Chief Economist

Leading the Mastercard Economics Institute as chief economist, Michelle’s responsibilities include development and delivery of differentiated economic, financial, policy and market thought leadership for customers, Mastercard and public policy.

As part of one of the world’s largest and most dynamic technology companies in the payments space, sitting at the center of commerce for more than 50 years, the Mastercard Economics Institute helps businesses make sense of the macroeconomic climate and extract relevant information to address their needs. Michelle oversees a growing team of economists, data scientists, visual artists, and story tellers to develop public and proprietary economic reporting derived from Mastercard’s global network and proven external data sources.

Prior to joining Mastercard, Michelle was the Head of U.S. Economics at Bank of America (BofA) Global Research. At BofA, she was responsible for providing the firm’s U.S. economic forecasts, including the outlook for GDP, inflation, and Federal Reserve policy. Michelle’s research is focused on the health of the consumer, relying on a variety of high frequency data sources. Previously, she was senior U.S. economist at Barclays Capital and started her career on the U.S. economics team at Lehman Brothers.

Michelle earned a bachelor’s degree (magna cum laude) and a master’s degree, both in economics, at Boston University. In 2023, Michelle received a Visionary Award by the Council for Economic Education in 2023. Michelle was also named a Rising Star by the Women’s Forum for Economy and Society in 2012 and recognized by Forbes Magazine as one of 30 under 30 in finance in 2011.

Michelle is a member of the Council of Geoeconomic Advisors at the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS). She is also part of the Economics Club of New York and a frequent commentator on news media outlets, including CNBC and Bloomberg TV, and is often cited in print and online media.