Mark Mathews

Mark Mathews is chief economist and executive director of research at the National Retail Federation. In this role, Mathews is responsible for leading the research and economic analysis functions at NRF.

Mathews has spent more than 30 years leading teams focused on research, strategy and economic analysis at a number of major corporations in the United States and the United Kingdom. Most recently, he headed the Market Intelligence Group at the World Gold Council where he served as a member of the organization’s leadership team.

Prior to working for the World Gold Council, Mathews spent seven years working for a $1.4 billion AUM private equity firm based in London. As a principal in the firm, Mathews ran the team responsible for generating investment ideas and opportunities. In his time there, Mathews worked on dozens of deals in the retail sector including acquisitions in the food services, entertainment, consumer goods and internet retail sectors.

Earlier in his career, Mathews worked for the NASDAQ Stock Market as managing director of research and head of strategic planning for NASDAQ’s international operations. Mathews originally worked for NASDAQ in Washington, D.C., before being transferred to London to help build up the firm’s international presence.

Mathews is a Georgetown University graduate, where he majored in finance and economics. He was born in South Korea and has lived in Japan, India, Kenya, Samoa and the U.K.