Hesna Genay is a vice president and director of the policy and communications group in the economic research department at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Genay provides policy advice to the president of the bank in his role in the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), participating in all aspects of the policy discussions. Genay also provides economic and financial policy input to the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and participates in the Board meetings. In addition, she contributes to the bank’s public outreach functions and frequently gives presentations to business and academic audiences on the economic outlook, financial markets and monetary policy.

Genay’s areas of expertise are in evaluating the interplay between monetary policy and financial regulation and their impact on economic activity and financial markets; analyzing the role of financial stability in monetary policy; and assessing the systemic risk of financial institutions.

In the past, Genay has conducted research on the Japanese banking system, corporate finance and governance, small business financing and venture capital. Her research appeared in the Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, the Journal of the Japanese and International Economies and Brookings-Wharton Papers on Financial Services. Genay received a bachelor's degree in economics and a Ph.D. in international economics from the University of Rochester.