping the global industrial economy. With more than two decades of professional economic research experience, Waldman helps executives understand how economic growth, global trade, tariffs, technology, artificial intelligence, demographics, labor markets, productivity, supply chains, and geopolitical change are affecting manufacturers and the broader business environment. Few economists bring Waldman’s depth of specialization in manufacturing economics. His career has included senior economic research and policy positions, extensive work with manufacturers and small businesses, leadership within the professional economics community, and presentations throughout the United States and internationally. Rather than simply presenting economic statistics, Waldman translates complex data and global developments into practical insights that help business leaders understand what is changing, why it matters, and what they should be watching next.

Keynote Speaker Cliff Waldman at a Glance

• Founder and CEO of New World Economics, an economic consulting firm specializing in manufacturing, global economic trends, forecasting, productivity, and small business.
• Brings more than two decades of professional economic research experience, with particular expertise in U.S. and global manufacturing, small business, productivity, automation, demographics, and emerging markets.
• Certified Business Economist (CBE) through the National Association for Business Economics and former Chairman of the Board of the National Economists Club.
• Host of Manufacturing Think Tank on Manufacturing Talk Radio, where he engages economists and industry experts on manufacturing, economic growth, global trade, technology, supply chains, and public policy.
• Former Associate Director of Economic Policy at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation and longtime manufacturing economist whose research connects economic data with real-world business strategy.
• Internationally experienced speaker who has presented throughout the United States and in Germany, Canada, and South Africa, as well as at events on Capitol Hill and at major Washington think tanks.

Leading Manufacturing Economist

Manufacturing economics has been a defining focus of Waldman’s career. He spent 15 years with the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation (MAPI), serving as Senior Economist and later Chief Economist. His work included forecasting U.S. manufacturing growth, analyzing industrial sectors, speaking at industry events, and producing research on the economic forces affecting manufacturers. Today, as Founder and CEO of New World Economics, Waldman continues that specialization. The Arlington, Virginia-based consulting firm provides economic research, forecasting, data analysis, and strategic insight focused on the manufacturing sector. Its work examines U.S. manufacturing growth, individual manufacturing subsectors, global economic conditions, and the outlook for small manufacturers. This depth of experience allows Waldman to move beyond broad economic forecasts. He examines what changes in growth, inflation, trade, investment, technology, labor markets, and government policy actually mean for manufacturers making decisions about capital investment, hiring, production, supply chains, automation, and future growth.

U.S. and Global Economic Outlook

Waldman’s presentations place the U.S. economy within a much larger global picture. He helps audiences understand the connections among economic growth, interest rates, inflation, employment, investment, trade, demographics, geopolitical instability, and business confidence. His international perspective has developed over decades of research and firsthand experience. Waldman has presented throughout the United States as well as in Germany, Canada, and South Africa. He has also appeared at events on Capitol Hill and at prominent Washington think tanks. For executives and decision-makers, his economic outlook presentations are designed to answer the questions that matter most: Where is growth coming from? What risks could alter the outlook? Which structural trends are likely to persist? And how should businesses prepare for an economic environment in which domestic and global developments are increasingly interconnected?

Artificial Intelligence, Automation and Productivity

Artificial intelligence has added a significant new dimension to Waldman’s work on productivity and technological change. He examines whether rapidly expanding AI investment can translate into sustained productivity growth and how automation may affect workers, entrepreneurship, capital investment, business formation, and economic competitiveness. For manufacturers, these questions are particularly important. New technologies can improve efficiency and help address labor constraints, but investment in technology alone does not guarantee productivity gains. Organizations must also consider workforce skills, implementation, capital requirements, management practices, and whether new technologies ultimately produce measurable economic value. Waldman helps audiences separate technological enthusiasm from economic evidence while exploring the potentially transformative implications of AI and automation for manufacturing and the wider economy.

Tariffs, Trade and Global Manufacturing

Global manufacturing is being reshaped by changing trade relationships, tariffs, industrial policy, geopolitical tensions, reshoring, and concerns about supply-chain resilience. Waldman examines these developments through both an economic and manufacturing lens. His work considers the changing roles of China, Europe, Canada, Mexico, emerging markets, and other major trading partners within the global industrial system. He helps business leaders think through how changes in trade policy and international relationships can affect production costs, sourcing, capital investment, competitiveness, market opportunities, and supply-chain decisions. Waldman has studied international trade and manufacturing throughout his career, including participating in policy discussions concerning China, technology, trade, and industrial competitiveness.

Manufacturing Workforce, Demographics and the Skills Gap

Demographics are another longstanding area of Waldman’s research. Aging populations, changing workforce participation, persistent skills shortages, education, immigration, and differences in demographic growth across countries all have significant implications for the future of manufacturing. Waldman examines how these forces interact with automation and productivity. As manufacturers face difficulty finding workers with the right skills, decisions about training, apprenticeships, technology investment, workforce development, and automation become increasingly important to long-term competitiveness. His presentations help leaders understand that workforce challenges are not isolated human resources issues. They are closely connected to productivity, investment, economic growth, technological adoption, and the ability of companies and countries to compete.

Small Business Economist

Waldman also brings extensive expertise in small business economics. Earlier in his career, he worked as an economist with the National Federation of Independent Business and conducted research into the economics of small firms. He also directed a major Small Business Administration research contract examining entrepreneurship potential among veterans and service-disabled veterans. New World Economics continues this focus through research on the U.S. small manufacturing sector. Its economic outlook work examines business conditions, sentiment, hiring, investment, sales expectations, and other indicators that can provide insight into the direction of smaller manufacturing companies. This combination of macroeconomic and small-business expertise enables Waldman to examine the economy from multiple perspectives—from global economic forces and national manufacturing trends to the decisions being made by individual business owners.

Host of Manufacturing Think Tank

Waldman is host of Manufacturing Think Tank on Manufacturing Talk Radio, where he regularly engages economists, industry leaders, academics, and other experts in conversations about the forces transforming manufacturing. The program provides Waldman with an ongoing platform for examining emerging issues rather than relying solely on traditional economic indicators. Recent discussions have explored artificial intelligence, automation, workforce shortages, reshoring, tariffs, China, supply chains, geopolitical risk, productivity, entrepreneurship, and the changing global manufacturing outlook. His work in economic media complements his research and keynote speaking by keeping him engaged with the questions manufacturers and business leaders are confronting in real time.

Economic Policy and Professional Leadership

Waldman’s career extends deep into the Washington, D.C. economic and policy community. He previously served as Associate Director of Economic Policy at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), where his work addressed economic policy, manufacturing, productivity, innovation, technology, and competitiveness. He has also held leadership roles within the professional economics community. Waldman served as Chairman of the Board of the National Economists Club and co-chair of the National Association for Business Economics Manufacturing Roundtable. He earned the Certified Business Economist designation from NABE in 2018. Waldman holds a Master of Arts in Economics from Rutgers University. His career has also included economic research involving state government forecasting and policy analysis as well as small-business economics.

Manufacturing and Economic Keynote Speaker

As an economic keynote speaker, Cliff Waldman combines rigorous research with a practical understanding of the decisions executives must make in an uncertain business environment. His presentations can address the U.S. and global economic outlook, manufacturing trends, artificial intelligence, productivity, automation, tariffs, international trade, workforce demographics, supply chains, small business, China, emerging markets, and global competitiveness. His particular strength is connecting these issues rather than treating them in isolation. AI affects productivity and workforce requirements. Demographics affect labor availability and economic growth. Tariffs and geopolitical developments influence trade and supply chains. Automation can address labor constraints while creating new investment and skills requirements. Waldman helps audiences see how these pieces fit together.

For manufacturing companies, industrial associations, corporate leadership meetings, economic conferences, financial organizations, trade groups, and other business audiences, Waldman provides a data-driven perspective on where the economy is headed and what changing economic conditions could mean for their organizations. His goal is not simply to tell audiences whether the economic outlook is positive or negative. He gives decision-makers a framework for understanding the forces behind the numbers, identifying emerging risks and opportunities, and preparing their organizations for what comes next.

Cliff Waldman can be booked for economic outlook keynotes, manufacturing conferences, corporate meetings, association events, executive programs, and industry conferences through Speakers.com.