Date: Thursday, January 22, 2026
Time: 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM 
Location: Italian Community Center | 631 E. Chicago Street | Milwaukee 

Event Agenda:

• 11:30 a.m.- Noon | Registration & Networking 
• Noon -12:30 p.m. | Welcome & Lunch
• 12:30 -1:30 p.m. | Program 

Event Description: 
Kick off the new year with insight, clarity, and confidence at TEMPO’s January Program Meeting: Annual Economic Outlook.

Each year, this highly anticipated program features an exclusive economic update from a leading financial expert—and 2026 is no exception. We are honored to welcome David Royal, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial & Investment Officer, and Treasurer of Thrivent Financial, who will be joined on stage by Melissa Hofmeister, Financial Advisor with Thrivent. Together, they will co-present a forward-looking discussion on the 2026 economic and market outlook.

This engaging conversation will explore the current economic landscape, emerging trends, and what’s ahead for markets and investments—offering valuable perspective to help you navigate the year ahead with intention.

This program is also one of only two opportunities each year for Emerging Women Leaders to attend a TEMPO Program Meeting at no cost.

Meet Our Speakers:

Melissa Hofmeister is a financial strategist and leadership advocate at Thrivent Financial, based in Muskego, WI. She is passionate about helping people turn vision into reality. With nearly a decade of experience advising families nationwide, Melissa brings clarity and confidence to complex financial decisions—empowering others to lead boldly in their own lives. She serves on the board of Catapult, a nonprofit dedicated to launching new churches and equipping leaders to create lasting impact. In her free time, Melissa embraces adventure on the water with her husband and three sons.

David Royal is executive vice president, chief financial & investment officer and treasurer of Thrivent Financial, a Fortune 500 financial services company.

As chief financial & investment officer, Royal is responsible for maintaining Thrivent’s ongoing financial strength and stability, ensuring the organization strategically manages its resources to deliver on the financial promises made to clients, generates financial returns and drives organizational growth.

In his role, Royal oversees all asset management, finance, actuarial, banking, and product and investment solutions for the organization. He is responsible for Thrivent’s financial management and business risk management functions, and corporate mergers and acquisitions. He leads the teams who manage Thrivent’s general account and Thrivent’s award-winning mutual funds, for which Royal serves as a board director. With a focus on providing comprehensive insurance, wealth management, investment and banking solutions, Royal and his team provide Thrivent clients with solutions, programs and advice to help them live lives of service and faith.

Since joining Thrivent in 2006, Royal has held a series of progressive leadership roles within the organization, including serving as deputy general counsel of Thrivent and chief legal officer of Thrivent’s mutual funds, then as president of Thrivent Mutual Funds and—since 2017—as chief investment officer. Before coming to Thrivent, Royal was a partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, an international law firm.